cigar review: Cuaba Piramides Edicion Limitada 2008

This weekend I was craving for an absolutely great cigar as I was going to watch one of the best movies ever made..

This made me look in my humi for a cuban, perhaps something I never smoked before. It had to be one with a lot of flavour and a lot of body. That's when I opened my drawer with my special smokes..This drawer is my meeting place for all limitadas and special cigars I collected up to now.

I bought all the limitada's a few weeks ago in a little cigar shop in Lier. I immediatly saw the beautiful and big Cuaba smiling at me..

I picked it up and smelled it..a great odeur rose from the big torpedo. A smell that would later on become the main flavor when lit. The cigar felt good. lots of big veins, very oily outside and perfectly rolled.

I took my cutter and cutted the point away on about 1cm. The draw was perfect, and I could feel the cigar's spice burn on the tip of my tongue. All the signs were there to point out this was going to be a full cigar with a lot of body and flavours.

I took some matches and after the second match the cigar was properly lit. From the first puffs on, I could taste the primary taste in the fat, creamy smoke: wood. The cigar wasn't really balanced, but the wood taste was very much there and it hided all the other flavours. It also had some leather taste next to the wood.

The ash was very flaky, and the burn very uneven. Just the thing I would imagine in a cigar like this.

From the second part, a hint of flowers and moss came up next to the wood and leather. What an incredible taste! Such a power..

The last third came at the end of the movie and I was fully satisfied. I picked up a magazine after the movie to enjoy the cigar a little more, but I just couldn't take it anymore..I was completely exhausted after all that power.. I didn't enjoy it that much anymore and decided to toss it out.




Conclusion:
What a powerhouse!! Main taste is definitely wood and leather, a lot of full body tasty creamy smoke. Just a little too long for me. Definitely worth the money, while it is a costly smoke.

I am going to keep the others for a few years, to see how they age.

cigar shop visit: Plumes et volutes

The people of the little town Braine-le-compte in the frech speaking of Belgium finally have a place nearby to purchase their smokes!

I met the owners a few days ago in Antwerp on the Navarre evening and they told me they opened up their shop nearly a year ago. They had the opportunity, and chose to open a store that sold cigars, pipes and tabac, as well as fine pens and writing equipment.

They were very friendly and invited me to come take a look at their shop. They also mentioned their 23 year old daughter was also working there, who (they said) was really pretty..another reason to go ;)

So, I was in the neighborhood when I decided to take the detour, because I didn't have anything to smoke in the 1 hour drive home.
Funny thing though, to get in Braine-le-compte you have to take a small dirty road for about 15 minutes..which was really great in the dark with the Mercedes..put the automatic gearbox on "sport" and the drive was thrilling!




So I arrived in the main shopping street (tres chouette as they say in french) and I discovered their shop. It is not that big, but it does have a lot of class!
I was greeted by a young blond and beautiful girl (so the owners were right ;) ) who took me to the humidor. She really knew her stuff and pointed me directly to the new limitadas when I asked which new specials they had. I choose 3 cigars payed and left the store very happy for another great shopping experience!

I can't link to the website, as they don't have one right now, but they are working on it. The humidor is not that big, but they do have all the great stuff! They also have Navarre's for sale.

If you are in the neighborhood of Halle or Waterloo, take the detour down, it really is worth it!

Cigar evening with Noel Labourdette of Navarre

Yesterday I was joining the cigar evening by Huis Verloo at Salle Jeanne (in English you could translate that to "room Jeanne" or "dirty Jeanne"). It was a special evening, Noël Labourdette of the Navarre brand was speaking!

For those who don't know Navarre: This is a cigar company that creates French handmade cigars. The cigars are entirely produced in France, with cuban seeds. They are grown, collected and fermented in France. For the rolling of the cigars, they had cuban rollers teaching their trade to french workers. Their market is mostly Europe and Japan. They have a limited quantity of tabacco, and really only want the best.

Together with about 30 people we listened to Noël talk about his cigars, while puffing away a petit-robusto from his brand. Very enjoyable cigar, which to my opinion tastes a lot like Partagas cigars: very earthy and cedary, with a hint of floral touches. I did notice on mine and other cigars an very uneven burn, and I had to relight the cigar a lot when in the last third.

Noël was talking about the fact that he clearly wants quality over quantity and I really believe him. He found a little place in France where the micro-climat is exactly the same as the famous Pinar-del-rio in Cuba.

The second cigar of the evening was the limited edition maduro version, which I found even more enjoyable. Less earthy, and more complex flavors on this "not-too-dark" maduro version of the robusto.

Noël was a really cool guy, he answered all questions with a lot of humor and honesty. He did say that they are going to release some new sizes in the future.

We also has a little premiere: the existing Corona Gorda, combined with notes of Armagnac. Noël also gave us a glass of Armagnac, coming from a friend in the neighbourhood where he lives. This pairs really great with the maduro!