Please excuse my excitement, but the 2008 Habanos Collection is dedicated to my favorite brand, the Cohiba! I literally fell out my chair when I heard about this one. Habanos (Where they officially make Cuban Cigars) just announced that they Sublimes Extra is the vitola chosen for the Cohiba Habanos Collection. That is like one of my favorite sizes of all time!
As I suspected, the case would resemble a book shaped style (Part of it’s history) and this time, it represents the Volume No. 8 of this Special Series. This package would carry 20 Sublimes Extra Cigars to symbolize the brand as one of the greatest smokes ever.
What really stands out in this release is that it quiet adequately represents the Cohiba, Habanos says that all the Cohibas in this package are guaranteed to have excellent draw and gorgeous aroma. Can’t wait to get my hands on these babies!
All I have to say is thanks Habanos. Every year, you guys just seem to pull through - KUDOS!
The Vancouver Cigar Company has produced a straight forward (and more importantly free) e-book called Cohiba 101 (Cohiba 101 Download). I downloaded it tonight and gave it a bit of a look over and was surprised about two things: #1) It was relatively pitch free (just good information) #2) I learned a couple of things about the Cohiba. Also it seems that they actually used some of my reviews that I sent them (Bonus!).
This 101 e-book thing would have been great when I first started smoking cigars.
Cohiba Cigar Blog Entry By Shane
This is a great post from Cubancigarwatch.info, the cigar blogger shares some of his tips on enjoying and evaluating Cuban Cigars:
Getting Acquainted: When rating a new cigar, most take a bit of time to examine it. We use a Rating Sheet that pretty much guarantees that they will take more time to look over the stick before cutting it. Now I do the same with every cigar I smoke - even when I am getting ready to light up an ‘old stand-by’. It is my chance to admire the roller’s art and the efforts that went into making the cigar.
Lighting Up: I’ve noticed that herfers get more careful when lighting up smokes if they take the time to slow the process down. Guys who used to bury the tip in the flame now ‘kiss’ the tip with it. They roll the tip around in the upper part - beyond the visible flame.
That First Draw: Not to many in our group ‘chug’ or ‘tug’ at a cigar anymore. The old adage is that ‘a cigar should be sipped’ - and more often now I see a slow and steady initial draw - and a savoring of the first taste. Most sticks will give you an initial burst of flavor - often more spicy or peppery than the rest of the smoke - right up front.
Watch the Burn: The tastings have made me much more aware of how a particular cigar burns. It wasn’t something that I spent a lot of time thinking about before - but now I watch how the burn gets faster or slower - or stays the same - all the way down.
Wafting the Smoke: An old friend taught me this one. Let your smoke rest for a bit then turn it hot end up and waft some of the smoke. Your nose will tell you things about the cigar that you won’t find out with a draw - particularly about the presence of nasty things like ammonia - a sure sign of lack of aging.
Watch it Rest: I never used to pay much attention to the cigar between puffs - but now I find myself watching it. I notice the level and color of the smoke - the aroma that raises from it - and the evenness of the burn.
Along the Way: A well made cigar will burn evenly - and how it burns will effect your experience of smoking it. Now I pay more attention to this - and can connect how much I am enjoying (or not enjoying) the smoke to how it burns.
The Finish: In the past I would think that the smoke was over when I put the cigar out but I now realize that the finish is important. The taste and experience of smoking a cigar lasts after the fire goes out. Pay attention to how you feel - and what you experience - afterwards.
Always Rate: Our regular tastings have gotten me in the habit of rating every cigar that I smoke - not just the first time - but each time. My tastes have changed over time and I am continually updating my experiences. My regular memory is not as good as my ‘artificial memory’ and I have found it useful to have a record - particularly when I am getting ready to replenish my stock.
Keep a Journal: Mine is not extensive - I keep notes in addition to the ratings that help me better choose what and when I like to smoke. As an example, I recently found a stogie that is a great ‘morning cigar’.
Compare Notes: One of the great benefits of being a member of a cigar club is that you have the opportunity to discuss your experiences and hear those of others who enjoy cigars. Being a member of the Northern Virginia group has helped me better enjoy cigars - and draw on the experiences of lots of others. The rest of the article here: http://www.cigarwatch.info/cigar-smoking-the-ritual/
Blog Entry By Shane Gibson
Another great stogie. The Cohiba Maduro Piramides are similar in taste to the Genios. The smaller ring gauge makes it a little more of a tight draw. With that said the Piramide also seemed to be a bit smoother, some of the more subtle flavors in the cigar seemed to have been more evident than in the larger Cohiba Maduro.
I got them from a shop other than my regular hang-out and they were a little less humidified than I prefer. I have laid down a couple in my humidor for a couple of weeks and will let you know how those smoke at that time. Overall this is a great 35-40 minute smoke. It is smooth, subtly spicy yet a bit stronger than some of the other Cohiba’s.
As a side note I noticed that there are some great deals on boxes of Cohiba Robustos and Cohiba Esplendidos ($450.00) online at Vancouver Cigar… I have verified the authenticity with a visit to their storehouse last week.
The Siglo VI truly is one of the big favorites of the Cohiba brand. Cohiba’s tobacco of course goes through a third fermentation process in barrels, and this makes it rich, complex and smooth nature. I savored this one for almost an hour paring it with a couple glasses of MacCallan 18 year old scotch. The ash was almost difficult to knock off the end of the cigar when it was nearing one inch in length. Apparently the tobacco grows in the Vuelta Abajo district, a distinctively rich farming district with nutrient rich soils.
The most noticeable thing is the quality of construction and its large ring gauge which seems to accentuate a lot of the Cohiba tobacco flavors.
We had some fun on this podcast. I thought I’d link to a discussion on cigar ettiquette, the does, the don’ts and all the uninformed opinion in between!
This is pulled from a cuban cigar blog post I found a while back but I think it illustrates how fanatical your average Cohiba lover can become. (Original Post from Vancouver Cigar Cuban Cigar Blog):
“I was sitting in the Vancouver Cigar Company watching a customer pore over the hundreds of Cuban cigars carried. It was a daunting task. He was looking for the perfect smoke for his boss.
The guy on the counter that day had reviewed about 30 cigars with our guest when one of our regular Cigar Club guys Gregg stood up (Gregs a big guy) and asked the customer:
‘Do you want a cigar or a memory? You can buy any of these Cuban cigars here and your boss will have a good smoke. But… how would you like to create a memory? Buy a couple Cohiba Sublimes and enjoy them with him, it will be a meeting he won’t forget.’
And that was it. The guy left with arguably one of the best cigars (or memories as Gregg calls them) available. Always a rich deep oily wrapper these cigars have a deep, full bodied flavor, on the stronger side but absolutely one of the smoothest most flavorful cigars you will ever experience.
This is one of the better explanations of the origin of the Cuban Cohiba Cigar (Wikipedia):
Cohíba began with the cigars smoked by a bodyguard of Fidel Castro’s named Bienvenido “Chicho” Perez. Castro noticed he often smoked a “very aromatic, very nice” cigar. When asked by Castro what brand he smoked, he replied that it was rolled by a friend of his who would give him some of these special cigars as gifts.
The man in question was a cigar roller working at the La Corona factory in Havana named Eduardo Rivera. Castro approached Rivera about rolling cigars for him personally and set him up with five other rollers in a former diplomatic mansion in a suburb of Havana known as El Laguito (Spanish for “the little lake”). Later, the factory became the first cigar factory to be staffed entirely by women torcedoras (cigar rollers).
The cigars were reserved for Castro and other high-ranking Cuban officials, and were often presented to foreign dignitaries as gifts. Castro himself is said to be particularly fond of the long, thin cigars rolled for him, especially the sizes that would become the Lancero and Corona Especial.
Castro decided to release his personal cigars as a premium cigar brand for public consumption when the 1982 World Cup was held in Spain. When first launched in 1982 the Cohíba marque consisted of three vitolas or sizes: the Panetela, the Corona Especial, and the Lancero. In 1989 three more vitolas, the Robusto, the Exquisito, and the Espléndido, were added; the six are referred to as the Línea Clásica (classic line).
I attended a cigar club reception recently hosted by the Vancouver Cigar Company. They had a few of these in stock and I have ordered them online from elsewhere but these were fresh out of the humidor. The Piramide also referred to as a torpedo is something new to Cohiba (last 3 years)
This is another great addition to the Cohiba family. This was a complex smoke. Rich and spicy, and noticeably consistent right until the end. These are a classic smoke, and meet up to the Cohiba brand. Like the Maduro 5 they are also great value per dollar overall.
I like an easy draw so that would have to be the only thing that I didn’t find totally satisfying about this one.
A month ago I arrived back from Cuba with a fresh box of Cohiba Maduros 5 – Genios. I swore I would lay the box down for another year or so put the box sort of taunted me each time I opened up my humidor locker.
I picked them up at the Partagas Factory. On my tour of the factory I watched one of the rollers make a Genios. The leaf looked extra dark. I assumed because it was from higher up in the plant. I was then corrected, the leaf is from further up the plant but that’s just the start.
This Cohiba leaf has also been aged 5 years minimum before it is made into a cigar. In addition to this unlike many other maduros the wrapper isn’t the only part of the cigar that is aged. Cohiba has elected to use several aged leaves along with the standard Cohiba tobacco.
A lot of these boxes have already been laid down for a couple years so the thought of leaving my box any longer didn’t seem to make any sense. I GLAD I BROKE THE SEAL. Needless to say this is now favorite Cohiba (next to the Sublime of course). I do of course reserve the right to change my mind at a later date.
The construction is amazing (I know because I have now smoked 8 this month). The draw is perfect, not too tight but wrapped well enough to control the burn. The flavor is surprisingly smooth yet the cigar is strong like a vintage 1980’s era Cuban cigar I once smoked.