Origin: Cuba
Format: Cuban Puro
Size: Corona Extra, 5 x 48 (127mm x 19.05mm)
Price: $25.00
Reviewed Box Code: TEB OCT 08

The cigar that I am reviewing is the Bolivar Simones. This cigar was the first of the RE’s released into Canada back in 2007. There were 600 numbered cabs of 50 originally released. In 2009, the exclusive Canadian distributor, Havana House re-released an additional 1200 numbered cabs of 25. There are two theories why the Simones were re-released. First, due to the success of the original release Havana House authorized the release of the additional cabs. Second, many believe that the sales of the 600 original cabs of 50 were limited. The remaining 2007 stock was broken into cabs of 25 to promote sales.

The Bolivar brand is well known for its full bodied, full flavoured cigars, and typically, is not recommended to anyone new to cigars. Over the years the Bolivar brand has become one of my favourites and I was very excited when Habanos S.A. announced the release of the Simones.

I will start by noting that this cigar was smoked with a cup of Serrano (Cuban) coffee.
This cigar had a nice light brown wrapper, very firm construction with a few small veins. Once cut, the pre light draw was very tight for my liking. It had mild woody notes with a hint of something sweet. I wasn’t able to determine what the sweetness was at this point.

The 1/3 of the cigar was medium bodied; giving me lots of earthy, woody flavours with an amazing amount of sweetness that I still can’t put my finger on. There is little to no spice on the retro hale and the cigar continues to be very tight on the draw, producing small amounts of smoke.

The 2/3 continued to be medium bodied and to my surprise, loosened up slightly on the draw and is starting to produce more smoke. The flavours are very enjoyable but very mild for a Bolivar, with woody (cedar), earthy flavours with a slight citrus, sweet (plum) notes and a hint of exotic spice on the retro hale.

The final third picked up in body and flavour. It is now medium to full bodied, and continues to give lots of earthy, woody notes with a hint of citrus. The spice has intensified on the retro hale and this is the best third.

Overall, this cigar was very good despite the issues I had with the draw. I have smoked 9 from this cab and this was the first one that I recall having a tight draw, and hopefully the last! In my opinion, this is not your typical Bolivar cigar. It is much lighter in body and flavour and much, much sweeter giving me lots of citrus and plum notes. I would recommend this cigar to all cigar smokers including someone just starting off into the cigar world.

Heather, the low evergreen shrub, gives of an aroma that is often said to be present in Scotch. Presumably, the flowery scent in the air works its way into the casks over time much like the sea air. I would describe the smell as a cross between hot dry grass and eucalyptus. Scapa 14 really showcases this smell; for me it was like a light went off in terms of identifying this aroma in the scotch. Wild heather grows all over the island of Orkney, and certainly Scapa 14 shares many characteristics with its larger cousin up the road Highland Park. Hits of heather, honey, smoke, all in a light mix could also be a tasting note for Highland Park 12. Scapa differentiates itself by being a little lighter in taste, with a herbaceous twang that makes for a fresh finish with a hint of sweetness. The heathery, herbaceous side makes for a great palate cleanser when drinking scotch with cigars. If you want a daily sipper that’s a step up from the Glen’s, Scapa 14 really fits the bill.

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OK, enough theatrics.  Over the course of the month we’ll be featuring a few Taboo reviews to support the contest.  Also, if a ton of people join the group, we’ll likely give away more than one sampler.  You can find the Facebook page at

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Lastly, don’t forget to support Taboo — great cigars from great people at great prices.  Tell them The Aspiring Gentleman sent you.

First appearances were rather uninspiring.  With a quiet-looking exterior set in a quiet area (granted it was almost midnight on a Monday), only a few neon lights set Imbibe apart from its neighbours.  With very little light inside and no activity, I initially thought it was closed.  Upon entering, there was no one inside but a bouncer reading the paper near the door; however, I was reassured by the wafting smell of premium tobacco.  He directed me around the corner to the (previously hidden) bar and walk-in humidor.

Imbibe looks like a typical bar, with considerable bottles and beer taps behind the bar, as well as a fair bit of lounge space and a rooftop patio.  Where it sets itself apart though is the very large walk-in humidor containing a wide range of cigars available, from Drew Estates Egg to a large assortment of Romeo y Julieta and other brands.  And for a bar, I was quite impressed by the prices (New Mexico does have some of the lowest tobacco taxes around).

I selected a Romeo y Julieta 1875 Petite Numero Dos en Tubos, which the staff offered to cut for me.  Unfortunately the cutter used was evidently quite dull, but the cut turned out acceptable enough.  I sat myself down at the bar with a complimentary copy of Cigar Magazine, and was greeted by the bartender, who informed me that Monday nights were happy hour all night.  $2 premium draft beers while enjoying a cigars — I was having a great time.  There were a few people smoking cigars, a couple smoking cigarettes, and a few with nothing.  The bartender mentioned that they try to push the cigars, but they’re alright with cigarettes as well.

The Romeo y Julieta surprised me with it’s even burn and evolving flavour profile, and the people around me were great company.  Top that all off with a final bill of under $20, and I was incredibly impressed with Imbibe.  I was told by the couple next to me that on Fridays and Saturdays there are a few too many popped collars and huge egos and attitudes around, but the relative calm of the Monday night crowd served me quite well.  Imbibe finds itself in a unique situation, with indoor smoking allowed in a fairly anti-smoking state.  The bartender told me that because of its status as a cigar bar and retail tobacconist, Imbibe has a special status which was grandfathered to it after the tobacco bans passed in New Mexico a few years back.

All in all, I highly recommend Imbibe for those in the area.  If you avoid the high-volume weekends, you’ll likely have a great time.  Combine a huge cigar selection, good drink specials, and friendly people and staff, and you can’t go wrong.

The Partagas 898, varnished box of 25 is packaged in three rows of 8, 9 and 8, thus getting its name “898”. This Lonsdale, in my opinion has been a strong cigar up until recent production (08/09) where I find these to be much milder.

Origin: Cuba
Format: Cuban Puro
Size: Lonsdale, 42 x 6.75
Price: $27.00 Cdn
Reviewed Box Code: GKI ABR04 Varnished

The construction on the reviewed cigar was good. It had a light brown, rough wrapper with a few veins that run the entire length of the cigar. This cigar has a nice, firm feel with no signs of sponginess. The pre draw is woody/earthy with a slight hint of mushroom.

The 1/3 started off fairly harsh with strong tobacco flavours and hints of black pepper. Medium to full bodied. I have to admit that black pepper is not something I enjoy in a cigar. The cigar soon settled in and treated me to lots of earthy notes and subtle hints of cream.

The 2/3 was fantastic. Again, lots of earthy, dry, woody, creamy notes with hints of spice on the retro hale. For me, this is the Partagas “twang” that I have grown to love! All the black pepper that I had experienced in the 1/3 has diminished. At this point the cigar is medium bodied.

The final third turned a tad harsh, releasing strong tobacco and leather notes onto the pallet. Unfortunately this harshness muted a lot of the flavours in the cigar. I had to purge the cigar several times, and this was successful in bringing it back to life, although temporary.

Overall, I did enjoy this medium bodied cigar, although I have to admit that the 08/09 production is far superior and more inviting to my senses. I will revisit this cigar in another year and hope to provide another review at that time.

Before we move on, I feel it important to address the legalities that come with producing your own tobacco. Take a look at the laws in your country or state before you start growing. In Canada under the Excise Act 25(3):

(3) An individual who is not a tobacco licensee may manufacture manufactured tobacco or cigars

1. from packaged raw leaf tobacco or manufactured tobacco on which the duty has been paid, if the tobacco or cigars are for their personal use; or
2. from raw leaf tobacco grown on land on which the individual resides, if
   1. the tobacco or cigars are for their personal use or that of the members of their family who reside with the individual and who are 18 years of age or older, and
   2. the quantity of tobacco or cigars manufactured in any year does not exceed 15 kg for the individual and each member of the individual’s family who resides with the individual and who is 18 years of age or older.

Growing

With all the legal stuff out of the way, you’re ready to gather what you need to begin. Your first step is going to be acquiring the right seeds and supplies. A simple search for tobacco seeds on Google will give you hundreds of options. Within these sites, you will also have several different kinds of tobaccos to choose from (No, they are not all the same). Since you are at The Aspiring Gentleman, I will assume it’s a nice quality cigar you’re after. You can just buy one type of seed, but for a little bit more depth in flavour, I’d buy at least two. When you roll a cigar, you will be using a filler (This is what’s inside your smoke and where the majority of the flavour will come from), binder (This holds it all together in a cigar shape) and a wrapper (This is the final leaf your cigar is wrapped in which gives it a nice, clean finish). I am a tad biased as I’m a huge Cuban fan, but I’ve read that Havana tobacco is great for all three steps.

Now that your seeds are shipping, you need to think about what you will be planting them in. You will be raising the seedlings inside, so you are going to need soil, something to put soil in and a place to put them. Look at the places where tobacco is grown. They grow in a fairly hot environment with a fairly sandy soil. You will be aiming to replicate these conditions. A mixture of sand and soil is recommended. Now just find a shallow container or a seed tray to hold it and punch a couple holes in the bottom for drainage. When your seeds finally get there, you’ll be ready to plant them. There is no need to dig holes as you will just be sprinkling the seeds on top of the soil. The tobacco seedling is very delicate and finds it difficult to push its way up through the soil. You will notice that tobacco seeds are extremely small, like ground pepper. Don’t be too generous when planting your seeds as the tiniest pinch can result in more plants than you were prepared for.

Sit your seeds in a windowsill or under lamps and be sure to keep them watered. Tobacco grows in a humid environment. You can re-create this by simply plastic wrapping the top of the seed tray. You should note that mould can form inside while your seedling is sprouting, but this will not hurt it.

Once your seedlings hit about 4 inches tall, it’s time for them to head outside (Unless there’s still frost out) where it will now grow into the plant you’ll be smoking. The growth time will vary due to conditions and the species of tobacco you’re growing, but just make sure you keep it watered properly and in a spot where it will get sunlight. Tobacco is closely related to the tomato so any plant food made for tomatoes definitely wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Tobacco plants are a very easy plant to grow, so the effort at this point is minimal. Just water and keep weeds away and wait. At some point, you may see new tobacco plants growing alongside your now adult plants. Pluck these and plant them somewhere else if you want them to grow. When the tobacco begins producing flowers, remove these as well, with the exception of one plant so you can produce seeds for future crops.

You will know when your plant is ready to be harvested. It will be tall and look healthy. Make sure you start from the bottom leaves and work your way up as this is how the plant grows. Ideally you will get a couple harvests from each plant.

Drying

You may have thought that you can just pick the leaves off the plant and smoke them straight away, but there are still a few steps standing in your way. Tobacco is nearly 90% water. Because of this, smoking it would be exceedingly difficult and the flavour wouldn’t be so great. The next step is simply drying your leaves. This can be done in many ways. You can simply hang the leaves or even toss them out on the lawn on a sunny day. What you want to look for is a now brown leaf. The amount of time this step takes will vary from plant to plant. Do NOT use a microwave or oven, etc. to assist you in drying your tobacco as this will simply ruin it. Patience is a virtue.

Curing and Aging

I still wouldn’t advise that you smoke your tobacco yet, although you now could, technically. The last step to creating your tobacco is curing and aging it. Tobacco contains ammonia which is potentially harmful if ingested or smoked. The curing process not only removes the ammonia but also gives the cigar flavour. This process is definitely the hardest part, but very important to a good cigar.

The first thing you will need is a Curing Chamber. I’ve found instructions on constructing a fairly easy and affordable one here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Tobacco-fermentation-curing-chamber-for-cigars/

For proper curing, you will want a humid environment and a temperature between 110 degrees and 130 degrees. You want your tobacco to absorb the moisture so that they become flexible, but not wet. The process of curing tobacco should take you about 4 weeks. You will notice almost immediately the smell as your tobacco cures. This is due to the gases escaping. Essentially, this is the stuff that you didn’t want to smoke.

The smell produced from curing tobacco is usually described as similar to that of raisins. You most likely won’t be making any friends with this smell so it might be a good idea to only cure tobacco in an area that is well ventilated and won’t irritate your neighbours.

How long do you cure for? Well it can vary, but basically once you no longer smell that rasiny-amonia smell, you’re done! But what about aging? Well technically your tobacco is ready to be rolled and smoked and will probably even taste fine, but you’re looking for a great cigar that you are proud to call your own and this takes time. The major tobacco companies all age their product for 1-3 years before even using it. I know you’re excited and want to roll it all right away, but why not save some. Roll 20 or so cigars and then put some leaves away for a year. This is the beginning of the cycle and you will be glad you’ve done it. When you grow your next year’s crop, repeat all the steps but only roll your now aged tobacco and put your newest harvest away for the following year. By aging your tobacco, you will be able to produce a far superior product and you’ll be making cigars like the pros do.

Practice makes perfect when growing your own tobacco so don’t be discouraged when bugs attack one of your plants or you get too much humidity while curing and a few leaves mould. This process is all trial and error and you can’t expect to pull it off flawlessly your first try. Keep at it. You’ll be happy you did.

Check out Tim’s site ManInstitute.com, which focuses on all things manly, identifying the manliest accomplishments and people in the history of mankind.

The Tumbler

The tumbler feels the best of these three in my hand. It’s easy to see the scotch and to get a nice gentle swirl. Years of drinking scotch from this glass makes it feel very natural, similar to holding a cigar between two fingers. The first thing i notice about the nose is a slight presence of soap. This is the frustrating part of drinking from soap washed dishes – no matter how well rinsed, the soap residue mixes into the scotch and kills aromas that are already not being concentrated by the open shape of the glass. The aromas that do dominate are the grainy, smoky and chemical aromas. Tasting from the tumbler isn’t ideal because the lip of the class has a rounded edge that seems to cause the scotch to kind of dribble over the side of the glass.  Overall, a functional glass that will remain a workhorse for scotch served outside my home.

The Wine Glass

For this test I used Riedel’s Ouverture Red Wine glass. This is my go to glass for almost all types of wine, white and red. It is a little small for really full blown overoaked red wines but great for everything else. It makes wine taste better. How? The bulb shape focuses aromas as they rise giving a stronger impression. The crystal material is porous which agitates even more aroma as you swirl the glass. I noticed this affect right away on the fruity, floral and spicy aspects of the aroma, as well as in the extra alcohol rising to my nose. In fact I found it to be a bit much for really enjoying the scotch. I discovered new aspects of the three familiar scotches by drinking them from this glass. The heathery scents of Scapa 14 stuck out like a sore thumb.  But my nose got overwhelmed and soon tired. The cut rim of the glass also works wonders, spreading the scotch to every corner of your mouth and giving a rich, full feeling. A good glass for finding new joys from scotch in small doses.

The Glencairn Glass

Rounding up this group is the newest glass on my shelf, the Glencairn (see picture). This crystal glass has a reputation among whisky drinkers as the staple for scotch enjoyment, and as I found out it’s not just because of tradition. My glass was bought from whiskyglass.ca, and arrived promptly and well packed. You can also purchase them on Amazon. The glass feels a little weird in my hand, bacause holding it is not intuitive. Do you hold it by the bowl or by the base? This is one of the joys of the Glencairn – the user has extra control of the temperature of the fluid by adjusting how they hold the glass.  The aromas and flavours of my favorite scotch seemed to sing from the Glencairn. Interestingly, the glass highlighted the opposite aromas from the other two glasses: the earthy, woody, caramel and nutty. The alcohol never rises too fast to sting my nostrils from this glass, rather it controls a perfect stream of scents to my nose. The cut rim has a similar effect to the Riedel and allows a full taste experience. This is an elegant and brilliant device for drinking scotch, and is not that expensive.  Go get some of these glasses, you’ll never go back once you start using the Glencairn.

Often the nature of our drinking determines the glass we choose, or that someone else chooses for us.  This can in turn change our judgement of the scotch  and the way we enjoy it.  A good example of this is in a restaurant, when you often have no choice what type of glassware you get.  Having scotch from the right glass enables you to integrate what you’re drinking to what you’re doing. The sensory experience of taste and smell should be heightened but not exalted.

The Experiment

3 Scotches –  Scapa 14(Orkney), Balvenie Doublewood(Speyside) and Laphoig Quartercask(Islay), or as I thought of it: herbal, sweet and smoky. I made notes on the changes in aroma (using the aroma wheel at onemalt) and flavour (using taste bud profiles) from glass to glass.

The Flask

When you’re drinking from a flask the whisky is most likely being used as a tool as much as the container. I included it in this test simply for comparison and because inevitably there might be a scotch that tastes better when you need a quick hit.

Surprisingly, the flask did not apply a metallic flavor like in a can of soda. It did seem to splash the scotch onto the front part of my mouth, emphasizing sweetness. The small amount that comes out forces long swigs to get a good taste which favours a milder drink. The flask was very susceptible to temperature changes as well, which is something to consider if it will be next to your body most of the day. An affordable, milder scotch blend would suit this perfectly.

The Shot Glass

Forcing all the fluid straight to the back of your throat kind of defeats the purpose here; fortunately you’re not likely to be drinking scotch out of this glass very often even when using it as a session drink. The Laphroig left the strongest impression here because the peatiness lingered after swallowing.

On Wednesday – The Tumbler, Wine Glass and Glencairn…

Origin: Esteli, Nicaragua

Build: Handmade with all Nicaraguan wrapper, filler, and binder

Format: Toro

Size: 152 x 19.84 mm (6″ x 50)

Price: $2

Pulling this cigar out of the humidor, it was immediately evident that the cigar is delicately made.  With rough spots all around and a cracked wrapper in several spots, I did my best to overlook the cosmetic flaws and focus on how it smoked.  After making a small preliminary cut, I was shocked at the incredibly easy draw.  In fact, with a cut the size of a pea, the cigar drew with almost zero resistance.  Confused, I checked my humidor in the fear the cigar was overly dry; nope, both hygrometers read 68% as usual.  OK, so it’s cracked and lumpy with no resistance; that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have great flavour.

After lighting, the cigar burned nicely for a short time with a balanced, if bland, flavor.  After 10 minutes, the burn was already starting to become considerably lopsided, and by 20 minutes, the burn was almost totally sideways.  Add to this that the head was starting to fall apart so every sip of the cigar left tobacco in my mouth, suffice it to say I have had better smoking experiences.  Because I was with a friend smoking a nice  San Cristobal De La Habana, I decided to keep at it for a while.  However, by the 35 minute mark, the head had almost totally disintegrated and the flavor had turned from bland to bland with a hint of bitterness.

For the sake of science, I figured I’d stop and pull the cigar apart.  Sure enough, there were a few large veins and stems in the filler leaves, which were unusually broken up and brittle.  Take a look at the pictures and see for yourself.  Would I smoke this cigar again?  Of course.  I know that the variability from one cigar to the next (even the exact same brand/size) can be considerable.  For smokes in this price range, this variability is even more dramatic.  In fact, I’ve heard of others having success with this same cigar, so I know there’s some good ones out there.  For $2, you’re not guaranteeing yourself a bad cigar, in fact you might get a great cigar.  You are merely increasing your odds of having burn, draw, or other issues.  For the curious, find more reviews of this cigar here and here.

Tom rolls a cigar:

Don Jose “Pepin” Garcia rolls a cigar: