Arturo Fuente - Hemingway Short Story (Gran Reserva)

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Batch for June-July and Heretic Epidemic

... is now available chez Greg.

Included are a few favourites and a couple of brand new ones.

• Cohiba Club (2): coffee-break favourite
• Por Larranaga Montecarlos: new cigar for a longer coffee-break (post forthcoming)
• San Cristobal del Habano El Principe: the last of this box which has aged very well in just a year. They started out harsh last August and are now enjoyable with that cuban twang.
  
• Diplomaticos no.4 (as per Joel's request)
• Montecristo no.4 (see earlier video review): from a new box dated 2009
• Vegas Robaina Clasicos (see next post)
  

Also it is with great sadness that we farewell two Cigar Heretics who are temporarily departing these shores: Jon who is off to the UK and Andrew who is off to Tanna. Go forth and prosper! Take with you the gnosis of the Sacred Leaf as you spread the Heretical Ways far and wide! We will enjoy blowing smoke rings together when you return.

At the same time, we welcome a Wellingtonian (finally!) named Scott who will keep me company, and a Whangarei-an, Michael, who has been initiated into our devious secrets by Sam. Haere mai ki te Ngati Heretiki! Don't hesitate to post questions, cigar reviews etc

In Memoriam Don Alejandro: Vegas Robaina Clasico

There is one special cigar in the June-July batch included as a tribute to the legendary Alejandro Robaina who died last month.

The Robaina family have farmed tobacco continuously since 1845 on their precious vegas (fields) at Cuchillas de Barbacoa situated in the Vuelta Abajo, Cuba's premier tobacco-growing region.

Born in 1919, Alejandro worked on his farm from age 10 until his death this year. He took over the family farm in 1950 and remained an independent grower even after the '59 revolution, when most tobacco farms were grouped into cooperatives. Robaina said himself that he "told Fidel I did not like cooperatives or state farms and that the best way to grow tobacco was through family production." For many years he was one of the unofficial ambassadors of Cuban cigars abroad, and in the 1990s the government recognised his outstanding production (80% of his tobacco leaves were good enough to be used as premium wrappers compared with 30% for most farms) by creating a brand named after his family: Vegas Robaina.



We have the Vegas Robaina Clasico, which, as Greg and myself found out the other night, is a cracker. It's a cigar with perfect balance, sweet and smooth but mingling many interesting flavours and evolving all the way through the smoke (our review posted in comment).

I can only encourage you to take time out and concentrate on smoking this one in one go - it's worth it. And this time you can think about the values of terroir and centuries old family farms that contribute to making delightful and maybe even meaningful produce for us to enjoy - perhaps against the backdrop of increasing industrialisation of production.

1hr-1hr20 smoke.
Size: Cervantes
Length 16.5cm. Ring gauge 42.
Strength: Medium-bodied
Drink match: port, sherry? and maybe even switch to whisky at the end.
Box date unknown.