Trinidad Fundadores

As I've noted before, the Trinidad line out of Havana was marketed via mystery and intrigue with Castro himself originally denying that the Trinidad even existed. Now that the Trinidad has been on the market for over a decade it is being presented as a Habanos S.A. headliner along with their flagship Cohiba, with which is produced out of the El Laguito factory.

The Fundadores is one of the more recent sizes to be released. It comes in a flawless golden brown wrapper with the customary "rat tail" cap. The foot has a smooth woody smell and on this particular occasion the pre-light draw was quite tight.

Once lit the initial flavors are sweet mellow tobacco with notes of vanilla and toffee. As I got a couple of inches in the sweet flavors waned and some cedar overtones enveloped the tobacco core. By 1/2 way there was a bit of coffee to accompany the woody notes; however the draw was still uncomfortably tight, reducing the amount of smoke and no doubt the intensity of the flavor. This problem finally corrected at the 2/3 mark. At this point there was an increase in smoke and a rich peppery spice leading to a rich tobacco finish.

The Trinidad is ultra complex, rich in flavor and easy on the eyes. Despite being rolled by some of Cuba's most accomplished Torcedores, it still suffers from a bit of inconsistancy regarding construction. That is its only flaw. Even still, one heck of a cigar!

Wrapper: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Rating: 94

Partagas Serie P No. 2

Last week I was on holiday in Spain, the largest importer of Havana cigars, so needless to say, I have a couple of new entries. The first is the Partagas Serie P No. 2, a fairly large cigar by Cuban standards and one that packs plenty of punch.

It comes wrapped in a nice darkish EMS leaf from the Vuelta Abajo region. The foot was thick with woody and tobacco smells and the pre-light draw was nice and firm. Once lit it provides the expected Partagas full bodied tobacco that nearly overwhelms the subtle nut and cedar notes. By half way there is a noticeable black pepper spice that caries the smoke in to the final 1/3 where the tobacco core firmly reclaims the position as the major player in this rich full bodied smoke, and caries to the end with a bit of spice.

The construction was excellent and the aroma was potent, so much so that the band has smelled up my entire dossier! My only complaint here was that at times that flavor was a little too full and came off a bit harsh. This is no doubt a matter of taste and many others have seen this as a benefit. This is a great cigar and one that I think could be even better with a bit of aging.

Wrapper: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Rating: 92

El Rey del Mundo Choix de L'Epoque

This El Rey is a special edition released by Habanos S.A. in 2009. It is part of the El Rey del Mundo Choix de L'Epoque that was made especially for the U.K. market. It was a short stocky little fella weighing in at 4 3/8 x 52. I am a big fan of the Honduran El Reys and really, what could be better than the original?

This cigar lit up and burned quite well. The draw was smooth, yet firm, showing off its overall construction. The flavors where very mild and subtle with mostly soft woods and floral notes. It was very consistent in that department and carried the mellow flavors right to the very end. The aroma was nice, but not very rich. It had a gray flaky ash that held together for nearly an inch.

One of the things I like about the El Rey brand is that you typically know that your are in for a bold, no messing around, punch in the mouth. This was completely the opposite and caught me a bit off guard. I kept waiting around for something to happen that never did. Once I accepted that I had bought a cigar that my wife would easily handle I quite enjoyed it. It is a beautiful cigar to look at, and why shouldn't it be...this is El Rey's little sister.

Wrapper: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Rating: 89

Trinidad Coloniales

The Trinidad line of cigars has a somewhat shady history. It was officially launched in 1998 in Mexico and Canada and was unofficially aimed at the American market. Prior to that it was known as the "Diplomatico Trinidad" and was rumored to be made especially for Fidel Castro to be given to visiting diplomats and other special guests. Castro disputes this fact, but the rumors live on.

The Coloniales is one of four new sizes that was released in November of 2003 as a limited release, followed worldwide release including Europe. I picked this up in a small tobacco shop in Wales for the bargain price of 12.90 Sterling. It has a nice medium brown wrapper with the traditional "pig-tail" cap. The construction was flawless, giving it a smooth even draw and burn. It was the most complex cigar I've had the pleasure of smoking. It had smooth Cuban tobacco base with alternating coffee and cocoa notes. It finished with mild pepper spice and some earth tones. The aroma was rich and creamy.

This is truly and exceptional cigar, one that I wished could go on and on. If you ever come across one of these, ignore the price and put it away for a special occasion...or a quiet Tuesday evening.

Wrapper: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Rating: 94

Montecristo Tubo

Montecristo is one of most recognized names in cigars. It was originally introduced in the mid 1930's by the H. Upmann factory. There is rarely a bad experience when your cigar bares a Montecristo band.

This Habano was given to me following a BBQ and I couldn't resist. It is a corona that measures up at 6 x 42 and has a really nice golden brown wrapper. It burned a bit wobbly but continually corrected itself. It started off with a medium bodied, creamy smoke. Cedar and leather moved in toward the end of the first third and then the cigar became very spicy and that spice actually began to overwhelm the nuanced flavors that had begun to develop. Most people will probably doc this cigar for that but fortunately I really like spicy cigars. It finished with warm pepper and wood. The aromatics were quite pleasant and rich and would make sitting in a cloud of your own smoke quite enjoyable!

Habanos have a reputation for inconsistency which has been the major complaint facing Habanos S.A. I really enjoyed this cigar and would give it 89 points. The construction was lacking but it was an overall enjoyable medium-full bodied smoke.
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Rating: 89