Ramón Allones 898 OSU MAR 02

Measures: 168 mm x 16 mm

Age: The box dates from March 2002.

Spring is my favourite season. This year the winter lingered long in Finland, finally really ending only during the first weeks of April. Then the progress of Spring was rapid and almost violent: suddenly the trees were blooming, birds came back from their winter residences, first flowers appeared, and people stored away their winter clothes, and started to crowd the streets in more colourful fare. Everybody is a little more light-headed and merry: this would be the time to fall in love.

Cigar smokers too can now indulge in their passion more easily as the weather allows outdoor smoking. Today was rainy and chilly, though, but surely warm enough for a cigar session on the balcony. I hesitated a while on the choice of the cigar to smoke, fumbling the shelves of my storage humidor until the attractive varnished box containing Ramón Allones 898's caught my eye.

I had pulled the trigger for a cab of the RA dalias in September 2005 after reading the fine reviews of Jazznut and shrink in this forum. To my considerable surprise, the first cigar I tried turned out to be in a state of sickness: the aroma was wonderful, but muted. Another sample a couple months later showed promise, but was still not in ideal condition. So, today I decided to see what the intervening months had done to the cigar, and removed a 898 from its resting place.

And what a resting place it is! A fully varnished 898 cab is a thing of beauty, but also dedicated purposefulness with its robust construction and tight fit. I almost felt hesitant to remove a cigar from what must be the perfect place to store it, and break the perfect symmetry of the 8-9-8 layout. Perhaps I should just be content to sniffing the cab? The aroma reeking from it is sinfully rich, and could make my head spin. But no, cigars are made for smoking, so I removed carefully one from the bundle.

The cigar I chose gives the impression of an expertly made Habanos. It is fairly solid, with a bit of uniform resilience to my fingers. The months of rest had made the cigar a bit softer: initially they were rock solid. The almost chocolate-brown wrapper feels oily and smooth; the seams are hardly perceptible. The appetising aroma from the unlit cigar is reminds me of warm rich soil, with some sweet elements. The draw appears to be ideally resistive.

The cigar started in a low-key fashion, making me wonder whether I should have waited another half a year. But no, a few more pulls launched the cigar on a high trajectory. The nutty flavour had previously been clouded by an alkaline taste that had made exhaling the smoke trough nose difficult: now that had disappeared, allowing the balanced mixture of exotic fruits and cocoa on top of well-matured tobacco to grasp my full attention for the 90 minutes of smoking that followed. What a wonderful cigar!

There is always something sad about smoking a cigar whose production has been discontinued: the Spring will never again come for this cigar. Thus it was with bittersweet feelings that I finally dropped the tiny nub of the RA Dalia, after it had given me a most exquisite cigar smoking experience, hence fulfilling its destiny.