Sancho Panza Belicoso

Measures: 138 mm x 19 mm

Age: This cigar same from a large sampler set I bought in early 2005. It probably dates from 2004.

Setting: Summer is coming to its end in Finland. After a record period of drought, we again are receiving some rain, with the result that the yellow colours that dominated the July have become green again. It is still unusually warm for the season, so conditions for cigar smoking are still very good.

Today my choice for late afternoon cigar was one of the Sancho Panza Belicosos that I had bought last year. I had smoked one a couple months after receiving them, with somewhat mixed results. Therefore, I decided to let the others to gain some extra rest. Perhaps one additional year makes a difference? That is what I ventured to find out. So, I brewed some coffee, poured a couple of fingers of Larsen VSOP cognac, expecting that its robust and straightforward character might match the profile of the Sancho Panza.

The cigar was a well-built specimen of Habanos manufacture. It was clad in medium brown wrapper, with no prominent veins. It felt firm yet supple to my fingers, telling that the storage conditions have been appropriate. I clipped the cigar, and tried the draw which proved to be about right. I sensed very little cold aroma from the predraw, momentarily making me wonder whether the cigar might be suffering from some degree of sickness. Still, I was determined to continue, so I lighted the cigar.

The cigar started in a quite nondescript fashion, just exhibiting the taste of roasted tobacco. The first third remained like that, with whiffs of coffee and cream. After the first third, and my first ashing of the cigar, the flavour started to become more intense, with some spice (cinnamon?) appearing intermittently. This [i]crescendo[/i] continued steadily thereafter, with the final third becoming quite intensive. Throughout, the cigar nevertheless remained smooth and creamy. And no, the cigar exhibited no signs of sickness. Its pairing with the coffee and cognac turned out to be just right.

With this experience, I am led to think that there are no bad Habanos: there just are Habanos caught at the wrong moment. Today was a good moment for this Sancho Panza.

Punch Monarca 1997

Measures: 173 mm x 17 mm
Age: This cigar is from the stash of a cigar-smoking colleague and dates from 1997.

Setting: Today's weather in Helsinki was cloudy, with a chance of rain. As I felt tired after indulging in outdoor activities for much of the last two weeks, I decided to take this day easily and spend it on resting and reading the Karsten Alnæs book on European history. After lunch I felt also the craving of a good cigar, and decided that the time would be right to enjoy the Punch Monarca that I had received from shrink already some time ago.

The cigar was clad in beautiful colorado wrapper exhibiting a bit of teeth and a perfectly executed triple cap. Even after the long rest, it still felt oily and smelled of the familiar barnyard aromas. The construction appeared top notch; to my fingers the cigar had a very uniform feel with just the right amount of resilience, telling me that it had been aged in perfect conditions. "Looks good", I said to myself. So, I clipped the cigar and tried to draw, which confirmed by expectations by being a bit resistive, just in the right manner. I sensed a nice cold aroma of toasted tobacco, with hints of exotic fruits - mango?

After lighting the cigar, it started surprisingly slowly slow and peacefully - the first pulls were gave me only sense of pure toasted tobacco, with the flavour becoming present only slowly. After the first inch, things nevertheless had got going. The tobacco taste tingled deep in my palate, covered with a very satisfactory warm, earthy and creamy aroma with just a bit of spice. This intensified considerably during the process of smoking, nevertheless never becoming harsh or bitter, just as one might expect from a cigar that has reached school-going age. At later stages, the power of the cigar became quite apparent as my head started to feel a bit light. I nubbed the cigar anyway, but I think I might not have been able to handle another inch of it - at last the intensity of the flavour was on the brink of becoming overwhelming. Technically, the cigar was perfect: it burned absolutely evenly throughout the whole smoking session, requiring no further help.

This was my first encounter with the Monarca. I think I could sense the clean Punch profile that I have found in other cigars of this marca. I was especially reminded of the '01 Super Selection #2 I had smoked last week; the Monarca was nevertheless much smoother and lacked the tannins that still were present in the younger cigar. But make no mistake: this is a bold cigar that requires a special moment.

El Rey del Mundo Demi-Tasse BM-OLSO

Measures: 99 mm x 13 mm

Age: The cigar came from a recently bought box dating from May 1990.

Setting: This is my last week of holiday. The entire time has been blessed by (for Finland) uncharacteristically nice summer weather, with sunny skies and hardly any rain. Today I played a nice afternoon round of gold with two colleagues, and came home at 9 PM. After shower and a snack I desired a good cigar, but did not feel like smoking a big one. So I decided to try one of the tiny El Rey del Mundos that I had spent three weeks in my humidor.

This is indeed a small cigar: just 10 centimetres long and with tiny ring size 33. But make no mistake: the Demi-Tasse is still a hand-made, long-filler cigar just intended for a brief enjoyment. Hence the official vitola name Entreacto fits the cigar very well. If smoked slowly (as it should), the cigar will last some 20 minutes.

And these are very well spent minutes indeed. The long sleep has smoothed any sharp corners that the cigar may have had in its childhood and early teens. I have some difficulty to describe the experience: there is fairly strong, pure tobacco taste that blends with very pleasant flavour that reminds me of some rich sauce seasoned with Provencal herbs and tamed with cream. The small ring size probably contributed to the intensity and richness of the flavour. If this is what happens to ERdM in 16 years, then the long wait is surely highly rewarded.

I nubbed the cigar, of course. A small cigar, but a big experience. Smoking it while witnessing the sunset and enjoying the after-effects of physical exercise (I carried the bag, and walked) was just what I needed this evening.