Archive for the ‘luis’ Category

Falto Mentor

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Luis Falto was kind enough to send me a box of these for review. The Falto Mentor is in honor of Luis’ teacher, Manuel Inoa. Manuel is the master blender and production coordinator for La Aurora. Luis and Manuel have been working together for around 16 years. What attracted me to the Mentor was the beautiful, classy looking box. Inside you find 20 great looking cigars, and an autographed note explaining what this cigar is about (in Spanish). Falto is a small boutique company, which means Luis can be directly involved in every aspect of his brand.

I paired this cigar with water, and offer you my thoughts on the Falto Mentor.

!Falto Mentor Box

Wrapper: Habana Vuelta Arriba grown in Ecuador

Binder: Brazilian grown Sumatra & Cameroon

Filler: Dominican, Brazilian, & Nicaraguan

Size: 5 3/4 x 54

Price: Around $7.50

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The chocolate bar looking wrapper had no real flaws, and had a few medium sized veins. Holding it in the light, it had an oily glisten. Sniffing the wrapper, I found it to have a mild cedar and earthy odor. The foot had a mild natural tobacco smell. Squeezing the cigar, I found no inconsistencies, and barely any sponginess. The pre-light draw was free, with just a little bit of resistance. The pre-light draw had a sweet cedar flavor.

The ash held for about two inches, and the burn required no corrections.

1_Falto Mentor

Flavor:

The first third greeted me with pillowy clouds of smoke. Initially there was a smooth woody taste with earthy undertones. The flavors opened up a bit after the first inch. When passing smoke through the nose, there was a pleasant spice that had a little kick. The smoke became somewhat creamy and took on some sweetness. That sweetness eventually became co-co with a coffee-ish tint.

2_Falto Mentor

The second third remained smooth and creamy. The core flavors were basically the same. There were woody notes, but the prominent flavor was a coco-ish, sweet creaminess. Coffee notes were still there, and I could swear I picked up some fruity undertones from time to time. Through the nose, the spice was still pretty mild, but the strength of it’s kick varied. The aftertaste lingered on the palate long after exhaling.

3_Falto Mentor

The last third basically rotated dominant flavors. Sometimes it was real woody, and other times it was creamy coco. All the while cinnamony spice made the mouth tingle. Through the nose, the spice kicked up a notch in strength with a cinnamon spice.

4_Falto Mentor

Conclusion:

This was an excellent medium bodied cigar that may have crept into the full range in the last third. The overall flavor profile was very good and well refined. I still am debating on if my crude review does it justice. No matter, this cigar tastes good, burns slow, and made me relax. Luis – Thanks for being so generous and letting me try this cigar. The Falto Mentor is a winner, I say try it!

Falto Lonsdale

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

The Falto Lonsdale has the exact same blend as the Robusto. The obvious and only difference is in the size. When Luis Falto offered to send me some cigars to try, I graciously accepted. It wasn’t long before a big box arrived. Inside were samples of every line of cigars he offers. Looks like I have some reviewing to do! I paired this cigar with water, so lets see how this compares to the robusto size.

 

Wrapper: Sumatra (Indonesia)

Binder: Dominican

Filler: Dominican

Size: Lonsdale 6.5 x 42

Price: $6.80 at Bonita Smoke Shop

 

Pre-smoke & Construction:

The wrapper had a semi-rugged look to it, with small to medium veins and some bumbs and blotches. The odor off of the wrapper was barnyard. The foot had the same smell, with a touch of earthiness. The cigar was evenly packed and hard to the touch. As is common in smaller ring gauge cigars, the draw was a little stiff. It wasn’t over the top and fell just within my tolerances. The pre-light draw had notes of cedar and slight earth.

The burn required a couple minor touch up’s in the first third, and the ash held for an inch.

1FaltoLonsdale 

Flavor:

Much like the robusto, the first third opened up with smooth, mellow woody flavors. There was a very slight spicy note when passing smoke through the nose. It was so subtle that you could easily miss it. As this third came to a close, the pepper increased ever so slightly in strength. The aftertaste had a tinge of earthy creaminess.

2FaltoLonsdale 

Like the first third, the second third had dominant woody flavors. The spice remained mellow, and a nice sweetness entered the picture. The sweet flavor resembled mocha or chocolate, but didn’t quite reach that level. Earthy notes were in the background.

3FaltoLonsdale

The last third crept a little higher in body, but remained in the medium range. That dominant woody flavor remained, and the sweetness developed into a mocha/chocolaty flavor. I had to really pay attention to the sweetness, or I would have missed the mocha/chocolaty notes within. Passing smoke through the sinus revealed a nice sweet peppery spice that had a little kick. The smoke feel became creamier and coated the mouth. Smoke volume increased as well.

4FaltoLonsdale

Conclusion:

Like the Robusto size, this was a good medium bodied cigar. There wasn’t much difference in flavor when compared to the robusto. It basically boils down to what you’d prefer, a robusto or lonsdale. Personally, I would prefer the robusto. Whatever you choose, I think this cigar is worth trying for sure. Thanks again to Luis for sending me these sticks to review.

Falto Robusto

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Luis J. Falto, President & CEO of La Garita Cigar Co & Cigarros Falto, Tabacalera Falto Inc, sent me these cigars to review. They come in Robusto and Losdale sizes. There will be a slight blend change on these two cigars from the current wrapper to a new Sumarta Ecuador. The cigars I smoked for this review featured the current Sumarta Indonesian variety.

Thanks to Luis for sending me these cigars to try. As always, I paired this review with water.

 

Wrapper: Sumatra (Indonesia)

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Dominican Republic

Size: 5 x 50

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper had small veins and a nice looking sheen. The odor coming off of the wrapper was sweet and cedary. The foot had a similar odor, with a slight pepper. The cigar was evenly and well packed, with barely a hard or soft spot. The pre-light draw was good with just a little resistance, and had an earthy, woody taste.

The burn required a couple small corrections, and the ash held for just over an inch.

1FaltoRobusto

Flavor:

The first third began with a very smooth and mellow peppery spice was that picked up when passing smoke through the nose. There were nice woody flavors with mild sweet notes hiding in the background. The smoke feel was crisp and dry.

2FaltoRobusto 

The second third had a touch of earthiness. The sweetness increased in strength a little, and the woody flavors were dominant. The smooth pepper remained when retrohaling, but had an interesting complexity to it. It was sweet with an occasional tinge of fruitiness. The smoke feel became smoother and bordered on creaminess.

3FaltoRobusto 

The last third went further up in the medium bodied range and bordered on being full. The spicy pepper increased slightly in strength, and was more straight forward tasting. The wood and sweet flavors matched each other in terms of strength, and melded together nicely. Speaking of sweetness, it boarded on chocolate, but wasn’t full blown chocolate. The smoke feel remained the same as before.

4FaltoRobusto 

Conclusion:

This was a very good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. The flavors were good, and switched things up to keep it interesting. Availability is limited on this boutique brand, but I think they are worth trying. Go to their website for a list of shops that carry them and judge for yourself.

Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial No.5

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

In my quest for a quick smoke for when time is short, I came across today’s review. These come in a nice metal tin of 5 for an overall attractive presentation. I paired up with water for this review, but for you seasoned smokers,  found this cigar goes well with coffee for a nice added kick.

 

Wrapper: Natural-Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Peruvian

Size: 4.5 x 38

Price: 5 pack $17.00

 

Pre-smoke & Construction:

The reddish looking wrapper was a bit bumpy but had no major flaws. Sniffing the wrapper and foot revealed a hay-ish barnyard aroma. Squeezing the cigar from head to foot, I found it was a little spongy but wasn’t extreme. The pre-light draw was free, and had an earthy rich soil taste.

The burn required quite a few corrections, and the ash held for about a half of an inch. I think this was unique to this cigar, since the others I smoked didn’t need so many burn corrections.

2SLR5No5 

 

Flavor:

The first third consisted mainly of pepper. It had a bite, but wasn’t harsh of irritating. Next up was a smooth earthy flavor that resembled a rich soil.

3SLR5No5 

As I progressed into the second third, the bite of the pepper mellowed out a little but kept its “Zing.” The earthy flavors continued with an addition of rich woody notes. Every now and then the pepper would become a sweet spice, but for the most part it was pepper.

4SLR5No5 

The last third didn’t offer a lot of change. The peppery punch went down another notch, but again kept a nice zing. An unidentified sweet flavor appeared more often then the second third, but never developed into a definite flavor. And finally… The earthy notes became more of a background flavor. Overall very enjoyable.

5SLR5No5 

Conclusion:

This was a pretty good medium bodied cigar. The bad aspects were the burn corrections but I can let the cigar going out once slide. Despite the flavor profile being a bit one dimensional, I enjoyed this cigar.

Saint Luis Rey Serie G Maduro

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I’m not sure where I picked up tonight’s cigar. As is the case in the late afternoon, I looked through the humidor for something that looked fuller bodied. This is what I came up with. The wrapper and binder share Connecticut maduro tobaccos. You’d think this would mean full bodied. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. I grabbed the usual cup of water and got to reviewing the Saint Luis Rey Serie G.

 

Wrapper: Black Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Belicoso 6 1/8 x 54

Price: 4 – $5.00

 

Pre-smoke & Construction:

Overall the cigar looked nice. The dark maduro wrapper was slightly bumpy with medium veins. I could only detect a sweet tobacco smell and slight pepper when sniffing the wrapper and foot. There were only a few slight soft spots when squeezing the length of the cigar. The pre-light draw was a tad stiff, and had subtle fruity notes.

The burn was great, needing no corrections. The ash was strong, and took effort to knock off at one or more inches. The draw opened up quickly once I lit up.

1StLuisReySerieGMaduro 

Flavor:

The first started out on a mellow note. I had an interesting flavor that was similar to the pre-light draw. I can only describe it as a slight fruitiness mixed with smooth sweetness. That pre-light flavor lasted for around an inch before fading. Sweet chocolaty notes took it’s place. Surprisingly, the body was more in the low to mid medium range.

2StLuisReySerieGMaduro

The second third didn’t offer a lot in terms of change. The base flavor was a mocha/chocolate, and it mingled with smooth earthy notes. A very, very slight spicy pepper and sweetness was noticed when passing the smoke through the sinus. The body of the cigar did not change.

3StLuisReySerieGMaduro

The last third… Honestly I was getting a little bored at this point. It’s not that the flavors were bad. In fact, the chocolaty flavors were good. They mixed well with that slight sweep spice and pepper. The earthy notes went away as well. Simple and decent to sum it up.

4StLuisReySerieGMaduro

 

Conclusion:

This was an OK medium bodied cigar. I was a little surprised and even disappointed in this cigar. I guess I was expecting more power and body. I was expecting more of a Camacho Triple Maduro or even a CAO MX2. Instead what I got was a simple maduro cigar that I’d call “Just another cigar.” This would be a great cigar to introduce someone to what maduro flavors are like without having the punch of a full bodied cigar.

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