Archive for the ‘Matt_Booth’ Category

Room 101 Daruma

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

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The Room 101 Daruma is another Matt Booth creation. We all know the marketing gimmicks and antics associated with his brands. I will admit, I can be a sucker for them. But, in the end, my biggest concern is the product itself.

The Daruma is a complex, sweet, and well balanced cigar. In this review, the three of us pick this thing apart. Did I say, “The three of us?” Oh yes. So, take 22 minutes, and check out our review of the Room 101 Daruma.

 

 

MP3 Audio – Right click, save as

Room 101 Big Delicious

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Big Delicious is the brain child of Room 101 owner Matt Booth, and Smoke Inn owner Abe Dababneh. Smoke Inn has teamed up with various manufacturers in the past, to form what they call their MicroBlend Series.

As for marketing, hey, this is Matt Booth here (Psst! Call me <3 ). Match him up with Abe, and 70’s influenced shenanigans ensue. It is downright silly, but, when I think back to the 70’s, the flashbacks I have tie it all together. See the website for more details.

And finally… Thanks to Abe and Smoke Inn for sending me a couple samples to review.

Room_101_Big_Delicious Cigars band

Wrapper: Habano 2000

Binder & Filler: Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican

Size: Torpedo 6.25 x 42-54

Price: $8.95

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper was velvety smooth, yet it had an oily sheen. Sniffing the wrapper and foot, I picked up a mild odor of wood and barnyard. There were some minor inconsistencies in the packing of the cigar, but nothing was of concern. The draw was just a tad snug, but fell within my tolerances. The pre-light draw was woody, leathery, and bitter sweet.

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

1 Room_101_Big_Delicious Cigars

Flavor:

The first third opened up with a smooth woody flavor. Right behind it was an easy pepper, which was similar to cayenne. After about one inch, the spice developed a nice zing, and black coffee joined in. Earthiness was far in the background. The aftertaste was a subtle bitter sweetness.

2 Room_101_Big_Delicious Cigars

Bitter sweetness came through a bit more in the second third. Wood, pepper, and earthiness followed. The aftertaste became sweeter, and took on a slight creamy feel. It reminded me of coffee with a touch of cream.

3 Room_101_Big_Delicious Cigars

The last third had the same basic flavors as before. The biggest difference was the sweetness, which developed into a bitter cocoa. The pepper and bitterness became stronger as I got to the tapered torpedo head. Over all, the flavor profile was richer and fuller bodied.

4 Room_101_Big_Delicious Cigars

Conclusion:

All gimmicks aside, this was a solid medium to full bodied cigar. Looking back on all the Smoke Inn Micro Blend series I’ve had, my favorite remains the Anarchy. That isn’t to say this is bad, it’s just completely different. I think the Big Delicious is worth a try.

Room 101 Namakubi

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

I’m not sure where I got this cigar from. If you gave it to me, let me know, and I’ll give proper credit. For the record, this is a first impressions review. This means I’ve only had one, this one, to review. Normally I have at least two, but I prefer 3 to 5 cigars for a review. Anyway… Namakubi, such a strange name. Apparently is means “Freshly severed head.” I admit it, I think that’s a pretty cool name. The band caught my attention too. From what I could gather, this is a limited cigar, but you can still find it out there on the Internet.

As always, I paired this cigar with filtered, fine Florida tap water. Room temperature mind you. Cold drinks seem to dull my palate.

 

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Generoso Honduran

Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduran

Size: Sucio 7 x 48

Price: Around $9.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The tan, almost reddish colored wrapper was oily, and overall nice looking. It had a split that I was able to repair with pectin. I suspect this flaw was a handling issue, not a construction flaw. The wrapper had a nice cedary odor, and the foot was more of a dark earthiness. Overall, the cigar was firmly and evenly packed. The draw was free, with just the right amount of resistance. The pre-light flavor was an interesting combination of wood and some kind of tanginess.

The burn required one minor correction, and the ash held for about 1.5 inches. About the split wrapper, that was a non issue. It is worth repeating, it was shipping and handling damage.

1 Room_101_Namakubi cigars

Flavor:

The first third had an easy, simple, yet interesting flavor profile. The main flavor was wood. Up next was something that reminded me of tea. When retrohaling, there was almost no spice at all. It was only towards the end of this third that a mild sweet spice reared it’s head. The smoke feel was clingy. By that, I mean it seemed to stick to the inside of the mouth for awhile.

2 Room_101_Namakubi cigars

The second third took on a syrupy sweet feel. This mochish sweetness mixed evenly with a woody flavor. Through the nose, a nice peppery, sweet spice developed. The aftertaste lingered and stuck to the mouth and sinus like before.

3 Room_101_Namakubi cigars

The last third saw the sweet spice increase a bit, and it left a cinnamon tingle on the lips. The sweet spice and creamy smoke feel dominated the flavor profile. Up next was cedar, and a sweet bitter note.

4 Room_101_Namakubi cigars

Conclusion:

This was a good medium, to maybe lower full bodied cigar. I like the gradual buildup of the flavor profile and body. It made the two hour commitment well worth it. Construction, ash, draw, and flavor were all good. Is it worth the asking price? I think so. If you run across them, I’d say pick a couple up.

Room 101 One Shot One Kill

Friday, March 16th, 2012

This cigar is a limited release from Room 101, and is the brain child of Matt Booth. Like other Room 101’s, the OSOK is made in Camacho’s factory in Honduras. I didn’t snap a picture of the box, but they sport some pretty cool artwork. I generally don’t care about packaging or flash, but I admit it caught my eye and I bought some. Marketing does work, I am living proof.

Back to the cigar… It comes in three sizes, the 8 x 60 Chingon, 4.5 x 52 Filero, and 6.5 x 50 Trucha. I guess the deal is, these cigars are rolled by one person due to their complex shape. This resulted in very limited production numbers. As always, I paired this cigar with water…

 

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Honduran

Filler: Dominican

Size: Perfecto “Chingon”  8 x 60

Price: $12.00

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Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The dark brown wrapper had a velvety smooth appearance, yet glistened in the light. No major flaws were found, but there was a 1/2 inch tear towards the middle of the wrapper. The smell of the wrapper was mild barnyard. Sounds gross, but it isn’t. The cigar was a little spongy to the touch, but it didn’t concern me. The pre-light draw had slight resistance, and had a dark coffee and mild bitter sweetness.

The burn required several corrections during the first and second third, but wasn’t anything outrageous. The ash held for just over an inch before falling off.

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Flavor:

The first third started off with a mild cedar. As got out of the tapered perfecto end, the flavors developed a bit. Wood was the dominant flavor, with earthiness, easy pepper, and something else I had trouble pinning down. I’ll call it floral. It’s the closest thing I can think of.

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The second third kept that dominant woody flavor. What I can only describe as floral remained throughout this third as well. The peppery spice developed a little zing, but remained easy to swish around the mouth and through the sinus. Earthiness took a back seat, but it would rear it’s head from time to time. A sweet bitter chocolate appeared and built in strength the more I smoked. The aftertaste became a sweet tingly spice. The smoke feel was dry and I craved water.

4 Room_101_One_Shot_One_Kill cigars

In the last third, the sweet tingly spice took front row along with a dark bitter chocolate. I say bitter but it isn’t a bad bitterness. It is what you would relate to dark chocolate or cooking chocolate, not your standard Milky Way or 7-11 candy bar. This was some rich stuff. Earthiness went away, and that dominant woody flavor fell to the background. All the while, that floral note was wrapped around everything.

5 Room_101_One_Shot_One_Kill cigars

Conclusion:

This was a pretty long winded review, but this was a very good cigar. It started out in the lower medium range and built to a full flavored, full powered experience. I didn’t time how long it took to smoke, but it didn’t matter, it was worth the commitment. A complex flavor profile and changes made this a joy to smoke. I was expecting less. This cigar is worth the money and time, at least in my opinion.

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