Duran Premium Cigars, Henry Clay, San Lotano and Six Zero

I’m having some palate issues lately. I don’t know if it’s a low-grade head cold that is barely there, or what.  I take that into account on the cigars I’ve smoked this week, nothing has been really satisfying or quite right.  I should just not even talk about cigars, but it’s Sunday and I don’t have anything else to do!  My first clue was a Duran Signature robusto.  I first chalked it up to thinking this just Snowmight not be a cold weather cigar. Jack Toraño dropped a challenge on Facebook the other night, offering some prizes which I respectfully asked not to be included, I don’t like entering contests, I like having them! I get enough goodies anyway, I prefer to let other people have the chance. Anyway, he wanted a picture of folks with their dogs, I have one of those. Extra points if you were in the snow, got snow, and additional credit if you’re smoking a cigar, I do that every night. So I grabbed my last Duran. I was going to go for the kill and get a picture of me and Macha, in the snow, smoking a Naya F8 Big Jack, the 7″ x 70 in their line named after Jack, but it was cold and I wasn’t wiling to commit three hours to a cigar just then…that’s an obscenely large cigar. I’ll smoke it one day when it’s warm and I have no place to be for a few hours. Anyway, I enjoyed the cigar, but there was something just not there with the flavor. Granted, this is a refined, complex and delicate blend, and smoking it in the cold sometimes isn’t conducive to the proper enjoyment of such a cigar, but this was the first hint that something was off.

 

HenryClay_StalkCutSo, not wanting to believe I was getting a cold, or that anything was out of the ordinary, I succumbed to the temptation to sample the recently received Henry Clay Stalk Cut. I also can’t help to compare it to the Henry Clay Tattoo, which was a collaboration between Altadis’ Groupo de Maestros and Pete Johnson, and was a very good cigar that was limited, sold out at the trade show last summer, and I wish I had bought more of.  I posted info on this cigar last week, and I didn’t find the wrapper to be as much  “a dark Connecticut Broadleaf Vintage 2012 wrapper” as much as a chocolate-brown wrapper. While I really enjoyed this cigar, and look forward to revisiting it in the near future, I found it milder than I expected too. Neither of  these are a bad thing, it was a great tasting (taking into account my afore-mentioned palate irregularity) and performed flawlessly. I will let the other samples I have rest for a while and see if they match up with my pre-conceived notion of what this cigar should taste like, not that it should taste like what I think it should taste like at all, I just think that if a brand has a certain profile, that should be taken into account with subsequent releases. I don’t imagine this was supposed to be a mild cigar and  blame my palate for that. That was a lot of words to say nothing…

 

SanLotano_Connecticut_LanceroYesterday I took an uncharacteristically early walk with a San Lotano Requiem Connecticut Lancero which was a trade show sample. Since it was before lunch, I wanted something which I perceived would be on the milder side, and this lancero jumped out at me. This is a 7″ x 38 lancero with a pigtail cap, very pretty and traditional.  The wrapper is a Equador Connecticut shade with Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and AJ Fernandez proprietary leaf.  This is a the cigar that really made me pain fully aware that something’s wrong with my palate. This was very bitter-tasting, off-puttingly so. I kept inspecting the head of the cigar to see if there was tar oozing from it, but there was not. Except for the bitter flavor it was a really enjoyable cigar to smoke (I know, weird, right?). The burn and draw were great and I smoked it well beyond the band (because I’m an optimist).  I have a lot of lanceros, and I’m always amazed at the skill it takes to roll this cigar to make it work right.  I look forward to smoking this again on a warm day, with a properly functioning palate.  I think this was a great smoke that I wasn’t physically able to appreciate.

 

SixZero_RoboloSo, in a last-ditch effort to see if it actually is my palate that’s off, I went with a cigar that I’ve smoked a bunch of and I feel like I’m familiar with. The Six Zero Robolo is a BestCigarPrices.com exclusive that’s made at Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic, the same factory responsible for Aging Room, Señorial and so many other great cigars. This is a San Andres wrapped 4½” x 60 cigar that is generally loaded with rich, espresso flavors that hit me right. While this had a great flavor, it was a bit muted, confirming that I’m just not tasting things right.  I have a few review samples I’m sitting on that I was going to smoke for Wednesday’s post, but I think I[‘m going to wait a bit. I really hate it when this happens. Anyway, I dig the Six Zero, and the Robolo size is a bit of a guilty pleasure, it just works for me, what can I say. I always said I liked the Nub cigars, but wished they were longer. This one is a little longer and it’s just about right for me.  I know, I’m weird.

 

That’s a whole lotta nuthin from me for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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9 Comments

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9 Responses to Duran Premium Cigars, Henry Clay, San Lotano and Six Zero

  1. It’s a shame your palate is off; those Duran’s are so tasty. I hope things improve soon so you can fully enjoy your cigars.

  2. Swede214

    Good review, I enjoyed your thoughts, hope you feel better soon. Thanks Craig

  3. Mike Perry

    Maybe you could send some cigars to a trusted friend and let him do some reviews for you – a Special Guest blogger…? Or maybe just let Macha take over! 😉

  4. Dan Colley

    Too bad about the palate being off. I was really looking forward to hearing about the Henry Clay Stalk Cut. Here’s hoping your taster will reach a higher level of functionality, and do it quickly. On occasion, I have to take some medications that really throw my sense of taste a-kilter. Bitter taste and cotton mouth. I hate it when that happens. Better luck next week. We have an MD in our cigar forum and he says that he’s starting to see cases of influenza showing up in his office, so here’s hoping that it’s nothing like that !!!

  5. Patrick

    I too am looking forward to the Henry clay stalk cut.
    You may also have a slight sinus infection that will dull the palate. Hope it gets better soon.
    Life is good

  6. jjo

    So, you’re admitting you have no taste? 😉 I find that the cold weather sometimes does weird things to my perception of flavor. Hope yours returns to normal soon.

  7. Charlie H.

    That Stalk-Cut is the same blend as the Tattoo..on paper.

    So tomorrow…Feb. 1st is the beginning of Lancero February!

  8. Jared

    The dog looks happy in the picture…. That is the little dog.

  9. TriMarkC

    I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, Craig! Hope you can shake it quickly, and get back to some fun cigars again! I’ll wait til you re-review these to make any decisions.