Gran Habano, Martinez and Foundry Cigars

GranHabano_Gran Reserva No5 2010_GranRobustoThe weather’s been all over the place this week, from 70 on Monday to a few inches of heavy, wet snow today.  Between the weather, trying to get stuff done in the house so we can move in this weekend, and Thanksgiving tomorrow, it’s been a busy week. I still managed to get a few cigars in, they are helping me retain any sanity I have left.  I started off Sunday afternoon with a nice cigar from Gran Habano, the Gran Reserva No. 5 2010 Gran Robusto. This is a 6″ x 54 toro presented with a cedar sleeve.  The wrapper and binder are identified as Corojo 2005 and Habano 2005 respectively, with filler from Jalapa.  I’m not entirely sure where the 2010 comes into play, or whether the 2005 wrapper and binder are crop years, but this is a really nice cigar. It burned perfectly and had a nice smooth spice. This was a full flavors smoke and considering it’s priced well, has the taste and feel of the well aged cigar that it apparently is.  Certainly a cigar that would have a broad appeal and could be smoked just about any time.

 

Martinez_Pasion_550Monday’s cigar was delicious, but it was a little over humidified, so I’ll revisit it at a later date. It didn’t smoke they way it should have and I always give cigars the benefit of the doubt when they don’t  work right.  Tuesday I decided to try a cigar I bought when I was in New York City a few weeks ago and visited the Martinez Cigar factory. This cigar was from their Pasion line, which is a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers with a Nicaraguan wrapper rolled right in New York City.  When I tell you this factory is small, I’m not exaggerating. They have one and a half pairs of IMG_0625rollers! One roller concentrates on one line and makes a bunch of their small cigars every day, and a pair works in the normal fashion of a buncher and a wrapper.  They age all their cigars in a basement escaparate.  It’s a tiny little hole in the wall near Penn Station. The Pasion is a little rustic looking, but it had a free draw and had a very Cuban feel to way it smoked. The flavor had a nice spice and was smooth.  This is a place to visit when in the big apple, especially if you’ve never seen cigars being rolled.  The cigars are in the $8 to $10 range for the most part,  which isn’t uncommon for NYC.

 

Foundry_RareAir_ET-P2Tonight, in the snow, I smoked a Foundry Rare Air ET-P2 in a 5 ½” x49 robusto (the same size as the Partagas Robusto, which is an unusual size that I really like).  The story with the Rare Air series is that they used some seeds from the 1960s that General Cigar has in their library of seeds, germinated and grown on their farm in Mao in the Dominican Republic. I had the good fortune to visit Mao in 2011, although it was before the growing season and was just being planted with some experimental crops unrelated to Foundry.  As with most of the Foundry lines, there is little info about the blend, except that it’s grown in the Dominican Republic. I personally have really enjoyed the majority of cigars in the Foundry portfolio, DSCN2324and this was no different. It’s a dark cigar, with rich, lush flavors that suit my palate to a tee. It also has a little different something there that makes it unique, and special.  This is one of those cigars that could be a go-to smoke, it’s a shame it’s limited.  I’ll be interested to see how the other cigars in this line smoke. There are a lot of very reasonably priced cigars in the Foundry line, alas, this isn’t one, coming in just under $10.  A fine smoke in my humble opinion.

 

That’s it for now.  For all my American readers, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Try to find time to follow your feast with a nice smoke. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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5 Responses to Gran Habano, Martinez and Foundry Cigars

  1. Dan Colley

    I used to smoke a lot of the Gran Habano 2002 cedar-wrapped Robustos. For a couple of years, I bought quite a few bundles of them and never had a problem, but my last shipment, about a year ago, had a very odd flavor about it. It was a moldy or flavor like mildew. A friend had obtained some from a different source and he noted the same thing. I’m became a bit gun-shy but your review just might get me back to what I thought was a very good line of cigars in an excellent price range.

    Well, I see that Foundry strikes again. I still have fond memories of the Foundry 1968 and 2014. If this one is half as good, it will be wonderful. It appears that GC has a winner in this product line. Like you, I enjoy smoking that Partigas 5 1/2 x 49 size. That one size difference in the RG is enough to notice but not enough to impact the flavor of the cigar much, and who doesn’t like an extra half inch on their cigar?

    Enough of my yakking. I hope that you have an excellent holiday. I know that I have so much to be thankful for that my Thanksgiving couldn’t be anything but good.

  2. jjo

    Craig, I believe the Gran Habano #5 2010 was rolled in that year and set aside to age for a few years. I’ll have to pick up on some, since I did enjoy the 2008’s that I smoked.

    I hope that you and your family have a terrific Thankgiving!

  3. Mark

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Craig.

  4. Patrick

    Best holiday ever, food, family, fun, and football. Enjoy mates!

  5. Philly Cigar Guy

    Craig, Happy Thanksgiving (Yes, I will find time for a holiday smoke. Make it something good! Perhaps a Padron?)