My appreciation for the Arandoza line goes back to early in 2013 when I smoked my first Arandoza Blue. I have since smoked a number of Blues, a bunch of Whites, my favorite, the Red, and some of the Defcon they released last year. I love them all, but particularly the Red, which is a heavy, lush San Andrés maduro with some horsepower. This year Robert Arango celebrates his fifth year with his fifth release, the limited edition 5th Anniversary. This is limited to 500 boxes of ten, is a Nicaraguan puro with a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. It’s offered in a 6″ x 52 toro only, and, like the rest of the line, is made in Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory. At the show I spent the better part of an hour just hanging out with Robert and his wife Pilar just talking about dogs and family and normal, regular stuff. It was one of my favorite moments of the show, just having real life conversations with friends.
Tonight I pulled out the Arandoza 5th Anniversary for my evening walk. As it was hot and humid, I left Macha at home in the air conditioning, sometimes it’s too hot for doggies. The cigar started out with a blast of strength and spice, a great sign as far as I’m concerned. After about an inch or so the cigar either settled down, or my palate adjusted and the cigar became a smooth and delicious smoke, with good savory flavors. I really enjoyed the cigar and look forward to finding some in stores. IPCPR samples are fine, but they’ve often been through a lot of environmental changes. It seems like most cigars I’ve smoked from La Zona have been quite good. It was nice that several of the brands made at that factory were clustered together in one area. Good stuff.
The cigar industry lost a giant this past weekend, Carlos Fuente passed away. I never got the opportunity to meet him, but his legacy is left, not only in one of the great cigar companies and cigars, but in the humanitarian work he did in the Dominican Republic, building schools and giving the children of his factory workers a chance to improve their place in the world. My sincere condolences to the family. I smoked a delicious Magnum R on Sunday (I had no Don Carlos on hand).
That’s all for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
I love the whole line but the red is heads up my favorite.
Life is good.