I’ve been sampling through the range of cigars by Flor de Gonzalez over the last few days. I have smoked a few of their mixed filler line and enjoyed them, they make a tasty Churchill and large torpedo in the $2 range. I won a 5-pack of the 90 Miles robustos a few years ago and enjoyed them quite a bit. I was introduced to Yadi Gonzalez at the IPCPR show by Antonio Lam of Reinado Cigars and got to sit down with her for a few minutes and hear about what’s new.
I was interested to try the 1980. When Yadi said it had a San Andreas wrapper AND an Ecuador Broadleaf binder I was very interested. It was a darned good smoke, although maybe I jumped the gun smoking it so soon after bringing it back from Vegas. It will be an awesome smoke all the way through in another month or two. The one I smoked was incredible up until the last third, which had a hint of ammonia, which is why I think another few months in the humidor will benefit the cigar. I’m looking forward to smoking more of these.
The Reserva Selecta in the No. 4 size (5 3/4 x 48) has a neat pigtail cap and is a very smooth, subtle and refined smoke. This one gave me a lot of enjoyment sitting on the back patio on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It burned perfectly and I easily could have lit another one right away. I thought this cigar was very different from the others in it’s delicacy and complexity. This is the cigar you smoke in a tuxedo, although I thought it was darned good in the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing. Very good!
The 90 Miles Churchill was a longer version of the robustos I’d enjoyed in the past. One thing that struck me while I smoked this was how I’ve come to feel like a 7” x 47 cigar isn’t a really big cigar any more. The 60+ ring gauge cigars obviously dwarf what used to be considered a large cigar, and I guess I’ve become desensitized. Funny that a corona doesn’t seem like a toothpick or anything, but the 47-52 rings seem smaller. That’s neither here nor there, the 90 Miles Churchill is a nice, solid smoke for any time of day.
The Q-ban Fuerte is a full bodied Nicaraguan cigar. The foot of this cigar had a dark core, likely the ligero, that comprised about half of the cigar. I really enjoyed the flavor, but again some humidor time is going to do wonders for this cigar. If I had to line these up in order of preference, this would come in in the middle, with the 1980 being first, the regular line being fourth, and the Q-ban and Reserva Selecta exchanging places depending on my mood. All four lines were very enjoyable and cigars I’d reach for again and again, and would be happy sharing with friends.
That’s all I have for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
