RoMEo Añejo, Aging Room DeSocio and a Liga Privada Aniversario

I have said many times over the last year or so that the RoMEo Añejo is a cigar I want to like. I don’t know exactly why I want to like it, perhaps its to find something in the Romeo y Julieta portfolio to call a favorite, or the fact that it has a Broadleaf wrapper and I “should” like it.  I tried my third one this week, a Torpedo, and I didn’t have the tight draw problems I’ve had in the past, or the over-humidified steamy smoke. Granted, this is less of a manufacturing problem and more of a storage problem, but who has the time to identify and segregate cigars that happen to smoke better at a lower humidity? If I can’t keep all my cigars (or a retailer for that matter, because at least one of the previous cigars I had trouble with came right off the retailers shelf) in the same humidor and have them smoke well I.m not happy. So I lit up the Añejo torpedo and had a nice, reasonable draw, and upon lighting it up I had mouthfuls of potent, rich smoke. I thought the line had redeemed itself in my eyes, until I hit a dead spot in the middle of the cigar. Once again, I want to like this cigar, but three strikes, ya know?  Fortunately the RoMEo 505 came along filling the void left by the Añejo, I really like that one!

Yesterday was  a beautiful Saturday with unseasonably high temperatures, so after getting some things done around the house and running some errands, I sat down with a fun looking little cigar that had been in the humidor for a while, I’m thinking since IPCPR 2015. I believe it was from the 2015 show because the Aging Room Quattro F55 DeSocio is an exclusive for the Alliance Cigar wholesaler group, and I remember meeting folks from that company in the Boutique Blends booth. The DeSocio is a 5¾” x 47 perfecto with a pigtail cap and a box press, so it seems smaller than the numbers would let you believe. Something about a lot of the Aging Room cigars has a tendency to effect me negatively nicotine-wise, not sure why, so I tend to let them age for as long as possible before I smoke them. This was a tasty little treat, with a Sumatra wrapper, and Dominican Habano filler and binder. It started out with a concerningly tight draw, but after about 30 seconds it opened up and was perfect. It had some sweetness and spice in the flavor and was very enjoyable. I did take a nap afterwards, but that didn’t have anything to do with the cigar. Like I said before, the box press makes this seem smaller than it is, I think I smoked it for an hour and a half. As with the majority of the output of Tabacalera Palma, this is a very good cigar.

Last September, probably, I was at a Drew Estate Event at the Wooden Indian, and I did something I don’t usually do. Part of whatever deal they had going was that if you bought so many cigars you were allowed to buy a special cigar, in this case I ended up with a $16 Liga Privada Anniversario toro. I fell for it, I figured I liked Ligas, so chances were good I’d like it and it mike make for an interesting blog entry. This was one of those cigars that they had to get out into the market before the FDA deadline of August 8 last year, they were on display at the IPCPR show, and there were rumors that they were also releasing a 100th anniversary cigar thinking ahead to the future (this one, presumably, was for the 10th anniversary). I’ve been looking around for information on this cigar, the overall appearance is prettier than the No.9 wrapper, it’s more smooth and consistent, less rustic. Smoking it is a little more refined I think, there’s something smoother about it than the regular Liga 9. It was a good smoke, it functioned well, had a good burn and draw, and was satisfying, but it lacked the “pop” to me that No.9 has. I’d be interested to see more information on this cigar, there’s no mention of it on the Drew Estate Website, or the Diplomat app. I suppose I’ll have to harass the new social media guy there about this. It was a good cigar, I think for the price I should be amazed and not just satisfied, but that’s just me. While I don’t regret the purchase, I stick with my assertion that I’d buy two Nica Rusticas to one Liga every day of the week.

Today I’m thinking back six years to the time I met Guillermo Leon of La Aurora Cigars at the Wooden Indian after the birth of my first grandchild. We’ll be paying her a visit t, and will likely smoke something from La Aurora today at some point. I celebrated the birth of both my granddaughters with La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003s, and I have two more in the humidor. Not that I envision any more grandkids anytime soon, I hope, but they are there waiting for the day. Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig