This week I want to highlight a new cigar line from Mel Shah, the owner of Fame Lounge, an upscale cigar, wine and microbrew lounge located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. You may be asking yourself where the MBombay name comes from. Mel was born in Bombay, India, before the name was changed to Mumbai. When he wanted to name his wine Bombay, he found that there was a gin company who had the trademark for Bombay, so he named it MBombay. When he created the cigars, he used the same name, the bands on the cigars are the same as the wine bottle label. The company is called Bombay Tobak. The MBombay is available in two lines, the Classic and the Maduro. The blends and sizes break down as follows:
The Classic Line
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut 2001
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Peru
The Classic line is available in five sizes: Corona (5″ x 43),
Robusto (4.5″ x 48), Belisoco (5″ x 52), Perfecto (a figurado 6 x
50) and Churchill (7″ x 48). The retail price ranges from $8.50
to $11.50.
The Maduro Line
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina 2007
Binder: Peru
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, and Dominican Republic
The Maduro line is available in four sizes: Robusto (4.5″ x 48), Perfecto
(a figurado 6 x 50), Churchill (7″ x 48) and a Double Corona (7″ x 52).
The retail price ranges from $10.00 to $13.50.
Interestingly, to me at least, these are made in the same factory in Costa Rica that makes the Atabey, Byron and Bandolero cigars for Nelson Alphonso (distributed by David Garofalo of Two Guys Smokeshop, United Cigar Retailers and The Cigar Authority). They are pricey, but compared to the Atabey and Byron lines they are downright reasonable. These are showing up in stores in the southern California area now, and I hope these receive wider distribution so everyone gets a chance to try them. I’ve smoked the Maduro Churchill, the Classic Belicoso, and the Classic Churchill over the last few days.
Those who have been following me can guess which cigar I selected first. Monday I reached for the MBombay Maduro Churchill. The Churchills in this line are nearly the classic size, 7″ x 48, and have a dark and oily Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. This cigar was a real delight to smoke. It was perfectly constructed, drawing perfectly with a V cut. The burn was dead even, and the ash dropped in solid one inch chunks. The flavor was a delicious mix of cocoa and coffee, with a hint of spice and fell solidly in the medium bodied range. I enjoyed this one until it threatened to burn my fingers, it was among the most enjoyable cigars I’ve smoked in a long time.
Tuesday we went out to dinner to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and it was raining buckets when we got home. I opened the garage door and lit up the MBombay Classic Belicoso. This great looking 5″ x 52 figurado is dominated by the ornate and rather large band. Once again, the construction is perfect, and once again, I used a V cut, but eventually I lopped the end off with my scissors just to see if it made any difference. It made the draw a little more open, but I could easily have fully enjoyed the cigar with the V cut, even though it was a Belicoso. The flawless Ecuador Connecticut wrapper gave it a creaminess that was really nice, and while it was milder than the Maduro, it was very flavorful. Another winner.
Tonight I chose the MBombay Classic Churchill for my evening walk. Like the other cigars, this cigar features an uncut foot, so it lights very easily and gives a nice blast of the wrapper flavor right at the start. I like the unfinished foot feature on a cigar, it’s far more useful than a fancy pigtail head. This also had the creamy flavor of the Belicoso, and shared the exceptional construction of the other two. Once again, I smoked this one to a finger-burning nub. The Classic line appears to be another excellent cigar in the genre of the flavorful Connecticut Shade cigars. I found them all smooth, well balanced and a very satisfying cigar experience. This particular factory in Costa Rica seems to be routinely producing exceptional cigars, and the MBombay is apparently another. The three cigars I smoked over the last three days were so good I’m afraid whatever I pick for tomorrow evening will be a let down!
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
