Ramon Allones Superiores

Headed over to the shop today to enjoy a smoke, and decided to have something out of my 'good stuff' stash and picked out the Ramon Allones Superiores from the 2010 La Casa del Habano release.   This cigar is a Corona Gorda a with a beautiful, leathery, light brown wrapper, and only had a production size of 5000 boxes of 10.  As a lover of all things Ramon Allones and Corona Gorda, I'm really looking forward to this smoke!


Pre-light - Not much smell, but a bit of sweetness and grass.  The draw has a perfect tug to it.


First Third -The Superiores starts out with a blast of hay, leather, and creamy coffee it a fitting light-medium body.  The draw is fantastic with thick smoke and a very nice dark gray ash.  About a half inch in some heavier leather and coffee flavors come out, though balanced by creaminess. 

Second Third - There is a bit of spice and nuttiness in this third, combined with the still tasty creamy coffee and some hay.  The body is still medium-ish and the construction continues to be spot on.  It is an effortless, tasty smoke!


Third Third - The flavors in the last third are similar to the second, with a bit more sweetness added to the coffee, leather, nut and creamy flavors.  Definitely a complex combination that flows together perfectly.  Construction is great, and the draw produces a cool smoke even to the nub.

Conclusion and Score - I absolutely loved this cigar.  The rich, complex mix of creamy and hay flavors with the darker nut and leather notes created an exquisite experience.  Certainly not as full in body as the regular production RA, the Superiores was light-medium, though not losing anything in the flavor department.  I'd love to see these become a regular size, as I loved the size of the stick (and obviously the flavors.)  For me this was worth a 94 point rating, one of the best I've had in a while! 

Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos

The last few weeks have been stressful with school work (summer classes for Co-op- ugh!), and I haven't had the chance to smoke too often. I'm gonna try and make up for that today by pulling out something interesting- the Ramon Allones Regional Edition for the 2009 Asian Pacific, the Celestiales Finos. This stick has a reputation of being on the stronger side, though the wrapper looks a bit lighter than the other RAs I've had in the past few years. Either way, hopefully it turns out well because I am a huge fan of Ramon Allones, and this will be my first special release from the brand.

Smoking outside by the pool tonight, drinking iced coffee and cold water. Cut is a palio, and lit with a torch.

Pre-light - The wrapper is a light brown with an almost orange hue. I have seen a variety of wrapper shades on these, so this isn't surprising. There are a few lumps, but it feels nice and has a great draw- more on the easy side.

First Third - The Celestiales Finos opens with a huge cloud of thick white smoke, some cedary spice, wood, and vegetal-coffee flavors (if that makes sense). The strength doesn't seem too full right away, but the flavor definitely leans toward full bodied. Burn is average, but the draw is perfect. Guess I'm lucky in that area, as many smokers reported a stiff tug. I'm intrigued by the development of the flavors, it is an interesting and well rounded combo.

Second Third - I'm really diggin' the flavors at this point, with hay, wood, cedar and some coffee melding together well. Cuba's typical 'twang' isn't really there the strength had definitely picked up... it is not a cigar for the feint of heart. The burn and ash are still a bit ragged, but the draw is absolutely perfect. Coffee was a great choice for this cigar, and would be highly recommended.

Third Third - The flavors are still holding my attention well, though they have not changed much from the second third; possibly a bit more coffee at this point, though hay still leading the pack. The burn has evened out a bit, while the draw is still flawless. While this stick doesn't show any similarities to the regular production RAs (or many other CCs at all), it is a great experience. Conclusion and Score - I've gotta say that this was quite a 'different' smoke in the flavor department. The flavors of the Celestiales Finos were rich, with a vegetal type coffee, hay, and some wood that were brought together in a refreshing full bodied smoke. Strength was a pretty big factor in this cigar after the first third, and if you can find one, eat a nice meal before smoking it- by far the strongest CC I have ever had. Even with a less than desirable burn/ash, I would give this smoke a 90 rating, with a bit of room for improvement after some aging. As it stands though, a fine example of exotic flavors in young Cuban tobacco. Will be looking for more!