Appearance / Pre-light:
Just released at the 2012 IPCPR, the new Aging Room Small Batch Quattro is a pressed (square, but almost rounded at the corners) cigar featuring a 9 year old Indonesian Sumatra wrapper. This Sumatra tobacco was said by Rafael Nodal, owner of Aging Room Cigars, to be found in Europe at a now defunct machine made cigar factory. The fillers and binders are a Dominican-grown, Habano-seed tobacco. The original Aging Room M356 was a fantastic cigar, scoring well with critics and also with our customers, so I was eager to try this new blend. The Quattro is well constructed, packed with tobacco and encased in a chocolate brown smooth yet toothy wrapper. Although well filled, just a minor snip of the tip of the pyramid shaped head opened up what seems to be a nice airway. The pre-light draw gives off a hint of sweet tobacco flavor with a bit of salty, sweet leather. Let's get on with it shall we?

Aging Room Small Batch Quattro F55 Maestro

First Third:
Right off the bat, the cigar draws ample smoke that fills my mouth with leathery, nutty smoke with some nice spice on the retrohale. The Aging Room SB Quattro starts off with a very interesting profile of flavor, mostly earthy meaty flavors, leather, cedar and the like with a dry finish on the palate. The cigar produces a ton of smoke with an effortless draw, but does not smoke or burn hot. Possibly a positive effect of the box press? The F55 is a medium in body with an aroma that matches the flavor notes of cigar, woodsy smokey flavors.

Aging Room Small Batch Quattro F55 Maestro

Second Third:
As the cigar moves into the second third, most of the aforementioned flavors continue with an enjoyable creaminess starting to build, more pronounced spice, and a very, very mild hint of sweetness. I would say one of the biggest differences from the original Aging Room blend is the lack of the sweeter element. Although different, I don't think it's bad per say, because sweetness can have such a strong effect on the pallet, it sometimes overpowers subtle earthier and more savory flavors. As the cigar continues to progress, it seems to hit a stride, with all the flavors melding into an enjoyable, balanced experience. The burn and draw are spot on, almost perfect, I think I may have touched it up twice total. This would be by far the most enjoyable part of the cigar, the blend is working very well here.

Aging Room Small Batch Quattro F55 Maestro

Final Third:
The Quattro has reached it's medium - full body strength potential in it's final third, with little further variation as far as flavor. The cigar has shown failry complex depth so far with a variety of flavors throughout. There's no mistaking the aged Sumatra wrapper plays a major role in the flavor of this cigar. Without the age, the Quattro blend may not have pulled together all these flavors into an enjoyable balance. Luckily it's had nine years to ripen up and become a headliner. Toward the end of the smoke, peppery spice was ramped up a bit. Smoked like a champ down to the nub, a truly enjoyable experience.

Aging Room Small Batch Quattro F55 Maestro

Overall:
Aging Room has once again created an extremely unique blend, marrying a well aged, earthy Sumatran wrapper with some flavorful Havana seed Dominican tobacco. The construction and burn performance was excellent, and the blending and balance was absolutely superb. These should be arriving in our stores and online very soon. I would definitely recommend the cigar for anyone who enjoys the unique flavor of Sumatra wrappers, or is looking for an interesting change of pace.

Currently rated 3.6 by 8 people

Tags: AGING ROOM, SMALL BATCH F55, QUATTRO, IPCPR 2012, SUMATRA, HABANO SEED, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, HAVANO SEED, RAFAEL NODAL, OLIVEROS

Categories: Product Reviews, IPCPR Watch

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Schrader Hispaniola - Sparky Doco-Est MMIX
By GC
10/13/2011 10:54:00 AM

Comments(0)

Background:

Schrader Hispaniola cigars are a project by Fred Schrader, a successful proprietor of the wine industry. Manufactured by Para Ti, a small factory in the Dominican Republic, the cigars will be released as limited production Vintages as they become available. The first release, what I will be reviewing today, is the hand rolled Sparky Doco-Est MMIX, a 7 1/2 x 41/50/56 torpedo shape, packaged in a coffin, available in boxes of 10. The cigar is created from 100% aged vintage Dominican Tobacco. 3 Fillers, a 2001 Corojo (Ligero), a 2005 Havana Vuelta Arriba (Ligero), and a 2008 Criollo ’98 (Viso) with a binder of 2008 Dominican Crilollo ’98 (Seco), and a gorgeous wrapper of 2001 Honduran Colorado Habana (Viso). This is no daily smoke, with an MSRP being $26.95, this one is designed for special occasions or collecting.

Appearance / Construction:

Just by looking at the cigar you can tell that this is something special. From the wood- coffin to the wonderful unique Salomon-type shape, the Schrader Sparky's presentation screams special edition . The cigar has an expertly applied, wonderful aged, wrapper that has an oily soft feel to the touch. The Sparky is firm, but not overly packed. Most interesting is the business end, which has a small blossom of tobacco sticking out from the bottom like a fuse ready to light this rare specimen. After clipping the perfectly applied cap the cold draw, a bit loose, has some nice earthy, grassy flavors with a bit of sweetness on the finish. *Side note, my sinuses are a bit crippled this morning so I'm probably not going to be able to pick out all the eccentricities of this cigar, and I feel like it has a lot.

First Third:

The lighting preparation was very similar to firing up a Salomon, making sure to get an even burn on the small nipple extrudes from the foot. The Sparky starts out with a looser draw, with a good amount of smoke output containing an earthy leathery, woody flavor with some sweetness and spice right off the bat. The burn and draw are pretty much spot on as the cigar progresses with a few touch-ups needed here and there. Fred Schrader has definitely created something very complex here. I'm really enjoying the spicy and creamy flavors, along with the billows of chewy smoke the cigar produces. The shape is a really unique one, and I'm finding it really fun to smoke. At this point the foot is around 56 at least and the other end is an extreme difference at around 41 or so ring gauge. The cigar is probably medium at this point but I definitely see it working it's way into medium-full if not completely full.

Second Third:

As the second third opens up I am greeted with a blast of pepper spice… The Schrader Hispaniola Sparky has some kick after all! While many may have some sticker shock with the Schrader Hispanolia line, you can tell as you smoke the Sparky, that quality, aged tobaccos and some very good quality control was employed during the creation of this cigar. It's said that Fred Schrader oversee's the process to ensure a proper end product. A cigar absolutely for special occasions, but even more exciting for me, the Sparky is a cigar for special occasions for full body cigar smokers! The cigar continues to pump out volumes of spicy, chewy smoke with an earthy, woody base and aroma. The sweetness that was prevalent in the first third has taken a back seat.

Last Third:

More spicy, earthy goodness. Elements of cedary wood and pepper. If you do not like a spicy full body, complex smoke this is not for you. While I'm not getting a huge nicotine buzz, the cigar has definitely reached full in all areas. Did I say this cigar was spicy?? I mean wow, I'm enjoying it, but this particular specimen is comparable to Thai food with some Sriracha hot chili sauce liberally applied. I've been smoking this baby for well over two hours now, so as with all large perfecto's set aside a nice chunk of time to enjoy this cigar. With the general taper of the cigar the final inch or so has gathered a lot of power. I put the Sparky down with less than an inch due to some heat and a bit too much spicy mouthfeel.

Overall:

Wow, what an interesting ride. From start to finish, the cigar takes you through a complex journey, providing a lot of interesting flavors, a great draw and burn and overall a unique spicy experience. The big question.. Is it worth $26.95? Well.. unfortunately that's for you to decide. In my humble opinion, when spending that much cash, I generally tend to point myself in the direction of the nearest Padron, possibly a Davidoff creation.. However, adding a few of these unique creations to my collection is definitely going to happen, it's a great cigar that I think any full-body cigar aficionado should add to his stash. I'm sure I'll be reaching for another one soon. To check our stock visit the brand page on our website for Schrader Hispaniola Sparky Doco-Est MMIX.

Currently rated 0 by 0 people

Tags: Schrader Hispaniola, Sparky Doco-Est MMIX, Fred Schrader, Para Ti, Dominican Republic,

Categories: Product Reviews

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