House of Emilio February Newsletter

The Best of the Boutiques 

News and Reviews from and about the House of Emilo

Family of Cigars

Review of the Bodega Cigars Digestivo by The Smoking Greek: "The Digestivo was a flavorful, well constructed introduction to the line for me. Knowing the Bodega family’s passion for tasty cigars, food, and beverage I had high hopes. The Digestivo didn’t fail to meet my expectations. The whole experience encapsulated, for me, the idea behind Bodega’s philosophy of the lifestyle."  Link

 Casas Fumando reviewed the Ezra Zion Eminence: "just how great Mexican San Andreas is as a wrapper when it is blended correctly, and that’s exactly what these boys did with the Eminence. They created a bold, flavorful experience leading off with great maduro flavors followed up with some awesome sweetness which then evens out to finish off creamy and smooth. You can’t really ask for much more in terms of experience. The construction was on point, and the price is within reason."  Link

From Dan Gumm's Cheap Ash Reviews, on the 1502 Cigars Emerald Perfecto:  "I found the cold draw free with notes of rich tobacco and brown sugar as the main flavors, while at the same time the wrapper left a slight sweetness on my lips."

"Overall I thought the 1502 Emerald Perfecto was a fantastic cigar. The complexity of the flavor mix actually took me by surprise and the coffee with cream finish was superb! Hopefully this review shows the consistent quality that goes in to each cigar they produce."  Review Here

Bourbon & Broadleaf declared the Nomad S307 a "must smoke" in their review: "The strength almost seems too perfect at a solid medium. The flavors were not too rich and did not jump around throughout the cigar.  These spice and pepper flavors stayed the entire journey of the smoking experience.  It mellowed out towards the end in a light sweet finish with great leather notes finishing off the puff."

Read the review here

Casas Fumando reviewed the Epicurean Cigars AG Azul: "The performance of the AG Azul 2008 was exceptional, allowing me to sit back and relax for almost 2 hours. The cedar and pepper made up the core of the profile but the shifts in the intensity of the spice, sweetness, and cocoa finish made this an engaging ride. The flavors were medium/full and the strength ended right around the same range." Link here

Stogies on the Rocks reviewed the Bodega Premium Blends Aperitivo: "From the beginning, I am greeted by the sweetness that I got from the aroma.  It is pretty close to molasses, so that’s how I will describe it.  That note mixes well with earth, wood, and a mild white pepper.  As this section develops, some savory and floral notes jump in the mix as well."

"It definitely seems like the type of cigar you would start the night out with friends with.  Taking what the Aperitivo aims to be in mind, I say it is right on the mark!"   Read the full review here 

2 Gentlemen Review had this  to say about the 1502 Cigars Emerald:  "As a cigar lover, I am always impressed with a blenders ability to make cigars so complex. I love when flavors change, and give the palate a swift kick. It really is amazing. However, something I love even more is when a blender crafts a cigar with such great flavors that constant changes are not needed."

"This is a box worthy cigar, and it is on my short list of box purchases."

The full review is at this link

Robusto Cigar Babe gives her take on the Bodega Cigars Digestivo:  "a bittersweet cocoa emerges and a touch of espresso with the spicy peppers subsiding just a little and my palate begins to get acquainted with a creamy taste. Then all of a sudden a delectable sweet black cherry emerges that compliments the cocoa very nicely and then after a few puffs it fades into a complex leather with some accented sweetness"   Read the complete review here

Cigar Memoir reviewed the Emilio Cigars AF2: "This impeccably constructed torpedo was enveloped in a nearly flawless, dark toffee colored wrapper."

"The savory aspects of the AF2 reached their climax in the final third. Surprisingly, the leather came on strongest, becoming the singular note in the AF2 while the cayenne dropped to an undertone. The pine-wood transitioned into a flavor more reminiscent of oak, while waning slightly in strength. A new dimension introduced itself during the final third, hazelnut, which was the first appearance of a nutty note."  Full review here
 

Cigar Nubs reviewed the Bodega Reunion Digestivo: "By the halfway point, a slight peppery spice has shown up, while the dried fruit and raisin has faded a bit, allowing a rich and creamy earth to settle in. There is a still a fair amount of sweetness, maintaining that delicious balance you’d hope to find in a premium cigar."  Read the full review here

Dan Gumm reviewed the Emilio Cigars AF1 and rated it a 94! : "After toasting the foot and lighting the cigar, the first two draws are a mix of black pepper and cocoa. After the initial black pepper is gone the flavor changes to a medium body mix of cocoa, tobacco and toast. As the burn progresses toward the cigar’s mid point the cocoa notes change to more of a semi-sweet chocolate flavor. In the final half the flavor shifts to a mix of coffee, cream, chocolate and charcoal. This flavor mix is what I call “burnt mocha”, and it’s my all time favorite flavor mix, giving this cigar a long, flavor bomb finish."

The full review can be viewed here

Cigar Tipsters reviews the Bodega Cigars Reunion Digestivo: "Talk about dessert, this cigar reminded me a little of chocolate covered cherries, but not in a syrupy calorie laden way. Midway through the smoke a delicious wine soaked oak emerges, mixing very nicely with the leather, earth and touches of pepper and cocoa. I think this is when I realized that I didn't want this cigar to end. The Digestivo never got too hot to handle so when I smoked it down to almost the nub, I wasn't shocked when my mind starting thinking about smoking another one"

Full Review Here 

Catfish Bluezz reviewed the 1502 Cigars Ruby on Cigar Federation:  "Final Third: The coffee and cocoa flavors became much darker at this point, leaning towards dark cocoa and espresso flavors.  The retrohale left a distinct sweetness that was the key to the balance of the blend with the darker draw notes.  Underneath everything lied the pepper and cedar still, with the sweetness bringing the draw and retro together for a symphony of flavor.  I did find a soft spot, which was the culprit of the weird burn, and took a touchup.  That did not affect my notes though, and I sat back and enjoyed the final inch"  Review here

Video reviews this month

Rodrigo Cigars La Fortaleza by Cigar Review TV

1502 Cigars Black Gold by Beard Cigar Beard

Nomad Cigars S 307 by Cigar Review TV

Emilio Cigars AF2 by Half Ashed

1502 Cigars Ruby by Beard Cigar Beard

And by the way Dora Paoletti Lilly. I will love you until the day I die. Thank you for being my inspiration.

House of Emilio January Newsletter

"The Best of the Boutiques"

A recap of news and reviews from around the web in January, 2014

It seems as though this winter has been especially harsh in many areas of the country, but despite that folks have still managed to get in a bit of time to smoke. I've decided to create this monthly summary of all the good news from around the web about the House of Emilio rather than continue my annual summary, which has gotten quite cumbersome. I hope you enjoy this.

I'll give credit to all sources, but if I happen to miss giving proper credit please just let me know, and I'll correct it promptly.  All photos are from the original blog sites.

All the best,

Gary

In his review of the Nomad S 307 Ben's Cigars says:  "This Nomad S-307, is by far one of my favorite cigars to date. I enjoyed this down till I thought I would melt my nail polish. If you haven’t tried this cigar, you’re really missing out! Fred Rewey is one of the best in the business and his marketing strategy of “just being a regular dude” instead of the “pre-Madonna rockstar” type really works. It’s a good feeling when you buy cigars from a friend."

What's in a name?

I once made a cigar named Grimalkin. I named it this for a variety of reasons, not least among which was that it was a really cool name I'd discovered years ago, and just wanted to use for something. Today it changes.

I settled on this name for the cigar because the person it was named for enchanted me, and I used the theme of the eyes because those did as well. But I was always a bit uncomfortable about what subsequent line extensions would be called, and could never quite pull the whole theme together, despite my best efforts. My rather crude attempts to express this with the band drew criticism in the marketplace.... and I listened.

A few weeks ago an opportunity presented itself to rethink the whole line, and in the end this proved to be a blessing, as the new name fits magically.

The new name is La Musa by Emilio Cigars. Why? Because much as the muses were inspirational to the ancient Greeks  the person to whom this line of cigars is dedicated inspires me in a multitude of ways.

The blend remains the same. The factory remains the same.

Beyond that, there are a whole array of reasons I could give as to why this happened, but those really don't matter. What matters most is that this line of cigars continues to exist, and serve the purpose for which it was intended ; to be an exquisite representation of the art of cigar making, and to enable a lovely young friend to achieve her dreams.

The box shape will remain unchanged, but we've added a few things to give it more eye appeal. The new band has a Greek theme in keeping with the origin of the muses. The original Grimalkin cigar will now be known simply as "La Musa."  The additional 3 forthcoming blends in this line, all produced in the same factory, will be named after the 3 Plutarchian muses - Melete, Aoide, and Mneme.  The first of these will be released at IPCPR this summer.

As to why this was necessary at all I know there has been a lot of speculation, and none of that really matters because I've decided to make this change, and it's not a debatable subject.

OK life, throw me another curve ball. I've always got the bat in my hand, and I'm ready to swing for the fences again.