Aged 6 years and 9 months
New Year's Day was a blast. We gathered with friends at Steve & Diane Laster's house for bloody mary drinks and a breakfast of stuffed cabbage, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and hog jaw bacon. There were SEC bowl games on the television. I followed this feast with a nearly 7-year old Ramon Allones and a glass of 20-year Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.
This cigar was older than my son (now in 1st grade) and it came from the now-defunct Villazon factory where Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, ERDM, Bolivar, Belinda, and Flor de A. Allones used to be rolled.
The cellophane was dark yellow. Prelight aroma was rich and earthy. I spotted a fair amount of tooth on the wrapper.
I wrote back in 2009: "just a hair shy of full-bodied; burn well; loose draw; lots of earth and gentle spice, as opposed to pepper spice."
Like the best cigars, this one had mellowed noticeably over time. It started mild for the first quarter, then picked up some subtle spice, tipping over into medium bodied by the finish line. Pepper spice was definitely present now. The draw was perfect, no longer loose. It did require a touch-up about the halfway point.
The tastes and aromas were richer than they used to be. The nose and aftertaste were certainly longer.
As a side note, on Jan 2 I also smoked a very noteworthy Mi Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor at the Liberty Bowl. It had a dark sun-grown wrapper just covered in tooth. I unfortunately paired it with cheap well liquor from the pre-game barbecue buffet, but all ended well... these two cigars were a great treat and a great way to start 2016!
