havanaphile
Banned
Quai dOrsay Panatellas 2001
7 x 33, Ninfas
Factory: Romeo y Julietta
Visual:
This thin, elegant cigar has a Colorado rosado streaked capa, with some minor veining. The capa had a fairly rough tooth to it, and it wasnt exactly the pleasantest thing to look at up close. But it retained a good deal of oils, and hence, it wasnt frightenling bad to look at.
13/15
Construction:
The leaves in the filler were definitely booked, as to be expected of a product of the Romeo y Julietta factory. Serveral nominal veins were present in the filler. The light foot seemed to indicate a lack of ligero (as expected), as the composition of the cigar seemed to be made mainly of seco, with nominal amounts of volado. The three-seam cap was expertly applied to the cigar. The cigar did not seem to have any hard spots to it, which was a pleasant surprise. As it was smoked, the cigar held on to its ash very well. I only had to remove the ash twice during the length of the entire cigar, both times when it had attained lengths greater than 2 ½. Relighting wasnt necessary, as it burnt evenly down, all the way to the last inch, in spite of occasional gusts of wind. Partially due to the fact that I drew on it very slowly, the smoke did not become hot during the entire length of the cigar. Only once it got down to a stub of a half an inch did the smoke begin to heat up.
Construction: 14/15
Pre-Light
Upon cutting the cigar, the draw was surprisingly easy for a cigar of this narrow girth. The flavor was very mild, like the Romeo y Julietta Cedros de Luxe. Minimal amounts of cedar were present, the flavors present before it was lit were mainly made up of straight Cuban tobacco.
Flavor
This cigar was very complex. It started out with a bit of a punch, with the grassy and marked tobacco flavors present in the Cuaba Divinos, but quickly retreated to a solid core of nuts (cashews and pistachios especially) with light touches of white pepper with a hint of vanilla. The medium bodied flavors built up throughout the cigar, and the flavors changed to the point that the initial nutty flavors were overpowered by a marked cedary floral core. The cigar had a very delectable floral finish.
Flavor: 61/65
Overall: 88/100
This cigar is a very good cigar, especially as the first cigar of the day. It is very complex and very nuanced. One must take great care to smoke it very slowly. I was able to nurse this one out to about an hour and forty five minutes, but I smoked it down to the nub. Its mild to medium bodied flavors are very condusive to those who like the Romeo y Julietta line of cigars. It is a shame that this is the last ninfa that still remains in production, but the overwhelming trend towards 60 ring gauge cigars full-bodied seems to rule out any resurgence for these thin, elegant, pencil shaped cigars. They just arent everybodys cup of tea these days.
7 x 33, Ninfas
Factory: Romeo y Julietta
Visual:
This thin, elegant cigar has a Colorado rosado streaked capa, with some minor veining. The capa had a fairly rough tooth to it, and it wasnt exactly the pleasantest thing to look at up close. But it retained a good deal of oils, and hence, it wasnt frightenling bad to look at.
13/15
Construction:
The leaves in the filler were definitely booked, as to be expected of a product of the Romeo y Julietta factory. Serveral nominal veins were present in the filler. The light foot seemed to indicate a lack of ligero (as expected), as the composition of the cigar seemed to be made mainly of seco, with nominal amounts of volado. The three-seam cap was expertly applied to the cigar. The cigar did not seem to have any hard spots to it, which was a pleasant surprise. As it was smoked, the cigar held on to its ash very well. I only had to remove the ash twice during the length of the entire cigar, both times when it had attained lengths greater than 2 ½. Relighting wasnt necessary, as it burnt evenly down, all the way to the last inch, in spite of occasional gusts of wind. Partially due to the fact that I drew on it very slowly, the smoke did not become hot during the entire length of the cigar. Only once it got down to a stub of a half an inch did the smoke begin to heat up.
Construction: 14/15
Pre-Light
Upon cutting the cigar, the draw was surprisingly easy for a cigar of this narrow girth. The flavor was very mild, like the Romeo y Julietta Cedros de Luxe. Minimal amounts of cedar were present, the flavors present before it was lit were mainly made up of straight Cuban tobacco.
Flavor
This cigar was very complex. It started out with a bit of a punch, with the grassy and marked tobacco flavors present in the Cuaba Divinos, but quickly retreated to a solid core of nuts (cashews and pistachios especially) with light touches of white pepper with a hint of vanilla. The medium bodied flavors built up throughout the cigar, and the flavors changed to the point that the initial nutty flavors were overpowered by a marked cedary floral core. The cigar had a very delectable floral finish.
Flavor: 61/65
Overall: 88/100
This cigar is a very good cigar, especially as the first cigar of the day. It is very complex and very nuanced. One must take great care to smoke it very slowly. I was able to nurse this one out to about an hour and forty five minutes, but I smoked it down to the nub. Its mild to medium bodied flavors are very condusive to those who like the Romeo y Julietta line of cigars. It is a shame that this is the last ninfa that still remains in production, but the overwhelming trend towards 60 ring gauge cigars full-bodied seems to rule out any resurgence for these thin, elegant, pencil shaped cigars. They just arent everybodys cup of tea these days.
