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| Intemperance |
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| Intemperance BA XXI |
It was said during
Prohibition that the best place to get a gin and tonic was 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President Harding voted in favor of the 18th Amendment when it came up in Senate, but as a President I believe he felt it was his civil duty to have a drink everyday. On January 17th, 1920 the 18th Amendment took effect and with that
Volstead Act. The amendment and act was spearhead by the
Temperance Movement from many years before, and it began in the rural areas of America. Thomas Jefferson's America. It wasn't until 1933, 13 years later, that the 18th Amendment was repealed with the 21st Amendment and American lifted up their glass in celebration. First time that it was legal in thirteen years. It was the 21st Amendment, drafted by members of the early 20th Century Intermperance Movement, that gave birth to a part of the names in the
Intemperance BA XXI.
It has been almost 100 years since the
18th Amendment, and we are seeing steps that are echoing steps of old that led to the amendment, but this time the hammer is falling on tobacco. Manufacturers, retailers and individuals are doing their part by joining
Cigar Rights of America, but with every step that is taken by the cigar industry the government is taking two. Of the cigar companies fighting this battle, I have seen large statements made from two boutique companies. One of them is
RoMa Craft Tobac, and the company is led by Michasel Rosales and Skip Martin. These two men established their small factory,
Fabrica de Tobacco NicaSueno, in Esteli, Nicaragua, and since then have produced cigars that have done well in the online community. Their latest joint release is the
Intemperance line, and it is this line that delivers a large message.
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| Brazilian Arapiraca |
I have talked about where the
XXI comes from, and where the
Intemperance comes from, but I have not addressed the
BA. The
BA is abbreviated from
Brazilian Arapiraca. The cigar comes with a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, and is then composed with an Indonesian binder. The fillers to the cigar are Nicaraguan and Dominican, and just reading about the cigar I am excited. We all know Nicaragua and the Dominican, but Indonesia produces some great tobacco, as well as Brazil. The size I chose was
The Intrigue, and it measures 4" with a 46 ring gauge. The cigar is smooth and oily in hand, and has some small veins present. It has a toothy appearance, and is a Colorado Maduro in coloring. There is a nice slightly open foot to the cigar, and I am getting aromas of cedar, strong earth, pepper, spices and soft cocoa.
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| slightly open foot |
There is a great start to the cigar, and from the get go I am picking up some definite leather and black pepper notes. It has some nutty qualities to it, almonds and so forth, but it is really showing a leather profile I love. There are some earthy notes to the cigar, but they are more natural and not sweet like. I am getting some cocoa notes towards the finish, but it is fairly faint. The cigar is showing a great burn line to it, and I am getting a lovely light charcoal ash that is holding on to the cigar firmly. It has a cool draw overall, and the strength is right above the medium body level. This is a very enjoyable size and very complex. I would smoke this as an afternoon cigar when short on time any day of the week.
In the second half of the cigar I am seeing a nice change in the flavor profile, and it is becoming softer I would say. The pepper notes have faded a lot, and the earthy and cocoa flavors before have become more present. The earthy notes are much more sweeter in this half, and not as natural as they were in the first. I am getting some nice nutty notes still, and with that a rise in creamy flavors. It has shown a nice transition as a cigar, and I really dig this second half. The finish to the cigar shows a lot of earth and orange peel flavors, and it is a cool finish as well. The strength seemed to tone down some in this half, and I would say it is closer to medium in body now. The ash remained at that light charcoal coloring, and with that a great even burn line to the end.
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| Great Burn |
I really enjoyed this cigar, and besides the fact that it
was constructed wonderfully and had a terrific blend, the size was awesome. I
always love to find cigars that are small in size but packed with flavors, and
this cigar had that. I am a big fan of the use of Brazilian tobacco to begin
with, so when you throw that in there as a wrapper it is a major perk. I have
yet to try the other wrapper offering, but I imagine knowing my palate that
this will be more my type of cigar. With so many manufacturers trying to make
big cigars for the market, it is nice to find someone making something smaller.
I give this cigar a solid 91, and while I did not like it as much as the
Aquitaine, it was a great smoke that a
lot of people would enjoy. What is great about this line is that all the cigars are fairly compact cigars, nothing over a 54 ring gauge.
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| The Intrigue |
