Wrapper: Ecuadorian Havana Vuelta Abajo

Binder: Dominican Corojo

Filler: Nicaraguan, Brazilian, Dominican

Size: 4.5 x 50

Body: Medium/Full

Price: $7.00

Viva Republica is a new cigar company from the DR that went to the La Aurora people and partnered with them to develop a new line of cigars. The line is described as “ultra boutique” but no mention of how many boxes are available.From their web site: “Viva Republica is a cigar brand born out of the desire to bring new ideas to an industry steeped in tradition. By partnering with the Dominican Republic’s oldest factory, La Aurora, we have the resources to create blends using tobaccos that most small boutique brands cannot get into their hands.”

The Rapture is their debut blend..

The seams vary in their construction. On one cigar, the seams are tight, on another, there is a bit of a gap here and there. Lots of veins. The tawny brown wrapper is typical of an Ecuadorian with that reddish hue.

It appears to have a single cap.

I do the sniff around and detect hay, barnyard, cedar, spice, and a bit of cinnamon.

I clip it and light up.

The first puffs are full of black pepper. And a bit of sweetness. There is a hint of cinnamon. And the body is on the mild side of medium.

Smoke just pours from the foot.

I quickly get a bit of cocoa. And then there is that bread component that Atlantic describes. The char line is close to perfect.

The black pepper is the out front flavor. It dominates the cigar’s character. But now it moves to classic medium bodied.

And then here comes the creaminess. The cigar needed that at this point since the spiciness is so strong. The flavors on this small cigar should be intense due to its diminutive size. They produce a 6 x 58 that must be a mother to get to age. That’s a big cigar. And in my old age, I prefer the robusto size. They age more quickly. And the flavors are more intense.

The sweetness marries with the creaminess nicely. With so many countries being represented here, it is impossible to guess what the cigar will taste like. It is fairly impressive.

I’m at the 1” mark and the flavor profile is just starting. The bread component and the creaminess make it taste like I’m chowing down on some good crusty French bread with sweet butter. Very unusual.

As the first third ends, the power increases. It moves to a strong medium body in the blink of an eye.

The flavors become more intense now. This cigar is not for newbies. It takes an experienced smoker to appreciate this blend.

I approach the halfway point and the flavors explode. Creaminess and sweetness and now a dried fruit profile emerges heavily. The fruit is a combo of raisins and plum.

I get past the halfway point and the cigar is now full bodied. The spiciness is still strong and I keep the Kleenex box close at hand. The flavors are blooming and while not a panoply of components, it is a really well made cigar with loads of flavor.

The last third is all about flavor. The bread-y flavor is very prominent along with the creaminess and sweetness. This is not your typical Nicaraguan cigar. No cocoa. No coffee. A completely different experience. Sort of a big boy’s experience.

I plan to put the other 4 cigars away for a couple of months and see how that affects them. This is a quality cigar and I look forward to seeing what Viva Republica has in store for the future.

And now for something completely different:

More on Hall of Fame drummer Hal Blaine. I was doing a session in L.A. that Hal set up for me. We had been playing together for a year now and had a pretty good handle on nuance. This is a man I idolized from a young teen. And now I was his partner in crime on recordings.

It was a national Chevy commercial. And it was bass heavy. When you do a 60 second commercial, you just don’t play 60 seconds of music. Sometimes, it can last for several minutes. It allows the powers to be to nip and tuck it anyway they want.

The other regular session players were used to seeing me with Hal. And it got me some serious street cred. Carol Kay, the bassist, came in to say hi because she was in the next studio recording another commercial. She was my bass teacher when I was 19. 13 years earlier. But after some prodding, I got her to remember me.

We were rehearsing and on a break, Carol gave me some wonderful pointers. But she was a pick player and I was a fingers player. So it was a little hard to translate.

The three of us were huddled together in a corner of this massive studio that housed a 24 piece band plus strings. It was like Abbey Road, or EMI Studios.

Since this was a union gig, we had ordained breaks and this one had ended. I got back into position and in walked Neil Diamond. He made a beeline to Hal as Hal played on most of his early stuff. I was awe struck. Back then, Diamond hadn’t gone all Elvis in Vegas yet. And he was pumping out hits one after the other. He was a big deal.

Hal, always the gentleman, introduce me to Neil. And Neil was very gracious taking the time to kibitz with me for a couple minutes. I was a pig rolling in my own excrement. Neil sat next to us on a stool while we went back to playing. And I kept seeing him out of the corner of my eye as he watched me play. And then I hit a clam. Oh shit. The band leader stopped everyone and gave me a lecture. I was so embarrassed. But the cool players knew I was enamored with Diamond and that’s why I wasn’t concentrating.

Diamond sat there until out next break. He said his good byes and split. I was glad. He made me nervous. Hal gave me some suggestions on a certain part of the tune. Think of Joe Osborne he told me. I nodded with a big smile. Joe played on all the Simon & Garfunkel tunes, including “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Along with Hal. Joe was an expressive bassist and often stole the spotlight.

We got back into the tune and I changed my style a bit and vamped on some of the transitions. I was afraid to look at the band leader but when I did, he smiled at me. Whew.

The session lasted four hours. When we were done, I was soaked in sweat. I was playing commercial rock and roll and this was not my forte’.

I helped Hal pack. It only took me 5 minutes to pack my gear. The band leader came over and told me that he was worried when he saw I played fretless but there were no worries or mistakes and I got a pat on the back…and a wink.

Because it was union, most of Hal’s drums were packed by cartage company people. He just got his sticks and cymbals together. And left the drums to them.

We were about to leave when he handed me a piece of paper. It was Neil Diamond’s phone number and I was told to call it. I was floored and at first thought it was a joke.

I called a couple times and spoke to a secretary. Neil never called me back. But that’s OK. That studio experience was thrilling for me and I figured I’d have a nervous breakdown if he asked me to play with him.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS