Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatran
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican, Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50
Body: Medium
Price: $5.00
According to CigarCyclopedia.com:
“The new Ramon Allones line is the first made in Honduras, but not the first in the family! Ramon’s brother, Antonio Allones, made his own brand in Cuba called Flor de A. Allones as early as the 1880s, and it was produced in Honduras by Villazon & Co. (now part of General Cigar) for Alfred Dunhill of London beginning in the 1970s. Santa Clara is now the distributor of this brand, so maybe it could offer a “Brands of Brothers” deal?
“General Cigar acquired the Ramon Allones trademark for the United States market as a part of its 1975 deal with the Cifuentes family to produce Partagas cigars. (Ramon Cifuentes registered the mark in the U.S. way back in 1928!) General produced an elegant line of eight shapes in Jamaica, distributed primarily by Alfred Dunhill of London and while expensive, were highly regarded for their flavorful, medium-bodied taste.
“Like Partagas, production eventually moved to the Dominican Republic, but the brand was fairly low in profile and almost disappeared from sight during the Cigar Boom. But it was re-blended in 2001, sporting a full-bodied taste in four shapes with a La Vega Especial wrapper grown in the Dominican Republic . . . and went nowhere.
“The taste never caught on with smokers and although still available, it’s of little interest. But a new Ramon Allones is here!
“It’s the Ramon Allones Reserve line, made at General’s massive factory in Cofradia, Honduras and distributed (as is the Dominican-made line) exclusively by Cigars by Santa Clara.”
I love the Cuban Ramon Allones. But the legal version has had a bad rep. This new cigar should be interesting.
Construction is good. Seams are acceptable. Lots of veins. And very mottled. The wrapper color is a reddish brown. The cigar band harkens back to the original Cuban style.
I clip the cap and find aromas of very dark cocoa, barnyard, spice, floral, sweet cedar, and salami. ???
Time to light up.
A big shot of pepper assaults my palate. The body is a bit over medium from the first puffs.
The draw is good and with every puff brings a nice earthiness to the plate.
I want to thank Rene Cardona for sending me this cigar. Good guy.
The pepper tamps down a bit allowing some flavors to show themselves. There is a nice black licorice component. Cedar enters the picture. And so does some cinnamon. Just past the 1” mark, there is creaminess that helps with the powerful spiciness.
I’m alone in the house. Wonderful. So I have the blues channel cranking on the TV and giving me some very nice bass through my sound system. I am bopping while writing. Yeah, cool cats. Did you see the latest Star Trek movie? A scene in a bar where Pike tells Kirk he no longer has command of the Enterprise has blues on the juke box. Now that’s cool, Daddy-O. Hundreds of years in the future and the blues lives on.
New flavors of wood and leather enter stage right. This is a nice cigar. And price point is good. But this is not a Cuban RA. But a noble effort.
As the first third comes to an end, the flavors really define themselves. A new flavor of coffee shows itself. And the body is still just a tick above medium.
The cigar is nicely balanced at this point. Nice long finish and lip smacking good. There is a mystery flavor I cannot identify. As I look at my dog next to me, I find myself licking my chops like she does. We even have the same jowls. She’s a boxer.
I’m at the halfway point and the cigar is just cruising. It is not a flavor bomb. It is not one of those typical Nic puros that explode with flavor. The tobacco is the primary flavor of this cigar along with the creaminess and other flavors mentioned. The spice has totally disappeared.
As the last third begins, I get some bitterness. And it is a bit harsh. The flavors diminish. And the cigar begins to become unpleasant. I have a couple inches to go.
The cigar becomes very bitter and I have to put it down. Well, so much for the legal version of Ramon Allones.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
