Pinar del Rio Habano Sun Grown | Cigar Review

By Cigar Reviews by the Katman on March 30, 2014

Wrapper: Dominican Habano Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Criollo ‘98
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Size: 5 x 50 “Robusto”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $5.70

I’m dumpster diving…no disrespect to Abe Flores. But I have a bunch of cigars not ready for review and a bunch more on their way so I find myself in the cigar reviewer’s netherworld. Bear with me as I have some real goodies coming soon.

Meaning, I have gone into my humidor, which is put aside, with cigars that have been aging for a year or more. And are inexpensive. All were gifts. I have Andy S. to thank for this.

I’ve reviewed this cigar and the rest of the Pinar del Rio line a couple times for other blogs and online stores. And each time, found the Pinar del Rio line very enjoyable…but not spectacular. Due to the impatience of whomever I was writing for at the time, I was reviewing the cigars after only a couple weeks humidor time.

I reviewed the Pinar del Rio Oscuro yesterday and was knocked out how good this cigar actually is with some patience. Someone must sent me a small package of PDR cigars because I have one each of the Oscuro (had, to be exact), the Habano Sun Grown, the Classico Exclusivo, and the Small Batch Exclusivo.

First, Pinar del Rio cigars are produced at the Dominican La Fabrica factory, owned by Abe Flores and Juan Rodriquez
There is not much background on this cigar…not even on the PDR web site. So time to move on to the construction.

This cigar has a much more rustic look than yesterday’s Oscuro. It is just covered in veins. The wrapper is a light brown with a nice reddish tinge. Like the Oscuro, it is jam packed with tobacco but still has the proper give. I venture to say that this stick has a triple cap based on close scrutiny. Which means yesterday’s Oscuro must have had a triple cap. The wrapper has an oiliness along with a very smooth texture.

The cigar is rolled Entubado, or bunching, style. That is where the leaves are rolled into tubes to create a perfect construction for smoking. It also takes an expert roller and time.

I clip the cap and find aromas of cocoa, sweetness, caramel, spice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cedar, nuts, fruit, and black licorice. Holy crap.
Time to light up. (My fingers are crossed that this follow up to the Oscuro is just as good.)

The draw is a little tight. But right away, there are some wonderful flavors of sweetness, caramel, creaminess, and cocoa. I do believe this blend is on its way.

It is really too bad that this bunch of blends needs 6 months or longer to get where the blender intended them to be. That Old School blending style should be left to the cigar giants while the New Breed blenders make cigars so good that they are ready to smoke in just a few weeks. And I still consider Abe Flores one of the New Breed. And the following cigars prove that.

I’ve reviewed several of Abe Flores’s high premium blends: PDR A Flores Serie Privada Maduro($9.75), PDR AFR-75 Edición Limitada($14.75), A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva($5-$7), and my favorite: Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion…which is a steal at around $4-$5.

I’m forced to use my cigar awl to clear a pathway in this jam packed cigar. It worked. Man, it was like drilling for oil.
As a result, more flavors come to the table: cinnamon, a heady red pepper, leather and earthiness, and the earlier flavors intensify.

I can tell already this stick will be a flavor bomb early in the smoking process. Trust me, when I tell you these blends taste nothing like the ones you smoke a month after receiving them. This is a whole new ball game. Thank goodness, they are cheap. Although, they are out of stock in a lot of online stores. Meaning, that this older line is still very popular.

I checked Cbid and the cigars are going for damn near the retail price.

This stick is a real slow burner. The strength is classic medium and the char line is near perfect.

I near the end of the first third. And I notice that that spiciness has morphed a bit. It is a combo of both red and black pepper making the flavor profile really pop.

Here are the flavors, in order: Sweetness, cocoa, spice, coffee, creaminess, caramel, cedar, wood, leather, nuts, allspice, and black licorice. Again, holy crap!

At the halfway point, some complexity digs in. This is such a completely different cigar than the Oscuro for obvious reasons. Clearly, the Oscuro had explosive intense flavors due to the wrapper.

This blend is lighter and more delicate. More nuanced. It became a flavor bomb at the start of the second third, but a subtle one.

The best analogy is you are digging into a hot fudge sundae. That’s the Oscuro. And then you take a bite out of that delicate cookie they place in the sundae for looks. You get all the flavors but they are buttery and smooth. Did I lose you? I am completely confused now.

The body is still at medium strength. Time has mellowed it. I read a few reviews and all said the cigar was either medium/full or full bodied. Those sticks were reviewed with less than a month of humidor time. Plus they leave out half the flavors.

As I said in the Oscuro review, buy some, put them away, and forget about them for at least 6 months or longer. It is a good investment in a good cigar.

The last third demolishes the nuance of the flavor profile and, instead, sees the flavors become explosive. The spice has returned in force, just like the Oscuro. The other flavors have not changed in their order but are so intense that is good enough to eat.

This cigar, if it were blended so it could be ready in less than a month, could easily go for $7-$8. I think it would benefit the manufacturers if they put a small note on the cello of each cigar with a proposed humidor time. But that will never happen as it will affect sales. Plus, there are a lot of smokers out there with blasé palates who can’t tell the difference.

This cigar, at this aging level, is for the experienced smoker. One whose palate is refined and polished.

In the last third, the strength moves up to medium/full body. And now I get a bit of nicotine kick.

Just like the Oscuro, the char line has remained close to razor sharp the entire time. No touch ups were required.

The cigar finishes beautifully. No harshness, heat or bitterness. And the cigar does reach full bodied in the last 1-1/2”. The nicotine is kicking my arse and I have to stop and eat a bowl of cereal before I fall of the edge.

This blend was a true delight. Reviewing both the Oscuro and the Habano Sun Grown has taught me a valuable lesson about being a snob. Don’t do it.

And now for something completely different:

This is a story I’ve written before but not for a very long time so as I new readers, it seems OK to repeat it.

Hall of Fame drummer, Hal Blaine, was not only a mentor during my recording studio ownership days, but like your favorite uncle. He was going through his third divorce and forced (strange adjective) to live on his yacht docked in Marina del Rey, Ca.

He liked to throw lunches and brunches for a few folks. And always catered. I met some real giants of the music industry this way. Everyone knew Hal and everyone used him. This man has a list of gold records a mile high.

On this day, he planned the soirée around me. He invited my heroes from the days of the L.A. Wrecking Crew’s most prolific era. Bassist, Carol Kaye. Keyboard player, Larry Knechtel (who went on to be a permanent player in the group “Bread.” But I never held that against him). And bassist, Joe Osborn.

I would sit for hours, as a teen, listening to my records and reading the album covers. I would be mesmerized by Simon and Garfunkel, Beach Boys, Mamas & Papas, and dozens more that this group of fine musicians played on. It was a known fact that Hal played on a few Beatles songs but I could never pry which ones out of him.

If you look at Ringo’s early set of drums and it is an exact copy of Hal’s early drums. Ringo wasn’t so dumb.

As the 5 of us sat on the deck of Hals’ yacht, munching away and drinking Bloody Marys, more people came to join the small party.

It turned out that Neil Diamond was a very good friend of Hal’s. And there he was, towering above me. Hal introduced me as, “This is Phil Kohn. One of the best bassists I’ve ever played with.”

I was stunned. Yeah, I was a good player but the accolade seemed undeserved; yet very kind. Diamond’s eyes widened and shook my hand vigorously. And then Hal told him he should consider me for his next album. I was shitting my pants. Diamond, who took Hal seriously, nodded.

Hal got me all kinds of session gigs in Hollywood. I knew how to read music back then. I’ve since forgotten how since playing in blues bands doesn’t require it.
Hal and me at my recording studio:

All the sessions Hal got me were big corporate TV commercial sound tracks. It was very simple and of course, the tune was never long than a couple minutes. It allowed the editors to use any part of it for a 10, 30, or 60 second commercial. It paid well. Although, I got scale. Hal made a fortune as he was always asked for. Hal insisted that I played bass.

I was beginning to make a name for myself in that world when the Eddie Munster project collapsed under my feet and the next thing I knew was that I was homeless.

We didn’t have cell phones back in 1983, just pagers and an answering service. I continued to get some calls but I was broke and driving from my home in Long Beach to Hollywood sometimes was a problem because of gas.

You see, your check for playing a session didn’t come right away. On average it took 1-3 months. It had to go through the Musician’s Union first where they took their blood money; and then cut you a check. And sent it to you when they felt like it; or so it seemed.

Hal’s circle of friends was mostly Jewish musicians. But on this day, of the 6 of us, there was only Hal, me and Diamond who were members of the Tribe.

Hal is old school Jewish. Not orthodox, but liked to go to temple and always celebrated the holidays. This particular lunch took place around Purim. So he had the famous Jewish deli in West L.A., Canter’s, cater it with a potpourri of Jewish delicacies. Including the Purim cookie called a Hamantasch. I was in hog heaven (Pardon the pun).

We sat in the sunny and warm California sun with a nice breeze coming off the bay. I was having the time of my life. Everyone told stories about their musical careers. I always loved to listen to other musician’s stories. Especially, the ones that could drop names like it was nothing. So I heard stories about Brian Wilson, Sinatra, Elvis, etc.

As the sun set, everyone said they had to be going. It was a delightful 4-5 hours. I was on Cloud 9. Diamond never called me for a gig even though I gave him my card. He was just being polite. But a recommendation from the most famous session drummer in the business had to give him pause.

I would have loved to make music my career but the ups and downs and rejections came so often it was impossible to stay financially afloat.