Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: 4.9 x 50 Robusto
Strength: Medium
Price: $17.00
My cigars have had 3 months naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
Samples were provided by Casdagli Cigars.
Debuted at PCA 2023.
From Jeremy Casdagli:
“The Brave line honors Marshal Michel Ney of the imperial France, christened by Napoleon as “Le Brave des Braves”. Often seen with a cigar or two close to hand, Ney won fame for his heroic valour and energy. “If there was one man that could achieve the impossible everyone agreed it was Ney,”- General Caulaincourt.
“Blended for Casdagli Cigars by Hendrik Kelner Jnr at the KBF factory. The combination of the Dominican fillers, Dominican binder and Claro Colorado Ecuadorian wrapper deliver a subtle creamy and nutty flavour to the palate. The strength is a mild and medium bodied with sweet aromas. The leaves chosen for the Piramide are from a higher priming then the Robusto to better suit the larger vitola.
“The Brothers of the Sabre is the first new line of Casdagli Cigars produced by Hendrik Kelner Jr since the launch of the Cabinet Selection in 2016.
“I have long been fascinated by Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Europe, right from my very early years at prep school at the age of 8. When I discovered that Napoleon’s Grand Armée was largely responsible for spreading cigar smoking across the continent, I set forth to honour those generals on all sides that were famous for their love of glory and tobacco. All of these Napoleonic Generals wore their sabres into battle, so I believe this an appropriately dynamic name for these warriors we seek to honour.
“Each year over the next 4 years 2 new General’s lines will be launched. Each General will have a small line of 2-3 vitolas. Moreover, for the two lines released each year one would be for France, the other for the coalition of Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia. Eventually there will be eight Generals honoured. The blends are chosen in some way that would characterize the general these were crafted for.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I reviewed Brothers of the Sabre Forrader on Nov. 21. You can read the review here.
A plumptuous cigar. Air flows freely. My PerfecDraw braces me. It is angry. I pat its head vociferously while chanting, “Cheese is on the way. Cheese is on the way.” PD takes a deep breath and goes to sleep. I step on its huge feet. It begins again.
Aromas earn my respect with notes of tart lemon curd, vanilla ice pops, milk chocolate, poopy barnyard, mild jalapenos, and freshly baked sourdough bread.
A great cigar cracks the code in the first puffs. It bears no resemblance to a blend that makes you slog through its first inch hoping things get better. Which it might. But that’s not a great cigar. The sign of superiority is that immediate bang. The palate acknowledges your brain snapping to attention. Focus is organic.
The blend has me by the base of my snarglies. I will narfle the Garthok.
Wonderful start. Easy going creaminess, lemon citrus, milk chocolate, black pepper, nutty, buttered toast, and some Etta James. Just like the aromas.
I can manscape with the sharp char line.
Jeremy once told me that his blends find their golden time after 3-4 months of naked humi time. I agree. You don’t want to disagree with Jeremy. He hangs with the King of Sweden.
It is all about the richness in any good cigar. The Brave has it in spades. My mouth feels full of it…which is something I hear all the time.
Strength began just shy of medium, but the style of the cigar is luxury. If I had Dr. Rod’s dough, Casdagli would be 75% of what I smoked daily. I smoke a lot.
1957. ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac. Eisenhower was sworn in for a second term. Ingmar Bergman’s film The Seventh Seal opens. IBM sells the first compiler using Fortran. Jeremy Casdagli celebrates his 35th birthday.
If you are anything like me, then I’m sorry. If your palate is anything like mine, I’m glad. If I tell you a cigar is worth your time, it’s because I’m honest to the bone. I don’t want hordes of angry villagers at my castle door.
The description provided by Casdagli Cigars is simple: “Cedar, oak, toast, hazelnuts, cream.” It is right on my righteous brothers. Power fist. The complexity carries the cigar away. It is opulent like Jeremy’s two attack Chihuahuas. Named Hans & Franz. They will pump you up if you act like a girly man.
The blend has Casdagli and Kelner written all over it.
April 1970. The first Earth Day. Jeremy Casdagli celebrates his 48th birthday. I was a junior at Cal State Long Beach. Mercury 7 astronaut, Scott Glenn, spoke to a crowd of a couple hundred students in the school’s gym. I heard him tell the story of how fellow Mercury 7 astronaut, and first American in space Alan Shepard, had to relieve his bladder in his suit while on the launchpad. He told it that there was no warning of the event. And that ground control thought Shephard had died when sensors were fried. 13 years later, ‘The Right Stuff’ was released in theaters. The story was slightly different. But not much. He also said that his fellow star voyager, Gus Grissom, did not screw the pooch in 1961 when a glitch occurred blowing his hatch while bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Ooh, ooh baby. I feel the oiliness from the blend on my lips. I taste creamy lemon mousse. A nut ball full of caramel and toffee. Chocolate nougat. French toast with butter and powdered sugar. Leatherface on a bun. The balance is where it needs to be. A slight hint of black licorice tilts the blend.
Strength remains medium as it proves to be a wonderful morning treat that won’t rip your socks off and give them to your goldfish. This has happened. Never buy goldfish with cold feet.
Jeremy’s matched pair of ferrets are on the cover of “Nice Marmot” magazine. How’d I do on the alliteration front.
1984. A record producer I knew from my London days whose name is totally gone…it was 40 years ago. We ran into each other at a club in Anaheim. Small world. He told me a story. He was working a David Bowie session. Ziggy was in the studio doing his vocals. Most of the tracks had already been recorded. The song brought up some emotions from The Thin Duke…so, by the end, he was quietly weeping. My friend told a production assistant to get the man some tissues. The PA opened the door to the studio and flung a roll of toilet paper hitting Bowie right in the head. That pa is now a guard at HM Prison Brixton. If the kid had been American, he would have made first draft for the Dodgers. Jeremy Casdagli celebrates his 62nd birthday. Purple Rain is released. Jeremy thinks rock music is too loud.
The halfway point arrives at 40 minutes. Flew by. ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ on a loop is the perfect accompaniment for this cigar. I have no idea what the words mean but I like the light fandango and the vestal virgins things.
The cigar reaches a higher level of consciousness as it enters rapture mode. I am on the fence with mild/medium blends. The cigar has to sing my name in bed for me to get on board. I loved the Forrader blend I reviewed a few weeks ago. It was medium/full, and I loved that. But I must split my love on the morning rain. I love the Brave. Damn.
I whip the cigar into a frenzy while screaming at it to slow down. Don’t you love it when a cigar takes you to another place…all the while fretting it will end and you will be left without the capacity to love.
This little Robusto will be a 90-minute smoke. The blend also comes in a 6.5 x 53 Piramide. It’s $4 more than the Robusto. One is an onslaught, and the other is mini me. Different strokes for different moods. Add the Forrader to the mix and your dance card is filled.
1995. Bill Clinton ruins a perfectly good dress. The Motion Picture Academy rejects Rodney Dangerfield for membership. Michael Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls. Mike Tyson is released from prison. Jeremy Casdagli celebrates his 73rd birthday.
It don’t matter that Casdagli is a sponsor. It don’t matter at all. I was kvelling over his cigars long before the man paid me to kvell on command. 21 reviews going back to 2016. I was a kid in those days. You gotta wait till you hit 70 to know things.
Richness is nuts. Complexity is nuttier. Balance is the double album deluxe edition.
Construction is art. The char line is the denominator that says it is so. I’m rambling.
This is me with a stupid grin. If every morning started this way, I’d be a sprit in the sky.
2023. Jeremy Casdagli welcomes his 34th great, great grandchild. Jeremy is 101 years old. Loves Dalmatians.
The new Las 6 Provincias ZDT by Espinosa Cigars is $18. The new Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll is $22. The new Liga Privada 19th is $24. And the new Davidoff Year of the Sheep is $85. I’ve been warning you that the cigar industry thinks you have deep pockets. It seems that Casdagli cigars are indeed a bargain.
You can purchase a wide swath of Casdagli cigars, plus the limited release of Brothers of the Sabre cigars, from sponsors Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’) and Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code ‘katman).
RATING: 98 (No one rings my bell with such consistency as Jeremy Casdagli. His blends deserve a perfect 100 but I always catch hell for that…but you know what I mean. It’s 100).
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
