Photo is Alec Bradley Fine & Rare A911)-FYT 2024:
Wrapper: Honduran Trojes Criollo ‘98
Binder: Honduran Trojes, Nicaraguan Estelí
Filler: Honduran Jamastran Criollo ’98, Nicaraguan Jalapa Criollo ’98, Honduran Trojes Criollo ’98, Honduran Trojes Corojo ’99, Honduran Jamastran Corojo, & Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo ’99
Size: 7 x 50 Churchill
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $26.99
My cigars received 3 months of naked humidor time.
NOTE: I was diagnosed with Covid a few days ago…after I came down with what I thought was a cold virus. I can’t swallow. My taste-o-vision is gone. And I sound like Janis Joplin when I talk. Here is a year-old review of a great cigar. The new 2024 version is available. Carry on…
BACKGROUND:
2500 Boxes of 10 cigars released.
The company was sold to Scandinavian Tobacco Group last year.
From Bradley Rubin:
“Fine & Rare BCN-143 shares the same formula of its predecessors in that the blend contains 10 unique tobaccos and can only be entrusted to a singular pair of master artisans to construct. Other than that, the medium bodied 7×50 box pressed BCN-143 is completely novel. My father, brother and I carefully curated vintage leaves with outstanding characteristics to present what very well could be the final 3-Rubin blended Fine & Rare. Arguably one of the most collectible of the series, only 2500 ten-count boxes were created for our US brand advocates to enjoy.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Nicely built cigar. Much like hanging a goldfish bowl from your lips. The draw is extraordinary, so I won’t need my back talking PerfecDraw. I like my cigar accessories to be thin, big boobed, and quiet.
I smoked a couple of these cigars too soon and that pissed me off. I should have known better. But like most smokers, I’m impatient.
Lovely start. Immediate richness. Always a good sign. Have I ever mentioned Casdagli blends. This is the yardstick for good cigars. If they nail your palate to the floor from the get-go, it’s all polk salad annie.
Flavors take a backseat to initial complexity. But here goes: Creamy butterscotch, black pepper, malt, smoky oak and the thunderheart boys, buttery brioche, slight touch of honey, lemon curd, and vanilla. Not bad for the first half inch.
Growing up in a city with a massive Navy harbor and drydock was awe inspiring. The sight of giant ships made a kid salute without hesitation. Getting occasional tours of these ships of war was just brilliant. Never knew I had severe claustrophobia until I was in the bowels of a nuclear sub. But damn, those Navy cooks knew how to bake.
Very slow roll. This is going to be a 2-1/2 hour tour.
More flavor notes as the blend spreads it wings: Milk chocolate, mild Costa Rican coffee, mixed nuts, and white pepper. Beginning to love this thing of ours.
Ten different leaves in the mix. Astounding. Plus, the value added tax of being a $27 stick makes the cigar a possible work of art. Will it be…should it be…scroll, my dears.
Strength is medium but on the cusp of becoming stronger in the coming moments.
The burn is exhilarating, and the char line is a hoot.
I saw on social media cigar smokers praising short reviews of 50 words or less. Complaining that us pseudo professionals are too wordy. 20 years from now smokers will require 3 word reviews and auto cooling in their rocket suits. We are doomed.
Our daughter invites Charlotte over to kibitz and then spends the entire time scrolling her iPhone.
There is a natural progression that makes sense. Complexity keeps on keeping on without conceding defeat. The richness widens the gap to the Siegfried Line. This is a surprisingly nice cigar blend. And it comes from the Alec Bradley folks. Damn.
In the laste 60’s, playing gigs at Camp Pendleton for graduates of boot camp was awful. Watching guys our age in agony as they readied for war. Their drunken fear overwhelmed us. It was a rotten time for our country. Politicians didn’t give a shit about our finest. Still don’t.
From my research, I found nothing about the aging of the leaves. Must have been the strict guidelines of a few weeks after rolling and then get ‘em outta here.
The blend is beautifully smooth. Any harshness just slides off the rounded corners.
With each puff, the cigar improves its balance of sweet v. savory. Smoking a great cigar anesthetizes me. We sometimes don’t realize how much crap we smoke until we are jolted out of our reality.
It is a shame that Alec Bradley never made many superior blends because with this release, they have proven that they know how to do it…but they don’t want to do it. Their whole business model is about cranking out mediocre catalog brands that the majority of cigar smokers swear by. This model leaves sophisticated smokers choking in the dust.
And how about that Rocky Patel building a new factory so he can crank out 60,000 cigars per day. Not making this shit up. Entertainment lawyers. Fuckwads all.
Saw Nixon on German tv giving his notice. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Strength remains at just shy of medium/full.
I can’t lie. I stopped and bought another fiver before you could. With only 2500 boxes produced, word will get out toot suite and they will disappear like the Dodo bird. I’m no fool…well…
Superior fucking cigar blend. That should be my final rating. Screw the numerical.
In 1970, I wrote letters to the entire U.S. government accusing them of covering up the truth of the JFK assassination. I wonder if I’m still on the FBI shit heel list.
My dad told epics of the campaign in WWII Europe. His stories got more direct and truthful when he was old and frail. The poor man had PTSD his entire life.
The halfway point flavors: Creaminess, caramel, nuts, smoky cedar, butter, lemon, milk chocolate, herbal, café au lait, black pepper, honey, brioche, and malt. But no flavor bomb in play. Subtle erudite flavors. Icy cold smoothness.
Strength canoodles into medium/full.
I keep thinking of that idiot who wants no more than a 50-word review because reading hurts his brain, and he can’t concentrate for more than one minute at a time.
I hope protesters that spat on returning servicemen are still having nightmares.
I really fucked up smoking two of my sticks early. King of Dufus Town.
Sips of water and my hands are steady. The massive cigar band sheds its mortal coil.
Stop reading me, unless you already have…and buy a fiver of these delightful cigars. Worth every shekel of its $26 price tag. Only $22 with promo code. There are $40+ blends out there not as good as this baby. Good on yer, Rubin Boys.
The thing about boutique blenders is that they still have passion. Mass quantity producers have zero passion and probably never smoke their own shit. And the crime is that they sometimes hold out hope only to be dashed by their next catalog release.
My father showed everyone the bullet removed from his chest. Never showed off his medals.
The second half is a treat extraordinaire. Not a single critique from me. Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
Politicians are always wrong. Always corrupt. A shame that good folks refuse to become the ruling class.
It’s a good cigar. And they don’t last long. This blend will blow your socks off if you are a patient man who allows his cigars to marinate 3-9 months in his humidor. I highly recommend that you allow this if you want to reap the benefits of what the blender concocted.
You can purchase the Fine & Rare from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code KATMAN).
RATING: 98
Stay tuned for the next SWAG Daddy contest coming soon…
Check out Katman’s Kartel page at Small Batch Cigar and score deals on cigars from My Top 32 Cigars of 2023 ~ Rated 96 or Higher!
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for sharing your dad’s story. My father was a WWII vet as well and was shot while at Okinawa. He had PTSD as well and it’s a shame these heros never got the help they deserved. The only thing he ever brought up was stories about his friends he fought with.
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Thank you, Sean.
Phil
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