Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Claro
Binder: Nicaraguan AGANORSA
Filler: Nicaraguan AGANORSA
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium
Price: $15.99
This is one of my regular go-to cigars. I first published this review in April 2024.
BACKGROUND:
Directly from Andew Considine via carrier ferret:
“The origin of this cigar came about in 2019 while smoking a cigar with Andre Farkas at our retail store. We had been after him to design a blend for SBC for quite some time. The name came as an homage to Claude the Dog who just had major back surgery. I wanted to build off other releases that Andre and I put our heads together on, and Claudenstein had such a nice ring to it. Well, the first release came and went rather quickly, so in 2021, we went to work on the next release. We expanded on the original blend by tweaking it and giving it a new size. The one-off size is a trademark of Viaje limited releases. A customer at the lounge designed the secondary cigar band for us. The Rise of the Claudenstein was released on 7/22/2022, which means that our stock has nearly two years of box aging.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
A heavy cigar in the hand. It needs a little help from its friend PerfecDraw to clear its throat. If you don’t have this tool, you are just erratic and stubborn.
A creamy chocolate foundation is immediate. This is wonderful. So rarely does a cigar grab me by the narglies this soon. A lemon twist finds itself a lovely counterpoint to what seems like a sweet leaning balance early in the fly over.
Berries that are slightly tart. Cinnamon sugar. White and black pepper. Espresso, sure.
The main thing going for this blend is the evident effect of aging. Initial complexity gives me hope. It is so hard for cigars to maintain low tones all the way through to the end. They can veer off in the last couple of inches and ruin everything.
Strength is medium. I’ve come to enjoy mild/medium blends over the last couple of years. They’ve all been gorgeous blends that didn’t skimp on quality. Richness will out.
Very, very slow roll. It’s like bread soaking up gravy. Savory kicks in. The balance is screaming laughter.
Flavors expand: café au lait, burnt oak, unsalted butter on the lips, caramel, and smoky peat.
Caramel is just hitting it out of the park. And very creamy.
I scroll up to re-check the leaf stats. I’d have never guessed. The blend finds the best of Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan origins by mimicking Costa Rican, Dominican, and Peruvian leaves. Nothing brash about this blend…it’s articulate and smooth. No sign of edginess.
This is turning into a very unique thing. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that this cigar will never need extended humidor aging.
The chocolate has the consistency of luxurious boutique nougat. As a kid, I loved the U-No bar. It had a truffle-like luxurious melt-in-your-mouth texture unlike anything else on the market. Candied almonds. Fresh lavender. Tart pear.
I have no idea why I have never tried this cigar. This is stun gun cigar blending. Strength is still medium at 2” burned. 40 minutes. Color me tased.
Momentous times. I can’t believe I was in the next studio at George Martin’s Air Studios London when Pete Townshend was mixing the soundtrack to ‘Tommy.’ So casual and cavalier hanging with Pete. Copeland I jammed with him several times. I didn’t request a copy. Hard to believe I was so naïve.
The halfway point. From here forward will tell the real story.
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) was such a tool. You can’t trust musicians who never smoked a joint in their lives. But then being yelled at by the man put me in rarified air.
Coffee sip.
The cigar grabs on to the coffee suggestion and flies with it. Almost every cigar has an edge. This one does not. The polar opposite of an AJ blend.
I shred the secondary cigar band without nicking the wrapper. A bass player’s hands…articulate banana fingers.
The mystical transformation of big fat flavors melding is at hand. Mouth feel is extravagant. Andrew and Andre did good.
The lovely spiciness is just right. A Goldilocks experience.
Grace Slick described herself as a slut. I was crushed.
I wish I could write like other reviewers. They are just so damn professional.
Flavors are beatified and venerated. The second half soars. Medium strength in the right hands is a gift we receive with awe.
The last two inches sees the strength hit medium/full. A little delirium is good for the soul
If you’re looking for a good time, I have a beautifully crafted blend for you.
You can purchase this cigar from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. Take 10% off with promo code KATMAN.
Jeff Byrnes kindly alerted me that you can get this cigar for 40% off if you use the promo code CLEARANCE. You must spend a minimum of $50. Thanks Jeff. Small Batch Cigar.
RATING: 97
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
My one example of this cigar needed more than a little help. I gave it three to the hilt stabs with my PerfecDraw before lighting. No obvious plugs. After lighting I decided the draw was still too tight and gave it another stab. I was getting a bit annoyed at this point and wasn’t careful enough with the angles – the end of that cigar. Too bad, the few puffs I did manage were very promising. I just noticed SBC has these in their clearance section for 40% off for anyone willing to deal with the construction issues.
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I didn’t have issues with my previous sticks.
I smoked a couple new sticks since I received your comment and still had no issues.
It’s a bummer that you had construction issues.
Thanks for your comment, Jeff.
Phil
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Phil,
Thank you for conducting follow up “research”. My cigar must have been a fluke. I was quite surprised as I have had nothing but good experiences with Viaje and with SBC exclusives.
I was going to give them another try, but unfortunately they are now sold out.
Thanks again.
Jeff
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Hey Jeff
That’ll teach you for alerting my readers to a good deal before you got your own. Ha.
I’ve done that a million times too. Double ha.
Phil
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Great review! You’re 100% correct: Ian Anderson is a tool!
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We played a few arena gigs with him somewhere in England…or maybe Switzerland. I can’t remember.
He demanded that no one imbibe in smoking weed or hash…which is what we all did.
His band mates squirreled themselves away from Mr. Big to party with us in our dressing room.
Anderson stormed in, screaming at his band, who then ran for the hills instead of confronting him.
And then he yelled at us for crissakes. For being bad influences. Damn. He was one of the biggest bands in the world in 1975.
How was it our responsibility to babysit the musicians in his band?
As he left yelling at us the second night, he wagged his finger and said we’d never be on his ticket again. We shrugged. He took all the fun of playing music.
Thanks for your comment, Peter.
Phil
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Unfortunately SBC is out of both the 4 and 10 counts of these. Sad face:(
Please don’t ever write “like other reviewers”!
Tommy can ya hear me…
KKH
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like other reviewers
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Oh no you di-in’t!!
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