Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Size: 5.5 x 52 Campanas
Strength: Medium
Price: €15.90 Euros in 2020
Box Date: Apr. 2020

Katman Note: I’m recuperating from a procedure so no cigar smoking for Philly for a bit. It’s only been two days and I’ve got the heebie jeebies jonesing for a cigar. On Day 4, I expect I will be donning my orthodox rabbi gear and marching through New Berlin, Wisconsin.

First half:
OK so, I know exactly what my venerated reader is saying: our Georg starts off dangling the forbidden Cuban fruit in front of my nose, and then he follows up with two run-of-the-mill available everywhere anytime cigars. Where is the adventure, the fun in that? And while I strongly believe to have already proven that provenance doth not a fantastic cigar make, I hear you and bow to the will of my esteemed readership.

The Ramones Allones Allones No. 2 (“RA2”) was introduced in 2019 and began delivery in my neck of the woods one year later, late summer if I remember correctly. It still is listed as an Edición Limitada from 2019, and that is because it’s Cuba. It’s about when it was conceived, not when it was made available. Go figure. Anway, we had to deal with an infamous example of Limitadas before, so how is this one?

Beautiful, to me, first of all (first batch, remember…?). A nice chocolatey medium dark brown wrapper, some veins, the foot looks well packed. I like this, pretty cigars somehow have a harder time finding the way to my heart, form (and looks) should follow function, you know? The cold draw is a tad Cubanesque which is another word for somewhat tight, but Cuba generally means well and fills their cigars to the brim with tobacco, so I will give this the benefit of the doubt. Shockingly, the two anillas are expertly crafted and applied, so there is neither effort nor danger in taking them off.
I smell nuts, sweetness, and a little bit of pepper. Let’s light it up.

The draw remains as it was, and it befits the cigar, as you are better off smoking slowly.

Coffee. Tons of it. Not the sometimes-harsh Nicaraguan type, but con leche, soft, warm fall afternoon in a sunny Tuscan piazza kind of coffee. I love it. Is also creamy, the nuts are still there and accompanied by sweet undertones. The earthiness others have talked about is absent, put that down to age. While four years is not a lot for Cuba in general, it is plenty for this specimen. The draw remains, well, Cubanesque, but that is what it is supposed to be, no help needed. The char line is not perfect but does not warrant correction so far.

First transitions introduce some earthiness after all, but the coffee defends its top spot and my joy remains undiminished. There is now also a zesty lemon, and some sweet caramel. It is excellent.

Second half:
The transitions continue into the second half, when the coffee makes room for more sweet cream and, new to the club, caramel. Smoke output has been and continues to be medium, which is fine for a cigar that convinces with mellowness, looking askance at some of its brethren who loudly announce new flavours with a thump, looking for your immediate approval like a Fox terrier who finally decided to heel after being called fifteen times. The RA2 expects you to relax and concentrate. It is therefore not an easy cigar.
Are you drawing too hard, is the butt of the cigar becoming wet? Then it introduces nasty tannins as a form of official complaint. Take your time though, enjoy the moment, and the RA2 will outperform the majority of cigars, price point no matter.

This gets me thinking. Over here, Messrs. Padron and Fuente are competing with Cuba pricewise when you come to the top of their respective product pyramids. Top Cubans however are in another price league altogether. Still, I wonder if 30 Euro for a proper Cuban Churchill, like a Romeo y Julieta, might not be the better deal compared to a 35 Euro Padron or Fuente …… If only quality control was reliable.

Where was I? First, and as it turns out later, only, ash on the RA2 falls after 3 inches. I am a lucky sod this time around and the construction of this cigar is impeccable. The char line remains skewed, but unchanged, and therefore does not bother me. Further transitions introduce fruit and pepper, what colour I cannot tell you, in exchange for the coffee. I am going to miss it, but the new flavours are equally pleasant.

Some reviewers have experienced a sudden change in the last third, complaining of sharpness, muddy barnyard and equally unwelcome notes. No such thing here. I put it down to, you might have guessed it, four years of age versus hardly any. I am not going to repeat my little sermon but do yourself a favour and age your Cubans. One year is good, more is better.

After a delightful 90 minutes, the cigar is devoutly laid to rest. The flavours settled down in the last third, not much more transitioning except for a surprising flash of honey towards the end. Surprising, but welcome.

Final thoughts:
The temptation to end this review with a quote of my cigar merchant of choice when I still actively bought Cubans is great:
“The Cubans know how to do it. Why can’t it always be like this?”

The answer is obvious and wordy. I will just refer the dear reader to the fact that, apparently, large areas of the island, including some cities, have recently been without electricity for weeks.

But I want to end on a positive note. Do not give up on Cuba. When done right, when aged, their cigars are one of a kind. Like this RA2.

Final Score: 98

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: carsten dettmar, cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, cuban cigars, katman, Katman Rekap ~ Ramón Allones – Allones No. 2 Edición Limitada 2019 ~ Guest Review by Georg Babbs (Our Man in Europe) | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, phil kohn, ramon allones cigars