Reviews by Erick V
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Escape Mediocrity - Explore Excursion
Summer is coming to a close. Maybe it’s a bit early to be thinking about, but it’s true. It’s a bummer, too, but it does mean one thing is right around the corner: the return of Sunday night games, and Fantasy Football. As I write this we’re one week away from the CI Office Draft, and if you look closely at anyone’s browser, you’ll probably see an ESPN tab hidden in there somewhere. You can get a ton of draft advice, but, inevitably, the topic always comes back to sleepers — what player is no one paying attention to, that they should be.
There’s no fantasy cigar leagues that I know of (although if there were, I’d go ????? in the first round), but with the truckloads of awesome brands that exist right now, there are certainly some sleepers in the cigar world. Handmades that get unnoticed, while the same old stuff goes off the shelves. Which is a roundabout way of getting to our review cigar today: Latitude Zero Excursion.
I can be a bit wordy, so if you’re looking for a short, sweet review, I’ll sum it up for you as best I can. Latitude Zero has been an awesome brand since Day 1 that they were introduced, and in my humble opinion, Excursion is their best cigar yet. By a landslide. It’s a rich, powerful experience that has me seriously considering picking up two or three pouches on my next order. Not only is this easily one of the best cigars I’ve smoked this year, it’s one of the best Maduros I’ve smoked in quite some time. Do yourself a favor, and stock up now, because I can’t even imagine how these will taste with some age on them.
If your attention span is short, click that Add to Cart button, and we’re done here. If you want some more information, let’s keep going.
So who makes Latitude Zero Excursion anyway? Oliva Tobacco Company. No, no, no, not that Oliva of V and Melanio fame. Oliva Tobacco Company is a provider of tobaccos for huge, ultra-premium brands like Davidoff, Ashton, and Montecristo. They’ve been one of the largest tobacco growers for over eight decades now, and were the creators of Ecuadorian Habano wrappers. In short, they know how to make a quality leaf, and they know it well. You may not know the name, but familiarize yourself with it now. If Ashton and Drew Estate are the A-list celebrities of each cigar blockbuster, Oliva Tobacco Company is the producer pulling all the strings and putting the wins together behind the scenes.
The blend is simple, on paper. We’ve got an oily, dark Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper (more on that in a second) over top a bed of handpicked Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers. This isn’t just any Broadleaf wrapper, though. It’s been specially fermented and left to age twice as long as industry standard. That extra aging time provides a glistening, brown chocolate bar colored wrapper that has some serious flavor to it. It also takes a bit of the edge off: while some Nicaraguan, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigars boast tons of strength and spice, this one goes for a more balanced, medium to full-bodied approach.
That chocolate bar appearance comes over to the taste. There’s certainly some strength here, but the profile is, as a whole, smooth as silk. Rich and chocolatey, with a nice bitter espresso finish and a bit of natural tobacco flavor in the background. It’s not quite “creamy”, but it’s insanely easy to take this one down to the nub. You could singe your fingertips on this one, and it won’t get harsh. And I’m speaking from experience there.
Remember when I said earlier that I tend to be really wordy? I wasn’t lying. Let’s get this wrapped up. If you enjoy Perdomo Champagne Noir, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, CAO Flathead, or, dare I say it, Liga Privada No. 9, this one should be an absolute no-brainer. As a matter of fact, if you like maduros at all, you better try this ASAP. I don’t get paid by the word, so I’m going to cut this review to a close. There’s about two inches left of the Latitude Zero Excursion Toro I’m enjoying now, and I’d like to finish it with no distractions.
There’s no fantasy cigar leagues that I know of (although if there were, I’d go ????? in the first round), but with the truckloads of awesome brands that exist right now, there are certainly some sleepers in the cigar world. Handmades that get unnoticed, while the same old stuff goes off the shelves. Which is a roundabout way of getting to our review cigar today: Latitude Zero Excursion.
I can be a bit wordy, so if you’re looking for a short, sweet review, I’ll sum it up for you as best I can. Latitude Zero has been an awesome brand since Day 1 that they were introduced, and in my humble opinion, Excursion is their best cigar yet. By a landslide. It’s a rich, powerful experience that has me seriously considering picking up two or three pouches on my next order. Not only is this easily one of the best cigars I’ve smoked this year, it’s one of the best Maduros I’ve smoked in quite some time. Do yourself a favor, and stock up now, because I can’t even imagine how these will taste with some age on them.
If your attention span is short, click that Add to Cart button, and we’re done here. If you want some more information, let’s keep going.
So who makes Latitude Zero Excursion anyway? Oliva Tobacco Company. No, no, no, not that Oliva of V and Melanio fame. Oliva Tobacco Company is a provider of tobaccos for huge, ultra-premium brands like Davidoff, Ashton, and Montecristo. They’ve been one of the largest tobacco growers for over eight decades now, and were the creators of Ecuadorian Habano wrappers. In short, they know how to make a quality leaf, and they know it well. You may not know the name, but familiarize yourself with it now. If Ashton and Drew Estate are the A-list celebrities of each cigar blockbuster, Oliva Tobacco Company is the producer pulling all the strings and putting the wins together behind the scenes.
The blend is simple, on paper. We’ve got an oily, dark Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper (more on that in a second) over top a bed of handpicked Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers. This isn’t just any Broadleaf wrapper, though. It’s been specially fermented and left to age twice as long as industry standard. That extra aging time provides a glistening, brown chocolate bar colored wrapper that has some serious flavor to it. It also takes a bit of the edge off: while some Nicaraguan, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigars boast tons of strength and spice, this one goes for a more balanced, medium to full-bodied approach.
That chocolate bar appearance comes over to the taste. There’s certainly some strength here, but the profile is, as a whole, smooth as silk. Rich and chocolatey, with a nice bitter espresso finish and a bit of natural tobacco flavor in the background. It’s not quite “creamy”, but it’s insanely easy to take this one down to the nub. You could singe your fingertips on this one, and it won’t get harsh. And I’m speaking from experience there.
Remember when I said earlier that I tend to be really wordy? I wasn’t lying. Let’s get this wrapped up. If you enjoy Perdomo Champagne Noir, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, CAO Flathead, or, dare I say it, Liga Privada No. 9, this one should be an absolute no-brainer. As a matter of fact, if you like maduros at all, you better try this ASAP. I don’t get paid by the word, so I’m going to cut this review to a close. There’s about two inches left of the Latitude Zero Excursion Toro I’m enjoying now, and I’d like to finish it with no distractions.
94
Ladderball Pro Steel
Let me tell you, I have been to my fair share of tailgates…Go Phillies...and I have played just about every game in the book while under the influence of certain intoxicants. Washers, Quoits, Corn Hole, KanJam, Flip-Cup, 500, Chandelier, Beer Pong, etc…I’ve done it all. And no matter what, I always find myself partaking in a few rounds of, “Hey! I bet I can beat you in a race,” and, “Dude! Wanna wrestle?” But I must say, Ladderball is by far my favorite. It’s quite relaxing with a beverage in hand, and a slew of degrading taunts spewing from your mouth.
Unfortunately, I’ve only had the luxury of experiencing the plastic version…flimsy, cheap, and if you fall on the thing...Game Over! It explodes into a bazillion shards of PVC, and you look like Pinhead from those Hellraiser movies once you can stagger back to your feet.
That’s why I jumped on the opportunity to do a little product testing on the new Ladderball Pro Steel. Constructed of durable but lightweight steel, I was a fan 30 seconds after I pulled it out of the box. Assembly was crazy simple. Directions were easy to follow, it only took me 4 minutes 43 seconds to construct this masterpiece (I timed myself on purpose…I was slightly handicapped by the cigar in my hand). The Bolas were much nicer than others I have seen. Looks like they used a softer material for the balls but they still had a nice bit of heft. Playability was awesome, the ladders didn’t teeter or go bouncing around on all my manly tosses. One of the best features…unlike that pile of camping tents you have in the garage, this thing disassembled in no time and slid comfortably back into its handy storage bag with no trouble at all. A great buy for the backyard picnic or tailgate.
P.S. I paired this item with a La Herencia Cubana CORE and a couple Yuengling Lagers…bottles of course!
Unfortunately, I’ve only had the luxury of experiencing the plastic version…flimsy, cheap, and if you fall on the thing...Game Over! It explodes into a bazillion shards of PVC, and you look like Pinhead from those Hellraiser movies once you can stagger back to your feet.
That’s why I jumped on the opportunity to do a little product testing on the new Ladderball Pro Steel. Constructed of durable but lightweight steel, I was a fan 30 seconds after I pulled it out of the box. Assembly was crazy simple. Directions were easy to follow, it only took me 4 minutes 43 seconds to construct this masterpiece (I timed myself on purpose…I was slightly handicapped by the cigar in my hand). The Bolas were much nicer than others I have seen. Looks like they used a softer material for the balls but they still had a nice bit of heft. Playability was awesome, the ladders didn’t teeter or go bouncing around on all my manly tosses. One of the best features…unlike that pile of camping tents you have in the garage, this thing disassembled in no time and slid comfortably back into its handy storage bag with no trouble at all. A great buy for the backyard picnic or tailgate.
P.S. I paired this item with a La Herencia Cubana CORE and a couple Yuengling Lagers…bottles of course!
Romeo y Julieta Media Noche
As I was sitting at my computer puffing away on sample after sample, looking for a new blend worthy of a place in the humi, I got fed up with getting one dud after another. Either it was just an off day or someone else kept all the good samples to themselves…I’m going to guess it was the latter. By this point I was craving something delicious and remembered that the boss man had been harking on me to get some more reviews up. Perfect! I’ll kill two birds with one stone!
Not wanting to run the risk of picking another dud, for this review I decided to go with a proven winner - a timeless brand that never ceases to disappoint, and a brand that has been dipping its feet into some uncharted, robust territories as of late (right up my alley). I plunged head first into the Romeo y Julieta Media Noche.
First off, let me add what a breath of fresh air (metaphorically speaking) after the demoralizing morning I had. Even cold draws on this sucker produced an ear to ear smile across my face. A slight tinge of citrus was noticeable before even taking the flame to it and my day just got a whole lot better. The first third was pretty spot on to what you would expect from a San Andres maduro. There was a prominent sweet spice that was carried along by notes of leather and earth. Construction was top-notch as to be expected of anything with the Romeo name on it, but bold, heady flavors made for a nice change of pace from any Romeo I’ve come to know.
One unexpected downside was that the initial citrus I picked out on the cold draw seemed a distant memory once I sparked my 5.5 x 44 corona. It certainly wasn’t all bad though, the notes that replaced it were welcoming and complex. By the second third, even more entered the fray. Nuances of espresso teamed up with chocolate to usher in the final third. By this point Media Noche only required one touch up and if I were a more patient man I would put my money on it being able to correct itself…but sadly I am not.
About 45 minutes in and I am reclined as far back as my office chair will go, in a state of what I can only describe as a mix of smoking euphoria and relief that I finally found a keeper. At around an inch away from the nub the flavors are dominated by a toasty oak accented by hints of sweet black pepper. The ash impressively held on for close to three and a half inches, only complaint is ash is a bitch to get out from under the keys of my keyboard – but I supposed that is a user error. All in all Romeo y Julieta Media Noche was a pleasing medium to full-body new addition to the historic Romeo brand. It has enough body to satisfy those full-bodied fanatics and enough pronounced flavors for those beginners to be able to pin point some of those nuances all the veterans have been boasting about for so long.
91