This last week, particularly Thursday and Friday, were cigar filled days on the eve and day of my 36th birthday. Thursday meant the quarterly cigar dinner for the Founder's Club at Churchill's in the Brown Palace. The dinner was Vodka themed, meaning the meal had a significant Russian and Polish twist to it. Mmm, mmm good. By far, the best of the drinking was represented by the infused vodkas made by the chefs at the Brown Two, in particular, were especially noteworthy; the bloody Mary infused vodka, and the dill cucuumber vodka. Both were Sobieski vodka, and both tasted like you would think they would. The bloody Mary tasted like a well made, spicy cocktail of the same name, only in an easy to drink single pour. The dill and cucuumber concoction tasted like a dill pickle. Fantastic! The cigars were supplied by Padron, and included a 1964 Principe, a 1964 Toro, and the 45 year Family Blend (the #1 cigar of 2009 according to Cigar Aficionado). The 45 year was a fanstastic cigar, and probably worth most of the accolades it received from CA. It was a spicier version of Puro than Padron typically puts out, and that's probably why I enjoyed it so much. It was loaded with chocolate and coffee, plus a bit of black pepper for an additional kick. I have another waiting for me, which I will enjoy when I haven't already had 3 other cigars in that particular sitting.
Friday, my lovely wife took me out for a steak dinner at Del Frisco's. My pre-steak cigar was the new Room 101 (robusto) by Camacho. I'm not usually a fan of cigars which hype themselves as new cultural icons, shrouded in tattooed Hollywood mystique, but I'm not opposed to trying them either. And I'm glad I did. The flavors were wonderful, although they were a bit flat. If I had to sum it up quickly, I'd say it was a cross between a Camacho Diploma and a Triple Maduro, with a little spice added to the blend. The "flatness" is nothing new, nor particularly anything bad, when it comes to Camacho cigars. They very typically seem to have a papery, wet cardboard undertone to them, but not to the point where they aren't enjoyable. This cigar is no different. Some dryness on the palate, but a nice spicy kick on top of the espresso flavors up front. The spice slowly faded toward the end, and the overall finish was clean. This is a cigar I wouldn't hesitate to pick up again, and likely will in the very near future.
