Savinelli R&R Series Y Cigar Review

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This review is sponsored by Silo Cigars, home to rare cigars, aged cigars, and hard to find boutique cigars.

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The "R&R" in the Savinelli R&R Series Y stands for Rico y Raro, or Rich and Rare. I'm not sure how rare these cigars are but I would whole heartedly agree that it is a rich tasting cigar. This cigar was introduced in 2008 and consists of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, with a binder and filler from Nicaraguan grown Cuban seed long leaf tobacco. A total of four vitolas are available with no ring gauges smaller than 52. I smoked the double robusto which measures 54 ring gauge by 5.5 inches.

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The cigar has a strong barnyard aroma with predominate sweetness detected at the foot. The construction is neatly done and finished off with a triple cap. No large veins were detected on this smooth and evenly packed robusto.

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The initial flavors showed nice chocolatey notes and a vanilla-like creaminess, along with a peppery finish. I detected some definite Nicaraguan "zing" in this smoke. The tangy wood flavor developed into a more defined sweet cedary character after about the one inch point. The pepperiness also ramps up as you smoke it, but nothing overwhelming in my opinion. In fact, I found the cigar to be nicely balanced with it's caramel sweetness tempering the peppery note. The cedar body gives way to leather in the second half of the smoke. No bitterness was detected even though holes in the filler caused the cigar to smoke hot in the second half.

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The draw was nicely open and free. The burn line was thick and wavy with the resulting ash looking dark gray and flakey. I had to touch up the burn line several times but this may have been due to being outside in windy conditions.

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Overall, this was a nice rich flavored cigar that gave off a pleasant room note of quality aged tobacco with chocolatey notes. My mouth stayed moist which was a nice change of pace from toasty cigars which can leave your mouth dry like the Sahara desert. My only complaint is that the cigar was not available in smaller ring gauges, not even the traditional 50x5! Hopefully the manufacturers will reconsider and add smaller sizes to their line-up.

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The retail price of the double robusto is $7.45 a stick. Give Silo Cigars a call at 1-865-675-7456 for current prices and availability.

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Mi Barrio (El Puro) Cigar Review

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According to EO Cigars website, the Mi Barrio cigars are a limited edition seasonally released cigar available four times a year. The boxes feature original artwork by Edin Gutierrez. "El Puro" is the first of four releases and "pays homage to Pepin Garcia and Orestes Espinosa Sr., Erik Espinosa's father, who has been an avid cigar enthusiast for most of his life." The wrapper is Nicaraguan Habano and the filler and binder is from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. The website further states that the cigars will all measure the same unique size and ring gauge but comprise different blends of tobacco. However, after a quick look around the internet, I found the Mi Barrio "El Acere" listed in at least three different sizes, which is different from the "El Puro" which is 7.5 inches by 52 ring gauge. Obviously, the manufacturer had a change of heart. Anyways...

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The "El Puro" version was given to me by my sponsor Silo Cigars. It is a hefty double corona with a mottled appearance, slightly oily, with a soft suede-like texture. The cigar was rolled well with a neat three seam cap and no large veins present. The cigar gave off a barnyard aroma along with some peppery notes.

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After clipping the cigar, the draw was free with some resistance. The initial flavors were nice and creamy, almost buttery, with nice sweetness and hints of wood and vanilla. There was also a touch of pepper on the finish but overall the cigar was smooth and showed a nice "soft" mouthfeel. The finish was also clean and toasty. The cigar was medium in body and towards the end, approaches a fuller, more syrupy consistency with a longer caramel and cedary finish. No notes of bitterness was detected.

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Overall, the cigar was a pleasure to smoke. The draw was perfect and effortless and produced a nice thick volume of smoke. My only complaints was the wavy burn line and the difficult to remove cigar band. The ash formed was gray and black in color, compact, but "soft" looking. If you or anybody you know is a cigar smoking art collector, this would make a great gift.

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The cigar retails for $12.00 a stick at Silo Cigars. Call 1-865-675-7456 for prices and availability.

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