Have you been watching Rafael Nodal from Boutique Blends and Aging Room Cigars on social media? He has been globe-trotting and working extra hard selling his brand. It is what he does as a passionate cigar man. The success of his brand is spectacular. As a fan of the Quattro line I was more than pleased, when Rafael presented me the new F59 Quattro, in its single coffin case, at this years IPCPR.
The F59 Quattro is a Domincan Puro constructed completely from special Habanao Domincana leaves in the Filler, Binder, and Wrapper. There was no skimping on the creation of this blend. In his own words Rafael states:
We are not producing cigars for everyone. We are introducing new blends for educated consumers that are looking for cigars with complexity and character.
For those not familiar with Boutique Blends and Aging Room Cigars, the names are derived from when the blend was created. The letter is the day of the week and the number is the amount of days into the year. So you can easily decode this, like in the case of the F59, it was conceived on Friday the 59th day of the year. Looking back at the calendar, you will find that date was Feb 28 2014. Cool and simple, eh?
This years Quattro introduction is available in 5 vitolas:
- 50 X 7 – CONCERTO
- 54 X 6 – VIBRATO
- 52 X 6 – MAESTRO (TORPEDO)
- 50 X 5 – ESPRESSIVO
- 46 X 4.5 – STRETTO
Oh, did I forget to mention that the man behind this brand is also an accomplished pianist and has a special love of music almost as much as cigars?
Here is a video of him from a few years ago playing his own composed piano piece:
So I just got back from a short trip to the Florida Keys and wanted to fire up a special cigar. Opening my humidor I dd not have to look far to decide what the pleasure will be this evening. The F59 Quattro has been sitting there since July of this year and it was just the right cigar to enjoy after a long car ride home. For this review I sampled the 52×6 Maestro.
F59 Quattro
Taking the small box out and sliding the coffin cover back you can’t help but notice the satin-smooth box pressed torpedo. Taking out of its resting area, it has no idea it is about to be turned to ash. It feels firm in the hand with a nice weight. The wrapper is dark brown and marbleized with a slight sheen to it.
The F59 Quattro is adorned with 2 bands. The primary band is the standard Aging Room band with “F59” imprinted in blue on it. A secondary footer band declares it as the F59 Quattro.
Running it across the nose I pick up a delicate sweetness of fermented tobacco and hints of earth.
Since it was a torpedo I sliced it just enough to open it up, leaving about a 1/4 inch opening in the head. This provided just enough restriction to grab the flavor. The dry draw offered some already complex notes of earth, pepper, and spice. There was a touch of sweetness that was primarily on the lips.
I warmed the foot gently and then gave it a few initial puffs that hit me with a double shot of black pepper. As the pepper tones down, notes of butter and spice delight the palate. The air around me fills with a blossoming floral aroma.
The burn is perfect so far, something I have come to appreciate with Aging Room cigars. The ash is whitish grey in color but does not hold on for a long time. It fell around an inch and half, at least I know where it breaks so I don’t keep “ashing” my clothes. The oils quickly develop on the wrapper preparing to deliver even more flavor sensations. I did slice a smidgen more off the head to open the draw up a bit more.
Deep into the first third the floral aroma starts to shift to a nice maple syrup. The spice is gentle but still there and the retro-hale is pleasant with no serious bite on the nose.
A white pepper component enters and hits the back of the throat to further awaken the taste buds that are then greeted with notes of espresso, cedar, and a hint of cocoa. The strength is building well and I would describe it as solid medium in the second half with a full body of smoke.
The aroma shifts again to more earthy in nature as the retro-hale gets a bit more spicy. The flavors have blended nicely. The maple continues with some spice.
There is a sight wave near the end but that could just be me puffing a little to fast as the flavor was so delightful.
F59 Quattro
Finally, just before setting it down, a touch of leather appears and the strength has moved to the low-end of full.
Overall, the F59 Quattro was a terrific smoking experience that is sure to please any aficionado and other seasoned cigar smokers. It was a full flavor, full body cigar that had no construction issues and provided a relaxed 90 minutes of solitude after a long road trip. I did smoke a second one and I have to say it paired very well with a “Not Your Father’s RootBeer”, the spice mixed well with the sweetness and vanilla in the beverage. Thank you Rafael for the samples.
F59 Quattro