This past Sunday it was one of the best Super Bowls ever played and being a huge Patriots fan I was getting ribbed pretty hard at the end of the 3rd qtr when the Seahawks were up 24 – 14. It looked like the end was in sight so I had to fire up a great smoke to get things moving along or at least relax a little. Sitting in the newly opened Mancave Cigar Lounge in Fort Lauderdale, I reached in my travel humidor and pulled out an Asylum 2012 Double Toro that my friend and owner of the lounge, Brian Berk, gifted me the week before. While waiting for the final quarter to start I examined the Asylum 2012 and was reminded of how well Tom Lazuka was at making cigars. The Asylum 2012 is a Nicaraguan puro that is bold in color and size. I am always cautious about large ring gauges but having had the Asylum 13, 6 x 60, I was not concerned with this one.
Asylum 2012
The Asylum 2012 is constructed from Esteli and Jalapa Fillers and a Maduro binder all wrapped in a silky smooth dark brown Nicaraguan Habano leaf with minimal veins. It was a solid stogie and had an above average weight to it. The band is similar to the the Asylum 13 except that it has no number in the center of the wings, but rather the year 2102 is located in the side of the band.The original thought behind this cigar was to be a “refuge from reality” and I needed that at this point in the game. You could say I was certainly not happy with my current reality.
As the the last quarter began, I clipped the well applied triple cap and gave this delightful stick a dry draw. I was greeted with honey and caramel while the foot had some notes of sweet hay and grass.
Toasting the foot and taking the first few puffs, the Asylum 2102 delivers a buttery flavored mouth filling smoke. Shortly into the burn I get hints of dried fruit and a delicate pepper in the background. The pepper does not burn on the retro-hale, in fact the retro-hale is extremely clean and smooth. The burn is solid and there is a developing tight grey ash. As I am starting to relax now, Tom Brady connects with Danny Amendola for a recording breaking 12 Super Bowl touchdowns. Wow, the Asylum is beginning to work.
As the game is beginning to shift so does the Asylum 2012. It is now offering up notes of coffee and chocolate and there is a pleasant nutty aroma coming off the foot. The wrapper is showing a glowing sheen in the light. My friends in the lounge have gotten quiet as two more Patriots fans enter and sit with me to offer more New England support for this wicked awesome moment. We needed all the support we could muster. The Asylum 2012 needed no support, as it burned like a champion, with a long tight ash. So far the strength has been medium and there are no soft spots or burn issues.
Midway through the 2nd third of the Asylum 2012, the light pepper faded and there was a touch of leather coming in. The head was a bit salty at this point. Speaking of this point, Brady connects with Julian Edelman for a go ahead TD pass and now its 28-24. As I jumped, the ash fell, it may have gone further but it was not on my mind. Like I said, all this game needed was a fine, good luck stick to be fired up. Continuing through the 2nd third there was not any real change in flavor but the strength started to creep up as did the Seahawks. Come on now, is it possible that the Asylum 2012 will not deliver the final punch. Just then Russell Wilson connects with Jermaine Kearse for one of the most incredible catches in the history of the game. Damn, I think to myself.
I puff on the Asylum 2012, hoping for a miracle. Bam…it happens, as Malcolm Butler intercepts Russell Wilson’s endzone pass. The Asylum did its job. the strength picked up considerably at the end and pandemonium breaks out on the field. The finish was sweet and tasty – the cigar that is – and this was a sweet win for the Patriots. It was like Luzuka made this cigar just for this game.
Thanks Tom for this “Refuge from Reality”
