Room 101 and Matt Booth were in full force at this years IPCPR. There were a number collaborations coming from Matt and Robert Caldwell but this year Matt released his first new blend since coming back into the cigar scene. Known as the Farce, the new blend is described as:
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian
- Binder: Indonesian
- Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania
Manufactured at Tabacalera William Ventura in the Dominican Republic, the Room 101 Farce is available in 4 different vitolas each packaged in 20- count boxes.
- Lonsdale (6.5 x 42) – MSRP $10.50
- Robusto (5 x 52) – MSRP $10.90
- Toro (6.25 x 54) – MSRP $11.90
- Gordo (6.5 x 60) – MSRP $12.90
There is also a fifth (event only), 4 x 42 vitola, known as the Papi Chulo.
For this review I sampled the Pre-Release of the Room 101 Farce Londsdale which I received at the show for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Room 101 Farce is a beautiful looking cigar sporting a medium brown wrapper with a decent oily sheen and a light marbling. There are just a few veins running along the barrel and the cigar is neatly finished with a triple cap.
I can’t say much about the band, as it was a generic white band with black print that clearly identified it as the Room 101 Farce – Pre-Release.
Running the Farce along the nose there is fermented leaf aroma along the barrel and the foot offered notes of nut and hint of fruit.
I did a straight cut of the cap and gave it some cold draw puffs. The draw was much to my liking and warmed my inner cheeks and lips with a cayenne pepper note and a hint of dark chocolate. As I am writing this I am thinking about this dark pepper chocolate that I had years ago in France. It gave the taste buds quite a journey. As I continued to roll the cigar about, savoring the cold draw, I also detected notes of nut, sweetness, and bit of earth. Wow, there is a lot going on before you even put the flame to this.
Well, flame is what comes next as I can only cold puff for so long. I used a cedar spill to ignite and drew in a full and rich puff of smoke that was full of pepper especially on the nasals.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial pepper on the nasal, cheeks, and lips
- Thick and full volume of smoke
- Light grey ash evolves on a thick char line
- Dry leather notes enter
- Ash fell after a bit more than inch of burn exposing a slightly off centered burn cone
- Citrus notes add to the profile along with a floral aroma
- Burn starts to wave off a notch
- Citrus becomes more “IPA like” – bitter grapefruit
- Cedar notes enter moving into second third
- Strength increases
- Nutty notes find their way along with a hint of spicy cinnamon
- Midway there is a nuance of sweetness that tries to tone down the spice and citrus
- The spice prevails and increases through the final along with an earthy aroma
- Smoke started to get hot near the end.
- Medium to Full in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Overall, we rate the Room 101 Farce Pre-Release Lonsdale a 91. The cigar had some decent flavors and aromas that transitioned well throughout the burn, however the cigar exhibited some burn issues in the first half and the smoke began to burn hot down at the final third. At a price point of $10.50 this is one I might buy again if I saw it in a humidor. I am curious how the other vitolas perform.
Point Deductions: (-1) Off Burn; (-2) Smoke is hot at final; (-1) Off Centered Burn Cone; (-1) Buy one Again
