The Velvet Cigar

Posted By Elvis on June 16, 2008

Thanks to Cigar Jack for this picture…this cigar is so new, they have the only picture of it!! Just proves how ahead of the game Jack is!

It’s Father’s Day and I have been neglecting all my cigar blog children for too long. It’s not that I have stopped smoking cigars…I’ve just been too lazy to put my thoughts to “paper” lately. I’ve had a couple of new cigars lately worth blogging about and tis the season with RTDA right around the corner and all the new sticks coming out. I know they have new call letters, but they has too many digits for me to remember! The IPCAHKFORBFJK or something.

Anyway, about a week ago I ventured into Tobacco Grove here in Minnesota. I don’t get out there too often because it’s a bit of a haul and I don’t care for their operating hours. They close at 8pm, so after coming home from work, eating dinner, and fighting traffic, I’m not about to drive a half hour for 10 minutes of smoking time. I know most shops close early during the week, but if you are going there to truly enjoy the experience as opposed to just making a purchase, then they need to think about staying open until 10pm. I guess it depends on what they feel the draw is of their clientele…the selection of smokes or the attraction of their lounge. Tobacco Grove without a doubt caters to the former….they have perhaps the greatest selection in the Twin Cities for cigars and they recently remodeled their entire humidor with custom made wooden trays….yes, that’s right…you will not find any cigar boxes from various sticks lining the humidor shelves. The whole thing is packed with these awesome wooden trays which effectively doubled or tripled the capacity they can now hold. Now, this makes it a little tougher to identify all their offerings, but for me, that’s also pretty fun..that way I don’t miss anything because I have to zoom in on every little compartment. And it wasn’t until I did my second perusal of their stock that I stumbled upon something new….the Alec Bradley Tempus. The clerk told me he smokes the hell out of these and they remind him of cinnamon buns when he lights one up. Good enough for me.

Now, Alec Bradley and I have a history. I tried one of their old school Tri-Press Maduros once upon a time and totally started buying them because they were damn cheap and they were just plain unique. But I overdid them and got sick of them after awhile. In fact when the Maxx came out, I didn’t even bother trying one. But this new, re-branding they have done with the Tempus really makes them stand out. And the gorgeous, complex wrapper the Tempus sports just makes them look like a far more premium cigar sitting there on the shelf gleaming with oils. The band is also much more high class looking that the primary colors of their early days.

I’m not going to rehash the work of all the other blogs who have covered this cigar and go into the history of this re-branding and in particular, this new leaf and the wrapper that has been aging since 1997. But I should mention it has both Criollo and Corojo blended together…two tobaccos that on their own, I’m not always a big fan of. Instead I want to focus on the taste and the one amazing quality I’ve never seen before in a cigar.

First, the flavors. BIG. This cigar is full of complexity that just lights up your mouth and all of your senses….the smell isn’t quite cinnamon buns, but there is a really pleasant fresh baked from the oven aroma of either bread or pie or something…wow. There is plenty of chocolate and coffee notes and a really wide variety of spices that my palate couldn’t quite name, but all of them mingling together creates an awesome experience. It’s got a little strength to it, but it keeps your head balanced because of one thing that Mr. Bradley has done I’ve never experienced. He has some magic ingredient that makes this thing smoke incredibly slow. I’m not kidding….I’m puffing on this torpedo just like I do any other cigar and the cigar just doesn’t go anywhere. The draw is great, the burn totally even. But it’s not vaporizing as quickly as your normal cigar. And the proof of this is in the ash. When you finally need to tap the end, the ash falls off in pure powder fashion. There is no tight spiral of tobacco leaves now turned gray. There is only cigar powder. I don’t know what he’s done to make the contents burn so perfectly and so completely, that only pulverized ash remains are left. A really rewarding experience and worth way more than the $12 I spent on it in tax heavy Minnesota. Probably be $7 anywhere else.

I immediately started trying to find a box of these online to see what they would go for and I’ve got to say Tobacco Grove is well ahead of all competition in the world out there. I don’t like to support buying cigars online, but no other shop has them in town yet. I only found one site that seemed to have the stick up for grabs and it was some obscure site I’ve never heard of. So until the rest of the world catches up, I’m going to stop by this shop and pick up a few more soon. Happy Father’s Day everyone….I would give this cigar the highest rating in some time…a full 5 out of 5 couches….the elusive Crushed Velvet Couch award!!

Elvis

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Categories: Cigar Indulgence
Tags: Alec Bradley, tempus