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| Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano |
The Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion is a new line of cigars introduced by Pinar Del Rio (PDR Cigars) in 2012. This is Pinar Del Rio’s first line to have the names of the two company principals – Abraham Flores and Juan Rodriguez as the main part of the cigar name. The past two years have been dynamic for Pinar Del Rio. This started with the launch of the four blends that make up the popular PDR 1878 line. It continued into late last year when Flores and Rodriguez moved into their brand new PDR Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic. The Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Selecction – along with the Pinar Del Rio Small Batch Reserve and A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada are the first blends to come out of this new factory. Today, we explore the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano. This is one of two blends to be a part of the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Selecction line. Overall, I found this to be an outstanding release by Pinar Del Rio.
Like the Small Batch Reserve, the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion is going to be made in two blends – a maduro (Capa Maduro) and a habano seed wrapper (Capa Habano). Let’s take a closer loo at the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano and see what cigar delivers. As a disclaimer this assessment is based on a single cigar smoking experience.
Blend Profile
Both blends of the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion line are Dominican puros. In the case of the Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano, it uses a Dominican Habano wrapper.
Wrapper: Dominican Habano Vuelta Abajo
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitolas Available
Both blends of the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion are available in the following sizes:
Canonazo: 6 3/4 x 58
Genios: 6 x 52
Magicos: 5 x 52
Unicos: 6 1/2 x 52
Appearance
For my cigar experience, I selected the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano, I selected the Magicos vitola. The Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano Magicos features a medium brown colored wrapper. The wrapper is oily in complexion and bumpy to the touch. There are some visible wrapper seams and a some veins.
The band is very classic looking. It features a red, white, blue, and gold color scheme. In the middle of a band is a gold shield surrounded a blue circular background. A red ring surrounds the blue background. The text “Flores y Rodriguez” appears in white font at the top of the ring. On the lower part of the ring is the text “Tamboril” – also in white font. Tamboril refers to the town in the Dominican Republic where the PDR Cigars factory is located. There is gold trim around the board of the band. Going toward the back of the band are blue and white pinstripes. There is a small blue field on each side of the band that has the text “Hand Made” in white on it.
Overall, between the band and the cigar itself, I felt it did have some Cuban-esque qualities to it.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habana, I went with my usual straight cut into the cap of the cigar. The pre-light draw was probably one of the best I have gotten from any of the Pinar Del Rio cigars. In fact, this was one of the best pre-light draws I got in 2012. This was a dry draw that evolved very nicely. It started out woody with some natural sweetness and a light pepper spice that lingered on the tongue. As I continued the dry draw, the natural sweetness became more cinnamon-like, and the pepper slowly got bolder. Eventually the pepper became the dominant pre-light flavor note. At this point, I was very excited to fire up my Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habana and see what it would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habana had a nice mix of cinnamon, pepper spice, and wood to start. Around the five percent point, the wood notes morphed to a floral citrus mix. The floral citrus notes would become the primary notes while the cinnamon and pepper became a secondary note.
Around the 10 to 15 percent point, the floral component of the floral/citrus combination diminished and the citrus notes remained. The citrus notes had a bit of an acidic taste, but this was not an unpleasant taste. The wood notes also returned again.
Toward the end of the first third, some of the natural tobacco flavors that I detected on the pre-light draw emerged. These notes joined the wood flavors in the forefront and both alternated as to which was the primary flavor note. The citrus notes subsided into the background. This was the flavor pattern that would hold into the last third.
In the last third, the natural sweetness took over as the dominant flavor. The pepper increased as well, but did not quite make it into the forefront. The finish has a lot of flavor, and no harsh notes. The resulting nub was cool in temperature, but soft to the touch.
Burn and Draw
When it comes to burn and draw, I have felt many Pinar del Rio cigars have fallen short in this area. In the case of the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano, this one delivers some high scores, and has probably been the most impressive Pinar Del Rio in terms of these attributes. The burn line remained sharp from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal. The corresponding draw was outstanding – making the Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano a real joy to smoke.
Strength and Body
The Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano is a cigar that is going to have some strength from a nicotine perspective, but not overwhelming. I assessed this cigar to be a medium to full smoke. The flavors of Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano have some nice depth to them. The flavors were deep enough for this to qualify as a full-bodied cigar. While the body has a slight edge over strength, I still felt the strength and body of the Flores y Rodriguez Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano still balanced each other nicely.
Final Thoughts
The move to the new PDR Cigars factory seems to have really helped the cigars coming from Pinar Del Rio Cigars. In my opinion, this might be one of the best cigars to be produced by Pinar Del Rio. Combine the Cabinet Seleccion Capa Habano with the Pinar Del Rio Small Batch Reserve Maduro, and 2012 is proving to be one of the best years for Abe Flores and Juan Rodriguez. The Seleccion Cabinet Capa Habano is an outstanding tasting and well-constructed cigar. This would be a good cigar to give a novice enthusiast looking for something stronger and with more body. Experienced cigar enthusiasts will appreciate the flavor and construction of what this cigar brings to the table. As for myself, this is a cigar I’m looking forward to smoking again.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 92
Source: The cigar for this assessment was purchased from Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium in Danbury, Connecticut.
I smoked the maduro version last week and found it to be very enjoyable and a great value, as are most PDRs. Great review.