Vitola de Galera:  Hermoso No. 4
Vitola de Salida:  Choix Supreme
Shape: Parejo
Body: Square
Dimensions:  48 RG x 5 in
Vintage:  April 2011 / ENE
Age When Tasted:  3 yrs 11 mo

The Choix Supreme always makes me think of the Yucatan Penninsula in Mexico.  We take a trip to Tulum each year in early spring and I always bring along a box.  Their lightness and freshness is the perfect complement to the hot and steamy days on the Carribean coast.

In general I don’t smoke the Choix Supreme, nor most El Rey Del Mundos during the fall and winter months because their subtle (yet complex) flavor is better suited for warmer months.  An ideal pairing on a hot summer day for a Choix Supreme is a well chilled glass of oaky chardonnay–something like a  Neyers from the Carneros District in Napa Valley.  A vintage champagne is perfect as well.

This particular vitola has a taught, slightly pliable body that is lightly veined and feels lovely in the hand. The yellow, gold and red band stands out beautifully against the slightly oily colorado wrapper.  Before lighting the draw is perfect and the wrapper has a caramel sweetness to it.  The foot is floral, herbaceous, and almond-like in aroma.

It lights beautifully, the burn is even and the ash develops a nice white-grey color.

The flavor a few minutes in is nutty and toffee-like with an amazing caramel sweetness–but with a distinctive coffee undertone. Very similar to the flavor of a lightly roasted espresso with lots of condensed milk in it.

As I get further in to the cigar,  the flavor shifts ever so slightly away from the caramel sweetness and starts to develop a “toasted bread” like flavor–with alot of substance.   Like how the edges of a rustic and perfectly crunchy crouton taste when they have been browned really well by the oven.

And the aftertaste lingers…it has a ‘yeasty” quality, not unlike how that crunchy crouton would taste as the last vestiges of it dissolve in the back of your mouth…A little similar to the yeasty quality of a Por Larranaga Petit Corona.

I enjoyed this lovely cigar over a leisurely 45 minutes or so, and smoked it almost down to the band. From lighting to the denouement, the cadence of flavors stayed consistent and well balanced. Not a bit of harshness or heat.

I like to let the Choix Supreme age about 4 years in the original box before I sample one, because,  they really do improve immensely with age.

It takes a ton of self restraint but it’s worth it.