Just back from our La Casa del Habano in Hamburg where my colleague Christoph and I decided to do a comparative taste test on the 2007 Bolivar Belicosos Finos (dress box).
Not a terribly scientific taste test having decided to drink diet coke between cigars but a most enjoyable 4 cigars in 4 hours for sure 🙂
Two winners emerged. The May 2007 was very good indeed but lighter in flavour than one would usually expect from this brand and vitola.
The July 2007 from the Partagas factory was quite perfect. Full flavour, medium to full strength, spicy, smooth and complex. A perfect draw and a colorado maduro wrapper make this an all round winning package for me.
When I got back to London I decided to try a 2002 followed by a 2003 BBF and despite the additional age of these cigars they simply were not a patch on the 2007 examples.
I gather the 2007 filler tobacco in the BBF’s was already matured at the time of rolling, add to that around 6 months of box age and the cigars are ready to go but….think of the possibilities for this cigar with a further 2, 5,10 years aging ! If ever there was a candidate for a perfect cigar to age, the BBF is a winner.
The BBF has been in my rotation for some time now, probably since 2004 when this blend really seemed to have been turned around. Occasionally I have smoked a BBF followed by a Partagas P2 to contrast the flavour profile. They are quite dramatically different…..try them with Hagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. It will tantalize your taste buds 🙂
2007 went by so fast…I must have been enjoying myself more than ever! .It’s been wonderful meeting up with so many friends and clients all over the world this year. I plan to do it all again next year! I’d like to meet up with even more cigars aficionados in 2008 and plan a series of cigar dinners /herfs /talks all over the world.
Late January I’ll be in the Far East, early February Texas, late February Havana, March Hamburg and so on and on and on. If you would like to join me at one of our planned herfs drop me an email at [email protected] I’d be delighted to send you details.
Our herfs are informal occasions for like minded cigar smokers to get together and enjoy good food, wine, conversation and of course cigars. I am always delighted to discuss vintage, aged and rare Havanas.
It’s been a very exciting year with the relocation of our Liverpool cigar store (Turmeaus Tobacconist) and the opening of a new whisky and cigar store in Glasgow (Robert Graham Ltd) ensuring our place as one of the most important cigar merchants in the country.
I sincerely hope that all of our clients, whether in my retail stores or over the internet, have received “service second to none” from my sales teams. We pride ourselves on offering the finest old fashioned personal service with the highest levels of expert knowledge available and gladly shared. If you have not received the best of service I want to know about it so please drop me an email.
Thanks to my dream team for a banner year, Michelle, Laura, Fraser, Art, Christine and staff….you guys are the best.
Thanks to Hunters and Frankau and Habanos S.A. for their continued support and the finest cigars in the world.
Wishing clients and friends of C.Gars Ltd, Robert Graham Ltd, La Casa del Habano-Hamburg, Global whiskies, a very Merry Christmas and a smoky new year 🙂 
Peaceful puffing 
Mitchell