Saint Luis Rey Churchills Cigar - 1 Single - Vintage 2001

Reviewed by Dr Joe Garguilo (December 2000)

27th November - Cigar 1

Occasion / Circumstances: Saturday Evening, After Dinner, without alcohol before or after.

Initial Impressions: Pale or Light brown wrapper, very few and small / thin veins. Excellent, consistent shape, with a very nicely applied cap. Not oily but a silky touch to the wrapper cigar is firm, with no soft sports. Well, but not densely packed.

Interesting Note: It appears to show its 'filler components' a bit, i.e. I can see an inner and outer core to this cigar. The inner being lighter in color than the outer. The size of these cores is about equal to approx. 3/8" to the inner and 1/4-5/16" to the outer.

On lighting: Quickly taste a sweet spiciness, very distinctive, even unique to my palate. One side ran slightly within 1/4 of Ash formation.

Smoking: Draw firm and even. Taste is consistent with initial comments.

Flavour: Not rich, also not a strong 'smoke'. Burn has also evened out (no running). The flavour is filling out about 1/4 way through the cigar. A subtle richness showing, with more of the traditional 'bite' of tobacco becoming evident

Very pleasant cool smoke. Rather light, gray, and very fragrant smoke, certainly a 'perfume', filling the room. The taste is dry, i.e. not running with juices. A sign of a well matured tobacco. Too much juice and thats all you taste; here the tobacco truly gets a chance to burn and thus show its distinctive nature very delicious no doubt.

Ash: A very tight light gray, with some black, more 'flaky' bits on the surface. Perhaps some evidence of the 'cores' mentioned above. At about 1 1/4", the ash has begun to curve, as if ready to drop, but actually is holding fast. Dropped the first ash at 1 1/2" in, 1 piece, evenly firm.

Overall a very classy smoke. Delicate almost, but not in any sort of a 'weak' fashion. Extremely well crafted. This cigar should be enjoyed for its own merits. Although I'm sure it would be fine with food, or drink for that matter, I think the subtilties of this cigar are best appreciated one on one.

3rd December - Second Cigar

Occasion/Circumstances: Midday, long walk with the dog!

Oh how I needed this smoke! Mondays are always rough! I'm sure most would agree, there's always too much to do. Leftovers from the prior week, things to settle, fires to put out. This was one fire I couldn't wait to start. Although very tired, and home late (it's usually past 1am before the work is done), I often find this the best time of the day. For me this may be the true test of a cigar. No disappointment here. Once again the Saint Luis Rey delivered a wonderful smoke. This cigar seemed a bit richer on the palate and perhaps a bit sweeter in taste. Very smooth and delicate, that perfume rolling all around me. An even smoke, with all the positive qualities of the others, and in fact, no negatives at all.

Overall Conclusions

I very much enjoyed the Saint Luis Rey Churchill. I don't usually smoke this size cigar, preferring coronas during the day and robustos at night. The Saint Luis is a very refined cigar, elegant in feel, silky in taste, consistent in construction. Not a cigar to be taken lightly, but one that deserves rapt attention. Its well worth it. This is not a 'football' or third drink cigar to me. The 'perfume' description of this smoke fits well I think it is a cigar not to be messed. Just enjoy the time with it and know for that 45 minutes or so, that all is right with the world......

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Reviewed by Joe Gellman

Having read about this cigar in all the tomes on Cuban cigars, I was ready for a full-bodied, sweet, floral smoke. The mavens were wrong, again (or my selection was far superior to those written about). While there were floral tones with a hint of sweetness, I did not find this cigar to be full-bodied, at all.

All samples measured an exacting 7 x 47 (17.8 x 1.8 cm). The caps were all perfectly placed but the foot on each was not cut evenly. The wrappers all were a deep, rich Colorado-maduro brown and showed evidence of outer veins. My selection had been laid down for 4 months and had begun to show a rich oily sheen, already. The cigars were fabricated at the Miguel Fernandez Roig Factory, in Havana, though I understand that they are now made in other factories in the area.

Belying its size, this cigar is milder than its brother, the Regios, more towards being medium bodied, and perfect for any time of the day, though I would hesitate smoking one after a heavy meal.

The cigar cut well, and had a light woody flavor, before lighting. It was fresh smelling and, upon lighting, gave off a light fragrant flowery aroma, making this a cigar easily smoked indoors or in mixed company.

My first impression was of sweet/tart Queen Anne Cherries (Perhaps my palate was finely tuned since I had recently eated cherries the day before - others might simply note a sweet/tart berry flavor. Regardless, this fresh taste was really worth the smoke). This lasted through the first half of the cigar and as I smoked it, it developed a hint of honey. There was a little toastyness noted while smoking the cigar which came and went. Towards the last half of the cigar I noticed a slight spice but it was rather elusive, at best. There was a hint of freshly raosted coffee at the last third of the cigar and by that time the tartness had dissipated, entirely. Overall the cigar was an excellent selection.

There were a few negative aspects of this cigar, none of which took away from the pleasure of the experience. The ash flaked from the first and the appearance of the wrapper was not very smooth. I kept having to brush away ashes from my shirt and had to relight the cigar twice. The ash was a light gray and revealed a magnesium rich silver ash from the filler.

I recommend this cigar and suggest it be in every smoker's humidor.