Felix Assouline Cigars

It's been over a month since my last update. Readers rejoice, I'm here. You may now recommence the party.

I had a rep come in today from one Felix Assouline Cigars, and I need to get something of my chest, immediately. The brand's namesake has a terrible last name. "Assouline", pronounced like "Gasoline", is not only difficult to phonetically understand, it makes me thing of the unholy mating of "Ass" and "Gasoline", which is a bridge none of us, except those of you coming from 4chan, wants to cross.

So lets push that off the table and onto the ground for the dogs to feast on, because I know what you're interested in: the cigars. My perception so far, is that the cigars are good.

I'm currently smoking a cigarillo they produce, it's actually a tiny ring-gauge version of another cigar they make, the EGO. the EGO line has a few interesting tidbits about it. First, their cigarillo is the only long-fill cigarillo I've ever come across. I unwrapped it to check. Sure enough, it holds an ash and has a great draw. Flavors aren't as pronounced as it's wider cousin, but it's still one of the best cigarillos I've ever smoked. The ego has another interesting facet in it's line. The "Perfect" vitola is the world's first box pressed perfecto, verified at last year's IPCPR.

Most of Assouline's (wow, that gets worse as you say it) other cigars are blends are wrapped in a decent looking Habano 98 wrapper, bound with a leaf of Indonesian tobacco, and filled with a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran filler.

I've never had Indonesian tobacco before. I have literally no comment on it for better or worse. Someone pointed out to me that Sumatran tobacco should technically be Indonesian, however, most of this tobacco is actually "Ecuadorian Sumatra", which I surmise means it's a Sumatran strain grown in Ecuador.

Our rep mentioned to us that Ass-Gasoli... damn it... Assouline is working on a puro blend from his Honduran stock. Blends are all well and good, and can be accomplished well by a talented blender, but puro cigars have a higher chance of fairly showcasing the flavors of the selected leaves. It is for this reason that I'm excited to smoke what Assouline is blending next.

All in all, the blends that I smoked received mixed reviews. I liked his "Something Special" and the "EGO" both in the perfecto and cigarillo formats. The others that I gave out seemed to have a cold reception.

I'd give his work a 3/5. It's still maturing, and I'm excited to see what he produces next.

-Ephram Rafael Nadaner
Current Smoke: EGO Shot (Cigarillo format)