Well, the first review would have to be about this cigar released on 13/09/2021, which was already long awaited in the Brazilian market. The launch party took place at the “Esch Café” tobacconist in São Paulo.
It was a great party!
Many people were there to taste the novelty, and each guest who bought a box was provided with a kit containing a cigar cutter, matches, and a unit of the newly launched Habano.
The house was full but the staff there didn’t disappoint as they did not stop serving mojitos and appetizers for the guests.
For those who were there they offered a better price, so it’s obvious that most were excited to take at least one box. Some took two, three, ten and so on…
For this regional were made 6000 numbered boxes with 10 cigars each, in a total of 60,000 units, which makes it a very exclusive series, as after stocks are out there will be no “round 2” in production (as far as I know).
The name chosen for the cigar “Série B” refers to the exclusive Brazilian series and “No. 2” is due to the fact that this is the second exclusive cigar in Brazil. The first one was the Bolivar Redentor, launched in 2013 and sold out in 2018.
The cigar has 52 ring gauge by 135mm in length, making it very interesting, as we have an identical shape of the renowned Montecristo Edmundo, which is a bestseller and one of the best Montecristo´s nowadays.
Well, after arriving to the party I mentally blamed the general frenzy and bought myself a box. With it came my “kit” with a cigar to smoke at the party.
Friends were already waiting at the table and anxiety led me to cut and light the cigar as soon as possible, which I did.
However, before talking about the smoke impressions, I want to talk a little more about the El Rey Del Mundo brand and my experience with this brand, which until then was new at the Brazilian market.
The brand was created in 1848 along with Sancho Panza by a German guy named Emilio Ohmsted, who died in 1870. At that time, it was a small and unimpressive brand in the cigar market, however, Emilio Ohmsted passed, and the factory was bought by Antonio Allones, who already owned, together with his brother Ramón Allones, the Ramón Allones cigar factory, established since 1845.
Under the command of Antonio Allones, the factory became recognized for it’s high quality until, in the 1940s and 1950s, under the command of Hermanos Días y Cía, it gained the reputation of being “the most expensive puros in the world”.
Zino Davidoff, when his book “The Connoisseur’s Book of the Cigar” was launched in 1967, said that El Rey del Mundo cigars should be a mandatory part of the inventory of any connoisseur.
Fame already chased El Rey del Mundo cigars long before I had any contact with this brand, so I was always very curious to try them and their absence in the Brazilian market prevented me.
My first experience was on a trip in 2014 smoking a Choix Supreme, which instantly made me a fan of the brand.
Let’s get back to the cigar.
Different from the description in some books that El Rey del Mundo cigars are characterized by a darker wrapper, the exclusive Brazilian version has a lighter wrapper, which is very reminiscent of the Choix Supreme, who also arrived at the Brazilian market shortly before the launch of the Série “B” No.2.
The cigar has an abundant draw and smoke, even a little looser than the “normal” draw of most Cubans and a regular burn. Not perfect, but regular. The first puffs already show that this cigar follows the brand’s traditional blend, which makes me happy, as I’ve tasted regional editions over the years that seemed like they had a random blend without any correlation with the stamped brand on the box.
The cigar has a mild to medium body and it brings with it the brand’s characteristic aromatic tone, very floral and a hidden sweetness that appears at times, something that can resemble the sweetness present in honey. A sweet floral. A slightly larger body begins to manifest in the second third and evolves into the last third. I understand that, as the cigar is very young, this strength tends to be reduced over time and the floral and sweet aromas will strengthen.
The cigar’s young age (3 months old) gives to the smoke a certain immaturity, and I believe that a good aging time for this cigar to show its best characteristics would be 5 years, but you could easily age it for 10, 15 or even more years if you are crazy, like me.
If you have smoked this cigar, please share your impressions below!
Cheers!
Info:
Cigar: El Rey Del Mundo Series “B” Nº 2 Exclusive Brazil
Country: Cuba
Wrapper/binder/filler: Cuba
Size: 52 ring gauge by 135mm long
Format: Parejo
Box date: ago/2021 (3 months old)
Smoking time: 1 hr and 30 min
Price: (10ct box, December/2021): BRL 1,800.00 – BRL 2,200.00
Score: 91/100 (it has a lot to improve with age)
