I was not sure if we were supposed to wear Summer Cuban Casual or Summer Cuban Tourist Casual, but I tried to squeeze into the Guayabera and slacks, took a deep breath asked the boys how I looked. They struggled to speak between smirks, giggles and howls of outright disgust. The club elder was less subtle “Like an Igit if you really want to know.”
Right ; three quarter shorts, sandals and cotton shirt (at least I bought that in Cuba), Panama hat hmmm, I know I have one, show boys photographic evidence of them wearing it, they assure me I never owned one and that anyone can Photoshop things nowadays…
I arrived early at Caveau. The MC had also arrived dressed very casually, with Panama hat, mind you. As they all arrive - it’s weird from the usual black tie, today it’s casual. Good thing too because it's a scorcher. The evening starts with a Mojito. Not sure why it’s quite so medicinal, so I get a second, just to make sure. The Cigars arrive. I inspect them. They look in pretty good shape, which is great considering they were box pressed in October 2000. That makes them 11 years old. Watching them closely I suggest to most that a shallow cut or punch cut will probably be a better choice that a normal clip as older stocks tend to unravel easier.
The construction looks good, with the box pressing for 11 years the feel may well be a bit hard, the construction was good and the slightly oily wrapper had a shimmer showing its age. The draw was good and a very subtle easy start, new-mown hay, green, grassy almost. As this burnt on it revealed itself as a really fine medium-bodied cigar, a dusty centre with notes of cocoa and honey - not sweet though. The finish was really big with spicy notes of ginger and white pepper.
It was never planned but after some fantastic mezzos, the starter of smoked salmon trout with baby potato and rocket seemed to match the cigar’s profile, the oily fish, the wrapper and the green rocket developed the pepper notes. All in all a cigar that worked really well as an aperitif. It was challenging enough to keep one interested and subtle enough to smoke to the end.
Caveau co-owner Jean-Yves Muller gave us a brief rundown of the wines. They were superb. The first was a Chenin Viognier blend, easy drinking, crisp with good minerality. Jean-Yves did not tell us the actual terroir (but maybe I was not paying close enough attention) but it seemed almost like Rawsonville with its stony river banks. The second was a red blend of, if I heard correctly, Syrah, Mouverde and Cinsault. I was thinking both are Rhone style, so maybe it’s the Swartlands Perdeberg. Anyway, both were good quality made for everyday drinking which translates to affordable without the headache.
Both found good balance with the cigars, the second of which is one of those masterful sticks that just burn evenly and slowly, it ebbs and flows and really becomes your companion for the next hour and a half. It is truly good company, it does enough to keep you interested and rewards when you give it attention. Smoked during the main course, which in my case was beef fillet, medium rare, with black beans and sautéed potato. The genius here was they had rested the medallions sufficiently before serving, which often in more casual settings does not happen. The other offering was yellowtail, which looked superb, succulent and grilled to perfection.
The fast pace of the casual environment moved things along nicely which allowed us to truly relax and really enjoy the cigars at leisure. And easy it was, the construction was good although it may be packed slightly light. The burn was pretty good, only needing a few adjustments along the way. It really provided a typical old school earthy Cuban note, rich mouthfuls of smoke and creamy enough so as not to overpower. I think it is one of the few sticks out there that still provides us with a Cuban palate and it’s as good today as it was 30 years ago.
We ended off with some fantastic cheese boards and some good coffee. While it approached 1am, I headed off, truly happy with another great cigar club gathering. The usual suspects were left to continue the Journey.
Cigar 1 Rafael Gonzalez Corona Gorde Box Code CPV Oct 2000 (Villa Cara also manufacture Romeo y Julietta and Partagas)
Cigar 2 : H.Uppman No 2 Piramides Box Code MOA Nov 2009 ( H.Uppman Factory, now known as Jose Marti)
No comments:
Post a Comment