Bolívar 109 5th Avenida (RE Germany)- (Prerelease)

[Editor's Note: This cigar was reviewed blind (in other words, I had no idea what cigar it was while I was smoking it) for a Blind Smoking thread on the Brothers of the Leaf forum...In case you don't know, every once in a while, a member of various forums puts together a thread where they buy a certain number of cigars for a certain number of people to all do a review on the same sticks at (almost) the same time, without knowing which cigar it is they are smoking...I love doing these, since I do believe that it is better to do review without any preconceptions at all on which cigar/brand it is you are smoking...Alas, I have to photograph most cigars with bands :) Needless to say, I was VERY surprised to find out which cigar this was after smoking it. ~brooks]

The Bolívar 109 "5ta Avenida" is yet another Regional Edition (this time for Germany) released this year. The specific size (184mm long and 50 RG) revives a format that has not been manufactured for over 35 years and represents the original format of the Partagás Lusitanias and the Ramon Allones Gigantes. According to Min Ron Nee in his book Illustrated Encyclopedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars, cigars of the 109 shape were the predecessors of today's Double Coronas.

What is special about these cigars (other the the obvious Regional Edition thing) is their Parejos shape... basically, it is cylindrical, (i.e. the same ring gauge from head to foot), but its head is shaped conically, which makes it Extremely difficult to roll.

The name "5ta Avenida", (which means literally "Fifth Avenue") has a duel meaning: it is the Spanish name of the German Habanos importer 5th Avenue, (which incidentally celebrates its 20th anniversary this year) and it commemorates the famous street in the Miramar area of Havanna.

The Bolívar "5ta Avenida" will be sold in boxes of 20 and there will be a total of 3,000 boxes available. Each box will be individually numbered with a plaque affixed to the box and will have a second band  "exclusively for Germany".

Enough chitchat, let's get down to business, shall we?

• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 7.25 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Est. Price: $26
• Date Released (estimated): October 1, 2009

The stick itself is a very nice light golden brown, albeit with very noticeable veins running up and down the length of it...The wrapper is flawless construction wise, and smells faintly of Cinnamon and tobacco...The cigar is VERY spongy when squeezed (almost to the point of distraction), but still seems very dry...

After lighting, I was expecting a bit of a kick (as most cigars these days give), but in the first few puffs, all I got was a little spice, and a very woody (woodsy?) taste...as the stick progressed a bit, the spice increased a bit, but nothing major at all...seemed to me to be a very typical Cuban flavor...a very mild beginning...

The Second 3rd started out the same as the 1st- Woodsy with a touch of spice, and perhaps a bit of floral as well, but nothing to write about (or at least, nothing MORE to write about then I already did)...I got a bit of cedar as well, but again, just nothing all that interesting...

**Sigh** The last third did not change AT ALL, all the way down to the frakin' nub...More woodsy, more cedar, and more (MILD) spice...I am a bit surprised that something could remain almost exactly the same in almost 7.5 inches of smoking, but there you go...Having said that, it did not get bitter, even to the nub (although it did burn a bit hot in the last .5 inch)...

Some Final Notes:

• This was a VERY mild cigar, almost like smoking air...I bet you would get more enjoyment out of huffing wood primer (if there is such a thing)...
• The Draw was perfect all the way through, and the burn SUCKED for about 2 inches, then evened out to perfection for the rest of the stick...
• It was a fairly fast burning stick (for it's size), and only took 1 hour and 21 minutes to finish...

The Bottom Line: After finding out which stick this was, I was EXTREMELY surprised, almost stunned...If you looked up "Consistently Boring", "Mild" and "Extreme Suckage" in the dictionary, there would be a photo of this cigar. Almost no change at all for the entire stick, just Wood, wood, wood, wood and wood...(you might say it failed to gave me a WOODY!...sigh)...while it was not a absolutely Horrible cigar by any means (it was smokable to the numb after all, unlike say, the Gurkha HMR), there are about 80 Trillion better sticks out there that I would pick up before this one, especially for the price. Honestly, I expected quite a bit more out of this one...

Coming Tomorrow:

A Portrait of the master, Jose "Pepin" Garcia!