My reviews always feature an awesome photo of my chosen cigar. As you can see, these photos are taken by members of my Photography Department, in my
state-of-the-art studio, with wireless flash guns, backdrops, umbrella reflectors, tripods, and hundreds of feet of wires and cables. Actually, the photos are taken by me, using my cell, in my tiny apartment kitchen.
I usually choose the backgrounds in my photos to highlight the visual aesthetics of the band or wrapper leaf of a particular cigar, but this time I decided to take a different approach. I featured my phone and keyboard as an illustration of just how important these technological devices have become in our daily lives. When I walk into a restaurant or cigar shop it drives me crazy to see that no one is speaking to each other, because they’re all preoccupied with staring into their damn phones. Children can’t ride in a car or sit in a restaurant for more than six minutes without watching a movie or playing a game.
As does everyone, I use my phone as my center for communication, but I know when to put the motherfucker down!
Advice from Ramona: Don’t be a slave to your device-let your device be a slave to you.
Now, on to the cigar…
BACKGROUND:
RoMa Craft Tobac is the outstanding result of a collaboration between Michael Rosales and Skip Martin. Their journey began by making cigars in one of their garages with borrowed equipment, but in 2013 they opened their own factory in Esteli Nicaragua called NicaSueno. Here they produced an ultra-boutique line of cigars called The Intemperance. The Intemperance series is as smooth, sultry and passionate as the decadent sensation of that first magical kiss from a woman that was once an object of fantasy.
RoMa Craft created the Intemperance line of cigars with a distinctive blend of tobacco, then created 2 different varieties by encasing them with different wrappers, providing each cigar with a unique taste.
You may select the Intemperance EC XVIII with the (EC)Ecuador Connecticut wrapper OR the Intemperance BA XXl with the (BA)Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper.
The Roman numerals refer to Constitutional Amendments; XVlll references the 18th Amendment which established Prohibition, and XXl refers to the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th amendment.
The name “Intemperance” derives from the Temperance Movement which resulted in 13 years of prohibition to the United States. Since smoking is now being demonized just as alcohol was, RoMa Craft is rallying against the anti-tobacco movement (of which we all feel the effects of today) in an effort to make people aware that we must each do our part to protect our cigar freedoms.
This review will be about the BA XXl Intemperance Ambition.
Wrapper: Brazil Arapiraca
The BA in the name of the cigar represents the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. This wrapper is grown in Brazil, in the municipality of Arapiraca. It has a striking, sexy, rustic toothy texture with tight seams and lots of veins. Ramona likes them veiny.
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Nicaragua/Dominican
Strength: Medium, not overpowering
Body: Medium
MSRP: $7.50
Vitolas: Available in 5 sizes with a ‘sinful’ name designated for each size (the original sizes are named after some of the Seven Deadly Sins and the EC series is named from some of the Seven Cardinal Virtues):
The Intrigue (Petit)
The Avarice, (Short Robusto)
The Envy (Short Perfecto)
The Breach of the Peace (Gran Robusto)
The Ambition (Belicoso)
BURN/DRAW/ASH:
I have been smoking this cigar for nearly a year and the burn line is consistently even, requiring minimal touch-ups. Although The Ambition is my favorite vitola, I keep a supply of The Intrigue (the smallest size) in my humidor to enjoy on my little balcony when I am rushed for time.
The draw on this cigar is perfect. As when first feeling your partner, it provides a touch of resistance, but it quickly opens up and allows for perfect penetration.
The Intemperance produces a solid white ash. When the ash finally falls, a nice conical ember remains. The ash holds nice and firm, not for too long… just firm and long enough to do the job.
BODY/FLAVOR:
The body of The Intemperance is smooooooth. I DO NOT like cigars that are even slightly harsh.
Remember, A Beautiful Cigar Touches All Of My Senses, and anything harsh is not acceptable to my delicate palate. The flavor profile of The Intemperance is superb, embracing notes of pepper, cocoa, coffee and oak. The blend is exceptional and produces a wonderful combination of flavors in my mouth. Although this is a dark, oily smoke, the assemblage of the flavors is not overpowering. I can enjoy this cigar in the morning with coffee on my little balcony, but it provides enough rich flavor that I can savor it at the end of a stressful day.
This cigar has a very small exposed foot that -in theory- affords the smoker the opportunity to taste the tobacco blend prior to adding the flavor of the wrapper… but by the time I toast the foot and draw on the stick, the exposed part is gone, so I have not been privy to this experience. Size matters, especially when it concerns an exposed foot. If they made the shaggy foot a bit longer, I would be able to taste the naked tobacco blend before igniting the wrapper. I must have been unavailable on the day that Michael Rosales and Skip Martin called to ask my opinion concerning the cigar’s construction. (ha-ha.)
WARNING: The following 3 paragraphs are educational; BE CAREFUL-YOU MAY LEARN SOMETHING….
Many people do not understand the difference between BODY, FLAVOR and STRENGTH. Fortunately, I am here to explain…
BODY refers to the description of the impact the cigar has on the palate: its texture, weight, richness… the overall feel in your mouth (NOT the suppleness of a woman’s freshly moisturized and perfumed thigh). Body is described as; light, light-medium, medium, medium-full, full. The greater the impact you feel in your mouth and nose (retro-haling), the greater the cigar’s body.
FLAVOR refers to the actual taste of the cigar; sweet, sour, salty or bitter. There is more to tasting a cigar than putting it in our mouth and sucking on it (trust me- I know). The adjectives used when describing a cigar can include peppery, nutty, creamy, etc… are created by these flavor categories. Retro-haling (exhaling the smoke through your nostrils) is critical to tasting the flavor of a cigar; if you are not retro-haling, you are not fully tasting your cigar.
Tasting a cigar encompasses ALL of your senses; taste the flavors on your palate, smell the complexity of the smoke in the air, touch the wrapper against your fingers and lips, hear the strike of the match, see the smoke as it leaves your mouth. A BEAUTIFUL CIGAR TOUCHES All OF MY SENSES. Now do you understand why I say this? I don’t just make this shit up!
STRENGTH simply refers to the amount of nicotine and is described as; light, light-medium, medium, medium-full, or full.
The Intemperance BA is FULL-BODIED, its FLAVOR embraces notes of pepper, cocoa, coffee and oak, and its STRENGTH is medium.
RAMONA’S FINAL THOUGHTS:
The smoking time for the Ambition is approximately an hour. If you decide to smoke this cigar you will find it completely satisfying… not as satisfying as climbing into a warm bed already occupied by an eager lover, but still good.
This cigar is rich and – like me – it has an abundance of flavor packed into its small size.
The Intemperance BA XXI is my favorite cigar from RoMa Craft, but I recommend trying their other lines, CroMagnon and Aquitaine.
You may also want to try the Neanderthal, but be aware that it is Double Ligero and much stronger that the others.
(Strength = nicotine, remember? Ligero is a type of leaf which is high in nicotine content.)
Priced at only $7.50, the value of this cigar is incredible. RoMa Craft is producing excellent cigars at attractive prices. As is apparent from my daily posts on Facebook, I like cigars that produce thick, creamy smoke after each puff. When I exhale, I like to watch (a lot of people like to watch) as that creamy smoke passes over my lips and fills the room.
Take a break from the craziness of your everyday life. Put your damn phone down, close your laptop, and allow yourself to sit back, relax, and chill out with the RoMa Craft Intemperance. You’ll be glad you did.
A Beautiful Cigar Touches All Of My Senses
MMMmmmmm….
…Love,Ramona
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