Saturday, December 30, 2023

Afternoons Are For Coffee & Cigars

At least the ones during vacation. Friday afternoon, during the midst of a week of eating and drinking celebrations, it was time to relax for a creamy coffee with my cigar. Whipping up a quick cappuccino, I grabbed a Caldwell Lost and Found Paradise Lost and headed to the deck while the family continued to binge on the College Bowl games. 

The Paradise Lost Robusto was part of the October Luxury Cigar Club package. As with many of the monthly selections, it was an unfamiliar stick, and I needed to do some research. The Lost and Found line stems from a collaboration between Robert Caldwell, of Caldwell Cigars, and Tony Bellatto from La Barba Cigars. The pair searches cigar warehouses for forgotten blends from various manufacturers and brings them back in limited releases. As a result, the cigars already have some age on them, although the original blenders and exact components may be unstated or unknown. The Paradise Lost seems to be a rerelease of an older find. Of course that may all be speculation on my part, put together from a few quick internet searches. The important point is the smoking experience.


The Lost and Found Paradise is a 5 1/4 x 52 Mexican San Andrés wrapped robusto. The binder is Dominican, with Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos making up the filler. It's a smooth chocolate brown stick. The band graphic, at first hard to make out, is said to be the a silhouette of the partners walking on a beach.

Initially the flavor profile was on the mild side. Sweet, nutty, and charred butter notes come to mind. The flavor profile slowly built to include toasted bread and grains. The burn was even, excepting one point where a "woodpecker hole" burned open about 3/8" down from the burn line. However the burn progressed past that point easily with no further issues.


As I got down to the last quarter of the cigar, the flavor profile changed significantly. Black pepper and tobacco notes came in. The bitterness also built. I found the experience less enjoyable and ended the smoke at about 65 minutes.

On the whole, the Lost and Found Paradise Lost provided an enjoyable smoke and, while the coffee lasted, made for a pleasant pairing. And now I was refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the weekend.

Cheers!

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