Menu

Alec Bradley

Blind Review: Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan 2020

0

Barber poles for me have always been cigars that are more about visual oddities than a quality smoke. The contrast of a light and dark striped wrapper is drawing to the eye, but most of the time the blend and tobacco lends itself to a basic if not off putting smoking experience. One exception that comes to mind is the Fuente Hemingway Between The Lines perfectos that are consistently of excellent quality. Other than that, barber pole cigars have been favored as more fun than premium smokes.  

A few years back Alec Bradley created their Black Market Filthy Hooligan cigars to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. The cigars received praise as a choice hybrid cigar. Still, I dismissed them as more of a gimmick and never ventured to try one. When I saw a cigar that was striped for this blind review, my expectations were low. Despite this I always leave a chance to be surprised when I’m about to try something new so here it goes…

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan 2020
  • Wrapper: Honduran candela and Nicaraguan
  • Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
  • Filler: Honduran and Panamanian
  • Size: 6”x50 (Barber Pole, Toro)

Appearance and Construction

This barber pole stick looks well-constructed sporting a pretty even match of candela and dark wrapper leaf. The cap has a piece of candela sitting on top and is put together quite nicely. There are minimal veins although as I’m squeezing the cigar there are soft spots towards the middle. The foot is spongy and as I give it a whiff there’s lots of hay coming from it although not much else.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

Having my trusty Xikar Wooly Mammoth cutter with me I clip the candela piece off the top of the cigar. The cold draw brings hay, pencil lead, must and burnt wood. Using a long match I catch flame to the stick and the first puff has some loose tobacco that I’m catching on my teeth. As I remove the tobacco pieces the flavors start off with perfume and grassy notes. The start is rather mild and with a retrohale there’s hay coming through the nostrils with a café au lait creaminess. As I get to the darker wrapper a bit of spice hits the tongue with some citrus. At this point I’m getting the contrast from green wrapper to dark which is a combo of earth, spice then hay and grass.

The cigar is burning fast as I’m getting midway into it and I’m tasting mint with a butterscotch sweetness.  The body is medium and the ash is white with a wavy burn line. With another puff there’s earth and citrus on the forefront with a coffee finish. I take another retrohale where fruits and nuts rush through as well as a grassiness coming out of my mouth. The ash is firm as I attempt to gently remove it for fear of having it falling off into my lap.  The burn also appears to be adjusting and is looking pretty even.

As I’m rounding the last third of the smoke, earth and those grassy notes really seem to be picking up. These flavors are starting to become overwhelming and creating a fuller profile than previously.  I’m tasting the contrasts from the green to dark wrapper throughout and now hay mixed with cedar coats my palate along with a creamy finish. With another puff I get red pepper flakes that quickly transition back to grass and the perfume from the beginning of the stick. The cigar ends in the medium bodied range as I put it down. Although not too complex of a smoke the flavors were pronounced.

Conclusion

While I’ve always seen barber pole cigars as a novelty (and I’ve tasted more awful ones than good), I was happily surprised with the Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan 2020. The construction was solid and the combo from candela to dark wrapper was well crafted. The filler tobaccos were a bit soft as I gave it a squeeze, but this did not affect the burn or flavor of the cigar at all. Though the blend was not sophisticated, the hay, earth, grass and creaminess balanced the smoke out rather nicely.

When I found out this was an Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan the quality of the cigar certainly showed as I’ve enjoyed many lines in the Alec Bradley brand. So if you think this is a “novelty” smoke, it isn’t and I can easily recommend picking at least one up and giving it a try.

Final Rating: 88

Alec Bradley Medalist Review

1

Alec Bradley Medalist review

Alec Bradley cigars are almost always associated with a fuller bodied cigar in terms of strength. Alan Rubin, the founder of Alec Bradley wanted to create a different kind of product that could be enjoyed by the everyday smoker. The Medalist successfully carried out that profile by using a shade grown Honduran wrapper, Honduran binder and a mixture of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco fillers.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Alec Bradley: The Medalist
  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Honduran
  • Filler: Honduran & Nicaraguan
  • Size: Robusto 5×52

Appearance & Construction

The band on the cigar is very thought out when designed. It incorporates a traditional AB logo in maroon and gold with a complex tan background. The cigar I’ve received had a small crack on the head of the wrapper that I hope won’t affect my experience, and two minor veins on the front and back side of the cigar. As I cut into the cigar, a small part of the wrapper undone itself which was expected due to the crack previously mentioned. However, it didn’t affect the structure of the cigar in any way.

Alec Bradley Medalist review

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

At the foot of the cigar, there was a light scent of tangerine, bread, hay and milk coffee. The flavors solidified as I took a dry pull with a nice addition of spicy pepper notes at the tip of the tongue.

As the cigar was being lit, the white silky smoke danced around my hand and I was overwhelmed with an image of a cool fall afternoon and the scent of warm pie as the ember grew at the foot of the cigar.

The first puff of the Medalist solidifies all the presumptions I had. The smoke was ample, cool, and silky with a nice creamy texture. At the forefront of The Medalist, a pleasant taste of nuttiness, hay, vanilla and Hawaiian roll with a hint of white pepper spice at the exhale. This left a tingly sensation at the tip of my tongue. The retro-hale was light just like the cigar, with a nutty and citrusy taste.

Half an inch in, a new taste of a French vanilla latte was introduced due to the vanilla and nutty flavor combination. I’ve also realized the burning has become uneven. I promptly set the cigar down, hoping it would fix itself. A few minutes passed and the burning became even again which was a win in my book.

During the second third, a crack appeared along one of the veins, but it wasn’t significant enough to affect the smoking experience. Hay and toasted bread dominated the flavor profile with a lite flavor of leather and vanilla at the finish. Usually I don’t purge the cigar this early on into the smoke, however, I purged it in attempt to prevent any other cracks or mishaps that happen for the duration of the smoke. As I took a longer pull from the freshly purged cigar, the creaminess and sweetness of the Hawaiian roll reappeared alongside some bitterness from the hay and leather profile.

As I reach the final third, the sweetness of bread is completely gone. All that’s left is hay, leather and charcoal in the profile. In my final attempt extract any flavor the Medalist has left to offer, I decided to purge the cigar again. Luckily the charcoal flavor subsided, and the hay, cream and nutty flavor was revived to provide a proper ending for the smoke.

Conclusion

Alan Rubin achieved his intent for the Medalist. The smoke was mellow throughout the whole experience, even though there were few hiccups along the experience (might only be this specific cigar since there aren’t any other construction complaints from other people) and not as complex as I hoped for. Overall, it was a great stick for your everyday smoke.

Final Rating: 88

Alec Bradley Post Embargo Toro Review

0

Alec Bradley Post Embargo Review Closeup

Alan Rubin has been performing well with his Alec Bradley brand of cigars since he began in the industry. Each new line brought forth different flavors, styles and themes as well high praise in the cigar world. In one of his new releases the Alec Bradley Post Embargo Alan seeks to bring the notion of Cuban versus non-Cuban cigars a thing of the past. In this line Alan recognizes that his cigars are equal to that of Cuban cigars and that the public idea of Cubans being above all is not the case.  The Alec Bradley Post Embargo certainly can make its claim that it is a cigar to be revered no matter what country it comes from. Enjoy!

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Alec Bradley Post Embargo
  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Honduran / Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Honduran / Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6” 1/4 X 54 Toro

Alec Bradley Post Embargo Toro Review-001

Appearance & Construction

The Alec Bradley Toro has a gorgeous milk chocolate brown wrapper with minimum veins. The cigar has a few soft spots and is expertly rolled. The band has “Alec Bradley” across the top in white and red with “Post Embargo” on the bottom. The patriotic band has the flag of Cuba on the right and the American Flag on the left with the Alec Bradley logo in the middle uniting the two. Alan Rubin has succeeded in making his statement that Cuba and other countries should be united in cigars at least.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The Post Embargo begins with a little saltiness on the wrapper and a heap of toast to start. The draw is excellent and the toastiness turns to leather on the palate. Savory notes are detected very quickly and the profile is really attractive thus far. The leather seems to build up balanced by an earthy character on the mouthfeel.

Midway the Post Embargo delivers bing cherry along with a sweet and savory lingering finish.  Notes of Almonds are picked up and the earthiness returns on the retrohale.  A bit of coffee emerges adding to the complexity of this cigar. Every puff seems to yield an array of flavors hitting you all at once. This is clearly a cigar of character as the leather starts to build up with a mix of nougat and toast.

The final third gave some bitter undertones to start which diminished the flavor. Quickly this was corrected with more of that savory character noted earlier. The leather continues with less nuttiness than before. The cigar finishes with an interplay of earth and wood rounded out with a creamy finish.

Conclusion

I’ve smoked Alec Bradley cigars since their release with the Prensado and Tempus being some of my favorite and most original flavor profiles. The Alec Bradley Post Embargo Toro offers leather, toast and savory notes in abundance. If this was the signature of the blend then Alan Rubin nailed it. I would say this can compete with Cuban cigars as I like to view a cigar on its on merit regardless of its province. Will there still be the debate of whether Cuban cigars are better than non-Cuban? Until the Embargo is lifted I would say most certainly. My advice? Light up an Alec Bradley Post Embargo and judge for yourself.

Alec Bradley Prensado Lost Art Review

0

alec bradley prensado lost art review

Few cigars are as widely recognized as the Alec Bradley Prensado. The original Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill won Cigar Aficionado’s coveted Cigar of the Year distinction in 2011, catapulting the brand into the national and international spotlight. Since then, the company has released a number of lines, including the Alec Bradley Mundial which is one of my all time favorite cigars (though I’ve noticed that opinion isn’t shared by many). The Alec Bradley Prensado Lost Art has big shoes to fill.

So let’s get on to the review, shall we?

 

Blend Specifics

  • Size: Churchill (7 x 50)
  • Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
  • Binder: Nicaraguan and Honduran
  • Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran

alec bradley prensado lost art churchill review

Appearance and Construction

The Prensado Lost Art Churchill is semi box pressed, making it very comfortable to hold. There is a light springiness when I squeeze the cigar and I can tell it is packed very consistently. As for branding, it is special simply because it’s great to see an addition to the Prensado line. It may look like there are two bands on this cigar, but there really is just one.

The pre light draw is moderately restrictive, and brings forth aromas of granola and coffee, very typical for Alec Bradley in my experience.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

Fans of the Prensado will have no difficulty in recognizing his blend when they first light up. I’m greeted by thick, robust flavors of earth, cedar, and espresso, all augmented with a saltiness that reminds me of salted popcorn. At the same there are hints of vanilla and cinnamon on the nose, making for enjoyable and complex start to this smoke.

By an inch in the balance of the flavors has changed a few times, keeping me on my toes, which I love. The smoke is medium bodied and very smooth.

Moving in to the second third, the earthiness and spice has drawn back, leaving the vanilla,  cinnamon, espresso and popcorn saltiness in focus. Very, very good. There is also a new note, a kind of oatiness that complements the other flavors well.

The burn up to this point has been fairly wavy, requiring some purging to correct. I’ve also noticed that the cigar can’t be set down for long before it goes out. This is significant because smoking a cigar too quickly can distort the flavors of any cigar, so it doesn’t weigh in this cigar’s favor.

Entering the final third, the flavor increases significantly, adding strong, sweet natural tobacco note. To me, this is where Prensado Lost Art really catches its stride, with all flavors kicking in simultaneously in the final 20 minutes of the smoke.

Conclusion

The Alec Bradley Prensado Lost Art is full of charisma and is, dare I say it, a bit of a show off. The flavors come and go, playing off of each other wonderfully, making this a worthy follow up to the original Prensado line. It bears many of the hallmarks of the original Prensado (earthiness and granola) while adding some additional complexity (vanilla, popcorn salt). I think it clocks in at a solid medium, and because it is so smooth, it will appeal to the new cigar smoker and the veteran alike. The only criticism I have is that the burn was never really straight, which could be a fluke or a direct result of the double binder. All of these considerations lead me to a rating of 93/100.

Final Rating: 93

Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Mundial

, , , , , , , , 0

Alec Bradley Mundial_1

The Alec Bradley Mundial Punta Lanza No. 5 was featured at our last Smoker Social and was branded as a “Live True” event. Jonathan Lipson, representative for Alec Bradley was on hand to sponsor and discuss AB’s blends with our guest. The Mundial is manufactured at Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubana in Danli, Honduras. Mundial translates to “World-Wide.” It features the same wrapper as the Prensado line offered by Alec Bradley, which was the second offering with a fuller-body profile after the Tempus.

Blend Specifics

Vitola: Punta Lanza No. 5 (Perfecto) 5” x 52

Wrapper: Honduran, Trojes region

Binder: Double Binder, Honduran and Nicaraguan

Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan

Alec Bradley Mundial_2

Appearance and Construction: The Mundial has a medium dark chocolate wrapper with a very minimal reddish tint. Tight seams that are hidden by the bands, a couple noticeable veins that are also hidden by the bands pretty well. Silky texture, minimal tooth, and slightly oily feel and sheen, make this a very smooth wrapper. An excellent looking triple cap but has the appearance of having a double cap. This cigar also features a lance-looking point on the foot and gives it its perfecto shape.

Smoke and Flavor Characteristics

Cold Aromas: On the wrapper there’s earth and leather with an underlying sweetness, a little tea and slight floral notes. On the foot is also tea and floral, a sweet tobacco, and a touch of cayenne pepper. The cold draw shows earth, a hint of leather, and more of the tea and floral notes. Draw seems just right.

Alec Bradley Mundial_3

First Third: The first notes are a light earth and tea; the aroma is heavy with leather and earth. There’s a hint of pepper on the retrohale that gives this cigar a warm start. The tension on the draw is somewhat tight, but not too much and also aids to a  warming start in the nose. Great amount of smoke production early on. The profile isn’t heavy at all, though, as the tea and floral are the dominant notes with the leather and earth following. On the retrohale, there’s a sweetness followed by a medium amount of pepper and mostly characterized as cayenne. As the foot opens, the earth and leather come up and there’s a warm spice tingle on the front of the tongue and heavier in the back. Burn line is close to razor sharp, and ash production is a medium warm to darker grey with a lot of even darker grey mixed in. The cayenne becomes more of a black pepper but not overly heavy. The cigar has a paper like drying effect on the palate. Body stands at full, the flavor is medium to full, and strength is medium to full. About an inch in, the pepper dies down, which gives more room to the tea notes. A light lemon / citrus peel come in to play right around the first band point. Removing the first band is a bit difficult but comes off with no harm to the cigar.

Alec Bradley Mundial_4

Alec Bradley Mundial_5

Second Third: Transitioning into the second third, there’s also a heavy bread note that comes in and moves far to the front, replacing the tea. The leather and earth are still present. The tarty citrus peel is still around as well, and is very noticeable on the sour buds of the tongue. The ash is hanging on solidly at 1.5 inches, it is slightly flaky but really only in appearance and is holding quite well. Removing the second band was considerably easier than the first. The aroma is still characterized by the earth and leather, with a hint of cedar. Body is still holding at full, flavor has moved up to full, and the strength is close to full but still really at medium to full. There’s also an interesting soapiness lingering, of the floral category and most resembling Johnson’s baby shampoo, or baby powder. Not really chalkiness, just more clean and soapy. Ash falls off as a solid chunk at 1.75 inches. Even though the spice has died down, the tongue still receives a plethora of tingle for the duration of the smoke. At this point the flavors start to transition again, with a dry, slightly sweet dark chocolate coming into the fold, reminiscent of a dark chocolate powder.

Alec Bradley Mundial_6

Final Third: entering into the final third, the chocolate note is still leading the way, the slight citrus, leather, slight bread, and touch of earth are all still hanging around bringing this up to a very complex concoction. This cigar keeps the palate pretty dry the duration of the smoke, even into this final third. The tea and floral notes are way back, and technically too light in flavor to keep up with the other notes now at play. The body finishes at full, the flavor at close to full but has come down a bit to a high medium to full, but still very complex, and the strength at full with the cigar heating up near the nub.

Final Thoughts

First thing I noticed at the end of this session, which I didn’t pick up on while smoking was how smoky this cigar makes one’s environment. It produces a lot of smoke, not necessarily plumy and creamy, there are touches of that but it’s really just smokier, creating a thick haze and generating large smoke clouds. The Mundial progressively gets more complex as the duration draws on with a myriad of notes ranging from light tea and floral, slight herbs, leather and earth to heavier breads, cocoa powder, soapiness that extends from the floral and citrus notes with touches of cayenne and black pepper. The burn stays consistent and the blend remains powerful, yet balanced in its profile. Has a tendency to be very dry on the palate but is also accompanied with a citrus and pepper tingle on the tongue. The finish last long and the profile hovers around full and high medium to full across the board in body, flavor, and strength for the duration of the cigar.

Smoking time was 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Grade: A

IPCPR 2013 Social Media Rankings: Drew Estate, Rocky Patel, Alec Bradley Take Top Three

, , , , , , , 4

Screen Shot 2013-07-18 at 11.08.44 AM

Everyone knows IPCPR is one of the largest cigar events of the year in the United States. Thousands of cigar brands, retailers, bloggers, and other enthusiasts descend to smoke and purchase the newest blends from the hottest brands. Any high-energy, well-publicized event like IPCPR presents a great opportunity for companies willing to leverage social media to get exposure to tens of thousands of cigar smokers on social media.

So who were the top performers at IPCPR this year? The results are below. But first a note: these results are not comprehensive. They do not cover all cigar brands at IPCPR (that would be impossible), nor do they cover all social media platforms. I limited my statistical analysis to the previous 7 days of tweeting activity on Twitter because its open environment  allows me to get the most detailed information. Yes, it is one platform among many, but the stats sill tell a solid story. Nonetheless, I have also included a some anecdotal analysis because there were some brands who made some spectacular plays on other networks like Facebook (i.g. Alec Bradley sends first cigars into space). If you’re wondering why I didn’t include more brands (even big ones), it is because this kind of research takes a lot of work and I was looking for representative samples.

Rankings are based on total number of company mentions during the week of IPCPR.

The results

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.31.36 PMDrew Estate dominated social media this year, with Rocky Patel and Alec Bradley coming in second and third. We’ll go into the how and why’s of it in a minute. But quickly I should explain that the “Total company mentions” column on the right is not the sum of “hashtag mentions” and “ipcpr mentions” – it includes more tweets, like those that @ mention the company, use slang terms for the company, etc. Thus it is the most comprehensive metric, and the one which judged rankings.

How did Drew Estate do it?

Drew Estate crushed it this year for a few reasons:

  1. Drew Estate made a concerted effort to draw their customers into the IPCPR experience using an IPCPR hashtag.
  2. Drew Estate motivated  their customers to participate in the hashtag by featuring posts on a company webpage designed specifically for IPCPR.
  3. Drew Estate posted across multiple platforms – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, achieving a maximum reach across platform audiences. They were also smart in posting content across platforms (i.e. their Facebook page is full of their YouTube interviews).
  4. Company employees were active on social and responded/thanked users who submitted posts with #DEipcpr.

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.44.28 PMDrew Estate did a fantastic job and all cigar companies could learn a thing or two on how to engage customers and increase brand loyalty.

Honorable mention: Alec Bradley

Alec Bradley didn’t have nearly as much social momentum during IPCPR 2013, but they deserve an honorable mention here for the sheer creativity of their marketing approach. While in Vegas, they made history by launching the first cigars into space. Yeah. The post had 11 shares, over a hundred likes, and a lot of comments. I estimate this post had a viral reach in the tens of thousands, and will be posted around the internet for a long time to come.

Way to go Alec Bradley!

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.50.52 PMWhat about Rocky Patel?

I’m a big fan of Rocky Patel cigars – great flavor, incredibly consistent construction, awesome pricing too. Their performance on social this year, however, wasn’t so much the result of the company having a solid social media strategy. A cursory glance around their networks revealed that they didn’t put a lot of effort into getting people involved this year, indicating they were riding on existing brand excitement.

Rocky Patel vs Alec Bradley

If you want to see what a bad approach to social media looks like, just take a look at the Rocky Patel Facebook page as compared to a brand like Alec Bradley. Here is the Rocky Patel Facebook page:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.56.46 PM

Note that there is no visual content, very little interaction from page fans, and it really ends up just being a feed for events. The page is visually unappealing and doesn’t represent the brand well at all. It is, in short, really boring. Whoever is managing their page needs to correct course if they want to get any value from their Facebook page – right now it is a waste.

Now take a look at Alec Bradley’s stream. They have roughly the same amount of page fans, but look how their rate of interaction is literally 50x that of Rocky Patel’s page:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 1.00.15 PM

 

The lesson? Be creative, use visual content, and try to act like you care about your Facebook fans enough to give them good content!

Congratulations to Drew Estate and Alec Bradley for putting on a stellar performance with social media at this year’s IPCPR!

~~~~~

Want to learn how to kick ass and make money with social media? Take a look at our most recent guides:

Did you find this post helpful, or know someone who would? Hit the like, tweet, or email button to help spread the word!

Have a question? Want to hire me? Drop it in the comments or email me!

I’m also on Twitter and on instagram. You can subscribe to this blog ->

Ash Fine Cigars Stocks Alec Bradley “Filthy Hooligan” in Time for St. Patrick’s Day

, , 0

Ash Fine Cigars in Hoboken, NJ announced via Instagram this morning that they now carry the Alec Bradley “Filthy Hooligan,” a variation of the Alec Bradley Black Market that features a bright green candela wrapper. As the marketing strongly suggests, this cigar was created exclusively for St. Patties Day festivities.

From what I can tell through my work with Ivan Grullon (shop owner), his industry connections have allowed him to receive these cigars much more quickly than most shops in the city.

Ash Fine Cigars is located at 203 Washington St. in Hoboken, NJ. If you haven’t been by already, I strongly recommend dropping by. The selection is great, and the prices are significantly below any you will find across the river in the city.

Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan

Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Maxx “The Curve”

, , , 3

Every now and again the cigar smoker needs a change of pace. So, I decided to give the Alec Bradley Maxx “The Curve” a shot, and also give you a few thoughts on it. For this stick, reviewed on my back patio, I paired a steak dinner and a glass of medium-bodied red wine. And of course, some bossa nova and Spanish guitar music for the background.

Blend specifics:

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Costa Rica
Filler: Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras
Size: 7 x 58

Appearance & Construction

This cigar features a dark, chocolate brown wrapper. Off the foot are notes of caramel, granola, mulch, and a faint spice. The stick is packed well, and is a bit intimidating in size. I’m looking forward to some pretty cool smoke though considering the ring gauge.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The first third of this cigar is pretty interesting. It opens with what I can only describe as forest berries, granola, and roasted nuts. In my mind, that granola taste is really the signature of a lot of Alec Bradley cigars, though this one is a good deal sweeter and smoother than the Prensado.

In the second third, the stick adds coffee and chocolate to the mix. Pretty enjoyable, though even with the array of flavors, still somehow seems a bit one-dimensional to me.

Conclusion

For me, the ring gauge on this cigar is just a bit too big, and it wasn’t quite complex enough for my tastes, though I am the first to admit that perhaps my palate just isn’t advanced enough to pick up the complexity. If you like the signature Alec Bradley taste though, this stick is really smooth and you’d probably enjoy it.

Final grade: B