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| TIME FOR BASEBALL AND CIGARS |
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Page 1 of 2  Tasting and grading three blends from two former major-league pitchers!Los Angeles, April 11 – When the Boston Red Sox clinched their second World Series championship last year, they celebrated with the traditional clubhouse champagne shower and more than a few players indulged in a championship cigar. Macanudo? Montecristo? How about an El Tiante 23 Series! It was a high point for this new blend, created for and promoted by Luis Tiant, who pitched for six clubs over a 19-year career from 1964-82. He spent his first six seasons in Cleveland, but is best remembered for his eight seasons with the Red Sox, where he won 20 games three times and averaged 20 wins a season over a four-year span from 1973-76. He finished his career with a record of 229-172, pitching in 573 games. Red Sox fans still speak of Tiant as a Hall of Fame candidate, but we decided to try his cigars with the start of the 2008 baseball season. We found another former player making cigars as well and also tried his namesake blend, but El Tiante comes first. El Tiante 23 Series – Natural wrapper: [Nicaragua: available in 3 sizes] This line was introduced in 2006 and features three shapes, a 6-inch by 54-ring Belicoso, a 5-inch by 50-ring Robusto and a 7-inch by 50-ring Churchill. All are well made with a good draw. The El Tiante 23 has a colorful band which features a picture of Luis Tiant himself, wearing his famed no. 23 Red Sox uniform and into his unique wind-up in which he usually turned his back completely on home plate. Tiant was born in Cuba in 1940 and was no stranger to cigars throughout his career, although he never took up a bet from some teammates to actually smoke a cigar while on the mound. The cigar itself features a Nicaraguan-grown wrapper that’s quite smooth in the natural-shade version and although designed to be mild in taste, has a medium-to-full body to it that’s quite present in the mouth. There’s a spicy aroma to the blend and a clean, sweet taste that offers a light tang and just a hint of spice on the finish. These cigars are made in Nicaragua and burn quite evenly and are easy to enjoy. The spicy elements become a little more present in the second half and a peppery note says that the game is over. The natural-wrapped line comes in boxes of 23 — just like Tiant’s number – and retails for between $5.50 (robusto) up to $7.00 for the Belicoso. It is certainly not a novelty cigar, and will be much enjoyed on a sunny summer afternoon . . . watching a baseball game, of course. Overall grade: B+: Very Good. El Tiante 23 Series – Maduro wrapper: [Nicaragua: available in 3 sizes] The maduro-wrapped version of the El Tiante 23 also uses a Nicaraguan-grown wrapper that resembles Connecticut Broadleaf in its appearance, with a sandy feel and muscular veins. |
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Did you know?
“"A woman is only a woman, but a cigar is a smoke" ~ Rudyard Kipling
