Cigar Reviews
Hit and Run by Matt Booth and Robert Caldwell + Giveaway!
It’s a miracle! I suffered a bad nerve damaging injury to my knee and I had been hopped up on medication so it was tough getting a review in. But I am feeling much better and found myself out back with a Hit and Run by Matt Booth and Robert Caldwell paired with a bottle of Xocoveza by Insurgente.
The Good Stuff:
Boofy is back! Mr. Matt Booth caught everyone by surprised when he announced he was stepping away from the cigar industry earlier this year. Then once again, he surprised everyone by announcing he was back only this time he teamed up with one of the hottest names in today’s cigar industry, Robert Caldwell and Caldwell cigars. Together Caldwell and Booth plan on releasing two different blends this year. The first of which, the Hit and Run, is what we’ll be taking a look at today. Produced at Ecuadorian Habano in the Dominican Republic the Hit and Run features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Indonesian Binder, and Dominican filler. Caldwell prides itself on using rare and vintage tobaccos in each of their blends so I can only assume this goes the same with the Hit and Run. The cigar is featured in five sizes: Corona (6 x 46), Almost Robusto (4 3/4 x 52), Super Toro (6 x 54), Piramide (6 x 50), and the Perfecto (5 1/8 x 60 – You can read Jeff’s review of that format here). Each come packaged in boxes of 10 and run between $10.50 and $13.25 a stick with only 100,000 total cigars being produced. We got our over from our good friends at Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert, Arizona. In case you haven’t heard they recently opened up their online store and already have one of the best selections out there. You can view the store here, shop Caldwell here, and check out this specific cigar here.
Size: 6 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Dominican Republic
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $12.89
Pairing: Insurgente Xocoveza (Imperial Stout 8.1% ABV)
Prelight
The Hit and Run starts out with a gorgeously consistent medium brown wrapper that almost has a gold sheen to it. The wrapper is covered in thick oils and a small amount of grit. There are a few larger veins running through the cigar’s body but nothing too concerning. The cigar as a whole feels well packed, but not overdone while the wrapper feels very thin and delicate. I didn’t squeeze around too much cause of that, however there were no soft spots to be found from the foot to the tapered torpedo style cap. The Hit and Run sports a manilla band with the Room 101 style flower on the front embossed in gold as well as a secondary band with the word “101” across the front.
The wrapper on the Hit and Run gives off some strong oak aroma while the foot of the cigar releases much more natural tobacco/earthy scents. The cap cut clean and like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The Hit and Run produces a ton of plum, oak, and sweetness on the cold draw. I’m surprised how much fruit is in here and really hope it translates into the smoking experience.
First Third:
The hit and run starts out with some very mild spice before transitioning into some deep oaky goodness mixed with the plum I was hoping to find, some soft sweetness, and honey over a natural tobacco-led makeup. As I smoked more into the cigar a nice vanilla begins to creep in. The draw as fantastic and each little puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick white smoke which doesn’t hang around for very long while the cigar itself releases a standard amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a trail of medium to light gray ash which was compacted enough to hold on for a inch before falling into my ashtray.
Second Third:
As I venture into the second third of the Hit and Run the dominant flavor is still the oak, backed by vanilla, honey, and some great cinnamon and coconut. It sounds like it tastes like some Hawaiian mikshake but add those flavors onto some natural tobacco and you’ll get the idea. The retrohale really helps bring out some of the spice that is buried deep within the smoke and its mild enough to retrohale quite often. I close out the second third with no nicotine kick, only a whole lot of happiness.
Finish:
All through the Hit and Run experience the cigar has been in the Medium range, but the body has really ramped up here in the final third throwing it steadily in the medium/full range now. The oak still leads the charge backed by the vanilla in strong second while the other flavors have really been holding their own. Lots of honey, cinnamon and earthy flavors with some subtle spice and citrus. This has really been a hell of a flavor profile. It took me two hours to smoke the Hit and Run down to the nub and I loved every second of it. There was no harshness, nor extended heat as I closed out the cigar with almost no nicotine kick at all.
Overview:
Without hesitation I can easily say The Hit and Run is one of the better cigars I have smoked all year. While keeping a mild temperament this cigar almost hit the full mark in body and that’s not something you encounter everyday. It’s as complex as it needs to be, without having to put too much thought into what you’re smoking. It kept me on my toes and never once had me asking for more. The price point is where you would expect it to be, and the limited availability makes it a hot commodity which will sell out very fast. So again, get yours from Fox Cigar Bar while you can.
Pairing:
This particular Xocoveza is not to be confused with Stone’s Xocoveza. This is the Mexican brewery Insurgente’s version of the beer. They partnered up with Stone to create their version of the Imperial Milk stout brewed with Cocoa, Coffee, Peppers, Vanilla, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Yes, all that is in this beer and it’s incredible. All in all this version is a lot smoother, and tamer than Stone’s version. The beer leads off with cocoa and malt with sweet milk, vanilla, and cinnamon and a very light mouthfeel before finishing very sweet with more milk chocolate, vanilla, and just a dash of pepper. This is such a clean beer. It’s almost like driving a hard chocolate milk. It’s easy to see why I chose something so smooth to go down with the Hit and Run and it paired perfectly.
Giveaway:
Hooray! Another Giveaway! That’s right, we teamed up with the folks over at Fox Cigar Bar once again to deliver you guys some great cigars! This round we’ll be giving away a 5 pack of the Caldwell/Matt Booth Hit and Run we featured above. How to enter? Same as always. Hit the rafflecopter widget below and get this entries in. We’ll randomly choose a winner next Monday (October 2nd). Must be 21 and over, and live in the continental US.
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