Tobacos Baez Serie H Famosos

So we’re back into the swing of things and feeling much better! I hate being sick, it’s so annoying. This week I’m hitting up a cigar that comes from one of my favorite factories, My Father Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua. This time it’s not part of the My Father line but rather their line known as the Tobacos Baez. In this case, we have the Tobacos Baez Serie H, where the ‘H’ actually stands for the ‘Habano’ wrapper.

There is another blend in the Tobacos Baez series that seems more familiar to more people and that is the Serie SF. Not sure why but it seems to garner most of the spotlight with this line so I decided I needed to bring some awareness to this blend. People who have mostly smoked Don Pepin Garcia’s fuller lines will get a bit of a surprise when they go to the Tobacos Baez Serie H as it promises none of the pepper blast that most of his cigars offer.

The smooth Habanos wrapped cigars are made at a slightly lower price point than some My Father branded cigars but still maintains the excellent quality of Cuban Seed Nicaraguan tobacco we’ve all come to appreciate from the Garcia family. The line is only available in 3 vitolas all at just about the same ring gauge. It starts with the Famosos (5×50) along with the Favoritos (5.5×52) and ends with the Monarcas(6.5×52).

One thing I wanted to mention is that in my searching I noticed a lot of websites with some incorrect info on this cigar. Seems some of them mention the Tobacos Baez Serie H as having a “Corojo wrapper and a spicy profile”. Now the spicy profile is subjective of course so I can’t talk to that but it does seem they have it wrong when it comes to the wrapper. Even the Serie SF has a Habano wrapper so I’m not sure where this info comes from. But enough with that, let’s just find out if these are even worth seeking out to begin with. On with the review!

Cigar: Tobacos Baez Serie H Famosos by My Father Cigars
Drink: St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Vitola: Famosos (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban-Seed Habano
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Price: A little under $6 if you look hard enough
Burn Time: Just short of 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tobacos Baez Serie H has a wonderful orangey-brown wrapper that has a ton of oilyness to it
• The wrapper on this cigar is so smooth and soft with almost no veins to be concerned about at all
• There is a perfect consistent spring from cap to foot when you squeeze the cigar
• The top of the cigar is finished expertly with a seamless triple cap and the foot looks to be fairly well packed, a bit of a gap in the middle
• The cap cut easily and cleanly with my double-bladed guillotine cutter
• This stick had a bit of a tumble as I was taking pictures, so the wrapper cracked a tiny bit, hoping it doesn’t cause any burn issues

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit spotty but after some effort and a couple draws I was able to get the foot glowing nicely
• Despite a little tumble and slightly cracked wrapper from my awesome clumsiness, the cigar is smoking razor sharp so far
• I did need to make a couple corrections as I burned through some of the cracked wrapper but this was uncommon compared to the other samples I’ve had
• The cigar smoked itself, it never even came close to going out on me which is a great quality

Smoke & Ash:
• This cigar produces a TON of smoke, right from the first draw I was overwhelmed by it’s thick plume
• The resting smoke is not as abundant but still makes itself known with a nice woodsy aroma to it
• Did I mention this cigar is a smoke machine? One little draw is all I need
• The ash is showing itself to be pretty strong and clean so far, no flaking or breaking apart
• The appearance of the ash is nothing overly special, most dark and light grey accents with some messy lines
• I tapped the first ash off at about the 1 inch mark since it was getting a bit windy outside
• The wind died down so at the second ash I was able to hold on until about the 1.5 inch mark

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has the aroma of some mild sweet tobacco, fairly light aroma here
• The foot has a nice burst of sweet tartness and some woodsy notes
• Pre-light draw brought lots more woodsiness to the mix of flavors
• On the first few draws, the Toabaco Baez Serie H continues with the wood theme but there is no sweetness at all now, more of a roasted coffee or roasted almond type of flavor
• The medium bodied creamy and smooth finish is a very different profile compared to the usual pepper blast I’m accustomed to from a lot of Pepin made cigars
• The retrohale is also fairly mild with just a small kick and creamy roasted type of finish
• The roasted almond and roasted coffee flavors have really developed nicely through the first half, they are very tasty and compliment the smooth creamy finish perfectly
• I’m getting a bit of raw cocoa flavors sneaking in here, nothing sweet, almost like a tasty bakers chocolate
• The woodsiness is beginning to make a big comeback in the last third and I’m evening getting some mild spices that are new to the mix
• All the flavors seem to be picking up the intensity yet they are still very well balanced and the body remains in a nice medium range, the roasted coffee notes at this point is shining through awesomely
• I was left with nothing but an enjoyable flavor profile at the end, no harshness or bitterness, just a finger burning nub as I smoked it down to the very last bit

Final Thoughts:
When I first has a Tobaco Baez Serie H, I was expecting a fairly spicy smoke with lots of pepper. Reason being is that this comes from the tobacco master mind of Don Pepin and My Father Cigars. To my pleasant surprise, this cigar offers up a wonderful creamy medium bodied smoke with none of the in-your-face pepper. This is especially awesome if you’re not a huge pepper fan, like me (although I love Peppercorn Steak, go figure!). The flavors on this cigar, although not overly multi-dimensional or complex, were down right tasty. And the vitola was perfect to make them shine. If this was a churchill or some bigger vitola I may have gotten bored with it but it was perfect in a robusto. With prices ranging in the mid-high $5 mark, this is a well worthwhile purchase to enjoy and it has some great consistency so you know you’re always getting a good smoke. (Note: I saw these selling for as high as $7+ in some places so you may need to do a bit of searching)

Pairings:
I do enjoy myself a good stout, doesn’t really matter what time of day it is. I had seen this St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout in the stores a few times but for some reason I never picked it up. I finally decided to grab a few bottles and see what it was all about. I’m proud to say it turned out to be a tasty brew. It’s not as thick or heavy as I was expecting but it does have a ton of malt flavor to it as well as a touch of bitterness, but nothing off-putting. There’s also some nice roasted flavors in there to round it all out. A fairly straightforward Oatmeal stout and I really enjoyed it for exactly what it was. It paired well with Tobacos Baez Serie H although I think the flavors in the brew may have been a bit too rich for the cigar. A good Dark Ale or Amber Ale would have made a nice pairing, or even a nice cup of coffee.