"Very good cigar. Since this was a flavor over strength type of cigar, this is another winner in my book. If I smoke a cigar that is sweet, creamy, woody and nutty, I will always like it. The only let down were the pockets of bitterness. I am going to bet on the bitterness subsiding after some additional humidor time. Fiver for me to smoke when the bitterness subsides." -Jiunn (jliu)
Selected Tobacco showed off the Alfonso Añejos cigar line at the 2022 PCA trade show, and now has started shipping them to select retailers across the country. The new line was created by Nelson Alfonso of Selected Tobacco. The Alfonso Añejos joins Selected Tobacco's luxury lines: Atabey, Byron and Bandolero. Selected Tobacco was started by Nelson Alfonso to offer the market a cigar that is aged with a purpose. All the Selected Tobacco lines are placed into cedar lined rooms after they are rolled, then humidity is raised and lowered to allow the cigars to clean themselves with the cedar notes from two to five years.
United Cigars has announced the 19th Century Byron Epique Poemas 30 Count Humidor. It is scheduled to begin shipping first week of November. It was first shown off at the 2022 PCA show in Las Vegas and contains 30 cigars inside and a carton of 50 cigars to refill. The cigars have been aged Four Years Post-Roll. The Epique Poemas cigars are part of the 19th Century blend by Nelson Alfonso of Selected Tobacco and feature a dark, oily Ecuadorian wrapper. We reviewed the cigar here and gave it a 90 in our blind testing.
"If the draw was better I would be signing it praises. With this sample I found the profile to be excellent but the draw and size are a problem. It is a weird feeling to be almost an hour and a half into a cigar and only reach the halfway point. The flavors were good and there were enough profile transitions to keep me engaged though. I would smoke this again but I would have to block out a substantial amount of time to do so." -Alan (Eulogy)
Selected Tobacco will be bringing an extra aged version of their Atabey cigar to the PCA 2023 trade show. This comes in the form of the Limited Edition 10-Year, Extra Aged Atabey Dioses.
"Overall this was an enjoyable cigar. It makes me wonder if the draw was on point, how much better it may have been, The chocolate notes in the prelight, that didn't appear until later in the cigar would have made this cigar a star from start to finish. I will be interested to see what it is and see if it comes in a smaller size, as I typically do not have the 2+ hours of time required to smoke this monster. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience" -Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
This was a great cigar! I don't get into the hype of $30, $50 or even $100 cigars, but this Atabey Spiritus was amazing! The draw was a bit snug, but I can't blame that on the the cigar I don't think. This was given to my by the BMP's staff to review. The construction was spot on, but by the end of the second half the head started to come off a bit, again that might have been my user and I just got it too wet. Overall this cigar greeted me with lots and lots of sweetness with hay, and honey. It tipped the scales of medium, but just barely and only briefly. This was an elegant cigar that could be enjoyed at any time of the day, but I think in the morning would be the best or late at night as your last cigar of the day. They are not inexpensive, but if you get the chance I cannot recommend Atabey enough.
This is such a handsome cigar, it was so well constructed. From the wrapper to the roll it was picture perfect. There were no soft spots, burn issues, and the draw was perfect. The ever changing profile kept me fully engaged. This is more of a medium flavor profile with a just slightly above mild strength. If I'm being very nitpicky I personally would have liked a slightly thicker smoke; but it was in no way thin or wispy. From a price stand point this is definitely more of a special occasion cigar but I would highly recommend one.
The Atabey Black Ritos, originally announced and sold as a "virtual cigar" in the form of an NFT in 2021, is making it's way to the real world in the latter half of 2023. After going through Selected Tobacco owner Nelson Alfonso’s five year aging process, the cigars are now ready to be enjoyed in United Cigar Lounges across the US. Atabey Black Ritos claimed to be the first NFT cigar in the world, limited to 25 single cigar and 10 boxes as unique digital images. The Atabey Black Ritos NFT sales proceeds were raised for Cigar Rights of the World. Now, the real life cigar will be featured at PCA 2023 in Las Vegas, NV with a scheduled ship time to retailers in December 2023.
The 2024 release of Atabey Black Ritos brings a unique blend of aged tobaccos to a select group of retailers and NFT Box holders, encapsulating the essence of luxury and innovation in the cigar industry.