Over 6 years ago Pete Johnson announced that he would be incorporating an idea from the wine industry. The idea, was to incorporate tobacco from one farm of one vintage into a cigar. The La Verite 2009 was rolled in 2010 and release in 2011. This changed the aging process as instead of aging in bales, the tobacco has aged in the form of a cigar.
This 2009 La Verite was limited to 30,000 cigars. 220 boxes of 25; 2300 boxes of 10; 20 boxes of 50 and 5 boxes of 100. Each cigar is of a single vintage (2009) from a Pepin owned farm in La Estrella.
2GuysCigars.com has had these aging and are available now with Pete Johnson due to make an in store appearance on October 11th (Details Below).
Cigar: La Verite 2009
Size: 7 x 47 (Churchill)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Habana Criollo, Criollo ’98, Pelo de Oro)
Strength: Full
The Look: The La Verite 2009 features a dual band, the first is the primary one of red, white and gold with 2009 in the center. The secondary band is white and gold with Tatauaje front and center. As for the cigar, there are some significant veins on the wrapper which are raised above the wrapper, however they are thin enough where they shouldn’t cause an issue. The wrapper feels coarse under the fingers, and the cigar has a nice weight to it and is firm to the touch. It looks and feels very well aged with some nice oils on the wrapper.
The Notes: The cold draw of the La Verite 2009 has a nice rum arisen note to it with a hint of molasses while the foot of the cigar has some spice to it with a mix of molasses. Upon first light I am caught off guard by the abundance of spice through the nose that borders on black pepper and crushed red pepper. After a sneezing fit, the cigar first few puffs of the cigar are spicy with hints of wasabi.
As we progress into the first third of the cigar the spice has toned it down a notch and some sweetness in the form of brown sugar (Did you know the Rolling Stones song of the same name, was about a Masters’ relationship with an underaged girl in the old south?) develops. There is a developing note of wood, and continued crushed red pepper.
In the second third of the cigar the pepper note disappears off the palate but remains through the nose. The cigar begins to develop notes of chocolate and continued brown sugar over some cedar.
The last third of the cigar is perhaps the most balances with notes of cayenne pepper through the nose, although subtle it does wake you up some. The cigar has notes of cedar, chocolate and a sweetness that borders on butterscotch.
The Burn: The La Verite 2009 has a razor-sharp burn line and an exquisite draw. The ash which is white in color has a smooth appearance to it however it doesn’t hold on for more than a half-inch at a time. The construction of the cigar is perfect as evidenced by the burn.
The Finish: The one thing that surprised me is how this cigar has gotten stronger and spicier then when it first came out which is the exact opposite I would expect. The result is a cigar that is maybe among the spiciest I have ever lit up, and you know what. I liked it. In the last two-thirds the spice dropped and the notes were amplified over when first released. Definitely a cigar I will light up again.
Score: 90
Price: $188.99 Box of 10 / $18.89 each
La Verite 2009
Evening with Pete Johnson
La Verite 2009 Foot
La Verite 2009 Burn
