“Love Is An Explosive Cigar We Willingly Smoke!” ~ Lynda Barry
What Makes West Tampa Red Special
Released in May of 2023, the West Tampa Red cigar is the follow-up to the epic West Tampa white and black labels. It continues to be a big buzz in the cigar industry. It immediately made the top 25 list at Cigar Aficionado, with a 93/100 rating. Currently, it is one of the top ten cigars sold at Norwood Royal Cigars, Chicago’s headquarters for cigar lovers. In my humble opinion, after smoking many of them, this cigar rocks!
Rick Rodriguez, master blender and co-owner, is especially excited about this release. “West Tampa Red gave me the opportunity to sit down with the factory and really focus on creating a blend that I enjoy. Normally when I blend cigars, I don’t blend for what I like, I blend cigars for what my fans enjoy. Red will be a reflection of what I believe is the next piece to lay in the West Tampa puzzle, a full-bodied cigar that delivers the full flavor consumers have come to enjoy from West Tampa.”
This cigar has it all
Its Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper leaf is grown in the volcanic soil of the San Andres Valley. It can be traced back to ancient Mayan carvings in Veracruz. Known as “Morron” or “Negro,” for its dark brown color, this tobacco is stalk-cut (entire plant) versus primed (leaves picked off the plant two or three times). So it is thicker, naturally sweet, and earthy. To balance everything out, its perfectly moist and primed Condega tobaccos are earthy and woody, with notes of chocolate. Finally, the cigar’s EstelÍ Viso and Ligero long fillers, provide a nice kick of bold flavor, spice, and everything nice.
West Tampa Red
Brand: West Tampa Cigars
Vitola: 6×52 Toro
Filler: Nicaragua Condega Viso, EstelÍ Viso, & EstelÍ Ligero
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua (Condega)
Body: Medium Plus Boldness
Price: $10
Visual / Pre-light Draw
The dark chocolaty shaded and oily San Andres Maduro wrapper is tough looking and toothy. The simple red and gray band displays that classic West Tampa ‘W’ superimposed over the ‘T’. There are dark coffee and fresh hay notes on the side sniff, which are even creamier on the dry foot odor. There is no spice on the head when prepping it for my favorite Colibri V-cut. There are bold notes of oats with a hint of cinnamon on the dry draw.
First Third
Lighting into this cigar is like WOW! Bold and dark leathery notes of aged tobacco and aged hay overlay vanilla extract. The spiceless retro-hale is just incredible with creamy hints of vanilla confetti cake. The dark bold leathery tobacco note is very unique, with graham crackers on the finish. The smoke input is thick and palate coating. Surprisingly, the Nicaraguan binder and fillers are spiceless, which signals they have been perfectly blended and balanced with the Mexican San Andres wrapper. So far this is a dark cigar with a perfect burn and perfect ash.
Second Third
That perfect and long ash is making me nervous, so time for a strategic rotating tap off. Success! The cigar becomes creamier with bolder vanilla notes. Now there is a little spice on the retro-hale, which is dominated by notes of vanilla, and has my palate salivating for more. The foot smoke odor has settled from dark spicy chocolate to creamy cocoa. The burn on this flavorful cigar remains perfectly even, requiring no touch ups, a perfectly constructed and reliable smoke. I know exactly what this cigar needs, some Foundation Bourbon, recently released from Barrell Craft Spirits. Success! The vanilla notes in both products are definitely complimenting each other, enhancing their flavors, and the overall experience.
Absolutely delicious, and I’m always chasing these rare complimentary pairings. In the spirit of re-igniting the fire with that special someone this Valentine’s Day, let’s romance the pairing with Morgan Wallen’s “Still Chasin’ You.”
Final Third
The band comes off, that amazing ash falls off with dignity, and the draw really opens up to perfection. The cigars flavors remain bold yet settled down as they merge together. We get tons of smoke input and output from the cigar, my palate keeps salivating for more. The burn slows and the cigar transitions to consistent bolder notes of chocolate. Time to sit back, relax, and ride this delicious smoke out.
The candy-like bourbon becomes spicy and bold, with lingering, delicious tobacco notes. The cinnamon notes on the whiskey are blanketed with a creamy layer of chocolate that melts in your mouth.
The Pairing
This bourbon blend also has it all
Barrel Craft Spirits is an independent blender and bottler, located in Louisville, Kentucky, known for their experimental and next level blends of unique and cask strength whiskies. This Barrel Craft Foundation (73% corn, 23% rye, and 4% malted barley) expression is their first non-cask strength blend. It is jam packed with whiskies from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Maryland, ranging from five to nine years old.
On the nose, there is dominant orange citrus over creamy cherry and caramel, with a warming and earthy lemongrass vanilla spice on the finish. On the palate, we get thick viscosity, candied caramel and earthy chocolate spice notes, with bold toffee, chalky caramel, and cinnamon spice on the finish. Also absolutely delicious!
Lets see how this crazy amazing 50% ABV whiskey blend stands up to the boldness of the West Tampa Red’s epic tobacco blend.
Cigar to the whisky:
The bold notes of the cigar turn the bourbon to candy, with spicy vanilla on the finish. The “burning going down” whiskey explodes when making contact with the smoke covered palate, leaving a very candy-like aftertaste.
Whisky to the cigar:
The candylike bourbon becomes spicy and bold, with lingering, very delicious tobacco notes. The cinnamon notes on the whiskey are blanketed with a creamy layer of chocolate that literally melts in your mouth.
Overall, this bold and spicy Valentines Day pairing will satisfy your palate and hunger at the same time. The entire amorous pairing experience is definitely worth “chasin,” as we get to have our chocolate cake and eat it too!
Love it!
Visit WestTampaTobacco.com and grab these seductive and satisfying Reds today!
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Thank you Rick Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Company, Barrell Craft’s Stefanie Bair, and Mr. GQ, Joshua Scarver, for joining us live on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show.
This Valentines Day, Whiskey Network celebrates two years of live pairings with The Great Cigar & Pipe Show Chooches: Ronnie Pecorini, Frank Minutillo, Kyle Jesso, Bob Pecorini, Choochette Jerah Hutchins, and the amazing Cathy Poturny.
What a unique marriage! We are all at the top of our game and it definitely shows:
*Special thanks to Carole Peroni, for the inspiration and still “chasin’ that shot of whiskey.”
Photography by: James Archie
