A Cigar with an Impressive Vintage- Pressoir by Chinnock

It’s not often that you get to write nice things about nice people.  But this cigar is made by a nice guy.  Brian Chinnock, a wine maker from Napa Valley, knows about the land and cultivating products.  So, it is only natural that after conquering wine Brian should turn to another passion, cigars.  His terroir, previously reviewed, is a very nice smoke indeed.  So, it is with pleasure that I looked forward to smoking his newer cigar the Pressoir.

Pressoir [French pronunciation: pres-war] n. a machine that exerts pressure to form and shape or extract liquids from compressed solids.

The French use this word to describe the device that winemakers have used for hundreds of years to press the fermented grape must to extract the alcoholic juice better known as wine. Surprisingly, the same word Pressoir is used to describe the device that cigar makers use to press their cigar molds to obtain the desired cigar shapes.

These box pressed Pressoir cigars were hand made by experienced rollers in the Compania Hondurena De Tabacos factory in Danli, Honduras.  They were blended by Master Blender – Adin Perez – and were made in the traditional Cuban method of hand rolling and finishing with a unique triple cap. The result is a medium body cigar with the flavors of rich coffee mocha, dark chocolate and a creamy, nutty finish.

This is a very nice looking box pressed stick. It is not oily but has a nice feel to it.  I smoked the torpedo, a shape that I prefer.  I clipped and lit the cigar with no problem.  There was not a lot of smoke but a very pleasant aroma.

When I smoke a cigar, I consider the construction in a number of ways.  Does the cigar burn evenly and with a nice ash.  Is the draw easy and open?  This is  a very well constructed cigar.  The only exception that I had was that it burned a little hot to start.  But it cooled down pretty quickly.  This is one of the reasons you should never judge a cigar by the first half inch.

This is a medium bodied cigar, what I think of as a ‘lunch’ smoke.  The flavor started of earthy with notes of cedar and chile.  As I moved to the second third of the cigar it was creamy with a bitter chocolate taste, very pleasing.  The final third was very mellow with a mocha flavor.

At around $11.00 this is a pricy smoke, but well worth it for a special occasion.  The cigar comes in boxes of 10 making it an excellent buy for your special smoke.