by Yannis Valavanis

Summer has started for some and not for some others. I’m in Mykonos for work, as per year, but the weather is not following the calendar for now. What can you do, you can’t really mess with time, so it’s better to adapt. I leave Mykonos for Paros on Thursday for the family Easter. You will tell me now you are making fun of us, how I managed Paros and Mykonos. What should I do as I am from Paros and I also work in Mykonos and without realizing it I have turned into a complete islander. In the winter, of course, I hibernate in Athens to break the routine, but also the humidity.

In terms of supplies I was half ok, cigars all set, but alcohol-wise I was not prepared – but a visit to the local winery solved the problem. I could say in this case the wise saying, “every obstacle for good”. I discovered a rum that I had once found in Miami but was not available here or if it was not that famous, Centenario Solera 25. A rum from Costa Rica, not so famous in our country as a rum but more like a Solera process since there are still two known, Zacapa and Santa Teresa. The aging process is complex and time-consuming mixing older and newer spirits in a complex process and in many different oak barrels from wines usually but also from other similar species so that the final result is achieved. What you need to know is that the number 25 is not exactly aimed at the aging years but as the whole process comes out in a way that I have to admit is not particularly understandable to me as well as the whole process of blending and aging.

However, the taste result as I remembered it is very different compared to the rums in the series, with strong aromas from the oak barrels mixed with tropical fruits, vanilla and a lot of caramel. Highly impressive and delicious with a long aftertaste but a bit too sweet for my taste when it comes to consuming more than 2-3 drinks. Very well matched though with the cigar I paired it with, Cuaba Salomones. A “Double Figurado” cigar as it is tapered on both ends, with a length of 185 and a 57mm ring, with a long duration and an aftertaste with strong aromas of coffee, vanilla and chocolate. The entire Cuaba line is the same shape in different sizes, which we will discuss in the future, and the only similar and very dear to me cigar we have mentioned above is the Salomones by Partagas.

“Double Figurados” are considered the top cigar manufacturing technique, allowing uniform and distributed burning but at the same time it is also the most difficult and they are made by torcedores with many years of experience in rolling, usually more than twenty years. Amazing products both rated over 9 out of 10, leaving the exact rating up to you as our taste palettes differ, but no doubt your one try of both will make me a taster in your eyes. For their part, they helped me spend a very tasty Easter.