Saturday, March 9, 2013

Passover is Coming. Are your Cigars Ready?


 Senor Solomon cigars are Kosher Supervision of America (KSA) certified. I have smoked certified organic and eco-friendly cigars before, as well as cigars having a religious name, but never a Kosher cigar. The ingredients and process of making these Kosher cigars are supervised and certified by a Rabbi. Being Jewish by heritage, keeping KOSHER is for the Orthodox and those keeping the rabbinic laws ( ie Messianic Jews).

Here is just a few bullets about the process:
The Senor Solomon Kosher cigars must meet higher standards than regular cigars in order to have the kosher certification. The rabbi supervises the production from leaf through pilon (fermentation). The box is sealed and shipped; it is supervised through all steps of manufacturing to make sure there is no contamination. The end product is 100 per cent tobacco with no additives, only the naturally occurring aromas and flavors of the pure tobacco leaf.

The differences between regular cigars and these kosher cigars include:
• The tobacco leaves must be grown and stored according to kosher law.
• The glue used must be from tree sap, not a flour (which is a grain) and water composition.
• Rollers of kosher cigars are not allowed to bring any food or beverage to the worktable, and the entire work area is inspected for compilation with kosher rules.
In addition, some standard practices, that most cigars allow, are not allowed such as:
• The outer leaves cannot be cooked in other substances to give it color, smell and texture. Some cigars are cooked in coffee or alcohol (which is a grain product), which is not kosher.
• To enhance flavor oils are often used in other cigars some of which are animal by-products (which are not kosher), to enhance consistency, flavor, color of the ash and the evenness of the burn.
• Fillers and binders, such as wheat and rye grass to enhance the flavor, are often used in cigars, which these kosher cigars do not use.
• In the rolling process, rollers of non-kosher cigars may use sprays which may contain alcohol or other non-kosher ingredients. 
Here in short for more knowledge of KOSHER  it is my understanding that if a product contains fermented or leavened grains, observant Jews cannot have it in their possession during Passover.
Senor Solomon cigars are made in Nicaragua by Gersho Aizenman. According to the company, the JLS perfecto cigar is a new addition to their line. They are available in  Habano, and Maduro wrappers, each having a different strength . 
Thus these are the strengths:
Senor Solomon cigars are available in two tastes:
• FULL BODIED. Their distinguished stout taste is described as full-bodied and intensely flavorful with well-balanced floral flavors and a leather undertone. There are hints of spices and nuts. It ends with whispers of coffee and chocolate.
• MEDIUM TO FULL BODIED. The deep complex taste is smooth, rich and exhilarating with creamy baking spices, eggnog notes and cedar woody undertones. The finish is crisp, relaxing and never overpowering.
I found Senor Solomon to be close to medium bodied at the start, with some unusual spicy/peppery flavors that tamed down after about five minutes. The rest of the cigar was actually very smooth, and more in the mild-to-medium range. The 4½ inch long perfecto shaped cigar that I sampled smoked perfectly for about 25 minutes down to just over one inch remaining. No relights nor touch-ups were needed. I enjoyed the last 20 minutes of the smoke more than the first five minutes, and give my first Kosher cigar a rating of 4½ stars. That was Yesterday
Today I smoked a Senor Solomon Torpedo Maduro 54 x 6.
This cigar was an awesome surprise.
The 6 inch long Torpedo cigar that I sampled smoked perfectly for about 55 minutes down to just over half inch remaining. There were no relights nor touch-ups with this cigar. I enjoyed the last 35 minutes of the smoke more than the first five minutes, and give my Kosher  Senor Solomon Torpedo Maduro 54 x 6 cigar a rating of 4.88 stars out of 5.
Time to visit us at I SPY CIGARS for all your PASSOVER  smoking  needs.
http://ISPYCIGARS.com


 

No comments:

Post a Comment