祭 · MATSURI Five cigars in the order of one festival night. A matsuri only looks like chaos. It has an order to it — the quiet hour before anything starts, the stall row, the drums, the sky opening, and then the walk home after everyone has gone. You cannot skip ahead to the fireworks. The fireworks only mean anything because of the hours spent standing in front of them. This pack is that night, in sequence. Five cigars, meant to be smoked in the order they are listed, and none of them rushed. Two of them insisted on that. The Cavalier White Corona turns bitter and sharp if you draw hard on it — that is the cigar telling you off. Left alone, it opens like a flower and shows you one thing at a time. The Gran Reserva 1988 is the same: give it your time and it talks back. That is the whole argument of the pack. 01 · 宝宮 Yoimiya — The Eve Cavalier Genève White Serie Corona Honduras · 5¾ × 44 · Habano wrapper, Honduran Connecticut Shade binder, Dominican, Nicaraguan & Paraguayan filler · Mild–Medium The hour before, when the lanterns are strung across the street but not yet lit. That gold diamond is 24 karat edible gold leaf, set into the wrapper — Eylin Decoppet's idea, and you smoke straight through it. Slim, patient, and entirely uninterested in being hurried. Honey · Sweet Vanilla · Light Spice · Nuts · French Toast 02 · 屋台 Yatai — The Food Stalls Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Canonazo Nicaragua · 5⅞ × 52 · Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan Jalapa binder, Costa Rican & Nicaraguan filler · Medium French for pastry chef. It exists because of Le Carême — the two share the same Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, and if the May pack is still in your humidor, this is that cigar's younger brother. Sugar in hot oil, sauce hitting a griddle. The one you smoke standing up. Toast · Spiced Cinnamon · Floral · Walnut · Cocoa 03 · 太鼓 Taiko — The Drums JFR Robusto Maduro Nicaragua · 5½ × 50 · Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan Aganorsa binder & filler · Medium–Full JFR stands for Just For Retailers — Aganorsa built the brand in 2005 to support shops with a humidor and a person behind it who knows what is inside. Pigtail cap, tucked foot: a closed, bound head you have to light through before it opens. A short conversation and a direct one. Dark Chocolate · Espresso 04 · 花火 Hanabi — The Fireworks Illusione One-Off Cartuchos Nicaragua · 3⅞ × 52 · Nicaraguan puro, Aganorsa leaf · Medium–Full Andrea Molinari wanted his own cigar made in Cuba. It never happened, so he went to the Plasencia family in Nicaragua instead, and the cigar born out of that failure became a cult object. The band says nothing at all, which is exactly why people recognise it on sight. Dion Giolito bought the line in 2017. Cartucho means cartridge. Under four inches — fast, bright, and then over. Cream · Dark Chocolate · Warm Bread · Light Mineral · Cinnamon · Milk 05 · 帰り道 Kaerimichi — The Walk Home Warped Serie Gran Reserva 1988 Nicaragua · 5¼ × 50 · Corojo '99 Jalapa wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, Criollo '98 filler, all Aganorsa leaf · Medium Kyle Gellis built this one for his own thirtieth birthday — 1988 is the year he was born, and he spent years on the blend before he would let it carry the number. A cigar made about looking backwards is the correct cigar for the way home. Take it slowly and it opens into a whole symphony. Rush it and you will hear none of it. Nuts · Creamy Earth · Leather · Cloves · Maple Syrup · Coffee Bean · Corn · Cocoa What's in the pack Five cigars, one of each, in the order above Cavalier Genève White Serie Corona — ¥3,000 Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Canonazo — ¥2,850 JFR Robusto Maduro — ¥2,800 Illusione One-Off Cartuchos — ¥3,200 Warped Serie Gran Reserva 1988 — ¥2,600 Individually priced at ¥14,450 Every cigar in this pack was chosen from ten years of smoking them. Not from a review, not from a rating, not from anyone's recommendation. Five beats. One night. Don't rush any of it. — Romain, Raging Ashes Cigar Club