Ramón Allones Petit Allones (ER Andorra 2013)

Beyond the cigars that are part of Habanos S.A.’s Edición Regional series, one of the things I like from the series is the occasional geography lessons it provides. While most of the secondary bands that indicate where the cigar is being released in feature recognizable countries like Switzerland, France or Germany, every so often a not-so-familiar country gets a cigar.

In this case, that country is Andorra, which is located between France and Spain in the Pyrenees Mountains. Its total area covers just over 181 square miles, which if it were a U.S. city would put it right around 50th largest and close to Scottsdale, Ariz., Albuquerque, N.M., and San Jose, Calif. It is home to just over 77,000 people and is best known for its ski resorts, duty-free shopping and status as a tax haven.

Thanks to its distributor, Maori Tabacs S.A., it has also become home to a decently sized roster of Edición Regional releases. As a reminder, Edición Regional releases are commissioned by a distributor, and must draw from one of the 17 local and niche brands, that is, none of the more well-known global brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta. The size selected must currently be in Habanos S.A.’s portfolio, but must not be in a brand’s regular production offerings, and a distributor now has to commit to purchasing at least 25,000 cigars.

That list of Edición Regional releases for Andorra now stands at nine releases:

• Juan López Short Robusto (4 x 50) — 2009
• Juan López Selección No.5 (4 x 40) — 2010
• Por Larrañaga Robusto Superior (6 1/10 x 50) — 2011
• Ramón Allones Petit Allones (4 1/3 x 52) — 2013
• Vegas Robaina Short Robaina (4 1/3 x 42) — 2014
• Juan López Malecon (5 1/8 x 55) — 2015
• Bolívar Short Bolívar (4 x 40) — 2017
• El Rey del Mundo Petit Cayo (4 1/3 x 52) — 2018
• Quai d’Orsay Ambassadeur (3 1/2 x 44) — 2020

A quick survey of that list should reveal something fairly quickly, and that is that the vast majority of the Edición Regional releases are short cigars, including this cigar, the Ramon Allones Petit Allones that was released in 2013. Measuring 4 1/3 inches (110mm) long and with a 52 ring gauge, the cigar is a petit robusto that has a factory name of Petit Edmundo. The vitola debuted in 2006 as the Montecristo Petit Edmundo. The vitolas has ben used for a number of Edición Regional releases, as well as the regular production Vegueros Entretiempos that came also came out in 2013.

The Ramón Allones Petit Allones was a fairly limited release, with 2,000 boxes of 25 cigar produced for a total of 50,000 cigars. Each box was individually numbered and featured the cigars arranged in an 8-9-8 format, meaning a row of eight cigars, then a row of nine cigars, and finally another row of eight cigars on top.

• Cigar Reviewed: Ramón Allones Petit Allones Edición Regional Andorra (2013)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Undisclosed
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 4 1/3 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Petit Robusto
• Est. Price: n/a
• Release Date: 2013
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,000 Boxes of 25 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

For having several years of age on it, I’m impressed by how much oil the Ramón Allones Petit Allones has left on its wrapper. Behind the sheen, the leaf has a graham cracker color to it, visible seams and very small veins, a combination that makes it look quite good as well as very Cuban at times. The small size of the cigar is also eye-catching on its own, as it feels like it’s half a toro more than anything. The cigar is generally firm, showing just a bit of give when squeezed, and often just in certain spots. Aroma off of the foot is quite mellow, and like the color of the wrapper it suggests graham crackers, though more precisely, it’s what I would imagine the dough would smell like before being baked. There are hints of sweetness and pepper, though it takes some extra sniffing to find them. As soon as I clip the cap, I pick up a bit of concern as the wrapper seems a touch brittle. The cold draw varies in airflow with one cigar a bit on the open side of the spectrum and the other two offering just a bit of resistance. Each sample has a soft, bready flavor that isn’t too far off from the graham cracker dough aroma, only with less pepper and sweetness, replaced by a suggestion of creaminess.

Even with its age, the Ramón Allones Petit Allones needs no time to hit the palate with flavor once it is lit. Flavor starts off from a spot somewhere between soft toast, saltine crackers and a bit of white pepper, which doesn’t sound like a combination aiming for medium-full flavor, yet that’s exactly what my taste buds get. Retrohales are heartier and move towards black pepper, along with a more familiar toast sensation. Other than being a bit of a surprisingly lively start, it’s very enjoyable. After about half an inch, a thick creaminess enters the profile to both soften the flavor and fill out the body, making for an a balanced profile between body and flavor intensity. While the draw, combustion and smoke production are all very good, the burn line consistently starts going a bit askew towards the end of this section. After the medium-full start, flavor settles down towards medium, while body has moved from medium to medium-plus. Strength is seemingly mild in the early going.

The second third of the Ramón Allones Petit Allones brings a bit of order to the flavors, or at least it seems like it’s getting them in a bit more order than they were in the first third. The white bread toast is back, light on the toast aspect but fairly vibrant in flavor intensity. Pepper seems to have settled down as well, moving into an accent role as opposed to a defining characteristic. That change clears the way for a shift towards a dry lumber flavor to enter and begin sliding its way to the front of the profile, much like someone making their way through a concert crowd so they can be close to the stage. While this change would suggest that my mouth would start drying out, the opposite is true and it seems like saliva production is increasing. There’s a bit of a funky flavor lingering around the edges of the profile, though thankfully it stays there before eventually fading away. The burn line’s issue remaining even continue and have me thinking of touching it up, though it never gets bad enough to have me reach for my lighter. Otherwise, the cigars smoke well with flavor sitting around medium, body at medium-plus and strength still mild.

As the Ramón Allones Petit Allones gets into its final third, the profile’s intensity begins to settle down a bit, almost becoming mild while taking the toasty flavor off the bread and returning it to regular white bread. The pepper gets much more subdued, and the body thins just a touch, a set of changes that happen subtly enough that I don’t really notice them until a few puffs have me wondering what happened to the vibrance that the cigar showed earlier. It’s not a complete retreat however, as flavor intensity begins building back up for the final inch of the cigar, a combination of dry wood and black pepper, which feels a bit sharper than earlier and could be partly due to a bit less body of the smoke. The creaminess that marks the cigar’s highest points doesn’t return and as such the body is just a bit thinner. It’s not the best finish that I think the cigar is capable of offering but it’s not one that is off-putting, just one that’s in need of a bit more water than the previous thirds merited.

Final Notes

• The box code for these cigars was not available, for those who are interested in knowing that information.
• I have long had issue with how the glue seeps into some—if not most—of the bands Habanos S.A. uses, and the bands on these cigars were particularly frustrating. None came off cleanly, and one set of bands nearly annihilated the wrapper as it appeared some of that adhesive had attached the bands to the cigar.
• In looking over the complete list of Edición Regional releases on CubanCigarWebsite.com, I was trying to find countries that I wouldn’t be able to easily find on a map, and most of them were pretty recognizable, though I wouldn’t place money on locating Bulgaria on the first try.
• I think one of the more interesting challenges is when the Spanish name for a country doesn’t match up with or suggest the English name. For instance, the El Rey del Mundo Taínos was created for Formosa, or Thailand. If you get a cigar with a band that says Paises Bajos, that’s The Netherlands.
• That’s before accounting for regional releases that span multiple countries, such as the Andino and Andino B.P.E., which are for The Andes region of South America, and includes Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
• In 2013, Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study.
• None of the three cigars offered much in the way of nicotine strength.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel. We paid $21 per cigar on the secondary market.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 40 minutes on average.