Ramón Allones Super Ramon (ER Canada 2011)

In 2011, Habanos S.A.’s Edición Regional program was in full swing, and seemed to only be gaining steam. One of the releases for that year was the Ramón Allones Super Ramon, a 7 1/11 (180mm) x 54 double pirámides produced exclusively for the country of Canada. The large pirámide was limited to 25,000 cigars, sold in boxes of 25.

There were 25 different Edición Regional releases in 2011, with four coming from the Ramón Allones brand: the Super Ramon, Especiales for Switzerland, Macedonian for Greece and Cyrpus and the Petit Robusto for Israel. In addition, there were two different Edición Regionals for Canada in that same year: the Ramón Allones Super Ramon and the Juan López Supreme.

• Cigar Reviewed: Ramón Allones Super Ramon Edición Regional Canadá (2011)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: n/a
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 7 1/11 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Double Pirámides
• Est. Price: $18 (Boxes of 25, $450)
• Date Released: 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 25 Cigars (25,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

The Ramón Allones Super Ramon is both quite large and quite heavy when held in my hand, with an obvious increase in ring gauge the closer you get to the foot. The wrapper is a somewhat mottled mocha brown color that features a number of bumps up and down its length as well as some obvious oil. Aroma from the wrapper is combination of strong barnyard, cinnamon, creamy oak, leather and nuts, while the cold draw brings flavors of baker’s spices, cedar, white chocolate, earth and slight tart citrus.

Immediately after toasting the foot, the flavors in the Ramón Allones Super Ramon start rolling in: rich espresso, leather, creamy peanuts, dark chocolate and cedar, along with a slight honey sweetness on the finish that seems to be getting stronger as the first third burns down. I am tasting an interesting lemon tartness on the retrohale that combines nicely with the small amount of white pepper that is present as well. While the draw is excellent, the burn is a bit wavy and I have to touch it up right after lighting it. Strength-wise, the Ramón Allones Super Ramon hits a point between mild and medium pretty early on and does seem to be increasing as the first third comes to an end.

Interestingly, I start notice a nice saltiness on my lips as the second third of the Super Ramon starts up, which only adds to the complexity of the other flavors in the profile, including strong hay, creamy peanuts, cedar, mocha coffee, leather and a touch of earth. The honey sweetness from the first third has morphed into more of a butterscotch note, adding to the creaminess of the profile overall. There is still some white pepper on the retrohale, but the lemon citrus note is long gone by the halfway point, never to return. Construction-wise, the Ramón Allones still features a wavy burn that does not seem to want to even up, but the draw is still excellent. The strength does increase, but not a lot, and the cigar still does not reach the medium mark by the time the second third comes to a close.

The final third of the Ramón Allones Super Ramon is almost a carbon copy of the second third, with the same overt creaminess in the profile, and mostly the same flavors: strong hay, creamy cedar and peanuts, leather, earth and a touch of both white pepper and bitter espresso on the finish. While I am still tasting the saltiness on my lips every once in a while, it is much diminished from its high point near the halfway point. The butterscotch sweetness is also still hanging around, albeit noticeably reduced, while the smoke production seems to fallen off a bit as well. The construction is a broken record: a slightly wavy burn and wonderful draw, while the strength finally reaches the medium point close to the end of the cigar, stalling there.

Final Notes

• Ramón Allones has an accent in Ramón, but Super Ramon seems to avoid the accent.
• If you looked at the total number of each Edición Regional cigar throughout the years, the number 25,000 will show up quite often for one good reason: that is the minimum number of cigars for any Edición Regional release.
• 2011 was the year with the largest number of Edición Regional releases at 25, but the total numbers for each year after that decline rapidly. The reason is simple: after 2011, Habanos S.A. made a fairly dramatic change in the program, decreeing that distributors would be limited to one release per year. In addition, the distributor of each Edición Regional became responsible for underwriting the cost of the cigars.
• Canadian taxes are high, but these have not faired extremely well on the secondary market.
• Havana House is the distributor for Habanos S.A. in Canada.
• The year 2011 also brought one of my top five Edición Regional releases ever, the La Escepción Selectos Finos (ER Italia), but it didn’t show up until 2012.
• The burn on both samples were quite wavy and needed to be touched up a few times each, but did not get to the point where it was anything more than a slight annoyance. However, the draw was excellent on both.
• The final smoking time for both samples was actually a tad shorter than I expected after seeing how large the cigar was, and came in just under two hours.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.