Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars, Both Cigar Lounge & Cigar
By: Dr. Mitch Fadem
Review of Pipe and Pint Cigar Lounge in Durham, North Carolina
Saturday April 11 was my 75th birthday and my wife and I traveled to Durham, NC to visit our youngest son. He moved there last year accepting a position as a senior microbiologist with BioAgilytix, an international research organization supporting the global pharmaceutical industry with analytical services.
To my surprise, there was a first class cigar lounge named The Pipe and Pint within walking distance from our hotel. As you can see from the photos below, this is a large place with comfortable seating, a walk-in humidor that is well humidified, and a bar serving wine and about a dozen micro brews from local breweries. I was greeted by Trent, the day manager who took me into the humidor and explained their excellent selection of top rated premium cigars. Based on his recommendation I selected a Plasencia Alma del Fuego (soul of fire), a cigar I had never smoked but knowing the reputation of Nester Plasencia for producing excellent cigars, it was an easy choice to make. While deployed to Afghanistan Plasencia sent the troops hundreds of cigar directly from his factory and I had an opportunity to personally thank him when meeting him many years later.
Review of Plasencia Alma del Fuego Cigar
The Plasencia Alma del Fuego is a well crafted medium cigar with a dark wrapper and a closed foot. The wrapper is Ecuador Habano (one of my favorite) and binders and fillers from Nicaragua. The pre-lighting aroma is a sweet cedar with a touch of cocoa. I found after lighting that it burned even, with a very smooth draw. The flavors ranged from earthy, nutty and caramel. The retrohale had a little bit of pepper. At the midpoint of the ciga,r more of the sweetness came through along with coffee and chocolate. The cigar finished with a nice mild espresso flavor and aroma. The cigar smoked for close to 90 minutes and ranks with one of the best cigars I have smoked this year.
This is not an inexpensive cigar at $16, but the Pipe and Pint offers a 10% military discount to active duty and veterans. I went back the day after my birthday and purchased several of these cigars. My son and his wife gave me money for my birthday to purchase cigars. I would definitely buy this cigar again for a special occasion.
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