Unusual & Unpopular With Max Foulkes Ep. 1 | Davidoff of London | Kirby Allison | Cigar Keep

[Music] hi I'm Kirby Allison and today I'm in the davidof of London humidor one of the most uh well stocked prestigious humidors in all of Europe and I'm with my good friend Max fals of course a master of vanana cigars apparently we were talking about earlier so yes and one of the fine staff members of course as you'll find here at D off of London to help you uh navigate their humidor to make a selection of cigars and so of course Max o over the lockdown you know you and your father Nick have launched Falon Sons we haveed where you guys have been you know kind of uh beating the virus one Corona at a time that's the saying yes that's what we like to repeat and that's what we like to tell ourselves at least we're fighting the the virus one Corona at a time fighting the virus one Corona time is the hashtag one Corona time man it's brilliant we do not mess around the world of fals and Suns fighting the virus one Corona at a time Corona fighting the virus one Corona at a time still fighting the virus one Corona at a time very unfortunately well it's been a brilliant series and I've enjoyed seeing you and your father of course sit down uh banter back and forth only as Father and Son can but then also uh you know just share both of your great wealth of knowledge on Cuban cigars yeah right and uh one of the things that I've really enjoyed most about the series is uh kind of your uh proclivity for seeking out the unusual and unpopular yes the stuff that no one smokes the stuff that no one knows about yeah and and I would think you know probably really second only to the sahakian themselves you know you've really kind of uh you know explored and discovered every single nook and cranny of this incredible humidor uh with with the enthusiasm that only the youth could really the youth yes well you know it's um I mean I started working here God knows how long ago I think I had my first week when I was 18 and and loved it and never left Bas well your father was telling stories last night of you coming in as a young child I would come in as I was I came in before I was born I mean that's that's how long I've been coming here for um but I mean since I I came here I spent a few years working I managed to do my degree in cigars the only exam I've ever passed in my life and it was in something worth passing I think right um and since then I've kind of developed a ponon for cigars that aren't quite as popular sizes that aren't quite as popular that aren't smoked quite as much whenever someone is uh first you know getting into cigars of course they go to What's popular you know the cias or the other you know the other brands paragus you know and even like the limited editions maybe they go to what's expensive right because they're you know all but guaranteed that it's going to be an exceptional cigar and if you're just kind of popping in you don't have much time you know great you'll never be disappointed with a Cohiba or a paragus of course um but I think that as one kind of continues and progresses on their journey of enjoying Fine Cigars you know the unpopular and unusual are really where the great surprises lie yes and that's what I've really liked about kind of your approach there is because you know not only is that in some ways where the value lies you know maybe someone's a little bit Thrifty and you know maybe isn't quite to the Cohiba level yet uh there's really great finds hidden elsewhere in this humidor that um might not have the same level of recognition and has something at that other level this is very true and um you're very right in saying I mean you can get some um very good cigars for for very reasonable prices I mean you don't have to pay the premium for Kiba I mean Kiba is a beautiful blend beautiful brand with a great history behind it um but I mean needless to say um they are rather pricey and there's a reason behind it I mean they're the flagship brand of Cuba yes um but there are some brands that haven't been around for nearly quite as long um that I slowly began to discover uh over the years working here um so certain Browns brands that may have come around in the '90s instead of the early 19th century you know so uh some some newcomers um which have really kind of wowed me yeah and cigars that I've discovered and I've shared with other people and they've enjoyed as well which which is great well I'm excited to have you share some of these with me I feel like I feel like this is Trade Secrets you know that you're about to disclose here you know for the YouTube world you know these soon will be sold out you know these boxes around the world as we well we're already running low so I don't don't know what this is going to do double it's a double-edged sword here maybe we actually go towards the coz we might have to we might have to in this case um but first down in this in this little corner that that people don't usually Venture into is a really underrated brand uh San Crystal B let me bring my my favorite size out which funnily enough is the smallest uh is the San Christal prip um a light to medium bodied Cuban blend that was came around in the late '90s I think 1999 if I'm not mistaken the year of my brother's birth yeah what a world um rather young cigar yes rather young cigar um this is this is what they call a minuto size so 42 ring gauge not to be mistaken with a with a peer like the ciba siglo one um but a great cigar with a very smooth sweet floral flavor to it um this typically is meant to to last someone about half an hour however if I'm really enjoying it I can probably stretch it to 40 minutes something I really can cuz if it's filled correctly you have the correct amount of tobacco uh there's a nice resistance to the drawer and I'm chatting and having a drink I can make this thing last I often find that whenever I'm enjoying a cigar it's it works the other way yeah you get a bit carried away and um but but this this is a brand which i' I've really enjoyed ever since discovering it really um there's this particular vitala the short yes yeah this one in particular because as I'm sure you know I tend to prefer the slightly Slimmer gauges as do you you like the fundadores you like Lena um so this is uh a little bit up from that with regards to width but obviously significantly shorter um but a really really good cigar and um because they're not smoked all too often we tend to have boxes with a few years of age on them as well yes yes so this one in particular 2017 I think this box is from so four years of age is always helpful that's about perfect and I often say that you know a good box of Cuban cigars needs at least a few years to really kind of settle I would agree with you that I would certainly agree with you there so a cigar definitely to add to your uh to your wish list excellent yes for sure um and something I very much enjoy now just just beneath it uh as well I've got another brand from the '90s uh let's choose the exclusive was now quaba a Double figurado cigar so before peros before straight edged cigars uh with a flat top all cigars were rolled like this okay uh so it's a very very classic format they they tend to only get the highest grade torso doors the highest grade rollers to roll them which I think is grade nine I think there might be a 10 but we were talking about this the other day actually dep who's asking yeah it depends who's asking um but a great cigar in a in a fuller body whereas San Christal is light to medium this is definitely a full strength cigar um and I liken it uh to a degree to bolivard okay uh cuz the bolivard has that very gy uh flavor to it uh almost metallic but to a degree but very pleasant yeah and this has some of those flavors to it uh just in a really unique size please of course of course it's a beautiful and elegant um you know format right such an elegant a what a perfecta they say rooll but you know compared to most of the other perfectas I've ever seen it's quite quite small just like that s Christ ball you just showed exactly yes you you can see I tend to like the uh the small cigars yeah interesting I find myself kind of uh transitioning backwards towards smaller formats I you know traditionally you know would smoke you know in the evening times amongst friends after dinner and so i' enjoy a double Corona or a Church Hill something larger lucat oh great to go but I now have found myself especially now that we've get the new office with the new smoking room and air filtration syst SM you've got to come to Texas sometime I would love to I would love to but I find myself smoking more often during the daytime ah yes in which case you know who's got time in the middle of the day for double Corona of course um and so I find myself you know smoking more you know um smoking more Coronas and Petty Coronas Coronas um I think I think they they're great elegant formats and in a world where cigars are just getting bigger everything's getting bigger watch is getting bigger cars getting bigger cigars are getting bigger it's great to revert back to what was once smoked and classic you know a classic way of doing things I love the Elegance this is a lovely cigar and so this is a brand that um came about in 996 uh and I've got something rather interesting to to show you which is a box of the I think traditional or exclusivos unfortunately unfortunately not a full box but a box uh from the second year of production so 1997 um let's see if I can find an example for you 1997 here we are Edward sahakian private it reserved yeah now you can see look at that that is so this is the generosos this is the size down from the TR traditionalist that we were looking at um so yeah a beautiful cigar um and it's just be it's very interesting to I've tried both the the new and the Aged variety this is 24 years of age on this it's quite something isn't it yeah it's quite only in the humidor of uh Edward sahak and can one find uh gems like this still around I don't know how they didn't they haven't smoked through these already this is the thing because I don't want to tell anyone about them but here we are here I am telling the world about you've been tricked yeah yeah but it's it's a beautiful cigar and um of course with the age um you're losing some of the nicotine content and some of the sharper edges they're rounded off the cigar on the whole is much richer creamier than it than the newer variety are um I I enjoy both equally um but uh this is something very special and and something you can't find everywhere yeah well certainly anywhere probably other than here aside from here yeah exactly at least in a smokable condition you know that's you know smoking this I mean describe to me kind of what you like about uh kind of the profile of this so it's a very interesting as you can see uh at the bottom here there's only you know a very small area for you to light um some people they do even chop this part so you've got a wider surface area so it's slightly easier to get the draw going but me I just light it up straight away I prer on this kind of size to use a soft flame a yellow Flame or matches um you're not always as precise I don't think with a jet flame with such a small area to light um but I just love the way it progresses and the ash if you can keep it on is beautiful because it is it does taper in the opposite direction you know um and that's what I love seeing the progression of it and just the interesting shape to it um and when you whenever you're smoking these out and about people always ask you what is it you know um because they're so used to pero straight EDG cigars with flat tops you can't show up to the party with just a standard you know Corona it's like definitely not definitely not so you got to wow people and you got to go for a shape and a cigar rolled by the highest grade cigar rollers I feel like this is a great example of kind of that uh you know uh the kind of the search for Value in that you know you might have a slightly you know lesser known cigar but because of the difficulty of that particular vitola you're all but guaranteed to have the highest quity rollers rolling them so anytime you see a perfecta you know that it's you know by properly and by an incredibly skilled roller in Cuba you're you're you're very right there Kirby and and that's why I I try to uh I try to persuade people to smoke them and when I do that people very much enjoy them but it's getting to a point in time where I need to stop CU there's not there's not enough left that's right yes you know so um but that that's just one of my other favorite cigars I've been very happy to share them with you and well thank you so much for sharing it's a pleasure and I hope at some point in time you get to enjoy one yourself I think that I might uh you know have to Corner Eddie to see if me a few yes I think you know I I I uh intentionally do not travel to London with cigars I mean typically if I'm traveling anywhere I always travel with my own cigars because especially in the United States you can't find Cubans and even if you're traveling outside the United States uh it's very difficult to find a good uh Merchant of Cuban cigars there's just not many many anywhere yeah but London is the one place that I religiously will not travel with cigars because my first stop is always here to D off of Lon you know to see Eddie Edward you to walk in this humidor and then really to have um you again cigar Merchants you know as knowledgeable as yourself you know as the sakin really your entire team here which everyone is you know very tenur I mean you're the Junior and you've been here what several years you know it's like yeah I mean we we all share a passion for cigars so um I mean we even sometimes go out on our our lunch break and have a cigar so um I mean if we have time can I show you one more thing please I would love to um so another another brand I mean we've got a 90s theme going on here as you can tell um and this is another so we were speaking of Corona size cigars earlier and this is the Vega Rebena and providing I can get the The Box open uh familiaris so a brand that came about in 1997 look at that there we are that is a that's a proper so 42 ring gauge box press uh yeah to a degree I mean over time I suppose that's the mere virtue of having been in this box for exactly 24 years W so this is um so first year of production was 97 this is a box from 1998 um so Alejandra rabina uh was famed uh um for his Harvest of tobacco and he would always have you know a minimum of 50% U you know production where everyone else was getting maybe 20% or something like so we'd always have a super production of tobacco um and this brand was created you know after him um for the market to enjoy what what he enjoys basically um so this cigar originally a full body uh has really calmed down with age um it's become I would say medium no no more than that um I often liken them to Monte Christo but slightly more refined so you've got the earthiness the woodiness but an underlying creamy Rich sensation this probably just comes with the age right yeah certainly I mean I've had new ones of these and I've had old ones the new ones I find quite fruity there's a tartness to them which is lovely then the old ones you've got this really creamy syrupy there's a real delicacy and softness to a cigar that has uh this AG on it oh yeah and I like it I mean the only analogy that I can really think of is vintage champagne and that you know vintage champagne you know tastes nothing like a new bottle of champagne and it's those you know creamier notes you know the yeast you know these much more subtle but inherently more complex flavors that you can really only find in something that has age oh yeah you know you're smoking an old cigar when you like one of those up instantly you you can tell that's fascinating and that just another thing from from my '90s that's right I a '90s kid myself well you know you're you know dress the part not nearly quite as elegant as you I feel like I should be out in the fields I mean you're very kind to say I mean I don't know but you're very kind to say well that's great well this is I mean I think one of the things I love about this particular humor and the staff here is that you know even someone that's been smoking Cuban cigars for a long time can come in and discover something that they've never seen or never smoked yeah or never even knew about and that I think is fun it's exciting and certainly for those of us who uh you know enjoy quality craftsmanship and tradition uh it's what it's all about so uh thank you so much Max for taking some time pleasure the pleasure has been all mine at total honor and of course you know Max you know one of the cigar samay or grand men of Habano or whatever it is expert expert in cigars whatever it is can be found here in the humidor at DAV of London and just like the entire uh staff of the sahakian is exceptionally knowledgeable and so don't let that knowledge go to waste uh it's really a rare opportunity to be able to walk through a humidor of such scope and magnitude uh with someone that really truly does know every single Nook in cranny and so next time you're in you know look out for what is unusual and unpopular and let that be the next cigar you smoke Max thanks again it is a pleasure thank you so much cheers [Music] a

Channel: Cigar Keep

Views: 45,032

Keywords: kirby allison, mens fashion, cigarkeep, kirbyallison, cubancigars, habanoscigars, habanos, cigars, cuba, cubans, myhabanosmoment, habano, lcdh, cigaraficionado, habanosfestival, cohibaatmosphere, lacasadelhabano, habanosgallery

Id: MfG_P0Bk5pM

Length: 18min 10sec (1090 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 19 2023