Daughters of the Wind, Pony Express Review and Pairing

Welcome to the world of Casdagli Cigars.

In the words of Jeremy Casdagli:

"Casdagli Cigars’ philosophy matches our tagline.

We produce cigars to deliver luxury, elegance, and tradition. Our ambition is to offer cigars that enliven and feed the smoker’s imagination of life’s glory, grandeur, and dignity. This we do by anchoring our brand to the rich Casdagli family trading history."

So far, every market we have entered has been a success for us. It s understandable that certain markets have favourites over others. For instance, the Daughters of the Wind Line has already shown great success in the USA & the Middle East."

Lighting up a Casdagli Cigar

Last year I had the opportunity to smoke a few Casdagli cigars. Even though I only wrote the review about the traditional line Robusto, I fell in love with the Villa Casdagli toro. These are very smooth and elegant cigars in the toro size with a medium-strength flavour and body profile out of this world. After the first one, I gave it a month or so and tried another Villa Casdagli toro, it was even better than the first one.

But then, late in December, I had a cigar that had been sitting in the humidor for over a year. A balmy summer night with a few exceptional wines to taste. The perfect occasion for a bespoke cigar that is small batch and elusive to find. But if you do find one, buy it immediately.

They are rare.

Casdagli, Daughters of the Wind, Pony Express

Corona Gorda

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Costa Rican Puriscal & Nicaraguan

Filler: Dominican Oscuro Ligero & Peruvian

Size: 6 x 48 (Box Pressed)

Strength: Medium

PONY EXPRESS 48 X 6'' Corona Gorda

Pony Express Cigar Description

Pony Express is the newest addition to the stables of the Daughters of the Wind Line.

The main modification to the original Daughter of the Wind blend is the extra amount of the Dominican Oscuro Ligero filler. This filler further enriches and strengthens the blend.

The other change:

The Daughters of the Wind Line blend, the Pony Express has two binder leaves.

A Nicaraguan Esteli binder along with the Costa Rican Puriscal.

The exclusive boutique factory IGM Cigars in San Jose, Costa Rica, handcrafts the Pony Express.

Pony Express Cigar Details

Body: Medium to Full

Flavour: Medium to Full

Strength: Medium to Full

Pony Express Cigar Composition

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano

Binder: Costa Rica, Nicaragua

Filler: Peru, Dominican

Pony Express Tasting Notes

Dark chocolate, espresso, baking spices, salted caramel

Pony Express Packaging

Cigars packaged in a traditional plain wood slide-top box of 15 cigars with individual cellophane. A sealed box with a decorative "dollar" band.

All packages include a 69% RH 10g Boveda humidification pack. This ensures proper humidification during transit and storage.

The Daughter of the Wind band is beautiful. They are sharp and sport the familiar green background with gold accents.

The Daughters of the Wind logo is large and the back displays the Colossus of Rhodes, the Casdagli family crest. It is an elegant design focus choice that fits with Jeremy Casdagli’s focus on his family heritage.

A cigar blended for Casdagli

A cigar blended especially for Casdagli Cigars at an exclusive IGM Cigarsboutique factory in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Where did the Cigar name, Daughters of the Wind originate from?

In the early 1900s, the sons of Emmanuel, Demetrius and Alexander Casdagli purchased the Sheykh Obeyd stables outside Cairo. They became celebrated breeders of Arabian racehorses. Together they won big races.

They bred Arabian racehorses, famed for their strength, elegance and refinement.

The Casdagli wanted to celebrate the story with the launch of a small production line of cigars. “The Daughters of the Wind” is a famous Arabian poem written in the 6th century and inspired by the beauty of Bedouin horses.

The cigars are unique combining rare tobaccos from Peru, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. They also include tobacco from the factory’s plantation in the mountains of Costa Rica.

These exceptional full-bodied yet complex cigars deliver rich, sweet and spicy notes.

Total production is small.

Tasting Notes: Rye Toast, Baking Spices, Cream, Finished Leather, Cocoa, Peppercorn.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Appearance

Every Casdgli cigar is a work of art, rolled by only the best.

The Habano-hued wrapper is smooth with tight seams. The wrapper veins are faintly visible, and the triple cap blends seamlessly into the cigar's construction.

A perfect, crisp square box press.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Dry Aroma

Cured meat, Chorizo

Truffles and mushrooms

Roch dark chocolate balls

The sweetness of Madeira's cake and orange peel

At first, plenty of floral notes.

A combo of various spicy peppers with floral notes blend into sweet notes like caramel. There is a rich creaminess, dark chocolate, malt, cedar and a touch of peat.

Extra flavours:

Cinnamon and nutmeg,

Coffee and nougat,

Rye toast with fruity notes

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Dry Draw

Tight firmness with marshmallow sweetness

The cold draw presents flavours of caramel, dark chocolate, malt, cedar, and creaminess.

The dry draw also offers spiciness, baking spices, and a surprising hint of vanilla.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express First Puff

A perfect rolled cigar. But then every Casdagli I light up is perfect.

It feels like a gentleman's cigar. A cigar that belongs in exclusive cigar lounges and clubs. A puff reserved for cigar connoisseurs. Anyone can buy and light this cigar, but the cigar's complexity demands time and refined appreciation.

The immediate flavours are rich dark chocolates with musky truffle notes complemented by hints of herbs and baking spice sweetness.

This cigar offers flavours deluxe. The array of flavours streams into the hot summer night.

The Beginning

Lots of smoke.

Immediate Sweet oak flavour with hints of plum-like fruit. There is a touch of salted nuts there too.

Impressive and tasty start.

Black, red, and white pepperiness all blend harmoniously.

First up are the sweet factors:

Caramel,

vanilla creaminess,

dark luxury chocolates,

café au lait,

and raisin.

The sweetness tastes like Turkish delight but can also be a blend of chocolate truffles.

But there are also savoury components:

Malt,

Cedar,

meaty,

assorted baking spices,

black liquorice

and Smoky, deep and rich tobacco,

These cigars have had enough ageing before release.

Complexity wastes no time whatsoever. It blooms with musky, earthy mushroom and truffle richness. The cigar embodies a very intense flavour profile.

The caramel creaminess and the other sweet factors blend well in the balmy summer night heat. The balance is crazy good.

The finish is unbelievable with a blend of pastry, sweetness and loads of complex flavours blending into a smooth flavour combo.

Jeremy Casdagli put out cigar blends with complexity.

Strength is a solid medium.

The cigar is jam-packed so it burns slow. I want this to last forever. The burn is spot on, and the strength is evenly distributed.

Subtle variations and nuances make the cigar a flavour odyssey.

What did I choose to pair the Daughter is the Wind, Pony Express?

Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec 2019 from Argentina's Golden Terroir.

Founded by Viña Concha y Toro Family of Wineries in 1996. They started to show the great potential of its vineyards, especially through Malbec.

The variety became the figurehead of the Argentinian wine industry.

It was Trivento’s first high-end wine produced with grapes selected from vineyards in Luján de Cuyo, Malbec’s ancestral home.

The wine received a Platinum Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020, besides several other accolades in the past two decades.

Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec is a flagship wine in the Argentinian scene.

After spending 12 months in French oak barrels and foudres, the 2020 vintage is now available in all key markets. The wine reflects Trivento’s leading role as the most-sold Argentinian wine brand across the world.

The constant reinterpretation of an iconic wine

Twenty years after the release of the first Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec, the wine scene in Argentina has changed.

The world now recognises the quality of Argentinian wines. And the Golden Reserve Malbec is an important benchmark to appreciate and understand these changes.

A bright red with plum and raspberry aromas blending elegantly with vanilla notes. The flavour combo comes from the 6 months spent in French and American Oak.

A well-balanced wine, with sweet tannins and a velvety finish. Trivento Reserve Malbec is ideal with cured meats, meat dishes and hearty tomato pasta dishes.

Trivento Malbec Aroma

Plums and cocoa with a distinct purple tint.

Trivento Malbec Taste

Full-bodied

Velvet smooth

Cocoa and hints of spice

It is a red wine with big tannins and hints of Turkish delight and marzipan.

Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec Wine

"The Wisdom of Time EOLO, the Keeper of the Winds, seduced by a refuge in Luján de Cuyo."

At 983 metres above sea level, this vineyard spreads out above the northern bank of the Mendoza River.

Luján de Cuyo is the most recognized Malbec region in the world. There are more than 80-year-old vineyards and the legacy of traditions passed down from generation to generation gave birth to TRIVENTO GOLDEN RESERVE.

Three winds leave their mark in Trivento.

Guided by the capricious god of wind EOLO, the Polar, Zonda and Sudestada. These winds create exceptional qualities for wine-growing on the Mendoza terroir.

Trivento works to ensure their vineyards grow with the rhythm of nature, and flourish into ripeness.

At the foot of the Andes Mountains, Mendoza possesses 75% of the planted vineyards in Argentina. This makes it the most important wine-growing province in Argentina and one of the principal productive regions.

Over 600 ha of Malbec.

Trivento’s collection of terroirs includes 10 vineyards distributed across the principal winegrowing zones of Mendoza:

Valle de Uco,

Luján-Maipú, the Northern Oasis and the Eastern Oasis.

Trivento holds over 667 hectares that are the origin of their wines’ worldwide success.

Valle de Uco Los Ponchos, Los Indios and Los Sauces vineyards.

565 planted hectares - altitude between 850-1799.

Soil characteristics:

Rocky and poor in organic matter.

It is a mix between large sand and lime with some calcium deposits in sectors. Valle Luján-Maipú Fincas Los Vientos, Cruz del Alto y Las Cumbres.

Los Vientos, Cruz del Alto and Las Cumbres vineyards.

515 planted hectares

Altitude between 800-100.

Soil characteristics:

Alluvial with sand, lime and clay sediment.

Northern and Eastern Valleys Tres Porteñas, Los Olivos, Los Portones and Los Zorro's vineyards.

557 planted hectares

Altitude between 650-759

Soil characteristics:

Heterogeneous, sandy and poor in organic matter.

For over 12 years, Trivento has prioritised environmental and social policies.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Second Third

Medium to the full body remains the same. The nut flavour develops further and the plum turns more to cherry. Phenomenal smoke output and I love the way it changes up and progresses in taste.

The pastry tastes complement all the other favours. The spiciness is now white pepper…mild and succulent. The balance of savoury and sweet makes for a delicious smoke.

The richness doubles down. The complexity is through the roof.

The Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Pony Express is so bloody good, every puff is phenomenal.

This is a perfect blend for my palate to enjoy a milder cigar with complexity. It could be for your palate too.

Sure, this is a cigar meant as a treat, but if you can light it up, why not?

The more complex it gets, the more outrageous the flavours.

Mushrooms

Truffles

Turkish delight

Pastries

It is smooth and complex with refined depth.

The burn remains impeccable.

Strength remains medium although the complexity of the cigar makes you think it smokes fuller-bodied.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express First last third

The blend is right on the cusp of medium-full.

It is here that the cigar blend explodes in a million different directions.

There is still that perfect balance of savoury and sweet duo. The savoury is malty and smoked brisket. It tastes of rich aged tobacco and buttered rye toast. There are moments of hazelnuts, black pepper, and prominent baking spices.

The sweetness is a combination of caramel, dark chocolate, café au lait, intense vanilla creaminess and a small touch of orange peel.

Medium to full without the nicotine punch of some bigger cigars. There is nothing linear about this blend.

RATING: For sure a Top Cigar ever smoked.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Final Puff

The smoke volume fades a bit while the subtle caramel flavours soothe the palate. The fruity notes fade slightly into an oaky and matured malty taste.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Burn

I know not everyone is a fan of box-pressed cigars, but with a burn this consistent, I think you could change your mind. The cigar is square, a light box press.

Daughter of the Wind, Pony Express Draw

I love the resistance to the draw.

Perfectly balanced all around.

Daughters of the Wind, Pony Express, Conclusion

This cigar is super special.

Wine and Cigar pairing conclusion

The cocoa hints in the wine and cigar pair well all around.

The bold meaty tannins in the wine complement the cigar's truffle and oaky qualities. There are wonderful taste combinations of meat and herbs. The meatiness and spiciness make the pairing a rich expressive pairing.

Even though it is summer and the red wine is bold, it never overpowers the cigar.

The cigar heros the wine which is the perfect way to enjoy a cigar.

Apart from the artful blend and construction, it's a cigar smoker's delight to enjoy.

It is a cigar that shows how flavour can change and develop as you smoke. The complexity of the changes keeps you alert and interested. The fruity flavours combined with the salted nut remind me of a fancy fruit and nut chocolate luxurious dessert.

Wow.

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