Vanitas refers to a piece of art that pairs beauty or achievement with death and darkness to display the brevity of luxury, unavoidable and certain endings, and the futility of everything. While cigars aren’t still photos or paintings, there’s a sort of vanitas feeling every time we light up a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that serves a one-time purpose for our pleasure. And in that inevitable death, cigars also show the circle of life as plants die, are recreated as interactive art, and ultimately become ash to possibly start the process anew.
It’s no surprise, then, that some cigar brands turn to the macabre or vanitas styles when designing their bands. Today we’ll be discussing cigars that incorporate these concepts and also happen to be excellent evening pairs (pouring the hard stuff), making Seize the Night a layered title.
Emilio Carpe Noctum
Translating to Seize the Nightfrom latin, this cigar is what started our search for likely candidates to join it in a sampler. While the graphics and language used isn’t Vanitas overall, Carpe Noctum is aptly named for Nightwalkers that enjoy the moon over the light of day.
Pairing Suggestion: Glenmorangie Lasanta
Intensity Level: Bold like the day you were born
BLTC Morphine
Few brands embrace their dark side as much as Black Label Trading Company, and James Brown does it with unparalleled style. Morphine was their first limited edition to a limited production brand, and it doesn’t disappoint this year with the same face punch that BLTC fans have come to know and love.
Pairing Suggestion: Eagle Rare
Intensity Level: Inject one of these into your evening and rearrange your face
Dapper La Madrina
Ian Reith said it best in a Small Batch Interview: "In my opinion, Sante Muerte really highlights life & death in beautiful imagery. Conveying death in a beautiful manner isn't probably the best approach for cigars, but I believe we conveyed this beauty in the presentation. This cigar's a personal reminder to me to live life to the fullest extent knowing at any time death can be right around the corner." La Madrina, the Godmother, is also a fantastically unique experience while you wonder if that’s a very large rose or a tiny hand.
Pairing Suggestion: Flor de Cana 18
Intensity Level: Intense flavors go down smoother than the time you skipped town for the weekend and everyone pretended to notice you were gone.
Fin de Los Mundos
End of the world? Yep, that’s about as vanitas of a concept as it gets. Rewey made sure that we can all prep our go bag with one last middle finger to the universe in the case of an extinction event with this wonderful little Shorty. An excellent use of Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Fin de Los Mundos features a highly memorable finish that will have you cheering for the end of times like it’s going out of style.
Pairing Suggestion: Chocolate Stout
Intensity Level: Rewey is The One Who Knocks
Las Calaveras 2017
Paying homage to the Day of the Dead, Las Calaveras makes the present and future brighter by honoring memories of the past. Each year, Crowned Heads rewards cigar enthusiasts with a unique, limited edition blend. This sampler includes the 2017 release with an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper. From contemplation and reflection to just an all-around great experience, Las Calaveras delivers much more than just a stylish band.
Pairing Suggestion: Macallan 18
Intensity Level: Like trying to open a Small Batch package without a knife. Requires a tiny bit of fortitude, but ultimately satisfying.
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