Cigar City José Martí American Porter Review

Name: Cigar City José Martí American Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 8%

Continuing on with some beer I got in the mail for an exchange, I'm now going to look at a beer from Cigar City Brewing based out of Tampa, Florida. Believe it or not, I've actually gotten some Cigar City in a beer trade about 3 years ago when I was still in college and found them to be quite good.

For this review, it's something which I've never had before and it's their José Martí American Porter. José Martí was a Cuban poet & political activist back when Cuba was fighting for independence from Spain in the late 1800's. Through his writings and activism for democracy, he became a national symbol for an independent Cuba after he was killed in battle in 1895. He is still, to this day, considered a national hero in Cuba. It's an interesting inspiration for a beer name, but it makes sense when you consider that Tampa, FL and Florida in general has a very high Cuban-American population.

Jose Marti pours a pitch black color with a very brown-khaki colored head. It's also worth pointing out the lacing is quite abundant and very sticky.

The nose is very hop forward and I mean very. Even by Porter standards, I am taken aback by how aggressively hoppy this smells; After all, the label does say "robustly hopped" on it. Once you get passed that, there's a very nice roasted barley bill and hints of chocolate malts, caoco and coffee.

The flavor is also extremely hoppy upfront but the strong roasted barley and chocolate maltiness help balance out the flavor from being too hop-centric The aftertaste is mainly roasted barley and coffee beans. One thing I notice about the flavor is that it's quite smooth and every part of the flavor seems to go together seamlessly. Speaking of smooth....

The body itself is quite heavy with some mild-to-moderate thickness. The carbonation is also very mild and the overall texture is very smooth.

I know this may be a bit of a stretch to say, but this is, without a doubt, one of the best porters I have ever had. The flavor is very robust yet well-balanced and on top of that, the palate and texture as a whole as so incredibly smooth. If you happen to come across this beer, you absolutely need to check this out.

Cigar City José Martí American Porter - 9.5/10

Top 10 Beers I would like to try out (Part 2 & New Format)

Continuing on with the Top 10 Beer list from my previous post, it's now time to reveal the second half of my list. I've also changed up the format just to see how it works out so if you absolutely hate it and want it changed back, just let me know. Anyways, onwards with the list!


5) Russian River Pliny The Elder

Any craft beer fan knows that Russian River's Pliny the Elder needs no introduction. Widely regarded as one of the best beers in America multiple times, people will regularly form lines or camp outside the brewery just to get their hands on what many consider to be the Holy Grail of Craft Beer....

So why isn't this higher on my list? Since Pliny the Elder has so much hype regarding how awesome it is, I start to question if it actually does live up to the hype or not. In my past experiences, I've had similar experiences with movies, TV shows and even video games which have had hype surrounding how great it is. When I finally get around to experiencing it, I occasionally will come to the conclusion "Wait, THIS what everyone has been talking?" With that in mind, I would like to try this out one day. Since Russian River's is distributed in places very far away from me and I have no beer loving friends in California, it may be a while before I finally get to try it out.


4) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

When I lived in Chicago, you could pretty much find Goose Island anywhere they had beer. Now I've had this before at the Goose Island Wrigleyville Brewpub and it was a fantastic beer but I never gave it a proper review and I would love to have some more again. I do know it's distribution is sporadic but it's not impossible to find. I will try to keep my eyes peeled for this in the future; Ya know, for science!


3) Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

If you know me, I love my Barleywines, and I love my barrel aged beers. Central Waters Brewing offers the best of both worlds with this Barleywine. I think obtaining this will be a bit easier for a couple of reasons. The first is that they are located in neighboring Wisconsin and they distribute here to Minnesota. The second reason is that I've actually seen this on shelves in Minnesota so it's a matter of being at the right place at the right time.



2) Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout

A couple years ago, I did a beer trade with a friend of mine who lives in Florida. I sent him some Surly and in exchange he sent me some beers from Cigar City Brewing, which the only major craft brewer in South Florida. When I tried them out, I was blown away with how good it was, especially the Jai Alai IPA & Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale. It wasn't until after I looked into Cigar City's lineup that I saw Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout; Knowing how awesome my beers from Cigar City were, I knew I had to try to get my hands on this. Hopefully I can arrange something in the near future but for the time being, it's a no-go.



1) Firestone Walker Double Jack

Firestone Walker has been at the top of my list of breweries to try out ever since I got into craft beer, but they currently do not distribute to the Midwest, they are only distributing West of the Rocky Mountains at this time. If I had access to Firestone Walker, this would be my first beer to try out because I love my Imperial IPAs like no one's business.


I hope you enjoyed reading because I enjoyed sharing this list with you. I have other obligations I must attend to at this time, but look out for a review later tonight!

Cheers!