Gurkha Giveaway Winners

It's time to announce the winners of our Gurkha Giveaway promotion. Thanks again to Gurkha for generously sending these cigars, making it possible for me to "spread the wealth" a little bit and give other people an opportunity to try them.

To recap, I have two 5-packs of Gurkha Seduction in Robusto size and two 4-packs of Gurkha Cellar Reserve in Churchill size.

The Gurkha Seduction 5-packs go to:
Nick Holloway (@SlappyMcDougal) and @derrickerr

The Gurkha Cellar Reserve 4-packs go to:

Corey Zerbe (@czerbe) and Mike Gravito

A couple of these jokers...I mean "gentlemen"...I know pretty well from Twitter and I'll be sending a DM right away. If you don't hear from me, please send me an e-mail to the address on the "Contacts" page so I can get the prizes sent out. I need to hear back by a week from today or the prizes will go to one of the alternates.

And stay tuned...we turning this year into the "Year of Giveaways" on the Tiki Bar. We have four (maybe five as of last night) more manufacturers lined up for contests in the coming months and the next one will be announced the first Monday of February...this is a big one...You. Do. Not. Want. To. Miss. It.

Cigar Extra: Perdomo Cabinet Reserve Cameroon

4.5" x 46 ring gauge / $5.50, Tobacco World
As I write this, I don't know what I'm looking at. At Tobacco World in December, I was told this was a new release by Perdomo, but it looks like one of their old design bands. But I haven't heard anything about this anywhere and could find nothing online. I believe it to be a Cameroon wrapper and according to the band it is the La Tradicion Cabinet Series Reserve...or something like that. The size is Petite Corona or so...a size Perdomo does not make anymore. In the end, it was inexpensive (like most Perdomos) so I figured I would pick one up for a ungraded review.

The wrapper looked and felt great...a nice oiliness along with a ripe earthy aroma. On the foot I got a combination of cedar and manure aromas. After lighting, I got hit with a wallop of pepper spice on the nose...Cameroon! I noticed a mixture of earthiness and cedar on the palate, perhaps a subtle sweetness underneath it all. The first half of this Perdomo smoked more full and strong than I had expected; it was very earthy and plenty of spice developed on both the tongue and nose. I paired it with some nice Ron Barcelo and it helped to smooth out some of the rougher edges of the cigar.

The rest of the mystery Perdomo smoked similarly well. Not a huge amount of flavor change up or complexity, but very nice nonetheless. I was told that this was a "new release that smokes like an old Perdomo." I don't know if that's technically true or not, but it was an enjoyable way to spend an chilly evening along with a glass a rum.

Update: Chris Harper from Perdomo let me know after I had smoked this that it IS a 2011 release. Still have to say the "classic" band threw me.
 

Cigar Review: Gurkha Seduction

Churchill, 7" x 55 ring gauge / approx. $7.50
The last of the three newest releases from Gurkha that I am featuring this month is the Seduction. The banding on this one is the most similar to what one might think of as "classic Gurkha" of the three, but is different enough to stand out from the many other Gurkhas on the shelf. The company's website describes this as medium bodied and describes the blend as "an enticing Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, paired with a Dominican, Olor binder and Corojo, Columbian filler that is sure to pleasure your senses." It is worth noting that this cigar, along with the Cellar Reserve and Royal Challenge, are all designed to be B&M exclusives and they all stick to the more-or-less "friendly" price points begun by the Evil, Viper and Ninja. As with the other Gurkhas, the company sent me three samples for this review.

I like the band on the Seduction. Is it a little ostentatious? Is it a little over the top? Yes...but I like it still. Maybe it's the color scheme against the strangely dark and mottled Ecuadorian Habano wrapper...whatever, the initial presentation is cool. The wrapper IS dark..and very mottled...and somewhat veiny. I can't remember seeing an Ecuadorian Habano this dark (thinking through the others...Four Kicks, Epifania, Nadi Habano Clasico...that I've had recently). The aroma from the wrapper was somewhat delicate and floral in nature, almost with a touch of baking spice, too. The foot had some earth and more of that floral touch. Speaking of floral, I just noticed the huge rose behind the Gurkha warrior's head on the band...interesting touch since this cigar definitely is rich in floral notes (more on that later, but this IS the third one I've smoked, so I do kind of know where this is going). The prelight draw was excellent; I got more floral flavor, but also some semi-sweet cocoa powder and a light-roast coffee.

When lit the Seduction displayed more (surprise!) floral flavor, but I also noticed a distinct bitterness, almost bitter herbs or something, followed by a short sweetness and a retrohale that had an almost chili powder note, with a mixture of aromatic and pepper spice. I have to admit to not having experienced much Columbian tobacco, but it would not surprise me to hear that it is noted for its intensely aromatic quality. One thing this cigar does have going for it is that it is very unlike anything I can remember smoking...very unique. As the first third burned through I picked up on notes of tea and an odd sweetness I couldn't identify.

In the second third, the floral nature of the cigar was subdued quite a bit by a building earthiness. There were still notes of aromatic spice but the pepper spice was building on the palate as well. Construction was excellent on the Seduction as I got ash building up to an inch for needing to be tapped off, a very even burn line and a fantastic draw.

In the end the Seduction got more flowery again, but with an interesting and intense spice on the lips. I have to say this cigar did not hit my palate in all the right places; I'm just not a fan of heavily floral cigars. It is, though, very unique and different from anything else out there, especially in the Gurkha lineup. Take it for a spin and you might see it differently than I did. When I comes to the things that make a "good cigar" it did very well...great construction, perfect draw, good amount of complexity. The flavor just didn't seduce me. Being medium in body and mild in strength, it should be an easy one for a newbie to pick up...and the price does not hurt, either.

Body: 5/10
Strength: 3/5
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10

It's the last day to enter the Gurkha Giveaway on the Tiki Bar. Details on how to enter to win free Seduction or Cellar Reserve cigars can be found HERE.

Cigar Review: The Maldonado Dynasty The Mogul

Toro, 6" x 50 ring gauge / $11 MSRP

Today I will be reviewing The Maldonado Dynasty cigar called The Mogul. Paul Maldonado approached me and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing his cigars, and of course I was happy to oblige. You can find Paul on Twitter at @MaldonadoDynsty. This cigar is comprised of Dominican, Peruvian and Columbian fillers, with a Dominican binder all covered in a Arapiraca oscuro wrapper. They are one of the few cigar companies that are headquartered in California, and I believe the only one in Beverly Hills, which is why they refer to themselves as The Beverly Hills Cigar Brand. From what I can tell the production is very limited as they are only offered on their website, www.MaldonadoDynasty.com, or at Kramer's Pipe and Tobacco shop in Beverly Hills, and for the time being they are sold out on their website. I'd like to thank Paul for the two cigars he provided to me for this review.

Taking it out of the cellophane the first thing I noticed was the wrapper. It was a nice dark brown in color with a slightly reddish hue with some darker mottling to it. It was also glistening with oils and I was looking forward to lighting it up. The veins that were present would be classified as either medium or fine, but none of them detracted from the look of the cigar. The cigar was fairly firm when I gave it a squeeze and I wasn't able to detect any soft spots. I thought the band while quite ornate, was good looking but wasn't over the top. Putting my nose to the wrapper I got aromas of hay and leather with a very intense barnyard aroma coming from the foot. After clipping it with my Xikar MTX and taking a cold draw on it I got a sweet leather taste with an ok draw.

While this is not something I normally write about, but the aroma while toasting this cigar reminded me of grilling meats. That is something I'm not used to getting so early in a cigar. Once I lit the cigar up I got a fairly intense black pepper blast on my tongue that was definitely present on the retrohale. Taking a few more puffs I was able to get tastes of chocolate and leather with a slightly sweet finish. As I progressed through the first third I got hints of curry and a herbal note as well. The cigar was in the middle of the medium range as far as body and strength. The draw was ok, but not as free as I prefer. The almost white ash held on for about an inch before needing to be tapped off. The burn was uneven but I didn't touch it up to see how it would perform.

As I moved on into the second third the flavors were of leather, earth, chocolate, wood, and curry with a hint of sweetness. I also noted a slight saltiness on the edges of my tongue that started up once I got into this third as well. The draw opened up slightly as well. The spice toned down a lot and almost went away. The burn started to get a bit more uneven but I still wanted to see how it'd perform.

Moving into the final third of the cigar didn't see much change in the flavors, except for the grilled meat flavors I got at the very end. The spice did return although it was no where as strong as in the first third. I would still classify this cigar in the medium range as I finished it. The burn did almost even out without me touching it up.

Overall this was an enjoyable cigar. The construction on this one was better than the first one I had, it's draw was way too tight. Although this one still wasn't where I prefer. I do think that this cigar would be ok for almost any smoker out there, provided that you like the darker flavors that I described. I didn't get any nicotine hit so you shouldn't have to worry about that. The price is a little high in my opinion, but with California taxes and the small runs you expect the prices to be a bit higher. While this isn't something that I would smoke a lot it would be something I'd like to have a few of in my humidor to have every once in a while.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10

Don't forget to enter the Gurkha Giveaway that we're having right now on the Tiki Bar. Details on how to enter to win free cigars can be found HERE.

Cigar Review: Gurkha Royal Challenge

I forgot to take pictures...this comes from the Gurkha website

Torpedo, 6.5" x 53 ring gauge / approx. $6
Today I'm featuring another cigar that Gurkha sent me recently for review and one of their releases from last year's IPCPR show: Royal Challenge. The company's website describes this as "a medium-bodied cigar that is smooth and majestic." It features Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, a Honduran Habano binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. There was no indication of why this cigar is challenging, though...from everything I can deduce by looking at the country-of-origin of the various parts (and having smoked two of them prior to this review) it really just appears to be a mild to medium smoke, possibly in the same "new breed" Connecticut genre that so many companies have jumped to in the last couple years. So the real Challenge is this: how does Gurkha's contribution to this genre work out?

First up, how does it look? The bands are resplendent in gold leaf foil and embossing. It does look good and not overdone...which can be a fine line to walk sometimes. The wrapper leaf is a beautiful golden hue with no oversized veins or blemishes in evidence. It really is a great looking cigar and better than most other shade-wrapped sticks at this price point. Lifting the cigar to my nose, I got a whiff of hay and grass, along with a bit of sweetness; on the foot, I got an aroma of earth along with a bit of tea. Feeling along the length, the only soft part was near the foot, but that is fairly normal. I lopped off the pointy head of this torpedo and was rewarded with a very good draw that had a syrupy sweetness as well as grassy notes.

Lighting up was easy and I got initial notes of natural tobacco, hay, and molasses up front, with an earthy finish. The retrohale was nutty with some mild pepper spice. It did not take long for the milder notes to get overwhelmed by the earthier ones, though. By midway through the first third, I noticed mostly earth and roasted nuts standing out, with hints of the syrupy sweetness and grassier aspects drifting around underneath. It definitely was mild to medium in body right from the start.

...and this one I posted to Twitter.

As the second third burned, I picked up some citrusy notes that seemed to draw attention back to the milder aspects of the cigar. While earth was still fairly dominant, there were also mildly sweet hay and natural tobacco flavors coming through. The draw was very good so far and the burn line had remained very even.

In the final third, the flavors all came together in a nice balance of earth, hay, citrus, and even a building pepper spice, almost a cayenne burn. While the Royal Challenge started off a bit slow, it did finish very nicely; I smoked one of my samples with my morning coffee and can say that it proved a very nice accompaniment. What is impressing me most about this release, as well as the Cellar Reserve and 2010's Ninja and Viper releases, is that Gurkha seems to be breaking out of their box as a manufacturer of very expensive and fairly interchangeable mild to medium cigars. These last few releases have shown some nice individual character and the prices are all very reasonable. This Royal Challenge actually fits in very nicely with the other new breed of Connecticuts that have hit the market recently, delivering up nice flavors in a mild to medium body.

Body: 5/10
Strength: 4/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

Don't forget to enter the Gurkha Giveaway that we're having right now on the Tiki Bar. Details on how to enter to win free cigars can be found HERE.

Various thoughts...

Monday has become the day on the Tiki Bar where various stuff gets thrown against the wall of the web and we see what sticks. Interviews are always fun, libation reviews are enjoyable for the reviewer at the very least, and news items are always welcome. Today I had more than one topic that I wanted to talk about and then a cool news item came in, so I figured I would try to work them all into one article...

CIGAR BOSS

This is an iPhone app that is now in its 2.0 iteration. Its main feature for consumers is a library with information on over 7,000 cigars. The information is current and fairly comprehensive; my 2011 cigar of the year, Four Kicks by Crowned Heads, is listed, as is the Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero, one of the runners-up, but the other runner-up (Grimalkin by Emilio Cigars) is not listed. Each cigar has size and average price listed along with the country it was made and the country of the wrapper leaf, although no space is left for filler and binder. There is a nice description and links to three or so reviews.

The "Cigar News" button on the Home page takes you to a "Feeds" page that includes some of the best and most widely read cigar blogs around, including Stogie Review, The Stogie Guys, Nice Tight Ash...and, of course, the Tiki Bar Online.

The "Local Shops" feature is designed to help you find tobacconists. I can seen where this would be helpful if you were in a strange city, but I also see how it could be confusing or less than helpful. In my small town, there are exactly "0" tobacconists, but the app lists a local cigarette shop that sells the typical convenience store cigars (Black & Mild, Backwoods, etc.). There are 3 or more of these listed in areas south of me, but I know these are not really shops that I would be interested in as there is only 1 company with "real" cigar shops in southeast Tennessee (Burns Tobacconist, with 3 locations).

Other parts of the app have ways to manage the contents of your humidor, a place to take notes, and a link to "Cigars" on Wikipedia. The last, I guess, is for total newbies and it does not seem like it would be of much use long-term. I did not get around to working with "My Humidor;" simply put, I have too many cigars to try to catalog everything at this point. As for "My Cigar Notes"...I already have a place to take and store those...it's called this blog. :)

I find Cigar Boss overall an interesting and somewhat helpful app. As information is updated it will continue to be more useful, but I think especially it can be helpful to the newer smokers or someone who wants to store lots of info in one place. The problems I have with it are few, but some key changes here might actually make me more likely to use it. First, the app's splash screen states "Loading Might Take a Few Minutes On First Launch." I found that loading took several minutes anytime the app hadn't been used for a few days or more. I would like to see it just launch then download the updated information in the background. Second, there is no real iPad version of the app. I would be more likely to take notes and use it as a reading portal app if there were an iPad version...I just don't read much on the iPhone because the screen is so much smaller.

The app is free if you are okay with ads on the screen; a Pro version sans ads is $2.99. It is iPhone-only at this time and there is no indication on the company's website or marketing material that it will be developed soon for other OSes.

Update: if you read as far as the comments section you'll see this, but if you don't make it that far...a comment was left indicating that an Android version of Cigar Boss will be available next month. Also version 3 will be coming soon with updates and bug fixes. Also, if you are on Twitter you can follow Cigar Boss at @Cigar_Boss_App.

GRAN HABANO IS GOING TO MIAMI

This press release just came into my Inbox while I was contemplating what to write this morning...

The  Gran Habano - G.R. Tabacaleras Co. cigar factory located on "Calle Ocho", 8th street, in the Little Havana district of Miami is completed and ready to roll. Focusing on the highest standard for the cigar community the factory will employ 10 Cuban rollers who will produce no more than 1,000 cigars per day to ensure quality and consistency. This will be the base of our new cigar line “Gran Habano Miami” which will lead off with the soon-to-be-released Black Corojo, Opium Miami and the continuance of our STK program.

Black Corojo will be an extension of our popular Gran Habano Corojo #5 line. As the name implies, it will feature the industries first black corojo cigar wrapper. Due to the overwhelming success of our Opium release it will become a regular production cigar line known as Opium Miami. Production on both of these cigars will be based on traditional Cuban sizes and the blends will be revised to take the connoisseur to the next level.A blend lab, called G.A.R. Deli, will also be made available to anyone who has ever dreamt of creating their own cigar. This program will put you in the position of the master blender; allowing the creation of a cigar tailored to your unique palate. Materials on hand will fluctuate every two weeks to affirm that the possibilities are endless.

Our Gran Habano - G.R. Tabacaleras Co. factory also features a luxury lounge and the official Gran Habano humidor. Patrons will be able to choose from our lines - both old and new. We also have products that are not widely available to the public such the Corojo #5 lancero, Cabinet Selection (and a private Cabinet Selection Lancero) and other unique size formats. The exact opening date to the public will shortly be announced - so stay tuned.

Now I really want to take that long-planned trip to Miami! I've got an ever-growing list of places that I'll need to visit and this sounds like a lot of fun, with the lounge and the opportunity to create your own blend.

AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

When I got up Saturday, I expected to do nothing for the day. My wife had already declared that she was taking a "veg day" and I figured it was a good idea for me, too. I didn't even get out of bed until 9:30 or so! I was in no hurry to eat or get ready to go anywhere, but as I was reading through my Twitter timeline, I discovered that my friend, Nate McIntyre (@CigarNate) was hosting an Emilio Cigars (@EmilioCigar) event at Silo Cigars in Knoxville (Farragut, really, but does anyone outside the Knoxville metro area know where Farragut is?). I remarked that if I had known he was going to be there I might have planned on going...then Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigar recommended I go stand next to my mailbox...because he knew that the Emilio polo shirt he sent me was due to arrive anytime. That kind of sealed it...I needed to go to Knoxville, support Nate and represent (fist pump!) Emilio Cigars from the consumer/blogger/fan perspective. So I did...

I got to talk to the owner of Silo Cigars, Paul, at some length that day and got lots of insights into how state laws affect cigar stores and how difficult it can be for a cigar shop to be successful. Paul runs a very nice shop not far off Interstate 40 on the west side of Knoxville. If you are ever in the area, I recommend stopping by...buy a cigar and an RC Cola in a long-neck bottle (drop in salted peanuts if that's your thing!), and kick back in the lounge a while.

I found out from one of Paul's employees about the closing of another area shop recently. There was a rumor going around that Mike Nelson would be selling or otherwise closing Leaf & Ale and that has appeared to bear out. I wish Mike the best in whatever he plans to do next.

In the end, Nate had a good day meeting a bunch of new folks at Silo and Paul ended up ordering a good number of cigars in joining the Emilio Cigars family. And I had a good day because I got to hang with friends, smoke some great cigars, and get some new sticks to "fill in the holes" in my calendar. One of the things we talked about was the availability of the Drew Estate Ferrel Pig. Even limiting supplies to "1 per customer" Paul sold out of 4 boxes (sent 2 boxes per shipment) within hours of their arrival. I hadn't been able to get my hands on any so he went to his personal locker and gave me his last one. Thank you again to Paul...that review will run as soon as I can fit it into the schedule. I would like to invite everyone to give Silo Cigars a follow on Twitter, too...@SiloCigars.

Cigar Extra: Alec Bradley Black Market

Robusto, 5.25" x 52 ring gauge / approx. $6, Tobacco World
It's another time that I have to admit...I'm not the biggest fan of Alec Bradley cigars. They tend to be heavy on the Honduran and that's my problem with them...the flavor profile usually just isn't in my wheelhouse. But I heard good things about the Black Market so I wanted to give it a try; after all, I'm a firm believer in trying new and different cigars...even if you have a pre-conceived notion about them. I love it when I'm not expecting much and a cigar surprises me. This stogie is made of Honduran and Panamanian fillers, a Sumatran binder, and a Nicaraguan wrapper. I paid it with some peaty Laphroiag Scotch.

The cigar felt solid and somewhat weighty; it also had a nice oily sheen to it. The prelight draw had mostly a flavor natural tobacco, with just a little earthiness to it. It took some effort to get the Black Market lit; when I did, I was greeted with what seemed to be a middle-of-the-road smoke...earthy, medium to full in body, nutty on the retrohale, just the smallest bit of spice on the nose. That impression held up through the rest of the first third and on into the second.

In the end, the Black Market did not floor me with flavor, but neither was it something I longed to extinguish before it was over. It was a good cigar that paired well with my peaty Scotch. Whether I would buy a bunch more, though, is up for debate. While I did enjoy it, there are plenty of other stogies in this price range that I enjoy more. I may have to try this one again in a different size.