Two Sides: Man O War

Toro, 6.5" x 52 ring gauge, $7.20

Keith Said:

The Man O' War is the first creation of Abdel (A.J.) Fernandez under his own name.  This cigar is billed as a medium full cigar.  It is more-or-less an exclusive of Cigars International and a few other online retailers, but it has been showing up in some B&Ms recently as well. It comes in 5 different sizes.  The cigar we are reviewing today is the toro size.  This cigar is comprised of Nicaraguan fillers and binders all covered by an Ecuadorian habano wrapper.  The band is quite large and is very nice looking.  The center of the band looks like a Trojan helmet, or the one Marvin the Martian wore in the Bugs Bunny cartoons depending on how you look at it.

 On inspection of the cigar before I lit it up I observed a very toothy chocolate brown wrapper that was very oily.  It was so oily that I still felt the oil on my fingers even after I set the cigar down.  When the cigar was felt I noticed that it was slightly lumpy and I found a couple soft spots below the bottom of the band.  When I smelled the wrapper I got definite notes of manure, when the foot was smelled I noticed chocolate.  Once I clipped it I was rewarded with a very free draw with a cold draw taste of chocolate.  One thing of note is I always gotten a very good draw from any of the A.J. Fernandez cigars I've tried.

Once I lit the cigar up, I was hit with a lot of spice and a nice taste of chocolate.  As the cigar progressed through the first third I also received notes of leather, cinnamon, nuts, and woody flavors.  The draw continued to be excellent and produced lots of smoke.  The ash held on for about an inch and a half and was a brownish grey.

As the second third started the flavor mellowed out with most of the spice going away.  The main flavors in this part of the cigar were chocolate and cream.  The cigar was solidly in the medium to medium-full range.  The burn was slightly wavy and did need to be touched up once.  When I took of the band it came off very easily.

Into the final third of this cigar the strength took it up a bit with the spice coming back.  The chocolate and leather flavors built above the other flavors of this cigar.  The burn and draw continued on great until the end.

While the cigar doesn't change flavors a lot, you tend to get the same flavors most of the way through just varying which one is on top at the moment, this was a very enjoyable cigar.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this cigar and will definitely pick up more of these as soon as I am able to.  In my opinion Abdel really has the more full bodied cigars figured out.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

Dave Said:

The wrapper of my Man O War was medium-dark brown, oily and well-applied. There were a few medium-to-large veins but nothing that really looked like trouble. The feel was firm head-to-foot, but not rock hard. I got rich chocolate and earth on the wrapper and an even richer chocolate along with some barnyard from the foot. I would call the MoW band a little comically overblown, but well-done nonetheless--it does put you "on notice" that you're getting a "killer" smoke.

Upon initial light-up, I got notes of leather, earth and black pepper. The first third continued to have plenty of that pepper along with a nice earthy base. There were hints of coffee bitterness and chocolate sweetness from time-to-time, too. The draw was just a little tight as I had observed in prelight, but it was nowhere near unsmokeable and this was the first time I can remember getting a less-than-great draw on any variety of Man O War. The ash did hold on pretty well until just under an inch before showing signs that it would need to be tapped off.

In the second third the earthiness increased and the pepper decreased, but I also started to get some ammoniated flavor which just was not pleasant--again, this is not something I have experienced in previous samples of these cigars (I smoked about 5 of them in the last month). The burn line stayed pretty straight until near the end of the third when it started to canoe a bit. The body was shaping up as medium-to-full.

The final third had more coffee and a little less ammonia, but still mostly a distinct earthniess. I have to admit I usually really enjoy these sticks, but this one just did not hit the mark of greatness I am used to in the MoW line. Most likely it was just a bum stick that needed to be aged a little longer, but unfortunately, there is no way to tell that before you start smoking. All the other samples I bought at the same time were just fine. Usually, these cigars are ones I can highly recommend; this particular sample would rate at a 6 or 6.5 on a 10 point scale, but normally they rate a 9 or so. After smoking both good and bad, I'm giving them a rating somewhere in the upper end of the middle.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 6/100

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8.5/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

News & Views

An occasionally regular roundup of news items that piqued our interest along with a little color commentary.

Starting with a little Pop Culture watch today: I have to say I was less than thoroughly disappointed when I heard that Guillermo del Toro was not going to direct The Hobbit. I always thought Peter Jackson did such a great job with Lord of the Rings that he should be the one to direct the "prequel" (kind of a stupid word, isn't it?). Apparently he finally agrees!

Reflecting a couple of the extremes of my music-loving self, I am curious to pick up both new releases from Josh Turner and Ozzy Osbourne. Turner has a voice that is just awesome...almost Johnny-Cash-awesome! And Scream is supposed to be the best Ozzy disc since No More Tears which was so long ago I was barely out of high school!

Turning to tech, Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4's in three days...1.7 million...in three days...I have no words. Oh, wait...I do...although I am fairly satisfied with my Droid, I still hope for a Verizon iPhone one day.

In what can only be called good news for those of us who believe in the Constitution, 48% of U.S. citizens polled see the government as a threat to individual rights; unfortunately, 37% feel the opposite and 15% apparently can't find their asses with both hands to make a decision one way or the other. (That was "off-color" commentary right there!) In even better news for those who love liberty (and their lives in the case of a home-invasion), the Supreme Court invalidated Chicago's draconian gun control laws, making it legal for Chicagoans to own a handgun for personal protection against the gangsters that don't worry about whether they have a legal right to own a gun. 

Straddling the line between cigars and politics, Joe over at ubicigar wrote a great article on why New York's cigar tax increases are destined to fail. Jerry (The Great Torpedo) posted a video review of the revival of the 7-20-4 brand by K.A. Kendall; sounds like one to look out for. Our friends at Toasted Foot reviewed the former Cigar of the Year, Casa Magna Colorado; in my opinion, potentially a great stick if the consistency were better, but no CotY candidate really. And the Stogie Guys took a look at the Oliva Master Blends 3; I really would like to get my hands on these for a test-drive, but sticker shock keeps pushing me away.

The big cigar event this month happened once again in Pennsylvania, where Famous Smoke Shop held their annual Cigar Expo. I did not go, but it seems like half the other cigar blogs on the 'net had someone there. Stogie Guys. Cigar Reader. A Cigar Smoker. Stogie Review. Ben and Chris from Night Tight Ash were also on hand, but nothing about their trip had posted at the time I wrote this. Just a thought...if I'm not mistaken some of these guys got "press passes" for the event which entitled them to wander around, talk to manufacturers, and eat whatever food was being served. It did not include any actual cigars from Famous...the package that the paying ticket-holders got. It seems to me that if the Tiki Bar is ever lucky enough to be awarded press passes to one of these events...I want the cigars, too! I'll buy a ticket AND have a press pass! Best of both worlds, baby!

And speaking of babies...a heart congratulations to Walt from Stogie Review and his wife, Lindsay, who welcomed their new daughter to the world over the weekend.

Cigar Review: La Gloria Cubana, Artesanos de Tabaqueros

Churchill, 7" x 50 ring gauge, MSRP $9.00

The Artesanos de Tabaqueros line was introduced early this year and represents the first new offering from La Gloria Cubana since the departure of company head, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr. The blend is credited to Benji Menendez, Michael Gianni, Yuri Guillen, and Rick Rodriguez (begging the question "how does blending by committee work?"). It uses Dominican and Honduran filler and binder, wrapped in both Connecticut Shade and Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaves. Where the two wrappers meet is the unusual location for the band--if you're the type to smoke only to the band, this will be a short smoke!

The Sumatran leaf had the color of milk chocolate with a little mottling and moderate veining. It had an oily touch to it as well. The Connecticut wrapper was fairly dark for a shade leaf and looked stretched and puckered in places. Feeling along the length, it seemed this stick was not particularly well-filled especially as you get below the band (the whole length was fairly soft, though). The darker Sumatran wrapper had barnyard and earth notes while the Connecticut was more grassy. The foot had a rich compost and earth smell, with just a hint of cocoa. Prelight draw was nice and easy; I got a nice natural tobacco flavor along with some spice and just a bit of cocoa.

Lighting up brought a wonderful volume of thick, aromatic smoke. Initially there was a little black pepper along with some notes of cream and hay--very much as you might expect in a milder cigar, although I hesitate to say this was truly mild even at this point. Before I got halfway through the first third construction had taken a bad turn: the Connecticut wrapper was swelling under the band and several cracks had appeared in it. Added to that was the large canoe that began forming. Flavors were fairly typical of mild to medium stick--hay and grass notes with a bit of pepper and a nice creamy smoke. The burn line got crooked enough that before the first third was over, I got a bit of the Sumatran wrapper burning, giving me a sneak preview of the spicy flavors to come.

As the Sumatran wrapper really got going the flavor turned much more earthy with chili pepper spice rather than the black pepper of before. It was a rather mild spice at this point, though--just a slow burn on the tongue. The smoke was still creamy smooth and plentiful in volume. The crooked burn still had not even up well despite my touching it up a couple times. It would require another touch up or two before I retired the stick.

Earthy flavors dominated until about halfway through the last third when the chili pepper spice started to ramp up. There were hints, too, of cocoa and coffee from time-to-time and this made an excellent companion to the French Roast coffee I enjoyed with about half of this stick. Overall, the body was solidly medium although it started off slightly milder. The flavor, while not a knockout, was very good, especially when judged against other offerings in the La Gloria Cubana line. Of the two "dos capas" cigars new on the market this year, I prefer the Cabinetta from Joya de Nicaragua, but this was a perfectly good cigar. At $9 per stick, the price is a little higher than I would prefer for the flavor, but in light of the craftsmanship and skill required to make a cigar of this nature, I ultimately don't find the price out of line.

Body: 5/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Music Recommendation: Hang Cool Teddy Bear

Hang Cool Teddy Bear by Meat Loaf (2010)

Who out there can remember the first time they heard a Meat Loaf song? I had heard of the world-famous Bat Out Of Hell album from the time I was in high school (late '80s), but the first time I actually heard Meat was on "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" from 1993's Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. Yes, I'll admit the titles of both album and song were ridiculously long and so was the song (the album version clocks in at 12:00). I became a much bigger fan of Mr. Loaf after 2006's Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose, though. While it was not the best album of the series, it was my first proper introduction to this genre known as "rock opera." After really getting in to Bat III, I hastily bought I & II to fill out the collection and love listening to them for the sheer lunacy of the whole thing: big production, bombastic arrangements, crashing drums, cranking guitars, wailing vocals...the whole over-the-top kit and kaboodle.

When I heard Meat was coming out with another album, I wondered, though...can he do it again? I had heard him singing in live recordings and his voice seemed pretty well shot, but I thought that the magic of the studio might provide another good album. Another consideration was songwriting; for Bats I and II, all the songs were written by Jim Steinman; for III about half the songs were selected from the Steinman songbook (he and Loaf don't work together anymore) and the rest were written in the same style. Having exhausted the potential of Steinman's work, none of these songs bears his name, although many seem to bear his signature style.

The number of guest stars that are name-dropped on this album is impressive in and of itself: Kara DioGuardi (from American Idol) duets while Hugh Laurie (TV's House) plays piano, Steve Vai and Queen's Brian May provide guest guitar work, Jack Black (Meat Loaf played his father in Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny) screams background vocals on one track, and tracks were authored by luminaries such as Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) and Jon Bon Jovi. Would the sheer guest-star power overwhelm the album? The answer is a definitive "No."

Forget the flimsy "backstory" of a soldier dying on the battlefield and these songs being him dreaming of possible alternate futures that he won't have a chance to live. As concept for albums go, that's just a lousy one. The songs, though, are a mix of fun ("Los Angeloser"), overly dramatic ("If I Can't Have You"), artistic ("Song of Madness"), nostalgic ("Elvis in Vegas") and heartbreaking ("Did You Ever Love Somebody"). I read someone opine that this may not be the best Meat Loaf album, but it is the best of his albums without Jim Steinman's songs. Since I don't have any of the other Steinman-less albums, I can't make that statement, but I will say it is better than Bat III and is just a load of fun to listen to. If you ever liked Meat Loaf, you should give this album a try. I don't think you'll regret it.

Cigar Review: My Father Cigars La Reloba Habano

Toro 6.25" x 52 ring gauge / $6.99

This is one of the newest creations by Don Pepin Garcia & his son Jaime Garcia. This cigar was a gift to me from Jason Shepherd (@CigarSource) when I purchased a couple other Pepin sticks. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of information on this stick on the web. The My Father website doesn't even list the cigar. I looked around at a couple blogs and the best I can find is that it is made up of Nicaraguan fillers and binder with either a Nicaraguan or Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.

The wrapper was a medium brown with a slight bit of mottling. The band was a very classic looking one with a black background with gold and red lettering and decorations. When I felt along the length of the cigar I noticed a slight bit of sponginess but there weren't any noticeable soft spots. The top of the triple cap was slightly lighter in color than the rest of the cigar and it was sitting slightly off center. When the wrapper was smelled I got definite aromas of nuts and leather. When I smelled the foot it smelled like I put my nose into a jar of mixed nuts. After I cut the cigar I was rewarded with a free draw and a taste of nuts.

As I lit the cigar up I got the standard Pepin spice on the tongue and on the retrohale. As I got into the cigar the spice continued on, but at the end of the first third ended it had died down a bit. Mingled with the spice were a continuation of the notes I got off the cold draw of a definite nuttiness mixed with leather flavors. The draw continued to be very good and because of that it produced a large volume of smoke. The ash was of an off-white color and had a stacked look to it. It needed to be tapped off at about an inch and a half.

At the start of the second third the spice moved from the tongue to the back of the throat. The flavors continued to be the same as they were through the first third. I did notice that the ash was a bit flaky and wouldn't stay together when I tapped it off.

The final third saw the cigar build in strength a bit with the spice coming back to the tongue with lots of flavors of leather, nuts, tobacco and some hints of chocolate. The band came off very easily and the cigar finished well and I put it down when it was too hot to hold in my fingers.

This cigar was very enjoyable. While the flavors didn't change a whole lot, the flavors that were there were very enjoyable. The burn line was only slightly wavy, probably due to wind, and it didn't need a touch up. The cigar would probably be classified as a medium full but it didn't have a big nicotine hit. With a price like this and a cigar this enjoyable I can definitely see myself purchasing one again.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Pre-light: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8.5/10

Agree, disagree or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

How About a Word From Our Sponsor...

The Tiki Bar started publishing online almost two years ago, but I have to admit it was more of just a personal deal until last December, when I decided to try taking it to a different level. I tried out some new regular features, got help from a good friend on marketing this whole thing, and then finally got him to start writing for the blog, fulfilling a goal that the Tiki Bar not always be just about my voice...from the time the of the first Tiki Bar meetings it was always more about community. Along the way we have picked up some more regular readers and made some new friends...now we're ready to expand the experience even more.

About two months ago, we welcomed Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as our first sponsor. Today, we welcome our first cigar manufacturer sponsor: CAO Cigars. Over the past few years, Keith and I have had the pleasure of meeting several of the CAO family. Their west coast rep, Budz, frequently hangs out at the same store Keith is practically a fixture at (and I used to visit when I lived there). I've met the Tennessee rep, Jeff, on several occasions. We met Tim Ozgener in Las Vegas at the Big Smoke and I got to meet him again last summer at an LX2 event at Burns. When we had our Tiki Bar "On The Open Road" trip a few weeks ago, we met director of lifestyle marketing, Jon Huber, at CAO Headquarters and then a few days later at CigarFest, where I first asked him if he would consider sponsoring the Tiki Bar. The answer, to our delight, was "Yes." (While I'm on the subject of CAO HQ, Susie, the Brand Ambassador, is one of the nicest people I have ever met; she does her job so well and with such enthusiasm that when I left I wanted to smoke nothing but CAO cigars.) I am proud to have CAO headquartered in the state where I was born, and where I now reside after escaping Southern California.

So...on to the part that will interest most (hopefully all!) of you. As part of sponsoring the Tiki Bar, CAO has provided a boatload of prizes that we are proud to be able to award in our first-ever Contest! (The crowd went wild!) A few lucky people (8, to be exact) will be able to win the following prizes:

3rd Prize: CAO Combat Cap (in Olive or Black, your choice while both colors are available) - 4 of these will be given away.

2nd Prize: CAO Gray Fedora - 2 of these.

1st Prize: La Traviata Crystal Ashtray - 1 of these.

and, finally, one lucky person will win the
Grand Prize:

A Box of La Traviata Radiante cigars

La Traviata Crystal Ashtray

Black Lotus triple-flame table-top lighter with CAO logo

Palio Cutter with CAO logo

CAO Gray Fedora or CAO Combat Cap (your choice)

That Grand Prize is pretty darn Grand if I do say so myself...all the cigar enthusiast needs to properly represent for the CAO Team! "What do I have to do to win?" you ask...well, we didn't want to make it too complicated, but...it is anyway! Hey, nothing worth having is ever that easy, is it?

First: You need to follow both me (@dmjones1009) and Keith (@Keith1911) on Twitter. If you already do, you can skip this step. This is important as it's the way we'll be contacting the winners.

Second: Spread the word. Send out this message on Twitter:

The Tiki Bar's First Contest is On! Win CAO cigars & swag! http://tinyurl.com/23w7nlk (@dmjones1009)

(This counts as one entry equal to leaving a comment, so you could win just by doing this!)

Third: To increase your chance of winning, leave comments here on the blog. This contest will run from today, June 28, through Sunday, July 4. Every time you leave a comment on one of the posts that runs during those days (there will be at least 6, maybe more), you will get an entry into the contest. Only one comment per blog post per person will count and the comment needs to be relevant to the blog post in some way. The comments section on the Tiki Bar is set up to use several methods of logging in and posting comments, including anonymously, but if you want us to be able to contact you, we need you to include your Twitter name in one of your posts. If you don't, we may be able to figure it out, we may not...if we can't figure out who to award the prize to we'll have to award it to someone else.

All Blog Comments and Tweets posted by midnight (Pacific Time) on Sunday, July 4, will be eligible. On Monday, July 5, I will put all the names of eligible entrants into one of those CAO Gray Fedoras and randomly choose winners. I will post the names on the blog and contact the winners via Twitter Direct Message. Because of the cost of shipping and customs considerations, only U.S. residents are eligible and all prizes must ship to a U.S. address.

Cigar Extra/CRA Saturday: Diamond Crown Maximus

This feature got bumped a week, so you will actually end up seeing two "CRA Saturday" entries in a row.

Despite a couple sources claiming this was a full or medium-to-full bodied cigar, I could not remember a Diamond Crown that truly was full-bodied by today's standards, so I plunged right into this one in the late morning with some coffee. The dark Ecuadorian wrapper was impeccable, suitably oily, and had an aroma of leather and cloves. The filler and binder are Dominican and I got a clove-y, slightly orange-y aroma from the foot. The cold draw had a ice mix of orange and cocoa--unexpected and very pleasant.

Initial puffs on the Maximus revealed a thick, flavorful smoke with more body than I remember from my first encounter with this stick. There were flavors of cocoa powder and clove, along with some pepper in the retrohale and a nice, understated orange peel. Unfortunately that complexity did not hold up long and the remainder of the first third was more about earthiness and cocoa with very little of those other delightful flavors. Still very good, but a bit of a let-down after the spectacular start.

The second third was a fairly straightforward continuation of the first--good flavors with no real change. And it surprised me that the last third featured little change, either.

In all, the Maximus is a very good cigar that I would smoke regularly if its price were about half of what it is. The flavors, while not terribly complex, were very good, but "very good" just does not cut it when you get into the stratosphere of cigars prices upwards of $20 per stick.

Coming Soon...

There was supposed to be a new post here today about a movie I watched recently, but real life got in the way and I wasn't able to get it finished. Instead, I have a little news and a big teaser...

The Tiki Bar got its first official sponsor a couple months ago with Burns Tobacconist (part of the Chattanooga Billiards Club) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We are currently working to add another cigar retailer to out sponsorship list (and you'll notice that both are Brick & Mortar retailers...nothing against online retailers, per se, but we would rather promote those places we actually go and hang out).

Today we got major confirmation of our first cigar manufacturer sponsor. I received a box of swag and goodies from...I'm not saying just yet. If you know me very well, you probably already know who it is, though. I will make an official announcement sometime next week and we will kick off our very first Tiki Bar contest to give away some of this stuff. This is one you won't want to miss, boys and girls...the big prize package will be very good and there will be plenty of smaller prizes to pass around as well. So spread the word...tell your friends and neighbors (at least those who like cigars)..and stop by the Tiki Bar next week to find out how you can win!

Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda 1989, Oscuro

Robusto, 5.5" x 50 ring gauge, $5.25

After a less than stellar experience with my latest 1989 Rosado the other day (documented in Tuesday's review), I was somewhat ambivalent about this Oscuro variety. Would it rock my world? Or was it destined to disappoint? Only one way to find out. This cigar presumably shares the same Nicaraguan filler and binder as its lighter-colored brother, just substituting an oscuro wrapper.

I will start by saying that it seems Nestor Miranda is trying to rewrite the definition of "oscuro." Most sources define these leaves as "very dark" or "black." Miranda's Special Selection featured an oscuro wrapper that was darker than the Rosado but not nearly black. The Dominicano wrappers are so close in color that I saw a company rep get them confused. This wrapper is significantly darker than the Rosado, though still not so dark that I would call it "very dark"; it is unlikely, however, to be mistaken for the lighter leaf in photos or in real life. With that said, on to the review: this was not a beautiful cigar, but neither was it really ugly. It had some largish veins, some lumps and a few puckered seams, but when you are looking at a $5 stick, you cannot expect the highest quality. The aroma from the wrapper was leather and barnyard while the foot was rich in chocolate with a bit of coffee. It did not seem overly oily to my eyes, but there was some oil to the touch. The draw on this was very much like the Rosado--quit loose. I got prelight flavors of cocoa and coffee and it left a spicy tingle on my lips.

Another Don Pepin Garcia cigar, another blast of pepper through the nose right after being lit. Initial flavors were of cedar, hay and that aforementioned pepper. I found the first third of the 1989 Oscuro to be, above all else, quite harsh. There were flavors of cedar and pepper but it all left me with a raspy feeling in the back of my mouth. The ash was pretty flaky and threatened constantly to litter my lap. The burn line was generally jagged.

This cigar developed a good-sized canoe about halfway through the second third. The flavor got better, though, yielding more coffee and bitter cocoa along with the spicy burn.

The final third opened with an abrupt flavor change--much more earthy, but still plenty of coffee, although it had become more of an espresso roast. Overall, the 1989 Oscuro was not a bad cigar at all. It fails to rise to the level of some others in its price range, but it is better than many sticks that cost more If I found a great deal on them I would probably invest in a 5 or 10 pack, but I do not otherwise see it becoming a regular visitor in my humidor. Of the 3 lines in the Nestor Miranda Collection, this is the least in price, but it is also by far the least in flavor. If you want to smoke Miranda's cigars, my advice is to spring for a couple extra bucks and go for the Special Selection or Dominicano.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 1/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 7.5/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Growing Tobacco In Southern California

Here is my first update on the experiment Dave, Kurt , Derek, and I started earlier this month. You can read all about what started this crazy idea here.

I ordered three types of tobacco seeds from New Hope Seed Company, one each for binder, filler and wrapper. The types are Wisconsin Seedleaf for the binder, Pennsylvania Red for the filler, and Connecticut Broadleaf for the wrapper.


Last night my wife and I planted the seeds. For a couple reasons I didn't follow the normal growing procedures, but the main reason is we are experimenting here to see what we come up with. I rent my house so the idea of rototilling part of the yard, preparing the soil (California soil is mostly clay) and then having to put things back the way they were after didn't seem that appealing. All of our planters are currently full with seeds or plants my wife has planted, and I don't think she'd like if very much if I took any of them out. So instead I purchased three large pots and filled them with a mix of potting soil and vegetable soil and put the seeds in it.


I've got these in the shade and will be keeping a close eye on them to see what comes up and then once they've taken hold I'll move them out into the sun.

Once they do something I'll put up another post.

Two Sides: Man O War Virtue

Torpedo, 6.5" x 52 ring gauge, approx. $10

Dave Said:

After perfecting the regular Man O War line and introducing the more-powerful Ruination, Abdel (A.J.) Fernandez set his sights to producing a milder cigar that could still proudly wear the Man O War label. That stick was released early in 2010 with the Virtue name. Available only through Cigars International and Cigar.com, the Man O War Virtue is composed of Nicaraguan filler and binder-including "just the right amount of ligero to give it a light punch." It is finished off with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper.

This was a lovely shade wrapper with very light veining and practically no blemishes or flaws. Despite its online-only status, it looks as good as practically any luxury B&M-only stick. The aroma from the body was pure "mild cigar"-hay, cream, natural tobacco; the foot had a richer compost aroma with hints of chocolate. The wrapper felt slightly oily; the cap was not the nicest-finished for a torpedo that I have ever seen. On a nice, smooth cold draw, I got flavors of hay and cream along with just a touch of sweetness and an afterthought of spice.

The soft flame of my Xikar EX gently lit the foot of the Virtue and I got some initial flavors that fell right in line with what I experienced pre-light: hay, cream, a little honey. There was just a tiny edge to it as well, like it was building up to a peppery burn. The retrohale delivered on that thought. As I often do with a milder, morning cigar, I paired this with some 8 O'Clock brand coffee, French Roast, sweetener, no cream. The rest of the first third was about a slight increase in spiciness that started earlier. At this point, while good, the Virtue was not really doing a lot to impress me-most of the flavors were somewhat muted and the creaminess of the Shade wrapper fought too much with the spice and earthiness of the Nicaraguan filler.

The second third continued to be a struggle between the milder and more medium-bodied forces in the cigar. Creaminess and a slight sweetness of the wrapper just did not work that well with the spicy, earthy filler. This marriage of flavors is not impossible, as I have previously seen it work in the Oliva and Camacho Connecticuts as well as CAO's Gold Vintage, but this just did not rise up to the same level. On the plus side, construction was excellent; I got a perfect draw, quite even burn line, and ash that held on for an inch or more.

The last third finally featured a winning combination-the hay and sweet creaminess melding very well with the spicier undertones. Unfortunately it came far too late to rescue what was overall a rather disappointing cigar. Disappointing not because it was bad-it wasn't-but because I feel it failed to deliver on the promise of A.J. Fernandez's Man O War brand that is so good in its other iterations. While I enjoyed this cigar, the Virtue just did not hold a candle to the other 3 mild-to-medium Connecticut-wrapped cigars I mentioned earlier-all of which are available at a lower price. Not bad, but I had expected much more.

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

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 7/10

Keith Said:
My experience with this cigar was slightly different than Dave's.  On first inspection of the cigar the golden brown wrapper had a slight greenish hue with a couple green spots.  There was also a small patch about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom.  I did notice a little bit of sponginess when feeling along the length of the cigar.  I did get the same notes on giving the wrapper and foot a smell that Dave did.  After cutting it I was rewarded with a free draw but without much taste.

After lighting it up I immediately noticed a spiciness on the retrohale with some creaminess on the tongue.  If it keeps this up it'll be a good cigar to have in the morning with some coffee.  As the cigar progressed through the first third the cigar started to get a bit of harshness.  Sort of like the cigar wasn't blended too well, or maybe not fermented well enough.  After about 1.5" the taste died down considerably where there was only a tobacco or woody taste.  The ash was grayish white and stayed on for about 1.5".  The burn line was slightly wavy but not too bad.

Into the second third not much changed.  There wasn't much flavor, just some creamy and woody notes.  Kind of boring.

The final third was just about the same as the second third.  The flavor got slightly more intense but not much.

Although I've been very impressed with Abdel's other creations (Man O' War, Man O' War Ruination, Diesel) I can't say the same thing about the Virtue.  It really didn't do much for me.  It was pretty well constructed but the lack of flavor didn't keep me interested.  I would much rather smoke an Oliva Connecticut or a Camacho Connecticut at a significantly lower (at MSRP) price.  It seems to me that he's got the full bodied stuff figured out, and now just needs to figure out the mild-medium bodied cigars.  My so-so experience with this cigar would definitely not stop me from trying any new cigars that Abdel comes out with.

Body: 4/10
Strength: 4/10
Complexity: 4/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 2.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 5.5/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda 1989, Rosado

Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge, $5.25

Miami Cigar & Co. is composed of several famous names in the cigar industry, including Jose Blanco and his La Aurora company, the flavored Tatiana line, and the Nestor Miranda collection. Miami Cigar was formed in 1989 and this cigar is meant to celebrate that event. For this cigar, Miranda teamed up once again with Don Pepin Garcia, this time to create a budget-oriented cigar that could sell in the $5 range. The result is a blend of medium and long-filler tobaccos from the Estelia and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. Like other Nestor Miranda-branded cigars, the 1989 is available in Rosado and Oscuro wrapper varieties. Today I am looking at the Rosado.

For a Rosado, there was not much of the reddish hue you might expect. Instead this cigar was slightly darker than a shade wrapper, with quite a bit of mottling, as well as an almost grayish cast. It was lumpy with some excess glue in spots, but the band was nice and more ornate than you might expect for this price range. The aroma of cocoa was fairly pronounced from the body, as well as a little barnyard. From the foot, I got rich chocolate and coffee aromas. Feeling along the length, it did not seem packed very tightly. After cutting it, I took a prelight draw and found it to be very easy...and I got some chewing tobacco along with it, too. Note to self: on a cigar with anything less than long-filler, it's always advisable to consider a punch instead of a slice cutter. I did get great prelight flavor: chocolate, chili pepper and a little coffee.

Initial puffs revealed a nutty flavor in the mouth and a retrohale that was a spicy boot to the head. After the start, the flavor went almost immediately to a more cedar aspect along with some chemical flavor that was not at all pleasant. I did not experience that in the several other 1989s I smoked before this particular review stick, so I was not sure what to make of it. The chemical note went away pretty quickly it seemed, leaving lots of cedar and pepper spice.

The 1989 smoked pretty quickly, as you might expect from a mixed-length fillers. It did burn evenly, though, and the ash held on for almost an inch. In the second third, I did get more of that chemical taste and I began to think that I had chosen a "bad stick" for this review. While bad sticks at this price range are somewhat excusable (at least moreso than in a $15 or $20 cigar), it does leave me wondering about the consistency of quality from the My Father cigar factory. I had a similar experience with a Benchmade recently, another of Pepin's lower-cost brands that I usually enjoy. Toward the end of the third, I got more wood and some earthy notes--another turning away from what I was coming to think of as "insecticide" flavor.

The last third started out much the same: earthy with some cedar and a little resurgence of spice. Based on my previous samples in addition to this one, I have to say that this is a good cigar, but with the possibility of getting a bum stick being fairly high; maybe it's not fair to say that based on 4 or 5 samples of the 1989, but I would ask how many one has to smoke before making that assessment? I think I've done more than due diligence on this one. If I were to rate the cigar based on this one, I would probably give it a 5; based on the others I have smoked, I might go as high as an 8. Averaged out, with more good sticks than bad, I am coming down somewhere in the middle. If you can find this one on an auction site for significantly less than the $5 MSRP, I say these make a very good yard-gar, but I do not see them being good everyday sticks now that other budget-priced cigars with more flavor (like La Traviata) are available.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 4/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 3/5

Value: .5/1

Total: 7/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Book Recommendation: Blockade Billy

Blockade Billy by Stephen King

Seems not so long ago that Stephen King was planning to retire from publishing. He would finish The Dark Tower series, maybe continue to write (because it's in his DNA), but maybe not publish anything again until after he died. That lasted a long time, didn't it?! The King of horror fiction seems to be back to his old pace of a novel or major collection every year, and he has started dabbling in other things like comic books (The Dark Tower series continued), audiobook or e-reader exclusives (Ur) and now this: a small volume containing two short stories: "Blockade Billy" and "Morality."

The title story is really the standout and worth the current Amazon.com price of $7.99. A couple things about the timing of this release: it precedes King's next collection of stories (Full Dark, No Stars) by about 6 months, but since that collection is of novellas (more along the lines of Different Seasons or Four Past Midnight) these short stories would not have fit well anyway, but they do serve to whet the appetite for shorter fiction. Also, if they had been included in Full Dark, "Blockade Billy" would not have seen the light of day until after the baseball season is over, which would be a shame, as this story aptly combines King's love of the Great American Pastime with his brilliant, intense fiction. It's hard to say much about a short story without giving away key plot points, but I'll try: Billy shows up to play catcher for a major league team in the 1950s; he's brilliant at the position and electrifies the fans, but there is more to him than it seems.

"Morality" is not as successful. It is a well-constructed story that is more "straight fiction" than King's ordinary brand of bizarre fare. While I enjoyed it, I can't say it will please or satisfy everyone.

This short collection did indeed make me want more. Immediately upon setting it down, I started working through one of King's previous collections: Everything's Eventual. For some reason, I just am in the mood for short fiction and it's well-designed, tight plot motif right now. If you are a King fan or a baseball fan (or especially if you're both!), pick up this book, you'll be glad you did. Skip the e-reader version, too...this hardcover is a commemorative, collectible size that is perfect for reading while sitting out on the porch on a warm evening while imagining the boys of summer at play.

The Great Tobacco Experiment of 2010, Update

To recap our story thus far: several people around the country connected through Twitter and decided to try growing their own tobacco this summer. For full details, see the previous blog entry.

So I got my seeds in the mail a few days later. I took a picture of the seed packet but not the seeds...honestly, it's like looking at grains of very fine sand. Tiny, tiny seeds that grow up into beautiful leaves that provide us so much relaxation time joy.

I ordered a seeding starter kit from Burpee (through Amazon) and that came a couple days after the seeds showed up. Then I had to wait for a day when I actually had time to get the seeds going. That came Thursday, June 17. I arranged my seedling tray, added water to the peat growing pellets and watched as they expanded and grew into a nice dirt. I then sprinkled a few seeds of each of the four varieties into each cubicle, ending up with the possibility of 72 tobacco plants, 18 of each type. The plan is to just try and grow these...I do not have room for 72 plants in the space I picked out for them, so I am hoping that at least 3 or 4 of each type actually grow. If lots of them grow, I'll take the stronger 3 or 4 of each variety and transplant them into the growing area in a month or so. 

For now, though, I have the tray sitting on a bookcase in the living room, covered with a clear plastic dome to keep moisture in (it looks very humid inside there, like Central America!). This is important as most good tobacco grows in a high-humidity environment and inside with the A/C on most of the time it's pretty dry. I read that tobacco seeds need a lot of light, so I bought a "Plant Grow Bulb" at Lowes and have that shining on the seeds a minimum of 10 to 12 hours a day (to mimic sunlight).

If all goes according to plan, in a week or so, I'll be seeing what Derek (@RaleighCigars) saw yesterday in his TwitPic post. Look! Baby cigars!!!

Today, though, is another important day (I'm writing this on Saturday, even though you'll be reading it on a later date)...time to get out and start digging in the dirt where my potential tobacco plants will be transplanted. Let's just say that I'm not that enthusiastic about this part of the process.

Depending on where you live, it may be too late to start this little adventure this year, but maybe not...and if you don't try it this year, there's always next year! To get started, you have to have seeds, though, and I recommend New Hope Seed Company as a good place to start looking.

News & Views

I want to start off this segment of News & Views with a tribute to one of our old regular features, Friday Funnies (yes, I am aware that this piece is posting on Saturday, not Friday...life gets hectic sometimes!).

Many of you have probably seen the "Messin' With Sasquatch" commercials from Jack Link's Jerky. There is a new one that I found very funny and a related one that appears to be internet only:





We continue with a story about Carrie Fisher who has apparently lost touch with reality. She basically calls her father a slut, extols the benefits of electro-shock therapy, and calls pretty much all conservatives (and a fair number of moderate and Democrats) idiots. Oh, Princess Leia, if you don't know that the term "teabaggers" was applied to the TEA Party by far-leftist loons such as yourself, then you are nothing but an ignorant slut yourself.

Speaking of celebrities you would assume live on the far-left side of the ideological fence, kudos to Elton John for wishing to "build bridges instead of walls" by playing piano at Rush Limbaugh's wedding. And congratulations to Rush and his lovely bride, Kathryn! Over at National Review Online, Deroy Murdock looked at the difference in the way Elton was treated by Egypt and by the Limbaughs...and how each event was handled by the so-called "mainstream" press and other "fair-minded, tolerant" liberals.

In a far-different vein, I'm still wondering what the hell is up with Honda's styling department...the new Odyssey is the worst-looking mini-van since...since maybe minivans were first conceived. Never thought I'd see a car that makes the Pontiac Aztek look acceptable (not good, just acceptable). In good automotive news, Toyota will be completing a plant in Mississippi as a new Corolla-building facility. More jobs for the South is always a good thing.

A few things about the ongoing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico: Deroy Murdock (again) had an article about how President Obama refused to temporarily waive the Jones Act to receive help from about 15 foreign countries...before the oil ever washed ashore. The executive director of the Sierra Club wrote how this tragedy should be the impetus for us "breaking our oil habit" (I say, you first, bub...here's a list of things made from crude oil...I don't want to see you using ANY of them!). The Coast Guard stopped barges from sucking oil out of the ocean, against the wishes of Louisiana's governor. Charles Krauthammer (the smartest man in whatever room he is in) opined on the President's prime-time address...I have nothing to add. Country star and former oil field worker, Trace Adkins, basically told the government where to stick it on an appearance on CNN. And a New York Post columnist believes that the President's "global warming agenda" will cause gas to rise to $7/gallon. Lots of stuff here, but the more I read and hear, the more it seems very evident that while oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico the current administration did virtually nothing to prevent its spread. Foreign aid was refused. Sand berms around coastal marshlands were prevented with bureaucratic red-tape. If you want to believe in conspiracies, it's almost like they wanted the oil to wash up onshore and befoul wildlife so they could have those images in people's heads when they started pushing their "green economy" agenda.

One last piece of political news that straddles the line with our piece-ending cigar section: apparently the powers-that-be (mostly Fast Eddie Spendell) in Pennsylvania are once again trying to impose new taxes on cigars and other tobacco products. If you live in PA, fight these efforts; join the CRA if you have not already. Write letters to your representatives. If they don't respond, work to vote them out of office, no matter what their party affiliation.

Chris over at Nice Tight Ash fired up a Davidoff Millennium Blend last week; great cigar but I wish the price was less. The folks down at Toasted Foot smoked a La Flor Dominicana Ligero Cabinet Oscuro, one of my all-time favorite smokes. Joe over at Ubi Cigar tried out a Punch Gran Puro; his description actually made me want to do something unusual and smoke a Punch! And, finally, last but not least, Mike over at Stogie Review (does anyone else post reviews there anymore? Just kidding, Walt!) smoked a Casa Fuente for the first time--great stick (but seriously, I'm convinced the next place we'll see Jerry Cruz's picture is on a milk carton!).

Cigar Extra: Tatuaje Brown Label

Havana Cazadores, 6.375" x 43 ring gauge, $9.30

My recent reviews of Tatuaje's Black and Red Tubos were not what I would consider positive. I tried four times and failed to fall in love with the new El Triunfador. After meeting Pete Johnson at CigarFest in May, though, I wanted to say something positive about his cigars. Even if I am not the right market for some of his newer sticks, I do still enjoy some of his classic creations. So when I found this Havana Cazadores from the Tatuaje Brown Label line at Uptown's in Nashville, I decided to put down a few thoughts.

Despite having no cellophane, this stick was oily to the touch; it had faint aromas of hay and barnyard on the wrapper, with some strong compost and cocoa on the foot. Prelight draw gave up flavors of dark chocolate, coffee and chili pepper. After sparking it up, this stick yielded up a strong cedar flavor as well as plenty of pepper spice. The first retrohale was pretty gnarly, but it settled down soon to a nice nasal burn. The first third had plenty of body and lots of thick, rich smoke with flavors of earth out in front while cocoa powder and dark-roast coffee sang back-up. The second third saw the spice ramp up, but ended with a hollow in the center of the stick when the ash fell. off. Fortunately, it did not affect the burn or draw too badly.

The end of this cigar stayed interesting--more cocoa and some dried fruit sweetness complemented the spice very nicely. I am pleased to find that the Tat Brown line I have always loved still does so much for me. I ended up buying another Brown label at the same time and enjoyed the heck out of it, too. Then I burned a Noellas at Burns last Saturday. Three Brown labels sticks in less than two weeks have convinced me that this is still my favorite thing in Pete Johnson's arsenal.

Cigar Review: Tabacos El Triunfador by Tatuaje/Pete Johnson Cigars

#2, 5.5" x 52 ring gauge, $8.10

I generally, unapologetically, review cigars based on a single stick. As I've said before, if I pay my own money for a cigar and I don't like it, I am unlikely to buy another. This cigar, therefore, was an anomaly for me. The stick I reviewed was my third experience with this cigar and I had another one a few weeks later, even though I was never bowled over by any of them. Almost every stick was a different vitola as I tried to find the magic "sweet spot" that would appeal to me. I have friends at Burns and on Twitter that absolutely love this cigar...at CigarFest I almost had Pete Johnson give me another one to try (he was out). I really wanted to love this cigar...at least as much as I loved the original El Triunfador that Pete put on the market. That original ET was a lancero-only release of the Cabaiguan maduro that was put out simply to hold the copyright on the name (that's the story I got from Pete at CigarFest), while this new stick was what he was shooting for all along. Good and accurate information was a little difficult to find online (Tatuaje's website is still being revamped) but from what I could gather, this cigar features Nicaraguan filler and binder along with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. One shop owner told me that it was blended to appeal more to the European market. It is made in Don Pepin Garcia's factory. If anyone has better information on either of these last two points, feel free to leave a comment.

The first third I noticed about this El Triunfador was its light weight in the hand, making me think it is rather loosely packed. There were a couple large-ish veins but overall the leaf looked very nice and had been very well rolled. The feel of the wrapper was velvet with a touch of oiliness. The body of the stock had aromas of barnyard and coffee, while the foot had rich compost, coffee, and chocolate. I also noted some glitter on the wrapper...apparently gold foil from the band that had flaked off a bit. Feeling along with length of the cigar reinforced my observation that the stick was not tightly packed with tobacco. I took a fairly small cut on the torpedo-shaped head and was rewarded with a very good draw. The prelight flavors were of mildly sweet hay, honey and just a little creamy coffee.

Initial flavors after lighter were of cedar and just a little chili pepper. There were hints of sweetness and creaminess, but nothing very distinct at this point. The draw was a little tighter than I had intended, but seemed to be letting plenty of smoke through, so I left it along for the time being. I did get an almost immediate canoe that I also left alone. I soon got a lemony/citrusy flavor and then the draw stopped producing smoke; I re-cut the head and when the canoe got to a half-inch offset I correct it--neither problem said anything good to me about construction, but I am only marking off .5 point because the others I smoked did not seem to have these problems. The flavors toward the end of the first third settled into a medium-bodied mix of hay, cedar and a touch of lemon.

By the time the second third rolled around there was no pepper spice to speak of and no chocolate or coffee despite getting those hints on prelight. By midway through, though, I did get some nice creamy coffee on the retrohale. Some mild cedary spiciness started to come back, too. The burn never got back to even, but at least it was evenly burning in a slanted line.

The last third had a little more coffee mixed in with the cedar, hay and touch of spice. The lemony twang had disappeared by this point. In the end, I have to say I am of two minds on this cigar: it is better than I initially gave it credit for, but I still do not see what all the fuss is about. The El Triunfador--to me--is basically a medium-bodied, decently complex cigar with a somewhat muted flavor profile. It is not bad by any means, but I can think of at least 4 or 5 other medium-bodied sticks I would rather smoke, most of which cost less.

Body: 4/10

Strength: 4/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: .5/1

Total: 7/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Cigar Review: 13th Floor Foundation Series

Churchill 7" x50 ring gauge / Approx. $8

After working with Dave on a couple dual reviews in order to get my feet wet, I'm now stepping out into my first solo review. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions in the comment section. Also please bear with me on the photography as I'm no where as good as Dave is.

Onto the cigar! This is one of the newest cigar companies out there and this is their inaugural release. Bryan White, the owner of the company, and I met on Twitter and he graciously sent me these samples to try. You can find Bryan on Twitter at @smokinonthe13th or on their website http://13thfloorcigars.com/. There isn't a lot of information on their website yet and they are still in the process of lining up shops to carry the cigar. I asked Bryan about the meaning of the name and he said, "The meaning behind the name is related to a place we go every year. I've been going since I was a kid. The 13FL is a place were we have bonded as brothers, father and sons. Just a very special place to our family." This cigar is made in partnership with El Titan de Bronze factory on Calle Ocho in Miami. The cigar is made up of Nicaraguan filler, Ecuadorian binder, and all covered in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.

The first thing that strikes me visually about this cigar is the band. It is silver, red and black and looks sort of art deco with the number 13 as the center of it. The wrapper was a medium brown with a slight reddish hue and some small amount of mottling. The wrapper felt slightly rough and dry to the touch. When I felt the cigar it felt slightly soft, but not too soft and there were some slight veins along the wrapper. The triple cap was slightly uneven. When I smelled the wrapper I got a lot of cedar and woody notes, and there was a slight barnyard scent on the foot of the cigar. After I clipped it I took a draw on the unlit cigar and was rewarded with a fairly free draw but without much taste.

After I lit it up I immediately got flavors of chocolate, cream and leather. The cigar drew freely and there was a large amount of smoke that didn't seem to hang over my head. That could have been due to the slight wind that was blowing while I smoked the cigar. As I continued into the cigar a very prominent cedar flavor came through. The ash was a greyish white and needed to be tapped off after about 1". The burn was slightly wavy through most of the first third, until at the end of the first third a hole developed above the burn line.


Into the second third the cigar did correct itself and burn right through the hole without needing a touch up, although it was still slightly wavy. The waviness could have been due to the wind that I mentioned earlier. The creaminess went out of the taste but sort of migrated to the throat, it felt like it was coating my throat. The chocolate flavor toned down and the leather pretty much disappeared in the second third. The cedar taste was the most prominent. I also noticed a slight amount on bitterness that might have been a bit of ammonia, but I'm not sure.

In the final third the cigar changed a bit. The cedar flavor toned down and the chocolate & leather flavors came back with the addition of a black pepper spice on the tongue and the retrohale. The bitter taste was still there in the final third. The band did come off easily, which is always a plus.

Overall this was a good medium bodied cigar. I do think that it could benefit from a little bit of aging to try and eliminate some of those bitter flavors. I plan on doing that with the last sample that Bryan gave me. I could see myself smoking one of these with a cup of coffee in the morning. While it's price might tilt me to something else, especially if you were to add California cigar taxes. It would also be good for someone who is looking to venture up a body scale from a mild cigar without worrying about too much of a nicotine hit.

Body: 5/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale
Pre-light: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 6.5/10

Agree, disagree or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!

Cigar Review: 5 Vegas Limitada 2010

Belicoso, 6.2" x 52 ring gauge, Approx. $5.60

Keith Said:

This the most recent release of the 5 Vegas (pronounced Cinco Vegas) yearly limitada release. In previous years the Limitada cigar featured a blend of 5 countries' tobaccos; this year's release is a 6.2 x 52 belicoso comprised of all Nicaraguan tobacco with at Nicaraguan Habano wrapper.  It is available from only a few online vendors, including Cigars International and Cigar.com.  There isn't a whole lot more info about the composition on those sites and the 5 Vegas site still has the info for the Limitada 2009 up.  I was given this sample at the 2010 Cigar Fest.

Upon looking at the cigar I noticed a .75" crack in the cap of the cigar.  The wrapper was a medium brown with a small amount of mottling and was slightly oily.  I also noticed some spots on the wrapper below the band where it looks like some of the glue got on it.  When felt the wrapper had a slightly bumpy feel with some small veins.  The cigar felt firm to the touch with a slight give.  Once I smelled the wrapper I was greeted to the scent of barnyard and when I smelled the foot it smelled even more of barnyard.  After I clipped it I was rewarded with a fairly free draw and a slight spiciness.

Once I lit it up I immediately got a Nicaraguan spice on the retrohale.  The taste was of black pepper spice and after about .25" I tasted a slight maple syrup flavor.  There was a pretty noticeable taste of cocoa too.  The spice toned down a lot after the first .5".  The ash was a mottled white with some grey and brown in it.  The ash did start to curve after about 1" so I tapped it off.  The burn stayed pretty straight too.  At the end of the first third a couple cracks appeared slightly below the second band.

Throughout the second third the spice would come back on a puff then disappear on the next one.  The taste pretty much stayed the same throughout but I did get some herbal and cinnamon notes.  The burn continued pretty straight and the ash held up well.  The wrapper unfortunately blew up a bit at the end of the second third along the cracks that appeared at the end of the first third.

As I started the final third I took of the bands, and they came off easily.  The body built a bit through the final third of the cigar.  I would call it pretty firm in the medium range.  The spice did build a bit and did become more consistently noticeable in the end.  The cocoa taste disappeared but was replaced by tobacco and leather flavors.  The burn wasn't adversely affected by the wrapper blowing up.  I was surprised that it stayed pretty straight.  The crack in the cap did unfortunately develop into a deeper one going all the way into the filler.

While the cigar was pretty good I don't think I would count this as limitada good.  The cigar would have been a whole lot better if the flavors that showed up in the beginning continued and the construction issues could have been worked out.  If someone gave me this cigar I would gladly smoke it, but I don't think it is one I would purchase again as there are a lot of much better cigars in the $5-$6 range.

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

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1/2
Construction: .5 /2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 6/10

Dave Said:

I liked the way this cigar looked--a little leathery, a lot oily, a little tooth, a lot of excess glue--okay, I could have done without that last part. The stick was fairly firmly packed head-to-foot. I got a barnyard and manure aroma from the body--not a pleasant smell like that usual is, though--while from the foot I got some cocoa and more barnyard. I thought this might be a good morning cigar, so I took it outside with some Trader Joes' Italian Roast coffee. In the process of cutting mine the wrapper cracked at the head--hopefully it would be manageable. Prelight draw was a little tighter than I prefer and the flavors were sweet but muted and hard to exactly characterize.

Initial light-up had flavors of sweet tobacco on the tongue and a little black pepper through the nose--surprisingly single-dimensional for the start of a Nicaraguan puro. Starting with something good to say: the first third burned slowly and evenly leaving ash the color of concrete. The problem is that there just was not a lot of flavor or character to the cigar so far. There was still tobacco and pepper--and little else. The flavors were not "off" like you might get in a cheap bundle stick, but neither were they something to be enthusiastic about. So far, this "Limitada" had me thinking "Yard-gar."

Fortunately, the flavor picked up a bit in the second third; I started getting hints of cinnamon and a nice nuttiness. Before the coffee I was drinking was overpowering anything in the cigar, but now the two seemed to be going quite well together. Body was definitely in the medium range. Early in the second third the burn started to go crooked, but it did not go too far and by the end of the segment it showed signs of evening out a bit.

The last third was mostly the same but that also make it mostly good. The cracks started causing leaf to flake off the head and the draw never did get to a point of being anything other than marginally good. I have to agree with Keith that this cigar simply does not rise to the level of the term "Limitada." While a perfectly decent smoke at a pretty good price, it was not particularly memorable, especially the first third. If they had chosen to make it a parejo shape, put it in a conventional box (instead of the fairly ridiculous "5" shaped Vegas-looking box) and called it something besides "Limitada" I think I would have had a more favorable opinion of it.

Body: 6/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 4/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 1/2

Flavor: 3.5/5

Value: .5/1

Total: 6.5/10

Agree, disagree, or have your own thoughts you would like to share on this cigar? Please leave a comment and speak your mind!