Cigar Extra/CRA Saturday: Camacho Limited Edition

Hard to believe it's Saturday again and time to bring you a short look at another of the cigars included in the Cigar Rights of America Sampler. It's a good thing I did not want to do a full review of this particular cigar, because I was not able to find out any background information about this Camacho Limited Edition ("CLE" on the band). I do not know from what countries the tobacco hails, where it was rolled, how long it was aged, or any of that other stuff I try to present with a full cigar review. The only thing I know is how heavenly it smelled when removed from the cellophane! The wrapper was dark and oily with a bit of tooth. The aroma of chocolate mingled with manure arose from the body, while I got barnyard and coffee notes from the foot.

Lighting this cigar was a challenge; whether it was due to the extra-oily wrapper or a very humid day, it was a struggle to get it going. Once I did, I got early flavors of earth and cocoa powder with some black pepper on the retrohale. Through the rest of the first third I got mostly earthy flavors...mostly dirt, to be honest. There was some cocoa in there but not a great deal; there was some spice if you really looked hard for it; but mostly there was just earth (dirt) and it was not appealing to me.

The second third was about the same, with maybe a building up of the spice. That did not last long, though, and I just did not dig the cigar much at all even as it burned through the final third. Judging from my own experiences, it would not surprise me if this was a Mexican wrapper as that is one leaf that I really am not a fan of; I could be way off with that, though. I do have to resign myself at this point to just not being much of a Camacho fan. I love their Connecticut (cheap at $7 or so), but have been unimpressed by the Triple Maduro, Scorpion, and Liberty 2009...and now this one. I am sure I will keep trying, but for the most part I will leave these sticks to the throngs of Camacho fans that are out there.

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

A Visit to the George Dickel Distillery

Cascade Hollow, Tullahoma, Tennessee

Last week, the Patrick A. from Stogie Guys reviewed George Dickel No. 12 Tennessee Whisky. After over a year of living in East Tennessee, I realized that I had not taken time out to visit the distillery even though I had passed the signs on Interstate 24 every time we drove to and from Nashville along that route (from where we live, taking I-24 or I-40 is about the same distance to Nashville, it just depends on where your destination is!). Since I was spending Friday night in Music City for the CAO Rock+Rolled event, I thought I might just make a stop on the way home to add another notch to my "Whiskey Trail" belt. 

After having been through 3 other distillery tours, I had some idea of what to expect, but could not be wholly prepared for the setting of the Dickel distillery. It is set in a beautiful hollow outside Tullahoma, not far away from Normandy Lake, formed by a TVA dam. Lush forests, green meadows, and farmlands lie along the path from the interstate to the backwoods.

As our tour guide, Lou, told the story, George Dickel was a German immigrant who arrived in Nashville with little more than the shirt on his back and a knowledge of how to make good beer. He parlayed that beer-making knowledge into distilling highly sought-after whiskeys that were sold to other for blends before taking his hard-earned fortune south and east to Cascade Hollow to perfect the art of whiskey-making. He found the right water in the limestone-filtered Cascade Springs. He discovered that the oils and fatty acids present in most whiskeys could be filtered out by running the whiskey through sugar-maple charcoal during the winter (a practice mimicked today by refrigerating the liquor before filtering it. And he learned that the flavor he worked so hard to craft could be better preserved by double-distilling the product, first in a column still--used by most American whiskey makers--then in a pot still--more commonly used in Scotch and brandy production.

There are only two "Tennessee Whiskeys" produced currently (there is a third rumored to be coming to market soon) and both are very similar to bourbon with one key addition: charcoal filtering. The other, more popular version filters their regular product through 10 feet of charcoal before barreling and aging, while they have a "Gentlemanly" version that doubles that amount of charcoal. For Dickel, all their whiskey is sent through 20 feet of charcoal.

Most barrel houses in the whiskey business are several stories high and it is a full-time job to rotate the barrels to ensure consistent exposure to heat and cold. Dickel keeps their barrel houses to one story with a concrete floor to create a convection-like effect that keeps the entire stock at the same temperature all the time.

Both Dickel and the other Tennessee Whiskey use the same mash bill: 84 percent corn, 8 percent malted barley, and 8 percent rye. George Dickel found a strain of yeast on the property that was a "kick butt" variety that could ferment the mash into beer in only 2 days (4 to 7 days is typical) and produce a much more flavorful product.

Dickel is very proud of the fact that they have fewer employees than their neighbor has tour guides. They do not advertise and still stick to copper plate-printing on high-quality labels for a very classic look and feel. For all intents and purposes, George Dickel is a "small-batch, craft" whiskey, but it sells for a bit less than most others in its class (I'm including bourbons in that class)--another fact over which they are rightly proud. Their whiskey is available in 8 year (No. 8), 10 year (No. 12), and 12 year bottlings (Barrel Select) and is smooth and flavorful...so much so that our tour guide declared even the ladies can drink it straight. It is so smooth that George Dickel himself declared that "because it was as smoother as the finest scotch, he would always spell the 'whiskey' in George Dickel Tennessee Whisky without an 'e," keeping with the Scotch whisky tradition."

It was an enjoyable visit to a place I am proud to have in my home state. Next time you are in Tennessee, do yourself a favor and take a little trip down I-24 to the George Dickel distillery. They call themselves "the best kept secret in Tennessee," but this is one secret I am happy to tell.

My thanks to Lou and the rest of the staff at Dickel who were very friendly to me. To plan your own visit, visit their website.

More pictures of my visit to the George Dickel distillery are posted on my Facebook page.

Cigar Review: Carlos Torano Noventa

La Esperanza (Toro), 6" x 52 ring gauge / approx. $9.50

In 2006, the Carlos Torano Cigar Company celebrated 90 years since Santiago Torano left Spain to move to Cuba. He eventually became one of the largest tobacco growers in that country before being forced to flee the Communist government in 1959. This cigar (Noventa is Spanish for "Ninety") commemorates the move to Cuba with a blend of 5-year-old tobaccos, all of which come from Nicaragua. The wrapper and binder are Habano-seed and the filler is a mix of leaf from 4 of the country's major growing areas: Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli, Jalapa and Condega. I received this cigar as a gift on a trip to CAO Headquarters in late April (at the time they were still distributors of the Torano cigar lines).

When I removed the cellophane, the wrapper leaf glistened with oils. The light brown Habano leaf had a little mottling and nothing in the way of large veins. The black, yellow, red and gold band looked very nice against the light color of the tobacco. I got a distinct manure smell off the body--moreso than with any non-Cuban stick I can remember. From the foot, I got wood notes as well as some more manure and just a hint of chocolate. I cracked the cap pretty badly clipping the cigar and this caused some problems later on (but nothing that I deducted points for...it was my fault). Prelight draw was easy and there were notes of semi-sweet chocolate and chili pepper spice.

Initial light-up rendered distinct cedar and ammonia notes; the ammonia dissipated about 2 minutes in. As the first third continued to burn the flavors I got were primarily cedar with some sweet tobacco and occasional notes of cocoa or chocolate. Right from the start this was showing itself to be a flavorful, medium-bodied cigar. On the retrohale, I got more cedar with the addition of a slightly peppery spice.

The second third started as a continuation of the cedar and an introduction of grassy notes. The burn line was fairly even, though not perfectly straight through the end of the second third. The draw remained very good.

The last third was mostly just a continuation of the second; but while it was not the most complex cigar, it did have a nice consistent flavor all the way to the end. The body was slightly over the mid-point and the nicotine strength was nothing most newbies could not handle. Overall, this was a nice smoke but not a spectacular one, putting it (for me) in the same general category as the Oliva Serie O or Perdomo Lot 23. At the right price, I would buy this one as a regular afternoon smoke. Unfortunately, the "going rate" is north of the $9 mark, which is a bit steep for the amount of flavor the Noventa delivers.

Body: 6/10

Strength:  6/10

Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight 2/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: .5/1

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!

Cigar Review: Esteban Carrerras 5150

Toro 6" x 50 ring gauge / $7.99

I found this cigar a few weeks ago at my local shop so I decided to pick one up to try. The 5150 by Esteban Carreras is a medium bodied smoke that is said to be part of their value line. The cigar is made up of Nicaraguan fillers and binders all wrapped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. I wasn't able to find much more information that that online. This cigar isn't even listed on Esteban Carreras' website. With my wife's nephews just going back to my in-laws right before I smoked this cigar I felt the name was appropriate. If you aren't aware 5150 is the code the police use to note someone being crazy. After having them over to our house I felt a little frazzled and a little crazy. This was my first experience with this cigar.

As I was looking over this cigar I noticed that the wrapper was of a medium light brown with a small amount of mottling. I also noticed a few gaps in the wrapper along some of the seams, where it looks like it wasn't pulled completely tight. There were some medium sized veins, thought nothing that really detracted from the cigar. As I squeezed the cigar I noticed that it was slightly squishy along with one soft spot near the head of the cigar. The band was fairly simple looking with a black background with the name of the cigar in gold The brand name wasn't mentioned anywhere on the band. There were however some pictures of their symbol, a lion, on the band. It took me a few minutes to remember the brand of the cigar. Maybe I should have written it on a label and stuck it to the cello. The wrapper gave off the scent of leather, and the foot nuts when smelled. The cap clipped off easily and the cold draw gave me a taste of nuts.

As soon as I lit it up I got a definite bitterness on the tongue and some spice on the retrohale. I was hoping that the bitterness would go away and luckily it did after a few puffs. The flavors of cocoa & nuts started to come through after the bitterness went away. After smoking it for a bit the sides of my tongue started to tingle with a slight bit of red pepper spiciness. The cigar had a great draw and produced a large volume of smoke. So much so I had to blow it away at times to be able to see to write notes about it. The burn was slightly wavy at first. The ash was almost a pure white and held on for about an inch. As I got to the end of the first third a leather and woody taste were added to the ones already there. The spice did tone down a bit.

As I started the second third the cigar hadn't changed much. I did get some creaminess that felt like it was coating my throat. The burn did even out and the draw stayed great. The cigar was definitely in the medium bodied range.

As I progressed into the final third the flavors hadn't changed at all. There was still cocoa, nuts, leather, & wood all mixed together. The spice did ramp up a bit on the tongue and in the retrohale.

This was a very enjoyable medium bodied cigar. It has the tastes I like without being harsh. I also really liked the draw and the amount of smoke the cigar produced. The one downside is the price. While $8 isn't that high there are a lot of other great cigars in this price range. I don't think I see myself buy a box of these, but I do see keeping a few on hand to enjoy some afternoon or give out to a someone looking for a medium bodied smoke.

Body: 6/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale

Pre-light: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: .5/1

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!

A Winner Has Been Picked!

Last week, the Tiki Bar ran a review of the Macanudo 1968 and offered a 5-pack of the cigars as a prize to a randomly chosen person who commented on the review. The winner is...

Coach Harrison

If this is you, please go to the "Contact" page (link under the logo at the top of the page) and send an e-mail to the address listed there with your shipping information and I will make sure to get your cigars sent right out!

Thanks to all those who left comments and for showing an interest in trying something new. We have a few more 5-packs giveaways coming up in the next few weeks as well as something else a little bigger in the works. Stay tuned!

Cigar Review: Tabacos Baez Serie H

Famoses, 5" x 50 ring gauge / approx $7

Don Pepin Garcia introduced the Tabacos Baez in 2008 as a tribute to his birthplace of Baez, Cuba. The original release was a medium-bodied smoke with a Connecticut wrapper. The next stick with the Tabacos Baez name was the Serie SF, for "Short Filler." At CigarFest we were given another new line...at least I hadn't seen it before...the Serie H, for "Habano." The filler and binder are reportedly Cuban-seed tobacco and it is a Nicaraguan puro.

The medium-brown wrapper of the Serie H shone with an oily sheen when I freed it from its cellophane prison. The color was very even and the veins were all small to medium. The aroma from the wrapper was a nice mix of barnyard and chocolate...don't ask me how that is a nice combination, just trust me that it is! The foot had a rich chocolate aroma. I have to admit that I still find the Tabacos Baez band design to look cheap and rather amateurish, although it does seem to have been revised and improved a bit since the initial release. My Palio cutter made a nice clean slice through the cap, leaving a very easy draw. Prelight I noticed a sweetness that had a little cocoa in it as well as some earthiness and spice.

Lighting up I got initial flavors of earth and a bitterness that was hard to describe exactly. There was not much sweetness in the smoke at this point to balance it out, though. As the first third progressed, some of that bitterness did abate and some natural tobacco sweetness crept in, balance the flavor profile quite nicely. The burn line was very even through this segment and the draw was great--it might have actually been a tad loose as the cigar seemed to smoke pretty quickly.

The second third continued along nicely with the balance improving; bitterness and sweetness coexisted pretty well with neither dominating. There was some pepper in the retrohale during the first third but it pretty well dissipated during the second, leaving a nice nuttiness and lots of cedar. Construction continued to be very good with the ash holding on for about an inch before needing to be tapped off.

There really was not much to report in the last third; it just did not change much. Overall, this was a very good medium-bodied, medium-priced smoke that did not give off any fireworks but neither did it make me want to put it out early. I probably would not buy man of these unless I could find them for an outstanding price simply because it did not do much to distinguish itself among the many others at this price point. It might be a good "step up" cigar for novices, though, as they try to move up from milder fare without risking a nicotine overload or depleting their checking accounts.

Body: 5/10

Strength: 4/10

Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: .5/1

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!

Book Recommendation: Midnight

Midnight by Dean Koontz (1989)

By the late 1980s, Dean Koontz was being pushed by his publisher as "the next Stephen King."* His books were always placed on the horror racks and--due to the same letter of the last name--they were never far from King's. Looking back, this was a bit of an injustice to Koontz as he never was primarily a horror author. It may have sold some extra books in those days, but I do wonder if a lot of horror fans read his books and found themselves profoundly disappointed. Yes, there were some true horror stories, but not really that many. Midnight is one of the best of Koontz's tales that can be put in that classification.

The story is of a small coastal town in California where a number of strange and inexplicable deaths are occurring. Several people have noticed and investigation into it has started. Midnight takes you on a strange and dark journey into what it means to be human and whether evolving to a higher state is really something that you might want to do. There is plenty of blood-and-guts savagery, as you would expect in a good horror novel, but plenty of heart, too, which you always want in a Dean Koontz story.

Some of the themes and situations presented here seem to be a prototype for what Koontz would do with the Christopher Snow novels about a decade later (Fear Nothing and Seize The Night), but while the Snow trilogy has sat incomplete for over 10 years now, Midnight is complete in and of itself. Good story, well presented--a true horror novel by an author who later overcame that genre label for good.

*This characterization of Koontz was "another Stephen King" was especially unfair since Koontz had been writing for a decade before King was on the scene and very little of his writing up until the 1980s could be considered horror in any way.

Cigar Extra: Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro

Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge / approx. $6

I tried the Corojo version of the Grand Cru several months ago and enjoyed it. I got this Maduro verion at CigarFest, either the main event or the Perdomo event the day before, so I thought I would do a short review on it. The wrapper was oily and dark with moderate veining--a good-looking stick, really. I got notes of sweet tobacco and hay on the body, barnyard and wet earth on the foot.

The cold draw had some semi-sweet chocolate and chili pepper. The head cracked when I cut it (and, no, it wasn't dry) so it ended up being a challenge to smoke without unraveling. Initial light up proved smooth and flavorful--plenty of chocolate along with pepper spice and a hint of black coffee. Before long that swapped around to mostly a smoky black coffee with some hints of sweetness and chocolate along with edges of the flavor.

The coffee bitterness got very strong in the second third as the sweetness that was balancing it seemed to completely disappear. The balance got better again in the final third and there was a little citrus tang as well. Overall I found this to be a good cigar, although I did not enjoy it as much as the Corojo. I will put it on my list of "to try again" cigars and maybe do full review of it at some point down the road.

CAO Rock+Rolled Tour

Friday, July 23, 2010

Nashville, Tennessee

It was easily one of the hottest days of the year in East Tennessee as I set off from my TN River Valley home on the drive to Nashville for the "home stop" of the CAO Rock+Rolled 2010 Tour. Unfortunately, it was also one of the hottest days in Middle Tennessee, so the only relief was to stay in your car with the air conditioner running full blast or hang out in the nicely cooled confines of UPtown's Smoke Shop, my favorite cigar shop in the Music City.

Local company rep, Jeff Tinnell, played host for the event with Jon Huber, CAO's Director of Lifestyle Marketing, the guest of honor. As Jon explained it, the R+R Tour started last year as a "fun lifestyle event" that was a new way to get people into the shops and trying out CAO cigars. The 2009 tour featured a special event-only R+R stick with a Brazilian Matafina wrapper and it has been carried over to this year's tour as well. New on the tour this year is a very special, extremely exclusive one-off stick that is an all new blend featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. When I say "extremely exclusive" you should believe it: Huber told me that there were a total of 60 of these cigars in the world. Not 60 boxes...60 cigars. Make that 40...the first box of 20 disappeared at tonight's event! If you are a Twitter following of @caocigars, you may have seen a tweet go out shortly before the event began that the first 5 people to come up to Jon and say "FTD" would get one of these sticks. I was either the first or second to do so and I got to light it up right then and there. Jon would not reveal the rest of the makeup of the cigar, saying, "Just smoke it and enjoy it."

At present there are very few R+R events listed on the company's website, but keep checking as events will continue to be posted as they are booked (sorry, California, but R+R does not appear to be in the card for you).

There were event-only specials running: buy a box of cigars and get a special R+R cup filled with 5 CAO cigars (2 of them being R+R 2009 blend), a Djeep R+R lighter and one of two baseball caps. Buy two boxes and you get two filled cups, two lighters, a cap and one of a selection of t-shirts. Buy more...well, more of the stuff...you get the picture! I bought a box of La Traviata Animados (my favorite CAO stick--these things never get old!) and got a "swag bag" of stuff.

I also asked Jon how I could get another 2010 R+R cigar and he said, "If you like it, just ask." Ask I did and I received...soon I will have a back-to-back review of the 2009 vs. 2010 R+R blends.

If R+R comes to your neck of the woods, do yourself and favor and get out to see Jon Huber and tell him the Tiki Bar sent you. Light up a nice CAO stick and get some Rest & Relaxation time while you're Rocking & Rolling!

On the Road Again...

By the time this posts I will have my travelin' shoes on again and be on the road up to Nashville. The primary reason is to attend and cover the CAO Rock + Rolled event at Uptowns Smoke Shop, but I realized yesterday that I could get a hat trick out of this trip...a triumvirate...the holy grail of intrepid reporters: one trip that turns into multiple stories!

The aforementioned feature on the Rock + Rolled event will, with any luck, post tomorrow morning. I also hope to get time to sit down with the president of the Nashville Cigar Club and talk a bit about the club; I am hoping to post that feature next Friday. When I read the Stogie Guys review on Dickel No. 12 Whisky yesterday, I realized that I might just have time to stop into the distillery for a tour on the way home from Nashville on Saturday. If that does happen, I will be posting a feature about the tour in about 2 weeks.

All that work...and it's all play-time, too! Nash-vegas, here I come!

Movie Recommendation: Sling Blade

Sling Blade (1996)

I recently caught this movie replaying on one of the myriad channels we get from DishNetwork and was surprised again at how good it was. Surprised because I had forgotten how genuinely captivating the story of Karl and Frank. Surprised because I can't remember any other time when Billy Bob Thornton was quite this good on film. It's been said that playing a mentally handicapped person can either make or break your acting career--and Thornton delivers this performance with complete believability and utter sincerity. It is another huge surprise that this film not only introduced the American film-viewing public to Billy Bob, but he wrote and directed the piece as well.

So much of the film has been turned into kitschy comedy, from Karl's "MMM-HMM" grunts to the "Mustard n Biscuits" line to "Funny queer, not funny ha-ha." And, yes, I've been guilty of throwing the odd Karl-ism out there, too. Put into context, though, the character of Karl is by turns sweet and innocent, then vengeful and all-seeing. He sees justice in his own way and when the film is done, it is hard to argue with his viewpoint.

If you have not watched this one recently, do yourself a favor and put it on. You'll laugh some and, if you have a heart, you'll be touched by the story. Great stuff. Just wish Billy Bob had stayed with this level of Oscar material instead of slumming in Armageddon.

Cigar Review: EP Carrillo Short Run

Delirios, 5.875" x 52 ring gauge / approx. $7
After the Edicion Inaugural 2009, Ernesto Perez Carrillo's new company was set to focus on their core product line, but something funny happened on the way to the cigar factory. A new blend, dubbed the "Short Run," ended up ready for production and sale first. According to company announcements, EP Carrillo may issue a Short Run stick annually, but it may not always be the same blend. This first Short Run uses Nicaraguan and Dominican filler, Nicaraguan Binder, and an Ecuadorian wrapper. Even though it is a limited run cigar, its price is just over one-half of the Inaugural and many have proclaimed it to have better flavor. I have previously smoked two or three of the Populares (smaller) vitola, but this was my first Delirios.


The first thing I noticed about the Short Run was the mottled, unevenly colored wrapper. It was darker near the seam of the leaf and the effect was not unlike a sort of barber pole with the color fading as it got further from that edge. Other than that it was a good-looking wrapper with a decent amount of oil for a cigar with no cellophane; it had a nice vein structure consisting of small and medium veins. The aroma from the body was hay and barnyard--light but not as light as most cigars that ship naked; from the foot I got stronger barnyard as well as some hints of cocoa and coffee. Prelight draw was excellent. I got hay and sweet tobacco notes as well as a nice spicy tingle on the lips.


Light up greeted me with a ton of flavor: cedar, hay, and sweet tobacco on the palate and a huge dose of pepper spice through the nose. If you haven't started retrohaling your cigars, I have two things to say: first, you are missing half the flavor of a cigar (perceived flavor has everything to do with your sense of smell) and, second, you absolutely do not want to start with this one. The cigar was interesting to me because it started off with flavors similar to a mild cigar, but they are much more pronounced and sharp while the body starts out in the high-medium level. AS the first third really got going, I got touches of sweeter spices, too--almost a cinnamon graham cracker--along with an interesting salty finish. Also impressive is the prodigious amount of smoke the Short Run continuously produced.


As the second third got started, I noticed that the smoke was busily coating my mouth with an oily film as if to ensure that I would not forget it until long after I finished. With a lesser cigar, this would be unfortunate, but the Short Run continued to dazzle in the flavor department. I got plenty of black pepper on the nose still, with the addition of chili pepper spice on the lips and tongue. The graham cracker had morphed into more of a sweet breadiness and there were still some cedar and grassy notes in there, too.


As the last third got underway the sweetness and spiciness had both ebbed quite a bit. What was left was a wonderfully smooth and creamy natural tobacco flavor--the kind that makes you remember why you started smoking cigars in the first place. The Short Run is simply the best cigar from the mind of Ernesto Perez Carrillo that I have ever smoked. It has a complex, interesting flavor profile in a medium-to-almost-full-bodied stick and just enough kick to let you know it's there. It narrowly missed scoring a perfect "10" on my scale because of it's less-than-perfect-appearing wrapper, but if I could award an extra half-point for flavor, in this case I would. I enjoyed this vitola at least as much as the Populares and will continue to buy as many as I can afford until they have disappeared from store shelves. In my opinion this cigar easily surpasses the Edicion Inaugural in terms of flavor...and it costs almost 50 percent less! It will be especially interesting to see what they do with the "core" brand!


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


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

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