Cigar Review: Los Imperialistas

Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge / $6.50, Leaf & Ale
I spotted this strangely named cigar with a pseudo-seal of the United States on it and had to pick it up. When I spotted the tiny type that reads "Handmade cigars by Tabacalera Garcia" I was surprised...isn't that the old name of Pepin's company? Sure enough, what we have here is a rarely-seen cigar blended and rolled by the Garcias, originally in their Miami factory, but now alongside 601s, San Cristobals, and Tatuajes in Nicaragua...when it's actually in production anyway. According to Leaf & Ale's website, Jesse Wills of Atlanta originally commissioned Pepin to make these cigars back in 2003. Mike told me that they are available sporadically at a handful of shops in the Southeast. The only other real information I could find was from a review by Brian Hewitt of Stogie Review a couple years ago...this is apparently a Nicaraguan Puro. I smoked two of these for this review.

The color of Los Imperialistas was a milk chocolate with very little mottling and small to medium-sized veins. It looked and felt just slightly oily and everything I could see gave the impression of a first rate construction job. Sniffing the wrapper leaf, I got an aroma of cedar along with natural tobacco and a bit of sweet hay. On the foot, I detected a rich chocolate mixed with earth. I used my Xikar VX to get a very clean v-cut on this robusto; the prelight draw was excellent and was very strong with cocoa and hay.

It took some time and a lot of butane to get this cigar lit fully and evenly. Once I did, though, I tasted a strong cocoa powder component as well as plenty of cedar. On the retrohale, I got a strongly spicy kick in the nose...an early example of what we have come to expect at the beginning of many a Pepin creation. A nice sweetness developed after a few puffs, turning the more bitter cocoa taste into a chocolatey note. Overall, this was nicely balanced right from the beginning. Cedar soon overtook the other flavors to become the dominant one, but there was still enough sweetness to balance the goings on.

Construction was excellent as the second third got rolling; I saw a very even burn line, with ash that held on for up to an inch, and the draw was nearly perfect. During this segment, the cigar did "cream out" a bit, but not in a bad way...I started getting much more of a creamy coffee note with cedar and earthiness playing a more supporting role.

During the final third construction got a bit wonky; I had to make several touchups starting in the second third and by the last segment, I was noticing that parts of the wrapper just did not want to stay lit and combusting equally. Not the biggest deal in the world, but it did cause me to have to adopt a more babysitting mode for the cigar than I like. Flavors of earth and maple were in evidence, and a nice low-level spice burn was building up on my tongue. Overall, I really enjoyed Los Imperialistas; I found it to be medium to full in body with a moderate amount of nicotine strength and a very nice flavor profile. I think this would be accessible to most smokers, even novices, as it does not overwhelm in any way. It was a very satisfying mid-afternoon smoke and it has a very attractive price tag, even if it is hard to find.

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

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

We'd love to hear what you think of this cigar...leave us a comment below!

 

ENTUBAR CRV TO DEBUT AT IPCPR 2011

I know it's not "Breaking News" if you've been obsessively following cigar new release news, but we just got this in so I thought I'd post it. Basically, the cigar with a warning label--and a fuse--has a new sibling with a Connecticut wrapper, specifically a "U.S." Connecticut wrapper. I have enjoyed the original ENTUBAR and absolutely love the QUAD Maduro version (that my local shop still hasn't decided to keep in stock), so I look forward to trying this new version. From the description, it sounds like it should fit in well to the "New Breed" of Connecticut-wrapped sticks that has hit the market in the last couple years.

MIAMI - Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars today announced the official debut of ENTUBAR CRV will take place next month at the 79th Annual IPCPR Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

ENTUBAR CRV (Connecticut River Valley) is a medium-full flavored, super-premium extension of the sensational ENTUBAR cigar brand.  Blended with flavorful, deeply aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos ensconced in a U.S. Connecticut #1 Grade Shade-Grown wrapper, ENTUBAR CRV is delicately packaged in rustic Spanish cedar boxes of 20 cigars and available in five (5) distinct vitolas: Corona Macho (4 5/8" x 48); Robusto (5 3/8" x 54); Double Corona (7 5/8" x 54); Torpedo (6 7/8" x 56) and Gran Toro (6 5/8" x 54).

"ENTUBAR CRV is a natural step in the evolution of the ENTUBAR brand, using a top grade, shade-grown U.S. Connecticut River Valley wrapper," said Michael Argenti, president of Berger & Argenti.  "The blend exhibits a wonderful dichotomy of flavor - rich, bold and complex yet very smooth and creamy."

ENTUBAR CRV is the latest ENTUBAR brand extension to pay tribute to the time-honored Cuban cigar making technique known as 'entubado' while also establishing a revolutionary new process of manufacturing premium cigars. Each deeply aged Nicaraguan filler leaf that comprises all ENTUBAR cigars are carefully rolled creating delicate 'scrolls' of rich, flavorful tobacco.  This age-old method ensures open chambers of air flow from the foot to the head of the cigar.  The ligero tobacco, which lends the cigar its unique full body, are bunched independently and then placed into the center of the remaining 'entubado' rolled filler blend.  This 'channel' of ligero tobacco ranges the full length of the cigar and extends 3/8" beyond the finished trimmed foot, creating a startlingly unique 'fuse like' appearance that assures a superior draw, flawless conical burn with a long white ash, and a myriad of complex flavors channeled directly onto the palate.

Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars is a privately-held company headquartered in Miami, Florida with agricultural and production facilities in Esteli, Nicaragua.  The company serves as the exclusive manufacturer, importer and distributor of world-class, super-premium cigar brands including ENTUBAR, ENTUBAR QUAD MADURO, CLASICO and MOOCH(r).  For more information, please call toll-free (800) 815-1155 or visit the Berger & Argenti website at www.bergerargenti.com.

Cigar Extra: Zino Z-Class 550R

Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge /Approx. $9

I was looking through my humidor this week trying to decide on what to review and I remembered that I still hadn't reviewed the latest Zino. I knew Dave had already reviewed it, you can read Dave's complete review of this cigar here, so I decided to give you all my take on the cigar. I smoked a different size than Dave did. I was able to smoke 3 of these for this review.

Taking this cigar out of the wrapper you notice the dark chestnut colored wrapper with a slight amount of darker mottling. It seems to me to be darker than I'm used to seeing on Zinos. The wrapper had some oils to it with a few medium, but mostly smaller veins. To me the band stands out nicely and has a classy look with the silver on black coloring. When squeezed the cigar is fairly firm with no soft spots. Putting my nose to it I get notes of barnyard from the wrapper with raisins and leather from the foot. After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I get the taste of maple candy with a good draw.

As soon as I lit the cigar up I get a lot of spice on the tongue with a wasabi spice on the retrohale. After taking a few puffs I get the tastes of chocolate and leather with a slight creaminess on the finish. The draw started off great and it produced a large volume of smoke. About a half an inch in the spice toned down a bit with some meaty flavors starting to come through as well. The ash held on for about three quarters of an inch before needing to be tapped off. The burn was slightly wavy but at this point didn't require any touch-ups.


The second third didn't see much change in the flavor or the spice, although towards the end of the second third I got a coppery taste. The draw continued to be great.

The final third saw this cigar finish off strong. The burn evened itself out and the draw continued to be perfect. The spice came back, although not as strong as the first third. The flavors were mainly of earth, leather, and bitter chocolate with a slight creaminess on the finish. The coppery taste went away by the time I started the final third.

Overall this was a great cigar! I did smoke at least one of each of the other sizes before I smoke this one for review, and can easily say the 550R is my favorite size in this blend. I would recommend it to anyone, although I'd caution those not used to full bodied & flavors cigars as this packs some power.


Have a different opinion on this cigar? We'd love to hear it! Leave a comment below...

Cigar Review: 601 La Bomba (prerelease)

5.5" x 46 ring gauge / Price TBA

Early this year, word emerged of a new cigar in the works from the minds of Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega...otherwise known as EO Cigars. This cigar would be a powerful bomb of a smoke and would carry the moniker "La Bomba." Really? With the way most of us gringos pronounce that, people will expect it to be accompanied by a Ritchie Valens song. The addition of the extra-long pigtail fuse isn't helping matters...funny, yes...but it struck me as a little gimmicky, too. The cigar was originally supposed to drop around the beginning of May, but were apparently delayed. That was about the time I received this pre-release sample in the mail, though (along with just about everyone else on Twitter, I imagine). Currently I'm hearing late June release, which will put this review at just the right time. What else can I tell you? Nothing really...exact blend has not been revealed and neither has pricing, but if these are any thing like other 601 cigars, they will be made by My Father Cigars and be reasonably priced. I have mixed feelings about yet another "powerhouse" cigar hitting the market. On the one hand, don't we have enough cigars that sacrifice flavor for strength and some pseudo-manly challenge: "Are you man enough to smoke this?" On the other hand, I have a hard time believing that My Father Cigars would produce a stick that truly leaves flavor by the wayside to accomplish some ultra-strong, potentially vomit-inducing cigar. All the preceding is really just my own rambling editorial commentary...and I tried to put all these preconceived notions aside to give this stogie a fair chance.

I have to say this cigar looks superb...perfect roll, perfect triple cap, even the fuse that I made fun of is well-attached. The wrapper is oily with mostly small veins and just a little bit of tooth. I'm going to guess Ecuadorian Habano just from the looks of this, but I could be wrong. I got a whiff of leather as well as earth and hay on the wrapper...a more pungent earthiness along with chocolate on the foot. If I had to guess the filler based on general aroma (this is not a good practice) and history of the makers, I'd say probably Nicaraguan. I used my Xikar MTX to remove the tail and a small section of cap, leaving a very good draw. I noted flavors of earth and leather, mostly, on the cold draw, although there was a bit of sweetness and some hay as well.

The cigar lit well and evenly, giving immediate leather and cedar notes, along with a strongly peppery retrohale. So far nothing I have experienced has done anything to dissuade me from believing this is a product of My Father. The body was quite full right from the beginning, although there did seem to be a good amount of flavor as well. La Bomba got somewhat harsh in the middle of the first third, which didn't surprise me much as the cigar is billed as full-force, but it mellowed a bit after I slowed down my smoking pace. I noticed that the body seemed to mellow a bit too, down to the bottom of the full range. I continued to get lots of cedar flavor along with an earthy base and a sweet chocolatey finish. The retrohale was still spicy by the time the first third was done, but not painfully so.

During the second third, La Bomba got a bit smoother still, almost taking on a creamy texture, although the body and strength of the cigar was always in full evidence as well. I got more earth and chocolate on the palate as the cedar faded into practically nothingness. On the retrohale, I got a sweet roasted nut note with practically no spice at all.

The final third was more leathery again, with some sweetness still as the body ramped up into the full-full region again and the nicotine strength really started to show itself. In all, this was more flavorful than many of the full-strength cigars out there, but since I don't smoke "full-force" cigars all that often, it will likely only get make its way to humidor occasionally. It requires a strong constitution and a full stomach and is not something I could recommend to any but the most experienced smokers. The construction was immaculate, requiring no touchups and providing a great draw and plenty of smoke the entire time. If I had to compare it to something, I'd probably say the Cain Habano, but with more flavor and more strength.

Body: 9/10
Strength: 10/10
Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

Have you tried this one yet? What did you think? Please leave a comment below...

Maldonado Dynasty: New Brand & Contest

One of the newest brands in the cigar industry is The Maldonado Dynasty. They contacted us to help direct traffic to their first promotional effort for their first blend, The Mogul.

The Cigar

According to the company's website, The Mogul is a blend of Arapiraca, Peruvian, Dominican and Columbian tobaccos that has a medium-to-full body and elegant flavor profile. 

For further information, check out these reviews:

CASAS FUMANDO, Daniel Temos

TAMPA BAY CIGAR EXAMINER, Tom Ufer

The Contest

Every month for the rest of this year and into next, a winner will be selected and awarded a box of The Mogul. For full details on eligibility and how to enter, click HERE.

Note: The Mogul Campaign contest is being run completely by The Maldonado Dynasty. No prizes are being awarded by the Tiki Bar Online.

Studio Tobac Event, June 25, 2011

Burns Tobacconist, East - Chattanooga, TN

It was a long time in coming to get one of these events back in this location. Soon after the NUb first debuted, that tour brought the NUb Mini Cooper to Burns for an event...and soon after that there was a falling out...a misunderstanding, perhaps...NUb was banished from the store for a long time. If you're in Chattanooga and want all the details, talk to Burns manager, Matt Allen...and maybe he'll tell you...or maybe not. The bottom line, though, is that the frosty relations between Burns and Oliva's innovative arm, Studio Tobac, have thawed, bringing the 2011 World Tour to our doorstep.

We packed into Burns on Saturday, June 25, to buy Cains and NUbs, get our hands on the Limited Edition event sampler, and see Bryan Scholle roll some one-of-a-kind cigars. Bryan has been driving the custom Studio Tobac Corvette around the eastern part of the country for the past several weeks and will be taking it all the way to the west coast and back again before the trip is over in November. They estimate that before they are through, the Corvette will have around 35,000 miles on it, although there's no telling what speeds the car might achieve in getting there. I asked Bryan about the issue of driving fast with a trailer (yes, a Corvette with a trailer hitch...very redneck...and a custom trailer) and he pointed out that the trailer tires are Z-rated.

A sudden downpour caused Bryan to run outside to put the top up on the convertible and made it feel like an outdoor sauna to those who were not enjoying the air conditioning inside. Bryan handed me a special event-only blend that he does (I'll decline to state the name of said blend here since it got another cigar blog listed as "erotica"...let's just say "Hee-Haw") and told me that it might be problematic to smoke it because the tobacco had swollen so much as the humidity went through the roof. This blend is 100% Ligero...not the wimpy 83% contained in the Cain, mind you, but ALL Ligero. Throwing caution to the wind, I went ahead and lit up this fat-bottomed stogie (I had just finished a Cain F, by the way). I had trouble getting it lit...I had trouble keeping it lit. The leaf was so wet that it was difficult to get the full effect, but I will say it was a very good cigar that not many people should ever attempt to smoke. Take everything you know about strong cigars and throw it out the window. While not the most complex cigar in the world, this stick was quite tasty and undeniably had a kick like a mule. Thank you to Bryan for making a few of these for some of us in attendance.

If the Studio Tobac event comes to your neighborhood this summer or fall, make a point to get out and enjoy it. Box purchases get a goodie bag including a hat or t-shirt, cool travel ashtray and a few other things...but the main event is the Limited Edition Sampler, featuring 6 cigars that you can't get anywhere else at this point. A few of these might see the light of day as regular or limited production sticks at some point...or they might not. The stick I'm looking forward to most is the Cain F Lancero, which is scheduled as a limited edition release later this year.

I posted more pictures from the event on my Facebook page.

Cigar Extra: CAO Escaparate Criollo Maduro / 615

Torpedo, 6" x 54 ring gauge / available at UPtowns in Nashville
Not much was told about many of the Escaparate blends when CAO released them. Many were--and still are--shrouded in mystery, but a bit can be told about this 615...it is almost definitely nothing more or less than a CAO Criollo with a Maduro wrapper. Once part of the growing Escaparate program, just a few of these are left at UPtowns Smoke Shop in Nashville, the city that formerly was home to CAO. The 615 moniker was a tribute to the city's area code. I received a few of these from a friend of a friends...one of these people used to work in the industry...actually both still do, but...well, I'm just not going to say more.

The 615 was dark and rugged in appearance and felt a little rough and gritty to the touch...but with a little oil under the pads of my fingers, too. I got leather and autumn spice aromas when I sniffed the wrapper, and a faint earthiness on the foot. It was the hot, humid beginning of another Southern summer when I took this one outside, so I accompanied the cigar today with a special iced tea made with a higher end Black Tea I got from World Market Cost Plus. The cold draw of my 615 was slightly tight, but I got flavors of earth and an almost berry-like sweetness...nice!

After lighting, I got slightly sour notes amid an assortment of dried fruit, wood, and earthy flavors. The draw was tighter than I like and I'll admit that this is not my favorite CAO Escaparate blend, but it was nice this day...not too heavy or full-bodied, which would be a drag on such a warm day. The iced tea was marvelous; sold as a Chinese breakfast tea, it really hits the spot, delivering a wonderful "tea" flavor with a decent strength even after being diluted in bottled water. Really, it goes well with practically any cigar for those times you want a cold, non-alcoholic beverage.

This review ended up being the start of an experiment of sorts, too, to see if I could change the way I write reviews. For almost 3 years, I've been writing reviews long-hand, then transcribing them onto my computer into blogger's "Posting" page. To cut down on the time it takes to do that, I am trying to use my iPad (seen in the accompanying picture) to type in the reviews as I smoke, then just copy and paste from a text file. So far, so good...the one drawback is that many times I've taken the "typing up" time as an opportunity to edit...this method makes that more difficult.

My Draw Poker--probably the best purchase I ever made from Thompson-- successfully opened the 615 making for a very pleasant cigar on a hot afternoon. As it progressed I got flavors of cedar and hickory, earth and citrus, grilled meat and rich natural tobacco. Not bad at all. Get these while you can...actually, horde them if you like them!

Have a different opinion on this cigar? We'd love to hear it! Leave a comment below...

Cigar Review: Tatuaje Maravillas

5.625" x 46 ring gauge / Price not available
I'll let you in on a secret: while some cigar review sites scramble to figure out each week what they are going to review, I tend to plan out my reviews weeks ahead of time. It's just the way I am: a planner. Most of the time, I am only a week or two ahead of the game in actually reviewing the cigars (before the review is published), but during the winter I try to get as much as a full month ahead so if the weather turns extraordinarily bad or I get sick, I have some wiggle room. So when I looked at my review calendar last week and saw that I had nothing at all for the month of July and few prospects at my normal shop since they had practically stopped ordering anything in anticipating of the IPCPR show and the flood of product expected to hit the shelves after that. So I took a trip to Knoxville. First stop once we hit town was Leaf and Ale, owned by Mike Nelson--you can find him on Twitter as @LeafandAle. I found a few gems at Leaf and Ale and they will make it into the review rotation next month, but then Mike said, "I have a cigar in my private stash that you've probably never had before‚ why don't I give you one of those for review?" And so we have the Tatuaje Maravillas, one of Pete Johnson's very first limited edition cigars, released in 2006. Instead of trying to re-word what has already been said very well, the following is from Leaf and Ale's website:

The Maravilla (which means "miracle" or "wonder" depending on the colloquial Spanish) is a Punch Punch-sized cigar at 5 5/8" x 46. The wrapper on this Cigar is Veso with a rosado oscuro color, dark oily, and flawless, with the wrapper covering the foot of the cigar, similar to Tatuaje's "Gran Cojonu". The aged Veso wrapper brings a pleasant spicy tingling sensation to the lips. These cigars are "Wet Packed" which means after rolling they are sorted by color and aged for 1-2 weeks then packed into foil bundles of 25 for the rest of the fermentation process. Which gives this cigar a unique Tatuaje Flavor unlike any other blend they make. Total production was just 1,700 cigars. This cigar debuted in April 2006 and was sold out by June 2006.

From the Tatuaje website, I learned that the Maravilla was a Nicaraguan puro using a Corojo '99 wrapper leaf. Thank you very much to Mike at Leaf and Ale for this "Holy Grail" cigar and the opportunity to present it on the Tiki Bar. Please give Mike a follow if you're on Twitter or a "Like" if you're on Facebook.

From an appearance standpoint, the Maravillas was amazing. Considering that this is a sans-cello cigar that was released 5 years ago and it has no signs of wear, I ultimately have to give kudos to Mike for taking care of it so well; I know it wouldn't have lasted 6 months in my humidor in this condition without being bagged. The wrapper leaf was slightly lighter than a milk chocolate brown with mostly small veins and a careful fold-over on the foot. The stick has oils to the eye and the touch. From the body I got faint, but detectable scents of hay, leather, and earth, as well as a sweet, almost syrupy, smell. The foot was no different in this instance because the wrapper was folded over it. My Xikar VX cut a v-shape without flaw and the draw was just slightly over a medium effort...which is just about perfect. I got prelight flavor notes of earth mostly, but there was an interesting floral notes and a burning tingle on the lips.

Light up took a little longer than most cigars of this ring gauge because of the fold-over, but once lit, the Maravillas delivered a thick, rich smoke that was earthy and nutty, with undertones of cocoa powder and coffee. The retrohale had notes of roasted nuts and a powerful spiciness that to me was almost wasabi-like. The body was on the low end of full right from the start. If this cigar has mellowed since it was released 5 years ago, you would be right to be afraid of it when it came out! As the first third progressed, though, the body and strength did seem to mellow out a bit. The spice in the retrohale became more low-level and on the palate, I got a rich natural tobacco flavor with a maple sweetness.

By the time the second third was burning, I noticed that my mouth was watering from the blend of tobacco used in this cigar. I got the typical Nicaraguan earthiness and that rich natural tobacco still, but more sweet chocolate flavor, too, and a cayenne pepper spice at the back of the mouth. Construction was excellent...perfect draw and nearly perfect burn line. No need to touch it up at all so far and ash that held on strongly to an inch or so.

A couple small touch ups were required before the last third started, but as I believe I heard Pete Johnson say once, "I don't want my cigars to burn like cigarettes." The bottom line is that the touch ups were minor and nothing out of the ordinary. As the last third started, I noticed some nicotine strength. As I eluded to before, apparently five years of age has not taken all the intensity out of the Maravillas. Despite the strength and still-full body, though, this continued to be an elegant, well-balanced cigar. No one flavor note dominated at any time; instead they harmonized together to create a flavor symphony. Should the Maravillas blend be resurrected and re-issued at some point? Only if it can still be this spectacular. Should you seek out samples of this cigar? Absolutely, but good luck with that. When Mike gave me this he said he had exactly one left in his own personal stash. I honestly can't see many people having much more than that left over, and it's doubtful you'll be able to get them to relinquish any. If you can get your hands on the, though, be prepared for what is surely one of the best Tatuajes to ever hit the market.

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

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

Note: because the current price is unknown, I just assumed an original retail of about $12 and based the Value score on that. I would gladly pay about $20-25 on these if I could find them. So, yes, it did rank a "Perfect 10," and will show up in my year-end collection of "10s," but will not be eligible for "Cigar of the Year" status since it was released 5 years ago and has not be available widely since that time.

Another Year Past...

I was surprised the other day when I looked at the "Previous Postings" sidebar and saw that the very first post on The Tiki Bar Online (v2.0...v1.0 was pretty bad, let's not talk about that) was June 22, 2008. Where does the time go? I won't spend much time ruminating and naval gazing about the past...just enough to say that this site has undergone a massive change since starting up: we started as a way for my old herf group (The Tiki Bar) to keep in touch after I moved from California, where most of them are still based. I ended up being the only writer for a year and a half, so it ended up being a catch-all place to talk about cigars and all the things that crossed my mind. Then Keith came on board in early 2010 and in the past year and a half, we've moved slowly to what amounts to an "all-cigar" format: cigar reviews, libation reviews, cigar  and libation pairings, cigar events, etc. And that's all I have to say about that.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be featuring many more cigar reviews...including some brand new sticks that aren't in wide circulation yet.

This is a good time to remind everyone again about the upcoming Chattanooga Tweet-Up, co-sponsored by Stogie Review and taking place at Burns Tobacconist. Click on the logo the right side of any page of this blog to find out more information than you really want to know.

I'm also finalizing plans to make my annual trip to Southern California again which means another "Tiki Bar Reunion Herf." And this year there will probably be more people than ever.

 

There are a couple new regular features in the works (still in the thought process, really) and we hope to be able to bring more coverage of events than we have in the past, as well.

Thank you to our faithful readers...the fact that so many people choose to check out this site every day is still a surprising and humbling thing.

Cigar Review: Chaveta Toro

Toro, 6" x 50 ring gauge / approx. $6.00

Chaveta cigars are a fairly new exclusive cigar to Tower Cigars in Sacramento, CA. Mark Just was kind enough to send me a sampler of several different sizes of this cigar. I decided to smoke the toro for review. I did smoke the other sizes before smoking this one for review. This cigar is comprised of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, with a Dominican binder all wrapped in a Brazilian Bahia Maduro wrapper. It comes in 6 different sizes: a 6.5"x52 torpedo, a 5"x52 robusto, a 6"x60 Double Magnum 60, a 5 5/8"x46 corona gorda, a 7"x48 Churchill and the subject of this review a 6"x50 toro.

The first thing you notice about this cigar once you pull it out of the cellophane is the extremely oily, dark chocolate brown wrapper. If you rub your fingers together after touching it you can still feel the oils on your fingers. There are some medium veins and some tooth to the wrapper. I think that the band looks very good on this cigar. The gold border helps it stand out from the wrapper leaf. The construction on this cigar is fairly firm when given a squeeze and I wasn't able to detect any soft spots. Putting my nose to the wrapper I detected the aroma of barnyard with the same thing coming from the foot. After clipping the cigar and taking a cold draw on it I get tastes of cocoa powder with a good draw.

As soon as I lit the cigar up I was rewarded with a fairly intense taste of chocolate on the tongue with a good amount of spice on the retrohale. After taking a couple more puffs on it I was able to detect leather, earth with a slight amount of anise. The draw was pretty much perfect and it produced a large volume of smoke, even when I wasn't puffing on it. The ash was a battleship grey in color with a stacked looked to it on the outside, while on the inside it was bright white. The ash held on for about an inch before needing to be tapped off. As I came to the end of the first third the spice had toned down a bit.

The second third started where the first third left off. The flavors were of chocolate, earth, leather, and anise with a slight sweetness on the finish. The spice had almost gone away but you could still get some of it in the background. The draw continued to be great, but the burn started to get a little uneven as I finished up the second third.

The final third was more of the same in the taste department, chocolate, leather, earth and anise. That doesn't mean that I wasn't enjoying it, I definitely was! The burn did even itself out with only about an inch left. The spice also came back at the end of the cigar.

I'd like to thank Mark again for giving me the samples to try for this review. Overall this was a very enjoyable cigar. I can recommend it to most any smoker out there. It has enough body and strength for those who prefer stronger cigars, and shouldn't be too strong for the lighter bodied smoker out there. I will definitely be picking more of these up once I can get some room in my humidors.

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

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

Have you had this cigar? How does your experience compare to mine? Leave a comment below...

Cigar Review: Camacho Corojo

Toro, 6" x 50 ring gauge / approx. $6.50
Camacho proudly states that they have the world's "only truly authentic Corojo wrapper, binder, and filler." While I am surprised at the fact that this is a Honduran Corojo puro, the whole issue of whether they are the only authentic Corojo is something that I am sure can (and has) be debated. All of the tobacco used in this Corojo blend is grown in the Jamastran Valley of Honduras and it really is the cigar that put Camacho on the map. For all that pedigree and fame, though, I have never had one...at least as far as I can remember. I mentioned that to the previous Camacho rep a while back and he handed me one. I can't say why it took me this long to get to this cigar, but it has been resting in my humidor for at least 7 months at this point.

The Camacho Corojo has a medium brown hue with the smallest hint of red. The leaf was both dry and semi-oily to the touch...just don't ask me how. I couldn't see any real flaws in the wrapper, although it was a bit mottled and stretched in places. On the body, I got an aroma of leather and earth along with a classic humidor aroma of well-aged tobacco. On the foot I detected more chocolatey notes, although with some earthy manure notes mixed in. I carefully trimmed away the cap with my Xikar MTX scissors and was rewarded with a nice, easy draw that had flavors of cedar and natural tobacco, along with undertones of autumn spice and just a touch of pepper spice. In private company lately, I've been saying that Honduran cigars just don't do much for me (giving examples of a couple primarily-Honduran brands), but after the cold draw, I'm wondering if this will be the Honduran cigar that changes my mind. Only one way to find out.

I put flame to foot using a single-jet torch and the Corojo lit quickly and easily. I immediately got notes of cedar and toast on the palate, along with a quickly fading maple note; on the retrohale, I got more cedar and a small dose of black pepper. As the first third continued, what I noticed was how refined and undiluted the flavor of the Corojo tobacco was...not surprising really, since it is a Corojo puro. Where I've noted the Corojo-ness of a cigar before as having a distinctive flavor, this is even more so. There was plenty of cedar, to be sure, but also a bit of autumn spice and a growing pepper spice burn at the back of the throat. It might be obvious to say it tasted like tobacco, but it did...a very good, high quality tobacco note came through all the other under and overtones. So far, this was more interesting than I thought it would be.

An interesting note in the second third was the behavior of the smoke...it was heavy, thick and slow to move away from my head. The construction of this Camacho was great so far...fantastic draw and a very straight burn line that had required no touch ups and produced a thin, even carbon ring. As time went on, the peppery burn slowly built in my throat and I got more natural tobacco flavors than cedar or anything else. I found myself starting to wish that my local shop carried these so I could have a more readily accessible supply. Yes, I know I can buy them online, but I try my hardest to support brick and mortars, so that cuts off online sales in my book (except for those cigars that are only available online).

In the last third, the pepper spice took on an almost wasabi note as it continued to build and almost overwhelm my taste buds. The other dominant flavor continued to be the rich natural tobacco and there was still an underlying cedar aspect. To be honest, I wish someone had told me years ago, "You really have to try this one!" This cigar has been around for about a decade and it is still a standout cigar...although no one raves about it, at least not in my experience. The Camacho Corojo was simply a very, very good cigar that delivers a powerful flavor punch for a Honduran puro. While it was regarded as full bodied when it hit the market, in today's standards, it is only medium to full, and it does not pack a strong dose of nicotine. For that reason, I can recommend it to any cigar smoker except for those very new to the hobby or those who just prefer very mild smokes. If you are like me and never tried this one, stop what you doing and go buy one...I think you'll end up wanting more.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

What do you think? Should my friends have recommended this long ago? Leave a comment below...

Beer: Samuel Adams Double Bock

approx. $10 / 4-pack

I first remember drinking Sam Adams Double Bock about 15 years ago when an acquaintance said, "This is the best beer out there." Indeed I remember it as quite tasty and producer of an easy buzz with its high alcohol content. It's also hard to find...you are not likely to spot it at a grocery store, and it seems to take just the right liquor store to carry it as well. According to the Sam Adams website...

One cannot help but appreciate Samuel Adams® Double Bock's huge malt character.  We use an enormous amount of malt, half a pound per bottle, to brew this intensely rich lager.  Its deep brown-ruby color is all made in the kettle, no black malt is used, resulting in a rich sweetness that is free of the rough taste of burnt malt.  All that remains is the velvet smooth flavor and mouth feel of the two-row malt. Samuel Adams Double Bock's intense malt character is balanced with a subtle piney, citrus hop note from the Noble hops.

The bock style originated in the northern city of Einbeck and is known for its rich sweet malt taste, low hop bitterness and higher alcohol.  Doppelbocks (or double bock) originated in Bavaria as an extra strong bock brewed by the monks of St. Francis of Paula.  Traditionally monks brewed strong, high gravity bock beers full of nutrients, to provide sustenance during fasting.  These beers thus became closely associated with the holidays from Christmas, to Lent and Easter.

Samuel Adams Double Bock as with all of the beer in the Samuel Adams Imperial Series, is brewed using only the first wort (wort that has not been sparged in the lauter tun) to obtain a liquid that is very high in gravity.  This high gravity allows for a fuller body and higher alcohol content in the final beer.  We age this beer for over 4 weeks to allow all of those intense flavors to develop and mature.

Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale malts, and Caramel 60 are used to obtain that gorgeous mahogany color and intense flavor.  The malt character is balanced with a subtle piney, citrus hop note from the Tettnang Tettnanger and Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops. 

Enough with the copy-and-paste...Double Bock has a 9.5% Alcohol by Volume so you should consume carefully if you need to drive afterwards. It's also worth noting that the packaging seems to have been changed recently. The beer I bought featured the bottle shown above, but the company's website shows the bottle artwork to the left. I think it's reasonable to assume you might find either depending on when your local shop last received a shipment.

I noticed the beer poured with a thin head and a rich, dark color that had shades of red when the sun hit it. A foot away from the glass, I could detect a maple sweetness that only got stronger when I held the glass up to my nose. The beer was thick and syrupy to sip, with a distinctive maple syrup sweetness. Years ago I tried the Triple Bock (20% or so ABV) and found it way too maple-y for my tastes; this beer strikes a much better balance between hoppy bitterness and malty sweetness.

For the "review bottle of beer" I lit up a Guillermo Leon Signature Corona Gorda to pair with it--a medium-bodied, mildly sweet cigar that is still my favorite cigar. The Double Bock turned out to be a very nice pairing as the cigar had just enough body to not be completely drowned out by the beer. I also noticed that this is a fairly full-bodied beer--while it won't make you feel like you've eaten a big meal like a Guinness will, it will come close. To my palate, it seems like it would be a good pairing with any cigar that you might normally pair with a good sipping rum.

 

Cigar Extra: San Lotano Habano

Toro, 6" x 52 ring gauge / approx. $7

A.J. Fernandez released his first B&M-only cigar line--San Lotano--late last year. I've published reviews of the Connecticut and Maduro versions and Keith reviewed the Habano, which seems to be the most popular wrapper choice--I have to admit, though, after smoking a couple I just didn't see what the big deal was. I decided to give one more chance. This cigar was a dark-medium brown and was quite oily. The wrapper had a nice leathery smell, while I got earth and cocoa on the foot.

The cold draw was excellent; it featured a rich mix of leathery and earthy flavors. After lighting there was a nice natural tobacco taste along with a lot of cedar and a peppery retrohale. The rest of the first third was a nice mix of cedar and leather with a strong natural tobacco base. Construction was great, with the ash holding on for about an inch and a half before I tapped it so my iPad wouldn't be covered in ash.

The rest of the San Lotano Habano was very good--a mix of earth and cedar mostly--and a nice way to pass a late Spring Saturday afternoon. I did enjoy this cigar and would smoke it again...but I still don't see in it what some others do. Maybe I just need to try a different vitola, but at this point, I still think A.J.'s best stuff is in the Man O War line.

Thanks to Clay from A.J. Fernandez Cigars for providing samples for what eventually turned out to be this mini-review. You can follow Clay on Twitter: @AJFcigars.

Cigar Review: El Perrito by La Gloria Cubana

5.5" x 38 ring gauge / $2.50 MSRP
So the story goes that a couple supervisors from the El Credito factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, came to Michael Giannini and Yuri Guillen with a concept cigar. They took two filler leaves (Nicaraguan and Dominican), bound it with a Connecticut Broadleaf and employed an Ecuadorian Habano for the wrapper, shaping the entire cigar by hand with no molds. The result is a rustic "cheroot" for lack of a better name. It's not very attractive so they named it "El Perrito" which translates to "little dog." The creators described the taste experience as "a battle of flavors in the mouth" so they gave it the tagline "War of Flavors." And it was made in the El Credito factory, so they put that on the band‚ and that seems to throw everybody off a bit since the name of the cigar is not "El Credito." Thank you to Victoria from General who sent out samples of this cigar for review; this review stick is my fifth El Perrito. Since this is not a normal sized cigar, I didn't see the point in breaking it up into third, so I thought I would approach the review process a little differently...since this is a cheroot, the same general category of cigar smoked by Clint Eastwood in a few famous westerns, I give you...

THE GOOD
El Perrito is cheap. Usually you only see a suggested retail price of $2.50 on something like a bundle cigar, closeout, or catalog special. They usually aren't that good, either. This cigar lasts anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes and actually has a nice flavor profile with a decent nicotine hit.

Because of the small ring gauge, this cheroot lights quickly and easily and the flavors it delivers immediately are better than you would expect just by looking at it...don't always judge a book by it's cover. The flavor profile is earthy and sweet, with lots of natural tobacco, a bit of cocoa and coffee and a nice pepperiness on the retrohale. There does seem to be something distinctively "La Gloria Cubana" about it, too...an underlying note that is similar to what you might get in the Artesanos de Tabaqueros or Obeliscos. If you like other recent LGC products, I think you would like this, too.

THE BAD
Of the four I smoked previous to this review sample, two of them got a nasty tar buildup on the tip...and so did the one I smoked for this review, unfortunately. The head is supposed to remain uncut and is meant to be open for immediately puffing. The first one I randomly selected had a tight draw and I had to cut it. It then tarred up so I had to cut it again‚ then it started to unravel. The next two sticks were fine without any cutting. The fourth, I did not have a draw issue, but I did get tar buildup before the halfway mark, so I had to cut it again‚ and it did threaten to unravel, but not as badly as the first since I didn't cut as much off. Bottom line is that these tend to be hit and miss for overall construction quality.

THE UGLY
Like most cheroots, this cigar will not win any awards for attractiveness. All the samples I saw were lumpy, bumpy and crooked. Some had huge veins. Some had cracks or patches on the wrapper. Overall, it's just an ugly, rough, rustic cigar‚ with a band that doesn't even display the name, causing people who are smoking it to be confused about what they are smoking, not to mention the confusion for those who might see someone else smoking it.

CONCLUSIONS
This is definitely worthy of adding to my humidor on a regular basis. While not my absolute favorite short smoke, it is something I enjoy quite a bit and the price is fantastic...so good, in fact, that you probably wouldn't even mind giving these out to friends...and you wouldn't have to feel embarrassed about giving them a sub-par cigar. Because of the wide variance in construction quality I gave only half the total available points. It is a very ugly little cigar, but they acknowledge that fact in the name and were even shooting for the ultra-rustic look to some degree, so I only deducted half a point on appearance...part of that was just the fact that the band is confusing. An 8 out of 10 doesn't sound like a great score, but the important thing to notice is that Flavor gets nearly full points and to me that is the most important category and the best indication as to whether or not I would purchase again.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10

Have your say...if you have an opinion on this cigar or "short smokes" in general, leave a comment below...

Cigar Review: Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB

Short belicoso 4.25" x 54 ring gauge / $9.36 (MSRP)

This is one of the more recent Viaje limited releases. None of my regular shops carry Viaje so I was lucky enough that Dave sent me this one to try. Since he didn't exactly care for it when he first smoked one, I decided to let it rest for a bit in my humidor and then see what I thought of it. This is a cigar is comprised of all Nicaraguan fillers and binder all wrapped in a Nicaraguan sun-grown wrapper. This was the only sample I was able to smoke.

The first thing that struck me about the cigar is how small it is. It seems smaller than the four and a quarter inches that it is. The band seems to take up half of the cigar. The wrapper is a nice dark chocolate brown with a hint of a reddish tint to it. There doesn't seem to be a lot of oils to the wrapper, but it isn't dry at all. The roll seemed to be nice and even and there were only slight veins. When I gave the cigar a squeeze there was a slight amount of give and one slight soft spot above the top band. Putting my nose to the wrapper I'm able to detect the aroma of barnyard, with the same coming from the foot. After I clipped the cigar with my MTX and took a cold draw on it I was able to get a slight taste of chocolate.

As soon as I lit the cigar up I was rewarded with a lot of spice. After taking a few more puffs on it I got notes of chocolate, leather, earth and a slight sweetness on the finish. The draw was perfect and it produced a lot of smoke. It also had a lot of resting smoke, the amount which I've only seen before on a DE Liga. The burn was slightly uneven at this point. At the end of the first third I also got notes of cedar and cinnamon. I would call it medium-full bodied/strength at this point. I was quite enjoying the cigar at this point.

The second third saw the spice tone down a bit. I was still getting a slight tingle on the tip of my tongue, but there wasn't as much on the retrohale. The flavors settled down into cocoa powder with a creamy finish. The draw continued to be great and it produced lots of smoke. The burn did canoe and I did need to even it out with a lighter. At this point I would call it medium bodied/strength.

The final third was very similar to the second third except the spice did come back a bit. The main flavors were of chocolate and earth, with some grilled meat and cinnamon mixed in.

I thought this cigar was pretty good. I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it at least stayed like it was at the first third, instead of getting less complex as it progressed. While I wouldn't search this cigar out, good luck finding one, I do think I'd pick up one or so if I saw them for sale.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: .5/1

Total: 8/10

Have you had the MOAB yet? Tell us what you thought...leave a comment below!

Cigar Review: Zino Z-Class

643C (Corona), 5.625" x 43 ring gauge / approx. $8

The Z-Class is the first new line in the Zino Platinum catalog in 8 years, joining the Crown and Scepter Series. The official press release for the Z calls the cigar "new and modern" (which is fine, makes sense) and "inspired by motion" (I have yet to figure out what that means). It features a Dominican wrapper leaf, Peruvian Pelo de Oro Visus binder and filler from Nicaragua and Honduras (Jalapa Especial Ligero, Esteli Ligero, Cuban Seed Ligero and San Vicente Ligero...that's a lot of ligero, especially for a Zino!). There are 4 sizes, ranging in price from $8 to 12 MSRP, all packed in modern tins of 20. Here's where I stop and tell you that I've tried some of the other Zino Platinum releases and never found them particularly mind-blowing; they start at $15 or so and go north of $30 and I've just never found them all that flavorful...elegant and well-made for sure, but just not palate-pleasing to me. So I was a bit dubious about these when I heard about them. Then I got a sampler of all four sizes in the mail...a very big "Thank you!" to Mike from Buckhead Cigars (follow him on Twitter: @buckheadcigar) for sending me these for a review. I smoked one each of the Robusto and Toro before I lit up the Corona for this review.

My initial impression of the Z-Class was "It's dark for a Zino." The wrapper is not that dark, but a nice milk chocolate shade is still darker than you typically expect in a Zino product. The band in black with silver highlights looked spectacular next to it. On the wrapper leaf, I detected that familiar Dvaidoff aroma--a forest, sort of fungus-y scent that is practically like a fingerprint; the foot had a clean earth aroma with a little chocolate to it. The look and feel of the cigar was oily and the outward construction looked as good as you would expect from a manufacturer of this pedigree. The prelight draw was perfect and had flavor notes of natural tobacco along with an almost black cherry sweetness and a lingering spicy burn on the lips.

After lighting, the sweetness was still fruitlike but less distinguishable. I also got notes of creamy coffee on the tongue with a roasted nuts and pepper spice retrohale. Right from the start the smoke was thick and medium-to-full in body. By the time the first third was over the flavor had developed a more earthy base with sweet highlights and a peppery finish.

The second third had the earthy flavors morphing into a more cedary flavor with hints of citrus--I suspect coming from that Peruvian binder. Although the draw continued to be very good, I did start to get some tarry build-up on the head and I had to correct the burn line 3 or 4 times by the end of this third. I did not experience either of those issues with the Robusto or Toro. I re-trimmed the head in an attempt to prevent further tar extrusion.

All three samples I smoked of the Z-Class exhibited a full range of flavors I have not previously experienced in a Zino product. The last third of this one had a rich natural tobacco goodness along with notes of cedar and spice. The only thing preventing this from achieving a perfect 10 was the fact that it had some construction issues, but that could be variable from stick to stick. In my experience, though, you really cannot go wrong with any vitola--I'm even having trouble picking out my favorite. Extraordinary cigar, made even moreso by the fact that it is by far the least expensive item in the Zino Platinum catalog. I cannot  recommend it for novice smokers because of the amount of body and nicotine strength, but it is definitely a cigar that enthusiasts should seek out and try.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 9.5/10

Have you had the Z-Class yet? Tell us what you thought...leave a comment below!

Spirit Review: (ri)1

approx. $30/750ml bottle

I first heard of (ri)1 a few years ago at the Big Smoke when Jack Bettridge mentioned it in the Sunday morning spirit tasting. I had been a fan of Bourbon for a long time and had recently tried a couple of Kentucky Rye Whiskeys for variety. I never got around to trying this one, though, most likely because the price was far higher than most of what I had been buying...close to $50. So I was surprised to find it for about $30 in a shop in Nashville earlier this year. (ri)1 positions itself as "the definition of ultra-premium rye whiskey, and the measure by which all others should be judged." A lofty goal, indeed. The bottle is tall and thin, sure to stand out on the shelves of the liquor store...and to not fit in your own liquor cabinet unless it is quite unusual in shape. The color of the encapsulated liquid was a dark amber rivaling the darkest of Bourbons.

Sniffing at the opened bottle, I got a fairly sweet, grainy aroma with a little maple. After pouring I noticed a stronger vanilla aroma and no hint of the maple from before. I swirled it around the glass and noticed thin, fast-moving legs; this looked to be a fairly normal whiskey with a lot of viscosity. I took a sip and was greeting by a numbing sensation on the tip of the tongue that worked it way simultaneously back down my throat and outward to my lips. This is a 92 proof beverage but it felt like a higher alcohol content. On subsequent sips, I could taste the grainier nature of the rye whiskey, as well as the spicy bit that rye whiskeys are known for. Although it doesn't have the spice level that some ryes do, for me it came on mostly strongly during the finish.

I decided to pair my new whiskey acquisition with a spicy, powerful smoke from Drew Estate, the Liga Privada T-52. This proved to be a very nice matchup, although not one you should ever attempt on anything but a full stomach. Both whiskey and cigar were quite strong, but played well together. Since then, I have tried the (ri)1 with other cigars and found it to go best with cigars in the medium-to-full or fuller range of body as most others would not stand up well to it. If you are a fan of Bourbon or rye whiskeys--and can find this for an acceptable price--this is a superior whiskey. I'm still not sure it's worth $50 a bottle, but if you can get it for less than $40, I think you will be very pleased.

Agree, disagree or just have something to add? Please leave a comment below...

Herf Preparedness Week - A Few Last Things...

Don't Be THAT Guy

In our mind-wracking, soul-searching collection of tips for "those about to herf," we came up with a few items that took a little less time to explain and all kind of fell under the rubric of how to avoid being THAT Guy. You know who he is...every herfing group has at least one and almost everyone has been him at some point or other. The problem is not in being him every now and then, but in living his lifestyle all the time...

Don't Always Dominate the Conversation

No matter what the topic, THAT Guy always knows something about it and seems to be an expert. He's had a job in the field or had a friend that did...or read a book about it at one point...and can expound on the intricacies of politics, swamp logging, or nuclear fusion at the drop of a hat...and often does. When others have moved on to different subjects, he keeps trying to steer it back to what has caught his fancy that night. He is apt to corner cigar reps during events...when you catch their eye and see the panicked look, be a pal, and divert THAT Guy's attention while the rep slips away. If there are 6 people around a table, THAT Guy will inevitably fill 30 to 40 minutes of every hour with his voice while the other 5 get around 5 minutes each.

Don't Always Show Up With An Empty Lighter

Yeah, I know...lighters run out of fluid. It's a fact of life and sometimes you just don't notice it getting low before you head out to a herf. If every time you show up, though, you try to spark up your lighter and it fails...let's just say that "Can I borrow your lighter? Mine's out of fuel" starts to become inappropriate. Butane does not cost that much...not even the Triple-Refined stuff. I bought a large can of Xikar propane last April before CigarFest and have yet to empty it (getting close, I think). The can was about $12 and has lasted me over a year...and I smoke between 1 and 5 cigars a day depending on the day.

Don't Always Show Up With Nothing to Smoke

I know, we kind of tackled this earlier in the week, but it bears repeating and clarification: if you know you are going to a herf, there's really no reason to show up without cigars. The obvious exception to this is if you've talked to the host and they say, "Don't bring cigars, I'll provide them," but let's face facts, that doesn't happen often. Don't be a sponge, a mooch or a weasel...bring your own cigars to a herf.

Do you have other tips "For Those About to Herf?" Salute them by sharing your tips in the comments section below...

 

Chattanooga Tweet-Up 2011 - UPDATE

It's been over a month since we initially announced the Chattanooga Tweet Up and although there has been very little news since then, we have been hard at work behind the scenes hitting up cigar companies for event specials, researching accommodations, and lining up a few special guests.

First, I'd like to direct your attention to THIS PAGE (also accessible from the Tweet Up Logo you'll see on the right side of every page here on the Tiki Bar) where you'll be able to find an updated listing of all things Tweet Up and hopefully have all your questions answered before you even ask. If we have forgotten to answer something, though, please let us know...our e-mail address is on the "Contact" page of this blog.

Second, we can now let you know that Mr. Jon Huber will be making the trip from Nashville to be a part of this event in Chattanooga. If you've been living under a rock for the past 6 months, you'll know that Jon and several partners are working to create a new cigar brand called Crowned Heads. This will be a great opportunity to meet and get to talk with Jon.

More information will be announced as we have it...we have another special guest in the works and are waiting for confirmation that he'll make it...Stay Tuned!

Herf Preparedness Week - Don't Cause a Stink

FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A PURPOSE (TURN, TURN, TURN)...

I firmly believe that flavored cigars have their time and place. If you are a newer smoker, you can definitely be excused for reaching for an Acid, Java or even CAO Flavours. If you don't smoke very often, I would say the same. Actually, from what I've seen, motorcycle bikers have a free pass to smoke flavored cigars, too...I wouldn't want to come between a group of Hell's Angels and their Blondies. I am nearing my 10th anniversary of my first cigar and I still reach for a flavored stogie from time to time: mostly when I am hanging out with other people that just don't like "real" cigar smoke, though...my wife, my parents, my wife's parents...you get the picture. I can smoke a cigar that does have some "real tobacco" flavor (sometimes well hidden) and they don't have to be totally uncomfortable. To be honest, my favorite and best suggestion for these times ends up not being a flavored cigar at all, but Drew Estate's Natural line, made with a blend of wild and exotic tobaccos that ends up emitting an aroma that most people have trouble vigorously disagreeing with.

When you have been invited to a herf at someone's house, especially if it's your first time, don't break out the Juicy Lucy as your first cigar of the night. Put simply, a lot of today's cigar enthusiasts simply don't like the smell of flavored or infused cigars and it can end up marring the experience they are having with their own non-flavored cigar. Think about it...how often have you had someone smoke a totally different "regular" cigar next to you while you're smoking yours and the smoke, although a different aroma, doesn't detract from what you are getting? But if someone lights up a Cherry Bomb across the room, suddenly your cigar has a vaguely fruity finish.

Proper etiquette then: when you're at a herf, before lighting up a flavored (or infused) smoke, ask if anyone minds. Maybe several people will want to do the same...who knows? At the very least, save the flavored cigar until the end of the herf. By that time, your own palate has been shot if you've smoked more than 3 or 4 cigars so a lot of cigars would simply be wasted; plus, others most likely won't object nearly as much to the smell and flavors drifting around since they will be smoking their cheaper, blander sticks by then, too. 

Cigar Review: Esteban Carreras 187

Toro, 6" x 50 ring gauge / $6.05, Burns

Way back last August, Keith took a look at the 187, one of Esteban Carreras' newer smokes at the time. Although he did not rate it all that highly, I decided to give it a chance to impress me in this "second opinion" review. This is a Nicaraguan puro with a maduro wrapper and a single footband, ala some other popular value-priced cigar you may have seen around from time to time. California Penal Code section 187 refers to "unlawful killing of a human being...with malice aforethought," otherwise known as murder. The question before the jury today then is this: Is the Esteban Carreras 187 a killer cigar?

First order of business: does this cigar have sort of an "edgy" look? Yes, the footband is fairly well recognized as having been popularized by that other cigar I spoke of, but at this point, maybe that comparison should just be shelved for discussion--after all, aren't all cigars that have traditional band placement copying someone, too? The gold band is fairly simple, with black type and a bit of embossing; it goes well against the dark chocolate brown of the wrapper leaf. That leaf was a bit oily and more than a bit mottled--and in the right light I could see just a bit of plume on it. The aroma from the body was earthy and leathery; on the foot I got chocolate and an undertone of manure. Feeling along the cigar, it seemed pretty well packed and the prelight draw was tighter than I would have liked. The flavors prelight were earthy with a little sweetness and a touch of pepper spice.

Despite the snug draw, the 187 was anything but unsmokeable--it lit up readily with a single-flame torch and provided a very nice amount of smoke. At the beginning, I got earthiness and a fairly sweet chocolate note on the palate; through the nose I got more cocoa notes and a ton of pepper spice. The spiciness wore off fairly quickly, leaving a more bready retrohale--a flavor I also got on the finish. Other than that it was earthy and sweet still, with touches of cocoa powder and coffee.

The second third seemed to have more of a vegetal flavor--very toned down from the first third and a bit bitter at times. Construction proved to be very good; although the draw continued to be tighter than is my preference, it was still workable and the burn line was very straight. The ash held on for an inch or more at a time.

The final third was fairly consistent with what I had experienced in the first two thirds: earthiness mixed with some bitter vegetal notes. All in all, not bad...for the price. It was verging on being full in body and strength, but never really got all the way there. It had an interesting mix of flavors even if I did not care for all of them. In the end, I have to say I would smoke the 187 again...I would even buy them with my own money on occasion...but I can't say I would kill for one. Newer smokers should probably steer clear of this selection even though it has a learner-friendly price tag; there is just too much body and strength here. For more experienced smokers, if you find this particular flavor profile to your liking, it is a great bargain. Note: I smoked at least one of these a couple months before this review as well as the review cigar; the experience seemed pretty consistent.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1/1

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 3.5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8/10

What did you think? Some people would walk a mile for a Camel...would you kill for a 187? Leave a comment below...

Herf Preparedness Week - Sharing Is Caring

Yes, "Sharing is Caring" is a trite, simpleton statement, but here it fits...folks, we are brothers (and sisters...once again, let's not be sexist), and what better way to show you care for your brothers than to show your willingness to share with them.

WHAT I AM NOT SAYING

I do not mean that every time you come to a herf you bring extra cigars or a bottle of whiskey to pass around. While some people may be able to actually afford doing so, most of us simply cannot and no one would expect you to. Plus, if you do that all the time, it might look as if you are trying to buy the admiration of your fellow cigar enthusiasts. You don't have to try that hard...just be yourself.

WHAT I AM SAYING

For years I hosted one or two herfs per month at my house. Reliably there were some people who would bring a different Bourbon to share or bring a cigar for me (or someone else in the group) and say, "You have to try this." Just as reliably, there were a few others who rarely brought anything other than themselves and the cigars they planned on smoking. This really had nothing to do with financial status as a couple of those with the lowest incomes actually brought stuff from time-to-time...even if they were cheap cigars, the gesture was appreciated.

So here is the bottom line: make an effort. If it's Christmas (or some other holiday if you don't celebrate Christmas), try to do something special. If someone's birthday is on the calendar, make sure you buy that person one of their favorite cigars (or one that is really good that they should try if you have a reasonable knowledge of their tastes). But don't feel like you have to wait for an occasion, either...next time you go to a herf, bring the host a bottle of something he has not been able to find...make sure you have a couple extra of some (reasonably priced) favorite cigar so you can give them out when you start bragging on them. Little things have an impact...people remember your kindness and generosity in far greater proportion than it actually costs you out of your pocket.

Disclaimer: if you are really down on your luck, the above doesn't really apply to you. If you've recently lost your job, your wife, your dog, etc. no one really expects you to show up to a herf bearing gifts...the reality is you are more likely to be the recipient of gifts at that point. For example, when one of our friends showed up with nothing but Black & Milds because it's all he could afford ("But it's okay, I really like them!"), he was given cigars by at least 3 of us...he ended up taking 1 or 2 home that night for future consumption.

It's good to remember that we're all brothers and some of the best advice is to follow the Biblical admonition of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Digger

8.5" x 60 ring gauge / approx. $9.99, Maxamar's

First off I'd like to thank Andrew (@LFDAndrew) over at LFD for providing me with the three samples I smoked for this review. This cigar was created at the request of a man from a Virginia cigar shop, aptly named Digger. He told Litto that he really liked the DL-700 but would like one about two inches longer. So Litto created this cigar and decided to come out with it for regular production. This cigar is comprised of the same Dominican fillers and binders and wrapped in the same Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper as the DL-700.

First off this cigar is HUGE! It almost looks like it could be used as a baton. The wrapper was a dark, almost black, brown with a good amount of red to it. The was some mottling to the color as well. There were medium veins and a good amount of oil to the wrapper. When I gave the cigar a squeeze I got the right amount of give without any soft spots. Putting my nose to the wrapper I was able to get notes of barnyard, with leather and raisins from the foot. After I clipped it and took a cold draw I got tastes of chocolate and red pepper spice with a good draw.

As soon as I lit the cigar up I was hit with a really intense spice, especially on the retrohale. After taking a few puffs on it I was able to taste chocolate with a slight amount of sweetness on the finish. The draw was great and it produced a lot of smoke. As I progressed into the first third I got the tastes of maple and earth. The burn was slightly uneven, probably due to the tunnel that developed. The light grey ash needed to be tapped off after about an inch. Surprisingly at this point I would classify the cigar as the upper end of medium in body and strength.

The second third didn't see much change in the cigar, except in one area. The flavors of chocolate, leather, earth and maple were consistent. The great draw and slightly uneven burn continued as before. However the body and strength of this cigar definitely were very full. I was starting to be able to feel the effects of nicotine.

By the final third of the cigar the burn had evened itself out and the flavors were still immensely enjoyable. The nicotine hit however continued to build. My father in law came over to visit my wife as I was finishing up this cigar and I didn't feel all that steady when I got up t0 greet him. This was definitely a full strength cigar.

I can say I did thoroughly enjoy this cigar, well maybe except for the slight spin it gave me. I will definitely be picking more of these cigars up, but it probably wouldn't be an every day cigar. I can highly recommend this cigar to anyone who likes full body and strength cigars. I would suggest a full meal beforehand though. I don't think I could in good conscience recommend it to someone who prefers lighter strength cigars, as throwing up is never fun.

Body: 9/10

Strength: 10/10

Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4.5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 9/10

Have you tried this cigar? If so what are your thoughts? Let me know by leaving a comment below...