Lighter maintinence

Hey all! Cigar Advisor published an article on how to properly purge and refill a lighter. Here is the link:

 Cigar Advisor

For a long time I would just purge before I put the butane in, and not every time I might add. I would only do it when the lighter would act up. Wish I would have seen this article about two weeks ago as I had a problem with my NEBO lighter which I have also had for about 6 years, like the author of the article. Unfortunately I became frustrated with the lighter and chocked it up to a possible leak as it didn't seem to hold butane or light. So in my frustration I tossed it in the trash! After reading the article I am thinking that it had just reached a point that there was to much air in the tank mixing with the butane. Bummer!

Well the good news is that I haven't taken the trash to the local dump yet. The bad news is do I want to go through the twelve or so bags of garbage in the freezing cold to take a chance that my hunch is right?  I mean I got a great deal on the lighter and only paid about $7 plus shipping. So is my time worth the loss of about $10 for 6 years of use? But it was really shiny chrome and had a really neat lighting mechanism that flipped out towards you with a double torch! Mmmmmmmmmmm?????

Well...............Maybe I should put on some warm clothes.....................................

Till next post..............................Peace!

Stulac Review coming!

Hey all! Just a heads up to let you know another Stulac cigar review is coming this week. This week we will be reviewing the White Blinding Light. Yeah I know it's hardly a new cigar and has already been reviewed by many before me, but it's new to us and will now  be done Cigar Moose style! So stay tuned and in a couple days you can see a review From the Cigar Moose Crew!

Till next post.........................Peace!

Cuban Rejects Review

Hey all! Sorry for the big delay in reviews. I have been having trouble with my old 5 year old laptop and decided it was time to put it to rest. So now we here at Cigar Moose have a brand new laptop with Windows 8 installed. Wow! What a difference! But there is quite a learning curve moving up from Windows Vista to Windows 8! Also Mr. and Mrs. Cigar Moose have had busy schedules with kids in sports and trying to get everything together for the oldest Moose kid to get ready for college! Times like these is what makes Mr. Cigar Moose really enjoy the fruits of cigars!

We have all seen these cigars in the catalogs, online, or at our local shop. At first glance I didn't think much of them, as might you have,  thinking they were another cheap knock off. Boy was I fooled!

Cuban Rejects.

With a little research on the net, I found out Cuban rejects are considered seconds or "Segundos". They are made by new rollers in training and don't always look good. But they can be surprising as you will see. I have yet to have a bad tasting one. Made by Tobacco General these cigars have very confusing info as to their make-up. One site says they are Dominican, while Tobacco General claims them to be made with Nicaraguan Tobacco. Another site claims the make-up is a Nicaraguan sandwich blend , but they all agree that these are all hand-made and not by machine. The wrappers it comes in are a natural fino and maduro. Another point I'd like to point out is that the company has a hard time keeping up with demand for this cigar, so it can't be that bad.

I have looked at and bypassed these cigars many times. So why now? Why this time? Well, like all of us at some time or another, I was in my local cigar store looking at the racks of cigars one day and noticed that my pockets were quite light that day, get my drift? But I wanted a cigar for that afternoon, something I didn't have in my humidor, Something different. So I spotted the Cuban Rejects on the shelf, price was right (cheap!), and they didn't look all that bad. I chose the Torpedo in Maduro wrapper.

When I got home, I sat down on the back deck to do this review. After all, thats what this blog is supposed to be about, good affordable cigars for the average Joe.

For a cigar that is supposed to be a second and rolled by a new roller, it had a seamless wrap with few small veins to the dark oily wrapper. I must say they are using really good aged maduro wrapper. You can see a slight oily sheen to it.  

The body Smells sweet of hay and raisins, the foot smells of chocolate. The prelight draw is fairly easy, not perfect, and tastes of sweet tobaccos.

Upon light I get nice nutty aftertaste. There is a slight sting to the back of the throat and through the nose, but it is pleasant. A few minute in I notice the burn is slightly uneven. This might be due to my lighting technique. I torch the center of the cigar and move to the outside edges. I recently read of a new technique that makes more sense. All you need to torch is the outside edge of the foot. The air flows fastest at the center of the foot, therefore it will draw the burn from the edge to the center allowing a more even burn. I have not yet tried it, but will keep you posted after a few attempts in the future.

About an inch in, I am getting more pepper through the nose. The cigar is progressing to more medium in taste. Getting a medium volume of smoke which has a salty aroma to it like being near the ocean. By the 1/3 mark I am getting rich tobacco tastes with brown sugar and chocolate. I am really surprised by the complexity of flavors.

Sorry for the lack of more pictures, I got so caught up in the flavors I forgot to take more!

The cigar produces a nice cone with a whitish grey ash. Burn is still uneven.

A little under the 2/3 mark, the strength started to pick up. Alot more spice coming through the nose and on the palate with nice chocolate aftertastes. I am getting a nice buzz! Towards the end the wrapper started to lift a little but nothing to fret about to much.

Buzz Rating on this one I give an 8 out of 10. A nice buzz that builds up perfectly as the smoke progresses.

Overall I give this cigar a 4 out of 5. This cigar really surprised me. It was very eventful in tastes and in building strength. For a cheap cigar I think this one is a winner everyone should have in their humidor.

You can buy these beauties online at various vendors for around $60-65 for a box of 50. But at places like my local tobacconist I have seen these cigars in 10 packs for around $20. You can get Cuban Rejects in Churchill, robusto, toro, and torpedo sizes all within a few dollars of each other. you can puchase online 10 packs of Torpedos like I reviewed for $15 plus shipping from PrimeWholesale.com (http://www.primewholesale.com/cuban-rejects-torpedo-maduro-cigars-4657-prd1.htm) or TobaccoGeneral.com (http://www.tobaccogeneral.com/cuban-rejects-torpedo-maduro-cigars-4797-prd1.htm)

Like it?: Absolutely! Nice buzz and quite the flavor profile!

Buy it again?: I will definitely buy a box to put in my humidor!

Recommend it?: Absolutely! This is the classic cigar that I have been preaching about. It's affordable, it has decent construction, it has a good flavor profile and strength, and did I mention affordable.? Do yourself a favor, buy a 10 pack and try them. I bet you will buy a box!

Cold weather is upon us and we are forced to either give up our hobby for the Winter or move into makeshift Man Caves (garages, porches and sheds) with paltry heating to enjoy our smokes. Unless you are lucky enough to have a spot in your heated house or cellar. I personally am working on a Wood shop/Man Cave but have yet to even put electricity in it (sigh) maybe this Spring.........................

Till next post........................................................Peace!

Update to the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun

Hey all! Look back at the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Cigar review, as I have updated it with Meatloafs take on it. So take a second look if you haven't done so already. And if you haven't seen it at all, What are you waiting for?!?!?!? Take a look and if you like what you see, tell all your friends, forward the blog.

Till next post.................Peace!

Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Cigar Review

Hey all! Back again with a highly anticipated review! We couldn't wait to get our hands on these new cigars from Paul Stulac!

His Creed is "Regalo De Dios" which is Spanish for "Gift of God".

The Red Screaming Sun line was debuted at the 2012 IPCPR show last August. Although the cigar is for anyone, packaging and advertising is geared to appeal to the military and biker crowd.

First off I would like to say this cigar is a thing of beauty! At a Toro size of 6x56, it has a nice and chunky feel in the hand, it feels solid. The band  it sports, I am told by Paul, is a prototype band and a final official band will be ready soon. The cigar is tightly wrapped in a toothy, slightly veiny wrapper.

This cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf  Wrapper, with a Sumatra binder, and Nicaraguan filler.

You can see the oily sheen glisten off this cigar because of the obvious well aged wrapper.

The body smells of sweet spice and the foot of sweet tobaccos and chocolate. It's a real nice aroma. Meatloaf says he thinks the body has a spicy aroma like an infused cigar and the foot reminds him of pipe tobacco. 

Like I said before, the body is firm. Meatloaf remarks that in his experience with larger ring gauges like this, they aren't as firm. You would think that a cigar this solid feel would have a very restricted draw from densely pack tobacco, but after clipping the generous cap, we were very pleased to get an effortless draw, which tastes slightly sweet to the air flowing through it. 

I like to take the band off right away, and it comes off with little effort and no damage to the cigar. That's a plus for me , as I can't tell you how many times I have had a good cigar, only to have a ruined wrapper from an over-glued band. 

Oh I forgot to mention that Turk has Joined me on this initial preview of this cigar. Due to conflicting schedules, I have added notes from Meatloaf and I, from a review of this cigar, about a week later. I have, as you can see, Color coded their responses.

Upon light we are greeted with spice and nuts. Not an overpowering spice, but a definite and very prominent presence. Right off the get go, nice volumes of smoke are being produced with every draw. Nice billowy dense creamy smoke, just the way I like it.

Turk comments that this cigar is a nice medium bodied cigar and not a gut-buster. I have to agree. So far this cigar seems very well balanced in spice. It's not over the top, just the right amount. 

Meatloaf has pointed out something I missed on my initial review.  Like the Opus X Lost City Cigar, this cigar gives a dryness to the mouth like a dry wine. Not as much as the Opus X but very present.  He also notes, that 1/2 inch in he is getting sweet nut tastes.

It's at this point we notice the comfortable buzz starting to creep up on us. Surprisingly it is early into the cigar, but who's complaining?  We are only 1/2 into the cigar! Meatloaf rarely feels the buzz from a cigar and he is impressed that this one is hitting him so soon.

I am not even an inch into the cigar and for some reason I get and aftertaste of hazelnuts on the smoke. That's a real nice surprise! The slight sweetness to the smoke is always present and sticks to the palette.

I was completely not using my head when I set my crystal ashtray on an unstable surface. I set my cigar down on it to run into the house for a minute, and when I returned, inadvertently bumped it and knocked it to the floor! Son of a.......!!!! With just over an inch in my ash has been knocked off. Luckily, Turk isn't so clumsy and as you can see has a nice ash going on. 

Turk says he is getting a charred meaty taste coming through. I start to notice it too, and it is the first definite time that I have ever experienced that kind of flavor profile. We find it quite enjoyable! We both keep getting an unidentifiable taste on the after-smoke as we exhale. It's very pleasant but we just cant pinpoint what the taste is. I am almost thinking it's cherry? Meatloaf says yes, definitely cherry.

Turk is at the halfway point and the ash just keeps hanging on!

 Shortly after this picture was taken, Turks ash fell off. After grabbing the felled ash, he remarks how dense it is. "Feel this thing!" he says pointing to the ashtray. I pinch the large ash remnant to only be surprised at how right he is! I gave the ash a good pinch and it would not relent to my efforts only slightly! Like Turk remarked, it's like a hay-bail with the look of the material of a wasp nest! Dense whitish grey Ash-Zilla is what I am describing it as.......producing a fairly decent cone. 

We all would also like to note that the aroma of this cigar is really nice. It's not overbearing like some cigars and shouldn't offend bystanders.

Sweet woody tones are coming through with an underlying chocolate flavor. The complexity of this cigar is just amazing! Meatloaf likes the good taste that sticks to the mouth and says its not like some he has had ,where you want to lick a dogs ass to get the taste out of your mouth! Did I mention my Posse can be very creative and colorful?

A slight wind started blowing causing my cigar to burn a little uneven. Re-adjusting my position corrected it. Look at that cone though! 

This cigar starts off mild and quickly changes to medium. This medium body continues throughout the whole cigar. As I get down to the nub, (and I smoked all I could!), the cigar never burned hot at all, until the ash almost touched my fingers! Meatloaf remarks that it burns very cool. He says it burns very much like a 6x60 Rocky Patel 1990 he smoked that he had hidden in his humidor for 2 years, effortless cool smoke. 

The buzz is amazing on this cigar, giving me wave after wave of head swimming, feel good euphoria! 

Turk is happy with buzz too. He needs all that he can get as he is laying on his back, on my deck, due to an ache in his lower back. Wish I had taken a pic of my burly biker looking friend smoking his Red Screaming Sun on his back, dropping ash on his beard and chest as he smoked!

Buzz Rating I give this one is 9 out of 10. Man the buzz started early, rising to a real comfortably numb feeling! 

Turk gives it a Buzz Rating of 7 out of 10.

Meatloaf gives a Buzz Rating of 9 out of 10.

Overall I give it a 5 out of 5 !!! 

Turk gives an overall rating of 4 out of 5. His only complaint was that he got ash in his beard and shirt! User Error I say!

Meatloaf gives an Overall Rating of 5 out of 5! This is the first perfect score he has ever given!

My Favorite Cigar is the Camacho Triple Maduro. I have had the privilege to smoke the God of Fire and Opus X Lost City Cigar. I am not lying when I say that the Red Screaming Sun, in my opinion, ranks up equally with those cigars. I now have 2 equally favorite cigars. Paul Stulac has put a lot of time and effort into this blend and it shows. His hard work has paid off creating a cigar with perfect complexity, taste, spice and construction. Do yourself a favor, look up a retailer near you, find an online vendor, or beg your local tobacconist to get some of these cigars. you wont regret it!

These cigars cannot be found yet online. But check the Retailer list from his sight listed here:

Paul Stulac Cigars

From what I can see, other lines of his cigars start at $7.75 for singles and $152 a box of 20 from http://pipesandcigars.com/paul-stulac-classic-cigars.html

Do yourself a favor and buy a single. I guarantee you will be hooked on Red Screaming Sun. And if your not......... Go smoke a wood twig!

Like it?: Absolutely! I can't wait to smoke another!

Buy it again?: I will definitely buy a box to put in my humidor!

Recommend it?: Yes! Do you want to go smoke a twig??? I didn't think so! I highly recommend you try one of these. Just so many pluses to be the perfect smoke in my opinion.

A BIG Thanks to Paul Stulac, who is just an everyday guy we can all relate to, and has a great gift in making great cigars. 

Till next post..............Peace!

Pirates Gold Cigar Review

Hey all! Back again with another Cigar review! I know, I know! You are all saying FINALLY!

Before I get to the review I just want to say that this has been quite a busy summer, but not too busy to smoke and write down some reviews. Paul Stulac Cigars are here! Been in the humidor for a few days. Tomorrow Turk will be over to help start the review rolling on this great looking cigar. The one we will be reviewing will be his new line Red Screaming Sun!! These are so new that Paul has told me that even the bands on the cigar are prototypes! We are all excited and feel privileged  to bring this new cigar here to Cigar Moose. So the review with Turk will go up immediately within the next couple days, and as I get the rest of the Posse in board to review, I will update the review.

But first lets review the Pirates Gold cigar today!

We have all seen them advertised at Cigars International. We have all wondered whether it was worth the $30 price for what seems like a bargain boutique cigar. We are all looking for that inexpensive cigar that has that balance of  good construction, great taste, and a fair price that won't bust the wallet. Look no further. This cigar will appeal to a lot of us Brothers of the Leaf in all those requirements.

Cigars International describes this cigar as being a creation of Rolando Reyes Jr in the Puros Indios Factory. He pulled the blend off the market a few years ago and let it age to bring out a real mellowness. Other than that CI doesn't lend any info as to the blend or wrapper. After a search on the net, I found on The Cigar Hut,   (www.cigarsforlass.com), that this is a Honduran Cigar which is medium to full bodied. It has filler consisting of Dominican, Brazilian, and Nicaraguan tobaccos. It Comes in two choices of wrapper, an Ecuadorian Sumatra or Maduro.      

The cigar we are reviewing for today is the Maduro version. We have all seen these in the catalogs or online. We have all wondered if they are a good cigar for the paltry price they sell them for.

Right off the get go I instantly notice the brown tint to the Cello wrapper. That's from the oils of the cigar from the aging process. It's a good sign. As I look the cigar over I notice the oils on the toothy, veiny wrapper. The body smells like musty hay, the foot smells of sweet chocolate. It has a generous cap. 

Pre-light draw is effortless and oddly enough tastes of rum. Call me crazy but ironically it does! 

Upon light I get a big hit of spice and lots of toasted nuts. It's starting off mild to medium in body, more on the medium end. 

The burn is fairly even with a whitish layered ash. I notice a black mark forming on the body about 3/4 of an inch up from the burn line.

Closer inspection shows that the black mark is getting a little bigger, but in no way has it affected the draw.

After a few minutes pass, and the ash catches up, a hole appears where the black mark once was. This was just a slight void the rollers left in the process. I have to say that I have had a few of these cigars and this is the first one I have had that did this.

You can see the tunnel of space in the cigar here as it has burned down. Burn at this point was uneven understandably.

Tastes coming through are of wood, earth, and a predominant leather. Burn has evened out and is producing a decent cone. Smoke volume is starting to increase. Ash is starting to turn to a dirty grey color. 

Strength is starting to come through as I am starting to feel the buzz. The cigar is clean to the mouth and has a long finish with strong leather tastes. 

Buzz Rating on this one I give an 8 out of 10. It has a really nice buzz.

Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5. I didn't really like the big leather finish. It was still a good cigar up till the end, just not my preference in a finish. But for those who like that leather tastes prevalent in their smoke, will greatly enjoy this. At the low price tag for this cigar at around $30 for Mazos of 20, you cant go wrong to have these, or at least a cheaper 5 pack from Cigarbid.com, in your humidor for an everyday smoke, or to pass around to the boys at the next card game night.

Like it?: Yes, but the finish was a bit much for me.

Buy it again?: Yes. It would be a good idea to keep a few of these in my humidor, maybe not a whole bundle though.

Recommend it?: Yes, This would be a good cigar for smokers who like medium body, with leather prevalent in the tastes.

 Well that's it! Paul Stulac Cigar review coming up for the Red Screaming Sun line! So stay tuned! Till next post..............Peace!

New Reviews Coming!

Hey all! Just giving you all a heads up that we will be posting some new reviews soon! Been a busy summer with lots of cigar sampling! Also I have been contacted by Paul Stulac of Paul Stulac Cigars to sample and review his new lines which were featured at the IPCPR show last month. They truly look like a promising brand. Have a look for yourself at www.paulstulaccigars.com/ .

Just got back from the New York State Fair. We got to see Theory of a Deadman in concert there and it was Awsome!

Like I said, we will have some new reviews up soon this week and we look forward to getting and reviewing Paul Stulacs cigars!

On a side note, is anyone interested in seeing Cigar Moose Video Reviews of cigars? If so take the poll to the right! 

Till next post...........................Peace!

Review J Grotto Silk Cigar

Hey all! Finally I have collected the data from the J Grotto Silk Cigar! Took some time to get the crew together at different times but we got it done! I want to take the time to thank Paul Joyal for taking the time to take a chance on Cigar Moose to send us samples to review! He really is a great and friendly guy!

Also I would like to give a Shout Out to my buddy GMan! He was supposed to be part of this review but due to confusing schedules, was not able to be here. Catch you next time you are in the area pal!

J Grotto Silk cigars...............There is almost no info on this cigar as far as flavor profile because it is so new. But this is a good thing! I like to go into a review blind and see what the cigar brings to the palate, and it is quite interesting what you get between smokers. What I can tell you is the cigar comes in 4 sizes: Gran Robusto (5x52), Gran Toro (6x52), Churchill (7x50), and a Gordo (6x60) which wasn't available at the time of this review. But Paul Joyal assured me the Gordo size would be ready soon, as he likes to age all his cigars additional 8 months after he receives them from the factory. It has a Connecticut seed wrapper grown in Ecuador. The filler consists of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos all wrapped in a double wrapper of Indonesian and Criollo 98 binders.

I gathered Turk and Meatloaf on two separate occasions to collaborate a review of this "Silky" cigar. And this cigar is Silky! First thing we notice is the silky flawless wrapper and generous cap. Paul really has some superb rollers, who do their jobs in manufacturing this beauty very well, using top notch materials. 

We all agree that the body has a sweet straw aroma with the foot smelling of milk chocolate. The band came of rather nicely with little effort, leaving no residue. There is nothing I hate more than residue from the wrapper sticking to the cigar and possibly, more than likely, damaging the wrapper.

Pre-light draw was very good and tastes of caramel. Upon light, we are all greeted with toasty nut flavors. Meatloaf notices that the cigar mellows really quickly and we all agree it is "silky smooth". Paul hits this one out of the park and is right on the money with its name "Silk". 

It has to be noted that this cigar pleasantly produces copious  amounts of creamy smoke, producing beautiful smoke rings to those who have the technique down. Turk says that this cigar reminds him of Perdomo Champagne cigars, the original cigars not the Anniversary, and that they are too good to not be expensive. When I tell him the MSRP he is pleasantly surprised. There seems to be a hazelnut aroma to the smoke.

I start getting coffee notes and a slight tang, but in a good way. Meatloaf points out that this cigar dries his mouth out slightly like a dry wine. I notice this too, it is very much the same dryness as Opus X Lost City cigars, but not as dry. Very nice!

This cigar produces a nice dense whitish ash, Turk getting a 2 inch ash, as stated by Paul of routine characteristics of this cigar. My cigar produced a nice sharp cone, while Turk had a blunt cone. Meatloaf kept finding hallow spots throughout his cigar, but on the brighter side in no way had any effect on the performance of the cigar.

Turk broke the silence in what we were all thinking. He said that the cigar was quite refreshing like a 7 UP. What he means and what we were all thinking is that there are notes of citrus. Lots of woody tastes through out, but 2/3 into the cigar definite cedar tastes prevail. Towards the end of the smoke we get a sweet taste from the smoke. This cigar in our opinion is mild in strength and tastes. 

Buzz Rating on this one we give a 4 out of 10. Not strong but that's what we expected.

Overall we give this cigar a 4 out of 5. Very nice, and very good!

MSRP on these cigars is $6.75-$7.50. To date I cannot find any retailers that carry them yet online, but you can click on the link on this blog page to J Grotto Cigars, and you can look at the retailers to see if there is one near you that you can contact to see if they carry them. Usually online, 2guyscigars.com carries the J Grotto cigars and I would bet that soon they will carrying these Silk cigars. 

Like it?: Yes

Buy it again?: Definitely! If this were on the shelves of our local store we would buy them!

Recommend it?: Yes, This would be a good cigar for newbies as a milder cigars. This cigar would be a good morning cigar or after a light meal. A cup of coffee might compliment this cigar nicely.

Thanks again to Paul Joyal of Ocean State Cigars for his support (and sample cigars!).  And thanks to my Posse for helping me review this cigar! Till next Post................................Peace!

Busy Days!

Hey all! Sorry guys! I know I promised you guys a few reviews awhile back, but between a huge garage sale, putting up tongue and groove pine on the ceiling of my covered deck, taking the kids on a mini trip, replacing all our appliances, working on the new Cigar Moose Man Cave, and work...........whew!........It has been really busy!

But there is good news! I have added a few more cigar reviews to my cigar diary, taken a few pics to add, and tested a couple accessories to put up on the blog. Also, We received a package in the mail of J Grotto "Silk" cigars from Paul Joyal of Ocean State Cigars. Like all the other J Grotto cigars we received in the past they are just beautiful! The day after they arrived Turk and I took round 1 with them and were greatly impressed! Now I am waiting for round 2 with Meatloaf to get another opinion, then I'll gather all the notes and post a review.


In the meantime you will have to just take a look at a new pic of my ugly mug!

Don't I have a great ASH!!!! Yeah all the pretty ladies say that! Mmmmmmmm.......RRRiiiiiiiiiiiight!

Enjoy this summer weather! Till next post............................Peace!

New Addition

Hey all! Was looking over the statistics of this web blog. I was quite surprised that this blog has been viewed not only the US and Canada, but also Russia and Sweden!

So I decided to add a translator in the side bar for our brothers and sisters of the leaf in foreign countries. Just click on your language and Pow! the page shows up in that language! Hopefully the translation will be understandable as sometimes the meaning is lost when it's done.

I also noticed  a couple of comments on posts I somehow missed! Keep the comments coming!

A Big Shout Out to Warvet and garth for commenting! Thanks Guys!!!!!

Also keep passing this Blog onto your friends! Nothing makes Cigar Moose more Happy and Proud than seening his Hits Counter climb!

If there is anything you guys would like to see here to make the blog better, I am open to suggestions! Please contact or comment here on the blog.

Shuriken cutter review coming soon along with new cigar reviews. So stay tuned!

Till Next Post.........................Peace!

Review Fonseca Maduro Cigar

Hey all! We have had a good run of weather in this last week! Was even able to get into the pool, even if it was to just vacuum it out!

Looking ahead, I will be reviewing a new cutter on loan from Turk, called the Shuriken Cigar cutter.

Today though, I will be reviewing a Fonseca Maduro Cigar.

Originally this cigar hailed from Cuba, but today is manufactured in the Dominican Republic at the MATASA Factory, from Master Blender Manuel "Manolo" Quesada. It is said that it rivals and even outperforms its Cuban original!  Wrapped in a Maduro Connecticut Shade wrapper, it has well aged Dominican long-fillers and a Mexican Binder. 

I'm guessing the size to be 5 x 50. Oils can easily be seen on the body, and especially on the cap. The cap seems to have spots that are slightly lifted, looking to be sloppy work of the roller. The wrapper has slight veins and has a musty smell to the body. The foot smells of sweet chocolate and raisins. 

Prelight draw is good, but I am getting a slight bitterness to the lips from the wrapper. 

Upon light I am getting that Tang I so dislike from Cuban style cigars. At first glance I am not to enthused about smoking the whole cigar, but i decide to give it a chance.

About an inch in I start getting earthy tastes. The tang is starting to subside, a relief to me. The cigar is producing a a dense dark grey ash. At first this cigar had a slightly uneven burn, but has now evened out.

The cigar is producing a good volume of smoke and now bringing chocolate to my palate. This cigar is really getting better and I am glad I gave it a second chance as I was tempted to throw it out in the beginning.

I had a 3 inch ash and as usual, it fell off just as I was reaching for the camera! 

The strength of this cigar is medium and its taste is slightly less than medium.

The cigar was clean to the mouth and had a long lingering finish.

Buzz Rating on this cigar I give a 4 out of 10. Definitely not over powering but very enjoyable.

Overall I give this cigar a 3 out of 5. This by no means says that this is a bad cigar. It was rather enjoyable to smoke. At first I didn't think so but it surprised me with a total turn around in taste. This cigar would be good for handing out to your buddies around the campfire or any kind of gathering. 

Like it?: Yes

Buy it again?: Maybe, but not my first choice over other cigars.

Recommend it?: Yes, This would be a good cigar for newbies wanting to move up from milder cigars.

So thats That! Keep checking back for new posts and reviews or plug in your email address in the appropriate place in the right column to be notified of new posts.

Enjoy the good summer weather!

Till next post..........................Peace!

New Reviews Coming This Week

Hey all! Just a heads up that some new reviews will be showing up in the next week.

So stay tuned and check back!

Good weather returning to the Adirondacks will bring more opportunities to get out by a campfire and smoke some good sticks with friends!

Hoping to get together with some of my Posse in the next few days.

Till next post.................................Peace!

Review CU Avana Maduro

Hey all! Finally got a minute to myself to flip through the pages of my ever valuable cigar diary!

This summer looks pretty promising with cigar reviews featuring another beauty from the humidor of Paul Joyal of Ocean State Cigars. His new line in the J Grotto Series entitled "Silk" has got us here at Cigar Moose excited with anticipation!

Also Meatloaf has got a couple premium cigars lurking in his humidor for us to review. Looking forward to it Pal! You'll have to wait and see what we got!

 As promised I am here with another review of a great affordable cigar!  The Cu Avana Maduro!

The Cu Avana Maduro is made by a Master Blender, Manuel Quesada. He is the man behind Fonseca, Casa Manga, and the creator behind the original Dominican Romeo y Julieta. 

The Cu Avana Maduro is made with a naturally fermented Connecticut Broadleaf  Maduro Wrapper that  is oily to the touch, which also contributes to a slow burn. 

It is described by Cigars International as having spicy notes and layers of complexity that mellow suddenly into a mild, very pleasant sweet cigar. Using the same Dominican Longfiller as the Cu Avana Natural, It is described as being mild, smooth, and pleasant.

Lets Get Started!

First thing I notice is the gorgeous dark oily veiny wrapper with it's generous cap. The body is firm and smells of sweet tobacco. The foot takes on notes of sweet raisins. The band came off easily and not marring the wrapper. And that is a plus in my book, as there is nothing I hate more than ripping the wrapper while taking the band off, because some employee was too generous with the glue putting the band on. 

Prelight draw was good with sweet nuances to the taste. Upon light I get a blast of toasted nuts, very mild in body, and really good sweet Maduro flavors coming through.

As the cigar progresses, it produces a dense grey ash with an even burn. And believe me when I say this is a slow burner! There are no real pronounced flavors that I could pick out at first. Mild through the nose. Not alot of spice so far. 

Just before the halfway point I start getting some woody notes, with a bit of chocolate. A really nice combo!  

It's at this point the wrapper starts to unravel at the foot partway up the body. This may be due to some humidor issues I had at he beginning of the new year. My humidor decided it didn't want to keep humidity at optimum levels. Further investigation revealed that although the two humidification squares I had in the humidor were fully saturated, for some reason they weren't expending the humidity from them. I didn't even know they could go bad, and have yet to find any info to prove such.  So at this point I have to pull out my trusty chapstick and put a small dallop under the separated leaf to adhere it back to the body, preventing it from further unraveling. And in case you were wondering, I fixed the problem in the humidor by removing the squares and replacing them with a jar of gel beads soaked in the Humidor solution. No Worries!

I must say that this cigar produces a good volume of smoke, which smells just like a Sancho Panza Double Maduro. Very pleasant unique aroma!

With a third left of cigar, I get more wood and chocolate coming through. The strength is picking up also to a bolder profile. Tastes are becoming a bit bolder, and progressing into a much better cigar in my opinion. I really am a fan of the Sancho Panza Double Maduro, so the aroma of this cigar really peaks my likability as it is so much like that line. 

I know they tout this cigar as being mild, but i must say as this cigar progressed it picked up in strength as it progressed right to the end, with a bold ending layered in spice. I guess my terminology is a bit confused.

What I learned from this cigar in terms of terminology was that a cigar can be mild in the sense of buzz, but its flavor profiles can be spicy and bold. I guess you can learn something new everyday! So when I said earlier that it was picking up in strength, what i was meaning was bolder tastes and not the buzz.

So with this knowledge, I ca be happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar!

This cigar can be had From Cigars International ( www.cigarsinternational.com ) in bundles of 20 ranging at present time from $30 to $40 based on your size preference.

Buzz rating on this cigar I give a 4 out of 10. Not a lot of buzz but this in no way detracts or negates this cigar.

Overall I give this cigar a 4 out of 5. Very pleased with this one. Lots of smoke with a unique aroma. Mild yet bold on tastes. And a great value for the price.............Hands down, everyone should have some of these in their humidor.

Till next Post................................Peace!

Still Here!!!!!

Hey all! Just checking in to let you all know I am still here! Been a busy Spring here with outdoor clean ups and all. Getting the property in good shape before the wife yells!

More reviews on the way in the next couple days, so check back! More good reviews to come!

Stay Tuned!

Till next Post........................................Peace!

Free Cigar Aficionado Subscription

Hey all hit this link:

http://www.rewardsgold.com/mags/cigar/sg_cigar_pg1gd.htm

And if you are willing to fill out your info and do a short survey on cigars you can have a 1 year subscription through Rewards Gold of Cigar Aficionado Magazine. I have got subscriptions from them before and they are safe. Plus it's free! Got my Subscription on the way!

More reviews coming soon so be patient!

Till next post.................Peace!

Review J Grotto Series And J Grotto Series Reserve

Hey all! Wow! Today's review is actually packed with 2 reviews of the J Grotto Series cigars from Ocean State Cigars Inc. After sending out a few cover letters to different cigar makers, I got contacted by Paul Joyal, the owner of Ocean State Cigars Inc, to sample and review his cigars on this blog.

I must say Paul is a really nice guy. Paul was very friendly and anxious to have me review his cigars. He told me he liked dealing with the blogs because they really had a more personal feel.

How does a guy from Rhode Island get into the cigar business, you may ask? Paul was cordial enough to contact me to answer that very question. His family has owned a liquor store in Rhode Island for the past 41 years. The family business has passed from generation to generation. About 16 years ago, Paul kept getting requests for premium cigars in his store. So after years of research and travel, the J Grotto Series was born. His stores now are the number one retailer in the RI area for volume. His story very much sounds like the one Rocky Patel had early on in his career in the cigar industry. And the J Grotto Line is expanding every day. A new line called J Grotto Silk, expected to be released in June of this year, sounds to be very promising with a mild to medium blend of 5 different tobaccos.

So here we are, I got my "Posse" together on two separate occasions to review both lines currently in the J Grotto series. I must say we were impressed with this company which has only been around for two years.

Since this is our first "BIG TIME" review, let me give you a little background on my panel of testers.

Fratboy is a fellow that went to the same college as me at the same time, even though we never met then, probably for the best, (because oh what damage we could have caused!), we ended up meeting later in life when our career paths met, and so began our smoking collaboration. Fratboy smokes 2 to 3 cigars daily and he prefers full bodied cigars that have a lot of spice.

Meatloaf and me have been friends since we were about 6 years old. We have shared many adventures together growing up. I ended up marrying his Aunt, Mrs.Cigar Moose, who is a year younger than him, so in some redneck way I am my best friends Uncle. As before though, he is like a brother to me and will always be family. Meatloaf likes medium to full cigars and is like me when it comes to frequency of smoking. He will smoke 1 or 2 cigars every couple weeks in the winter and about 4 a week, give or take, in the warmer seasons.

Turk I have known since the sixth grade. He was the one who initially gave me the nickname "Moose", which stuck for the next 30 years! Before I actually knew him, he had been hired in the 5th grade to beat me up because I showed another kid up in shooting accuracy (and also because I flipped this kids dirt bike!). Lucky for me he didn't follow through, and like Meatloaf, became life long friends. Also like a brother, Turk who likes to smoke a pipe as equally as cigars, still has a broad range of tastes in cigars. He smokes about 6 cigars per week and usually likes to smoke them with his dog Toby in the garage.

Okay, lets get started with the signature cigar in the J. Grotto Series.

According to 2 Guys Smoke Shop (  http://www.2guyscigars.com/  ) they describe this cigar as really rich and full bodied with a long finish. Toasty, with a deep scent of cedar and smoked meat, this should be smoked along with a great cup of black coffee.

First thing we all agreed when we first saw this cigar was how greatly constructed it was.  The Honduran Habano oily wrapper is just flawless, a thing of beauty, seamlessly wrapped, what appears to be triple capped, with very small veins. The body is firm and has an earthy straw-like aroma. The foot smells of earth and chocolate. After we cut the heads, Meatloaf has an effortless draw, mine has slight effort, not sure if that it is due to the different size Vitolas we each have. 

Upon light, we are greeted with black pepper to the palate. Fratboy and Meatloaf agree together that their cigars are mild to medium in strength. I Would describe this cigar as a solid medium in body, but very mellow.   I keep getting nutty aromas from the smoke. Meatloaf and I agree that this cigar has a very distinct taste to it, much like Onyx cigars. Fratboy says that he is getting a sort of "tang" on the flavor, almost bitter to him, which lingers. He does agree though that there is a straight sweet woody taste to the cigar that is quite enjoyable. Meatloaf an I disagree with Fratboy on the "tang" that he is getting.

 I am finding that this cigar is very peppery through the nose. When I ask Meatloaf if he is getting the same he states "I don't blow smoke through my nose." Guess that's because of his deviated septum, and no I didn't give it to him.  We start to get more of that sweetness to the smoke along with those woody tones, that linger on the back of the palate. A good amount of smoke is produced from these cigars, thickening as the cigar progresses.

About an inch and a half in my dark grey flaky ash fell off, producing no cone. I must say that on 3 or 4 instances when the ash was tapped off, you could visibly see a hollow spot in the foot. What I have learned is that they bunch the filler leaves in an old way that produces a better draw in the cigar. These hollow spots may be due to this, but in no way affect the cigar itself. The burn was remarkably even throughout the whole smoke.

Meatloaf and I start getting dark chocolate about the halfway to 3/4 mark. On the last 2 inches of my cigar I get a big spicy blast through the nose, then Bam! It hits me........BIG BUZZ! The rest of the crew don't get affected the same way as me, not sure why, but I am enjoying it.

In the end we are all in agreement that this cigar is very good for a company that has been in business for just two years. Quite impressive! Despite the different sizes, Fratboys Robusto size lasted him around an hour. Meatloaf and my cigars were close in size and lasted us close to an hour and a half.

 Initially, the prices we first saw for these cigars hovered around the $10 mark, which in our opinion was a bit too much for our tastes, as equally as good cigars were less from the big name distributors. We did though take in account the price was for a cigar that is not widely out there yet keeping the costs higher until the big distributors started mass selling them. But further inspection online found prices to be around $6 to $8 for singles, a much more agreeable and comparable price for these great cigars. We all agreed, with exception to Fratboy, that at this price we would by this cigar at our local shop. It wasn't that Fratboy didn't like it, he did.  For the price, he prefers Full bodied spicy cigars, and he just didn't see it in his cigar. This cigar is clean to the mouth and has no long lingering tastes.

Ratings are as follows:

Buzz Rating:
                    Mr.Cigar Moose: 8 out of 10
                    Fratboy              : 2.5 out of 10
                    Meatloaf            : 6.5 out of 10

Overall:

                    Mr.Cigar Moose: 4 out of 5
                    Fratboy              : 3.5 out of 5
                    Meatloaf            : 3.5 out of 5

There are only 2 online retailers I have found to sell these cigars:  http://www.pipesandcigars.com/  and  http://www.2guyscigars.com/ .

Pipes and Cigars sells boxes of 20 for $135 to $144. Also on their site you can get singles for $6.75 to $7.25.

2 Guys Smoke Shop sell just singles for comparable prices.

Like it? Yes
Buy again? Yes
Recommend?  Yes, for the price it would make a good everyday cigar for smokers used to Medium to full cigars.


And now for the next cigar: J Grotto Series Reserve

This cigar is touted as the cigar for the guy who wants some real power, but a balanced and refined blend.

Again, like the first cigar, the construction is just perfect. The rollers in the Raices Cubanas Factory in Honduras are to be commended. The Criollo wrapper is again flawless, seamless, with little veins, and what appears a generous triple cap.

The body and foot have the same characteristics of straw and earth as the first cigar, only the straw-ness is a little bit stronger. Pre light draw on mine is effortless. Turk's draw required a bit more effort, but said it was the way he liked it. 

Turk surprisingly says he is getting a buzz right away. I personally never had a buzz that fast, but everyone is different. 

Turk and I had much discussion on the flavors we were getting, like the first we got sweet woody tones to the palate. It is starting off more medium than the first cigar. We decide that this also like the first has a very distinct flavor like the Onyx series. "It tastes like there is Peruvian tobacco in it" Turk comments. He is surprised to hear that it only contains Honduran and Nicaraguan Ligero. We both get alot of spice through the nose. Fratboy says he just had a cup of coffee prior to smoking this and thinks it is affecting his palate as he is only getting straight woody tastes. He is still getting the "Tang" but not as much as the first cigar. He comments that this would make a great breakfast/morning cigar. 

Turk and I start getting a nice leather taste with sweet woody tones. Turk asks how much these cigars sell for.  He says that because it has such a unique taste he would spend $8-$9 on a single for this cigar at a local shop. "With some of the crap they are making for the younger crowd, this is F**king Awesome!" he states. 

At about an inch in, the dark grey ash falls of my cigar revealing no cone. I am starting to get coffee flavors 

coming through.

We crank up the 80's Big Hair bands on the Ipod and enjoy this cigar a bit. 

As we get to the end, I start getting that "Tang" Fratboy is getting. It is not unpleasant at all like the Cuban cigars I have had before. Fratboy and I get thick volumes of smoke out of my cigar while Turk's cigar seems to produce a low amount. We think it might be due to the draw. But he is still pleasantly happy this cigar. He did get a 3 inch ash before it fell off. Burn is again even like the first cigar. Very clean to the mouth, it is like it's predecessor and has no long lingering tastes.

This cigar was a bit more mellow to me. The buzz I got was a bit less than the first one, but every much as enjoyable. In my own opinion, and Turk agrees, I like this cigar more than the first. It is a great balaced cigar that to us is quite eventful. Unfortunately for Fratboy, it's just not his type of cigar and wasn't as eventful to him. Even though he liked it, he says he gets much better cigars, for his tastes, from the big online retailers for much less.

Ratings are as follows:

 Buzz Rating:

                                 Mr. Cigar Moose: 6 out of 10

                                 Fratboy               : 2 out of 10

                                 Turk                    : 6 out of 10

Overall:

                                 Mr. Cigar Moose: 4.5 out of 5

                                 Fratboy               : 3.5 out of 5

                                 Turk                    : 4.5 out of 5

The only place online to get these is Pipes and Cigars ( http://www.pipesandcigars.com/ ). In singles they will run you $7.75 to $8.75. In boxes of 20 it will run you $154 to $173. A bit pricier to me than the regular series when you have to consider shipping, but if sold locally, worth every cent.

Like it? Yes

Buy it again? Yes. Definitely if my local shop starts to carry it!

Recommend it? Yes. This would be a good cigar for new guys wanting to try a more medium cigar.

In conclusion of these two cigars we reviewed, the general consensus is that they are both good cigars, especially the Reserve Series. These cigars are hard to find on the NET, mostly because they are a boutique cigar and the fact they are only sold through authorized retailers. To find if one is near you go to Ocean State Cigars website here: http://oceanstatecigars.com/index.php/retailers

There you can look up retailers or requeest to become a retailer. So if you don't have these cigars in our local smoke shop, have them visit the site and become a retailer.

Excellent cigars Paul! And thank you for taking a chance on us!

Till next post...............................PEACE!

Stella Artois Chalice Offer Again

Hey all! Here is another Stella Artois Chalice Offer! This one is easier to do than the last one. You have to type or speak a couple answers to make a chalice, then enter your info to have them ship you one. I got one from the first offer and now have a second one on the way! Here is what they look like:

Here is the link for this really nice beer glass, er, I mean Chalice! 

http://chalicefactory.stellaartois.com/ 

Obviously you can drink whatever you want out of it, but it is specifically designed to release bubbles of beer. And beer goes good with a good cigar!

Till next Post.......................Peace!

Review: Agusto Reyes Maduro

Okay Folks! This cigar came to me compliments of Fratboy.

When people hear Agusto Reyes, they usually relate it to high priced high quality cigars. Cigars International has struck a deal with his factory to bring us common folk a quality affordable cigar!

CI describes this cigar as full bodied. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf  Wrapper with a Dominican Criollo, Corojo, Cuban seed tobacco fillers. They say it is a rich hearty smoke with deep tobacco flavors, coffee notes, and a spicy sweet finish.

The wrapper upon sight is a dark mottled maduro, toothy and veiny, with a generous cap. Mine is a torpedo with a sweet tobacco smell to the body and a sweet chocolate smell to the foot.

After cutting the head it has a good prelight draw that tastes of rich tobacco and sweet raisins.

Upon light I get a good black pepper taste. You definitly get a sweet maduro taste in the mouth. Getting a fair amount of smoke. The strength initially is definitely mild to medium. About 1/4 in, the burn is nice and even with a layered dirty ash. I am starting to get a slight nicotine sting in the back of the tongue through the nose.


Still getting sweet rich tobacco tastes. By 1/3 into the cigar, pepper tastes have picked up. I cant believe that the ash is still hanging on! 

Dammit! As I wrote that, the ash fell in my lap! All of a sudden the draw is getting tighter, and I am getting a bit of tar forming on the head. Also, not sure if you can make it out in my blurry photo, had a hard time focusing, but there was a noticeable hole in the body of the cigar, visible as a dark spot on the foot.

As you can see in the next picture, it didn't produce much of a cone. Sorry again for the blurry picture. Must be holding the cigar too close to the lens.

So I clipped a thin layer off the head and the draw opened up and the tar issue gone for the time being. I am starting to get coffee and dark chocolate tastes coming through. The description of this cigar touts it as a full bodied cigar, but I must say I have had much fuller bodied cigars. This cigar to me is more medium in body than full. On the last third of the cigar the strength picked up to a solid medium. It's a good cigar in my humble opinion. Good enough that I want to smoke it to the nub. As you can see at this point, the cigar finally produced a sharp cone, despite it being out of focus!

Now I wanted to smoke as much of the nub as possible so I had to pull out my homemade Nub Buddy. No explanation necessary, just see the photo.

Okay, explanation is in order. You can see it's purpose. All it is a shaped stick with 2 tack nails in the end to stick into your cigar, so you can smoke that nub down to almost nothing without burning your fingers. Nuff said. And you can see I did smoke this nub as far as I could. Eventually it burned down more on one side than the other to the point it almost burned my lip!

Finally the camera focused!

This cigar leaves a slight film to the mouth and has a long lingering finish.

Buzz rating on this one I give a 3.5 out of 5. It was a nice comfortable buzz, not overpowering, 

Overall I give this one a 7.5 out of 10. This was a good cigar flavor-wise. What detracted from the score was the fact that the draw tightened up and in the end more tar formed on the head. And not sure I like the film in the mouth on the finish. I like a clean mouth feel. But overall this is still a good cigar despite its minor setbacks.

Like it?: Yes

Buy it again?: Maybe, but not my first choice over other cigars.

Recommend it?: Yes, This would be a good cigar for newbies wanting to move up from milder cigars.

Till next post.......................Peace!

News Update

Hey all! Warm weather ahead for the next few weeks! Has winter FINALLY abated? We here hope so!

The package from Paul Joyal has arrived! I must say they look D LISH US!!!! I have them sitting in the Humidor as we speak! Will be getting the "Posse" together in the next week to burn them up! So look in the next week for reviews of the J Grotto Series and the J Grotto Series Reserve.

Also as you may have seen, some new things on the blog. Hope you all like the changes. Remember to feel free to comment on any of the postings. I will greatly appreciate any feedback on the blog.

In the meantime check out my next review of the Agusto Reyes Maduro!

Review: Joya De Nicaragua Antano1970

Hey All! GMan contacted me to tell me about this great cigar. Sounding familiar to me I looked back in my cigar diary and I found that me and Meatloaf smoked this one last Fall on his porch. 


First of all, this cigar has a bit of history to it. In the 1970's this cigar was regarded as the best cigar in the world! It was made in Nicaragua's first cigar factory which was founded in 1964. Eventually due to war and Communism the factory was destroyed. Well due to the changing times it has been produced again! It has been named Cigar Aficionado's top 50 cigars.  


On the Cigars International website, it is described as a very full bodied cigar, a "muscle cigar". A stock fat figurado, earthy and leathery flavors with floral spicy, hints. They describe the finish as long and complex.

If you remember my review of the Camacho Triple Maduro, I mentioned this cigar that was obtained in a sample pack with the Camacho, from Famous-smoke.com. 

First thing I notice is it's flawless, slightly veiny,  oily Colorado wrapper. It is positively seamless. The body is firm with a sweet straw aroma, which also is true of the foot. Pre-light draw is almost effortless and tastes of sweet raisins. 

Upon light, I was met with a blast of  spice and nuts. Leather notes are definitely there.

I was lucky enough to have a bottle of T-Rex Autumn Ale to pair with this cigar. T-Rex is a friend of mine who brews his own beer and wine. His Autumn Ale reminds me of Samuel Adams brews, slight nuttiness and hops flavors.

The Ale brings out more nuttiness in the cigar and vice versa. The cigar tames the hops down a bit, so I would say they pair well together. 

When lighting, I had a hard time getting the whole foot lit. I am not sure if it was just because of it's size or maybe a moisture issue from being in the humidor. It resulted in a slightly uneven burn which corrected itself quickly.

As the cigar progresses, the leather tastes tame down a bit to a smoother profile.  Not sure if it's the Ale helping that or just the way the cigar progresses.  Starting to get a bit of chocolate on the back of the palate.

As the cigar progresses, I am getting a good amount of thick smoke. Nice! Just what I like in a cigar. Meatloaf is showing me up once again blowing smoke rings, one after another. I am jealous! That is one trick I just can't seem to perfect.

The cigar produced a dense layered silvery ash. I flicked the ash 1 1/2 inches in, which produced a blunt cone.

There is a definite complexity of flavors in this one. I'm getting coffee, chocolate, leather, earth, and pepper.

As this cigar progresses picks up in strength. Although it never gets harsh or hot, I can definitely feel the kick swimming in my brain!

The finish is clean to the mouth, with a lingering tastes of pepper and leather.

Buzz Rating on this cigar I give 8 out of 10. Oh, it's all there! Very nice buzz going on here! You would probably best have this cigar on a full stomach. I would say this cigar is not for guys new to cigars. It might be too much for them and put them off cigars for awhile.

Overall I give this cigar 4 out of 5. A lot happening here! The complexity in flavor, the strength, and the lack of harshness make this cigar a winner! Definitely one of my "must have" cigars.

You can get this cigar from a few of the online vendors. Famous-Smoke.com sells a really nice sampler of 5 different sizes for $23. Cigars International has a good deal on boxes for prices ranging from $100-$135 for boxes of 20 which also include a 6 cigar sampler for free. That's only $4-$6 per cigar! But try the sampler first if you have never had this cigar. You won't regret it! 

Okay here is something new I am going to add to my reviews. 

Like it?: Yes

Buy it again?: Yes, might even buy a box!

Recommend it?: Yes, but for seasoned smokers only.

Till next post...............Peace!