Jet Lighter Maintenance

Hey All! Today I found a video from Cigar Aficionado News Watch Newsletter on jet lighter maintenance. You can view the video here:  Jet Lighter Mainenance

You can also subscribe to this newsletter here: Cigar Aficionado Newsetter

You can find the signup in the yellow band Just above where it says "Latest News".

I have seen just this one issue and it looks like it's going to be a good news letter to keep you up to date on cigars and cigar accessories.

Remember to Join this site at the right of the blog under "Followers". It takes only a few minutes and it will help me to try and get the "Cigar Company Boys" to notice this site, so I can get samples to review for you and possibly get some cool things from them to give away to the followers.

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

Artisan Nicaraguan Maduro Review

Hey all! Just going over some of the things I got for Xmas. How many of you received Cigars or cigar accessories for Xmas? I would love to hear on this blog what you got in the area of cigars. So, by all means, please comment. And if you take the time to subscribe to this blog, you'll get updates as to when I have posted. The more subscribers I get, maybe I can get the "Big Cigar Boys" to notice me and decide to send samples for me to review and maybe even some free giveaways.

Mrs.Cigar Moose was very good to me this year and surprised me with a few cigar related gifts. She bought me a  Romeo y Julieta Edicion Limitada 6 cigar sampler that included a very nice Montecristo pen with built in cigar punch. Review to follow at a later date.

She really surprised me with a Xikar Spectra cutter that I have had my eye on for a couple years now.

And with her order she received an Artisan Nicaraguan Maduro cigar as a bonus! And that's what I am reviewing today. So today on a very miserable snowy day, I found myself in my shed, a soon to be Man Cave/Wood shop. Kerosene heater blazing and a couple lawn chairs, Mrs. Cigar Moose and I found it very tolerable and almost comfortable to light up a couple sticks.

This Brand from what I can see, can only be had from famous-smoke.com. It's not a super expensive cigar. Its not a cheap cigar, but well worth it's money. Famous describes this one as medium bodied and loaded with smooth, sweet, woody flavors and a note of cocoa on the finish.

First thing I notice on this cigar is it's gorgeous Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper that glistens with that wonderful oily sheen. The wrapper is quite toothy with prominent veins. The body smells of sweet hay, and the foot smells of sweet hazel nuts. The body was firm with only one spot that was slightly spongy. Using my new cutter, the generous cap came off quickly and cleanly. Wow! I love this cutter!

Pre-light draw is excellent and almost effortless. It tastes of sweet rich tobaccos. Upon light I was quite surprised that even though this cigar was made with Nicaraguan long fillers, it was very mild and mellow. My initial tastes are of sweet nuttiness. As the cigar progressed, it had a nice even burn with a silvery ash. First flick of the ash produced a decent cone. The cigar remained mellow with a sweet woody taste as described right up to the halfway point. It's at this time the smoke becomes more medium body with a very faint hint of black pepper on the back of the palette. This medium character remained for the rest of the smoke. On the last inch, the draw became a little tighter but still quite manageable. 

Buzz rating on this one I give a 7.5 out of 10: There was definitely a buzz going on here, not monstrous, but definitely present.

Overall I give this cigar 4.5 out of 5. Very nice flavor profile which was quite eventful. I really like spicy cigars, but this was really a good cigar without all the spice. It reminded me of a high quality Maduro, like the ones I used to smoke when I first got into cigars. The sweet nuttiness will not disappoint any seasoned smoker or cigar newbie alike. Seriously considering putting a bundle in my humidor for summer.

These cigars from Famous-smoke can be bought in bundles of 20 for $65. That's a little over $3 a stick, not bad for a really premium cigar in my opinion. A 5 pack will run you $27, a single about $6. But if you just want to try all the different types Artisan makes (six in all) you can get a sampler of 12 (2 each) for $26. If you want something different from your normal smoke or are just starting out in the cigar hobby, this is a great cigar to buy, and I highly recommend it.

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

Siglo sampler

Great deal from Cigar.com for a limited time. 9 assorted size Siglo Reserve sampler for $30! Thats a great price!  Especially when they go for around $6 each!

Here is the link: http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=831&campsrc=true

Looks like I have not reviewed this cigar yet on the site, so I will make sure to do it soon. I must say this cigar is well worth the price. Its a really good cigar.

Hurry before the offer runs out!

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

Acid Subculture Beach Review

Hey all! This is a cigar I came across while in Orlando Florida a few years ago at the Corona Cigar Company store. This cigar is an exclusive made just for them by Drew Estate. If you have the chance to try one of these, you will not be disappointed.

First off, I would like to give props to the Corona Cigar Company store at the West Sand Lake Road location in the Orlando area. They have a very laid back atmosphere with one of the greatest selections of cigars I have ever seen. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable to the point of taking the time to walk a customer around the store and helping them make selections based on their preferences. And that's exactly what happened to this customer, me. Five star rating in my book as a store. 

Corona describes this cigar as: Bold notes of spice and sweetness, a long finish with herbal and creamy notes. 

Nice camaroon wrapper with slight veins. The cap is sweetened. The body and foot smell herbal like exotic spices. Mrs. Cigar Moose always says that the smell of any Acid cigars, this one included, is like spicy cologne. The cigar is slightly spongy, but more firm than spongy. 

Toasty notes upon light. Very mild and mellow. Notes of sweet almonds come through on the palette along with a hint of spice. Even burn with a grayish ash. The cigar became a little bolder with spice on the finish, but not so much as to make me not like it.  

At 5"x54, this cigar lasted  about 40 minutes. 

Buzz Rating on this cigar for me was 6 out of 10. Like I said before, mellow and mild.

Overall 4 out of 5. I like the taste of this one a lot. It's a nice deviation from my more medium to full cigars.  Very good with a clean finish. As described, it somehow, uncannily, reminds me of being on the beach. A nice mellow day in the sun on the beach, sort of feel good, type of experience. Good times!

Like I said before, these can only be had from Corona Cigar Company. So a box of these will set you back about $129, but you can get a 5 pack for $30. Well worth the 5 pack investment. Remember to think of the sunny beaches of Florida while kicking back with your favorite beverage and smoking this great cigar.

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

Cain F Cigar Review

Happy New Year All! Here we are about a week into 2012. Here we experienced a rather warm December with no snow on the ground for most of it and temps in the upper 40's. I can remember a few years ago a winter such as this and on Christmas day we were outside in medium weight coats, smoking cigars, sitting in lawnchairs, enjoying the 50-ish weather! But this year we had a dusting of snow just in time for Christmas morning for a white Holiday!

Today I want to review the Cain F cigar. I got this cigar in a sample pack from Famous-smoke.com .

This cigar is produced by by Oliva and employs a Habano wrapper with triple fermented Nicaraguan fillers.  It's described as chocked full of extra ligero leaves to give it that incredibly bold and hearty character, that blasts the palate with intense spice and pepper.

To start, this cigar visually is a thing of beauty. Perfect wrapper with slight veins. A firm body that smells of clean straw and a foot that smells of hazelnuts. The pre-light draw is good and tastes of sweet raisins. 

Upon light, I get a blast of hazelnuts and spice. Full in body right off but not overpowering. As the cigar progresses it becomes more medium to full and I keep getting a jalapeno taste to my palette.  I get lots of spice through the nose and nuts is ever present on the palette. I must say this cigar produces nice volumes of smoke which has a slight sweetness in taste. 

It has a nice dense dirty ash which fell of about about 2 inches into the smoke, producing a blunt cone. the next flick of the ash made a sharper cone. 

On the last inch, it really kicked up in spice and develops a chocolate taste. The cigar ended with a clean finish.

Buzz rating for this one is 7 out of 10. Maybe it's just me but I expected this one to have a bit more buzz after reading all the hype, but still it had some kick and was quite enjoyable with the Nic Kick.

Overall I give this one 4.5 out of 5. With its great construction and great tastes this cigar will not disappoint.

The best way to enjoy this cigar without breaking the bank is sampler packs from Famous Smoke or Cigars International  or in singles from Cigar.com. Boxes will run you $138 to $187 for 24. Samplers will start around $25 for 6 from Famous Smoke and CI. And some of the samplers will let you sample other cigars in the Cain series. If you like bolder cigars with volumes of smoke, this one is for you.

Until next post.......................................Peace! 

Free Chalice from Stella Artois

Hey all! I know this is a cigar forum but this is a good freebie which comes along only in a blue moon.

The beer Stella Artois is giving out their famous glass Chalice for free while supplies last. Here is the link to their site:
http://www.stellaartois.com/1-800-my-chalice-4108/

Call the 800 number and select the choice for getting your own Chalice. I think it was choice #2. You will then be directed to representative, wait was less than 5 minutes, who will take your info like age, address, and email. And that's it! Your Chalice is on the way. One Chalice per person, so if you can get you significant other to call too, you can get a set of two! Don't waste time on this one as the last time I saw this offer was a few years ago and supplies were depleted fast! Mine is on the way so I can't wait!

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

Albion Cigar Review

Hey all! Back again, this time with a very affordable cigar! A beautiful day of about 54 degrees and sunny, has me and Mrs. Cigar Moose on the back deck enjoying a cigar and some home brewed beer, compliments of T-Rex. Now T-Rex isn't a cigar smoker, but is quite the wizard of home-made wine and now beer. This is his first foray into making beer and I must say it was quite the success! The brew he gave us is called Autumn Ale, and is very much like Samuel Adams Octoberfest with slight differences. Color and hopness that is very typical of Samuel Adams is definitely present. The difference is that Octoberfest has a more creaminess and chocolate taste to the palate when you take that first taste. Why am I telling you all this? Because what you drink when you smoke really can affect your taste palate. In this case I think the cigar made the beer all the more enjoyable and vice versa. I am not usually a fan of beer with lots of hops taste, with the exception of SA Octoberfest, but the cigar really toned down the hops and made it much more enjoyable to me.

Ok, Cigars International describes this cigar as a smooth Dominican cigar made entirely of long filler. It says it is robust and woody, with an underlying creaminess.


The version I am smoking is a mini torpedo with a blemished slightly dark wrapper. There is a sweet woodiness to the body and a sweet smell to the foot like caramel, maybe. Prelight draw is effortless with a musty taste to it. I'm thinking at this point that this is going to be a terrible smoke. 


Upon light I get a woody tone with a bit of cinnamon up front. It has excellent draw with lots of smoke. There is a slightly uneven burn with a flaky silvery ash. When the ash came off it produced no cone. The cigar is very mild in strength. 


At the halfway point, the draw tightened up considerably. A little tar is starting to form at the head. Cut the head again and draw became excellent like before. On the end, the strength became a bit more medium in body with a definite coffee bean taste. Clean to the mouth with a lingering coffee aftertaste. 


Buzz rating on this cigar I give a 3 out of 10. Not much at all, but this was expected as most Dominican cigars I have had are mild.


Overall I give this a 3.5 out of 5. It's not a great cigar, but it's not a bad cigar either. It's quite the middle of the road cigar that's a nice deviation from stronger cigars. 


You can get this cigar from Cigars International, the only source I could find, ranging in price from $60-70 for 50 cigars, depending on size. That's a great price for a budget cigar that could be your everyday smoke and the price won't break you for that many cigars. Like I said not the greatest cigar, but a decent cigar for the money, and you don't have to be embarrassed to give one to your friends. 


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

Great Weekly Special From Corona Cigar Company

Click here for this great weekly deal. http://www.coronacigar.com/products/weekly-cigar-special.htm

Two excellent premium cigars for a great price. Medium to Full bodied. and the price per cigar gets even better when you get the 2-fer deal. Don't miss out and act fast while supplies last!

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

Gurkha Park Avenue Maduro

Back again this week with another cigar review for Gurkhas Limited Edition Park Avenue Maduro. I am quite a fan of the Park Avenue cigars and was very excited that they decided to make it with the maduro wrapper. Cigars International had a special on these cigars for $10 off a box so I jumped at the chance to grab some to try.


According to CI's description it is brimming with rich, smokey,spicey, and sweet flavors.

It has chocolate brown wrapper with medium veins. It has a sweet straw like aroma to the body and a sweet chocolate aroma to the foot. The band came of perfectly with little resistance and not damaging the wrapper. For the first time , I used a V-cutter I purchased from Famous-Smoke.com for $1.50.

For such a cheap cutter, it made a perfect V in the end of my torpedo. I'm not sure if this is the style of cigar to use it on but it was worth the try.

Prelight draw is easy to medium and its airflow tastes of sweet tobacco. Upon light, mild sweet tobacco tastes come through with slight pepper. I am really surprised at the mildness of this cigar. As I smoke it, the draw becomes tighter so I decide to use the Xikar cutter for a regular cut. I opens the draw much better and I get much more volumes of smoke. The ash fell off about an inch in producing a decent cone. The ash is whitish and flaky. 

The cigar progressed to a more medium body with more peppery taste, especially through the nose. The smoke has a sweetness to it which can be tasted on exhale and can be detected in the air. Slight woody tones are coming through. Second ash flicked off produced a sharp perfect cone.

Halfway through, I it really started to pick up in strength! Definitely medium to full. Lots of spice through the nose with chocolate tastes to the palate. 

The cigar finished clean with just slight lingering tastes. 

Buzz rating was an 8 out of 10. Very nice buzz going on here.

Overall I give this a 4 out of 5. This cigar was tasty, and very eventful with it starting out mild and then slowly building in strength. 

You can  get this cigar from Cigars International and Cigar.com. A box of 20 will run you about $60 from both vendors, and a couple times a year they can be had for $10 off a box. Cigar.com offers a sampler of 3 regular and 3 maduro of Park Avenues for an outstanding deal of $20! So do yourself a favor and pick up a sampler, you won't regret it!

Till next post............Peace! 

Confessions of a Cigar Smoker

Another summer season is gone. Fall weather is upon us. Fireflies flashing their beacons of love are but a memory. A typical Adirondack setting as my wife and I sit on the deck, overlooking the pool which desperately beckons me to winterize it. I sit here with a Gurkha Park Avenue cigar in hand, wisps of smoke trail off the foot of my cigar while I contemplate starting a camp fire in our fire pit. Five years ago, all was not like this. Five years ago, we were not delving into the realm of cigar smoking. I guess to find out how I got where I am today, you have to look at where I have been.

Since I was a kid, I loved the smell of tobacco. But for me, I never smoked a day in my life until I was 35 years old. My grandfather was a cigarette smoker from the time he was 12 years old, but he quit when he was in his 80’s before having a heart valve replacement. My father, who had smoked cigarettes in the military, before I was born, had quit and forbid my brothers and I to smoke while living at home. My father’s brothers were also cigarette smokers with the exception of one, who in fact was a cigar smoker/cigar chewer. I remember him frantically searching local stores when his regular store ran out of his brand.

My other grandfather was a tobacco chewer. Longcut like real men chew, not that pussy snuff which seems so popular today. I remember him pulling out his pouch of Red Man and asking us if we wanted to try some “worms”. Not very appetizing to a 7 year old to say the least. I never tried to smoke anything in my teens, let alone chewing tobacco, but I still liked the smell of tobacco. I was one of those “Sniffers”. You know, one of those guys you see in the store who picks up a bag of pipe tobacco and just sniffs the bag before putting it back and moving on. That’s when the drug stores had an accessible aisle for consumers to actually touch the bags, and obsessively sniff in my case.

Now enter my wife. She truly came from a rather  large smoking family. I didn’t smoke, so if she wanted to date me, she had to not smoke. She was not a smoker per se; she had smoked maybe only a pack up to that point in her life. She would sneak them from her father who was also sneaking them as he was a terrible asthmatic with emphysema. Ironic that this man was on oxygen and would sneak away to “tend to the fire” in the basement to have a cig. Needless to say, it was no problem for her to quit and slip on my class ring.

The very first cigars I purchased were for the birth of my son in 1997. They were the typical cheapie cigars with the cheesy “It’s A Boy!” labels, which I never even kept or smoked one, as I was not a smoker. For my first born, my daughter, I punked out and bought Chocolate "Its a Girl!" cigars, you should have seen the sideways glances I got handing them out.

Shortly after, we took a trip to New Hampshire to visit my brother. It was there I had my first experience with a walk in humidor at the local mall. I was in sniffing heaven! The store clerk indulged me in my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder of “sniffing” and gave me a sample of pipe tobacco for my sniffing pleasure.

Finally after years of moving, children, and numerous jobs, we settled down in one spot, and became the typical American family. Upon returning home I purchased a cigar sampler on clearance at a local drugstore. I kept that sampler for about 4-5 years in a drawer unhumidified. I had no knowledge at all about proper cigar storage. Over the years I had a handful of cigars given to me by friends which I stored in the same fashion, in the dark recesses of my drawer.

In the Spring of 2006, while “sniffing” my stash, my wife suggested that I try one. I was floored! This woman, the bearer of our children, who hated the smell of cigarettes herself, was suggesting that I do something that I forbid my own children to do. My first reaction was “No!”, I didn’t want the kids to find out and get the wrong idea. After some discussion (about 5 minutes worth) we decided to try one together.

Our first choice was not a good one. Remember those old cigars stashed in the drawer all those years? It was a Rum Runner. It was dry. It was stale. It tasted bad. We threw it away and went to a fresh pack of Swisher Sweet Perfectos we had purchased recently for the “collection”. Wow! What a difference! This wasn’t too bad. This led to Swisher XL flavored cigars and then to the fine hand rolled cigars we smoke today.  And so began our new hobby smoking cigars.

Now, I am a researcher. Not in a professional way, but in a “I have to know everything about what I am interested in” sort of way. You name it, I have probably researched it from my computer. Viva la Internet! It’s another one of my OCD tendencies, but in the end, I know all about what I want and know why I want it. I have read many articles ranging from cigar history to the common man growing his own tobacco in the back yard and rolling his own cigars.

In my foray into the thirst for knowledge into the world of cigars, I found the plethora of information to be overwhelming. Every cigar store has its own version of Cigars 101. And  although many are similar in most fashions, many differ greatly on some matters. The first website I encountered had it’s own downloadable Etiquette Essay. I though I hit the Jackpot! All I needed to know about cigars in one spot! I thought that armed with this knowledge I couldn’t possibly look like an idiot when I light up. I could instead look like a seasoned cigar pro and not offend with any amateur antics. I could really look like I knew what I was talking about to my friends. Then after a few more searches, what did I find? You’re not supposed to toast the foot? The band should be left on? Store the cigars with the Cello wrappers off? Contradictions and conflicts were piling up!  The more I looked the more contradictions I found. Now I was truly puzzled. Who was right?

In the end I came to one conclusion………It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. One mans Do is another mans Don’t. It all amounts to ones personal preference. I like toasting the foot of the cigar before I light it. I like to take the band off right away. And by God, I like to leave the Cellos on the cigars in the humidor! They help to protect the wrappers because I rotate and move them a lot.

For the wife and I, smoking cigars was quite the bonding experience. A new hobby which we both shared. For a while, it was our “Dirty little secret”. We would share cigars on the back steps before the kids got home from school. We would make sure to bury them like cat turds in the sand so no one could find them. We kept it private, away from anyone’s knowledge. But why did  we feel the need to be so secretive? We weren’t breaking the law. But over the next months we slowly came out of the “closet” and become mostly public. I say mostly because we weren’t publicly announcing to everyone, but if they found out, oh well…… And when we did come out, we could not believe how many friends also smoked cigars!

Our kids surprisingly were ok with it when they found out.  After the shock and awe of it wore off them, they asked when they could smoke cigars? We told them that they could after they turned 35, like us, and cigarettes were never to be touched ever. I mean, what could we say? It would have been quite hypocritical to tell them "never".

We have made it a rule to never smoke in the house or vehicles. Strictly outdoor enjoyment. It has been a fair weather seasonal hobby for us. Wintertime comes and our hobby becomes almost nonexistent with the exception of the occasional opportunity to smoke at friends houses designated smoking areas. It’s a time we try to stock the humidor with our favorites, to let them season until the next warm weather. But we have plans to convert a newly purchased shed into a wood shop/den. And into that endeavor we will install heating, vent fans, some seating,maybe a few ashtrays....... Hmmmmmm? Sounds like we could have cigars in there during cold weather..........

Most people used to be surprised we liked cigars. Me, mostly because I never did any sort of deviate behavior in my life; my wife, because it isn’t that often you see a woman smoking a cigar. I find my wife smoking a cigar is sexy in a Demi Moore sort of way. Not that I think of Demi when I see my wife with a cigar, its more of a taboo to see a woman go against the grain of what womanly behavior is expected. To me it makes a woman look strong, able to be independent enough to stand up and make a bold statement about her character. On the other side of the coin, though, I find a woman smoking a cigarette revolting; so common and stinky!

I read once that statistically people start smoking cigars in their 30’s, a category we both fell into at the time. Is it mid life crisis or is it just part of the maturity scale where you finally say “You know, I have had enough rules and conformity in my life. It’s time to truly live and indulge.”. At least the latter is what it is for me. I truly enjoy the taste of a cigar. To me cigarettes is a stinky dirty habit, whereas cigars are a hobby. I don’t need cigars. I am not addicted to cigars. I can give them up right now if need be. There are no toxic chemicals added to natural cigar tobacco leaf.

I know smoking of any kind is not good for you, but this is just a small indulgence of ours, maybe 5 to 6 cigars a month. My doctor even said that its no cause for alarm, nothing more than a night exposed to second hand smoke in a bar. The American Cancer Institute’s guidelines don’t even consider us smokers.

For us, cigar smoking is two things: 1) a social event where we have one with friends; 2) a relaxing moment together just sitting around a campfire, paying attention to each other, watching the stars or feeling a gentle breeze on a sunny day.

Oh! And I almost forgot about all the gadgets! I am a big gadget fan, and the world of cigars is no stranger to having gadgets for the cigar connoisseur. I have collected so many smoking gadgets such as cutters, punches, cigar holders, and lighters that I could open a museum attributed to such! And the cigar boxes! I have collected over the years so many different cigar boxes that my den almost looks like an episode of Hoarders! I have even bought empty cigar boxes from the smoke shops to add to the collection. Can we say OCD just one more time?

I don’t know how long we will continue to smoke our cigars, the powers that be, Big Brother, has been waging a war to make them illegal. Its important we all get involved with CRA (Cigar Rights of America) in some shape or form to keep our right to choose to smoke fine cigars. It was tobacco that founded this great nation we live in!

What I do know is that I have is about an hour and seven inches worth of cigar to smoke, along with my wife and her sweet Tatiana cigarillo, on our covered deck, where we can enjoy our cigars for now, rain or shine. The pool can wait another day, the fire pit is calling our names.

And until next post…………..Peace.

More to come.

Hey all! Just wanted to let everyone know that I am working on an article about how I got into cigar smoking. Would like to put up a few articles like this along with the reviews from time to time just to mix it up a bit. If anyone has any suggestions please post and maybe its something I can relate to and convey here. Must say I am pleased to see the hits on this blog. Over 1300!!!!!!! At least I know someone is reading it, even if it is return readers. Please click the "Join this site" button on the right of the page below the photos to keep updated on my posts and by all means, please comment. I welcome any input into the blog and reviews.

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

Camacho Triple Maduro

A fair 57 degrees brought me outside today to light up one of my absolute favorite cigars. The Camacho Triple Maduro. Now I must start by saying this is only the second one I smoked ever, because they are so pricey, but they can be had for very reasonably prices in sampler packs.

The first time I had one of these gems was about a year and a half ago due to a program from Camacho. It was called "the Black Band Project". You had to watch 3 videos online over the course of 3 weeks and then they sent you a 3 cigar sampler all which had black bands titled "A", "B", and "C". You tried them and then a few weeks later they revealed what they were. I found all the cigars to be really good, but this one, labeled "B", was by far the best of the trio.

Looking at the cigar, I must say its wrapper is flawless. It has a dark maduro wrapper which is flawless with slight veins. The cap on this one was a little sloppy as it is a bit lifted in a couple spots, but nothing to worry about as I'm clipping it off with my newly repaired Xikar cutter. The last one I smoked had a flawless generous cap, so I'm not sure what happened to this one in production. The body has a sweet tobacco aroma and its foot is of sweet chocolate. With an effortless cut of my super sharp cutter, the prelight draw is good and tastes of rich sweet tobaccos.

Upon light I was greeted with an explosion of spice. Right off the get go you get strong peppery tastes with a blast through the nose. Don't worry though, it quickly mellows out to a nice peppery taste to the palate.

It produces a silvery/black (which I call "dirty") ash. I must say that this cigar produces volumes of smoke!  Definitely medium to full bodied. Woody tones with dark chocolate notes are coming through.  The ash is really tough! I had to wait till it was almost 2 inches in before I could flick the ash off, only to be rewarded with a perfect cone. That maduro sweetness is always present as it just floats on the back of the palate. On the last inch of the cigar its strength increased to a definite full body. Also on the end I got more of that dark chocolate more prevalent than before. On that last couple inches, it became sort of harsh and the flavors were a bit muted. So I used a technique I learned from the Cigar.com newsletter. What i did was blow through the cigar to get the harsh smoke out, then resumed smoking the cigar. Wala! The flavors all came back with no harshness! I smoked this cigar right to the nub, which despite its strength had a very clean finish with only slight lingering tastrs.ges.

Buzz rating on this baby gets a 10 out of 10! Whoo! What a buzz! This one left my head swimming and made me stumble a few steps when I got up! I gave it the same score the last time I had it with the Black Band Project.

Overall I give this cigar a 4.5 out of 5. Why if it's so great you may ask? Because my absolute favorite cigar was the Jericho which was also produced by Camacho and then discontinued. I always compare all my cigars  to the Jericho. But that's another review. So now this cigar is the new sheriff in town.

The only thing I don't like about this cigar is the price tag. At $214 to $254 a box of 21 cigars from various online sellers, it's quite a sticker shock. But never fear, you to can have these cigars at greatly discounted prices in samplers as mentioned above. Right now at Famous-smoke.com, go to the view online catalog and enter key code SN602, for the month of October you can get samplers at a great price. One is the Full body sampler #1 for $20 which contains 2 Camacho Triple Maduros, 2 Oliva Cain F cigars, and 2 Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970 cigars. All really good cigars! The Camachos alone are about $15 a piece if you were to purchase them alone in singles. Another good buy is the Full bodied Wingman #1 Sampler which you get 5 Camachos, and 5 Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970 cigars for $31. So don't delay! October is almost over and so will the deals!

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

La Perla Habana Black Pearl Limited Edition Maduro

Hello all! As promised, I will be starting to post reviews again after such a busy summer. Fall is upon us and in my mind perfect weather for burning your favorite stick near a backyard bon fire.

Today I bring you the La Perla Habana Black Pearl Limited Edition Maduro. This cigar came compliments of FratBoy.

Now I couldn't find any description for this cigar at all from anywhere. The only picture of it I could find was from Cigars Internatinal, the only place I could see you can even get these. And they are only obtained by buying a box of La Perla Habanas and adding them as a 5-pack for $1. So if you like the La Perla Habana line and are looking to buy a box, make sure you add these to your cart.

First off, they are an oily and dark maduro wrapper with veins throughout. It has a very generous wrapper. Prelight aroma is the typical hay/barn smell to the body and much the same only a bit sweeter to the foot. 

Upon light I was greeted  with a nice nutty medium spice. Further along a chocolaty aftertaste lingers on the back of the palate. Mellowing out, it still gave a a nice slight spice through the nose. 

It had an easy to medium draw producing a silvery black ash and a decent cone. The burn throughout was very even.

Mild to medium in body. The finish was a bit strong with a lingering taste. 

Buzz rating on this cigar I give an 8 out of 10. A nice present feeling.

Overall I give this cigar a 4 out of 5. Very nice. I am relatively new to the La Perla Habana line, but I am liking its brands very much. I don't really care for a lingering finish, but this cigar had very good tastes and construction. I would recommend if you haven't tried this brand yet to get yourself a sampler. You won't be disappointed.  

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

Dropping the Ball

Well, summer is just about over and cooler weather is blowing in. I want to apologize to all my followers for not keeping up this blog. Summer has been really busy, but with the cooler weather I'll be inside more and not neglecting this blog with all the reviews I have stored away in my cigar diary from this summer. So bear with me over the next week and I'll start posting some more reviews!

Till next post..........................peace!

Cu Avana Intenso Punisher Review

Be ready for the ride! Because its just what you'll get, when you light this cigar up an savor its greatness! FratBoy surprised me with this gem in a cigar swap. The second I saw it, my jaw dropped and almost jumped for joy, as I have been wanting to try this bad boy from the second I saw it in the pages of various catologs. Buddy, I owe you BIG time for this one!

Cigars International describes this cigar from Cu Avana as: Punisher is crafted for the minority, the insatiable ligero lovers. The juxtaposition of deep, dense flavors, searing spice, and classical construction deliver a righteous blend with layer after layer of sand-pounding, toe-curling, full-bodied power.

I was almost afraid to try this cigar from the various descriptions on the net. So making sure I had a full stomach, I sat down with cigar diary in hand to take my stab at this bad boy.

First thing I noticed was the nice oily wrapper and firm body. Sweet straw fragrances could be smelled on the body and sweet chocolatey aromas to the foot. Its wrapped very nicely and has a generous cap. After clipping the cap, the prelight draw was medium with slightly sweet tobacco tastes. Then out of nowhere, before I even light, I could feel the burn on my lips and tongue! What the hell?!?!?!?!


It seems that the cigar had been treated with a bit of jalapeno pepper oil to the head! Quite the tingling surprise when your not expecting it. My first thoughts were, I better get a drink! But no! I'll take this cigar like a man!

So I lit this cigar from El Diablo, getting a little earth and roasted nuts. Lots of pepper through the nose, the spice on the head seemed to overtake any other flavors, but I was still enjoying this cigar very much! The hotness isnt so overpowering that you cant enjoy it, but I really like that jalapeno feel to my mouth. Definately medium in body, about an inch into the cigar it starts to mellow out and sweet tobacco tastes are on my palette. Black pepper notes are prevailent throughout the whole cigar.

This cigar isn't as strong as I thought it would be. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, the regular Cu Avana Intenso is stronger, but it could be the Jalapeno pepper thats throwing me off. The draw stiffened up a bit more and i find myself biting down to open it up a little. A bit of tar came to the head, so I decided to clip the head once again. Problem solved for the tar and the draw. I  would recommend cutting the head about halfway to three quarters down the generous cap.

A nice firm whitish ash was produced with a sharp pointy cone. The cigar produces a good amount of smoke.

Halfway through the spice picked up a notch through the nose and then quickly mellowed again this time right to the nub. A slightly nutty with pepper aftertaste is delightfully there. Had to break out my NUB BUDDY to get the most I could out of this great cigar!

Buzz rating I give an 8 out of 10: A wonderful medium buzz!

Overall I give a 5 out of 5: Thats right! You read correctly! A 5 out of 5! Just a hint of clean pleasing aftertaste, and not overbearing. This to me is a really good cigar! It reminded me of a Jericho by Comacho in terms of spice, but the cigar is no longer made. Also it is a bit like Comacho's Triple Maduro, my absolute favorite cigar, in terms of taste, but with a bit less buzz.

This cigar can be had from a couple internet sites. Cigars International sells it in a 5 pack for $40 or you can go to Cigars.com and get a sample of 3 Punishers and 3 Intenso's for $30. Definately worth a try if you like medium to full flavored cigars.

Thanks again FratBoy!
Till next post...................Peace.

Chapstick and Cigars?????

Hot muggy weather has struck our region this week! Great for enjoying the pool or a cigar by the campfire, but not so good if you have to work!

So you might be asking "What does chapstick have to do with cigars?" Well, I find that chapstick is an indespensible tool when it comes to cigars.

Have you ever had part of the wrapper peel or come off a bit with the band? Or have you ever clipped the head a little too much and it starts to unravel? Chapstick would be your best bet at repairing your cigar. Any chapstick will do, which ever floats your boat, I prefer something with a slight mint taste or my personal favorite Mr. Zoggs Sex Wax sold online or any Ron Jon Surf Shop, which has a slight coconut scent..

Lets take for example, you clipped the head a bit too much and its starting to unravel. Take a generous bit of chapstick on your finger and put it under the lifted wrapper. press the wrapper to it, smooth it out, and put a bit of chapstick to the outside of it. Wala! Your cigar is fixed. It acts as a glue and seals the wrapper. I find it lasts all the way through the smoke and if it is a repair to the body of the cigar, it burns no problem as the cigar progresses. What ever flavor you choose never seems to impede the flavors of the cigar, in my opinion. You can even repair a patch on the body with that cap you sliced off, so dont be too quick to toss it away!

This is a technique I have used for about a year and a half now. I got it from a cigar news letter I get in my email from Cigaradvisor.com. Every week they have a new tip along with cigar reviews. Its a very worthwhile read and I recommend it to all my Brothers and Sisters of the Leaf.

Hopefully some of you find this as usefull as me. Till next post.............Peace. 

ARTURO FUENTE Opus X The Lost City Cigar Review

Yes my fellow Brothers of the Leaf (and sisters), you read it right, ARTURO FUENTE Opus X Lost city cigars! This is a very rare and expensive cigar. You can buy a box of 10 for $300 or get a 5 pack sample box for $150, which comes with a business card holder. This my friends is a $30 cigar, which came compliments of my very good friend GMan, who came back to his roots for a visit. Thank you is not enough!

In 2004 Andy Garcia filmed the movie, "The Lost City" in part on Chateau de la Fuente in the Dominican Republic. Carlito rolled these OpusX cigars from the same crop that was filmed five years ago for Andy, also an avid cigar lover. Rolled with a Dominican wrapper grown in only one vintage harvest year, this special edition OpusX is available in only a handful of sizes with only 500 boxes shipped per year.

The cigar is described as :  The Lost City a distinctive experience for any cigar connoisseurs, no matter what their taste or preference. Lost City remains full-bodied from head to foot with a toasty character thoughout. Perfectly blended, you will find each and every Lost City smokes, burns and tastes the same from box to box as they expel earthy nuances with hints of spice. Packed full of Dominican long leaves, all limited and rare, OpusX Lost City is one of the rarest blends ever released to date.

Usually I dont like to review cigars which are this expensive, I like to talk about cigars we can all afford. But this cigar was sooooooooo good I had to review it, so that by chance if any of you lucky enough to get your hands on one, by spending the cash or getting one as a gift, you could know what to expect.
First off I would like to say that this cigar really surprised me! Usually Dominican tobacco to me is much too mild. Not this stick! The wrapper was flawless, I couldn't help notice the oily sheen staring back at me. the body firm.  It had that nice barn like aromas. Prelight draw on mine, a churchill, was medium, with slight rich tobacco tastes and chocolate.

Upon light I was greated with a nice smooth nuttiness. As the cigar progressed, it kicked up a little more twards medium with a lingering spice on the pallette. The cigar pretty much kept a level taste of earth and nuts, with that slight spice on the tongue. Large Volumes of creamy smoke filled the air with this one. It never became harsh. Like a dry wine, it left the mought a little dry, but was very clean, with good amounts of smoke. 

Buzz Rating I give a 8 out of 10 : For a Dominican I was greatly surprised.

Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5: I know I didn't say too much about this cigar, but thats only because it was quite unchanging throughout, very consistent. I feel this is a great cigar, not for everyday of course due to the price point. But if ever get a chance to splurge, pick one of these up, treat yourself. You wont be disappointed!

Until next post............Peace!

Rocky Patel Mulligans Sale Alert!

Holts now has RP Mulligans on sale for $10 off per bundle.

 http://www.holts.com/category.html?id=201915

Remember I gave this one 3 out of 5 overall with a buzz rating of 7 out of 10. Not a bad smoke for everyday. At $30-45 per bundle of 20 you can't go wrong, especially for a Rock Patel cigar!

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

Cigar Diary

Good day all! Hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July!

Today I like to talk about keeping a cigar diary. A cigar diary can be a very useful tool in keeping track of what you like and don't like in a cigar, that you can reference back to if you forget. Personally, my cigar diary has developed into this blog and is very similar.

What I did was take an ordinary lined journal to jot down my cigar adventures. First off you have to come up with your own ratings system. I wrote mine on the inside cover so that anyone who picked up the book could easily decifer my ratings. Not only do I give it a numeral score, but I also have those stick on stars. With those, I would go the extra mile and give 1 -2 stars based on if I would by the cigar again or absolutely had to have that particular cigar.

Now if you choose, like I did, a glue stick comes in real handy. What I would do is take the label off the cigar and afix it in the journal with the glue stick, kind of like the header, so I could identify the cigar again in case I wanted to by it again or forgot what it was.

Pretty much the same information that I put in the diary is what I put in the blog. I write while I am smoking, picking up and putting down the diary periodically, as not to forget particular details later on. I usually start off by inspecting the looks and construction of the cigar. I make notes if it is firm or spongy, the looks of the wrapper and cap, and the smell of the body and foot of the cigar.

I clip the cap and take a prelight draw to see if its easy, hard, or anything in between. I note if there are any prelight tastes. Is it sweet or peppery, is it like cedar or does it sting my lips?

I toast the foot with my torch lighter. I prefer a triple flame jet lighter or one of those Ronson Tech Torches. They seem to light my cigars faster and hotter than regular lighters.

 The Ronson torch seems like overkill, but it has a nice trigger ignition, never seems to fail, and is refillable just like any other jet lighter.It makes a nice table lighter and conversation piece, and has outlasted every lighter I have ever owned.

I light the cigar and blow on the foot to ensure I got a good light. Take a few puffs and notice the initial tastes. I make notes as the cigar progresses, watching the burn to see if it is even, the color and type of ash, and any noticeable taste changes, the amount of smoke it produces, and if it is clean or does it feel like it is leaving a film in my mouth. Whew! That was a long sentence! I also take notice if it produces a cone when the ash is flicked off, I really like to see a nice cone glowing back at me. I sometimes take note if the cigar smoke gives off any noticeable aromas.

In the end I give it my numerical rating with brief final thoughts. If I am having any kind of beverage with it I list it, as a drink can greatly influence the tastes. It can enhance or suppress the flavors in a cigar, so pair wisely, even if its just soda or Kool aid.

Also dont forget to write who you got it from and where you are smoking it. That is really what cigar smoking is about, experiences. Where and whom you are with, kicking back and sharing. Many problems of the world were decided by great leaders sitting back with cigars, letting the time pass, enjoying each others company. So what better way to remember a particular smoking moment than to remember the company you were with. I can look back at a certain cigar review and remember what and who I was with.

So thats it, my suggestions for a cigar diary. A useful tool you can reference back to. Hopefully you will make it part of your routine. Until next post..............Peace.

Victor Sinclair 55 Series Corojo Cigar Review

Another day another cigar! Todays cigar comes compliments of Turk. Its one that has been sitting in humidor for some time now, about 2-3 months. So it should be good and ripe!

First off lets see how the catalogs decribe this lucious looking corojo: Victor Sinclair Serie ’55’ is an exquisite smoke utilizing a 5 country blend of tobaccos and an extensive 5 year aging process, hence the ’55’ name. ’55’ Corojo (red) - wrapped in a gorgeous dark Corojo leaf, the Serie ’55’ Red offers an incredibly smooth, complex, medium to full-bodied smoke.

Ther redish corojo wrapper is almost flawless/seemless. The body is firm and the prelight draw is very good, with tastes of sweet cedar and raisens. Upon light I was greated with nice tastes of nuts, sweet like pecans. It took about an inch in to get any noticeable pepper through the nose and on the palette. Even though this is not a sweetened cigar, there is quite a noticeable sweetness to the smoke and upper palette. The burn was even with a flakey greyish ash, and when the ash came off it produced a blunt cone. About halfway through the pepperiness kicked up just a bit, not over abundant or overbearing, but very nicely done.  About this time I started getting earthy tastes. At the begining this cigar was on the mild side but by the end it became more medium in body.

You can obtain this cigar from both Thompsons Cigar  and Cigars International  catalogs or on line at thier respective site. Thompsons though only seem to sell these as part of samplers and CI does factory seconds for $35-40 for 20 cigars.

Buzz Rating on this one I give 7.5 out of 10: A real nice low to medium buzz.

Overall I give a 4 out of 5: Nice tastes throughout. I wouldnt say this cigar is uneventful with its subtle changes as it progressed. Like I have said in earlier posts, I have never had a Victor Sinclair Cigar I didnt like. And this cigar is no exception!

Until next post........Peace!