La Perla Habana Black Pearl Review

I must start by saying this cigar is a sleeper cell! When I first started seeing this cigar appear in the catalogs it was a low cost cigar that at that time you would think was a low quality cigar. Then the masses started to like it and the price went up a bit, and now I know why. It's a pretty good cigar!

The description reads : An uber-tasty maduro with lip-smacking, deep maduro flavors galore. Black Pearl brings a jet-black Brazilian Arapiraca maduro wrapper which disguises a meaty long-filler blend of aged tobaccos from Nicaragua, Mexico, and the Dominican to create a rich, brawny smoke that’s medium in body and balanced throughout. Complex notes of toast and wood mingle with a subtle caramel sweetness, while the rich aroma fills the room with deep charcoal scents.

This cigar came compliments of FratBoy in another triad of cigar swaps. This cigar will surprise you as it did me. It was firm to the body with a nice oily sheen to the wrapper, which was very nicely wrapped. The cigar itself smelled like horse shit, but dont let deter you from what greatness this cigar has which lies ahead! Prelight draw was effortless and had a slight caramel like sweetness. I was greated with a pleasant nuttiness upon light, with a slight sting to the tongue and lips. The nicotine in this one is quite up front and noticable. A little pepper was noticable through the nose with earthy characteristics on the palette. The cigar produced nice billowy volumes of creamy smoke, always a great visual effect for your smoking pleasure. The burn was slightly uneven with a nice white ash which seemed firm but had that layered look of a flakey ash. Flicked the ash off about a little over an inch through, and it produced no cone.  Definately medium in body.

I paired this cigar with Bully Hill Sweet Walter Red wine, a dessert wine. Nuts and earth were prevailent throughout and that slight sweetness on the back of the palette from the smoke, was complimented by the wine. My palette didnt pick up on the toasty notes.

Buzz rating I give this one an 8 out of 10: The sting was the first indicator as what to expect and it didnt disappoint.

Overall I give a 4 out of 5: Very good cigar that everyone should have in thier humidor. I am really considering trying out the Mega Sampler at Cigars International just to try out the other varieties.

These cigars can be had from Cigars International for $50-60 per bundle of 20 or you can go with 5-pack samplers for $18-20. But my true suggestion would be to try the Perfecto Mega sampler for $60. With that you get 4 each of the 5 different blends. Trying the regular blend made me want to try them all and I feel you wont be sorry if you by the sampler shown below.

Well thats all for today, time to eat lunch and then enjoy another cigar with the Missus, until next post.....Peace.

Rocky Patel Mulligans Review

Ok Folks! Wow! Just looked at the hit counter for this site and we have jumped 100 hits in the last week! This is great! I never expected this site to start to take off like this. So if you really like the site, Pass it on to a friend, and dont forget to Follow the blogs by clicking the Follow button to the right. And please, feel free to comment on the blog, the feedback would be great for me to give you guys the best blog on cigar and cigar related reviews that I can deliver.

With that being said, Today I'd like to review a decent cigar from Rocky Patel called Mulligans. I got this from my buddy FratBoy and smoked it on Fathers Day.

The cigar is described as having an oily Habano wrapper, medium-bodied,toasty and cedary.

The cigar was slightly spongy to the touch in hand and had a straw like smell to the body. The foot was sweet smelling and had a generous cap to the head. Not sure if this was wrapped by experienced torcedors as you could see a rough cut all along the cigar wrapper from the Chaveta (knife), you could see the "peaks" that someone unexperienced could make. Here is a pic of a chaveta:

There were a couple thick veins in the wrapper. It had an effortless prelight draw which tasted like sweet raisins.

Upon light I was greated with a little pepper through the nose, but not strong. What I mean by through the nose is quite self explainitory. This is done by a technique called "rolling the smoke". It's where you take in the smoke to your mouth and blow or roll some or all of it over the top palette and out through the your nose. Doing this will expand the flavor profile you get from the cigar.

The cigar started off mild with slightly sweet woody tones and became a little more medium, but not much, as the cigar progressed. It was smooth throughout with a creamy feel to the smoke in the mouth. It had a fairly even burn with a tight grey ash and blunt cone. On the last inch it got a bit more peppery with a dash of chocolate to last few puffs.

Buzz Rating for this one I gave 7 out of 10: Slight buzz but not non-exisitent.

Overall I give 3 out of 5: Lingering tastes on the palette but still clean to the mouth. A bit unusual break away from the normal Patel profile as far as tastes and strength are concerned, but not in a bad way.

Depending on you size preference, you can buy these from www.holts.com for $40-55 for a bundle of 20.

A couple more reviews on the way in the next few days as I am playing catchup on what I have in my cigar diary. Until next post........Peace.

Xikar Cutters

Ok, here is my third attempt to try and post this time. Every time I have tried to write this post, I get to the end and something happens (i.e. accidental key slip) and I lose the whole post. They say third time is a charm!

Ask anyone about cigar cutters and almost always the Xikar name comes up. Xikar makes a very good cutter in thier trademark teardrop shape.

I can from personal experience say these cutters are top notch, even for the basic model shown above, like the one I own. They are super, and I mean SUPER, sharp and durable . I have had mine for three years now and never had to have the blades sharpened. At one time it seemed like the cutter was getting dull, but a quick reference to the Xikar website had me clean the blades with rubbing alcohol. Tadaaaaa! The cutter was back to slicing the cap off my cigar with ease. Must be the oils or tar from the tobacco can gum up the blades.

I have literally dropped my cutter to the floor a thousand time with no problem, till about a month ago. That time it hit the floor and came apart! Now there isn't much to these cutters in the way of parts, but in my case, a little spring was lost. Fortunately for me, Xikar has an Iron Clad no questions asked lifetime warranty. If your cutter becomes dull or broken, just send them the cutter and they will sharpen, fix, or replace your cutter free of charge. And they will return it to you within a few days of getting it, so I have read. I have yet to send mine in, you know how it goes, you keep putting things off, but I will update this post when I do.

Basic models like the one above can be bought around the net for around $30 each or you can get 2 for $50 at a few online vendors. But if you have a little extra cash, you can get really fancy models, like the following, from $50-$100!

And for about $300 you can get one made with 10,000 year old mammoth tusk.

These are but only a few of what the company offers and they all carry the lifetime warranty.

Now it benifits you to register you cutter with Xikar Via thier website, not only for the warranty but because they will send you a nice little leather pouch for the cutter for free!

So there you have it! I finally got to the end this time! I truely recommend this cutter and if you purchase one, I know you wont be disappointed! Till next post.........Peace.

Perdomo Inmenso review

Well its the day before Mothers Day, and after a hard day of garage sale-ing, I decided to sit with Mrs. Cigar Moose and fire one up. And what better to sit back with than a Perdomo Inmenso!

Now at first glance this enormously chunky 6.5 x 60 big beefer of a cigar, along with its quite comical band of an old lady with a HUGE dog rocket of a cigar in her mouth, seems like a joke. But let me tell you it is anything but. As a matter of fact, I have yet to date ever had a Perdomo cigar I didn't like.

Cigars International describes this cigar as being crafted with Nicaraguan and Honduran long-leaf tobaccos and attractive Corojo wrappers, Inmensos are blowtorches with a serious, rich, medium-bodied flavor profile including herbal spices and an earthy character.

The cigar prelight is firm with a toothy wrapper. Thats fancy cigar jargon for that it looks all bumpy and veiny. The wrapper on mine was reddish, typical of Corojo wrappers, with a nice slight oily sheen to it. Being this large ring gauge, you better have a cutter big enough to handle the head of the cigar. As my Xikar cutter was out of commission at the moment (I dropped it and it came apart, but I'll talk about that another post) I had to use a cheap guillotine cutter which barely fit the end of the head of the cigar. To my surprise it made the perfect cut slicing just the right amount of cap off.

Prelight draw was perfectly effortless despite this being a rather large cigar, and to be honest, all the Inmensos I have had, have all drawn this way. Upon light, and a torch lighter is the only way to go with this one preferably one with a double or triple flame, I was greeted with a nice mellow nuttiness. Black pepper coated the back of my palate to a nice spiciness which carried out through the whole smoke. Like the description, it was medium in body with coffee undertones. Very consistent and mellow. But mind you, even though this cigar is fairly clean to the mouth, you will have that distinct stench of strong cigar on you. Even with having a cigar herself, Mrs. Cigar Moose told me "You stink."

Ash was fairly firm with it falling off a third of the way in, producing a decent cone for such a large cigar. Burn was a bit uneven which I had to correct a couple times with my torch, but that could be due to the slight breeze that was blowing.

All in all you might want to set aside some time for one of these babies. Mine took almost 1 hour and 45 minutes! But what great time to sit, reflect, and contemplate all your thoughts!

Buzz rating for this one was 5 out of 10. Not a real buzzer like my last review, but not without a bit of buzz. Just enough to give you that bit of energy to get off your ash and get something done. I hanged the oil in my lawn mower and mowed my lawn.

Overall I give a 4 out of 5. I think i have said enough good things about it.

These babies can be had at Cigars International as of this review for $30 for 10 any size. Well worth the beans!

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

Gurkha Micro Batch VH-7 Box Pressed Toro Review

Another break in weather produced a sunny day for me and the Turk to enjoy a couple of stogies.

Turk was kind enough to bring me a  Gurkha Micro Batch VH-7 Box Pressed Toro .

Online description describes it as:  a 6”x50 Toro has been box-pressed to showcase the rich, bold qualities of Honduras and Nicaragua, with a touch of Dominican tobaccos to help tame the blend and provide a "noble" quality. Expect a complex array of coffee, leather, and earth delivered in a smooth, somewhat spicy fashion. The finish is full and eventful.

Made with 40% Nicaraguan ligero, 40% Honduran ligero, and 20% Dominican seco, I was really looking forward to what kind of tastes I would encounter.

First off, Turk says to me "Take the cello wrapper off and tell me what you smell." So not wanting to disappoint I did what he asked. To me it had an aroma of cedar, until he asked "Doesnt it smell like a moldy comic book?" I smelled it again and to my surprise he was right! Now to a cigar smoker strange aromas elude to goodness as far as what to expect for tastes as you smoke. Its not uncommon for someone to smell aromas of lets say horse shit and then say "Whoa! This is going to taste great!" Go figure........

Now these cigars are limited to 45,000 cigars per batch and aged 4 monthes post rolling.

Its firm and has a really dark maduro Habano wrapper. I used a punch on the perfect cap and was quite surprised at the totally effortless draw! At first I thought there was a crack in the wrapper letting the extra air in but the wrapper was fine.

Prelight tastes were of sweet tobaccos and raisins. Upon light I was greeted with a blast of nuttiness and pepper. The nuttiness mellowed but was always lingering in the backgound. Definately full flavored but clean to the palate. Definite leather tastes but not so much cofee tastes as the description touts.

Ash was a dirty grey and was firm throughout. Burn was slightly uneven and started to canoe on the end.

Buzz rating is a 9.5 out of 10. Man this one really hit me on the end. That light on your feet good feeling buzz!!

Overall rating is a 4.5 out of 5. This is a sleeper cigar that will really surprise you! A nice complex cigar that is clean and a really nice deviation from your regular smoke. Cigars International sells this cigar now on sale in boxes of 20 for $50, thats only $2.50 a cigar! Or you can buy 5 packs for $20. Don't pass up this cigar! Well worth the money in my eyes.

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

Drew Estate Natural Irish Hops Review

Warm weather is starting to infiltrate Northern NY, giving relief for my brothers of the leaf! No more scrambling for a place to enjoy our hobby in the icy cold North!

Turk and I had a great day hanging out in my garage sipping soda's and enjoying the great weather, while smoking up a really great cigar, courtesy of the Turk.

The write up on this cigar is as follows:

A complex, medium-bodied cigar that’s rich, silky-smooth, creamy, sweet, and booming with bold flavors. This toro, measuring 6" x 52, combines an exotic mixture of unique tobaccos with Brazilian and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Patiently aged and masterfully blended, these leaves are then coated by a dark and oily San Andres Negra wrapper from Mexico. The result is complex from the get-go and enjoyable to the nub.

The wrapper itself is a thing of beauty, veiny but very small veins. It is somewhat dark and an oily sheen can be seen on the wrapper. The cigar itself is firm with a flawless cap that is sweetened. Prelight draw is effortless.

Upon light, you get a good dose of pepper to the pallette which quickly mellows out. Definately sweet throughout the whole smoke with a prevalent taste of Irish whiskey. Reminds me of Erin Go Bragh cigars from CI. Both of which are very good smokes.  Turk got a a taste of licorice part way through but did not linger.

Medium bodied, Ash was silvery white and hung on almost to the halfway point before falling off to reveal a decent cone.  But about 1/3 left of the cigar the cone became blunt. Burn was fairly even throughout. And the best thing was it didn't have a long finish and left me with a clean pallete at the end.

Buzz Rating I give 8 out of 10. Nice buzz! Light on my feet feel good!

Overall I give 4 out of 5. Very good cigar! This is one of the best DE Naturals I have had. You can get a box of 6 for $28 from Cigars International. Thats less than $5 a stick for a good quality cigar. So if you are looking for a good quality flavored cigar to deviate from the norm, you can't go wrong with this Drew Estate treat!

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

Ashton Heritage Puro Sol Review

Another good day in the Adirondacks! Temps almost to 50F ! So Mrs.CigarMoose and I decided to kick back outside and burn some leaf.

Today I smoked an Ashton Heritage Puro Sol which I got from Turk. It's really good to have friends who share the same hobby as you, so you can trade back and forth.

Well, the description of the smoke reads as Dominican fillers and binder are combined with a rare aged Cameroon wrapper that gives this medium to full-bodied cigar a robust, rich, and tangy taste. The cigar has a strong shot of flavor on the nose with a dry and medium finish.

The wrapper was a medium brown with small veins throughout. The cigar was firm throughout the whole smoke, a first for any cigar I have ever smoked. It had a very nice almost seemless cap that clipped off clean. Prelight draw was slightly firm which got stiffer as I smoked it, almost to being plugged. Then almost to the nub it opened up again. A little too late for my tastes.

Upon light I was greeted with a mouthful  of nutty tastes and a bit of tangy citrus. As the cigar progressed coffee notes and nuts prevailed. Ash on this cigar was very firm hanging on tight almost to halfway point. I flicked it off for fear of it falling into my lap. After flicking, i was greeted with a very pointy cone. One word. Nice! the burn was perfect through the whole occasion.  I now am noticing a lingering after taste, like you would with coffee. Not unpleasant, but I rather have a clean finish.

Buzz rating I give a 7 out of 10. Nice little high which lasted about a half hour after the smoke.

Overall I give a 3.5 out of 5. It was a good tasting smoke, but the tight draw and aftertaste kind of turned me off. But the flavors throughout and the construction warrented the better than average edge.

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

Rocky Patel 1961 Cigar Review

Sorry people for the long delay in getting more reviews  out to you. No excuses, just haven't made it a priority to do it. Also I would like to say that I can understand why you seee alot of reviews for the more high end cigars. It's because there are alot of great samplers out there with a variety of high end smokes for a fraction of the cost of what a box or singles would cost you. Thats why again today I ame reviewing another premium.

Rocky Patel 1961

The description of the cigar is described as "a flavorful, medium to full-bodied handmade consisting of a dark, reddish-hued Habano-seed wrapper grown under the natural valley mists of Ecuador and an aged mixture of Nicaraguan long-fillers secured within a zesty Honduran binder. Complex and interesting, 1961 unleashes a full-flavored display of deep, hearty flavors including notes of spice, coffee, richness and a smooth, semi-sweet finish."

Another afternoon in Meatloaf's enclosed porch, with a warm sunny day in March, had us lighting up these robustos I aquired in a sampler pack, just before Xmas.

The cigar itself was firm throughout, with a really nice cap. The wrapper was quite veiny. It took us a few minutes to decide on the color of the wrapper, with us being conflicted as to whether it was maduro or habano. Like the description it was dark but also reddish. Prelight tastes had a perfect draw of sweet tobacco. An oily sheen on the wrapper was a welcomed addition, giving us the impression that this cigar was loaded up with flavor. And were we right!

Upon the light we were met with a nice peppery blast which mellowed out quickly, yet still maintaining its medium body. It produced a firm whitish ash and a decent cone. Lots of toasty notes throughout with coffee, producing nice volumesw of billowy smoke. One thing we did notice is thaat on the end of the smoke we got a bit of a harsh taste to the pallette. We decided that maybe the cigar should be stopped being smoked when you get to where the band is supposed to be.

Buzz Rating on this one we give 6.5 out of 10. A bit of a buzz but not what we expected from a cigar with asuch a medium body throughout.

Over all we gave it a 3.5 out of 5.  Not a bad cigar at all. Better than average but not as good as we expected for a Rocky Patel. Of course we have had some really good cigars from RP. That is why it's a good idea to try the samplers instead of flying blind buying a $200 box of cigars!

Summer is coming, and warmer weather is starting to filter in our area. We are looking forward to good times with friends at outside get togethers and backyard bon fires! Hope all is well with all our Brothers (and sisters!) of the Leaf . Till next post..........Peace.

Great deal from Corona Cigar Company

Right now you can aquire Drew Estate Ambrosia Kaya cigars. The ad reads:

Special delivery! UPS brought us 3 large pallots of Ambrosia Kaya and quite frankly we've got no room in our store for them. Please help us by helping yourself to a box of Ambrosia Kayas at an over 80% discount! Boxes of 40 ($184.00 MSRP) for only $29.95 or 2-fer $39.95!

Ambrosia cigars have such complex tobacco blend, it is the most difficult cigar for Jonathan to produce. Trying to describe Ambrosia is a bit difficult since there are no other cigars like it. The taste is slightly sweet with aromatic undertones of clove. The sensual aroma of the smoke is distinctive and unique. In fact, the artwork on box and band alone are enough to arouse the senses.

I have read some reviews on this particular size and they say the draw is perfect all the way through with volumes of thick creamy smoke. I ordered 2 boxes and split the cost with Meatloaf. Waiting for them to arrive. As soon as I can I will review this cigar. If you been wanting to try these cigars, now is the time with the ridiculously low price. You can't afford not to buy them!

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

Padilla Hybrid Cigar Review

Well, the weather broke this week and we had a couple days of warmer weather (in the 50's) . Meatloaf invited me over to try a couple cigars he picked up at good prices. This review is for the Padilla Hybrid Maduro which comes only in 5 X 56 from Cigars International (http://www.cigarsinternational.com/) .

The ad describes it as  Draped in a dark, broadleaf Maduro wrapper and loaded with a rich Nicaraguan long-filler blend, Hybrid Maduro is brimming with flavor. Notes of coffee, earth, spices, and a smooth, semi-sweet finish are perfectly balanced with a rich tobacco core.

I must say the wrappers are just beautifully dark with a nice oily sheen to them. Despite it feeling hard and not spongey, the cigar drew pretty well.

Upon light I was met with a blast of peppery spice which quickly mellowed out. Like the ad stated there were coffee notes throughout and with it I found sweets notes of chocolate. It ended with another peppery blast, but yet was clean on the palate. On the underside of medium in strength.

Ash was firm and flakey, yeilding a peppery ash, and a decent cone.

It was quite uneventful despite the peppery blasts, staying the same much throughout the smoke. But one thing I can say about this cigar is that it produced thick creamy smoke.

The cigar lasted about and hour and a half.

 Buzz rating on this one was 8.5 out of 10: it really had a bit of a kick for me.

Overall rating 3 out of 5. Definately one to try and for the price a good choice, just don't expect anything spectacular. A good cigar to smoke while just sitting around with the boys.

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

Rocky Patel VUDU Review

I know, I know! I keep reviewing cigars that are a bit expensive to buy, but I got them in the sample pack deals from online catalog offers. Which by the way is THE best way to try the more expensive cigars at an affordable price.

This cigar came from Famous Cigars in a 12 Rocky Patel cigar sampler for $25 including the shipping. Thats just over $2 per stick! How can that not be a bargain? And as of this review you can be the proud tester of these cigars for $15 plus shipping  for a 6 cigar Test Flight Sampler. Thats a great Price considering a box will set you back $76-$84 resulting in  $3.80-$4.20 a stick.

The size was Robusto for this review. The description reads as boasting a diverse Nicaraguan core rolled in dark, flavorful Mexican Maduro wrappers  brimming with earthy, spicy and sweet tobacco flavors.

Again I had this cigar in the company of my friend Meatloaf and another buddy "GunMan", on Meatloaf's semi-heated porch. We got the temp to a comfortable mid 50's despite the dropping temps outside.

To start, the cigar is very dark. It is firm to the touch, and has a prelight aroma of very sweet tobaccos. Prelight draw was slightly firm but not to the point it was like it was plugged. A sting to the lips from the wrapper was noticeable.

Upon light I got a spicy pepper up front with tastes of fresh baked bread. Definately full bodied in strength. The spice continued throughout the cigar and was very noticeable through the nose, but was not unpleasant. I also got a bit of wood and floral notes about half way through with a bit of caramel mocha. I really like the changing flavor profile which made this cigar very complex.

The burn was very even and consistent, for the most part, only needing relighting once due to my flapping gums, probably telling some very exagerated story. The ash was firm and silvery/black in color.  The cigar only produced one cone which was perfect to say the least. But after that first "flick" it never had any cone at all.

This cigar lasted well to an hour or more. Quite a feet for a robusto. It is now one of my favorite RP cigars and was smoked right to the nub.

Buzz Rating I give it a 7.5 out 10. A bit of a buzz but not overpoweringly dizzy.

Actually the only thing I didn't like about this cigar was how difficult it was to remove the band. It was stuck very well to itself and thank God it didn't stick or damage the wrapper! I usually like to put the labels in my cigar diary, and it was a disappointment not to be able to do that beause the label had to be ripped apart to get it off.

Overall I give it a 4 out of 5. Very enjoyable, I would recommend it to anyone wanting a full flavored complex cigar that won't knock you on your ass. And like I said before, at the sampler price you can't go wrong.

Try the sampler yourself, and let me know what you think. Until next post............Peace.

Buying Advice

I dont know about you guys, but I am always looking for a deal on cigars. I subscribe to a few of the online catalog companies to recieve thier print catologs as well as thie email specials. A few stand out in my opinion and I would like take note of them.

First one that comes to mind is Cigars International (http://www.cigarsinternational.com/). You can go to thier website and sign up for thier free catolog and email offers. Lots of great deals, lots of bundle cigars and samplers. This is one of my favorite websites for ordering cigars because of the deals and fast shipping. Orders have arrived on my doorstep as soon as the next day with regular shipping, if purchased before 3 or 4 PM.  Another plus for the site is one of the payment options is Bill Me Later, where you can purchase cigars and pay later. It's safe, it's fast, and you can get more info on it at http://www.billmelater.com/ .

Another website I like is Cigar.com (http://www.cigar.com/). This website I am sure is associated with Cigars International as they carry alot of the same Exclusive brands. It also uses the Bill Me Later payment and also has a free print catolog. The one thing that does stand out from the other sites is that it sells most of its cigars in singles too. You an expect to pay what you would from most boutique cigar stores for singles, but remember you also have to pay shipping. But if you dont have a good cigar store near you, this is a great way to try cigars you would normally have to buy a whole box. Still cheaper in the long run to find out if you like a cigar or not before you spend the big bucks on a whole box. They also offer good samplers at great prices.

Corona Cigar Company located in Orlando Florida is another good online store. I have actually visited this store and it is amazing! Thier staff is over the top helpful and will walk you through the store helping you to make choices based on your tastes.  They offer the popular brands as well as budget cigars which really make this store stand out. I have ordered some of the buget brands, which I'll review at a later time, which are quite noteworthy. Unfortunately they dont utilize the Bill Me Later system. They offer some good deals via the email system, and usually include freebies with purchases of boxes of cigars. They also have a Free print catolog you can obtain from thier website.

I could review many more catologs, but the above are the ones I most frequent. Even though I want this site to review the more affordable cigars, it's not hard to admit that some of the great deals on sampler packs will give you access to more expensive cigars at a better price.  It will not only give you access, but will also diversify the different types of cigars you can try, therefore alowing you to develop your tastes in cigars.

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

Victor Sinclair Bohemian Bamboo Cigar Review

It was such a nice break in the cold weather today I decided to have this cigar. So I started up the outdoor heater in the garage and fired it up! I obtained this cigar from my friend "Turk" for Xmas. It's good to have "Brothers of the Leaf".

Now this cigar can be obtained through Cigars International but as of this review could only be bought in the big 6" X 60 ring gauge for $49.99 for a bundle of 20. It is described as draped in a delicious, super-smooth Connecticut shade wrapper. Paired with a mellow blend of aged Dominican long-fillers, this mild to medium-bodied blend delivers a rich and flavorful smoke that’s smooth, creamy, and brimming with notes of cedar, pepper, and coffee.

Mine was in the Robusto size of around 5" X 50. The natural wrapper was a bit veiny and the cigar was very firm throughout. Prelight aromas were of sweet tobaccos and the draw was slight effort.

Upon light and throughout, Woody notes were abundant. The burn was slightly uneven and produced a blunt cone. The ash remained firm throughout and first dropped off a third of the way through. Now I have just started to practice to wait till the cigar has warmed up from smoking to remove the band, and when I did this with this cigar it still managed to take some of the wrapper with it. A minus in my book for construction. Also while smoking it, I could hear a noticable crackling like a camp fire when I would take a draw. I then noticed that it was coming from the damaged part of the wrapper, causing the cigar to start to crack unravel. Another minus.

Still with these flaws the cigar produced alot of creamy smoke. And the description of the flavor profile was right on with what I had. Coffee and woody cedar were noticable with a mild Jalepeno pepper sting to the tongue starting about halfway through.. Definatley mild to medium in character.

Unfortunately for me, when I had about an inch and a half left, The propane in my heater expired and I was left with a setting sun and and dropping temps. So I tossed the rest of the cigar as to avoid freezing to death.

Buzz Rating was sort of low with a 4 out of 10, but by no means took away from the cigar.

Overall  I give it a 3 out of 5 mostly because of the construction. But it did hold up in taste and had nice volumes of smoke, and to me that is more important. I might just have had a bad wrapped cigar.

To date I have yet to have had a bad Victor Sinclair cigar, and this was no exception.So try it yourself and form your own opinion. Till next post..........Peace.

Gran Habano Siglo 3 Review (Sort of)

Finally had a cigar the other night with a very good friend of mine, "Meatloaf", at his place. He is fortunate enough to have an enclosed porch which he heats up with a portable heater when he wants a smoke. It was the first cigar I have had in a long time since the winter came and slapped us in the face.

We ended up having a Gran Habano cigar that he got from a blowout sale, because the band they had put on it had to be taken off due to a lawsuit against them. I believe they are the Siglo 3 cigars. They actually were pretty good. I know they are a bit more expensive cigar, but at a blowout price they are a bargain. This isn't an official review, as I didn't keep any notes, I just wanted to enjoy the cigar with my buddy, so here is what I can remember.

These were Churchills, nice oily wrappers, and firm to the touch indicating well packed. Upon light you are greated with a good dose of peppery spice which mellowed rather quickly in a matter of a minute or so. Still with a bit of pepper, you get slightly sweet earthy tastes. The burn was really even with a decent draw, and a firm ash which held on very good despite the lack of a good cone. The cigar  produced delightful plumes of creamy smoke with each puff. It was definately medium in strength. One noticable trait of the cigar noticed by Mrs. Cigar Moose later that night was that the smoke produced smelled really bad, even though I didn't notice as I was the one smoking it. So it's not a crowd pleaser. So after I was made to decontaminate (Shower, brush, and clothes change) I noticed that the ending was a clean finish on the palate and didn't linger.

Buzz rating on this one I give a 7 out of 10. Not real strong but enough for you to just feel its effects.

Overall I give this one a 3.5 out of 5. Better than average, but not the best I have had. And I don't want to say that in a negative sounding way, because it was quite enjoyable.

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

Calle Ocho Cigar Review

Today I would like to review one of my favorite cigars which has become a main staple in my humidor, the Calle Ocho. This cigar is quite affordable form Cigars International coming in six sizes from a Robusto for $32.99 up to the Presedente for $42.00. They come in bundles (mazos) of 20 and average $1.65 to $2.15 per stick.

Calle Ocho has a Nicaraguan blend with a Sumatra wrapper. It is decribed in its ad as boasting a nice tooth and sheen, as a medium-bodied Nicaraguan blend with an earthy profile, complemented by a natural sweetness, ample flavor but not overpowering.

The first thing I noticed was how nicely wrapped it was. Slightly shiny from it's natural oil, a good sign the tobacco was aged properly, with little veins throughout. The size I tested and normally buy was the Torpedo (6.5" X 52 ring guage). Tobacco at the foot smells sweet and pre light draw was perfect and also had a sweetness to the tongue.

Upon the light it had big toasted almond tastes to the palate. Different than the description but like I have said before, everyone has a different palate, therefore you might find it different even from me. To me while puffing, there was a surprisingly sweet taste with a bit of peppery spice.

Draw stayed decent, never firm, a bit less than medium draw, very slight effort. Ash was silvery white, which signifies alot of nitrogen in the growing soil. It doesn't produce a decent cone everytime, even blunt at times.

 The strength of the cigar started off medium and then halfway through mellowed out more really nice. The smoke smells a little sweet, not like a Swisher Sweet, but more like Dominican cigars. Toasty notes with that peppery spice right to the end, very nice.

My Buzz Rating: 8 out of 10, Overall Rating: 4 out of 5.

Try some out. I think that the current "Brown Bag Sampler" for $20 from Cigars International usually contains one along with 9 other usually great Premium cigars.
Till next post........peace.

My cigar rating system

When I rate cigars I give a Buzz Rating and an Overall Rating.

Buzz Rating is sort of expains itself. Its how much lightheadedness or Buzz I get by the finish of the cigar. I know that it all depends on alot of different factors such as how much you puff and strength of the cigar. Alot of the cigars I smoke, I take my time, usually about an hour, and not usually with an alchoholic beverage. If I do I note it in my reviews. Also I notice that most of the time the same buzz affects my buddies I smoke with. Ratings for this are on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

Overall Rating is affected by alot of different factors. Taste is the biggest one, because if it tastes bad then the other factors dont matter. Other factors include: the construction (does it fall apart when I smoke it?), Burn (does it burn even?), Draw (does it feel like I'm sucking through a plugged straw?), and of coarse price (is it worth the dough I make to buy it?). Ratings for this are on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best.


So take these same factors in consideration when you smoke one of my reviews and form you own opinions.

All about me

Ok where do I start? I live in a place in northern NY, where everyone talks with a French Canadian accent, or so we are told. I started smoking cigars in about 2006 with Mrs. Cigar Moose. It was a spur of the moment deal, which blossomed into the fair weather hobby we do today. By this I mean we smoke mostly in the warmer seasons, never in the house, and always outside. I like medium to full strength cigars (Nicaraguan/Honduran) usually of a ring gauge of around 50. I prefer torpedo shape cigars because to me they seem to cut better and are more comfy in my mouth. As stated in last post, I just wanted to review the affordable cigars the average guy can afford, which he gets from places like Cigar.com or Cigars International, the most common cigar catalogs you can obtain from the internet. Some of my reviews will from time to include more expensive cigars, but not regularly, because frankly, I like most guys don't have the cash to throw around in these hard economic times. Please feel free to comment on my posts, all relevent opinions are welome. My opinions are based on my tastes, and everyone has different particular tastes in cigars. So please, don't kill me if you don't agree. Till next post...........peace.

And so it begins.......

Well, I have been looking for a way to put out there a sort of site to put my own cigar reviews. Reviews unaffected by sponsors, or biased hype. I looked at other sites and only found a few that gave such reviews but found them lacking that "Everyday kind of guy" touch. I am just a "Regular Joe" looking to review cigars the average every day kind of  guy can afford and relate to. Check back soon to hear more about me and my unbiased reviews of affordable cigars. This is my first time with blogs so bear with me as I figure out how everthing works. Till next blog.........peace.