Cigar Chewers Sound Off - Page 3

Just finished smoking an Oliveros El Padrino. "El Padrino" means "The Godfather". So called, I guess, because it's made w/ Italian tobacco in addition to the Central American. Y'know, I hate to keep going back to the CI descriptions, but in addition to their selection, price & delivery speed, one of my favorite things about them is their descriptions are spot on. The describe the Padrino as having "a rich sweetness" and a "clean tobacco taste". The sweetness is pretty obvious, and very pleasant. Not overwhelming & never cloying. As for the rest. . . I would have fumbled for a long time to find the words to describe the flavor I was getting & probably not settled on clean tobacco taste, but that's exactly what it is. A very. . . uncluttered flavor profile. Enjoyable, don't get me wrong, and not lacking in nuance, but not overshadowed by stuff that maybe shouldn't be there. It just felt. . . well, cleaner. This was a very, very good cigar. Not to be missed, IMO. The fat 6" x 60 ring gague torpedo was nice, too. Big, billowing clouds of flavorful, aromatic smoke, and a slow, steady burn. Highly recommended.

I've been curious about the Media Noche. I'll probably give them a try one of these days. I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. Persevere, though; the name "Cuban Heritage" makes me think the cigars in that sampler are full flavored on purpose (b/c that's a "Cuban" trademark). There's bound to be milder stuff aplenty around the bend.

Oh, and Renn, I thought of some more pa;ate expanders:

1. Avo Domaine: Spice (a little full; you may want to work up to this)

2. Nestor Plascencia Reserve maduro: Most chocolaty cigar I've had so far.

3. Perdomo La Tradicion Cabinet Series maduro (chocolate, but not as much as the nestor; probably more than the Carlos Torano 1916 & ITC Super Fuerte) and Rare Cameroon (Leather & spice).

Enjoy.

Smoked a Gurkha Turk earlier this evening. I'm kind of divided on this one. The 1st few puffs were kind of unpleasant. The word that came to mind was "oily". I used to smoke cigarettes, and the Turkish tobacco in this one reminded me of Camels, which I was never a big fan of. But knowing the tendency of cigars to evolve, I gave it a little time. It started to grow on me after maybe the 1st half inch. Mellow. Good, even burn, and a somewhat faint, floral sweetness. But I quickly tired of it, as it didn't have enough floral or sweet to really stand out and no other flavors I detected. It didn't evolve any further, and I kind of just wanted it to end after awhile. Contrast that with some of my adored Gurkha favorites, which I never want to end. Definitely not a favorite.

Smoked a CI Legends Copper label last night. This is a "house blend", which usually means a dull and uninteresting cigar. But CI's sound really interesting by the descriptions in the catalogs, and there's kind of a twist to their story. They claim that this started out as a sort of contest between a small group of industry heavyweights that CI approached and asked to make house cigars. They had to be 5.75" long and 54 ring gauge, and retail for $5.95 apeice or under. Otherwise, the blenders were given free rein to do whatever they wanted. They were pitted against each other in an informal sales contest, as sort of friendly rivalry type of thing. Every so often, more blenders would join the "competition", and they're now up to 11 entrants. Despite their being house blends the descriptions sounded good enough that I figure I'll get around to trying all of them eventually. The Copper Label is made by Drew Estate, the guys who bring you Acid, Chateau Real, La Vieja Havana and Natural by Drew Estate. It's an aromatic, like the Acid blends are, (the only legends blend that is) and for whatever reason is a sales phenom. On our May excursion to the Bethlehem stores one of the guys I went with bought one and fell in love with it. he's since returned and bought a number of them, & he brought one by for me to spark. It is aromatic, but tastes different from the Acid blends. It is very mellow and pleasant, and tasty as all get out. Thick, velvety smoke (but not as velvety as a Deep Dish), nice aroma, good even and slow burn. I can see why my friend likes these. I wouldn't rank it among my favorites, or even on par with the Kuba Kuba or Deep Dish blends from Acid, but it probably comes in a damn close third as far as my assessment of Drew Estate cigars goes. Looking forward to trying the other Legends blends. I hope they're all at least this good.

Yeah, wood and leather are things you have to acquire a taste for. But hey, if you acquired one for Scotch, give it time. Bound to happen. Speaking of Scotch, which one do you light up with? I'm a Cragganmore man, myself (although real Scotch drinkers probably think I'm a puss because Crag's all toffee and carmel notes and light on the peat and smoke).

Got one sitting in the humi. haven't gotten around to it yet, mainly because it's a churchull, and I don't often have that kind of time. But they supposedly got a 94 rating from Cigar Aficionado, which is really damn good. The guy who gave me the Onyx also lkes milder stuff, as I do, by and large, so I figure it's something I'd probably like, if he likes them.

Cragganmore typically costs about $50.00 a bottle, + tax.

I was screwing around on line one day last week & found a site called forpeatsake.com which has some reviews of a wide array of single malts, as well as bourbons and other whiskeys. I just finished off my Crag this past weekend, and I'm considering buying something different, based on the reviews on that site. Might be worth checking out.

Smoked a 5 Vegas limitada 2007 last night. Great cigar. This is what I was hoping for from the 06, and didn't get. Very well balanced, with creaminess, sweet spice that was never overwhelming, and a touch of toastiness (which can often overwhelm a cigar, but in this case didn't start to do that until the very end). It also burned nice and slow, if a wee bit uneven. I'm very psyched to try the 2008 I've got in the humi, and eagerly awaiting the inevitable 2009.

Nope, they're reputedly very chocolaty.

Had a long ride back from a court appearance yesterday. What better way to while away that ride than with a fine smoke? The lucky winner was a Sol Cubano Connecticut. Given the lackluster performance of the Maduro and Cuban Cabinet, I didn't expect much from this one. I was pleasantly surprised. It had a very mellow taste and aroma, but was still brimming with pleasant flavors. Mild hint of sweetness. It reminded me of the Don Diego I smoked a few weeks back. This is one of the better mild cigars out there, IMO. Worth checking out, and very cheap.

I had a rare two-fwr today, smoking a CAO Black 2000 in the car onthe way to work, and a Gurkha Titan inthe yard this evening.

The CAO is a rare gem. They apparently released the Black in 2000, originally, but pulled it off the market because they didn't have enough of the tobaccos to meet the demand. CI got their hands on some last year, and I brought them to a pal's attention. He loves the "standard" CAO Black, and I figured he'd like these. Eight yars of aditional aging probably wouldn't hurt, either. He bought a bunch, and I traded him a couple for a Gurkha Beast. I honestly wasn't impressed with the 1st 2 I smoked, but this last one was simply a delight. Mellow and creamy, with a load of sweetness on the palate. Much, much mellower than the new Blacks, the creaminess didn't have the hint of vanilla the more recent blend is known for, but tasted more like whipped cream. Scrumptious. I'm not sure if even CI is still selling these, but if you can get your hands on some, I highly recommend them.

As for the Titan, this too was an exquisite cigar. The wrapper is a very dark maduro, which probably accounts for the earthy sweetness that pervaded the smoke from beginning to end. It also opened with some spice and leatherwhich made it very interesting. Thse latter flavors fadeded as the cigar progressed, but the sweetness remained, especially through the nose. Simply delicious. Also highly recommended.

I know Acid makes one non-aromatic for sure, but I forget which one it is. The One, or the Atom maduro, maybe? I've never heard of the Ming, so maybe that one's not aromatic either. Glad you enjoyed it. keep the reviews comin'.

On a somewhat related topic, I finished my bottle of Cragganmore last weekend, and replaced it with a bottle of Balvenie - oh, excuse me . . . THE Balvenie - DoubleWood 12 year old. What a delight! I haven't decided from this single glass if I like it better than Cragganmore, which I liked for its toffee-like notes, and the fact it put the smoke and peat in the background. But this is damned good. It's easily more complex than Da Crag, with sweet, floral and spicy notes evident. It also has a much more pronounced burn than Cragganmore. I highly recommend it, particularly if, like me, you have a lady like palate for Scotch and tend to avoid heavier Scotches like Talisker and its ilk.

I can't wait to pair this with a cigar. Maybe some night this week. Perhaps on monday, our Labor Day.

The CI blurbs used to say "These aren't flavored cigars per se. . . .", so I presume the term aromatic is a smidge more correct. But I can't tell you what the difference is.

I used to do it every week, too, because I thought that's what my humi's long lost directions said to do. But I noticed the same problem you have, except I had a few unwraped cigars that got moldy because of it (see my tale of woe posted earlier in this thread). I now refill it once every 3 weeks or so (Nick said once every 4, but I can't go that long w/o getting stressed that I'm drying things out too much). That seems to work OK. I haven't noticed any more mold on the smokes, but then again I always keep the cellophane on them, partly for this reason. If you have a mold issue, I'd recommend doing that, too, along with cutting the frequency of sponge refills.

That's a good question. I've personally never bought one that I didn't either use that same day or store in my home humidifier, so I'm actually not sure. I wouldn't go beyond one day, personally. Dry cigars lose a lot of their character, don't cut well, and tend to unravel, making them sloppy and not very enjoyable. Cigars that have dried out can be resurrected, if placed in a properly humidified environment and left alone for about a month, however.

I've never heard of anyone doing that, exactly. There are limited editions that are made for only a short period of time. The Fuente Family's God of Fire smokes are only produced in extremely limited quantities on an iregular schedule, due to the small amounts of the tobacos used that are available. CAO also did a 65th anniversary edition that isn't made any more. I've never smoked one of the former, but love the latter. I have 3 left in my humi now, and am reluctant to share w/ anyone. CI still has some, and I'd urge anyone reading this to try them. There's a mini review of them in this thread somewhere.

OK, I'm an idiot. I just re-read this and saw that you said Herf a Dor and not humi. I've never used my herf a dor for long term storage, so I'm not sure about this. I have been told it won't keep past 5 days on a single "charge". But the in store sales guys at the Bethlehem downtown store told a friend that if you place cigars that are already properly humidified in one, it can kep them fresh a day or 2 w/o a recharge. So I guess you can go 7-10 days safely between recharges. IN any event, you should endeavor to get the ones you're storing in there smoked or into a humi ASAp, as this is at best a stop gap measure anyway. I presume herf a dors are designed only for short term use, on a short trip w/ decently long periods of down time between.

How cool is this? I had 2 court appearances in the same area, hours apart from each other, yesterday. I went to the 1st, ate lunch, then went to a park and sat in the sun, reading over some documents I brought w/ me for about an hour whilst smoking a Sol Cubano Sumatra. When it was finished, I went to my second appearance, then went home early.

It doesn't get much better than that, particularly because the cigar was very good. It started a wee bit harsh, but mellowed considerably after the 1st few puffs, and had a nice mellow, sweet spiciness to it. Considering how much I liked thi and the Sol Cubano Connecticut, I really have to re-evaluate the Cuban Cabinet and Maduro, which I found to be underwheming. Glad my sampler included 2 of each. But for the money, these are a nice, different kind of flavor. Recommended.

Just finished smoking a Gurkha 1887. Delightful little smoke. I suppose one could argue that it's a bit one-dimensional, as spice was the only nuance I detected, but it's such a great spice flavor - maybe just nnorth of medium bodied, but nowhere near heavy & overpowering - that I can overlook that "flaw". A little pricey at $11.50 a stick, but good if you happen to see them and are in the mood for something a little spicy. Less intense than, say an AVO Domaine or an Alec Bradley Maxx, but maybe a little more than a La Aurora 1495. Perhaps just a touch less spicy than the Nat Sherman Gotham, of which I am an ardent fan. All in all a recipe for success.

I gave this one 2 chances, and was underwhelmed both times. Considering what I'd read about it, I was surprised by that. It SHOULD have been something I'd like. Can you elaborate on what you liked about it, and let me know what I've been missing?

Just smoked a Gurkha G3. It started out kind of harsh, with an unpleasant taste I couldn't identify as its finish. I started to think this was going to be a smoke to endure rather than enjoy. But Gurkha came through in the end, as they usually do, and after the 1st 1/2" it mellowed considerably, developing a woodsy flavor with an earthy sweetness on the finish. The sweetness faded after another 1 1/2" or so, but the smoke remianed pleasant to the end. Not as good as my previously listed Gurkha favorites, but an enjoyable smoke nonetheless. A good full bodied maduro, which is what I expected it to be.

What indeed? The Espressos are reputed to be chocolaty, so I imagine they're good (I always like chocolate flavor nuances ina cigar, anyway). But for some reason, I'm not keen on trying them. Lemme know what you think; I may pick one up next time I'm in Bethlehem.

Yeah, I didn't detect any chocolate in the Nasty, either. I still liked it, though, but it was all the aromatics, if I recall correctly.

I smoked a Gurkha Warlord last night. Every so often you smoke a cigar that's exactly what you expect it will be. This was one of those times. It was nice and mellow, with a nutty sweetness that was especially pronounced for the 1st 2". It then got a little toastier, and a little less sweet, but the nuttiness remained for the entirety of the smoke. The one drawback to this cigar is its immense size. This thing is MASSIVE. It's 7" long and a 58 ring gauge. It took well over 2 hours to smoke. The draw was also a little stiff for the 1st 2" or so. As it got a little shorter, though, this improved nicely. Another high quality smoke from Gurkha.

I also received in the mail today a 10 pack called the "Gurkha Micro Batch" sampler. It's got 10 5.5", 55 ring gauge Gurkhas in it; I recently made up a wish list for my next visit to the CI stores, and over half of it was Gurkha blends I have yet to try. Evry one of them was in this sampler, along with 2 I already tried - and liked - and one I had no particular interest in, but what the hey. It's a Gurkha; how bad can it be? So I guess I won't mind if that CI trip doesn't happen for awhile. For $50.00 (or $5.00 a cigar, a great price for Gurkhas), it don't get much better.

Mostly, I get them from Cigarsintl.com.

Why is that?