Posted in Cigar Reviews, Limited Editions, Quick Reviews, Viaje, tagged Cigar Reviews, Cigars, Viaje, Viaje C-4, Viaje Skull and Bones on July 5, 2011| 2 Comments »
This is another one of those Limited Edition dealies from Viaje. It’s an odd shape really, closed at both ends. I cut the foot a little before I light it. First few puffs and it reminds me some of the Skull & Bones blend, but it seems to not have as much punch.
Viaje C-4
More after the jump…
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Oliva, Quick Reviews, tagged Cigar, Maduro, Oliva on June 24, 2011| 2 Comments »
This had always been one of my hidden gem cigars and I was sorely disappointed when they where discontinued/renamed. i found these recently aging in a store found in my travels. I had been dying to try one again.
Dark and chocolatey it was everything I remembered and more. Aging has been kind to this cigar. I wish I could fine more!
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Limited Editions, Padron, Quick Reviews, tagged Padron on June 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This cigar is only available at Smoke Inn stores in Florida. Special thanks to Abe and company for the opportunity to try this HTF cigar.
This looks like your standard Padron 64 except with a huge 60 ring gauge. The prelight draw is super easy and after it’s lit, I’m gifted with copious amounts of smoke. Great Padron flavors here: coffee, cocoa, leather and a bit of spice.
I’m not a fan of the ring gauge but I enjoyed every inch of this cigar.
Rating: 90 (A-)
Posted in Arturo Fuente, Cigar Reviews, Quick Reviews, tagged Arturo Fuente, Arturo Fuente Hemingway, Arturo Fuente Rosado, Cigar, Hemingway, Rosado on February 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
As some of you know, I’m not a huge “Fuente Fan”, but I have always had a soft spot for their Rosado wrappers. The 858 Rosado is probably one of my favorite cigars of all time (seriously). So when I heard these were soming out at the end of last year I was very excited.
Being that the Hemingway line is more full bodied than the regular line, I was concerned that the Rosado flavors would be obscured in a bolder blend. In some ways I was right. This cigar did not taste like the 858 Rosados. It did not have the creamy leather, wood and cinnamon notes I love about the 858, but it was still good – just in a different way. It was much spicier and had some clove and pepper notes that built throughout the smoke. There was some roughness around the edges with this cigar, but I really enjoyed it.
Rating: 89 (B+)
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Limited Editions, Tatuaje, tagged Pepin Garcia, Pete Johnson, Smoke Inn, Tatuaje, Tatuaje Anarchy on November 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Size: 6” x 54
Vitola: Perfecto
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Origin: Nicaragua
Age: a week
This is one heck of popular cigar… and it’s not even released yet. The Tatuaje Anarchy is a special Limited Edition cigar that is a collaboration between Pete Johnson, Pepin Garcia and the Abe “Ming” Dababneh at Smoke Inns in the Palm Beach area. It features an all new blend and is one of the most interesting looking cigars I have seen in a long time.
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Limited Editions, Viaje, tagged Andre Vargas, Cigar, Nicaragua, Viaje, Viaje Skull and Bones on October 19, 2010| 2 Comments »
Size:
Vitola: Robusto
Wrapper: ??
Origin: ??
Age: Dusty
This super limited cigar is the second installment of the Viaje Skull and Bones Series. The first release, the daisy Cutter, was a little 4 x 54 petite robusto. This new release, which now will be released every Halloween does not have a name. It is very limited, just 150 boxes of 25 cigars each were made. I was lucky enough to get my hand on a few from my local, Empire Cigars.
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Don Pepin, Limited Editions, tagged Cigar, Corojo, Don Pepin Garcia, Jaime Garcia, My Father, My Father Limited Edition, Nicaragua, Pelo de Oro, Pepin Garcia on September 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Size: 6.5” x 52
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Criollo
Origin: Nicaragua
Age: Fresh
This is a cigar I’ve been eagerly awaiting since I heard it will feature some of Pepin’s Pelo de Oro leaf. What’s Pelo de Oro? Meaning “golden hair”, PdO is the grandfather to the modern day Corojo wrapper. According to Tobacconist University:
it is usually a reference to a potent Cuban cigar varietal which was popular in the early and middle 20th Century. This tobacco could be used for wrapper and filler as well, but is disease prone and can infest entire crops and regions so it is rarely grown today. Pelo de Oro can be considered a ‘campesino’ or ‘guajiro’ tobacco since many agricultural workers grow and smoke it to this day – especially in the central part of Cuba. It is known for being quite strong and flavorful as well as sweet.
My Father LE 2010
Posted in Cigar Reviews, La Flor Dominicana, Limited Editions, tagged Cigar, Dominican puro, La Canela, La Flor Dominicana, Litto Gomez, Litto Gomez Diez, Small Batch No. 3 on September 14, 2010| 2 Comments »
Size: 6 3/4” x 52
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: Dominican
Origin: La Canela, Dominican Republic
Age: fresh from humidor, but tobacco is from 2004 crop!
It seems like it’s been years since the last Small Batch release but it’s now here, the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3! The first two Small Batch releases were some of the strongest and most flavorful cigars I have ever smoked. Litto Gomez does small batch cigars very well, so I was very eager to try this one!
This cigar has a beautifully oily sheen to it (thanks to selenium I hear). The wrapper is dark brown with reddish hues. It looks and feels like a leather cigar!
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Illusione, Limited Editions on August 16, 2010| 1 Comment »
Size: 7 1/2″ x 40
Vitola: Long Panetela (Lancero)
Wrapper: Candela Cafe Colorado
Origin: Nicaragua, Raices Cubanas factory
Age: Right of the truck!
I’ve been excited about this short-run release for quite some time. For me the most challenging wrapper to use and actually make an interesting cigar is the Candela wrapper. Most candelas I have smoked have not been that interesting (with the exception of the Camacho Candela). Nat Sherman, Graycliff, Camacho and Arturo Fuente are some of the few companies still making candelas.
The wrapper refers to the color and process, not what type of tobacco it uses. For about thirty years in our history, Candela (or American Market Selection – AMS) was the most popular wrapper type used. The reason is most likely the process, which generally decreases the time from ground to cigar. Candela wrappers are basically “cooked” (up to 165 degrees), locking the chlorophyll into the leaf. Read this article for more history on this green leaf. Needless to say, you don’t see these green cigars much anymore.
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Limited Editions, Tatuaje, tagged Don Pepin Garcia, Espirit de Verite, La Verite, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje on August 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Size: 5” x 50
Vitola: Robusto
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Criollo
Origin: Nicaraguan, single farm origin
Age: 2 years
I got the chance to smoke the new Espirit de Verite from the crazed mind of Pete Johnson creator of Tatuaje, Cabaiguan and El Triunfador cigars. This project, from what I understand, is a labor of love and something Pete has heavily invested his time in. The idea behind the Verite’s is to create a single cigar from a single vintage crop. The 2008 Vintage is available in either a Churchill (as the Verite) and as a robusto (the Espirit de Verite). All tobacco was harvested from Don Pepin’s farm in Nicaragua.
Zen & the Art of the Cigar 