February 8th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom
It’s that time again. St. Pete Cigars is hosting a CAO event this Friday, Feb. 12, from 6PM to 9PM. There will be plenty of door prizes and one day only deals. Ribs will be served, and domestic beer will be two for one at Abbey Road Pub.
For more information, Click Here and check out the flyer.
Make sure you stop by and join us!
February 5th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
I can’t recall where I came across the cigar up for review today. Apparently I picked some up and threw them into the pile of cigars to be reviews. The only information I have is that the Playboy is a brand by Altadis. Without further ado, I grabbed a glass of water and bring you my thoughts on the Playboy by Don Diego.
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: $7 to $8.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
Overall the cigar looked nice. The wrapper had a few small veins, and smelled basically like cedar. The foot had a woody, sweet smell to it. The entire cigar was firmly packed, with only a small soft spot or two. The pre-light draw was free, and had hints of cedar and earthiness.
The burn required no corrections, and the ash held just short of an inch.
Flavor:
The first third consisted of a simple woody flavor with earthy undertones. The smoke feel became somewhat creamy with a toasty aftertaste.
The second third didn’t offer a lot of change. A buttery component entered the flavor profile, and went nicely with woody and toasty notes. The earthy undertones remained. There wasn’t anything more to it than that.
The buttery flavors picked up in the last third, while the toasty aftertaste remained the same. The earthy undertones went away for the most part. The woody flavors remained at about the same strength as before.
Conclusion:
This was a good mild cigar. The flavors told me it was a typical Connecticut wrapped cigar. There wasn’t really anything new brought to the table. I could see this being paired with morning coffee. Anything other then that would probably bore me. My final verdict… If you like mild, simple flavored cigars, this one may be for you. As for me, I think for the price the Playboy should bring more to the table.
February 2nd, 2010 / 4 Comments » / by Tom
Continuing with my exploration into value, or bundle cigars, I ran across Flor de Oliva. This is a bundle cigar offered by Oliva, the maker of many fine cigars. I took a chance and ordered a bundle recently, as I was looking for a cheap morning cigar. Let’s see if the Flor de Oliva natural does the trick…
Wrapper: Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican
Size: Toro 6 x 50
Price: Around $40.00 for a bundle of 20
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The natural wrapper looked nice, with no major flaws or veins. The cigar was moderately packed with tobacco. When I squeezed the entire length, I found a few soft spots, but nothing alarming. Sniffing the wrapper and foot revealed a simple natural tobacco odor. The pre-light draw was good, and had a sweet earthy flavor.
The burn required a couple corrections in the first third, and the ash held for just under an inch before falling off.
Flavor:
As I got into the first third, I though to myself… “Is the cap sweetened on this thing?” I say this because of a distinct sweetness that was left on the lips. Anyway… when exhaling through the nose, there was that definite Nicaraguan pepper I so often speak of. It was on the mild side and combined with earthy notes for an overall good experience. The main flavor was basically a natural tobacco and earthy taste.
The second third saw the addition of woody and cedar notes. The sweetness that was like a sweetened cap reduced in strength. Other then that, there wasn’t any more change. That peppery zing remained, as did the natural earthy tobacco taste.
The last third had minimal change. The smoke feel took on a thicker, somewhat creamy feel. The pepper remained but calmed and smoothed out. The sweetness basically went away, which left the basic woody, natural earthy tobacco flavors.
Conclusion:
First things first… Does this have a sweetened cap? I could only find conflicting or vague information on the web. Anyway… This was a decent mild to medium bodied cigar. Basically you get what you pay for. It obviously isn’t the most complex or interesting smokes out there. But if you are looking for a yard gar, or something to smoke while sipping your morning coffee, I think this will fit the bill. Not a bad value cigar!
January 31st, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom
TomsCigars.com is obviously all about cigars. My method is simple: I come across a cigar or cigar related item, and post it here. I scour the web and run across a lot of cigar blogs. There are new ones popping up all the time. Some of them will go away within a year, others will stick it out for the long haul. Since cigars can be such a subjective topic, each site offers something different.
This is why every month I’ll mention a cigar blog that caught my eye. There is a lot of content out there to be taken in.
The first installment features a site that I frequent, called Cigar Obsession. I’ve had a few smokes with Bryan, a local Floridian. His site features cigar art, daily deals, cigar reviews, and video content. What drew me to the site was his cigar review videos. They are short, honest, and to the point. They are filmed in his back yard, but still have a professional feel to them. Chances are, you already know about Cigar Obsession. If not, by all means, leave this place and check it out now!
January 28th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom
The Don Lino Africa Duma… I have no useful information about it. I bought it, threw it into my “To be reviewed” humidor (this is where I keep cigars to be reviewed), and forgot about it. The blend looks interesting, so I grabbed the usual glass of water and smoked a couple Don Lino’s.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Cameroon, Dominican, Mexico, Nicaragua
Size: 5 x 50
Price: $6 to $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The cigar was evenly packed, and the wrapper had minimal veins or flaws. The smell of the wrapper and foot was a little hay-ish. The pre-light draw had a little resistance, and had a sweet grassy/earthy taste.
The burn required no corrections. The ash sometimes would hold for about an inch, but other times it would drop off without warning.
Flavor:
The first few puffs of the first third were sweet, smooth earth. It didn’t take long for other flavors to introduce themselves in the form of coffee and cocoa, and slight woody notes. These flavors pushed the earthiness way into the background. I picked up a slight sweet spice when exhaling through the nose.
Sweet, woody, coffee and cocoa flavors dominated the second third. Coffee and cocoa varied in intensity. Sometimes the other flavors would increase and decrease in strength at a random pace. The smoke feel became very smooth and somewhat creamy.
The last third had an increase in body, but remained in the upper medium range. A unique sweet flavor was introduced that I couldn’t put my finger on. It may have been a mixture of cocoa, coffee, and wood combined to create an interesting flavor. For the most part, mocha was the dominant flavor. The smoke feel remained smooth and slightly creamy.
Conclusion:
Overall I enjoyed this medium to upper medium bodied cigar. The flavor profile changed up enough to keep me from getting bored, and was overall pleasant. I would recommend this cigar and say give it a try.
January 25th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
I’ve always been a fan of the Cuba Alidos, which is what drew me to today’s review. The Miami addition sports a different blend and presentation. As its namesake suggests, these are hand rolled in Miami instead of Honduras. To get maximum flavor for the review, I paired with water and got to it…
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: $6 to $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
After removing the cedar sleeve, I was able to inspect the nice looking wrapper. It looked smooth, with only a couple medium veins. I could only detect mild cedar and natural tobacco odor when sniffing the wrapper. The foot had a similar smell, with an added earthy odor. For the most part, the cigar was packed evenly, with a couple hard and soft spots. This wasn’t anything of concern. The pre-light draw had just the right amount of resistance, and had earthy, cedary notes.
The burn requires a few corrections in the first two thirds, and the ash held for about an inch.
Flavor:
The first third opened up with a smooth cedary flavor. I picked up sweet, smooth spicy notes when exhaling through the sinus. As I progressed further, a familiar and nice pepper entered the picture that reminded me there is some Nicaraguan tobacco in this thing.
The second this kept the dominant woody flavor. The sweet peppery spice would be almost non existent in one puff, and reappear in the next. The smoke feel was somewhat creamy with a nice aftertaste.
Again… Like before, the dominant flavor was cedary wood for the most part. The pepper went away, but the zing remained when exhaling through the nose. At times, sweet mocha like flavors would appear and battle with cedar to dominate the flavor profile.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to full bodied smoke and was very enjoyable. I can and will smoke these again should I run across them. I can only suggest you give the Cuba Aliados Miami a try.
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