March 11th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
I didn’t have a lot of info on this cigar, until my pal Barry wrote about it. Le Bijou is French for “The jewel” and 1922 refers to the year Jose “Don Pepin Garcia’s” father was born. The original My Father cigar was a tribute to Don Pepin Garcia from his son Jaime. The Le Bijou is Don Pepin’s own tribute to his father. When Pepin comes out with a cigar, I tend to keep it on my radar. I generally like his blends. I paired with a glass of water, and sat down to review this Pepin creation.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Churchill 7 x 50
Price: Around $11.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
Giving the cigar a once over, it looked great. The dark wrapper had minimal veins or defects. I found the cigar to be evenly packed with tobacco, and ever so slightly spongy when squeezed. The wrapper had a sweet earthy odor. The foot had the same smell with the addition of slight spice. The pre-light draw was good, and had a sweet, simple earthy taste.
Flavor:
The first third had a nice intro of pepper and spice with a tinge of sweetness. Very slight earthy notes lingered behind the full flavored spices. The sweetness developed into a nice mocha flavor. The aftertaste left a slight bitterness on the lips. It was a sweet bitterness, not a bad thing.
The pepper mellowed out a little in the second third. It took on a smooth feel and became sweeter. The mocha turned up a notch or two in strength, and became a little dry. The bitterness went away and was replaced with a slight tingle on the lips.
The last third took a turn for the mellow side, while keeping your attention with a nice punch. The pepper, while keeping it’s bite, became very smooth and even more sweet. Speaking of sweet, mocha was the main flavor. With that, the aftertaste had a slight tinge of cinnamon that tingled on the lips. The smoke became thick and coated the inside of the mouth.
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed this full bodied cigar. Don, if your reading this, you’ve done it again. The flavor profile was refined and very enjoyable. If I were to complain, it would be the $11.00 price tag. At the end of the day, I think you get your monies worth though. Thumbs up.
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: 1922, bijou, don, father, garcia, le, my, pepin
March 9th, 2010 / 3 Comments » / by Tom
Up for review today is the Don Lino 1989 Maduro. These come in a natural Connecticut wrapper as well, but I didn’t pick any up. I have little background info, other then the blend. Without wasting any more time, I offer you my thoughts on the Don Lino 1989 Maduro…
Wrapper: Maduro
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Colombian, Mexican, Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50
Price: Around $6.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The dark maduro wrapper looked good, with only a few bumps and veins here and there. The cigar was evenly packed and bounced back when squeezed. I detected a slight sweet earthiness when sniffing the wrapper and foot. The pre-light draw was loose, and had a sweet natural tobacco taste.
The ash held for under an inch, and I did several burn corrections.
Flavor:
The first few puffs were a simple earthy taste. It didn’t take long for nutty and coffee notes started to drown out the earthiness. A slight sweet spice was noticed when passing the smoke through the nose. The smoke feel was a bit dry but not annoying.
The coffee and nuttiness continued through the second third. Dry cocoa notes would appear from time to time. The smoke became creamy and very smooth. The sweet spice became more peppery as this third came to a close.
Cedary/woody notes lingered in the background during the last third. Like before, coffee and nutty flavors continued to dominate the flavor profile. Up next was an unidentified sweetness. The spice and pepper lost most of its punch but it let me know it was there. The smoke remained creamy and coated the inside of the mouth.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. Overall I enjoyed the flavor profile and despite it not changing a lot, I didn’t get bored. My final verdict is that the Don Lino 1989 Maduro is worth trying, just don’t expect to be wowed.
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: 1989, don, lino, maduro
March 7th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
Good ole Timm is back for another guest review. If you aren’t familiar with him, he did this review awhile back. The writing on the box is in German, and says “The EU Health Ministers – Smoking harms you and the people in your environment.” Most of us share Timm’s view, and I quote
“I think NOT smoking a cigar stresses you out and stress shortens your life Faster.” I agree Timm! I am not saying cigar smoking is good for you, but I can think of worse things to do. One way or another, we all gotta go. Might as well relax while we are here. Anyway… Let’s see what Timm has to say about this cigar. I always enjoy his reviews, so let’s get to it!
Wrapper/Binder/Filler: Cuban
Size: 7 1/2" x 40 Laguito Especial, a lonsdale
Price: ???
Appearance
The wrapper had virtually no flaws. It seemed to be a little out of balance for me due to its length – I tend to prefer Toros. The cap had a cute little pigtail while the body and foot was nice and tight with no signs of cracking. The aroma coming from the wrapper/foot seemed to have a slightly sweet smell, reminding me of nuts and Rum.
Pre-light
The pre-light draw was easy, almost too easy, and had a flavor that reminded me again of nuts and a light rum. When I squeezed the cigar’s entire length, it wasn’t firm, but not spongy either. A few soft spots were noticed, but nothing I would see as a concern. The sweet nutty aroma seemed to demand I make the cut and find a torch.
Lighting
Lighting the cigar, I was met with a bold nutty taste and a slight hint of rum. The Trinidad lit easily but started to have a burn issue about ten minutes in. I would later have a difficult time with the correction of this issue. In hindsight the side of the cigar that was sitting in the box is the side that had the trouble.
Smoking
Even with the burn being so “off,” the cigar smoked wonderfully. The taste was amazing, bringing to mind images of old Havana and Morro Castle. Puff after puff, I could just picture Fidel enjoying one of these along with a rum and a tropical sea breeze. I was forced to return to my own reality and correct the burn as it continued to be a problem. About midway into the cigar, I was forced to re-cut the cigar below the lowest burn point and relight it.
The dreaded Re-cut and Last 1/3
After re-cutting the cigar I was quite pleased to find the great taste remained, as did the burn issue. I was forced into a routine of several puffs followed by an ashtray adjustment to the ash. Even with the trouble this cigar had become, it still had a wonderful aroma and great taste, perhaps one of the most consistent from start to finish as I have ever smoked.
Posted in: Cigar Reviews, Cuban, Guest Review
Tags: Cuban, fundadores, trinidad
March 4th, 2010 / 6 Comments » / by Tom
The Roly is a mixed filler bundle cigar by The Reyes Family. They come in a natural or maduro wrapper. Today I’m doing the natural wrapped version. I paired this cigar with water. So let’s get right to my thoughts on the Roly.
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Dominican
Size: 6.5 x 46
Price: Around $40.00 for a bundle of 25
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The first thing I noticed about the cigar is its rough appearance. The wrapper is lumpy with wrinkles and small veins. When I squeezed the cigar, it was fairly loose with a few tight spots. The wrapper and foot had a slight sweet woody odor. The pre-light draw was good with slight resistance, and had mild woody flavors.
I did no burn corrections, and the ash held for about a half of an inch.
Flavor:
The first third had mild earthy notes with a very very slight spice when passing smoke through the nose. A toasty nuttiness came about as this third came to a close. Simple but decent.
The second third developed a little. A slight butter with creaminess combined with a mild earthiness. Those same hints of nutty flavors remained and complete the flavor profile.
Although the last third didn’t have major changes, it was enjoyable. The nutty, buttery aftertaste stuck and coated the inside of the mouth. The mild earthy notes remained and hid behind the creaminess. The spice I mentioned before became a little sweet, and had a toasty finish.
Conclusion:
This was a decent mild to upper mild bodied cigar. As with many bundle cigars, there wasn’t a ton of changes or complex flavors. But for under $2.00 a stick, I think it easily meets its price point. There was no harshness or bad flavors. I prefer to pair a cigar like this with coffee in the morning. The Roly is worth trying if you enjoy a mild, simple cigar.
Posted in: Cigar Reviews, Value Cigar
Tags: family, reyes, roly
March 2nd, 2010 / 3 Comments » / by Tom
The Punch Champion comes in a double maduro or Sumatra wrapper. I chose the Sumatra wrapped version for today’s review. I try not to get too involved with the background of a cigar brand. I honestly don’t care most of the time. So I offer you a link to General Cigars website, where more info can be found.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican
Size: 4.5 X 60
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
Overall the wrapper had a nice look and was a little bumpy. Sniffing the wrapper and foot had a slight odor of cedar combined with barnyard hay. Squeezing the entire length of the cigar, I found it was tightly packed with no soft spots. The pre-light draw was a little stiff, with earthy and woody notes.
The ash held for a little over an inch. The burn required one correction in the first third, but that was it.
Flavor:
The first third had prominent earthy and woody flavors. As I progressed to the widest part of the cigar, I picked up a spicy pepper that was nice on the retro-hale. An unidentified sweetness became present as this third came to a close.
The second third began at the widest part of the cigar. The sweetness picked up in strength, but began to diminish as I smoked further into the smaller ring gauge. The peppery spice remained, but also diminished in strength as the ring gauge became smaller. The earthy flavors became earthy notes, and the woody component was in the forefront.
The last third continued its journey down the smaller ring gauge. The earthy notes picked up a little, and hid behind the cedar flavor. The peppery spice remained, but fell way to the background. The smoke feel took on a smooth, cooling effect, with a spicy feeling on the lips and tongue.
Conclusion:
I thought this was a pretty good medium to full bodied cigar. I wasn’t as impressed with the Champion as say the 2009 Rare Corojo, but it was still a good smoke. It offered good complexities and I never found myself getting bored. I definitely recommend giving this cigar a try.
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: champion, punch
February 28th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom
I ran across this months site of the month about a year ago. Initially Nice Tight Ash offered written reviews that were fairly short, honest, and to the point. They then expanded their content to include video cigar reviews. Like their written reviews, the video reviews are honest and to the point. These guys simply set up a camera in their smoking area (the garage) and press record. Nothing fancy, just the facts.
What keeps me coming back is the simple fact that these are regular guys offering their knowledge of cigars. During your travels to the many cigar review sites out there, make sure you pay a visit to Nice Tight Ash!
Posted in: Site of the month
Tags: ash, nice, tight
