In January of 2009, I reviewed this cigar. Back then, I had a pretty bad experience, and the review reflected that. I received a few emails urging me to try an Acid again. So now, in February of 2010, I decided it was time to re-visit the cigar that I gave a bad review to. I figured it was possible that I didn’t give it a fair chance.
The first half was decent, with strange floral, perfumey flavors. Like my other review, the second half basically fell flat. It just became a bland and borderline harsh smoke.
Like other quick smoke with Tom reviews, this was filmed with my MacBook isight webcam at The Habana Cigar Shop. I used an external mic this time, so the audio is a bit better then the others. The video quality is what it is. See what my thoughts were in this quick 9 minute video review.
I believe this cigar was given to me either by Ed or someone at Ed’s shop. I can only go by my first impression of this cigar, as I only have one to smoke. I think I recall Matt not liking the Evil very much. I thought I’d let mine sit awhile before offering my opinion. Normally I try to avoid doing first impression reviews. But when a company claims their product is the Rolls Royce of cigars, I figure they should at least be consistent. My experience with Gurkha is that they are generally enjoyable and consistent. As always, I paired today’s review with water. Let’s see how it goes…
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The first thing you’ll notice is the huge band. It looks fitting for the title. The wrapper looked great, with almost no flaws. When I sniffed the wrapper, I could only detect cedar odors. The foot had a similar odor with a touch of sweetness. I squeezed the entire length of the cigar, and this thing was packed solid. Despite that, the pre-light draw offered only a little resistance, and tasted of sweet earthy tobacco.
The ash held for at least an inch, and I only had to correct the burn a couple times in the last third.
Flavor:
The first third greeted me with a peppery, somewhat sweet spice. Overall a dry woody flavor dominated, with slight coffee and nutty notes following behind.
The second third saw an increase in sweetness. It resembled a dry mocha, but the mocha flavors were overcome by the dryness. Again, woody flavors were strong in the overall flavor profile. I had a hard time picking out the nutty flavors, but I think they were there from time to time. When passing the smoke through the nose, I got a peppery zing. The smoke feel was dry and gave me slight cotton mouth.
The last third didn’t change in terms of flavor. Take the comments on the second third, and paste them here. The sweet pepper remained but became slightly harsh. It wasn’t extremely harsh, but it slightly irritate the back of the throat.
Conclusion:
The body of this cigar was medium to full. Although the flavors were decent, I can’t compare this to other top of the line Gurkha’s. The flavors and smoke feel seemed one dimensional and too dry for my taste. I may try it again in the future, but as of now my opinion matches that of Matt. He too didn’t care for it.
The Declaration is the latest offering from the Jameson Cigar Company. Not long ago Brad Mayo of Jameson Cigars offered to send me a couple to review. Naturally I accepted his gracious offer and shortly afterwards the smokes arrived. After some rest in my humidor, I filled up a glass of water and smoked the Jameson Declaration.
Wrapper: Dominican Habano 98
Binder: Dominican Criollo 98
Filler: Dominican
Size: 5.5 x 50
Price: $6.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The dark brown wrapper looked very nice, with almost no flaws at all. Perhaps a small vein or two but nothing I would consider bad. I picked up a dark sweet earthy and somewhat woody odor when sniffing the wrapper and foot. The cigar was very firm when pinched, and the pre-light draw was a little tight. The pre-smoke draw had a sweet woody flavor.
The burn required no corrections, and the ash held for just under and inch before falling off.
Flavor:
The first third had a slight earthiness but woody flavors stood out. When passing the smoke through the nose, I picked up a decent pepper that had a woody finish.
The second third had minor changes. That earthy woodiness remained dominant. The spicy pepper remained, and became a little sweet. As I progressed further into this third, the overall flavor profile seemed to come together. It just seemed to become more balanced.
The last third had a significant increase in sweetness. It was almost like a dry powdery chocolate. The earthy flavors went away completely, and the woody notes fell way back. The pepper transformed into more of a spicy sweetness.
Conclusion:
Overall I thought this was a good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. I liked how it started out like any other cigar, but built into what I thought had a good balanced flavor profile. Sure, it didn’t pack in a large variety of flavors, but it was still enjoyable. My only complaint was the slightly tight draw. It wasn’t tight enough to annoy me, and I didn’t have to work hard to get smoke. I just prefer a draw with a little less resistance. The Jameson Declaration is definitely worth a try.
Once again I found myself at the Habana Cigar Shop running the show. Standard disclaimer – This is a crude review in terms of video and audio quality. I threw it together using a MacBook webcam.
The Alec Bradley Special Blend is a decent mild bodied cigar. For me, it is a good fit for the morning with coffee. If you are in the market for a cheap, mild, yet decent cigar, my thoughts are below in this 8 minute video review.
This cigar has been in my humidor for over 6 months. I don’t even remember where I bought it. I have little information on this cigar, so let’s get right to the review. With a glass of water, I sparked up a Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection.
Wrapper: Cuban seed from Ecuador
Binder: Habano 2000
Filler: Sun grown Cuban seed Habano
Size: Torpedo 6 x 54
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The dark brown wrapper and pigtail cap looked nice. There were a few medium sized veins and bumps here and there. When I squeezed the cigar, I found it to have a little sponginess, but it wasn’t extreme. The wrapper and foot had a simple earthy, hay-ish odor. The pre-light draw was free, and had notes of pepper and natural earthy tobacco.
The burn required a few minor corrections, and the ash held for just under an inch.
Flavor:
The first third had very easy earthy flavors. I got a mild spice when passing the smoke through the nose. The finish (aftertaste) had a mild woodiness and lingered for a few seconds after each puff.
The second third increased in strength a little, but remained in the medium range. The spice took on a slightly sweetness with a bitter aftertaste. The earthy flavors remained, as did a slight woody finish.
A bitter chocolate type of flavor mixed with earthiness dominated the last third. The mild spice remained unchanged. The finish was still woody and earthy. Not a lot to talk about really.
Conclusion:
It’s not that the flavors were outright bad, but in the end I didn’t care too much for this cigar. I think it was a little too bitter for my taste. The overall flavor profile seemed unrefined and plain. I’ll have to pass on this cigar…
Before I dig into the review, I will get my initial experience out of the way. On December 26th I picked up a Xikar Axia from my pal Ed. After a few days I noticed the ignition lever was sticking in the down position (see picture). Shortly after that, the spark starting arching against the body of the lighter. I figured it was a good time to test the Xikar lifetime warranty.
I took the lighter back to the shop, told him the problems, and he agreed. Ed handed me a new Axia on January 6th. Sure, I was a little bummed about my new lighter being a dud, but Xikar’s warranty is hard to argue with. Also, if you register your Axia (or other Xikar lighter), they will send you a free sheath to help protect it from keys, pocket change, and the elements.
This is now my primary lighter. This article is based on one month of constant use.
The Axia has a solid sturdy feel to it and fits easily into the pocket. The ignition lever has a solid click when pulled. The adjustment knob on the bottom is big enough and easily accessible to do quick adjustments on the fly. The dual jets point straight up, not coming to a pointed flame. Despite this, I have yet to mistakenly scorch a cigar wrapper on various ring gauges. After about 10 to 15 seconds of lighting, the top of portion gets a bit warm. According to the manual, it is recommended that you maintain the flame for 10 seconds. This hasn’t been a problem for me. Getting to know the lighters characteristics is easy, and my light times are basically cut in half when compared to my single jet Blazer PB207 that recently died (RIP).
The fuel level can be checked via a window on the side of the lighter. As I expected, the dual jets can suck up a decent amount of fuel. It does light quite a few cigars on one tank though. In one night, I lit 3 cigars, and let my lighter be used by several people. It wasn’t until the next morning that it finally ran empty. As the fuel level runs low, it is easy to do quick adjustments via the large knob.
The fuel adjustment knob is limited in rotation by a notched washer under the adjustment screw. I found that as the lighter ran low on fuel, I had to adjust it almost to the maximum. Although this worked fine, I felt the need to take the limiting washer out to allow more freedom in fuel adjustments. I’m sure this is frowned upon, but I’ll try to put together another article on how I went about doing this modification. It literally took about 5 minutes.
One problem I had from time to time was when I would engage the ignition, it would take a few clicks. I noticed that the spark was arching to the lighter body. The ignition tab is located between the two jets, and extends about half way out into the flame. I was able to bend the tab downward closer to the jets. So far this cured the problem. I found that every now and then, if I blow out the jets with air, or with a rapid breath, it helps for quick ignition.
Overall, I am very happy with this lighter. A big plus for me is quick light times and touch up’s. The fuel reservoir is big enough to get you through an all night herf before needing a refill. If you have a problem, Xikar is willing to remedy it without debate thanks to their warranty. Of course, this is assuming that you used the lighter as it was intended (IE smashing it with a hammer probably isn’t covered). Overall, I recommend this Axia for those in the market for a new lighter.
Before I dig into the review, I will get my initial experience out of the way. On December 26th I picked up a Xikar Axia from my pal 
