April 10th, 2012 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
This is a first impressions review, meaning I’ve only smoked one, this one. Thanks to Sosa for sending me out a few of their blends to try. I don’t have a lot of information on these cigars, not even the blend. It doesn’t matter, lets see if it delivers where it counts…
Wrapper: Ecuador Colorado Connecticut
Binder & Filler: ???
Size: Gran Toro 6.5 x 56
Price: Around $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper was a little oily looking, and had minimal veins and flaws. It had a smell that reminded me of hay. The foot had more of a generic tobacco odor. The cigar was firmly packed, and bounced back when squeezed. The draw had a little resistance, but fell well within my tolerance. The pre-light flavor was a simple earthiness and maybe hay.
The ash held for just over an inch, and I did no burn corrections.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: cigars, Family_Selection_Connecticut, Sosa
April 3rd, 2012 / 4 Comments » / by Tom
Thanks to Luis Falto for sending me these cigars to review. Rarely do I gush over anyone in the cigar industry. But sometimes, screw it, I do… I had the pleasure of meeting Luis awhile back at Bonita Smoke Shop, a great retail shop. I have since had the opportunity to smoke and review almost all of his cigars. Luis has expressed his biggest appreciation of cigar bloggers is their honesty. He doesn’t want fluffed reviews, just honest opinions.
He has quite a few blends. Some of them hit the spot for me. Others, well not so much, although I’ve never had a Falto that was blatantly bad. So when I got these cigars in the mail, I looked forward to seeing what he had to offer. You know my routine… I paired with water and here’s the deal.
Wrapper: Habana Vuelta Arriba grown in Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Dominican ligero, Nicaragua, Cameroon
Size: Grand Corona 6 x 58
Price: $9 to $11.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper glistened in the light, and had a few medium sized veins. What I noticed most was the cap. It just looked well constructed, more so than I’m used to seeing. After repeatedly looking at it, I finally figured it out. It wasn’t a triple cap, it’s a quadruple. The smell of the wrapper was sweet, cedary and a little earthy. The foot smelled woody with a dark earthiness. The cigar was solidly and evenly packed. It may have been slightly spongy towards the foot. The pre-light draw had slight resistance, with a simple cedary taste.
The ash held for almost an inch and was brittle. The burn required a couple minor corrections.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: cigars, Falto_Vejigante, Luis_Falto
March 27th, 2012 / 4 Comments » / by Tom
Thanks to General Cigar for sending me a few of these to review. My first experience with premium cigars was with the Macanudo Vintage lines. They were mild, simple, well refined, but expensive. I do enjoy the Cru Royal from time to time, but for the most part I rarely smoke Macanudo’s. Armed with fine filtered Florida tap water, I got to smoking…
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Mexico San Andrean
Filler: Dominican, Mexican
Size: Gigante 6 x 60
Price: $7.99
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper had a toothy and somewhat blotchy appearance, but didn’t have any flaws that I could find. The smell of the wrapper and foot was earthy with sweet notes. The cigar was rock solidly packed. When squeezed, there was no give. Luckily the draw wasn’t too tight. It was a bit snug, but fell just within my tolerance. The pre-light draw had a woody and dark bitter flavor.
The ash held for almost two inches, and the burn required one minor correction.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: General_Cigar, Gigante, Macanudo_Maduro
March 23rd, 2012 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
Before I get started… Thanks to Altadis for sending me out a three pack to try. I’m pretty sure they have never sent me anything before. I’m not complaining that I somehow ended up on their radar. It is appreciated.
As you’ve come to expect from me, I don’t dig too deep in to the backgrounds of cigars. Altadis does have a bit more information on their website though. It is claimed that this cigar provides earthy and spicy flavors with a hint of coffee. Hey I like those flavors, so let’s see how it went.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Cubano
Binder: Santo Domingo
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican, Peruvian
Size: 5 x 54
Price: $6.75
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The chocolate brown wrapper looked nice, with minimal flaws. The wrapper had a mild earthy smell, and the foot had a slight earthiness with spice. Overall, the cigar was evenly packed, and it was rock solid. As a result, the pre-light draw was a little stiff. It was just out of my comfort zone. The pre-light draw had a dark bitter sweet flavor.
The burn required a few minor corrections, and the ash held for just over an inch.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: altadis, cigars, VegaFina_Sumum_Edicion_Especial_2010
March 20th, 2012 / 7 Comments » / by Tom
I was a little pressed for time to do a proper review, so we’ll do something different today…
It’s been a while since I’ve done any kind of articles or videos that are geared towards new smokers (noobs). It crossed my mind that many smokers, ranging from new to seasoned, are missing out on a lot of the flavor that cigars have to offer. In fact, I’ve heard quite a few smokers say the flavors we describe is all in our heads, or maybe we just make it all up.
If you can only taste a “Smoke flavor” and you enjoy it, that’s great. Who am I to say you are wrong? Some smokers, new or old, want to explore the possibility of experiencing a bit more in terms of flavor. This was a realization I had as a new smoker pretty quickly, and it took cigar enjoyment to another level.
With that, I threw, and I mean threw, together a short video on how I extract flavors from cigar smoke. It may work for you, it may not.
And lastly… A lame video from some guy on the Internet does not compare to having a mentor to learn from. I am lucky that my friend and local tobacconist Ed Nazare of St. Pete Cigar really helped me out.
This video runs five minutes. Yes, I can get a little long winded. You already know this.
Posted in: Cigar Video Reviews, Misc, Tips and Info
Tags: cigars, flavor, tasting
