Weekend review; November 23rd - 25th, 2007

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did, and I had plenty of good cigars. Not all of them made the official review but here's enough to get you started!

Cigars reviewed this weekend are:

• Edge Maduro Toro



• Oliva G Natural Torpedo



• Torano Silver Exodus Churchill



• Romeo y Julieta Cazadore



• Padilla Obsidian Torpedo



• Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo

First up, Edge Maduro Toro (6x50)


This is a powerhouse of a cigar from Rocky Patel. Very full bodied. If you're new to cigars this would NOT be your first choice. I enjoy powerhouse maduro cigars and this one is right on target. It's very affordable too, at around $6 per stick. The cigar is quite peppery and spicey. It's at the upper end of the strength category. These cigars are very pleasing with some age on them, too.

Score: 8.5 (nubbed it!)






Oliva G Natural Torpedo (6.5x52)


This cigar is VERY square pressed! Quite nice looking. It's medium bodied with slight amounts of pepper. It is very smooth and pleasing. Wonderful cameroon flavor throughout this cigar. Oliva makes great cigars and their cameroon is second to none! This cigar is quite inexpensive but very good! Retail for this stick is around 4-5 bucks! It has a nice, even burn.


Score: 8.5






Torano Silver Exodus Churchill (7x50)


This cigar has been a favorite of mine since I first tried them. It is medium bodied which works it's way toward full bodied, but it never overpowers. Nice caramel-like flavor! Hints of citrus! It has a criollo wrapper which I happen to love! Light gray to white ash. Not overly peppery, but there are hints.


Score: 9.0






Romeo y Julieta Cazadore (Cuban) (6x44)


This particular Cuban cigar does not have a band. This cigar smells great when it's burning! Full bodied for a Cuban. This cigar burned perfectly, absolutely perfectly! There are some pepper notes with spiceyness kicking in at the halfway point. Wonderful flavor! This is a cigar that I nub every time!

Score: 9.0 (nubbed it!)





Padilla Obsidian Torpedo (6x54)


This is the second run for these cigars. Originally produced in 2006, these were such a hit that Padilla decided to make more. I was very curious to see how these would stack up against the originals. The cigar has a dull maduro taste initially; somewhat leather-like. It developed more creaminess at the midpoint. These appear to be the same blend as the original Obsidians from 2006. These are a much newer cigar and need more humi time. The burn was bad. I believe these will improve with age.


Score: 7.5





Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo (6x52)


Initially the cigar was very creamy tasting with leather overtones. It is one of the smoothest cigars you will smoke! I prefer the 92's over the 90's. Not much pepper noted. Medium - full bodied in strength. Great cigar! Another nubber!

Score: 9.0



That's it for now!

Weekend review; November 17th and 18th, 2007

This weekend I reviewed 4 cigars. They are:

• Camacho Coyolar (Black)


• Perdomo ESV maduro robusto


• Romeo y Julieta Churchill (Cuban)


• Vegas Santiago Torpedo

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

Camacho Coyolar, some call it Camacho Black, or "Say Uncle".

Cigar size: 6x50. This is a powerhouse of a cigar. "Say Uncle" is a good name because this cigar is not for the rookie smoker! If you want a cigar-buzz, smoke this badboy! It's very bold, peppery, and full bodied. The ash was tight. If you like full bodied smokes, this is a must-try.

Score: 8.5

Perdomo ESV maduro robusto.

I've had this cigar since the April 2007 Sit Down when the Perdomo rep, Chris Harper, gave them out to everyone in attendance. The cigar is full bodied, but not a typical "sweet" maduro. Not overly peppery. It is very pleasing and seems to gain strength as you smoke it. The cigar is very well made. I'd say this is one of Perdomo's best!

Score: 8.0

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

While on a trip to the in-laws I feasted on some good chili and some good cigars! The first one was a Romeo Y Julieta churchill (Cuban).

This cigar is medium bodied with a very even draw. Not much in the way of pepper until the 2/3 point. This is a very good cigar every cigar lover should try one at some point!

Score: 9.0

Vegas Santiago torpedo.

I have a few of these cigars that were left over from the SC Sit Down. This cigar comes from a small factory in Costa Rica. These are very good cigars with a medium body to them. There is a floral hint to them and slight pepperness. These cigars are very smooth. You can buy them online at https://www.vegassantiago.com/shop/ . This company has supported the SC Sit Down for the past 2 years and I hope they continue to do so. Eventhough these cigars are not a household name they are worthy of a high rating. They are very well made and taste great!

Score: 9.0

Weekend review; November 10th and 11th, 2007

This weekend review will consist of the following:

• Camaco 1962 robusto



• Perdomo Habana Maduro



• Serie 601 Red label toro



• Fonseca 30th Anniversary churchill



• Rocky Patel Sun Grown Churchill

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

Started out with the Camacho 1962 robusto, 4 1/2 x 50 that Carlos sent for me to try. Almost as soon as I lit this cigar it reminded me of the Camacho Havana series. The cigar had a strong roasted almond taste with some pepper. As I finished the cigar it still reminded me of the Havana series. This was a nice cigar but I think I'd just as well purchase the Havana's since you can get them as such a great deal at J.R.'s.
Score: 8.0

Next up was the Perdomo Havana Maduro Corona Gorda, a 6x60 monster! This cigar had a deep, dark maduro flavor with just a touch of pepper from corojo. The ash was very tight. This cigar has tons of deep flavors. It's very nice and full bodied.
Score: 8.5



The final cigar of the day was a Serie 601 Red Label, 6x50. This cigar is made by Pepin and you can easily tell. The cigar is a beautiful reddish color. It is peppery right from the first draw. This is a top rate cigar in my book; one of Pepin's finest cigars. This is a smooth cigar and the ash is very tight.


This cigar is worthy of a nubbing! Note the fancy "nubbing tool" that one of the guys at the SC Sit Down gave me this past April!

Score: 10.0



Sunday, November 11th, 2007

Only 2 cigars today.

First up, the Fonseca 30th Anniversary churchill, 7x50. This cigar was given to me by Wayne Spivey, aka Fonseca on the RNB board. He was in town for the last SC Sit Down and was gracious enough to give me one to try. In his words, "the cigar is good but I'm not sure it's worth what it costs", which leads me to believe they were somewhat expensive!

Well, the cigar is very dark but I don't think it's a maduro. It did not have a maduro taste. It started out rather mild but at the 1/3 point it became more full bodied. It had some hints of pepper. At the 2/3 point the cigar bacame very full bodied with the slightest hint of the flavor of my favorite Fonseca cigar; the Cubana Limitada. A nice cigar but I wouldn't go looking for more.

Score: 7.0

The final cigar of the weekend was a Rocky Patel Sun Grown churchill, 7x50. This is a great cigar! Full of a fruity, almost sweet flavor. It is quite tastey. Not overly peppery but very smooth. This is one of RP's finest cigars, in my opinion. I always enjoy these!

Score: 10.0

***UPDATE*** Anniversary night/Jim's birthday

We went to the Wild Hare to meet Jim and Ginger on Tuesday, November 6th. As I said before, this was our anniversary and the day before Jim's birthday. We were celebrating both on this night. Jim's cake was impressive! Ginger had it made in the shape of a cigar:

Connie suggested that he cut off the ashes and move them as the cake was cut so that it would look like the cigar was being smoked down!

Here's birthday boy Jim:

Jim and Ginger

About the time we were finishing up Jim's cake, the waitress came over with what appeared to be a box on FIRE! It was another cake, but not for Jim; for Connie and I! Ginger had gotten us our own anniversary cake! That was a nice surprise!

Thanks for the lovely cake Ginger! This was a very nice anniversary for us and birthday for Jim! Very nice night!

Happy 25th Anniversary to us!!!!

They said it wouldn't last! LOL

But...today my lovely wife and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary! Thank you Connie for being my one and only for the past 25 years and I look forward to the next 25!

Tonight we will celebrate with a BCG and PSD4 for me, and a Partagas Chico and a ERDM Demi Tasse for Connie.

Weekend review; November 3rd and 4th, 2007

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

Started the day with a couple "yard cigars" which really aren't qualified to be called such, but since I had yard work to do and they got chosen to accompany me...

First was a Cacique churchill that someone sent me for my birthday this year. This was a very dark cigar. I'm very familiar with the Cacique line that has the corojo wrapper and have purchased many of them in the past. Those have been discontinued now and I hate it because you could get them very cheap on CigarBid.com. This cigar was dark in flavor but not overpowering. Relatively mild for such a dark cigar. I didn't enjoy it that much.

Second was a Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Knight. These are no "yard cigar"! I love them. This cigar is the best in the HdM line, in my opinion. Nice maduro flavor. Very smooth. You can usually get these at a good price almost anywhere.

After yardwork, I settled down in the den for some football. The afternoon cigar(s) were a head to head comparison between 2 cigars that Carlos, aka Boofa, sent me to get my opinion of. They were the new 5 Vegas Miami and the new Ashton San Cristobal. He seemed to think they were so similar in taste that they may be either the same cigar or very, very close.

First up: the 5 Vegas Miami.

This was a rather small cigar; 4 1/2 x40 +/-. This cigar had nice initial pepper! I like that. It was very "Pepin-esque"; no doubt he made this cigar. This cigar reminds me a lot of the 601! Very nice. Due to it's small ring gage, I have to wonder what a larger ring gage would taste like; maybe better? I think I'd like to try more of these in a larger ring gage.

Next up, the San Cristobal. This cigar was 5x52+/-.

This cigar is absolutely beautiful. Reddish in color and very well made. The band is beautiful as well.

The cigar was initially peppery, yet mellow. There were tons of smoke from this cigar! It was loaded with wonderful flavor. It had a very even burn. This cigar had a very typical Pepin flavor. The 2 cigars were very similar with a slightly more flavor from the San Cristobal. I still wonder if this is due to it's larger ring gage. Without a doubt these 2 cigars are so similar that they could be called almost the same. The price difference between the two is wide, however. The 5 Vegas Miami can be obtained on CigarBid for around $50 a box! The San Cristobal's are around $10-$12 a stick!

After supper, I decided to have one more! A Torano Signature Toro. These have been a favorite of mine for quite some time. This cigar is beautiful and dark. It has great maduro flavor. The maduro is deep and dark! It's not overly peppery until the 2/3 point, then it kicks in! This is a top notch cigar and I love 'em!

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

The afternoon began with an experiment of sorts. I bit on some new cigars on Cigar Bid a couple weeks ago and wanted to try them. They are the new Oliveros Habana Cuba. The name intrigued me as many cigar companies are coming out with similar sounding names and most have been tasty cigars.

This cigar definitely needs more humidor time. It was quite bland until the 1/2 way point. It is medium bodied at best. After hitting the halfway point the cigar had some nice flavor but based on initial impression I won't be buying anymore. After a few months in the humidor I'll make another assessment.

Next was another cigar Carlos sent for me to try; the new CAO America.

I am a huge fan of CAO and most of their cigars so I couldn't wait to try this new cigar! It is an absolutely beautiful cigar. Notice the variation of the barber pole technique! The construction is top notch and the band is beautiful.

At this point, however, the compliments almost come to an end! The intial draw was grassy. It reminded me of some Mexican cigars I've had in the past, and didn't really care for. The cigar became full bodied tasting at the 1/4 point but still somewhat bitter. The cigar started to come together at the 1/3 point. It remained somewhat bitter throughout. I am very sorry to say this cigar "just didn't do it for me". I had high hopes for it but it was not flavorful enough for me. It had a nice burn and I smoked it down to the nub to give it every chance I could.

The final cigar of the day came after a wonderful supper that Connie prepared. The cigar of choice; the new Oliva V torpedo.

This cigar has gotten fantastic reviews in all the cigar publications and with good reason; it's a freakin' good cigar! The cigar is very balanced; not overpowering in any respect. The ligero, pepper, sweetness, and overall flavor all come together beautifully to make a great cigar smoking experience. If I could afford them, this might be my everyday cigar. Eventhough this cigar advertises the ligero aspect, don't expect it to be overpowering. As a matter of fact, I feel the Oliva G maduro and/or Oliva O maduro to be more powerful cigars. The Oliva V is a great cigar and worthy of all the recent praise. Anyone interested in a great cigar should pick up a few to try. You won't be disappointed!

Summing up this weekend's cigars: (1-10 rating w/ 10 being best)

Cacique churchill: 3

HdM Dark Knight: 8

5 Vegas Miami petit robusto: 8

San Cristobal robusto: 10

Torano Signature toro: 9

Oliveros Habana Cuba torpedo: 4

CAO America robusto: 5

Oliva V torpedo: 10

Avo event; 11/2/07

The Maduro Room continued their monthly cigar events with an Avo/Griffin event on Friday, November 2nd, 2007. Steve Dickinson, representing the Davidoff company was on hand to answer questions about the Davidoff, Avo, and Griffin cigars. Upon entering the shop you got your choice of 4 Avo cigars as a free sample, then Grady had the usual buy 3 get one free sale. The free cigar was another of the 4 sample cigars that you got when you walked in! Not a bad deal. Steve agreed to help us out with the next S.C. Sit Down! Thanks Steve! Below are some pics of the event.

Steve Dickson, Davidoff rep:

Some of the guys:

Jay Michaels:

Steve discusses cigars with Jay Michaels:

Grady, store owner, and Steve (Wake up Steve!)

Connie poses in front of the Avo display banner:

Grady, Steve Dickson, Connie, me

(photo by the great Jay Michaels)

The next event will be a Miami Cigar event at the end of November!