Weekend review; August 23rd and 24th

Only 2 weeks until we cruise!

This weekend I'm reviewing:

• La Flor Dominicana Limitado III


• Oliva G natural torpedo


• Camacho 1962 perfecto


• Griffin lonsdale

Saturday, August 23, 2008

La Flor Dominicana Limitado III (6 1/2 x 52)

I picked up this cigar at the Tobacco Merchant on Bower Parkway about a week ago.

The pre-light was good. Initial draw after lighting was very powerful with strong notes of leather, cinnamon, and pepper. Quite a bit of ligero noticed. The pepper is always there, in every puff. It is felt continually on your pallet. The cigar is very consistent. The flavors and tones hardly change at all throughout. This is a very nice, full bodied cigar. You might want to make sure you have something on your stomach before smoking this cigar! Whimps need not apply!

Score: 93

Oliva G torpedo (6.5x52)

Square pressed cigar. Pre-light draw is good. After lighting, the first draws are spicey with some pepper notes. Light Caramel tones from the Cameroon wrapper are noticed. The ash is very tight. The cigar picks up intensity just past 1/2 way point. This is a nice cigar but could use a bit more pop.

Score: 89

Camacho 1962 Perfecto (4 1/2x50)

Cute, little cigar. Leather tones with nice spice. Some pepper notes. Vanilla notes seen at 1/3 point. The spice stays strong. It seems the shorter versions of the 1962 seem to have the best flavor.

Score: 92

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Griffin Lonsdale (6.25x44)

I'm not usually a lonsdale smoker but this cigar was handed out at the April, 2008 SC Sit Down, so I decided I'd give it a try. The pre-light draw was perfect! Nice spice to begin with. Some pepper noted, but not alot. A combination of vanilla and light caramel flavors came through at first. The cigar stayed very consistent. Not a long burning cigar. This lonsdale lasted around an hour. It was a nice mild cigar that moved toward medium. I'm not much of a mild-cigar-guy but this was a pretty good cigar. Something you could easily smoke in the early morning.

Score: 88

Weekend review; August 16th and 17th

3 cigars reviewed this weekend. They are:

• Romeo Y Julietta Reserve Maduro Toro


• Nub Habano Torpedo


• La Aurora Double Corona

Saturday, August 16th, 2008


Romeo Y Julietta Maduro Toro (6x50)



Extremely dark cigar. The cigar was a little "rough looking". Pre-light draw was slightly firm. Initial draws after lighting are heavy with leather with spice undertones. Notes of licorice and black coffee observed. Hints of maduro sweetness noted after an inch or so. This cigar reminds me of a cup of black coffee with a little sugar in it. Maduro sweetness intensifies at halfway point. Coffee overtones continue. Not enough maduro sweetness for me. Good cigar but not one of my favorite maduros.


Score: 87





Nub Habano Torpedo (4x64)



This was my first Nub cigar. I have heard that the Habano was the best, so let's see how good it was!

Quite spicey cigar with hints of black pepper. Leather undertones. Very slow burning. This short cigar will last well over one hour. The finish is fairly long. Overall a very good cigar that I'll buy more of. I really believe this cigar is part of a fad. It's very good but not fantastic. The Oliva V is much better in my opinion.


Score: 91





La Aurora Double Corona (7.5x50)



After the fantastic robusto I had last Wednesday night I was excited to see if the double corona lived up to that fantastic Cameroon flavor in a much longer version.



The construction of the cigar was very good. Upon lighting the cigar I did not find the amazing Cameroon flavor that I found in the robusto. It was like a very watered down version! After 2 inches the Cameroon flavor intensified but not nearly to the point of the robusto. The finish was fairly long, however. Very light bodied. A very mild cigar. The cigar burned very evenly. This is a nice cigar if you like mild cigars but that's not my style. I'll give the robusto another try to see if it has that amazing Cameroon flavor, or if it was just a fluke! I will not, however, be looking for more double corona's!

Score: 81

Mid-week Review EXTRA

La Aurora Robusto (5x50)

I don't often take the time to write a mid-week review so when I do you can be assured I am impressed with a cigar. Now, I know I've been smoking cigars for 10 years now and you'd think I've tried about all the cigars out there. While I've tried alot, by no means have I tried them all. To hammer home that point, I reached in one of my 7 humidors last night and pulled out a La Aurora robusto. I had just finished a Don Pepin Garcia Magnate a short time before and had about an hour and a half before I was turning in. The La Aurora just seemed to call to me. Now, La Aurora is not a new cigar, by any means. It's just fairly new to me. You see, as a rule I don't care much for Dominican cigars anymore because they tend to be so mild. I decided to give the ol' Dominicans another try.

There were spots of plume adorning the little robusto. Visually inspecting the cigar further I could tell it was very well made. After a quick cut I gave it a pre-light test draw. It was effortless! The cigar was not spongy either; well packed with a great draw! After I lit the cigar it had a slightly sweet, light caramel flavor with a nice amount of spice. This is the classic Cameroon flavor that I absolutely love! The finish was long and quite pleasing. There were white pepper notes. The Cameroon flavor intensifies after an inch or so. As a fan of good Cameroon cigars, I am always looking for more. This is truely a great cigar and one that will be in my Cameroon collection from now on. It is very smooth and creamy. No bitterness. No harshness. At the halfway point the pepper notes on the back of your throat are great! This cigar is exactly what I look for in a Cameroon cigar. The burn was very good and even.

I highly recommend this cigar to anyone looking for a really good Cameroon cigar. You won't be disappointed!

The cigar is medium bodied at best, but strength does not define this cigar. The amazing combination of caramel, spice, and white pepper do! The pepper intensified toward the end. This is a very solid cigar. By the way, I drank a Diet Coke with this cigar and the two went very well together!

I'm glad I picked this cigar to smoke tonight! Loved it!

Score: 94

Ashton event/Weekend Review (August 8-10)

Ashton cigars visited the Maduro Room Friday night (August 8th) for an event. Evan Carpenter was the sales rep. Evan is from Washington, DC and travels the Carolina's and Virginia area. After purchasing the $10 ticket to attend the event (which you got back with any purchase) Evan gave everyone an Ashton Classic to sample. He had a neat tasting set up consisting of strawberries, blackberries, and vodka. After lighting your cigar and letting it burn for about a 1/4 inch you eat either a strawberry or blackberry. I chose the blackberry. Then take a draw of your cigar. You taste primarily the binder! It masks the wrapper! Then, take a shot of vodka. Follow this up with another draw of the cigar. The pepper of the wrapper really comes through! Pretty amazing. Try it!


I asked Mitch if he'd split a box of San Cristobal torpedo's with me, and he did. Grady had a really good deal on them at the event; 20% off all boxes!


Here's some pics of the attendees:

Leary (on the right) with his buds. Leary is owner of The Great Frame Up (frame shop) next to Outback just off Harbison Blvd.

This is a Twig impersonator. (on the left) Twig was not really there! Twig does not officially attend cigar events! The guy REALLY looks like Twig! LOL

Mitch really needs to learn how to relax!

(L-R) Evan Carpenter-Ashton Rep, Connie, Me, Grady (Maduro Room owner)

Weekend Reviews, August 9th and 10th, 2008

Cigars Reviewed:

• CAO Black Bengal


• Blue Label churchill


• Padilla Achilles toro


• Perdomo ESV Phantom maduro


• 5 Vegas Miami torpedo

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

After an enjoyable morning of yardwork, I settled down for some good cigars. First up...

CAO Black Bengal (6x50)

This is a cedar wrapped cigar. Almond notes with a ton of spice initially. Decent pepper notes. The spice in this cigar is amazing. The finish is pretty long. I am really impressed with this cigar. It has been in my humidor for quite awhile. At halfway point the spice and pepper notes are still strong and the almond notes are still quite notable. This cigar is medium bodied that moves very close to, if not all the way to, full. Very impressive cigar. I'll definitely get more of these.

Score: 94

Blue Label churchill (7x50)

This cigar is made by the Gran Habano company. I have enjoyed the corojo and Habana series by them and had high hopes for this cigar. A very nice looking cigar; well made. Nice spice. Long finish. Light almond notes. Faint pepper notes. Similar flavor to the Gran Habano Corojo. Good, flavorful cigar. May improve with some humidor time. I received these only about 10 days ago.

Score: 88

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Padilla Achilles toro (6x50)

Pepin made the originals of these and I'm not sure if he made this cigar or not. It had lots of spice, caramel overtones, and some pepper. Long finish and quite pleasing. Pretty good cigar. I'll revisit it in a month or so. These have only been in the humidor for a week or so. I think this cigar will greatly improve with a little humidor time.

Score: 90

Perdomo ESV Phantom maduro (4x52)

Very dark cigar that tastes as dark as it looks! Nice spice and leather flavors. Lots of pepper noted. Quite a bit of pepper in this cigar; very nice! Hints of maduro sweetness, too. This is an awsome cigar! Great!!!! Love the spice and pepper combo and the maduro flavor just tops it off!

Score: 95

5 Vegas Miami Torpedo (6x52)

I believe this cigar is only sold by Cigars International and Cigarbid.com. I have really enjoyed the "A" series by 5 Vegas, also. This cigar is made by one of my favorite blenders, Don Pepin Garcia! So, you KNOW I want to try it! This is a very spicy cigar with a nice almond flavor. Peppery. Long finish. Very balanced cigar. Equal amounts of spice, almond and pepper. Really nice cigar. You can taste the Pepin blending. I really can't find much wrong with it! I enjoyed it very much and am now looking for more!

Score: 94

50th Birthday Party! (weekend review 8/2 and 8/3)

My actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, August 6th, but Connie wanted to do something on the weekend before. She kept it very small, only inviting the kids and their dates, and Jim and Ginger. We also decided to have it on Sunday afternoon since that was the only time everyone could make it. More on the birthday party later, first the weekend cigar lineup and Saturday's reviews.

Cigars reviewed this weekend:

• CAO CX2 Toro
• Joya De Nicaragua Celebracion
• Griffin Maduro Piramides
• San Cristobal Punta
• Cohiba Esplendido

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Hot, hot day in the yard! I wanted to get it nice looking for our company coming over Sunday afternoon! Man, it was hot out there, though! The first cigar reviewed was the CAO CX2. I've had this cigar before but wanted to give it another shot.

CAO CX2 Toro (6x54)

This is a double cameroon cigar. I'm a huge fan of cameroon flavor and had high hopes for any cigar that is DOUBLE cameroon! At first, it has the typical caramel tones as well as some vanilla notes. Average abount of spice. Nice finish but not very long. I've had much better cameroon cigars. At halfway point the spice is very nice. Stayed pretty consistent. This is a decent cigar but way overpriced. Cigars International has them at $155 for a box of 20.

Score: 85

Joya De Nicaragua Celebracion Consul (4 1/2 x 52)

Nice spice. Caramel sweetness. Slight pepper notes. The finish is nice and long. Not as powerful as the Antono 1970 but this cigar had a great flavor! Medium bodied. Solid cigar-dense. This is a very nice cigar.

Score: 92

Griffin's maduro Piramides (5.5x52)

Very nice dark chocolate maduro flavor. Tons of spice. Long finish. Hints of pepper. Ash was not tight; one of the few drawbacks to this cigar. Very nice tasting cigar, though. Any maduro lover will love this cigar. Even burn.

Score: 93

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Birthday Celebration!

Everyone started arriving around 5:30. It was still pretty hot outside so we hung around inside. Jim and Ginger got there first. They gave me some nice presents. First, they brought the cake. It was "the cigar cake"! Jim had one for his birthday last year and they got me one this year! Notice in the pics below that the baker spent time detailing it.

Notice the "punch" in the cap:

The ash. Look closely...

See the red spots (fire)?

Those are red candies that sparkled to give the effect of a burning cigar.

After steaks (which I practically burned the house down cooking), it was time for cake:

Notice the cake, uh...I mean cigar getting shorter? It's burning!

Everyone gave me cigar related birthday presents. Jim and Ginger, along with the cake, gave me a very nice torch lighter with a built-in punch, and a Habano Nub! I have not tried the Nub's yet so this was a nice present!

Ty gave me 3 cigars he picked up while on his Florida trip (for his office). They were an Ashton VSG, Tatuaje, and a Litto Gomez.

A few pics of the family and friends:

Jim and Ginger:

The kids and their dates:

L-R, Jason, Chelsea, Ty, and Meghan

Connie made it in one pic!

My cigars I had during the party;

• San Cristobal Punta
• Cohiba Esplendido

San Cristobal Punta (5.5x52)

This is a torpedo shaped cigar. It was given to me by Melissa, aka Cigar Chic when she was in Charleston in January of this year. The first tastes you have when lighting this cigar are almond overtones with tons of spice! Nice, tight ash. Very consistent flavors throughout. This is a wonderfully spicey cigar! Very, very nice.

Score: 93

Cohiba Esplendido (7x47)

Probably the most counterfitted cigar in the world. This was the real deal, though. It had nice spice. Hints of pepper. Moderate amounts of earthiness and leather. Very nice cigar but also VERY expensive.

Score: 92

It was a very nice birthday! Happy Birthday to me!