New Man Cave cigars review

Tom Burns, owner of Lite Um Up Cigars (4435 Hard Scrabble Rd., Columbia, SC 29229) decided to take a crack at blending his own cigars so he took a trip to Honduras to visit the Rocky Patel factory. Tom spent quite a bit of time blending 4 different versions of his cigars. These blends are HIS and no one else's. He has a contract with Rocky Patel to produce these cigars to his blend specifications. He contacted me a week ago and asked if I'd like to sample them. Of course I said yes. I told Tom that I would give him my honest opinion and below is just that.


I will probably surprise Tom a little with my reviews but since tastes are personal and everyone is different I am posting my thoughts on his cigars.


When Tom gave me the cigars he briefly described them but didn't say too much. He described them as this:

• Corojo: Medium bodied
• Sumatra: Full bodied
• Habano: Mild to medium bodied
• Maduro: Medium to full bodied

He gave me 3 petite corona's and 1 toro size. His cigars have been selling so well that he actually ran out of the petite corona version of the Habano version. Ok, let's get to the reviews...





Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Man Cave Corojo petite corona (4.5x44)


The first puffs were quite spicey with cinnamon notes and nice amounts of pepper. The cigar produced a ton of smoke. The finish had nice vanilla notes. I'd call this a medium bodied cigar. This cigar did not change much as I smoked it.


Score: 90






Man Cave Sumatra petite corona (4.5x44)


Initially the cigar had nice spice with vanilla notes. The pepper was very nice. It really covers the palate. It's felt on the rar of the throat. The finish is very long and satisfying with heavy vanilla notes. This cigar is very rich with a slight leather note. At the 1/3 point the cinnamon notes appeared. The cigar started out medium bodied but moved toward the full bodied direction. A very good cigar.


Score: 92











Sunday, August 30, 2009

Man Cave Habano toro (6.5x50)


Citrus spice with lots of pepper is how this cigar started. Has a heavy grapefruit-like taste. As you may know, I'm a citrus spice fan so to me this is a nice tasting cigar. Also, since this is a bigger ring cigar I have to wonder what differece it may make with the previous 2 cigars. The burn was very even. This cigar also produced a ton of smoke. The finish is long with spicey vanilla notes. The pepper is quite heavy. This cigar reminds me a lot of a Pepin cigar. It has many of the same citrus-like characteristics. I thought this was a great cigar. Absolutely loved it. I'd say this is a medium bodied cigar but a mild cigar lover could handle it.


Score: 93





Man Cave Maduro petite corona (4.5x44)



This was a VERY dark cigar; pretty much black. Wow! First puffs were a powerful peppery spice with black coffee notes. Sweet maduro flavor noted. After 3/4" there were citrus notes! This was a surprise! The pepper toned down at midpoint. There were sweet notes mixed into the citrus spice. This is very different for your typical maduro cigar. Medium - full bodied. Very good cigar.


Score: 93




There you have it. My impressions of the 4 new Man Cave cigars. To summarize, I really liked them all. The Habano and Maduro took the highest ratings but I want to try the larger ring versions of the Corojo and Sumatra to see if the flavor profiles change with the larger ring. At any rate you should try Tom's cigars. He has definite winners with all of them. Thanks for letting me try them!

Scoring summary:
Corojo: 90 (medium)
Sumatra: 92 (medium to full)
Habano: 93 (medium)
Maduro: 93 (medium to full)

The cigars are priced starting at around $5.

Private Altadis event number 2

The good folks at Altadis USA sent me another shipment of cigars to host a mini-herf, or mini-sit down, or whatever you choose to call it. I received a box of Montecristo White and Montecristo Classic churchills. John Conroy is the pointman for Altadis that I deal with. Thanks again John for a nice selection of cigars to pass around! Of course, we were at the Wild Hare Sports bar in Irmo, SC!

I decided to invite 20 people maximum so that everyone could get 2 cigars, one of each, to sample. I had a few no shows but that only made 1 more cigar available for everyone, so no one complained! Below are some pics of the crowd:

World renowned TWIG and me:

Thanks again to John Conroy and Altadis for making this event possible!

Weekend review; August 23rd, 2009

Nice weekend. I began a little project on Sunday; repainting the bird bath fountain! It's looking good so far!





This weekend I reviewed a new cigar. I saw some people discussing the Man O' War on another site and I had mentioned that I had not tried that cigar yet but planned on soon. Well, Lumbo, aka Tom Lemberis, insisted on sending me one to try so I said yes. He actually sent me 5 cigars; 2 Man O' Wars and 3 other cigars that were also new to me. So, I'll be reviewing these cigars in the coming weeks. This weekend it's the Man O' War double corona.





Man O' War Double Corona (7.5x52)

A reddish-brown cigar. This cigar is made by A. J. Fernandez in Estil, Nicaragua.

The very first puffs revealed intense cinnamon spice with a great deal of pepper. After an inch or so I noted citrus. The finish was long and had vanilla notes with hints of leather. The cinnamon spice and pepper are nicely balanced. The draw was slightly firm but very good. It's medium bodied and moves toward full bodied as you smoke it past the halfway point.

That's pretty much it! A lot of good things about this cigar. Thanks Lumbo, I enjoyed this cigar very much!

Score: 91

Weekend review; August 15th and 16th, 2009

Typical summer weekend! Hot and humid.

This weekend I'm reviewing 2 cigars:

• Gurkha Legend Torpedo
• Los Palmas Maduro torpedo

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Gurkha Legend Torpedo (6.25x52)

I reviewed the churchill about 2 years ago. This torpedo has been in the humidor for a long time. The initial impression was a heavy cinnamon spice with black pepper tones. The finish is short with faint vanilla notes. The pepper really makes this cigar. There were vanilla notes mixed in the cinnamon spice. This is a good cigar. Medium bodied.

Score: 90

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Lianos Dos Palmas Connecticut Broadleaf (6 1/8x52)

This cigar is made in Charleston, SC at a small shop. The address is 52 1/2 Wentworth Street, in the historic district. I suggest you visit the shop anytime you're in Charleston.

The spice in this cigar is very peppery with some sweetness. The finish is very long with vanilla notes. The ligero really comes through once you get into this cigar. There were even hints of citrus in the spice. A VERY good cigar which I recommend you try.

Score: 91

Weekend review; August 8th, 2009

Thursday, August 6th was my birthday. I turned 51! Wow, that sounds old! Funny thing is I don't feel like "that number". That's probably the most important thing.
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Connie and I stopped by the Tobacco Merchant on Friday night. We were heading to the Wild Hare to meet the usual's but had to pick up some of the cigars Connie likes first. While there I decided to look for a cigar to review. I came across one that I have not had yet; the Rocky Patel Summer Collection toro. I decided it was time to give it a try. My review is coming up but first I'd like to thank Mr. Bob and Jim and Ginger for a nice birthday surprise at the Wild Hare. They had presents for me when I arrived. Jim and Ginger gave me a 2009 Camacho Liberty and a gift card to the Tobacco Merchant. Mr. Bob gave me a palm-themed vacation button-up shirt. Very nice gifts from nice people; thanks! They even had a cheese cake with candles on it!
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OK, on to the review...
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Rocky Patel Summer Collection toro (6x52)
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The cigar started out with cinnamon overtones and plenty of spice and pepper. Very dense feeling cigar. Has a nice feel in the hand. At the mid-point the cigar stayed consistent. Normally that might be a good thing but I hoped this cigar would trasform somewhat to something more powerful. This cigar seems to be a good, basic cinnamon toned cigar with decent spice and pepper but not a GREAT one. The finish is average with cinnamon notes (duh!) It is a medium bodied cigar that begins the move toward full bodied. This cigar costs around $8.75. I do not feel it is worth that price and I doubt I'll be buying more. I expected more from this cigar.
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Score: 88
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Re-visit: Arganese CL3 robusto (5x50)
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I first reviewed this cigar back on May 16th, 2009.
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At that time I rated the cigar a 90. I'll tell you one thing, this cigar either improved or I just needed something with more pop after having the Rocky Patel Summer Collection toro! The cigar was excellent! Cinnamon spice with citrus tones and lots of pepper. Full bodied. The finish had vanilla and leather. Very good cigar. I highly suggest you try this cigar. This is a great addition to the Arganese family of cigars.
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Score: 93

Weekend review; August 1st and 2nd, 2009

Well, we're already in August! Wow! The year is moving on. In less than 5 weeks I'll be on the Carnival Victory and sailing the Southern Caribbean! You better believe I can't wait!
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UPDATE:
Oh, I have a little update on the possibility of us losing the Wild Hare as our spot for the S.C. Sit Downs. I spoke to Heather, who is the manager, and she assured me that Chris Kokolis, the owner of the Wild Hare, assured her that he would find a way for us to continue the S. C. Sit Downs at the Wild Hare. This may involve them closing for the day to allow us to have a private party. I'm not sure what this would involve but it's worth a shot. I'll give more details later when I have them.
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Anyway, let's talk cigars and what's good or what's not. This weekend I had 2 cigars that could not have been more opposite. They were:

• Alec Bradley Maxx The Vice
• National Brand Sun Grown robusto

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Saturday, August 1st, 2009
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Alec Bradley Maxx The Vice (6.5x62)


This is a square pressed FAT cigar. It's very dark brown and is suppose to be a maduro although it really doesn't have a maduro look to it. It is a Nicaraguan maduro wrapper. One funny thing about this cigar is it tastes just like it appears it would taste. By that I mean the band is a cinnamon-like color and the cigar has a blast of cinnamon and spice with a nice amount of pepper. The draw is effortless. The finish is also cinnamon and about average in length. The cigar produced a TON of smoke. I noticed citrus and leather notes at the 1/3 point plus hints of vanilla on the finish. The ash was not very tight so don't let it get very long! This is not your typical sweet maduro but a very nice cigar.

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Score: 91
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Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
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National Brand Sun Grown Robusto (5x50)
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Did you know that National Brand is made by Camacho? Well, don't expect it to taste like any Camacho cigar. This cigar started out with a moderate amount of spice with some vanilla notes and light pepper. There was a slight bitterness on the finish with some vanilla notes mixed in, but the bitterness overwealmed the vanilla. This is a mild cigar that may creep toward medium. This cigar was a gift from a friend and I appreciate it but the bitterness was the killer for this cigar.
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Score: 78