Melissa in Charleston; 2008 version!

This is a short "review" post with a dose of CigarChic thrown in for good measure!



First, the review.



I reviewed 2 cigars on Saturday:

• La Gloria Cubana Serie R maduro robusto


• Padron 3000 natural

La Gloria Cubana Serie R maduro robusto (5x54)

This cigar was full of plume! It is a very dark cigar. Had a nice draw. It was Peppery with some spice. It was very peppery on the end of my tongue. I would call this cigar medium to heavy bodied. The burn was good. This is not a "sweet" maduro.

Score: 86

Padron 3000 natural (5.5x52)

Slightly square pressed. Very good draw. The cigar had caramel and leathery overtones. There were spicey notes. It produced tons of smoke. The cigar was constructed very well. I would call this a medium bodied cigar. Very consistent. Great flavor.

Score: 88

Now, on to Melissa's visit.

Melissa, aka CigarChic, came to Charleston, SC last year for some computer software training. Well, she's back because the software has changed! She also has a co-worker with her; Cori. Both women joined us at the Smoking Lamp cigar shop around 4pm on Sunday. We chatted and smoked cigars for awhile, then headed out for a walk around downtown Charleston. Charlie Ruffalo, aka Stogiesandhoagies, was also in town and he also joined us. We had quite a nice group of cigar smokers. Here's a pic of our group: (L-R Ginger, Jim, Charlie, Melissa, Cori, Connie, me)

Weekend review; January 19th and 20th, 2008

Cold, wet weekend! It rained all day Saturday so I decided to head to the Tobacco Merchant. The rain kept most people at home. The shop was slow. I hung around for a couple hours anyway. I had a Fonseca Cubana Limitada. Very good cigar. Nice spice. Some pepper. I'll do a better review of this cigar later. I bought a spare to bring home!

So, on to this weekend's reviews.


Sunday, January 20, 2008

• Pontillo natural churchill



• Perdomo Lot 23 maduro churchill



• Unknown cigar from SC Sit Down no. 4



• Arganese Cameroon Chairman robusto

Pontillo natural chuchill (7x50)

This is not your typical natural; it's got much more to it! It's medium bodied with nice spice. There is limited pepper. Very enjoyable cigar. It had a perfect draw. Tons of smoke. Burns well. Very consistent.

Just a quick note on Pontillo cigars: Of his cigars, the natural, maduro, and Paragon, none of them share any tobacco in their blends! All 3 have totally different blends! That's pretty cool!

Score: 89

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Perdomo Lot 23 maduro churchill (7x50)

I picked up this cigar from the Tobacco Merchant when I was in there Saturday. I've been told this was a very good cigar and have been wanting to try it. I really like the natural version.

My initial draw had lots of pepper and nice spice. It is full bodied. Very good draw. Rich flavor. The cigar has a nice maduro flavor, but not a "sweet" maduro. Even burn. Very consistent. Really enjoyed the cigar.

Score: 90

The "Unknown" unbanded cigar (7 1/2x50)
I'm not sure who sent this cigar. I have it sorta narrowed down to Camno Viejo Tabacos and Vegas de Santiago, but I'm not sure. It has no band. It's very light in color; I'd call it a Connecticut wrapper. Anyway, here's the review:

This cigar has been sitting for 2 years! It had a very good draw. Nice, light caramel flavor. It was constructed very good. Flavorful spice. A very enjoyable cigar. No pepper but it doesn't matter with this cigar; it's that good! It has a nice aftertaste, too. Not harsh. Very smooth. Consistent! This is a very good cigar. I wish I knew what it was!

Score: 90

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Arganese Cameroon Chairman Robusto (5x50)

This is by a new cigar company, Arganese Cigars, who will also be making an appearance at this year's SC Sit Down no. 8! Gene Arganese is scheduled to be here, and possibly some of his beautiful models! You can find out more on Arganese cigars at http://www.arganesecigars.com/

This was a beautiful, well made cigar. The initial draw was full of rich Cameroon flavor. I love Cameroon cigars and have been looking for a really good one; this is it! The cigar is full of spicey Caramel flavor! It had a great draw. Very consistent flavor. It's medium bodied. Produced tons of smoke. Nice aroma. This is a very good Cameroon cigar! Loved it!

Score: 91

Midweek review! 1/16/08

This is a rare midweek review but I felt it must be posted after I had this cigar. It was, in a word, FANTASTIC! The cigar: Camacho corojo maduro robusto (4.5x50)

The cigar starts out with a fantastic corojo flavor. The sweetness of maduro comes through after the first half inch. The combination of corojo and maduro produces a great peppery, spicey smoke! The cigar is incredibly smooth, too! It had a great draw; effortless. The flavors were very consistent. I have not had this cigar in quite a long time and was very glad I chose it last night! I thoroughly enjoyed it! It produced a ton of smoke. I really want this cigar in a longer size! If you're a fan of corojo and maduro separately, you need to try this cigar which combines both! Great smoke!

Score: 91

Weekend review; January 12th and 13th, 2008

I think I may be re-reviewing some of this weeks cigars, but what the heck. Every cigar needs a second try anyway.

This week I'm reviewing:

• Gurkha X-Fuerte


• Rocky Patel Edge Natural toro


• Oliva Serie G Natural torpedo


• Rocky Patel Sun Grown torpedo


• Oliva O maduro churchill

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Gurkha X-Fuerte (7x54)

This cigar starts off with overwealming leather overtones. It had a good draw. It developed a butterscotch flavor at the 1/3 point. It had very little spice or pepper at this point. It is medium bodied with tendancies of heading toward full bodied further through the cigar. I expect more from a cigar with Fuerte in it's name. The cigar band is beautiful, but you can't smoke the band! The cigar developed some spice at the 1/2 way point. The cigar was enjoyable from the mid-point on. It had lots of smoke.

Score: 80

Rocky Patel Edge natural toro (6x50)

Wow! This cigar is caramalized pepper! That's my initial impression! Very good draw. Tons of smoke. Very even burn. Great flavor; full bodied. The ash was tight with no flakes. At the mid-point the cigar had the same great flavor. Loved this cigar. Nubbed it! And, it's quite affordable at around $5-$6 each.

Score: 90

Finished the night with an Oliva Serie G natural torpedo (6.5x52)

I think that I've had this cigar reviewed previously too, so I'll buzz through it:

Great Cameroon cigar, very smooth and cramy. Love this cigar and it's maduro counterpart.

Score: 88

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Started the day with a Pontillo maduro churchill. I've previously reviewed Pontillo maduro's; love 'em!

Rocky Patel Sun Grown torpedo (6.1x52)

This cigar has a leathery-caramel flavor. Pepper was noted on the first few draws. Great draw. Tons of smoke. Rocky Patel makes a lot of good cigars but this is one of my favorites! Great cigar; consistent!

Score: 90

Oliva O maduro churchill (7x50)

This is an absolutely beautiful cigar. The construction is perfect. The draw was perfect. It has a deep, rich maduro flavor. The burn was perfect. It has plenty of spice and the perfect amount of pepper. (yes, I realize I'm using a lot of "perfects" here) The ash was so tight you had to break it off! This is a supurb cigar!

Score: 92

Weekend review; January 5th and 6th

Nice weekend in central S.C. Temps in the 60's. Great weekend for enjoying cigars, but isn't every weekend?

3 new cigars reviewed this weekend:

• Black Pearl Toro (not real sure which one this is)


• Tatuaje Havana VI Artistas (Torpedo)


• CAO Brazilia Gol

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

Black Pearl Toro (6x50)

I have had this cigar in my humidor for at least 2 1/2 years! I got it in a 5 pack from cigarbid. I also didn't realize that there are so many types of Black Pearl cigars, so I'm not sure which one this is! Sorta makes this review pointless I guess, but if anyone knows which one I have based on the pic above, let me know.

The cigar was very dense and "heavy". I like that in a cigar, as long as it draws well and this one did! The cigar had nice spice about it. It had a semi-sweet Cameroon-type flavor. It was VERY slow burning, yet it had a very even burn. I'd say this cigar was mild-medium bodied. There was not muc pepper noted, if any, until the 1/3 point. Even then, it was not overly peppery, but a nice amount. This was a nice, surprising cigar!

Score: 87

Tatuaje Havana VI Artistas (Torpedo: 6.5x52)

This is a Pepin cigar. It was very nice looking, with a reddish color to the wrapper. It had a leathery flavor with some pepper. It developed spicyness at the midpoint. This was not my favorite Pepin cigar but still, a nice cigar. I had the last 1/3 of this cigar while enjoying our jacuzzi!

Score: 88

CAO Brazilia Gol (5x56)

After the jacuzzi, there was still some time for one more cigar; a CAO Brazilia Gol. I think that I've stated previously that the Brazilia line is my favorite CAO cigar. The Gol's are a great, short, fat cigar! They are a beauty to look at! They have the perfect blend of pepper and spice; not too much; just enough. The Brazilian maduro wrapper gives this cigar a wonderful flavor. It had a great draw and an almost perfect "lazer" burn. I nubbed this 'un!

Score: 90

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Everything I had today has been previously reviewed.

I enjoyed (for a short time) a Rocky Patel 90 churchill. I say "short time" because it got destroyed during a home-yard project! Let's just leave it at that! I still had 3/4 of it left when I had to toss it! I was not happy.

After that, I lit up a Perdomo Habana maduro robusto, followed by a 5 Vegas Miami churchill (great cigar IMHO), and finally a Camacho SLR robusto.

That's it for this weekend!

New Year's Day 2008!

Happy New Year's!

Connie and I spent New Year's Eve at the house this year. No parties. No bars. No dodging drunks on the road!

On New Year's Day we traveled to Rock Hill to spend the day at the Ruffalo's big annual bash! Charlie, aka stogiesandhoagies, has a pig roast every year and for the past 3 or so, we've been going up for it. Nice day! It was a little cool but nice. There are always around 50 - 60 people at his event and this year was no exception. Most arrive around 5 or so, just in time to eat! We drive up and get there around noon so that we can visit with them before the masses arrive! There's always lots of cigars smoked at Charlie's house! Here's my New Year's Day list, in order:

(1) Vegas Robaina Don Alejandro

(2) San Cristobal El Morro (3) Partagas (gifted to me by Charlie)

(4) Custom hand rolled

(5)Partagas Serie D No. 4
All Cubans! Nice selection, nice company, nice day!

Also, as proof positive that Charlie has been a good boy and staying on his diet, I offer the following 2 pics. The first is from 3 years ago (I think) at the same New Year's Day event. The second one is from yesterday.

Nice job Charles!

I had to have my picture taken with Charlie's pool frog!

And, our annual group shot:

Thanks Charlie for a great New Year's Day!!!!