July 4th weekend review and travels

Hope everyone had a fantastic July 4th holiday! We went to Jim and Ginger's to hang out at the pool and grill steaks. Her sister and husband were there also. Of course, plenty of good cigars were enjoyed.

Saturday Connie and I traveled to my son's house to quickly tend to his pet ferrets, then we stopped by the new cigar shop, Lite Um Up Cigars, on Hard Scrabble Road. This time I had my camera in hand and got some good shots to let you see a what the place is like.

As you walk in the front door the bar is immediately on your right:

Looking straight ahead you see the humidor and bar tables to the left:

Humidor entrance door:
(Hi Connie!)

The humidor is well stocked:

Etched glass window of humidor:

The bar as seen looking back toward front door:

Wine table/bar:

Leather chair sitting area with TV over fireplace:

Group pic: (l-r) Tony (owner and active military), Connie, me, Tom (owner, retired military)

Thanks for allowing the pics, guys! I'm sure cigar lovers across Columbia will be by to visit your shop and lounge soon!

Now, on to a few reviews.

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

While I was in Lite Um Up on Saturday, a fellow patron in the bar (Bill) passed me a cigar to try. It was a:

La Aurora 100 Anos Belicoso! (6.5x52)

These cigars come with a serial number:

Hard to find these cigars. Bill had just returned from the Dominican Republic where he visited the La Aurora factory and purchased a box of these cigars along with several other boxes. This was a very generous gift! These cigars go for $400 for a box of 25!

The cigar started with a nice, sweet initial draw. It was apparent that this was a good cameroon cigar right from the start. Spice was noted. Fantastic flavor. After 1 1/2" the sweet cameroon flavor is great! The spice is very nice. Finish is long. Slight pepper noted at 1/2 way point. Very good cigar. Thanks Bill for allowing me to try one!

Score: 92

Cusano Corojo '97 toro (6x50)

This cigar was purchased from Lite Um Up a week ago.

Leather notes initially. Nice spice noted. Several flavors are noted after 1/2 inch, among them caramel, vanilla and leather. Hints of pepper noted. More pepper noted after an inch. Very nice caramel and spice combo. Ash is rather loose. Burn is a little uneven. Spice and caramel overtones continue strong from mid-point on. Finish is long. Very enjoyable cigar.

Score: 93

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Romeo y Julietta Habana Reserve churchill (7x54)

Nice amount of spice with pepper notes. Finish is long and very enjoyable. This is the best RyJ non-Cuban I've smoked in a long time; maybe ever! Slight leather notes. After an inch the cigar settles into a very nice spice/leather combo. The pepper notes are slight but quite welcome. Very affordable cigar. This churchill was around $5.75 at a local shop. Cigar remained consistent. Very nice.

Score: 91

Oliva Special S Belicoso (5x52)

Explosion of spice right away! Hints of leather. This cigar is LOADED with spice. The leather untertones remain throughout. The finish is long and sweet! Fantastic finish! Very tight ash. At halfway point finish has strong almond notes. Great little spice bomb with a fantastic finish!!!

Score: 94