Post Christmas review; 12/27/08

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Since it was a long weekend I had a chance to have many cigars. I am not reviewing everything I had but I must tell you about the PSD4 I had! It was part of the box I got from the LCDH in Roatan. Man, that cigar was amazing! Absolutely loved it! I only have them for special occasions; I'm trying to make them last!

Anyway...

Here's this weekend's reviewed cigars:

• Sol Cubano maduro churchill
• La Aurura 1495 Series churchill
• Joya de Nicaragua Antono 1970 Lancero
• Nub Habano 460
  

Sol Cubano maduro churchill (7x50)

An Oliva creation that is pretty much sold by Cigars International. It was nicely constructed with a few rough spots. Very dense feeling. Initial impressions: nice spice with maduro sweetness. It lacked any significant pepper, however. That's something I look for in a good maduro cigar. After a couple inches the pepper became a little more evident but not to the point I like. The burn is very even. The finish becomes fairly long at the halfway point. At the midpoint the cigar developes into a fairly good maduro cigar. The ash is nice and tight. A little more pepper would have helped to give this cigar a higher rating, but it's not bad for an inexpensive maduro. Check cigarbid for these. You can get them for around $9 - $11 per five-pack.

Score: 87

La Aurora 1495 Series churchill (7x50)

Nice looking cigar. Medium brown. Initial impression: great Cameroon flavor right from the start! Perfect amount of pepper and spice. Very good draw and burn. Midpoint was consistent. The great Cameroon flavor continued right to the end. Great cigar! I highly recommend this cigar if you want a great Cameroon! Expect to pay upwards of $10 or more per cigar at your local shop.

Score: 94

Joya de Nicaragua Antono' 1970 Lancero (7.5x38)

The lancero size is not my first choice in a cigar but I usually find these to be packed with the "meat" of the blend. This cigar is no exception. It has a pigtail cap. Nice looking, dark cigar. Initial impression: VERY peppery with great caramel overtones! Sweet spice. Sweet aftertaste. Long finish. A true, tasty full bodied cigar. I noticed notes of molasses. At the midpoint there were hints of citrus (believe it or not). Since this is a small ring cigar they obviously packed the "meat" into it. Really nothing bad to say about this cigar. It''s very inexpensive too. They run around $6 in local shops.

Score: 94

Nub Habano 460 (4x60)

Oliva's "gimmick" cigar. Very fat! Very dense! Slow burning. I got well over an hour smoking this cigar. Initial impression: very nice spice and pepper. The finish is long and sweet. Approaches full bodied. Really nice flavor. The ash is probably the tightest I've ever seen. I was afraid it would fall and wound up breaking it off at the 1 1/2 inch point! It was not anywhere near ready to fall off! The pepper on the back of my throat was nice. Really enjoyable cigar. Around $5 - $6 at the local shops. You can get them a little cheaper on cigarbid. I just won a 5 pack of the Habano torpedos for $17!

Score: 93

Finally, I am a member of an internet posting board called The Gunners Lair, http://www.thegunnerslair.com/ , and recently they had a contest, so I entered. Well, about a month ago I received a message that I had won; a Xikar cutter! Sweet! I love Xikar cutters. They are guaranteed for life! I've sent mine back before to be sharpened or replaced and each time they either sharpened the blades or sent a brand new cutter! It's really the last cutter you need to buy! The Gunners Lair is a board about guns, cigars, sports, etc. It's geared to guys and "guy things". Thanks to "Mikegunner" for putting on the contest! Here's a pic of the cutter I won: