Cusano event/weekend review; March 21, 2009

It was a beautiful day for a cigar event, but then again isn't any day a good day for one? : )


Mark Lewis and Jim Massengale met me at my house around 2:30 pm and we made the trek over to Lite Um Up Cigars on Hardscrabble Road in Columbia for the Cusano cigar event. This is my first trip to a cigar event at Tom Burn's shop. I would also get a chance to meet Joe Chiusano (pronounced Cu-sa-no), owner of Cusano Cigars. Joe was also giving away a '97 robusto with every 3 Cusano cigars purchased. Cool!

(l-r; Mark Lewis, me, Jim Massengale, Joe, Tom)

While there I met up with an old friend, Sonny Arnold. Sonny and I spent a lot of time together during my bodybuilding competition days. Sonny won the Mr. South Carolina title a few years before I did and we were both working toward regional and national competitions. I learned a couple days before this event that Sonny was into cigars and hoped I would see him at the event. Here's a pic of Sonny and I with Joe and Tom:

(l-r; Tim, Sonny, Joe, Tom)

Tom's shop is the first in Columbia to also have a bar. He serves beer and wine. Here's a few pics of the sitting area:

Mark and Jim adjacent to the humidor window:

Leather chairs with tv above a fireplace:

Sonny Arnold with Henry Richardson:

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Tom's shop and having a chance to meet Joe Chiusano of Cusano Cigars. Joe has agreed to help us with some cigars for this year's South Carolina Sit Down event next month. Thank you Joe for your support!


Now, on to the review for this week. It seems quite appropriate to review a Cusano cigar and one of my favorites has always been the Corojo '97. This particular version is the robusto.



Cusano Corojo '97 robusto (5x50)


While visiting with Sonny I learned that this is also one of his favorites. He even compares it favorably to the Cuban Bolivar Belicoso Fino, saying the Cusano is about 90% the flavor of a BBF! I'll just say it's a very good cigar. It starts off very spicy with a touch of pepper on the palate. After an inch or so you get a nice citrus taste. The finish is fairly long with almond notes. The cigar stays pretty consistent throughout.

Score: 91

BIG NEWS CONCERNING THE TOBACCO MERCHANT AT BOWER PARKWAY!

Big things are happening at the Tobacco Merchant on Bower Parkway. Paul is selling the business. The sale should be finalized in 2 weeks. The new owner is making huge changes right away! The first priority is to fully stock the humidor. That's a good thing! At the same time they will be making a slight change to the humidor. The front-most corner of the humidor will come out which will slightly shorten the overal humidor. This is being done to make a little more room in the counter area. The front counter is coming out entirely and a full bar is being built. They already have a large cooler which will hold beer and wine. They will now be seving beer and wine which should really help business. What better way to keep a customer in the shop for a couple hours than to put a beer in his hand! This should greatly help the cigar sales. I have long thought this was a good idea. There is a similar set-up at Lite Um Up Cigars on Hardscrabble Road. (I was there on Saturday for a Cusano event and the place was packed!)

The above changes will take place immediately. Here are some other changes that will take place shortly thereafter:

The little glassed in room at the front, across from the humidor, is coming out. This will be an additional sitting area with new tv. The original sitting area will be reconfigured and a new tv will be installed there also. Some of the walls may have to be removed and reinstalled to make the necessary changes. The only wall that is a load bearing wall is the wall that runs down the center of the shop, adjacent to the humidor. Paul's office will be changed out to make room for a pool table. I'm not sure if walls will have to be moved to accomodate this but I imagine they will.

Those are the changes I am aware of at this point. As things change I'll pass them on to you. These changes definitely sound like good ones and I very much look forward to the new shop.

Oh, by the way, for the first year (minimum) the name will remain the same; The Tobacco Merchant. Paul will continue to own the other Tobacco Merchant in the northeast side of town, off Sparkleberry Road and Two Notch.

Weekend review; March 14 & 15, 2009

Last weekend it was sunny and great weather. This weekend it's rain, rain, rain. Not a hard rain, but rather a light mist all day Saturday and Sunday. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. BTW, spring starts this coming Friday!

The cigars I'm reviewing this weekend are interesting because they're not available everywhere. One is somewhat of a mystery to me and the other is only available at Cigars International.

They are:

• Brooklyn Cigars Private Collection torpedo
• Camcho 1962 churchill
  

Saturday, March 14, 2009


Brooklyn Cigars PRivate Collection torpedo (6x52)


2 years ago I received this cigar from Paul Magus who owns a company in New Jersey that makes cigars primariliy with Ecuadorian tobacco. I have been letting this cigar sit for a long time. I decided to have it today. BTW, here is a website that was given to me by Boofa (Carlos) on these cigars: http://www.oldschoolcigars.com/index.html

The cigar started out quite spicy with pepper and sweet notes. There were cinnamon notes mixed in with the spice. I found this to be a very nice cigar. The cinnamon faded after awhile but the spice stayed strong. The finish was a little short. Nice cigar.

Score: 88









Sunday, March 15, 2009

Camacho 1962 churchill (7x48)


As far as I know this cigar is only available through Cigars International or cigarbid.com. I suppose it's a "private" cigar for them. For a Camacho this is a rather mild cigar. I would put it at a medium at best. The cigar had a leather taste at lightup. It also had lots of spice. There are some pepper notes but not overwealming. The finish is long and sweet. The leathery spice stayed consistent to the end.

Score: 91

Weekend review; March 7 and 8, 2009

What a great weekend! The weather was sunny and highs in the low 80's! It felt like late spring. But we still have 2 weeks until spring gets here!

I reviewed 3 cigars this weekend. They were all pretty good, scoring in the 90's. They are:

• Montecristo Reserva Negra Toro
• CAO L'Anniversaire Perfecto
• Joya De Nicaragua Celebracion Gordo

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Montecristo Reserva Negra Toro (6x54)

Box pressed. Very dark cigar. Nice looking and well made for the most part; had a few bumps. There was sweet spice with a touch of pepper. Nice finish with sweet notes and pepper. There were vanilla undertones. Pretty good maduro cigar. Full bodied. JR's has them for $162 for a box of 20.

Score: 91

CAO L'Anniversaire Maduro Perfecto (6x50)

Very cool looking cigar! Square pressed, too. Dark maduro. Nice spice with a dash of pepper. Dark chocolate flavor. The finish is long and sweet. There are even buttery notes in this cigar! That's a first for me, but they're there. Very nice cigar. Medium to full bodied. Really liked it!

Score: 92

Joya De Nicaragua Celebracion Gordo (5.5x60)

Very fat cigar. Torpedo shaped cap. There was a tremendous amount of spice with a touch of pepper at light up. Heavy vanilla notes. Very nice tastes in this cigar! It's a very slow burning cigar, too. It lasted me almost 2 hours! The burn was a little off at midpoint but that may have been my fault. I touched it up once and it was fine after that. Very enjoyable cigar. Medium bodied.

Score: 93