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