Christmas review, 2009

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It's a hectic time of year but it's always fun.
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I'm going to start out with the weekend reviews and follow-up with some family pics.
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The cigars reviewed this Christmas weekend are:

• Diamond Crown Maximus churchill no. 2
• Casa Magna Oscuro churchill gordo
• Mancave Sumatra toro

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My Christmas day cigar was:
Diamond Crown Maximus churchill no. 2 (7x50)
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It seemed fitting since we are celebrating the birth of the King of Kings. This was a dark cigar and had surprisingly rough construction for a high dollar cigar. It had cinnamon spice with nice amounts of pepper. Very deep tones, sweet black coffee notes. The cigar produced a lot of smoke. The finish was long with peppery sweet vanilla notes. The sweet spice notes are prominent after the 1/3 point. A very nice, spicy cigar with sweet tones and plenty of Cinnamon. Medium to full bodied. A nice celebratory cigar.
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Score: 90
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Now, the other cigars I reviewed over the weekend...

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Casa Magna Oscuro churchill gordo (6 5/8x56)

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A fat black cigar. There were notes of vanilla mixed into a very citrus laced spice and lots of black pepper. There were sweet notes. Black coffee notes. Fairly full bodied. The finish was fairly long with light almond and vanilla notes. At the midpoint the main points that stuck out were the citrus spice with black coffee notes and black pepper. Around the midpoint I picked up some cinnamon notes. I would call this a complex cigar because it developed so many different notes throughout the smoke. Speaking of smoke, this cigar produced quite a bit! The burn was very even.

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Score: 89

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Mancave Sumatra toro (6 1/2x52)

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This is the larger version of a cigar that I reviewed a couple months ago. I picked it up from Lite Um Up Cigars on Hardscrabble Road in northeast Columbia. Tom Burns, the owner of Lite Um Up, traveled to Rocky Patel's Honduras factory and came up with this blend. He actually has 4 blends but in my initial reviews of the 4 different petite coronas this was my favorite. I wanted to know how a larger version would fare.

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Initially there was a lot of citrus spice and pepper. There are rather heavy sweet notes in the citrus spice. The finish was long and thick on the tongue with sweet vanilla notes. The above notes were made after only 1/2 inch. Caramel was noted after an inch or so. The cigar is medium bodied at first and works it's way to full bodied. The finish is much sweeter after an inch or so. The cigar was a little rough looking but who cares when it tastes this good! The burn was slightly uneven but again, who cares; the cigar tastes too good to care! I never had to touch it up and it evened up on it's own. At the midpoint the citrus spice is still front and center with a nice amount of pepper. By the last 1/3 your tongue is coated with sweet vanilla that lingers on and on. The citrus spice and pepper are still very good. A great cigar that you will only find at Lite Um Up Cigars. I suggest you try one.

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Score: 94

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Now, on to family Christmas stuff. We started on Christmas Eve at the Poston's. Diane had prime rib that was fantastic! The opening of gifts was crazy, as usual. Here's some pics of most of the family who were present.

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Robby Yon

Adam Leonhardt

Angie Locke

Christopher Yon

Joyce Leonhardt and Ron Locke

Ron Locke

Kim, Connie, and Diane

Sonny and Kim

Scott, Philip, and Stephanie

Trey Leonhardt

Philip with Rebecca and Kelsey

Ty Rollins

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Chelsea was there for a short time but had to leave for work. She met us later at the 10:30 pm church service at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

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Now, on to my side of the family. We always meet on Christmas night. Here are the family group pic's.

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First off, here's mom and John with the 3 kids and their spouses.

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(L-R, back row) Connie, Tim, Renee, Chuck, and Sherry; John and Mom (front)

Me and Connie

Mom and John

The Rollins'; Ty, Tim, Connie, and Chelsea

The Lindlers; (back) Casey, Sherry, Candace, Josh (Candace's husband)

(front) Courtney and Travis (Courtney's husband)

The Mortons'; (back) Josh and Tiffany (Josh's wife); Renee and Chuck (front)

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And that wraps up this year's Christmas, 2009 celebrations. Now we look forward to a new year and the hope that the economy gets better. Here's to a great 2010!