The Cigar Bar

Cigar Preview: The Mi Amor Reserva by La Aroma de Cuba!

2012-08-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

Why does it always seem there is more love to go around, well, La Aroma de Cuba is keen to illustrate this with their release of the Mi Amor Reserva. Quick blurb coming from the IPCPR is the release of this beauty which will feature a Mexican Oscuro wrapper rather than the San Andres Maduro on the regular Mi Amor. According to the releases going out to retailers, the Mi Amor Reserva will come in four box-pressed sizes, however, those sizes have not yet been revealed. Keep an eye out for a review as you know how much I loved the regular Mi Amor so I will certainly be getting my hands on one or two of these puppies!

Cigar Preview: The Rocky Petal Private Cellar

2012-08-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

Straight from the IPCPR comes a new unveiling of one Rocky Patel's newest additions: the Private Cellar. The Private Cellar is a personal favorite creation for Rocky Patel who has been aging the leaf and working on the blend for several years. Patel touts that this cigar will bring you, the smoker, from toasted foot to smoky nub, a robust palate of rich sweet flavors which then transition to full notes of a sweetened spice, cocoa, coffee, and a subtle earthy flavor.

The Private Cellar cigar is constructed from a Nicaraguan binder, a blend of Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from the most prestigious region of Nicaragua, and it will all be wrapped in a decadent Connecticut Broadleaf hand rolled in Tavicusa Factory in Nicaragua. The overall strength of the cigar is told to be between a medium and full bodied cigar, sure to make this an exquisite addition to the Rocky Patel line!

The Rocky Patel Private Cellar cigar will be available in three vitolas: a 5X50 Robusto, a 6 1/2X52 Toro, and a 6 1/8 Torpedo which will come in boxes of twenty ranging in price between $8.50-$8.85 MSRP. Stick Around as you know the Cigar Czar will definitely get his hands on one of these for review!

Cigar Review: Why You'll Fall In Love With The Mi Amor By La Aroma DeCuba

2012-08-03T23:39:00.000-06:00

How do I love you, let me count the ways, and the Mi Amor from La Aroma De Cuba will have you counting! This divine little cigar treats you like a good lover should! Easy on the eyes in its near ebony perfection, it starts gentle and then gets a little rough.

This beauty features a Mexican wrapper, not known for fantastic leaf, which is an unusual selection for such an important portion of the cigar. Rumor around the blogosphere is that this increase in Mexican tobacco popularity is isolated to the San Andreas tobacco. However, Ashton and Pepin remain hush on the topic revealing only that it is a Mexican Cuban seed Maduro.

Things you should concern yourself with:

Mexican Cuban seed Maduro wrapper
Nicaraguan binder
Nicaraguan filler
5X50 Robusto
Gentle box press design

Looking at this cigar before cutting and lighting is enough to bring awe to the smoker. The Cuban seed Mexican Maduro leaf is a gorgeous chocolatey exterior, with one of La Aroma de Cuba's ever detailed and exquisite labels, that wraps this cigars overall package. Its just a little bit soft which indicates to me it's healthy and should be a good draw which is confirmed after cutting and doing a pre-light draw. Before lighting I also get the flavor of cocoa coming from the cigar.

Once lit, I was greeted with a full on cocoa flavor with a cedar undertone. The smoke gained complexity later by adding the most subtle hints of earth and leather. However, for me, the best part comes from the beginning of the second third. As repeated in the multiple sticks I have had the Mi Amore, once you hit the second third the strength of the cigar increases exponentially! With this also come caramel and bit of spice clinging onto the chocolate flavor's coat-tails! Finally coming to the final third, the chocolate is still present but begins to take a backseat to the wood and the now present gentle pepper. It isn't until the cigar has burned long enough to get into finger toasting range that it gives your tongue that bite.

All throughout this smoke it produced a very nice, slightly layered light grey ash that could cling for close to two inches before dropping. The cigar also burned impressively straight which is a good feat for a box pressed cigar. With a good price ranging around the $6.50-$7.00 mark, a well dressed exterior, and a complex flavor, the Mi Amor by La Aroma de Cuba will have you feeling a little flutter in your heart too!

Cigar Event: Edwards Pipe and Cigar Hosts Ashton Event!

2012-07-28T17:13:00.009-06:00

So, Wednesday July 19^th was Edwards Pipe and Cigar Ashton event to celebrate the San Cristobal line of cigars offered by Ashton! To promote this, they had buy three of the special event cigars, get one, if you bought five of the special event cigars, you got two free, and if you had participated in the Ashton Cigar and Beer Pairing dinner, they threw in an extra free cigar regardless of which deal you took!

However, great deals were not all that were there. People who attended were welcomed with a three piece jazz band, the Tom Barbour Trio, raffles, scotches and rums, and games. Amid the numerous people there that you could talk to, there was also a representative from Ashton Cigars there named Mike Watman. He was an unassuming man that looked very comfortable with whatever he was doing at the time and very knowledgeable about a vast array of cigar related topics. Favorite conversation with Mike was regarding our love of the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor—also by Ashton—and our appreciation for its flavorful subtleties and the punch that comes from the second third of the cigar!

Patrons were also graced with a bean bag tossing tournament that was bracketed and the winner received some great give-away San Cristobal cigars! The Cigar Czar was, of course, included in the tournament losing only until the last game before the finals. However, there wasn’t a game where it was a close nail-biter! Most games seemed to be going heavily in favor of one team, only to have the opposing team catch up and eventually win the game. It made for very dramatic moments, including the second to last game where the Cigar Czar and his partner Rob, were out, but then we made a striking come back to move on! Mike, the Ashton rep, was also knocked out earlier on in the tournament, however, the Finals came down to Armando, the owner of Edwards (convenient) and Team Viagra, Jerry and Al, regulars of the Bada Bing Lounge in Edwards. What had been a hell of a run getting to the Finals, had been a disappointing fizzle for Team Viagra, who eventually lost decidedly to Armando and his wringer.

Once the tournament was done, the last thing to do was the raffle, which had several prizes for folks attending. The majority of those who first won received cigar bundles of Ashton and San Cristobal labels. There was also a very nice San Cristobal ashtray given away with multiple cigars and other tremendous gifts!

All-in-all, the Edwards Pipe and Cigar Ashton Cigar Event was a big success with lots of people going home freshly supplied with San Cristobal cigars and other prizes! I had a lot of fun with this event and look forward to attending and blogging more about Edwards Pipe and Cigar events! The next one the Cigar Czar will be attending is the Cigar and Scotch pairing dinner at TI in Fort Collins! Until then, keep on smokin’!

Cigar Review: Curivari Reserva Limitada, Salty Peanuts It Is Not.

2012-07-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the encouragement of the Edwards staff, I have recently become focused on Curivari’s line of cigars, in part because of their open enjoyment of these cigars, but also because of an odd criticism as well. Whether it was a genuine reaction or a comment made in spite, Pete Johnson’s tweet about the Curivari Reserva Limitada tasting like “salty peanuts” while smoking, intrigued the crap out of me, especially since I was getting great reviews from Randy and Armando of Edwards Pipe and Cigar! So, I gave one a chance last night to see if I would get the ballpark experience from this cigar.

I figured a great time to try this Nicaraguan puro cigar from Esteli was right after work; my brain was still fired up from doing a million things at once, but was really primed for some great downtime. Wasting no time when I get home, I attack my humidor--and my fridge for a Shocktop Wheat--and step right outside to my smoking chair! The weather was on the cusp of getting really bad, which is when I tend to enjoy it the most, and threatened to kill the pleasure of my cigar. Thankfully, it held off long enough for me to enjoy this puppy, and enjoy it I did.

So after cutting this pristine looking medium brown Colorado wrapped cigar, I test the draw pre-light and find it airy and inviting, but not annoyingly so. I get the scent of something that does remind me a bit of peanut butter: Hmmm… There is, however, another scent coming through that is very woody, but only subtly so. I toast the foot, bring it to my lips and I am pleasantly surprised by a brief rush of spice, not overwhelming, but most certainly there. It quickly subsides, and it takes me a minute to realize that, Randy wasn’t bs’ing me, it tasted like plain popcorn. Not buttered or salted, kettle or caramelized, just… popcorn. Truth be told, it was actually really unique and refreshing! There were also some woody undertones that I could detect periodically keeping the cigar from becoming too redundant. But overall, this cigar was relatively non-complex, light, and enjoyable and not the salty peanuts that Johnson had claimed, in my esteemed estimate. The only thing I would strongly recommend is to not enjoy this cigar with a Shocktop Wheat. For such a surprisingly light flavor, this cigar demands a darker ale or porter. It turned the flavor of the Shocktop Wheat almost soapy and was not too much fun to drink. Swing by tomorrow when I discuss another of the Curivari line, the Café! And why you WANT a cup of coffee with it!

Cigar Review: Does Leccia's Cain Live Up To It's Legendary Name?

2012-07-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Everyone knows the tale of Cain and Abel, that Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve and eventually murdered his brother Abel, so I was expecting something very dark, rich, and, well honestly, evil from Oliva's Cain Habano double toro straight ligero cigar.

The irony of my smoking this cigar, with such heavy mythical implications, was not lost on me as I was enjoying this cigar at Edwards Pipe and Cigar while watching news coverage of the Dark Knight Rises shooting victims vigil. A truly evil act in contemporary times.

The background of Sam Leccia's Cain cigar came out of Leccia's want to create a truly straight ligero cigar that was also flavorful. This name, however, is a bit of a misnomer, as no cigar could be truly comprised of all ligero leaf, the top part of the leaf which receives the most nutrients and sun, as it would have inherent combustion problems according to Leccia. Therefore the Cain incorporates a little bit of other leaf making this not a 100% ligero, but, and 82% ligero. The ligero used is a blend of leaf that is grown in the Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.

Before lighting this cigar I notice that it provides me with truly stunning notes of milk chocolate and spice! I toast my cigar, and then once lit, I am immediately greeted with heavy spice and oak flavors with the slightest hint of an undefined sugary sweetness and leather. This flavor holds for most of the first third to half of the cigar.

Once I get a little passed the second third mark, I notice that the spice has diminished a bit and the sweetness has become more defined and the closest I could describe it would be almost raisin-like. While the dried fruit sweetness takes the stage for a bit, the leather stays relatively low key and the oak dries out a bit maintaining the flavor of the spice without the punch. I've also noticed by this point that the strength of this cigar is not at all what I had anticipated. It's still very much a full-bodied cigar, but I'd honestly say that the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero has more of a strength punch, or even the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor!

Toward the end of this cigar the pepper picks back up and the sweetness is reinforced by the leathers and oak flavors! Overall this cigar was a fantastic smoke, full-bodied but not overpowering, thanks to Leccia's triple fermentation process to take some of the ligero's edge off, while still providing the complex flavors this blend provides! I highly recommend smokers who want a nice full-bodied cigar with an interesting flavor pallet to give the Cain Habano a try!

Cigar Event: Ashton Cigars and Odell Brewery Pairing Dinner Pt. 4:

2012-07-21T16:07:00.006-06:00

Alright everybody, here it is, the last pairing from the Ashton Cigar and Odell Brewery cigar pairing dinner hosted by Edwards Pipe and Cigar at d’Vine Bistro! And this final pairing was an exceptional and exquisite treat! Up until now, every pairing, from the green chili soup and San Cristobal Elegancia Imperial, to the Piri Piri with the La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especiale #5, to the Stilton and Goat cheese stuffed Medjool dates and the Ashton VSG, have been, without a doubt, magnificent! Yet, Edwards, Odells, and d’Vine quite possibly saved the very best for last, as dessert often is.

Introducing us to dessert, d’Vine’s chef discusses the simple, yet scrumptious, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse! Made with 80 Cacao chocolate, butter, Cruzan Spiced rum, and heavy cream raspberries, this mousse stayed true to the bistro’s name and was absolutely divine! Eating this was like eating a fluffy scoop of chocolaty heaven!

Next up, Nico, who introduces us to another staple beer for Odell: Cutthroat Porter. This ebony beauty is inspired by the traditional London porters of olde. It is a dark, malty, beer that produces a great roasted flavor with hints of chocolate and coffee rolling over your tongue as though it were a fresh mocha!

Last we have Randy of Edwards Pipe and Cigar presenting us with our final smoke of the evening: the San Cristobal Monumento. An cigar crafted by the Garcia family from a blend of aged Nicaraguan leaf and wrapped in an elegant and oily Nicaraguan wrapper.

I light up my cigar almost immediately while the tantalizing Tiffany spares no time in digging into the mousse. I am blessed with a deep, rich, and satisfying flavor of this cigar as it wastes no time presenting me with strong oak flavors with mocha and a hint of almost creamy walnut and black cherry flavored coffee. Taking a sip of the beer, I am shocked at the impressive smooth and light flavor of such a dark beer. I expected a typical porter/stout bitter roasted malts flavor, but it provided me with the full-bodied nature of a porter with a light-as-a-feather character! It is only now, of course, that I take my first sinful spoonful of the mousse and let it just dissolve in my mouth. Again I am surprised me by how incredibly subtle the raspberry flavor is and just taken away by the buttery cocoa of the mousse. This left me with a moment of pause where all I could say afterward was “Oh. My. God!”

The overall experience of the San Cristobal, with the Cutthroat, and the Raspberry mousse was simply too much to describe in words. Every pairing from this evening had something fresh, unique, and startling about how well these flavors intermingled and played with each other. I never quite had so much enjoyment having a cigar, beer, and meal use my tongue as their playground, and I’m more than willing for them to do it again! Until next time and enjoy those cigars!

Cigar Event: Ashton Cigars and Odell Brewery Pairing Dinner Pt. 3:

2012-07-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

So, here at The Cigar Bar, we’ve been discussing the Ashton Cigar and Odell Brewery cigar pairing dinner hosted by Edwards Pipe and Cigar at the d’Vine Bistro, and we’ve had some great things to talk about. Today, we continue with part three, which is easily the most exotic in the Czar’s opinion, which provided an exciting combination of flavors!

Starting again, the chef of d’Vine introduces us to a most interesting little finger food: Medjool dates stuffed with Goat cheese and English Stilton, a type of Bleu cheese, wrapped in speck, a smoked and dry cured Spanish ham that resembles a thick cut slice of bacon.

Presenting Odell Brewery’s contribution to this pairing is Nico who educates us on Odell Brewery’s flagship beer 90 Schilling. 90 Schilling is another amber ale, but unlike Levity, it is a bit darker, more medium-bodied, and provides a bit more of a malted flavor.

The last element to be presented is Ashton’s VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Pegasus 5X54 cigar. The Pegasus is blended specifically for Ashton cigars by renowned Carlos Fuente Jr. Fuente produces this fabulous cigar by crafting Dominican Tobacco leaf aged between four to five years and uses an exclusive wrapper grown only on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family. The characteristics of this dark marbled beauty are immediately evident. It is finely crafted with the absolute best roll, firmness, and draw pre-light.

The first thing I do is light up the Ashton VSG and enjoy its immediate coffee and earth-like flavors, that, when combined with the 90 Schilling, creates an almost creamy, bitter-sweet, mocha flavor. Then, I indulge in one of the stuffed dates and I am immediately impacted by the salty, smokiness of the flavors swirling through my mind. I follow up the date with another swig of the 90 Schilling and I’m greeted by a swirling dervish of sweet and salty flavors carried on the back of the now subtle smoky characteristics of the stuffed date. Then the beer seems to dissolve the saltiness all together. This was my queue to take another pull from my cigar. The date still has some of the smokiness remaining in my mouth as the cigars now woody-like mocha flavor smoothes out the smoky flavor while giving me a pleasant savory undertone.

Of course, after three such spectacular pairings, we’re left with the best part of any meal: dessert. I can assure you folks that this is a dessert you certainly do not want to miss. It rivals the Piri Piri wraps of yesterdays post as my favorite of the evening, and judging by how fast the beautiful Tiffany finished hers, it was easily her favorite too. Check back tomorrow as I give the final pairing of the evening and discuss the conclusion to this relaxing evening of cigars, beer, great food, and even better company!

Cigar Event: The Ashton and Odell's Brewery Cigar Pairing Pt. 2

2012-07-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterdays post was the first part of a four part blog post where I share my experience at the Ashton cigar and Odell Brewery pairing dinner at d'Vine Bistro hosted by Edwards Pipe and Cigar. I discussed the San Cristobal Elegancia Imperial cigar with Odell's Easy Street Wheat and d'Vine's green chili, potato, and cheddar soup. Today, I will be discussing the second pairing of the evening.

The pairing started with the chef of d'Vine presenting his next course: Piri Piri Lettuce Wraps. These were delicately wrapped portions of slow-braised pork shoulder cooked in a Ethiopian sauce using Piri Piri which comprised of allspice, birds eye pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, and cardamom, all wrapped snug in a leaf of lettuce, served with a cucumber and cilantro slaw.

Next up was Niko of Odell Brewery to present Levity Amber Ale, a lighter version of an amber ale with a light and honey malted flavor which is a full-bodied brewed delight!

And of course, the cigar is presented by Randy of Edwards Pipe and Cigar. The wraps and beer were paired with a La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial #5. It is a handcrafted Nicaraguan made by the Garcia family. Using a "Cubanesque" blend of precisely aged Nicaraguan leaf which is reflected in its near perfect construction, from its gently marbled milk chocolate appearance, to its effortless draw.

This cigar has some defined woody flavors that combines well with the Levity and the Piri Piri wraps had an amazing smoked, sweet and spicy flavor that balanced almost as if on the edge of a blade while never teetering too far to one side or the other. The Levity has the ability to soothe the bite of the Piri Piri's spice, but bolsters the flavors of the Ethiopian spice blend.

Of the pairings from this evening this was, by far, one of my favorites. The pork was cooked perfectly while the lettuce and the cucumber and cilantro slaw gave the meal the just perfect crisp texture! However, this evening was far from over. Check in tomorrow to see part three of this four part post!

Cigar Event: The Ashton and Odell's Brewery Cigar Pairing Pt. 1

2012-07-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

So over the weekend, I got the invited to partake in a fantastic cigar and beer pairing event, Ashton cigars and Odell Brewery beer. This event, hosted by Edwards Pipe & Cigar, included four cigars from Ashton, four beers from Odell Brewery, and four meals prepared by d'Vine Bistro. In today's post, I will be discussing the first pairing of cigar, beer, and food. I arrived at d'Vine's patio with the beautiful Tiffany, the newest edition to The Cigar Bar family, and I'm instantly greeted by Armando, the owner of Edwards Pipe & Cigar. I'm immediately handed the first cigar, a San Cristobal Elegancia Imperial, the 6X52 size, which is a Nicaraguan handmade my the Garda family.

I begin smoking this blond beauty, as I have started a little behind everyone else, and begin to appreciate this golden Connecticut-seed wrapped Nicaraguan. I notice it is a medium-bodied cigar with strong cedar flavors with a little bit of pepper. As I'm smoking away, finely dressed waiters and waitresses are moving about serving Odell's Easy Street Wheat, an American style wheat beer, while the chef introduces us to his green chili, potato, and cheddar soup cooked with Odell's famous 90 Shilling Ale. Nico, of Odell Brewery, tells us next a little history behind Easy Street Wheat and how the subtle sweetness and hints of toasted flavor works well against both the San Cristobal and the green chili soup.

Taking a few puffs off the San Cristobal Elegancia provides a slightly peppered, woody taste that, when followed by a sip of the Easy Street, is accented by the toasted hops flavor in the beer. Taking a bite of the green chili soup brings an amazing peppered chili flavor that plays well against the cheddar and when followed by another sip of the Easy Street soothes the pepper of the soup, but ties it so well with the cigars peppery flavor! And all of this carried by the Easy Street's creaminess and the cheddar and potato of the soup! The only thing that could make this evening better was to have great company, which was found by the regulars of Edwards all laughing, trading stories, or notes on what flavors they were getting. The first pairing was phenomenal, however, the best was yet to come! Find out what pairing was my absolute favorite of the evening tomorrow in part two of this four part blog!

Cigar Review: Why CAO's La Triviata Maduro Is An Opera For Your Mouth

2012-07-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

The stage is dark, you're sitting in your seat waiting in anticipation for the show to start, just as you would have the playbill clutched in your hands, CAO's La Triviata Maduro cigar is clutched in mine. Like the orchestra warming up, I begin to get the subtle hints of a gently spiced leather from this divine, chocolate wrapped, cigar. The lights begin to rise and a very large and well-dressed man, accompanied by a women of equal stature, comes to the center of the stage the same way the match begins to toast my well-dressed cigar. Then, the man center stage, clears his throat as I bring my lips to the cigar. Taking my first few puffs, you could almost hear the orchestra playing its first few harmonies as the man's voice first sings a dulcet tune, then, once lit, both tunes become a bellowing, booming duet of oak and leather with just the ever so slightest hint of spice and cocoa, like the orchestras gentle and playful tune.

CAO's La Triviata Maduro cigar, I chose the 5.5X52 torpedo, is constructed well with a sleek and oily Ecuadorean Habano wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and long filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It's draw is as effortless as the rapture of the music it plays on your tongue. While smoking, the ash of this cigar, which is off-white and striped with grey and dark grey streaks, clings like the woman's crescendo voice which seems to last for minutes!

Moving into the second act, the oak and leather duet sing beautifully with one another, while the spice becomes mellow and softer. As the ash drops for the first time, the flavor profile changes and drops into a musical melancholy for several minutes, before picking you back up onto its harmonies and carrying you triumphantly into the third act. The cigar's third act produces a floral hint, that can also be found in the cigars aroma, as though the cigar is preparing the flowers to be thrown at the end while our Prima Divo and Prima Donna reach the final chorus. When that time comes, that fat lady does indeed arrive with bellicose bluster, and with another clinging crescendo, holds you till you can no longer hold the cigar. By the end, you're left wanting to jump out of your seat and applaud CAO's La Triviata Maduro, not for the cigars complexity, but for it's simplistic beauty.

Close, But No Cigar: Al Fakher's Cigar Flavored Shisha.

2012-07-10T18:04:00.006-06:00

I tend to frequent my favorite hookah bar Algiers to indulge in the sinfully exotic Turkish delight of smoking shisha (pronounced sheeshuh), a blend of shredded tobaccos in either molasses, glycerin, or honey and flavoring. However, I also go to Algiers from time to time to smoke my cigars there. I enjoy the ambiance, the regulars, and the staff! Yesterday, John, the manager, is unloading their newest shipment of shisha and other supplies while I get ready to spoil myself with my new treat, CAO's La Triviata Maduro, when John hands me a container of Al Fakher's 'Cigar Flavour' shisha. I instantly quip "is this your subtle way of asking me not to smoke my cigars here anymore?" But in reality, I am instantly intrigued, so without skipping a beat, I am loaded a bowl of straight cigar flavoring, the hookah is prepared in front of me, and the final touch, the coals added to the bowl which sizzle with anticipation, as do I.

Now this cigar flavor, upon inspection while still in the tub, was nothing remarkable in comparison to most shishas, red, syrupy, and contained chunks of tobacco throughout. However, one thing did stand out clear as day: the smell. The pungent odor could only be described as a musky sour-like scent and not at all like any cigar I'd ever smelled. Ian, the person loading my bowl, comments that it smells exactly like his raw, fermenting, tobacco leaf that he grows. Ok, maybe there's some promise to this.

Now, upon first starting, this cigar flavor struck me instantly as sharing the same flavor profile as Al Fakher's Cardamom flavor, just not nearly as intense, which was the shared consensus of several bar staff and regulars. However, once the bowl really got going, there was an underlying earthy flavor that did step out for a little bit, but only for a little bit. Shortly after that, the watered-down cardamom returned in full swing and any hopes of a true cigar flavor were dashed. This cigar flavored shisha also failed to produce hookahs tell-tale dense white smoke, and instead, produced what could best be described as a flimsy fog like your breath on a cold day.

Overall, if you're looking for something fun and exotic, but want to stick with familiar flavors, 'Cigar Flavour' from Al Fakher will leave you wanting. The most that this cigar flavor was able to do was nearly replicate that "numb tongue" feeling of smoking a true cigar. My honest opinion, treat Al Fakher's 'Cigar Flavour' as nothing more than a watered-down Cardamom great for mixing with other flavors.

Why You Need to Avoid Summer Humidor Hazards

2012-07-08T02:26:00.007-06:00

So, now that the majority of the nation is experiencing temperatures in excess of one hundred degrees, there are certain hazards that one should avoid in order to protect your prize cigars. With the increased temperatures comes an increased risk to the infestation and growth of the damned Lasioderma Serricone, otherwise known as the cigar beetle. These little critters have devastating effects on cigars in particular as they feed on dried tobacco leaf only. They were notorious for ruining many cigarettes and cheap cigars before these products became infused with different chemicals which these cigar beetles, similar to cigar aficionados, find unpalatable; therefore, the biggest risk now is to premium cigars. The cigar beetle consumes leaf through all four stages of its life from egg, larva, pupa, to adult; however, the largest amount of damage comes not from consumption, but from its byproducts such as dust, its corpse, and its "refuse," or what you might call crap. Right now you're glancing at your cigar aren't you? So, how can you tell if these little bastards have infested your humidor?

Symptoms of the cigar beetle include:

A hard draw
An uneven burn
Dust in your mouth when you first draw
Brown dust on the floor of your humidor
Little brown bugs flying out of your humidor
And a rumored "popping" sound as the cigar cherry hits the larva

The cigar beetle really enjoys compacted leaf or completed cigars, it makes no difference, however, it does most of its damage to the wrapper leaf. The tiny eggs, which are impossible to see as they are 1/50 of an inch, are laid and when hatched let loose a worm-like larva. This larva is what wreaks the most havoc on a cigar turning your robusto into its restaurant. After several weeks of chowing on your Churchills, it surrounds itself in a cocoon of it's own food and crap and is cemented into place by its own secretions. Glancing at your cigar again right? At this point it goes into hibernation while it morphs into a pupa and becomes harmless. The final stage is the adult cigar beetle which doesn't consume the leaf as much as it tunnels its way through your prized cigars until it escapes to fly away. However, this cigar beetle can burrow its way through adjacent cigars going from stick to stick or, once freed from the cigars, fly from one box of cigars to another...awesome right?

Now, lets say you have an infestation, how do you deal with it? It's a safe assumption that if you suspect one cigar is infected, all cigars in your humidor are infected, that's just how it goes. It is not recommend that you use something like an insecticide based on pyrethrum which must be fogged and leaves a sickeningly sweet smell on your cigars. To add insult to injury, the cigar beetle not only enjoys tobacco, dog food, book binding paste but also pyrethrum. Great. Pheromone traps are another popular remedy but these only get the flying adults. So what do you do? Simple. Immediately remove all of your cigars from your humidor and seal them in a vapor lock plastic with a similar vapor lock and stick them in your freezer. This ensure that the temperature gets low enough to kill them, while at the same time, the vapor lock seal keeps the moisture in your cigars. You also want to place your humidor into the freezer separately. Set the temperature as low as possible. You want to keep both in the freezer at the lowest temperature for at least two to three days. After the two or three days, bring the ambient temperature to zero degrees and, leaving the cigars sealed and in the freezer, pull the humidor out. While your cigars take a freezer nap, take your humidor and scrub it down, removing all dust and I recommend using canned air and, being careful not to turn the can on its side or upside-down, blow out cracks, nooks, and crannies to ensure all dust and refuse is gone. Then, make a strong ammonia-water solutions and wipe down around all areas of the humidor, again, ensuring you get all cracks, nooks, crannies. The benefits of the ammonia solution is that it is particularly hard on cigar beetles, and your sinuses, however, it will not scent or flavor your cigars once dried. Once your humidor has been sterilized, and the cigars have spent about two days at zero degrees, ever so slowly return the cigars to ambient temperature in order to prevent cracking and thermal shock. Then take the cigars out of the freezer and make sure to do it on a day with low humidity to prevent the moisture in the air from collecting on the wrappers which can mottle or pucker your cigars. Before returning your cigars back into the humidor, visually inspect each one to ensure any infected cigars aren't returned to the humidor.

With these few steps in mind, should you ever find yourself fending off the hordes of the Lasioderma Serricone, the sinister cigar beetle, you'll have the means to hold those beetles at their beachhead and exterminate them.

A Humidor That is Star Spangled Awesome

2012-07-07T02:53:00.002-06:00

Just in time for the United States' most patriotic holiday, the fourth of July, David Linley of Linley Humidors, which has crafted unique humidors such as Cuba's El Lagvito and Partagas' Cigar Factories, has created a fantastic tribute cigar humidor: The Stars and Stripes cigar humidor!

With the lid inlayed with Marquetry sycamore, satin walnut, and Santos redwood assembled to represent the American flag rippling in the breeze. According to Cigar Aficionados article, this is the closest to painting in the wood. I fine receptacle for storing your favorite cigars to smoke by the BBQ!

The interior is fashioned with Spanish cedar, solid walnut lipping, and the keyhole is framed by a star to protect your star cigars. This humidor can hold up to fifty of your favorite cigars also represents several other flags such as China, Cuba, Russia, Qatar, and even the Union Jack, flag to Linley's home country Britain. However, this humidor comes in at a hefty price of $7,500 and $11,000 for the high gloss model, but there can be no more a patriotic humidor to hold your prized cigars!

Cigar Review: Why Thompson’s Don Lugos is the Perfect Party Cigar

2012-07-05T12:00:00.003-06:00

So you have a bunch of people coming over for drinks and they all dabble in cigars but they are certainly no aficionados. How do you allow them to enjoy cigars with their rums, scotches, and Disaronnos without them stomping out your Ashtons, lighting your Opus X’s wrong , or cutting your Diamond Crowns too much? Simple: Thompson Cigar Co.’s Don Lugo. Coming in around $1.50 a stick, you don’t need to worry about spending a fortune for guests who don’t fully understand or appreciate the etiquette of smoking a cigar but still want to feel the privilege of smoking a premium hand rolled cigar.

•This cigar is made with a mix of short filler and Dominican Olor, a Pilato Cubano binder, and an Indonesian wrapper

•The wrapper has a little bit of vein but not enough to affect its burn which, for the most part, burns consistently even.

•The ash is light grey and dark grey striped and is dense and clings for a good couple of inches before dropping.

Your guests will enjoy the straightforward flavor coming from this cigar in the cedar flavors with very little spice and a hint of creamy cherry—which coincidentally is also the aroma the cigar produces—throughout the majority of the party. Toward the end of the cigar, when drinks are running low and the playlist is mellowing, the spice picks up just a little bit as the cherry mellows. The only poor note is that this cigars wrapper is prone to cracking and when you remove the label, the glue used often takes a small part of the wrapper with it. But again, this is for your guests who like the prestige of smoking the cigar rather than discussing the flavors and following “proper” etiquette. At the end of the party you are left with the knowledge that you were able to supply your guests with a fine cigar that was cheap enough to fill your humidor but not cringe when they stomp the cigar out with their foot…and cleaning your home.

Cigar Review: The Kingfish Lauren Torpedo--A Panamanian Puro!

2012-06-22T16:46:00.009-06:00

So, back in mid-2009 I had made contact with a new cigar company out of Panama named Kingfish Cigars who had wanted to get the word out about their cigars. Kingfish Cigars is hoping to help build an industry reputation in Panama for puro cigars. I received a total of five cigar betas from Kingfish Cigars owner Ray Whitlow III to sample and review. At the time I had received the cigars, they had only been aged one year. Of the five cigars I had received, one was too damaged to smoke, but the other four cigars had survived just fine. I smoked these incrementally to see how aging these longer in my humidor would affect them. I smoked the last of the four cigars last night and that final one had aged nearly four years and I am pleased to find has a name now: The Kingfish Lauren, named in honor of the owners eldest daughter. I'm going to review how fantastic this new cigar is going to be, especially once released!

These torpedo cigars are a good healthy size coming in around a 7X54. The construction on these cigars is well done. The natural Panamanian wrapper is wrapped tight with no soft spots and feels firm across the whole cigar. After cutting, I test the draw before lighting and find that this cigar has damn near the most perfect draw of any cigar that I've had, which was consistent with all the other Kingfish Cigars prior, it was light but not airy and drawing a puff was effortless after lighting! The feature that struck me the most about the construction and quality of the cigar came with the ash. This cigars ash was a solid white that was almost unparallelled in all cigars I've smoked yet and it hung on like a professional climber on a rock wall! The ash only dropped twice while smoking and one of those times, I wouldn't even blame it on the cigar, as, I was in a busy location.

Again, since Panama is not known for quality puro cigars--most involve Cuban seed fillers--I wasn't too sure what to expect for flavor from this cigar. But during my pre-light draw test, I was greeting with spiced woody flavors and the wrapper left a pleasant spiced feeling on my lips. Upon lighting I get a distinct black pepper-cedar flavor that flashes spicy at the beginning and mellows out after a few puffs. The first third of this cigar is the spiced cedar with just a hint of almost a creamy flavor under it all. By the time I get to the second third of the cigar, the cream has disappeared and the cedar really stood up on its own with the black pepper accenting it quite nicely and maybe just the hint of a grassy flavor. The final third of this cigar is where the cedar receded and the grassier flavor became a little more pronounced but what really stood out was the spice!

Overall, this cigar surprised me a great deal. Especially since I have smoked all of the others before maturing as much as this final one had. The construction and flavor were amazing and the only real note I'd have negative is that toward the end of the last third the flavor had a hint of a sour flavor. However, these puppies aren't going to be released until January of 2013 which by that time will be almost 5 years of aging which should remove any remaining sourness. This cigar would go fantastically with an Islay scotch with a lot of salty peat like I did last night while playing cards!

Cigar Review: AVO 86th Anniversary La Trompeta

2012-06-21T12:00:00.000-06:00

So last week I asked you, my readers, what cigars you had wanted to see reviewed and the one that was voted upon the most was the AVO 86th Anniversary La Trompeta! AVO released this cigar for its 86th birthday and this cigar is also a tip of the hat to Avo Uvezian's skill at being an acclaimed musician. We've seen an abundance of cleverly designed cigars lately and the La Trompeta is no exception. This cigar has three cigar leaf cutouts to represent the keys of a trumpet. But, how does this cigar smoke?

This cigar was 6 1/2X56 with an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, a Dominican Piloto binder and the long filler is comprised of Dominican and Peruvian leaf, and cost me close to $18. The construction felt tight and left me concerned that this cigar was going to have a tough draw; however, after cutting the cigar, I tested the draw and found it was a little firmer than I would have preferred, but not enough to distract from smoking. The wrapper of the cigar looked near immaculate and had almost no veining. The dense ash was almost white with small flecks of black and would cling for almost two inches each time before dropping.

Having had a bad day, I decided to take this cigar out to my front porch with my dog Odin and just enjoy it by myself with a Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout. Similar to the Illusione MJ12, immediately upon lighting I knew this would be a good, flavorful, cigar. I'm greeted with the bouquet of scents you would find in a greenhouse as the predominate flavor, a kind of mixture of flowers and grasses. Under this is a leathery pepper that subtly plays with the grass. About halfway through the draw opened up and with that came an almost woody flavor that flowed with a bit of the floral bouquet. However, toward the end, the grassy flavor of the greenhouse became more hay-like of the barn and I became less interested in its flavor.

This cigar, on a peaceful, warm, Colorado evening, was not too bad, but perhaps the choice of beer with this was not the best as they sometimes struggled with one another after swigs from the bottle. I also felt that the price tag for this cigar was a bit much for me, granted, I bought this off a private seller because the only place in town that carried them had sold out. This cigar took me close to three hours to smoke to the nub which, when just wanting to shut the world out and focus on the smoke swirling in the breeze, it did it's job pretty damn well.

Cigar Review: Illusione MJ12

2012-06-20T12:03:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of smoking a fantastic cigar with a good friend whom I haven't seen in some time. We met up at our local tobacconists, Edwards Pipe and Tobacco, to engage in a good conversation, a fantastic drink, and an amazing cigar: the Illusione MJ12. I had already picked my cigar, Illusione MJ12 in the Toro size, Jordan, showing up a little later, selected the Illusione MJ12 Robusto.

Taking advantage of the time before Jordan shows up I inspect my cigar. The first thing I notice is that the cigar is wrapped in a paper foil which makes this cigar stand out on the shelves. However, this wrapper also has an intriguing effect of making the cigar larger than what it appeared in the wrapper. What looked relatively decent in size turned out to be fairly larger coming in at 6X54 sized cigar and cost of the MJ12 was around $12 retail. However, once this cigar was out of its packaging, the wrapper of the cigar itself struck me. It was a dark reddish maduro, not to the level of oscuro, but flirting with it. It was not too oily but the wrapper leaf had two larger streaks of vein on opposite sides from one another. It was packed firm, but the draw was fantastic and there were no soft spots to speak of. Through smoking it created a light grey ash that clung for about two inches before dropping. Only real construction complaint is that both Jordan and I's cigar needed frequent touch ups to correct uneven burns and toward the end it struggled a bit to stay lit.

Jordan and I both really loved the flavor of this cigar though. Upon first lighting this cigar it proved it was going to be a great smoke. Immediately we were greeted by a chocolaty, almost, tea like flavor with a hint of leather. Coming to about the second third of the cigar came an almost sweet nutty flavor over the leather as the chocolate mellowed some. By the end the flavor continued being nutty with a hint of what I can only describe as peppered coffee.

This cigar went perfectly with our 12 Year Old Highland Park Scotch that we indulged in at the lunge while catching up, talking about his film career and other business endeavors. This cigar smoked long enough to enjoy Edwards smoking lounge for at least two and a half hours. So if you're looking for a great cigar and are alright with it being a little high maintenance that will last you long enough on the golf course or over business drinks, take a look at the Illusione MJ12!

Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicanas Double Ligero Oscuro

2012-06-19T14:41:00.005-06:00

A cigar that has been tempting me now for far too long has been the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Oscuro. I've had this cigar before, but it has been a long time since I've gotten to enjoy one. So yesterday, I grabbed one on my way home and enjoyed it with a nice glass of Pyrat dark rum.

Couple notes about La Flor Dominicana, they maintain the rights to all their tobacco used in their cigar blends so the product you receive in the end is an absolute top-notch cigar. This allows LFD to create dark, robust, complex, and strong flavors and the LFD Double Ligero, which has served LFD well in customer receivership, is no exception!

The LFD Double Ligero uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with Dominican binder and long filler. The wrapper on this cigar is impeccable, it's dark and oily, shows almost no vein, and its rich marbled look in the leaf just makes this cigar stand out! Quick note, LFD uses a pigtail cap on here, which if you are unfamiliar, will unravel about an inch and a half or so which is normal. This cigar burned very even and the ash will cling for about an inch and a half or so. The ash that this cigar produces is also grey with layers of mottled black.

Pre-light, the cigar has an earthy aroma that is shared by the foot of the cigar. The draw is effortless without being too airy and lights evenly and easily. Immediately off the light this cigar gives me a flash of subtle spice that mellows after a few puffs. What comes later is a mild creamy sweetness which is a bit hard to nail one hundred percent, but if I had to say, I would describe it as a peaches & cream like flavor, a creamy sweetness with a hint of fruit. The predominant flavor of the cigar, however, is a nice wood flavor, not quite, but close to peat-like. Midway through the cigar, the sweet fruity flavors morphs into a leathery flavor over the almost peat-like wood with maybe the SLIGHTEST hint of spice. Approaching the final third of this cigar, the leather is replaced by a dark cocoa-espresso flavor, very rich, very robust, and a bit bitter over the mellowing wood flavor.

This cigars smoke was amazing and the way the woody flavor acted like a thread taking you through this series of complex flavors made for a very enjoyable cigar. I would say, just as the taste is powerful and robust, so too is the cigar itself. I would recommend treating this cigar as an after meal cigar, or if you don't intend to stand up for a while, say, while fishing. This cigar, because of it's peaches & cream, almost peat-like and leathery, and cocoa and espresso qualities, would match fantastically with a dark rum, an Islay scotch with a slight floral bouquet, or a cup of coffee with some dark chocolate. Hopefully you enjoy this cigar nearly as much as I did!

Cigar Preview: The Football Cigar!

2012-06-17T12:59:00.005-06:00

Cigar fans, today, just in time for Cigar Sunday, I have the pleasure of revealing to you a new cigar that is trying to get itself some legs: The Football Cigar. The Football Cigar comes into two types, the lighter version entitled the "First Down," and the darker version entitled the "Touchdown."

The Football Cigar comes in their own box or in a three pack box. The "First Down" cigar has a Connecticut Shade Grown and Arapiraca wrapper (used as the laces on the lighter version), the binder of the cigar is Dominican de Olor, and this cigars filler is a blend of four long filler tobaccos from the Dominican de Olor and Piloto Cubano from the Cibao Valley in the Dominican Republic. According to Football Cigar creator, Gunner Heilmann, says that the "First Down" is a mild-bodied cigar "with character."

The maduro version of the Football Cigar is called the "Touchdown." This cigar is a full-bodied smoke that is constructed from a series of tobaccos. The wrapper is Brazilian Arapirica and U.S. Connecticut Shade Grown (used for the laces on the maduro, the binder is Dominican de Olor, and again a blend of four tobaccos from the Dominican de Olor and Piloto Cubano from the Cibao Valley including Nicaraguan Esteli.

Now, the concept of a football-based cigar is not completely unique. Arturo Fuente's Opus X footballs were originally rolled as a present to Dan Marino in 2003. According to Socialcigar.com, "Carlito Fuente gave Dan Marino a box of 13 Opus X Footballs at a charity event. The box was then auctioned off for a reputed $13,000." After this only about 30 of these cigars have been made, including the 13 originally made for Dam Marino.

I have been in communication with creator Gunner Heilmann to receive a sample for review within a month or so. Stay tuned to see how these cigars stack up for those fun occasions like Superbowl Sunday!

Cigar Tip: Fixing an Uneven Burn

2012-06-16T17:18:00.003-06:00

We've all been there. Happily enjoying your cigar, either your too wrapped up in conversation or just the cigar had an uneven element that caused a wonky burn, but every now and then, you get the uneven burn. And it sucks. So, how to fix your cigars burn when it does run a fowl? There are a few tricks you can do to salvage your cigar smoking experience. First, get the best possible light from the beginning as possible. This will help to ensure that your cigar smokes perfect nearly every time!

But say you got the perfect light and it still burning a little off, to correct, first rotate the cigar so that the slower burning portion is toward the bottom. As fire requires oxygen to burn, the lower portion will receive more oxygen and help it burn more. This is also a good reason to rotate your cigar as you smoke it.

Should this not fix the problem, applying just the littlest bit of moister to the faster burning side to slow the rate of burn. However, you don't want to apply too much as you don't want a soggy cigar. Just a light application of saliva should do the trick.

If this too should fail you, the last option is always pulling out the lighter or matches again and gently burning the wrapper of the slow side of the cigar until black. This will most likely cause the ash of the cigar to drop so give it a moment before smoking from the cigar again.

Hopefully these few tips will help you with those embarrassing moments of the wonky cigar burn. Happy smoking!

Cigar Review: Sardell Originals American Eagle Robusto

2012-06-09T13:00:00.002-06:00

Fellow cigar enthusiasts, never before have I smoked a cigar whose purpose I have never endorsed more: The American Eagle by Sardell Originals! A clever design that is the original camouflaged cigar--followed by Davidoff's Recon--created entirely by hand in the Dominican Republic by cigar maker Hendrik Kelner, Jr. Portion of the sales for American Eagle cigars goes to the Semper Fi Fund (semperfifund.org) which provides financial relief for injured or critically ill veterans of our Armed Forces.

Now, at first, this cigar may strike you as something of a novelty cigar and I can assure you, I thought something very similar. The reason being is because that clever design is that the cigar wrapper appears in Woodland camouflage. This was done by taking an Ecuadorian Connecticut Natural wrapper and taking hand-cut, hand-placed pieces of Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and CA Candela over the Natural wrapper to create the camouflaged effect.

The rest of the cigar is crafted using a Dominican binder and Dominican long-filler. Along with the superbly striking wrapper, the cigar itself is constructed quite well providing an appropriate firmness with no discernible malformations. After using my Cigar Spike to create the perfect punch, I light my cigar and once it's sufficiently going, notice that the draw is damn near close to perfect, not too hard, not too airy. As I puff away, I notice that the ash has a pretty consistent bright white ash with only a little bit of mottling; however, the ash will only cling for about an inch or so and then drops.

Truth be told, flavor-wise, I was not expecting too much out of this cigar, but it was for a good cause so I figured "what the hell!" I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The aroma of the cigar's smoke gave off something of a cedar scent with a hint of chocolate. When it came to this unique wrapper, I wanted to know if it changed the flavor as it reached different parts of the wrapper. Throughout most of the cigar, it had a spiced cedar flavor with a subtle creamy finish. I did notice on occasion as the cigar burned nearer one of the Candela wrapper portions, it became a slight bit spicier, but only ever-so-slightly. The overall flavor profile of the cigar is not complex and varies only subtly as it burns. It is not too overpowering and remained consistent throughout the whole cigar.

Overall, I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. It was the perfect balance of a medium, light woody, and creamy flavor with a very unique wrapper design that made this cigar fun. I could easily see myself smoking this cigar while taking time off from patrols or latrine duty. To all my friends still stationed overseas and to all our proud and brave service members fighting abroad: thank you for all of your service and doing what many cannot. Come home safe!

Cigar Review: Altadis Warlock Corona

2012-06-04T20:04:00.004-06:00

Hey everybody! Cigar Czar here to talk to you today about the Altadis Warlock Corona. This cigar was given to me by my very close friend and roommate Jacob, a specialist in the U.S. Army, before his deployment. So in standard tradition at our household, Jacob, his wife and I enjoyed ourselves an evening of fun, and scotch, we found ourselves outside smoking. I found this to be the perfect opportunity to smoke my Warlock.

The Warlock cigar is a Nicaraguan with an Ecuadorean Cubano wrapper, a Nicaraguan wrapper, and filler from Dominican Republic-Nicaragua made by Altadis USA. It is a full-bodied cigar made by Omar Ortiz in Nicaragua.

So before lighting this cigar, I notice that it has a dark, chocolaty, appearance and the wrapper has a little bit of vein visible and smoothly wrapped. The cigar has just the right amount of firmness, it was not packed too loose or too tight, and after being cut allowed the cigar a perfect amount of draw. After lighting the cigar, the ash became a solid white color with just a slight mottled fleck to it. The ash was only able to cling for about an inch and a half or so before falling off each time it reached that length. The construction of the cigar overall was great.

The cigar smoke itself was chocolaty with a hint of chicory. The aroma of the smoke
had what can only be described as leather with some of the chicory wafting in through it. Toward the end of the cigar, the flavor had changed to include more chicory that was spiced. Throughout the whole cigar there also seemed to be a hard to describe flavor that can only be described as a creamy-like vanilla.

So overall, this cigar was a fantastic smoke, well worth the wait. This cigar is a smoke well worth the average purchase cost of $6.25 per cigar, or the average box price of $111.

Selecting the Right Cigar

2012-06-03T18:11:00.004-06:00

So for those who have never smoked a cigar before but are curious in figuring out the right cigar for you, there are a few things we can focus on to help you find the right cigar for you. A novice cigar smoker is faced with a great deal of questions regarding color of the cigar, brand of cigar, shape of the cigar, origin or origins of the leaf in the cigar, cost of cigar, the flavor, and ultimately, how will this enhance the overall enjoyment of the cigar? However, one need not fret. Cigars come in different shapes and range in flavor and strength to cater to the taste of different people who love the pleasure of a cigar. So rest assured there is a cigar out there for you. Here are some of the tips which can help you to pick the right cigar for you:

First, I recommend one of two methods to further explore your taste in cigars. The first option is if you have internet available. Utilizing one of the many online stores such as Thompson & Co. (thompsoncigar.com)is a great tool for novice cigar smokers! These companies are great for experimenting beginners because they have the ability to bundle great sampling packages together at prices that are nearly a steal! Bundles such as five random well known cigars, or company specific bundles like the Padron Aniversario Serie bundles, or fun ones like Rocky Patel v. the World bundles. These cigar bundles are priced anywhere between $20 and $50 typically which is well below what you would spend individually for such quality cigars. This allows you the ability to smoke a variety of cigars at a reasonable cost. The other alternative is go into a local, respectable, tobacconist and discuss with them what kind of flavors and strengths there are and what kind of tastes you might have. They may ask you what kinds of things you do while smoking your cigar, what you eat and drink while smoking your cigar, and what type of cigar you might prefer. Plus, these gentlemen are fantastic sources for teaching you how to handle, properly light, and smoke your cigar along with other elements of 'cigar etiquette.'

Some things to take into account when selecting your cigar is whether or not you want hand-made cigars or machine-rolled cigars. I prefer the former as greater flavor and subtly are derived from these cigars. Also greater "ingredients" go into hand-made cigars versus machine-rolled. An individual cigar roller will hand pick whole leaves and roll them into your stunning cigar; whereas, most machine-rolled cigars are made using short filler--fragments of tobacco leaves after processing--which tends to burn quicker and harsher with less flavor.

Another thing to consider when selecting your cigar is the size and shape of the cigar. When considering size, there are a few things you should think about; is time going to be a factor, what feels comfortable both in your hand and in your mouth, and what kind of activities you'll be doing while smoking? A term you may come across when looking at cigars is ring gaugeWhat is ring gauge? It is the thickness of the cigar around. It is based on 64ths of an inch, so, if you have a cigar which has a ring gauge of 50, it is 50/64ths of an inch. Length also plays a factor as the longer the cigar, obviously, the longer it burns.

The color of the cigar is also important while picking a good cigar. The color ranges from what is called claro to oscuro (or double maduro). Generally, claro is the light brown cigar and oscuro is almost black. A lighter colored cigar, such as Rocky Petal's Connecticut Vintage, will be lighter and spicier in flavor and have a more clean, less veiny wrapper. The darker the cigar, such as CAO's MX2, the more full bodied and sweeter it will be and the wrapper will be some what veiny with subtle lumps. The darker cigar is also considered more mature than its lighter cigar counter-part. There is also candela which is not really in the spectrum of brown but is still important to know. Candela cigars, suchas Camacho's candela, are cigars who have a greenish looking wrapper where the leaf for the wrapper was less ripe and remained greenish in color after the cigar was made, these also tend to have quite the spicy bite to them.

Keeping these few things in mind, a novice cigar smoker can now have the confidence to ask the right questions to help them determine which cigar they may enjoy. And remember,as with most things in life, this will be a journey, which is almost as fun as the destination itself. Happy smoking from the Cigar Czar!

Buying cigars online.

2009-09-25T15:49:00.001-06:00

So I have been smoking cigars now for a long time, close to ten years, and when you're 27, that's a long time. I have always purchased my cigars through different retailers in my hometown, Edwards and Al's News primarily. However, a few weeks ago, I was lured into an offer from Thompson Cigar Co. to purchase some product from them. I bought a new 25 cigar Humidor to replace my old hand me down one.

The offers for free stuff just kept rolling after that. I was given a 5 cigar sampler including a Rocky Patel, a Indian Tobac, and an Exodus 1959. I also received a butane torch lighter, a golf bag cigar "tote", a travel tube and 25 Don Lugos cigar bundle, all included with my humidor purchase. How much could this package all cost you wonder, a minuscule $45. For $45 dollars a person brand new to smoking cigars could get everything they need minus a cutter, to start storing and smoking those cigars. My recommendation is when you can, try some of these offers because what they throw in makes it more than worth its own value.