No (Smoking) Jacket Required: Iggy's Cigar Thread

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Cain Habano last night. This was a really, really great smoke. It was definitely full bodied, as you might expect, this being an all ligero cigar. Ligero is the potent, flavorful leaves blended into all cigars that give them their taste & oomph (other leaves, like viso & seco, are sometimes used to impart different flavors, or for their burn characteristics). Many cigar smokers (myself included) prefer larger ring gauges as a rule of thumb b/c you can get more of the ligero in there. Cain is made by Oliva, & was the brainchild of their wunderkind master blender Sam Leccia, who also came up w/ the idea for Nub cigars (which are very shot, but very thick so they burn at the same rate as a toro or churchill, but are only 4 - 4 1/2" long; the thick ring gauge, theoretically, makes the entire cigar the "sweet spot", where the flavor is at its best). Oliva seems willing to experiment with innovative blending ideas. Their experiment paid of here. Despite the full body, this cigar was incredibly smooth from start to finish. I couldn't identify its core until I cheated & looked up the CI blurb, which says it's "tobacco". Reading that, I went "Oh, yeah!" But a most smooth, pleasant tobacco core it was. There was a notable earthy sweetness on the finish. This cigar, a regularly proportioned 6 x 54 torpedo, was totally consistent until the end, when it got too hot to smoke, as all cigars do. This was a Cigarfest freebie, and I'm actually kind of glad we received 3 of them there (although ideally would have liked to try a maduro and series F as well). This one IS something I'd consider adding to the regular rotation.

As an aside, I just received the latest Cigar.com catalog yesterday, as well, and they are now selling Oliva's latest creation: an all ligero Cain cigar shaped like a Nub. I think my friend Potch's head will explode when he hears about this.

[Matt]

Don't think that I ever mentioned this, but my Masonic Lodge made it into an issue of Cigar Afficianado 3 years ago. I'll see if I can find the picture.

[Abraham Smashington]

Could never smoke a cigar now that I quit cigarettes.

[Timothy225]

I love reading through this thread, as it always sounds like Iggy's having a kick-ass time, and I'm learning more about cigars, the different brands, etc. Only drawback is since I don't smoke, I feel like I'm missing out.

Keep the stories coming, Ig!

[IggytheBorg]

Don't think that I ever mentioned this, but my Masonic Lodge made it into an issue of Cigar Afficianado 3 years ago. I'll see if I can find the picture.

Wait. . . what?? Reporters were not only allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum of forbidden rites & rituals, and lived to tell the tale, but they got pictures?! Have they met with any unfortunate. . . accidents. . . since then?

[Shit Dickface]

What would be a good, relatively inexpensive cigar to pair with Balvenie Double Wood? I'm gonna need it after this fucking shitshow of an afternoon at work.

[IggytheBorg]

My 1st choices would be a CAO L'Anniversaire cameroon or a Romeo y Julieta (a/k/a R y J) Viejo. But they're not all that common in your average cigar shop. A regular R y J 1875 is very common, and would probably work well too. La Gloria Cubana (the standard blend, not the Serie R) would also probably pair very well.

[IggytheBorg]

Potch and a law school bud came over Thursday night, and we smoked a couple stoges & BS'd for a few hours. I chose as my 1st entry a Perdomo Grand Cru Conecticut. Not bad, but not the best offering from this brand, either. Mainly toasty and leathery, with some faint sweetness on the finish. Kind of hearty, I'd say medium-full in strength. Not something I'd seek out.

I also sparked a Gurkha Archive 1887. This was wrapped in a dark maduro leaf, and was a crisply box-pressed torpedo. Impeccably constructed. It burned slow & even for the most part, but I did have to re-light it once or twice. This was quite good. A nice sweet spiciness accenting a full, leathery core. Maybe some coffee notes as well? I've never seen this offered for sale, so I'm not sure how expensive these are (few Gurkhas are cheap). I'd consider buying it again; it seemed to bridge the full on spiciness of the regular 1887 Connecticut and the full, coffee noted 1887 Maduro very nicely. It was mellower than either, but no lightweight, and the spice was sweeter than the former, but a little bolder than the latter's, which I always thought was blunted too much by the sweet maduro wrappers. It could conceivably be better than either, as it seemed mmore well rounded than either of the previous 1887 series offerings. Highly recommended.

[IggytheBorg]

OK, I've been busy so sorry for the delay in these postngs:

Over the weekend I smoked an ACID Kuba Maduro. This was good. REAL good. It had the same spicy-sweet aromatics as a regular Kuba Kuba or a Wafe, but was richer, smoother & more complex. Perhaps a touch sweeter, owing to the maduro wrapper. This may be my new 2d favorite ACID (Deep Dish still wins out, but not by much).

Later on I smoked an Arganese. This was a nice smoke as well. Spicy & sweet predominantly, particularly on the opening. Faded a bit toward the middle, but came back, particularly the spice, toward the end. Most enjoyable.

Both the above were Cigarfest freebies.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked an Augusto Reyes Epicur at a party last night. Not bad, but not great either. Mainly earthy & full in character, with a note of sweetness. I did feel the draw was too tight, however, and it went out 3 times, requiring me to re light it (4 if you count the last one, when I gave up on it w/ a few more puffs to go). This was a cigarfest freebie, and wasn't nearly as good as the Nativo. Doubt I'd buy one based on this specimen's performance.

[IggytheBorg]

I mentioned this in the CHUD Cigar Thread, but I think it bears repeating here. There's a tourist trap kind of thing called Broadway at the Beach (shops, restaurants, attractions, etc.) at Myrtle Beach, where I'm currently vacationing. In said tourist trap is one of the best, IMO, brick & mortar cigar shops I've been in. As many cigars as I've smoked, it's kind of hard for me to go into a shop & find something I haven't tried and am interested in. This place never disappoints, though. I actually stood there staring at the shelf and rubbing my chin, trying to decide for a good 10 minutes. It came down to the Cain F & Maduro or the Rocky Patel 1961. Cain won, and I bought both. If you're ever in the area & hankering for a smoke, give this place a visit.

[IggytheBorg]

Recently smoked a Cain maduro. Not bad, but not nearly as good as the standard Cain blend, IMO. Both were full in body, but smooth in the manner in which that full body is delivered. However, the standard blend was a fair bit smoother, which would make it more appealing to those who don't particularly like heavy handed smokes (as I do not). The standard blend also had more sweetness & creaminess going on. There was some to be had w/ the maduro, but not nearly as much.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Gurkha Empire III last night. This was pretty good, in that all the flavor nuances were pleasant, but they were a bit fainter than I'd have liked. Gurkhas, even though they're almost always very smooth & easy to smoke, generally tend to be on the fuller bodied side. This one was maybe a hair north of medium, and that not all the time. The flavor profile was mainly earthy, with some leather on the opening. Sweet spiciness was detectable throughout, strongest for the 2d inch or so (it was a 6" toro, I think). So far, best of the empire series, but that's not really saying much, given how little I liked its competition so far. But, there are 3 more to go. . .

This was not a Cigarfest freebie.

[Nathan]

Only had bad conrats type cigars. What is a good intro cigar? I am a cig smoker and I know that is a totally different animal. Educate me please!

[IggytheBorg]

Sorry I left this participle dangling so long; meant to answer it when you posted, but I got busy. My thoughts: Macanudo is the best selling cigar in America. It's also extremely mild, & very consistent (which is probably why it sells so well; it appeals to the widest audience, including occasional smokers). These were my go-to smoke for years. Lately, however, I want more from my smokes than these have to offer; they've become unappealing airballs to me, but it took years for that to happen. They're still a good starting point.

Rocky Patel Connecticuts or Romeo y Julieta 1875's are mild smokes, but not quite as mild as Macanudos. These I WILL still smoke. They are in fact among my favorites, and not very expensive. Baccarats are also very good mild & sweet smokes, are very cheap, & fairly easy to find. Give them a whirl, too.