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

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a 5 Vegas Gold Maduro last night. Really, really nice smoke. Mellow but flavorful, with a nice understated sweetness finishing each puff, and even more understated spices accenting a toasty core. 5 Vegas does it again. Probably better than their regular Gold brethren, and that's saying something.

[LintLicker]

Hey, me = new blood. I started smoking cigars again about 6 months ago (I quit 2 years ago and couldn't stay away.) I've only read a couple of the posts on here and I wanted to jump in and introduce myself before I read them all. It sounds like Iggy has much more knowledge on the subject that I do but I am stubborn and snobbish when it comes to my cigars. That being said any suggestions of cigars to try are welcome it would be interesting to compare experiences; I will try not to start any trouble.

My all time favorite is Padron 1926 Natural, but I would never say no the original, the 26, or the 64 either natural or maduro. I am also a fan of Nica Libre. I was skeptical before I tried this knock-off and I would have been disappointed if was expecting an identical experience to Padron. I believe Nica Libre are some of the best cigars in their price range (they are a fraction the cost of the Padron 26 or 64.)

Other brands that often come back to are Punch, Cusano, Oliva, and Gurkha. I generally prefer medium to full body - I want something with some substance and flavor. Yet I rarely enjoy a cigar that will knock a man on his ass and leave his head spinning (i.e. double ligero anyone?)

[Shit Dickface]

Not a cigar, but I smoked hookah for the first time last night in ages and it was so damn good.

Taking cigar reccs from this thread, especially the Gurkha. I'm with you, Lintlicker, on the whole medium thing. Full body just makes me feel like my lungs got punched by King Kong.

[IggytheBorg]

Hey, me = new blood. I started smoking cigars again about 6 months ago (I quit 2 years ago and couldn't stay away.) I've only read a couple of the posts on here and I wanted to jump in and introduce myself before I read them all. It sounds like Iggy has much more knowledge on the subject that I do but I am stubborn and snobbish when it comes to my cigars. That being said any suggestions of cigars to try are welcome it would be interesting to compare experiences; I will try not to start any trouble.

My all time favorite is Padron 1926 Natural, but I would never say no the original, the 26, or the 64 either natural or maduro. I am also a fan of Nica Libre. I was skeptical before I tried this knock-off and I would have been disappointed if was expecting an identical experience to Padron. I believe Nica Libre are some of the best cigars in their price range (they are a fraction the cost of the Padron 26 or 64.)

Other brands that often come back to are Punch, Cusano, Oliva, and Gurkha. I generally prefer medium to full body - I want something with some substance and flavor. Yet I rarely enjoy a cigar that will knock a man on his ass and leave his head spinning (i.e. double ligero anyone?)

Welcome aboard. Always good to have another herfer in the room. If you haven't already, I'd strongly recommend the Gurkha Legend for a full bodied but exceptionally smooth & tasty smoke. The Gurkha Centurian is one of the finest smokes in the world, and a huge favorite of mine. Expensive as hell UNLESS you get them from Cigarbid.com (seriously, they retail for $20-$30 apiece, but I scored 5 for $5 each on 'Bid not too long ago. You're doing yourself a serious disservice if you haven't had the pleasure. I also recently smoked a San Miguel and that was a fantastic medium bodied cigar. Give them a whirl, too if you get the chance.

Myself, I don't care much for any of the Padrons I've smoked, but hey, diffrent strokes and all that.

[IggytheBorg]

I smoked a Man O War Armada last night while reviewing documents for a trial that was supposed to start today & didn't. A strong smoke, definitely full bodied. Reportedly the brand owner AJ Fernandez' private blend. It was mostly toasty & woody, with lightly present but hearty spices on the aftertaste. Definitely good, but IMO not as good as the standard Man O War or Ruination blends. And nowhere worth the $21.00 this stick cost me. Still, I'd have regretted not buying it.

[IggytheBorg]

As I end another stressful day in the practice of law, with nothing but more of same to follow for the rest of this week (and the prospect of weeknight sex getting ever dimmer), I am smoking a CI Legends Series Black Label by La Aurora. Not bad. Full bodied, with toasty wood and tobacco at the core, it has a slight sweetness (described - accurately - as "amaretto like" in the catalog blurb) on the finish. Fairly smooth for such a full bodied smoke. I think Vin would like these, and at $59.95 a box full price, they won't break the bank. Undoubtedly available on Cigarbid cheaper, from time to time. Overall, the CI Legends experiment, wherein they convinced 10 (formerly 11, but Cusano's blend is no longer made) top cigar manufacturers to make the best smoke they could for $5.95 or under retail, and thus far all the ones I've tried have been at least good. A few, like the White, Blue, Purple & Copper labels are actually great. Worth checking out, and they have a 10 cigar sampler w/ 1 of each of the remaining blends available for cheap. Recommended.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked an Acid Toast this afternoon. As the name implies, this was a mellow toasty smoke. It had the usual Acid aromatics you'd expect from one of their smokes, to a pleasant & never overwhelming level. It complimented the maduro wrapper nicely. It reminded me a lot of a Deep Dish, but I think the Deep Dish is just a litle more flavorful, so it gets the edge over the Toast. Also, the Deep Dish smoked a lot slower & longer, owing to its huge chunky ring gauge.

[IggytheBorg]

Staying home the rest of this week, recuperating from having my man tubes tied. All is well on that score. Perhaps best of all is the fact that I can lounge about & smoke cigars while home alone. Case in point: this afternoon's victin, a Padilla Cazadores. This was another good smoke from Padilla. Mainly a hearty but smooth toacco core, it had some nice sweet notes on the finish. Draw may have been a bit tight, but not so much that it detracted from the smoke in a major way. Mayb just north of medium in body. I think Vin would like these.

[V]

Staying home the rest of this week, recuperating from having my man tubes tied. All is well on that score. Perhaps best of all is the fact that I can lounge about & smoke cigars while home alone. Case in point: this afternoon's victin, a Padilla Cazadores. This was another good smoke from Padilla. Mainly a hearty but smooth toacco core, it had some nice sweet notes on the finish. Draw may have been a bit tight, but not so much that it detracted from the smoke in a major way. Mayb just north of medium in body. I think Vin would like these.

Good news on the guy tubes, fellow Sunkist™ orange...

If by the plethora of adjectives used, that particular smoke is beefy... then I'm on it like a hobo on a ham sammitch.

[IggytheBorg]

I don't know if I'd call it beefy; it's not as strong, for instance, as a LPH Rojo. BUt it's smooth and refined while still being pleasantly full, along the lines of a Gurkha Legend. Good company for any smoke to be in IMO.

[IggytheBorg]

Just finishing up a Padilla Ltd. Edition 17RC. Not bad. The Cazadores was better, but this has some nice notes of espresso and sweetness to it. Maybe a little cream on the aftertaste. It's going real well with the painkiller and beer, at any rate. Padilla continnues to score. Much like Jake.

[IggytheBorg]

Yesterday afternoon I smoked a CI Legends Series Orange Label by Rocky Patel. This was a hearty level of med-full, with coffee notes predominant, backed by a creamy sweetness on the finish. Quite good. Another winner from the CI Legends Series, but still a head below such greats from that series as the Blue, white and copper labels. But it's probably better than the black label though not by much). And for $59.95 a box, $20.00 a 5 pack (cheaper on Cigarbid when available), you can do a lot worse.

[IggytheBorg]

As I type this, I am smoking a Victor Sinclair Bohemian Black/Oscuro Big Sur. This cigar is as black as night, and a massive 6" by 70 ring gauge (which means it's > 1" in diameter). Its mellow, pleasant, slightly nutty flavor belies its looks, however. It's very tasty and mild. Not as good as a Victor Sinclair Connecticut, but pretty damned good in its own right. And cheap. If you like mellow maduros, this will do nicely.

[IggytheBorg]

Oh, and before I forget, for Lintlicker: I was perusing the latest Cigarsintl.com print catalog while I smoked that CI Legends Orange Label, and saw that CI has Gurkha Castle Halls back in stock. These are excellent medium bodied cigars, with cedar and nutty notes predominant over a woodsy, leathery core. Highly recommended. I'd also highly recommend the Gurkha Black Dragon and Class Regent (and to a slightly lesser extent, the Regent Nepalese Warrior). These last are mainly leathery w/ some black cherry notes. Sublimely delicious.

[IggytheBorg]

Just finished smoking a Drew Estate Natural Pimp Stick. As the name implies, these are non-infused cigars. But Drew does get some interesting blends going here by using tobacos from exotic locales, like Turkey, St. James Parish in Louisiana, and the Caribbean. The Pimp Stick (and how could you not love a smoke w/ a name like that?) is a limited edition only available, to my knowledge, thru CI or its sister site Cigar.com. It was a really interesting smoke. It had a unique flavor profile, and was a nice medium bodied strength level. It was mainly redolent of cedar with some leather and spice. Kind of reminded me of a toned down, much more pleasant Gurkha Turk. Worth checking out.