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

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Natural "English" by Drew Estate this afternoon. I was a lttle les enthused by this one than by previous entries; I think I figured out the infused/not infused thing: they sweeten the tip. As such, most of them seem to start out tasting the same. Which is good, mind you, but I don't note much difference between this & an Irish Hops (for instance). Given my druthers, I'd take one of those or (perhaps even more so) a Pimp Stick over this entry any day. The Pimp Stick was, IMO, very different from the other "Natural" blends, and at least as good as any of them. And it's got the cool as fuck name going for it. Which is nice.

[IggytheBorg]

Also, a friend asked me to log on to Cigarbid and get us a bundle of El PAdrinos. I tried, but lost the auction. So I did what any obsessed cigar nut would do: blew about $70.00 on 4 lots of Gurkhas. I should, by this time next week, have taken possession of 10 Monograms, 5 Castle Halls, 2 Widow Maker Habanos, and 10 Special Ops.


Someone plpease stop me before I kill again! Or before my wife kills ME!

[Timothy225]

Iggy, are you caught up with your monthly bills? Mortgage payments up-to-date? Taxes done and submitted? You got food on the table? Medical insurance for you and the Collective? Car's running normally and all gassed up? In short, all your responsibilities taken care of?

Then light up some of them that Gurkhas and enjoy yourself, son! For Gurkhas Rule!

[IggytheBorg]

Thank you kind sir, for those words of rational- er - I mean, encouragement.

[Timothy225]

Hey, I live to serve.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Gurkha Widow Maker Connecticut last night. Outstanding. A lot mellower than the maduro version, this one had notes of vanilla and slight hints of sweet spice throughout the burn (and I burned this one down to the motherfucking nub, belee dat!). Smoke was thick but not heavy, and had a creamy consistency. One of the best mild smokes I ever had. Probably even better from a "tastes like vanilla" standpoint then even my beloved CAO Blacks, but the Gurkhas are typically (even from CI) prohobitively expensive, so this'll remain a rare, found-em-on-Cigarbid treat, I think. Sooooo glad I have another one.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked that Don Pepin Serie JJ this afternoon driving home from Freehold. This was a very nice smoke. The 1st puff was extremely spicy; too much so, in fact. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. But almost immediately it deeloped a subdued sweet note to the spice, w/ maybe some earth on the aftertaste. Full bodied & full flavored, but just barely so, I think. A departure from Pepin's usual tendency toward very hearty, overly full (IMO, anyway) smokes. Don't think I'd rank it as a favorite, but I wouldn't mind at all if one ended up in my Cigarfest freebies pile on Saturday.

[Timothy225]

You were in Freehold yesterday? Dude! Should've called, son!

[IggytheBorg]

Woukdnt have had time. Dep went loooong. Worst. Witness. Ever. I also had to get to my friend's wake.

[Timothy225]

Ugh. My sympathies, bro.

[IggytheBorg]

Went to Cigarfest 2012 yesterday. Iggy's Mobile Smoking Lounge was in fulle effect once again (and this year I made the banner). Smoked a Gurkha Special Ops on the way in (because, as I explained to Potch as we lit up, we're on a mission. . . ). Had a couple bottles of Virgil's Root Beer for the ride in, and we were accompanied by "Synchronicity" by the Police & "Rising" by Rainbow. Got there 15 minutes after opening, and there as NO line at all. We may have to start doing this from now on. Hit the booze 1st, as is our custom, and had a blast guzzling unlimited samples from various microbreweries. Weyerbacher and Cricket Hill were probably my favorites this year, but Woodchuck's new Spring Cider was good enough for 3 trips. Or was it 5? I forget. . . . Anyway, huge haul in free cigars. hevn't had time to really sit & take stock of them all, but I know there were 2 ITC Ltd. Reservess in there (I'm quite fond of those), a 5 Vegas 2012 Limitatada (I always have high hopes for these), and the Man O' War Side Project 52C I smoked when we got there was extremely good. They gave out Pueblo Dominicano's, a brand that came out in extremely limited quantities years ago, and vanished before I could get my hands on some. I have viewed this as "the one that got away" for years, and I'm really glad I'm finally getting to try one. Gurkha's offering this year is called "The Seduction". I picture that name in my head being whispered by a sultry, smolderingly beautiful woman. In a black dress. I'm popping a small chubby just thinking about it. Celtic folk tinged live band made for pleasant background music. The food was as good as usual. And there seemed to be more (and hotter) scantily clad models than ever. Having learned from past mistakes, Me & Potch left when the show floor closed at 6 PM, and caught a 9:30 showing of The Avengers back in Jersey, which we both enjoyed trmendously. A Day with a capital "D" fo sure.

[B_Metal]

Cancer bros, just saying.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Gurkha Special ops tonight. Really good smoke. Nice toastiness to it, w/ some mild, sweet spice and hints of chocolate. Full bodied, but very smooth. burned really well, too. Almost went out on me twice, but I managed to resuscitate it w/o relighting it both times, & it had a nice, even burn and an easy draw. Another winner from Gurkha

[IggytheBorg]

At Saturday's Cigarfest I smoked a man O War Side Project 52C. Really great smoke. Had a nice toasty tobacco core, with strong hints of black cherry. A lot less full than most MoW blends, but no lightweight, to be sure. Effortless draw & good, even burn, too. AJ Fernandez knows his shit.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Rocky Patel The Edge corojo yesterday. Really nice smoke. These are touted as being among the fullest blends you can get, so I had avoided them for years, figuring they wouldn;t be to my taste. But I read a review that indicated they had plenty of suance, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot. Fucking fabulous. While it was very full, it was well balanced. It had sweet notes (the review said "wild berries" and "dried fruits"; I'm not sure about the berries, but dried fruit pretty well nails it), and a pleasant aroma I would have been hard pressed to identify if the review hadn't done it for me: tea. It fucking smelled like tea. I'm sorry I put off trying these for so long, and it's a safe bet I'll be smoking more in the future. They make a maduro version as well wich I think is a bit fuller even than this. It didn't make Cigar Journal's top 25 the way the corojo did last year (that's the review I read), but I figure I'll give that one its day in court as well.