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

[IggytheBorg]

In the last week or so I smoked an Olivo Connecticut Reserve and a Fonseca Arana. The Oliva, as one might exoect from the name, was a very mild cigar. Nothing harsh or disagreeable about it at all. But it didn't have a whole lot interesting going for it, either. One of my least favorite Oliva products so far (although I didn;t actively dislike it the way I did the Serie O). As for the Fonseca, that was a much more well rounded & interesting smoke. It was medium in body, with a toasty, slightly earthy core. Notes of spice - not faint or mild, but far from biting & unleasant - peeked in now & again throughout the burn. This is one of the better Fonseca products I've tried. Much better than the flagship blend, probably on par w/ the CI Legends Matasa, and not quitye as good as the uber complex & interesting Habana Seleccion. Definitely worth a look if you like smokes w/ a mild or medium spicy component to them.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Hammer & Sickle Habana Tradicion the other night. This was another nice smoke from H & S. A toasty, woody core w/ some reserved spice evident from time to time. Very enjoyable. There's 1 more cigar from that tasting. let's see if they can pull off a trifecta.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Triunfador on the way to court this morning. This is a cigar made by the Tatuaje factory, so I kind of figured I wouldn't like it (I thought Tatuaja was too strong, and lacking in nuance). It was indeed a strong, full flavored/bodied cigar, but it was by no means unpleasant. It started out almost harsh, w/ strong flavors of wood smoke. After a few puffs it mellowed a bit, and took on some sweet notes, and an almost citrus character. The sweetness hung around - albeit in a diminished quantity - throughout the rest of the smoke, but the citrus note disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. Not enough going on to make this a favorite, but I liked it a hell of a lot more than the Tatuaje.

[IggytheBorg]

last night I smoked a Gurkha Beauty. I had smoked one of these years ao, and reported that I didn't like it. But reading descriptions in recent CI catalogs got em thinking I think I must have been having an off day then, and I decided to pick one up on Cigarbid.com & give this cigar another day in court. Really glad I did. I can't even remember what it was I didn' like aout this smoke. Maybe the floral notes, which were present from the opening to the nub (and believe me when I tell you, I smpoked this thing s far as I could). But I found them this time to be very pleasant indeed, with nice erthy sweetness at the core. An eceptionally mellow, pleasant cigar. Probably worth the $22.00 apiece price CI retails them for, but soooo mych sweeter at $4.00, thanks to Cigarbid. CIgar.com is also running a promotion called "Gurkha Guerilla Warfare", selling bundles of 10 for $39.00, if you don't have the patience fr auctions. They make a "Black Beauty", too, w/ a maduro wrapper. ot a bid in on one of tose, and by this time tomorrow I'll know if I won. By this time next week it'll be in my humi, & I'll be posting a review soon thereafter. The Connecticut wrapped original Beauty has entered the rarified air of a favorite Gurkha; can't wait to see if the maduro version can do the same.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoking a pepin Garcia Cubn Classic. Not bad, but not a favorite by any stretc. Chock full of wodsmoke & hearty spice flavors, it kind of reminds me a little bit of a Gurkha Legend, but lacks some of the nuance of that venerable blend. A serious complaint with the construction, however. A short time after I lit it, I could actually HEAR a poppiing sound coming from the cigar as the wrapper unraveled from the gum holding it to the binder. It's gotten kind of ragged, bu hasn't come completely off, so it'ss till lending flavor to the cigar. Which is something, I guess. I have smoked thousands of cigars, and this popping noise is a new one on me. I picked this one up at a brick & mortar store in Cranford that I used to like a lot. But their selection has been knd of lacking lately, & I wonder if the contruction problem is due to the smoke being stored improperly by gthe store (I've only had it a week or so, so I doubt my humi had that much to do w/ it). Pepin has a serious rep for quality, so I kind of doubt this is endemic to the brand. If you like hearty, full flavored & full bodied smokes, this is a decent choice, but I think the Serie JJ was much better. Not quite as full, but much more nuanced & flavorful than the Cuban Classic, IMO

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked another of Cigar Journal's Top 25 last night. This time it was a Torano Master. The description made it sound like ever flavor known to man was gonna waltz across my tongue. Sadly, I detected only wood notes, some tea flavors, and a very, VERY light touch of spicy sweetness, all of which were seriously detracted from by a noticeable hint of eucalyptus in the background. I HAAAAAAAAATE eucalyptus. It didn't make want to gag & fling the cigar away like a rattler that just bit me, but I sure as hell won't be buying any more of these.

[Captain Russ]

Holy shit I can smell you from here

[IggytheBorg]

smoked a Gurkha Black Beauty tonight. It's the same filler blend as the Beauty, but w/ a maduro wrapper. Much more full boded & strong than the delicate Connecticut Beauty, it has some of the floral sweetness evident in the background (particularly thru the nose), along with some hearty spice form the wrapper. Probably on par with the Legend Vintage 2001 series, which isn't bad compaby to be in. But the original Beauty is, IMO, so much more flavorful and harmonious a blend that I don't feel enaored of this blend.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Gurkha Copper Label the other night. Strong notes of cinnamon like spice are its mostnoticeable feature, but it had a nice underlying layer of cream as well. Not an par with Gurkha's best, but pretty damned good. Full bodied & flavored strat to finish.

[IggytheBorg]

On the way into the office today, smoked an Ernesto Carrillo. this is the guy who makes La Gloria Cubana. I love those, and had high hopes for this one based on that. But these were much too strong for my taste, without any of the redeeming creamy elements LGC's variants are known for. The EC was mainly woodsmoke and some (overly) hearty spice. A Cigarfest '12 freebie, I wouldn't buy any more.

On the way home I smoked a Ramon Bueso "The Project". Recent ads in CI's catalogs make this cigar sound like the second coming. It ain't the half, lemme tell ya. Hearty & full (albeit not overpowering; credit where it's due), it had strong notes of spice, wood & coffee. It picked up a slight note of cream an inch or so in, but that didn't last enough to make this a pleasant smoke, IMO.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Pinar del Rio Limitada yesterday. This was one of the most complex smokes I've ever had. Started out a bit harsh, but mellowed progressively as the smoke went on, finally settling into a heavy medium in body. It had a nice oaky core, with notes, particularly thru the nose & on the aftertaste, of earthy sweetness & spice. Had these been just a little stronger, this might have been a much better cigar. As it is, a little too faint. Good for a Cigarfest freebie, but I don't think I'll be buying more.

[IggytheBorg]

Smoked a Partagas 1845 OTW to a dep the otehr day. By way of bacground, when I first started smoking cigrs, and Macanudo was my favorite because I liked 'em mild, I smoked a Partagas flagship blend and really, realy didn't like it becuae I thought it was too full bodied. I ahve always shied away from their smokes ever since. But this one was a CIgarfest freebie, soooooo. . . . It wasn't bad. The descriptions I read about it say it's a "radical departure" from Partagas' usual flavor profiles. Maybe that explains why I liked it. But earth, cedar and toasty tobacco flavors dominated. Not a favorite by any means, but much better than I remember that first one being.

last night I smoked a My Father Le Bijou 1922 by Pepin Garcia. This was another entry from Cigar Journal's Top 25 for 2012. It had a mainly flinty, earthy core, with some toasty, sweet notes on the exhale. The swetness wasn't strong enough to sufficiently balance the flintiness (dscribed in the blurb as a juxtaposition of the sweet w/ the piquant) and make it as "extremely intersting" as the blurb promised. The sweetness was described as molasses like. I guess that's accurate, but it could have been more pronounced.

[IggytheBorg]

hate when I get behind like this, but it's part of the price you pay for being on trial. Anyway, one night last week while I prepped this mutha, I smoked a Gurkha Vulcan. The name implies it'd be really full & powerful, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. It was very mellow & pleasantly spicy. Quite possibly the best mellow Gurkha ever; even better than the Symphony because the flavors, while still mellow & pleasant, are more pronounced. MIGHT even be better than the Royal Challenge. I may have found a new favorite Gurkha to add to the list.

I also smoked a Swag the next night. One would probably think from this one's name it'd be garbage. Au contraire, mon freir! This was also mild to medium in strength/body, but had some serious mellow, tasty spice going on as well. A very interesting cigar, with some cedar and earth notes evident. Priced right at CI (It was a Cigarfest freebie), mellow smokers can't go wrong with these.

[IggytheBorg]

OTW to prison in Brooklyn yesterday morning (to see a client; don't get your hopes up), I smoked an Aliados. These are made by the same factory as Puros Indios, and seem to be a kind of ubiquitous, cheaply priced brand you'd find in many tobacconist's. One I had previously always overlooked as not being worth the time. But this one was a Cigarfest freebie, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I mean, what the hey, I really like the last couple Puros Indios products I smoked, right? This was a very good cigar, particularly for the money. It had an earthy, cedary core with a deep array of mellow, cinnamon & nutmeg like spices as the top notes. It was very similar to a Puros Indios, but wasn't exactly the same, as its spice wasn't quite as pronounced. So overall, I think I may have liked the Puros Indios a bit better, but not bt very goddam much. If you like mellow smokes, either of these will fill the bill nicely. They taste like they cost a LOT more than they do. Recommended.

[IggytheBorg]

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as I cleaned the yard up, I smoked a gigantic 7 x 60 Felipe Gregorio Msduro perfect I have been hanging on to for a couple years from a Cigarfest. What a delight. Mild-medium in body, it had an earthy sweetness & some mellow woodsmoke at its core, with just a wee bit of spice on the finish. Really great cigar.

Yard cleanup turned out to be a 2 day poject, and on day 2 I smoked an Abel's Reserve an attorney friend I always give free smokes to gave me. I didn't expect much, because I know he likes full bodied smokes, and I believe this is something some local guy rolls in his shop. Aging beiing a necessary component to a fine cigar, I'm usually pretty leery of those. But trhis was surprisingly good. Not great, but good. It was earthy at its core, w/ sme charcoal notes to back that up. Cold've used some more nuance, bu wasn't overly full at all. Very smooth, in fact. I'll have to thank Sally next ime I see him.

Tonight, I am smoking a Bahia Trinidad Double Corona. At 7.5 x 50, it's gonna last awhile. Which is good, because I'm enjoying it. It reminds me a lot of a Gurkha Copper label, because it has strong notes of cinamon over a cedary core. But it isn't as suanced and complex as the Copper label, so it won't be suplanting them as a favorite. It does, however, bom out smoke on every puff lke a motherfucker, and even full priced they're cheap (And this was a deal from 'bid, so it was even cheaper), so it's got that going for it. Which is nice. Prompted me to put in a bid on a 5 pack of Bahia Blu. We'll see how they are shotly, if I win.