The Good Stuff: The Casa Magna line is the product of two major hitters in the cigar industry putting their heads together to produce a quality line of value priced cigars. Back in 2008, Nestor Plascencia and Manuel Quesada teamed up and produced the shocking sleeper “Casa Magna Colorado” cigar that took top honors as Cigar Aficionado’s cigar of the year. The Colorado version was a Nicaraguan Puro, where as the Oscuro is all Nicaraguan minus the wrapper which is grown in Honduras. Distributed by SAG imports, the robusto I am smoking retails between $5.75 and $7 a stick.

Size: 5 x 52 – Wrapper: Honduran Oscuro – Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan – Body: full

Prelight: The Casa Magna Oscuro is a tremendously dark wrapped robusto sized cigar. The wrapper is very dark, and consistent dark chocolate brown topped off with a rounded double cap. The construction is immaculate. I really had to strain to find the very small veins hidden, and embedded in the body of the cigar. There is only one soft spot located in the dead center of the cigar’s body. The band on the Casa Magna Oscuro is identical to the Casa Magna Colorado with the only differences being the silver color vs. gold, and the word “Oscuro” inlayed on a red ribbon across the bottom. The wrapper of this Casa Magna Oscuro gives off a very strong, and pungent tobacco aroma with an almost floral finish. The foot of the cigar gives off very sweet tobacco notes with earthy hints and spice. The cigar cut off very easily and clean using my Cuban Crafters double bladed perfecto cutter. The cold draw produced some unexpected sweet organic tobacco flavors along with grass and grain.

First Smoke: The Casa Magna Oscuro didn’t start off with the initial burst of pepper I figured it would. Instead it lead me in with a very light and smooth organic tobacco and chocolate flavor backed by a nutty taste mixed with spice and just a splash of pepper on the finish. The draw is slightly tight, but still manageable producing a very nice, thick cloud of brown woodsy smelling smoke. The burnline is sharp as hell and very even with only very subtle waves. The Casa Magna Oscuro does leave behind a nice, hefty trail of spicy tobacco smelling stationary smoke so it may not be the best cigar to fire up around anyone who dislikes smoke. One note is the wrapper is starting to give off a very bitter taste on my lips. I really hope this fizzles out cause its pretty bad. The cigar is burned extremely slow, producing a nice looking medium grey ash with a few slight flakes which held on for about an inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: As I had hoped the bitter taste only lasted a few draws and then crawled back into it’s dark little hole where I hope it stays for the remainder of the experience. The second third of this Casa Magna Oscuro had quite a few interesting change ups in it’s flavor profile. The chocolate and cocoa flavors are now the big contenders backed by nut, spice, and a very woodsy taste. The retrohale is very smooth producing a nice woodsy prime. I am not feeling much of a nicotine kick, if any from this cigar so far, smooth all the way. The burnline is still dead even and extremely thin, my only worry now is the harsh build up that may effect the last third of this cigar. I am having slight trouble keeping this cigar going so I am taking hits more often than usual. Hopefully this won’t complicate things further down the road.

Finish: The Casa Magna Oscuro is really starting to ramp up in body now. I am definitely feeling the nicotine at this point. The flavors seem to have outgrown the cigar at this point and have become a bit dull and bready. You can still taste the wood and the chocolate but that’s about it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it lead to a much smoother finish than I had expected with very little harshness into the final inch. The burnline stayed sharp and even the entire smoke, and the only real annoyance was the cigar’s tendency to want to go out on me. It never fully did, but there was a few close calls. All in all it took about 1.75 hours to take down the slow burning little robusto.

Overview: This is a great balanced cigar and an excellent catch at it’s low price. This is no beginner’s cigar. The last third really proved to be a powerhouse that I think would stretch the limitations of the novice cigar smoker. This is one of those everyday rotation cigars you have mixed in when you want that extra stout/full bodied smoke. I would recommend it in singles and for the fair price, even a box pickup.

Pairing: I paired this Casa Magna Oscuro with another favorite of mine, Chimay’s Tripel or White Label. This is a hefty little triple weighing in at 8% alcohol and a whole lot of goodness. This light profile beer contains a perfect mixture of both fruity sweetness and zest making for a great balanced beer. In retrospect, this probably wasn’t the best pairing for this cigar as the abundant chocolate and stout profile wasn’t an even mashup for the beer. This beer would pair much kinder with a light Connecticut or even Cameroon wrapped mild cigar. The Casa Magna Oscuro would be perfect with some Dr. Pepper, iced tea, or coffee.

The Nosotros cigar line bears the Illusione label but Dion Giolito had some help with this blend from Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate Cigars. They collaborated to come up with a completely new cigar. One side of the simple but very attractive band says “Dion” and the other side says “Drew”. This cigar had a lot of hype around it and due to that I’d say many people had very high expectations for it. Judging by the reviews and comments from others, it seems the reactions to this cigar are fairly mixed.

I want to give a mention to the source I got these cigars from. I placed the order from Jason Shepard at “J Shepherd Cigar Boutique and Gentlemen’s Accessories” in Louisville, KY. He is a great guy who gave me excellent customer service, friendly chats, great selection and even better prices. I found him on twitter, his name is @cigarsource, or check out his website at http://www.jshepherdcigars.com

After reading initial reviews I decided to let these cigars sit for a little while before lighting them up, hoping some age would do them well. I’ve had them for about two months now, so lets see how they fared.

Cigar: Illusione Nosotros
Drink: Chimay Premiere (Dark Red Label)
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Corojo ’99
Binder: Connecticut Habano
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: About $8 – $10
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• Very even and symmetrical
• A couple medium sized veins but nothing that looks to cause burn issues
• Wrapper is a nice golden brown, slightly dark
• Wrapper is a bit oily and very appealing
• Cleanly applied triple cap
• Even firmness throughout, a little bit of give but a perfect spring back
• Foot looks to be well packed
• Cut was smooth and even, no mess
• Draw is perfect, just enough resistance

Burn:
• Toasting took a bit of extra time to get the whole foot glowing nicely
• Burn line is slightly wavy for the first couple inches
• Having trouble staying lit in the first couple inches, needing extra attention
• Burn improved after first ash, staying lit better now
• Cigar started burning a little hot but after a small touch up it seemed to even out

Smoke & Ash:
• Good amount of smoke, maybe a little less than expected
• Resting smoke is minimal and has a strong woodsy aroma
• Ash is splitting down the middle but holding fairly steady
• Although the ash appeared fairly messy, it still held on for an inch or so each time
• Made a bit of mess when I ashed it

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is mostly of a soft hay/tobacco smell with some spice and earthiness to it
• The foot introduces some nuttiness and a more prominent spice, also a bit of floral aroma
• Pre-light draw focuses mostly on the nuttiness, spice and floral. I’m excited to light this up at this point and discover what else it might give me
• Initial draws are primarily toasted cedar and nuttiness
• The cigar is very dry on the back of my throat
• This cigar is starting in the medium range for body, I expect it will get stronger as I smoke it down
• Retrohale has a nice bite to it a good woodsy finish
• Some floral notes and a bit of cinnamon spice started making an appearance just past the halfway mark but were not very prominent
• Body is definitely ramping up to full in the last 2 inches, already feeling a slight nicotine kick
• The last two inches of the cigar did not turn harsh but they did lose most flavor and I was left with a strong tobacco flavor

Final Thoughts:
The beginning of this cigar left me wanting more. The flavors were not bad by any regard but a little less than expected from such a powerful duo of blenders. The cigar opened up a bit around the halfway point and start burning a bit hotter, this in turn affects the flavors making them slightly harsher. I tried to slow down time between draws but the cigar began going out. After a small correction we were back on track though and some new flavors came in. I wasn’t blown away by the flavors here but they were still enjoyable. New cigar smokers need not apply here, these will likely be above your tolerance range.

I can’t complain about the pre-light construction here, all my sticks were excellent although they did take a few extra draws to keep lit and burn was fairly wavy. I tried to let these rest a bit before smoking them but I just had to light one up and see for myself. I think these definitely need some age, they have some great potential that seems stunted by their youth. I will keep a couple of these sticks aging and re-visit them in the future.

Pairings:
Chimay Premiere (the dark red/burgundy label) is a strong ale brewed by monks in Belgium. The sales from the brew actually contribute to assisting the Trappist Monastery in their charitable works. A feel good purchase that does not disappoint. This ale checks in at 7% alc/vol and is bursting with some great hoppy flavors with just a slight bitterness. It definitely doesn’t feel like a strong ale, until after you’ve downed a coupe pints! It paired very well with this cigar for the most part until it got a lot stronger and was drowning out the brew. I think this cigar would pair much better with a scotch, port, strong coffee/espresso.

The Good Stuff: This stick was amongst a package sent over from out friend at Cigars Direct some time ago. They carry a large variety of Opus X with this stick at a price point of $19.95 a piece. I can’t think of a line that is anywhere near as hyped up as the Opus X due to price point, and rarity. The Opus X line, is one of the very few cigars blended perfectly enough to use Cuban seed tobacco grown exclusively in the Dominican Republic. After being rolled, the cigars are then cured in rum barrels, and then aged for at least a year before being packaged and shipped.

Size: 4.88 x 40  -  Wrapper: Dominican  -  Binder/Filler: Dominican  -  Body: Full

Prelight:The Opus X Perfecxion No. 5 is a nice box-pressed style petit corona. The wrapper is almost calico colored, spotted with orange and medium brown with lots of small darker brown spots. The wrapper is silky, and extremely shiny and almost sticky to the touch. The Perfecxion No. 5 is then topped off with a rounded triple cap (that was capped so cleanly it took a very close inspection to even figure out how many times it was wrapped) and branded with the standard Fuente Fuente Opus X signature gold and red band that demands the attention of just about anyone’s eyes. The Perfecxion No. 5 is extremely firm to the touch, with no soft spots and only one larger vein running through the body of the cigar. Perfectly constructed. The wrapper gives off an extremely pungent tobacco scent of notes of citrus and spice. The foot gives off a very similar scent, only with added grain and oat aromas. The Perfecxion No.5 clipped cleanly using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produced very earthy flavors with hints of oats and leather.

First Smoke:The Opus X Perfecxion No .5 starts off very smooth and creamy with a small burst of pepper and spice backed by cedar, leather, cocoa, and tart plum. I was actually surprised how smooth this cigar started out as I was expecting something with a little more punch, not that I am complaining in anyway. The Perfecxion No. 5’s effortless draw kicks out a thick, cedar scented cloud of smoke while giving off very little to almost not stationary smoke. The burn line on this Opus X Perfecxion No. 5 is razor sharp and dead even producing a beautiful, tightly packed white and light grey ash that held on for about two inches before giving way.

Halfway There:Halfway into this Perfecxion No. 5 the Pepper flavors and the body really began to ramp up. The main flavors outside of the pepper are still very earthy and leathery with a bit of spice and sweetness. There is also a little bit of plum still in there but the sweet tobacco is starting to overpower it. The retrohale is a bit strong and spicy, but gives off a great cedar primer. The full body is really starting to make itself more apparent. The burn line has started to produce a few small waves, but nothing to be concerned about at this time.

Finish:I don’t know if it is just me, but I swear I taste some type of meat in this cigar. Beef maybe? Maybe I am just hungry. Who knows. The nicotine in this little cigar is starting to hit me like a ton of bricks. Very strong into the final third. Outside of the meaty flavor, the cedar and spice mixed with a bit of sweetness are the flavors taking center stage, with a ton of earthy notes to back it up. The burnline has corrected itself and is now burning dead even. The Perfection No. 5 burned pretty slow and actually took about 1.75 hours for me to smoke from start to finish.

One thing did irk the crap out of me. From the beginning I had wondered just how much glue is used to hold a band as large as the opus x band in place. The answer, too damn much. As you can see from the picture below when carefully removing the band I found that glue had seeped out of the band and on to wrapper destroying it upon removal. Not a good sign from such an expensive cigar.

Overview: After all is said and done the Opus X Perfection No. 5 is a damn good cigar. The complex, and plentiful flavors make for a great cigar experience. The body, and complexity is probably too much for the novice cigar smoker, but perfect for just about any enthusiast. The price point is the only thing that concerns me. $19.95 a piece from the Cigars Direct. I honestly think I’d much rather have a nice little Padron or even a Fuente Anejo over Opus X at that price point.

Pairing:I decided to change pace a little bit and pair this cigar with a glass of Sandeman’s Founder’s Reserve Tawny Port. This port is an extremely dry, powerful wine with strong black cherry, raspberry, cinnamon, and grape notes. It made a great pairing with the opus X, although at times I had to put it down and sip on water just to ensure myself that the citrus and plum flavors I was picking up in the cigar we not that of the wine itself. The Opus X Perfecxion No. 5 is a flavor bomb, just waiting to go off. You really want to be careful and pair this with something dry, of flavorless. Unsweetened tea, dry wine, water, or scotch make for a perfect combination.

Tony and I did a joint review of the
Montecristo No. 2 a short while back, check that out for some more details about the Montecristo company and it’s history. The way they decided on the name was always an interesting topic to me.

This cigar comes in as a short robusto size, which was historically not too common to see in the Cuban market. Recently a few brands have started coming out with their version of a short robusto as well. I purchased a box of 10 of these a while ago with a box date of Feb 09, the cigar reviewed below comes from that particular box so it had just over a year of age on it.

Cigar: Montecristo Petit Edmundo
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Short Robusto (4 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: $7-8 in Cuba
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Fairly even diameter throughout
• One large vein but it doesn’t look like it will cause problems
• Clean triple cap
• Nice and firm throughout with a perfect spring to it
• Foot looks very well packed
• Cut was firm but very clean
• Small crack in wrapper near the foot, was due to transit and not manufacturing
• Great draw, perfect resistance

Burn:
• Toasting was perfectly even with absolutely no dark spots
• Slight waviness at start, mostly due to the small crack
• After clearing the crack effortlessly, the burn has been razor sharp through the first half

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke right from the first draw
• Abundant resting smoke with a nice cedar aroma
• Ash is very white with gray highlights
• Seems to be holding strong and no flaking
• Ash held a little past one inch and fell off in the ashtray as I set the cigar down, perfect timing

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is faint, just a slight hint of sweet tobacco
• Foot has a sweet citrus-like aroma and a touch of cinnamon spice
• Pre-light draw is more of that citrus-like sweetness with a hint of coffee notes
• Initial draws taste of cedar and coffee, the sweet and spice seems to have disappeared
• Body is starting in the mild-medium range
• Retrohale is fairly mild with a smooth cedar finish, no bite at all
• As I approach the half-way mark, the cedar is making a strong appearance and that initial cinnamon spice I detected is coming in slowly
• Along with the cinnamon, the slight sweetness also is making an appearance ever so slightly around the half-way point
• Also picking up some earthy flavors here and there
• cigar started approaching the Medium-Full range near the last 1.5 inches but it stayed nice and smooth
• The last inch of this cigar was all cedar, still very enjoyable and I nubbed it right to the end

Final Thoughts:
Most Cuban’s have a distinct flavor that they share and it’s usually pretty easy for me to pick out. I’ve found that with this stick I can never seem to find it. This is definitely not a bad thing. It’s one of the few Cuban’s I’ve had recently that is very unique in comparison to others. If you’ve ever had the Edmundo and compare it to the Petit Edmundo, you will find they are quite a different cigar. I’ve enjoyed every one of these I’ve had and they also seem to be quite consistent in construction quality as well. It doesn’t change flavors all that much but it is a short vitola and I enjoyed every bit of it. This is definitely on my top 10 list along with it’s larger brother, the Montecristo No. 2 (Click to read the joint review Tony and I did) and is a must-try to everyone who hasn’t had one yet.

Pairings:
You’ve seen this brew on many of my reviews and it is still one of my favorites. The dark porter mixed with great coffee flavors make it a perfect match for many occasions and cigars. It matched very well with this cigar since it had some nice coffee undertones and the brew really brought those out. Click here for a full review I did on this brew. This cigar also pairs excellently with Tawny Port, Coffee, Cuban Coffee, Scotch and sweet tea. It’s one of those diverse cigars that can pair well with nearly everything.

I got a box of these cigars in the mail as a gift from a great BOTL @cigarsthomas. They were shipped over from the great guys over at Buckhead Cigar Club who still have plenty in stock! This is yet another cigar that I have been trying to get a review out for, but each time I light up I kept pushing the review aside to just sit back and enjoy the experience.

The Good Stuff: The AVO LE10 was released to celebrate Avo Uvezian’s 84th birthday. One abnormal trait in this cigar’s construction is the filler is completely composed of ligero tobacco. Ligero, being the stronger tobacco, is seldom used in full force by AVO and it will be extremely interesting to see just how well of a balance AVO can pull off with the Mexican Sumatran, Dominican Ligero, and Ecador Sun Grown tobacco used to create this limited edition cigar. The AVO LE10 only comes in very limited production boxes of 10, and run for about $150 a pop.

Size: 5.5 x 55  -  Wrapper: Ecuador Sun Grown  -  Binder: Mexican Sumatran  -  Filler: Dominican  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The AVO LE10 is a very bulky, thick ring gauged cigar. It’s nice to see something a bit meatier add to the AVO portfolio. I’ll start with the beautiful double bands the LE10 carries. Carrying the AVO tradition the LE10 has a very similar band to all the rest of the AVO lines. The A V and ) logo inlayed with black ink and silver metallic crested on a purplish brown band with the words “Avo Uvezian” and “LE10” inlayed in silver on the band. The secondary band is silver, lined with white with a silhouette of Avo himself, along with the words “Limited Edition” on it. The wrapper is a consistent orange/milky brown with quite a few larger veins running through the entire length of the cigar topped off with a beautiful round triple cap. The wrapper is just beautiful in construction, thick, and extremely oily. Some of the AVO LE10’s oil actually rubs off onto your fingertips as you hold this cigar. This is a wonderful smelling cigar, even before lighting up. This is a very well constructed cigar with no signs of any flaws or soft spots. The LE10 gives a ton of resistance when applying pressure to the body of the cigar. The wrapper emits a powerful sweet-cedar scent with backing notes of citrus and tobacco. The LE10’s foot is one of the only smokes I have had that gives off less of an aroma than the wrapper itself. The LE10 gave a little push back, but in the end clipped cleanly using my Cuban Crafters double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a very oaty, bready, tobacco flavor, where as the wrapper adds slight pepper to my lips.

First Smoke: The AVO LE10 lit up with extreme ease under my triple flame butane torch lighter. I was greeted with a soft, pepper welcome upon taking my first few draws which was accompanied by very spicy, woodsy, mossy earth flavors with a ton of pale spice transferred from the wrapper to my lips. The draw is extremely effortless and produces a good amount of thick smoke. The LE10 doesn’t give off a ton of stationary smoke, but it is very heavily scented of tobacco, with leather. Probably not the best idea to light one of these up around people who don’t like smoke. The retrohale is a bit sharp, but primes the nasal passage with a ton of the more woodsy/cedar flavors the LE10 carries. The burnline is razor sharp and has developed one large wave that seems to be correcting itself as I continue to smoke this cigar into the second third. The ash is a tightly packed very nice light grey with slight flakes and held steady for almost 2 inches before stumbling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Surprisingly the pepper is still very evident going into the second third. The main flavor now is a very bold cedar backed by the earth note, a bit of leather, and some well balanced citrus with even a bit of graham. I am really enjoying the complexity of the flavors in this LE10. Just into this portion of the cigar I am already feeling a bit of the nicotine. It’s a very nice touch, and isn’t too strong, just enough to differentiate itself from the more mild cigars that AVO usually produces. The burnline corrected itself as I was hoping and is burning line a champ.

Finish: I am surprised yet again the pepper in this AVO LE10 is still alive and strong. Just strong enough not to overpower the other flavors in this stick. The LE10 has become much more smooth, and a bit more tame as the nicotine begins to take a backseat to the flavors into the final third. The most dominant flavors are that of the earthy moss and leather notes that have carried all the way through the cigar. The citrus is no longer evident, but the graham and bready flavors are still alive and make for a perfect mash up with the other flavors produced by this cigar. There is absolutely no harsh buildup in this cigar, no matter how hard I hit it. The burnline is still super sharp, and dead even. All in all this cigar actually took almost 2 hours to take down from start to finish.

Overview: In my opinion, AVO has a real winner with this LE10. Too bad they are produced in such limited quantities. Hopefully future AVO blends will carry similar characteristics. Buy again, for sure. Box worthy, of course! If you can find these, by all means stock up. If you can’t there are many retailers that are willing to ship these cigars. Get them while you can. I would strongly recommend these to any trained cigar smoker, although the complexity may be a bit much for the novice (and me) I still think it is a very enjoyable smoke to anyone that enjoys a good cigar. Although finishing very smooth, be prepared to walk away from this cigar was a nice little nicotine buzz.

Pairing: Keeping the doppelbock train alive, I decided to pair this cigar with one of my favorite Doppelbocks,Weihenstephaner Korbinian. Korbinian is a strong, bold and flavor enriched beer. The alcohol content averages at 7.4% and brings flavors such as chocolate, coffee, and fruit as well as a bit of bitterness to the pallet. It made for another excellent pairing with the AVO LE10. I think, with the complexity of the LE10 just about anything stout will be a great pairing with the cigar. Coffee, scotch, wine, a stout, or a doppelbock are ideal. Just don’t overdue it with anything too flavorful.

The Good Stuff: A few samples of this blend was sent over to me by our friends at Rocky Patel. As the name states the 15th anniversary cigar is being released in celebration of Rocky Patel’s 15 proud years of production. Since the begenning of his time, Rocky Patel has produced enourmous amounts of award winning blends and has become a staple in just about any cigar smoker’s humidor. The 15th Anniversary is being produced in Rocky Patel’s own factory in Nicaragua in 4 sizes, Corona Gorda, Robusto, Toro, and Torpedo. I don’t have the specs on the sizes but I’m sure you get the jist of it from thier names. They will come in boxes of 20 with a release date set of July 30th, 2010. The size I am going to be reviewing is the Robusto.

Size: 5 x 52 (I’m guessing the ring gauge) box-pressed  -  Wrapper: Habana Ecuador  -  Binder: Jalapa  -  Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Rocky Patel 15^th Anniversary is a beautiful, boxpressed cigar. The wrapper is an extremely consistant, milky brown that leads up to a perfectly applied triple cap. The cigar is very firm to the touch in all spots accept close to the foot, where it is noticeably softer. There are a few very small veins, but nothing too big or in need of any concern. Outside of a very small tear close to the foot of the wrapper the 15^th anniversary’s construction is spot on.  The scent of the cigar is a very, very pungeant tabcco flavor. It stinks so good. Really. Outside of the very strong tobacco aroma the 15^th anniversary gives off slight earthy and cinimon tones, only to be more prominent from the foot of the cigar. The 15^th anniversary clipped with ease using my Cuban Crafters perfecto double blade cutter. The cold draw is effortless and produces a very sweet, spice and cinnamon mixture with tobacco undertones.

First Smoke: The Rocky Patel 15^th anniversary surprised me with a splash of pepper right off the bat that was only present long enough to tickle my toungue. The pepper faded quickly and was quickly replaced with organic tobacco, chocolate, cinimon, cedar and a slight zesty tart flavor I couldn’t really pick out. It wasn’t prominent at all.  The burnline was a bit wavy right away with a few little runs that I hope don’t get too crazy. The draw was thick and effortless producing a very cedarisque scent upon release. This cigar prodces almost not stationary smoke, and the slight breeze made it extremely difficult to detect any scent being produced by it. The ash produced from the 15^th anniversary is a light grey with subtle darker spots and very flaky around the edges and held on for about an inch and a half before giving way. The ash and burn produced from this cigar reminds me of most cubans I have smoked. One note is how much I enjoy this vitola. Fits perfectly in your hand, and even more comfortably in your mouth.

Halfway there: Just as the tart flavor was beginning to overpower this cigar, I was pleasantly surprised with a burst of floral flavors.  The flavor has now became  much more sweet with hints of sweet tobacco, the floral I announced prior, cedar and cinnamon. This was a very welcomed change up as the tartness was just about to become unbearable. The retrohale is very pleasant, and helps coat the nasal pasagges with a cedar aroma/taste. I am starting to feel a slight dash of nicotine, but nothing too powerful at the moment. Still running very smooth, with no signs of harshness.

Finish: The tart, and harshness is starting to form now, but is casually cloaked by a strong boast of cedar. Along with that the floral flavor is still running full steam. This cigar definitely has it’s share of surprises. Each time the experience starts going down hill another characterstic is brought to the center stage. I am actually starting to feel the nicotine ramp up to a slight nicotine kick in the final third. The burnline is still even for the most part with no need to touch up, or relight the cigar. There was a quite ramp up in harshness within the final third, which sadly I expected. I took my time smoking this one too in hopes that it would offset any harsh buildup.

Overview: Honestly, There aren’t a lot of Rocky Patel cigar that really stand out in my opinion. That being said, the 15^th anniversary is one of the better sticks produced by Rocky Patel. This isn’t a cigar I’d pick up a box of, but due to the great change ups and constant differences in flavor it is something that I wouldn’t mind smoking again. It does keep you on your toes. But don’t let my opinion discourage your from picking up this product. I think the flavors produced and the overall experience would be stellar as far as other people’s wants from a cigar goes. Just not mine. Pick a few up if this sounds like something you’d like. Especially if you’re a fan of Rocky Patel.

Pairing: I paired this cigar with one of my all time favorite beers, Ayinger Breweries Celebrator Dopplebock. As many of you know, I love my Double’s and this beer is the cream of the crop.  Produced in Germany… you know.. Germany.. the country that should have won the world cup… but that’s a story for another day. (kidding of course, Spain is a really good team and deserved it) most, if not all of Ayinger beers are produced under the Germany beer brewing purity law of 1516 which limits of  all beers to be produced using only 4 ingredients. Barley, Wheat, Hops, and water. This Dopple Bock boasts a alcahol content of 6.7% enriched with flavors such as wheat, caramel, chocolate, and wheat. This made a great pairing for the cigar, but overpowered the mild stages in the experience. This cigar is best paired with something more mild such as tea, a nice pilsner or wheat beer, and even milk. That’s right milk.

As far as Connecticut’s go, there is quite a selection out on the market and each one tries to be unique in it’s own way. The Virtue has a great blender to back it up along with a line of cigars that has been well received by most of the cigar community. The Virtue line comes in 6 vitolas including Robusto, Toro, Torpedo, Solomon, Lonsdale and Churchill. If you are looking for the power that the Ruination offers, don’t look here. It may have some faintly similar notes but no where near the strength offered. What this does offer is a great medium smoke that can go well anytime of the day.

I’m settling down outside after a nice BBQ lunch to enjoy this cigar with one of my favorite blondes (No, not a woman, a beer…) Take a read through and leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Cigar: Man O War Virtue
Drink: Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $7 – $8 MSRP
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Very even diameter throughout
• A good firmness with a perfect spring, consistent throughout
• Looks to be a little bit of extra glue on the triple cap and it has some discoloration but still looks clean
• No major veins on the wrapper
• Foot looks to be well packed
• Cut was even and clean
• Great draw, very little effort but not too open
• I still love these Man O War bands, the Spartan-type logo is really neat
• With about 1.5 inches left the wrapper cracked a bit just below the cap, hoping it doesn’t cause any issues
• Burned through the crack without any problems

Burn:
• Toasting was a little uneven but gave off an awesome cedar aroma
• Burn has been dead on for the first half
• Staying lit easily, not much effort required
• Cigar stayed effortless until the end with no major burn issues

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke from each draw, really fills the mouth
• Lots of resting smoke that gives off that awesome burning cedar aroma
• Ash looks strong but first fell off in about half an inch, could be the wind today
• No flaking or crookedness
• Second ash was around an inch but the rest were all smaller so have an ashtray nearby

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is of dry wood and tobacco
• Foot has a sort of honey-sweet and grassy aroma complimented by cedar
• Pre-light draw has lots of cedar flavor to it with an earthy undertone and a mild spice
• Initial draws are very woodsy with a tiny hint of honey sweetness
• Mild body at the start
• Retrohale is also mild and has a wonderful cedar finish
• Approaching the half-way mark, the sweet honey has changed to a more natural honey flavor.  Not as sweet but still quite good
• Past the half-way point and flavors haven’t changed much more but this is still an enjoyable smoke with some nice cedar notes to it and a bit of creaminess
• Getting close to the nub and cedar with a natural honey flavors are still the only major ones around
• There were hints of creamy vanilla and a cinnamon-like spice here and there but they never made a prominent appearance
• Very little harshness on the nub, got to enjoy it right to the end

Final Thoughts:
A lot of people avoid some of the milder sticks because they feel the flavors are just not as enjoyable or complex as most fuller bodied sticks.  There are some exceptions that stand out in the pack against this rule and this stick has now joined that group in my books.  Construction, burn, draw, flavor, everything worked well here to make a fine smoke.  It’s great for new cigar smokers or veterans looking for a tasty morning smoke.  Even though the flavors did not change much they were enjoyable from start to finish.  I could see this getting boring in a churchill size but a robusto or smaller would go very nicely. The price is a bit high compared to other Connecticuts on the market but you can find good deals on them well below MSRP if you look.  Did I mention that I like the band?

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer is a great brew from Edinburgh, Scotland.  Oak flavors are one of my favorites, in wine, ports and beers alike.  This brew is fairly light but full of flavors making for a great summer or lunchtime beer but can be enjoyed anytime easily.  It matched very well with the woodsy flavors of this cigar.  The cigar would also go very well with a morning coffee or even a simple diet soda or glass of water.  Try not to drink anything too strong or full with this cigar as it will drown out the flavors it offers.
 

The Dona Flor line comes in a variety of Vitolas and 2 types of blends.  The standard line is just called Dona Flor and their specialty line is called the “Dona Flor Reserva Especial”.  The especial line uses Cuban-seed corojo while the standard line uses Connecticut and Mata Fina Maduro wrappers.  The vitolas range from a Petite Corona all the way up to a Double Corona making up a total of 9 Vitolas in the standard line and 3 in the Reserva Especial line.

The vitola up for review today is the standard line Dona Flor Selecao Robusto with a Connecticut wrapper. Read on to see my thoughts on this Brazilian puro cigar and see if the Brazillian Connecticut is as good as their popular Maduro wrapped cigar found on many different brands. You can also read more about the company and the cigars at their website: www.donaflorcigar.com

Cigar: Dona Flor Selecao
Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Vitola: Selecao Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Brazillian Connecticut

Binder: Brazillian

Filler: Brazillian
Price: Gifted from @BelicosoBrother (MSRP $6.50)
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Wrapper has some bumps and one large vein
• 3 bands on this cigar, one looks like it got way too much glue
• Foot looks tightly packed
• Seems a lot smaller than the claimed 5×52 and it’s not box pressed?
• Even and firm throughout with a small spring
• Clean triple cap
• Medium dark brown wrapper
• Cut made a mess but left a clean cap
• One crack formed just past the halfway mark, no major problem yet though

Burn:
• Toasting was very uneven and messy
• Burn after first few draws is very wavy
• Burn evened out within a half inch and has burned fairly straight to the half-way mark
• Some small waviness after the half way mark
• No major corrections needed and no extra attention needed to keep lit.

Smoke & Ash:
• Medium mouth of smoke
• Lots of resting smoke, giving a burning wood aroma
• Ash is light grey
• Appears to be weak and is flaking a bit
• Ash held on to near 2 inches, pretty good for the smaller vitola

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is very woodsy and earthy, not a cedar smell, more like chopped firewood
• Foot has the same woodsy aroma and a mild spice, similar to nutmeg. Also a hint of honey-like sweetness
• Pre-light draw has similar flavors to the aroma
• Initial draws are of roasted wood and the nutmeg flavored spice
• Retrohale is very mild with a woodsy and slightly sweet finish
• About an inch in Im picking up some leather flavors
• The woodsy flavors became very prominent at the halfway mark, spice is no where to be found any longer
• Body has been fairly mild-medium throughout
• Leather flavor has taken over the dominant role, not my favorite flavor
• Some bitterness crept in near the last inch but nothing overpowering

Final Thoughts:
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much out of this cigar.  I had never really heard about it until I got it in this package.  It wasn’t a top ranking cigar but it was still a good smoke.  Lots of wood and leather flavors with good construction, smoke and ash.  The MSRP on these cigars is at a fair price but they seem fairly hard to find.  I would like to try these again and maybe try the Maduro wrapper as well.  If you stumble across them during your B&M shopping, pick one up.

Pairings:
I went with a simple Diet Dr. Pepper here because it was an early day smoke.  It actually paired fairly well with the slight sweet and spiciness I got in the first half and counteracted the stronger leathery flavors near the end.  This would make a perfect match with a good coffee or amber/dark beer.

The Good Stuff: The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial is the second cigar blended by the legendary Don Pepin Garcia’s son, Jaime Garcia (My Father being the first). The Reserva Especial is a blend consisting of two different Nicaraguan tobaccos. One grown by the Pepin family, the other grown by the well known Oliva Tobacco Company wrapped in my personal favorite wrapper, the Connecticut broadleaf.

The size I am doing a review of is the toro. You can easily order these from the great team over at Bonita Smokeshop, along with just about any other Pepin product.

Size: 6 x 54 – Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf – Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan – Body: Medium/Full

Prelight: The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial is a toothy little beast. The cigar is wrapped with a beautifully, very dark chocalatey brown. The wrapper gleams from the massive amount of oils from the foot, all the way to the rounded off, triple wrapped cap. The Reserva Especial is firm to the touch near the head of the cigar, but quite softer then most cigars movie down to the foot. There aren’t any real soft spots, but the softness of this cigar almost worries me. It does have a good weight to it though. There is only one, very small vein on the underside of the cigar. The band stays true to form with most of the my father cigars we see coming out of that factory. Its an off-white with a full brown, gold, and blue crest stating “Jaime Garcia” and “Reserva Especial”. The underside of the band simply states “My Father Cigars”. The wrapper gives off a very sweet, chocolate and mocha type aroma where as the foot of this cigar has a more pronounced oat and tobacco scent with cocoa undertones. The cigar was clipped with ease by my Cuban Crafters Perfecto double blade cutter. The cold draw was very firm with rich tobacco, cocoa, and lots spice.

First Smoke: As I have come to expect from most cigars produced in the My Father factory the Reserva Especial starts off with a boom of spice and pepper. This initial hit pairs seamlessly with the sharp spice of the New Belgium Biere De Mars that I have decided to pair this cigar with. Once the pepper begins to wear off, subtle notes of cocoa and coffee become present over stronger notes of sweet tobacco, leather, and wood. The burnline is razor sharp but has developed a bit of a wave pattern early into the cigar. The draw is very loose, and produces a very thick, cedar scented cloud of smoke. The Reserva Especial gives off little to no stationary smoke, and what little bit of smoke that does is escape is pleasantly scented with a strong cedar aroma as well. The ash is a very light grey and very tightly packed in most places. The ash held tight for about an inch and a half before falling.

Halfway There: The pepper introduction to this cigar was just that, and is not longer present. The dominating flavor is by far the woodsy, grassy flavor that began as just an afterthought in the first third backed by the sweet tobacco, and a strong, almost espresso coffee. There retrohale on this cigar is to die for. Almost pure cedar, and in credibly smooth. I’m impressed thus far with how just perfectly smooth this cigar is. The burnline did a heck of a job fixing itself, and has burned perfectly and still razor sharp all the way through the second third. Up until this point I still have yet to feel any signs of nicotine.

Finish: What a smooth finish, and I can’t stress that enough. This cigar is definitely @KightRid acceptable with no signs what so ever of nicotine. The Reserva Especial finished off very clean and smooth with the dominant flavor still being wood and grass, backed up by cocoa and lots of strong coffee notes. The burn went a little wavy into the final third, but cleaned itself up and there was no need for any types of relights or touch ups. The pepper did make a slight come back deep within the last inch or so, but it was more of just a reminder of how this cigar started out. All in all it took only about an hour and a half to take down this Toro sized cigar.

Overview: Overall I was VERY impressed with this cigar. I am a Pepin love through and through and this cigar didn’t fail in any way shape or form. The woodsy, sweet, soft cocoa and coffee flavors preformed brilliantly with one another. Near perfect burn, medium body, and great aftertaste. And with the affordable price point? You really couldn’t ask for me. Perfect for a beginner cigar smoker, and everyday cigar for the aficionado, This cigar will be in my regular rotation from this point forward. Box worth by far.

Pairing: The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial was paired with one of my favorites, New Belgium’s Lips of Faith Series Biere De Mars. New Belgium has a knack for coming up with some of the best traditional brews, and as of late some of the better non traditional. They save these brews for the Lips of Faith collection. Very sought after, and VERY hard to come by these brews are more expensive to produce, and require a more skillful team making them so rare. The Biere de Mars I drank was picked up on my latest trip to Denver Colorado. I ventured north to the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins and picked up a few beers to take back with me.

Biere De Mars is a Celestial collision of orange – hued ale, citrusy lemon verbena, and unidentified flying brettanomyces.

I don’t know exactly what that means, but its good stuff. 6.2% citrus, bready, spicy beer. It was just an absolute perfect match for this cigar. I would recommend something of the sort for pairing, or even a hefty stout, iced tea or apple juice. Something citrusy, and sweet.

New Belgium - Lips of Faith - Biere De Mars - Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial

To this:

Follow this link to the guest review over at Toasted Foot. Great guys, with a great site.

Image Courtesy of www.StogieReview.com

Cigar: Perdomo Patriarch Maduro
Drink: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• Wrapper looks fairly bumpy
• Some medium sized veins but doesn’t look like it will cause any problems
• Dark chocolate brown wrapper
• Fairly firm with a slight spring, one spot is very firm near the foot
• Super clean triple cap, blends in amazingly well
• Cut was even and smooth
• Very well constructed throughout the smoke

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly slow but nice and even
• Burn has started off razor sharp right from initial lighting
• At the halfway point the burn is still razor sharp, even after leaving it for a few minutes to help move a piece of furniture
• Smoking nice and slowly for a Robusto
• Burn was razor sharp right to the end, no complaints at all

Smoke & Ash:
• Beautiful white ash
• Lots of smoke from this stick
• Resting smoke is moderate but has a strong tobacco aroma
• Ash seems fairly strong, to flaking at all
• Ash holding strong to almost 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a sweet tobacco aroma with a hint of cocoa
• Foot aroma has the same cocoa notes with a touch of raw cinnamon spice
• Pre-light draw reveals no sweetness, getting a hay-type of flavor with a touch of cocoa and a peppery spice that’s leaving my lips tingling
• Initial draws are fairly full bodied with a very dark cocoa flavor in the background and a strong woodsy/leathery boldness
• Getting peppery notes from the draws after about a half-inch
• Retrohale is also fairly full bodied with a moderate spicy kick, smooth finish
• Approaching the half-way mark and getting a nice toasted wood flavor in the mix
• The body seems to have settled down a bit now to a smooth medium and the peppery notes have fallen off a bit, enjoying it much more now
• The retrohale still has a big spicy bite to it but now has some more woodsy flavors to it
• Flavors stayed pretty consistent after the halfway point to the end, just a tiny bit of bitterness but nothing unbearable


Final Thoughts:
I was expecting a milder smoke when I lit this up since it’s nice dark wrapper screamed sweet and smooth. I was surprised to find the spice and body that this stick offered along with an interesting blend of flavors. Before this smoke, I had only previously tried he Patriarch with to Corojo wrapper. I found this one to be much more flavorful even though it didn’t have many dimensions or complexity to it. I would definitely buy some of these again as they make a good full-bodied smoke that aren’t over powering. The average price online was around $7.00 which makes it well priced for a well constructed stick. Even though the Perdomo company has reduced their prices, their quality has continued to be top notch!

Pairings:
The Young’s Double Chocolate Stout was a bit of a poor pairing with this cigar. As mentioned, I was expecting a milder cigar with lots of Maduro notes. The Youngs was a bit more of a sweet stout and didn’t pair too well. This cigar would have paired well with a good stiff drink, along the lines of a scotch or bourbon. Something that has a bit of sweetness but enough strength to cleanse the palate. A strong Cuban coffee would also make a good pairing here.

Cigar: Blind Tasting Cigar #1
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Lancero (7.5 x 38)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $8.50
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Very attractive oily and dark chocolate wrapper, appears maduro but I don’t think it is
• Slightly bumpy appearance but no toothiness to it
• Clean triple cap with a small pigtail
• Appears evenly packed at the foot
• Slightly soft and springy throughout with one minor hard spot
• Draw is a bit tight, hopefully it loosens up
• Draw loosened up shortly before halfway and is now dead-on perfect

Burn:
• Toasting was amazingly even and easy
• Burning fairly evenly with a bit of wave at the start
• Approaching the halfway point the the burn is moving along excellently, no issues at all
• Cigar is staying lit effortlessly and letting me enjoy it slowly

Smoke & Ash:
• Medium mouthful of smoke, nothing overbearing but enough to keep me satisfied
• Lots of constant resting smoke that smells fantastic, lots of cedar in the aroma
• Ash is tight and even but not too strong
• First ash was only about ¼ of an inch
• Second ash was a bit longer but seems to be between ¼ and ½ inch each time
• Amount of smoke increased quite a bit in the last 3rd

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a sweet tobacco aroma
• Foot has an earthy and cedar aroma with a touch of spice
• Pre-light draw definitely has an earthy spice type of flavor to it complimented by cedar touches
• Initial draws are of earth, cedar and coffee with a touch of spice on the aftertaste
• Retrohale is mild with a cedar and smooth espresso finish
• Body started off mild-medium
• Approaching the half-way mark, flavors haven’t changed much but the spice has pretty much disappeared and the the espresso flavors have got stronger. Earth and cedar flavors are still lingering
• As I approach the final 3 inches, the coffee flavor has slipped into the background and some of the spice is coming back, reminds me of baked cloves, very interesting
• Body has also started to ramp up a bit as I approach the end
• Retrohale has also picked up in body, getting a similar clove flavor complimented by some cedar
• A slight bitterness crept in near the end but nothing overpowering and it did not ruin this cigar, still enjoyed it quite a bit


Final Thoughts:
I was very impressed by this cigar. It had everything you could want. Great construction, lots of smoke, good flavors, and a couple dimensions to keep in interesting. The value on this cigar is also great considering the burn time of 2 hours. If you can find some of these still hanging around somewhere I would definitely recommend grabbing them. These are not the type of limited cigar you want to miss. The new El Triunfador line is good ad it’s hard to compare the two due to the fact that they are so different in body and flavor profile.

Pairings:
The dark Coffee Porter paired very nicely with this cigar and any similar stout or porter would go well. This beer has is full of flavor and coats your palate but has a smooth finish. It obviously has a strong coffee flavor and it complimented the coffee and espresso notes of this cigar nicely. A strong coffee, such as Cuban of Americano, would also be an excellent pairing here.

This review is dedicated to the late Aaron Boyd. A great BOTL, and friend who was killed in a motorcycle accident this passed weekend. He was a self proclaimed “Tatuaje Whore” and in fact sent me a package a while back containing a few hard to find Tatuaje sticks. This Tatuaje Black Tubos in which I will be reviewing was amongst the many cigars Aaron packed up for me. You’ll be missed bro.

The Good Stuff: There isn’t a whole lot of information out there on this stick, outside of its release in 2009. The Tatuaje Black Tubos was released with a sister blend, the Tatuaje Verocu (or red) Tubos and sold only in boxes of ten. They are a very limited release, and only 4,600 boxes will ever be made. The Black Tubos is actually labeled as Pete Johnson (creator of Tatuaje Cigars) own personal blend.

Size: 6.15 x 52  -  Wrapper: Sun Grown Criollo  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Tatuaje Black Tubos comes packaged in a sleek, and semi-odd looking Tatuaje branded Tubo with the Tatuaje logo on one side, and the Fluer de lis in silver paint on the other. The screw off cap has yet another Fleur de lis embossed in it. Inside you will find a beautifully cedar wrapped Tatuaje Black. The cigar itself carries a very dark, consistently chocolaty brown wrapper. This particular cigar has a little bit of age and signs of plume are already starting to show. The Black Tubos has quite a few soft veins running through it that I don’t think will become a menace in any way. The cigar is then polished off with a nice, quadruple wrapped torpedo style cap. The cigar is very firm to the touch and there are absolutely no signs of softspots or misconstruction. One item to note is the fold over style foot this cigar carries. The wrapper smells of a very soft pine wood with perfumy almost floral notes, where as the foot carries an identical aroma with just a splash of spice. The cap was a bit tough to cut using my Cuban crafters double bladed perfecto cutter (I usually use my trusty Palio but alas, it is no where to be found). The cold draw is a bit tight, and pumps out a very sweet tobacco taste, with notes of pine and other floral instances.

First Smoke: It took a little while to get the Tatuaje Black Tubos lit under my triple flame butane torch, but when it did finally light up it was off like a rocket. I was curious about the draw since I wasn’t able to get much from my cold draw and was quite surprised how effortless it was. The Black Tubos produced a great mouth full of thick, brown, lingering smoke with every puff. The stationary smoke fluctuated quite a bit, one minute it was pumping out tons of smoke, the next it was as if the cigar went out. The smoke was pretty pleasantly noted with hints of pine, flowers, and cashew. I love the flavor this cigar started out with. VERY floral, with tons of other flavors mixed in. A bit of cashew, pine, cocoa, lemon, and even just enough pepper to set a nice tingling sensation dancing down the back of my throat. The burn was almost so sharp it was invisible, and dead even. The ash produced by the black Tubos was a very light grey, with bits of darker grey mixed in, very lightly packed, and very pretty. The ash lasted about an inch an a half before falling to its fate on my patio floor. I’ve been really bad about catching ash in my ashtray lately.

Halfway There: just a note, but the Black Tubos burns ridiculously slow in comparison to a lot of the other Tatuaje I have had lately. This is a GREAT thing. Tatuaje cigars are usually milder, with a ton of flavors and usually burn out leaving you craving more. The pepper held its own in the first third and is barely now making its exit. The flavors have now morphed into a smooth woodsy flavor, dominated by floral and spice with a bit of chalkiness mixed in. The Black Tubos is a really dry smoke, make sure you have a refreshment on stand by. The retrohale on this cigar is awesome, very smooth and it helps you pick out even more of the woodsy and cocoa flavors. There is a slight crack forming on the head of this cigar, but nothing too alarming. Its mostly just wrapper and the binder is doing a good job containing any stray smoke. The burn line is producing some very slight waves, and is still incredibly sharp.

Finish: The Tatuaje Black Tubos required a bit more attention towards the end. It didn’t get as bad as too need any touch ups or relights, but make sure you hit this bad boy often or it will go out on you. Towards the end the most dominating flavor is the sweet, sweet organic tobacco flavor I have learned to love from most of Pete’s cigars. It’s almost a trademark for him. The sweet tobacco lies in the hands of soft cocoa, the floral flavors that always stayed evident and center stage, as well as pine and even a bit of pepper that made its return in the final third of this cigar. All in all I felt a very slight nicotine buzz from this cigar. It was smooth all the way through and had only a light harshness into the last inch. All in all, this cigar took about 1.75 hours to finish. Quite impressive.

Overview: This was a great cigar, I loved it from start to finish. I am really happy that it did in fact carry a much slower burn giving me just enough time to sit back and enjoy it. The only Tatuaje Blacks that I have had have been in Tubo form. I know Pete mentioned that he would not be doing Tubos ever again, so I need to start a search for some of the other Black vitolas that are out there. I would purchase these again hands down, and I would eve go as far as saying these stick are definitely box-worthy. Find them, smoke them, enjoy them. They would appease any cigar smoke for a novice, well into any aficionado.

Pairing: I decided to pair this Tatuaje Black Tubos with an all time favorite beer of mine, Delirium Tremens produced by the Huyghe Brewery in Melle. The name Delirium Tremens actually refers to a condition also known as “the shakes”, “the fears”, or “the heebie geebies”. Not to be confused with its sister brew “Delirium Nocturne”, Delirium Tremens is a strong golden ale boasting with a lovely alcohol content of 9%. This fruity, tart, ale produced a very interesting, and almost counterbalancing act for the smooth and shy Tatuaje Black Tubos. The floral hints from the Black Tubos married up very well with the floral aftertaste the Delirium Tremens gives off. Honestly, I would recommend something very soft to pair with the Black Tubos. Water, Tea, or even cranberry juice. Anything with a bit more punch may just overpower the complexity that this cigar contains.

Thanks Aaron.

This cigar was sent to me as part of a package from DannyP6228 on Twitter. It was aged more than 2 years and his only requirement was that I do a review when I got around to smoking it. Danny raves about this cigar and after smoking it I completely understand why. I’ve yet to have any Padrón that has disappointed me, even their inexpensive Padrón Series line is consistently good. Without further delay, let’s get to the review.

Cigar: Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro Principe
Drink: W&J Graham’s 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port
Vitola: Principe (4.5 x 46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted from @DannyP6228 – Retails for around $10
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Nicely box pressed
• Medium brown colour, not as dark as most maduros
• Very firm feel throughout
• Foot looks tightly packed
• Evenly applied single cap
• Double banded with the bottom band having a serialized number
• Some dots all over the wrapper, giving it that nice toothy appeal
• Lots of attractive oils secreting from the wrapper due to it’s age
• Slightly open draw
• Band slid off easily, no extra glue means no damage to the wrapper


Burn:
• Toasting was easy and perfectly even
• Razor sharp burn from the first draw
• No problems staying lit, allowed me to enjoy it nice and slowly
• This is how every cigar should burn, no attention required at all here

Smoke & Ash:
• Big mouthful of smoke right from the first draw
• Resting smoke is minimal and giving off a fantastic cedar aroma
• Very light grey ash, perfectly round, with small white spots from the toothy wrapper
• Absolutely no flaking, ash is picture perfect
• Great ash, hanging on for about 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a very light aroma of cedar and cocoa
• Foot aroma is of cedar with some earthy notes and a touch of spice
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and earthy with a hint of nuts
• Initial draws are extremely smooth with more of the woodsy, cocoa and earthy notes
• Retrohale is also very smooth with just a small bite and a smooth cedar finish
• Hints of coffee and nuts sneak in after the first few draws
• The flavors are so well balanced, each one taking turns being the prominent one between draws
• About an inch in and getting a bit of spice, closest comparison would be something along the lines of nutmeg
• At around the halfway mark, the coffee and nut flavors were the most prominent, still very smooth and enjoyable
• The body has been a smooth mild-medium throughout
• Retrohale started to pick up the coffee notes on the finish, very nice touch
• Picking up a great toasted wood flavor
• With about 1.5 inches left the coffee flavors changed to a slightly stronger espresso type flavor, loving that little change
• Body slowly increasing towards the full range as I reach the end of the cigar
• The body just suddenly went to the very full range and the coffee flavors just bursted out
• Very little harshness, smoked it down to the nub till my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
As with every Padron I’ve had, this one did not disappoint. Great flavors, great burn, great ash, great cigar. The price range on these is a little high but well worth it. I’m sure the extra age on this one helped. If you haven’t tried the 1964 or 1926 lines by Padron I definitely recommend trying them out.

Pairings:
My Port went perfectly with this cigar. The body of the pairings matched up perfectly and I would suggest trying it to anyone out there. Another good pairing could be a nice strong coffee, but I will strongly suggest a good Tawny Port!

The Good Stuff: The Litto Gomez line is poperly named after their creator (Litto Gomez Diez), and were released in 2004 to celebrate La Flor Dominicana’s 10th anniversary. Going against much speculation the Litto Gomez is one of the very few 100% dominican blended cigars due to finding a usable binder, filler, and wrapper is very difficult in the Dominican region. Litto Gomez joins the ranks of few cigars that have been able to pull this feat off correctly such as, Arturo Fuente Opus X and La Aurora 100 anos. This particular stick was sent over to me by our friends at Cigars Direct. The vitola that I will be reviewing today will be the Cubano, one of the 5 vitolas made for this blend.

Size: 5 x 50  -  Wrapper: Dominican  -  Binder/Filler: Dominican  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Litto Gomez sports a thick, and semi hard wrapper. The wrapper itself is a consistent tan, with almost an orange hue to it topped off with a beautiful rounded triple cap. There is only one major vein running 90% of the length of the body of the cigar.  As far as soft spots go the Litto Gomez is free of softness, and any other major construction flaws.  The Litto Gomez is banded by a beautiful maroon and gold embossed band with the words “Litto Gomez Diez” and his initials along with  “Dominican Puro – 2009”. It’s a gorgeous band. The wrapper gives off a nice, sweet, birch wood scent with hints of pepper and cocoa. The foot of the cigar gives off an almost straight up cocoa aroma with a bit of nuts mixed in.  The Litto Gomez clipped just nicely with my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw through some surprising flavors my way. A cinnamon – bread, very doughy and wheaty, with cocoa and raw tobacco aftertastes.

First Smoke: The Litto Gomez starts off with a massive blast of pepper before mellowing out to a smooth, creamy, woodsy taste with a ton of sweet tobacco aftertaste along with just enough pepper to tickle my lips, tongue, and back of the throat.  The draw is a bit tight, but once I get it going it produces quite a lasting amount of thick brownish, blue smoke. The Litto Gomez give off an incredible amount of stationary smoke, luckily in this case its very pleasant smelling with notes of sweet tobacco and even an almost perfume-like afterthought. The burline is a bit thicker than I anticipated, and there are about two little waves that seem to have a mind of their own. The ash produced by the Litto Gomez is a bit flaky, but a brilliant white with noticeable dark grey spots. The ash only lasted a little over an inch before giving way on my patio.

Halfway There: Huge turn of events going into the second third of the Litto Gomez. The draw opened up, the flavors became much more intense, the burn corrected itself, and the burnline became razor sharp. I can’t remember the last time I smoked a cigar with such low maintenance. The most pleasant change-up was the draw. The Litto Gomez is now producing this massive, lingering, thick cloud of angry looking smoke. The flavor became a much more pronounced, and robust woodsy flavor with spicy undertones. The retrohale really helped pull the spice notes out without burning a hole through my nasal passage. Surprisingly I am already starting to get a heck of a nicotine kick off this cigar. Don’t let the smoothness fool you, this is a strong smoke.

Finish: Ahh yes, the infamous Nicotine kick I haven’t experienced lately. Although I enjoy stronger cigars, this one was a little overbearing and left me slightly light headed. Along with the nicotine kick came a bit of harshness. Nothing too bad, but it is apparent . The flavors remained consistent with the second third with wood being the dominant flavor, backed by spice, and tobacco. I even got a bit of a chalkiness into the final inch. The burn stayed impressive, correcting itself and burning clean, thin, and even all the way through.

Overview: Boy was this a dry smoke. Make sure you have something to drink when taking on the Litto Gomez. In my opinion, this stick built me up, but left me hanging, wanting something more. I think a lot of this was due to how dry, and harsh the cigar ended. The flavors were great, burn was great, but overall experience was par at best. I would totally recommend picking up a few of these if you stumble across them, but hesitate saying they are box-worthy.

Pairing: The Litto Gomez was paired with some St. Clair Vineyards  Port. This port is an award winning, dark red with in your face flavors of plum, black current, and pepper. The port finishes off warm with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, raspberry, and black cherry. It was an excellent pairing and I think Daniel will be proud of me, choosing wine over beer on this one. If I was to pair this with a beer, I think I would choose something really hoppy, such as an IPA, or a Trippel. The strong woodsy flavor needs a complimenting strong component to knock it back down to earth.