Now if you havn’t heard of Movember before let me give you a brief summary pulled from their website:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

The whole event started a few years ago in Australia and has quickly become a global phenomenon. I work frequently with people across the globe at the office and I’m hard-pressed to find someone that hasn’t heard of Movember before. In 2010 alone this movement raised well over $70 million dollars for Prostate Cancer and Men’s Health research!

So now you’re all wondering, what do I do and what can I win? To help promote this awesome event I’m giving away this awesome 5 pack of cigars. Make a donation here and you could win the following:

Here’s a list of the cigars and links to the reviews if we have it on our site:
-Arturo Fuente Opus X Perfecxion No. 5
-E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut Robusto
-Cohiba Siglo VI (box date is from 2006!)
-Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”
-San Cristobal Robusto

What I will be doing is posting an update every week for the “Status update” of my ‘Mo’. Cheap shots are permitted, but only if you donate first! lol

So how do you win the cigars? Here are the 3 ways to gain entries for this contest:
1. Visit my Movember page and make a donation. You will earn 1 ENTRY FOR EVERY DOLLAR YOU DONATE!
2. “Like” us on our facebook page to get 1 entry (You already have the entry if you’ve “liked” us before)
3. Post this on Facebook or Tweet this twitter, make sure to mention me or Casas Fumando in it: “Casas Fumando is giving away FREE cigars and raising Movember money for Charity, go here and donate! http://wp.me/pNC63-1op”

So please use the donate option and let’s raise some money! If we get a good amount of response from this we will be adding additional prizes and I’ll let you know if that’s happening in one of my weekly updates. Keep a lookout for those! the contest will run until the end of November but please get your donations in early!

So please visit my “Mo Space” page here and donate, it’s all for a great cause! And without further delay, here is my launch day picture for week 1, freshly shaven and ready to grow my Mo’!

I really enjoy setting these up. As Tony mentioned, it allows you to pick up a cigar and smoke it with no biases on brand/wrapper/blender/price. When you think about it, there are a lot of things that can affect your opinion that you may not even realize. It could be a cigar you’ve had before, or one you’ve never tried. Sometimes it’ll confirm your first impressions or maybe introduce you to a new brand that you would have otherwise overlooked at the B&M.

This set of blind cigars comes from dk_fxn, you can find him on twitter @dk_fxn. He sent me the following 5 cigars as well as bombed me with some other awesome smokes such as an AF Shark, Opus X and an Illusione culebra. He even had the creativity to name them all uniquely. Can anyone tell me the link between all the cigar names?? Thank very much for the bonus sticks dk_fxn! Now let’s get on to these reviews. I did them in short paragraph’s and jotted them down as I smoked them, so it’s all based on what I thought at that exact moment. Hope you enjoy!

“Take This Bottle”

A toro shaped cigar measuring in around 6 x 48. The wrapper is a nice medium shade of brown, not quite maduro but not quite Connecticut, maybe a Habano? It’s clearly constructed and has no major veins. The aroma on wrapper and foot is mostly hay/barnyard and pre-light draw leaves a big spice kick on my lips.

The toasting was nice and easy and the initial draws brought flavors of toasted cedar and a bit of leather added to the peppery spice which is actually very minor at this point. The spice settled right down after an inch and a nice toasted cedar has taken control with a bit of earthiness and nuttiness mixed in there. Body starting off fairly mild but close to the medium threshold.

The ash on this cigar is very nice, it’s white, strong and clean. It lasted nearly two inches before I tapped it off. Retrohale has been bite-free with a smooth cedar finish since the start. I’m surprised more spice didn’t come through on this since i was expecting a lot of spiciness after the pre-light draw. The cigar has also been a smoke machine since the start, never letting me down and has been burning razor sharp through the first half.

Some more spice came into play just past the halfway mark, like a peppery nutmeg type of spice. the body and spice developed a bit more near the end but it stayed with a nice cedar flavor straight to the end with no bitterness, very enjoyable cigar!

REVEAL: Cain F Toro

Post-Reveal Notes: I’ve only previously had the Cain Maduro and Habano and both were quite powerful. This one however only barely passed medium. I’m not sure if it had some age on it or what it was, but is was a nice smooth and spicy cigar. Very surprised at this one.

“EvidenCe”

A Grand Robusto or maybe 6×60 shaped cigar with a nice dark cinnamon colored wrapper. It’s fairly smooth with a couple veins but nothing that looks problematic. The wrapper has a very nice oily sheen to it and is mostly hay/barnyard scented. The foot has a very nice aroma of cedar, barnyard and a bit tartiness. The prelight draw has a nice cedar flavor with some raw nutmeg and cinnamon spices.

Initial draws are very very peppery with an undertone of cedar. The pepper-bomb died down shortly after and balanced nicely with the cedar, also getting a sort of toasted bread note and a nice creamy finish. The ash is a bit messy, I needed to tap it off after an inch the first time. I’m also having some burn issues where the cigar doesn’t stay totally lit and I have to purge or touch up, I’m blaming it on the weather since it’s -6C (about 22F) outside right now.

The cigar has a nice bite on the retrohale, nothing over powering, and a smooth creamy finish. It started off just about medium and is holding steady so far. At about the halfway mark the flavors haven’t changed a whole lot but that’s ok cause I’m enjoying them. They are well balanced and alternating turns being the most prominent, the toasted bready flavor is especially nice.

Passing the halfway mark and the peppery spice is really picking up, as is the body. In the full range now. The creaminess is gone and getting some leather in the mix with a bit or earthiness. The bite on the retrohale picked up as well with a cedar finish. The cedar eventually turned to a burning wood flavor, not really in a bad way, just different. It finished nice and full with the pepper and burning woodsiness balancing nicely.

REVEAL: Camacho Corojo

Post-Reveal Notes: This is one of the cigars that I would normally overlook in the B&M. The peppery flavors are not exactly up my alley but I can say that this was a well balanced cigar and would recommend to people who enjoy the fuller and more peppery-type cigars.

“Easy”

The “Easy” is a Corona shaped cigar with a tapered cap at the head. It has a rough appearance with some bumpiness and rough lines, makes it appear old. There’s one section with some major veins and a knot running through most of the cigar, hopefully they won’t cause any problems. The wrapper has very faint aroma, maybe of just some hay/tobacco and foot is pretty much the same since it’s a shaggy so I can’t really get a good aroma off the filler.

Initial draws and construction seem to be pointing my guess towards a Cuban but I’m not sure. I got one very interesting flavor here that I think I’ve never had before. While toasting and initial draws I got a Pine taste. Was actually very good paired with some cedar and spice. Spice quickly took a backseat to the cedar with a smooth leather and clove finish. So far going very well.

Construction has been perfect, no burn issues at all and ash is a nice light grey color and holding steady just past an inch each time. Body is fairly mild/medium and retrohale his a tiny little spice bite and a cedar finish. Lots of smoke on each draw.

As I approach half-way some more spice is making an appearance, getting a bit of pepper and some saltiness. Shortly after the spice took a back seat again while the saltiness stayed and some dried fruit flavors snuck in, I’m loving all the subtle flavor changes here.

The flavors kept taking turns to the end with only a hint of bitterness but nothing off-putting. This cigar had it all, construction, burn, and a nice variety of flavors. It was very similar to some run-of-the-mill/basic Cubans I’ve had, if its not a cuban they did a damn good job making it taste like one. It wasn’t overly complex but a good quality smoke, definitely enjoyable.

REVEAL: Arturo Fuente Curly Head

Post Reveal Note: A budget Arturo Fuente? They hit this one on the head! I found them online for about $2 or less. Definitely a great purchase and an easy cigar to hand out to friends who aren’t smokers. I think this will make a perfect choice for a lot of situations, even when you’re not paying it much attention. From some discussions I’ve had about this cigar, seems a lot of people overlook them. I’ve personally never seen them but they are definitely on my radar now. Perfect cigar to throw into a blind tasting!

“Midlife Crisis”

A corona sized cigar with another oddly tapered, or maybe pointed, head. The wrapper is a nice mild chocolate color with lots of definition but no major veins. The wrapper gives off a sweet tobacco and barnyard aroma, the foot is closed with wrapper lead so not much of a difference in aroma there. Pre-light draw is mostly cedar with a bit of spice on the lips.

Had a bit of a tough time getting this lit. Initial draws are packed with cedar with some subtle coffee notes. The cigar is leaving a dryness on the back of my throat that I’m not too fond of. There’s not much interesting going on in the retrohale right now, very small bite and some cedar/tobacco flavors. Body is almost in the medium range for me so far.

Having a hard time keeping the cigar lit, keeps tunneling on me. The current temperature out here of about 17F might have something to do with that… The coffee flavors have developed a little more and I’m getting some nutmeg type spices. a nice change. Unfortunately the dryness on the back of my throat is still an issue but nothing to toss this cigar away for.

Around the half-way point some of the dryness seemed to stop, not completely but much improved. The coffee flavors developed a bit more into a nice espresso type of note and some leather and sweetness came into the mix. The body is slowing building up and the bite on the retrohale got a little more aggressive too but with a nice espresso finish. The burn also got much better in the last half.

With about two inches left I’m getting a new flavor I can’t quite pinpoint that is very tasty. It’s almost like maybe freshly baked goods, interesting! Definitely some more woodsy flavors, nutmeg and the espresso is turning into a bit of a bitter espresso, but not in a bad way. It finished off with mostly a sweet and bitter espresso flavor. Just an awesome finish, it was so tasty it could easily be compared to drinking a nice hot espresso. I kept expecting it to turn bitter but it never happened. Finished super smooth and damn tasty.

I have absolutely no guess on this one. It started off decent with some straightforward flavors and a dryness on my throat but really started to shine about halfway in. I can’t stress how good the last 2 inches was, tons of flavor and amazingly smooth finish.

REVEAL: Tatuaje Black Jar Release

Post Reveal Notes: A Tatuaje Black! Awesome! A Very rare gem and I’m very glad I had the chance to try it. Thanks so much for this one DK! Even though the start wasn’t as exciting the finish was just fantastic!

Click here to compare to Tony’s review of the Tatuaje Black OG Jar Release

“Last Cup of Sorrow”

A nice looking Grand Corona sized cigar with an interesting looking wrapper. The wrapper has lots of definition to it. Each vein, no matter how small, seems highlighted in a light brown color against the wrapper mainly milk-chocolately wrapper. The head is finished with a pigtail and there are definitely a few soft spots along the cigars body. The wrapper gives off an aroma of sweet cocoa while the foot is more barnyard scented with some hints of spice.

Pre-light draw is more barnyard and a touch of spice. Initial draws offer me a blast of pepper with some subtle coffee notes. I think there may be a Pepin influence going on here… The spice slowly started fading as the cigar progressed and the coffee notes made a more prominant appearence with nutmeg-life spice. Burn has been razor sharp since lighting. The ash is also very nice and clean and holds on just past an inch.

The cigar seems to be right at the edge of medium so far with a nice bite and cedar finish on the retrohale. At about the half-way point the pepper is still kicking around with the coffee and nutmeg. Hasn’t changed much but I’m enjoying the current balance. The pepper fades in and out of strength now and then, but it’s always there.

As I got into the last third the pepper and body both kicked it up a notch. The coffee and nutmeg is still around but it’s taking a backseat to the pepper. Can’t say I’ve had this specific cigar before but I’m almost 100% sure it’s a Pepin blend, maybe one of the 601 or DPG lines.

REVEAL: Ashton Benchmade Cazadore

Post-Reveal Notes: Looks like I was right! The infamous Pepin definitely did have a hand in blending these cigars. They are super budget friendly and pack an interesting mix of flavors. I’ve heard about them but always overlooked them as “just another budget cigar”. But they can definitely stand alone as a good smoke!

So if you actually made it down this far thanks for reading! This was yet another fun Blind Review Experience! Tony and I were thinking of setting up a blind review with some of our readers, would anyone be interested in participating? Let us know via comments or even email us directly!

So today we have a cigar I’ve wanted to try for awhile. It’s the Arturo Fuente Hemingway “Best Seller”. This Figurado shaped cigar was sent to us by our friends of at CigarsDirect.com. They carry a wide variety of the Hemingway line which can be seen at this link. The Cigars Direct link has a great explanation of how the Hemingway series came to be. They also have a wide variety of accessories available to compliment anyone’s collection.

I won’t get too much into the story of the Hemingway series since it’s available at the link above, but needless to say, literary aficionados should have an idea of where the names come from. You can also read more about the Arturo Fuente company and family by visiting their site The Hemingway series does include a wide variety of vitolas all with unique names and most are available in a maduro version. The “Best Seller” is one that is available in Maduro but the one being reviewed today is with a natural Cameroon wrapper.

Cigar: Arturo Fuente Hemingway “Best Seller”
Drink: Havana Club Silver Dry Rum (Mixed with coke and on the rocks)
Vitola: Figurado (4.875 x 46/60)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $9.99 from Cigarsdirect.com
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Very neatly made with a perfect slow taper from the foot to the cap
• A quick taper also on the foot
• No major veins throughout the wrapper
• A nice medium cinnamon-brown tone to the wrapper
• Can’t really tell if the foot is packed well but the cigar is firm and even throughout with just a tiny spring
• Cleanly applied triple cap
• Cut was clean and even
• First couple of draws were tight due to the fast-tapered foot but it quickly opened up to a perfect draw
• Band slid off effortlessly

Burn:
• Toasting was even, quick and easy since I only had to light the small tapered end
• Burned through the tapered foot evenly and without any problems
• There was a small wave in the burn but it never got worse so I’m going to blame a slightly off lighting job on my part
• The wavy burn ended up correcting itself around the halfway mark and smoothly sailed to the nub after that
• The cigar is burning nice and slow without the need for extra attention, staying lit very easily
• Good burn time on this smaller vitola

Smoke & Ash:
• Started off with very little smoke but once I passed the tapered part of the foot I was getting bit mouthfuls of smoke
• A good amount of resting smoke the gives off a fresh cedar aroma
• The ash is nice and strong, holding well past the first inch, even with the weaker tapered foot holding on
• First ash held on for nearly 2 inches before gracefully falling off in the ash tray

Tasting Notes:
• Dry aroma is very woodsy and earthy with hints of cedar
• Foot is a little small to get a good aroma from, smells the same as the wrapper
• Pre-light draw is woodsy with some nutmeg and pepper spice on the lips
• Initial draws are very earthy and woodsy with a but of a dry finish
• Body is starting off fairly mild
• Retrohale has some interesting citrus flavor to it and an amazing finish, almost like inhaling the aroma off a fresh batch of vanilla sugar cookies
• After passing tapered foot the flavors opened up a bit more, I’m getting hints of vanilla and a cinnamon/nutmeg spice to compliment the cedar and earthy tones
• At about the halfway point the cigar started to slowly get more body to it coming up to a medium or so
• After the ash fell off, the woodsy/cedar and earthy tones really took prominence in the flavor department with some of the spices making an appearance here and there
• As I approach the last 1.5 inches, I’m getting some pepper spice in the flavor profile as well
• The retrohale has also made a big change, adding some bite and bringing the the cedar flavor, the sugar cookie finish is just about gone but damn it was a nice touch
• Only had to purge this cigar once near the nub and got very minimal harshness

Final Thoughts:
This was a really good cigar! I usually only retrohale ever 4 or 5 draws but the retrohale was so interesting on this one that I found myself doing it nearly every draw. If you don’t retrohale, I think you’d miss most of the complexity in this short vitola. I will caution you to smoke this cigar nice and slow and take your time. I found that taking too many draws made the cigar heat up too much and a lot of it’s flavor was lost. Burn, construction, ash, and flavor were all spot on in this cigar. Most of the Hemingway line is fairly pricey, this particular vitola comes in at a lower price and if you take your time smoking it and enjoy it you will definitely get your money’s worth. Tony had a problem with the band on his Arturo Fuente Opus X Perfecxion No. 5 but mine slid off easily and did not damage the wrapper at all.
Considering this is a fairly small vitola, the change in the flavor profile was pretty dramatic past the halfway mark and the body ramped up at a perfect rate. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more of these, I enjoyed i quite a bit.

Pairings:
Since I’ve been out of town on vacation seems I was a bit low on good beers, scotch and port. I decided to try something different. I’ve enjoyed a lot of different Rums but I always seem to go back to Havana club as my go to bottle. Don’t get me wrong though, there are some much better Rums out there, but for the price this one seems to hit the spot just right. I know a lot of people enjoy their cigars with Rum, either on the rocks or mixed with coke. I tried it both ways and with this cigar the mix with coke seemed to fit a bit better. I think this would go very well with a nice Amber ale or some port. A nice coffee or just diet soda would also go well here.

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.

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.