At the start of 2014, I began tracking each and every cigar I have smoked. Well, I may have missed one or two. Based on discussions I’ve seen on Twitter and questions on this site and others, I decided to compile some information that I thought you might find interesting.

February & March 2015 Recap

Number of Cigars Smoked: 32

Of those smoked:

• Purchased: 7 or 22%
• Gifted: 5 or 16%
• Samples Provided: 19 or 59%
• Unknown: 1 or 3%

Of those purchased:

• Brick & Mortar: 3 or 43%
• Online: 4 or 57%

The Pipe Corner

I have been trying my hand in the pipe world for the last 8 months or so. Rather than getting lost in the unending brands and types of tobaccos available, I reached out to people who are well versed in pipe tobaccos. Going with the recommendation of trusted individuals was much more fruitful than purchasing tobaccos based on the name or design alone. While I am not quite ready to publish a review , I wanted to share with you a few of the tobaccos I have enjoyed the last couple of months.

• Rattray’s Marlin Flake by Kohlhase & Kopp
  • Blend: Virginia/Perique
  • Tobaccos: Black Cavendish, Perique, and Virginia
• Dunhill Flake by Scandinavian Tobacco Group
  • Blend: Virginia
  • Tobaccos: Virginia
• GL Pease Gaslight by Cornell & Deihl
  • Blend: English
  • Tobaccos: Latakia, Orientals, and Virginia

March Cigar Reviews

Espinosa Cigars – Sensei’s Senational Sarsaparilla

There are very few cigars coming out of La Zona that I do not hold in high regard. However, I am split on Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla. If the cigar smoked the entire length as it did in the final third, I would have absolutely zero complaints. Everything about the final third with the rich cedar and natural tobacco sweetness made it an absolute treat. The first and second thirds lacked the balance and complexity of the final third.

United Cigar Group – Garofalo

As I have mentioned in past reviews, I rarely smoke Connecticut shade cigars. While there are few exceptions, the flavors profile just does not suit me. Well, the Garofalo by United Cigar is another cigar to add to my exceptions list. Everything about this cigar works for me. Solid performance, full flavors, and a complex profile. For a price under $7, this is an easy buy in my opinion.

Rocky Patel – Nicaraguan, a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive

The charred wood was intriguing at the beginning, but was a bit much by the end of the Rocky Patel Nicaraguan. I would say a smaller ring gauge of the Nicaraguan would help, but considering the Toro is the smallest in the line-up that seems out of question. Overall, I enjoyed smoking the cigar but would have been happy to close out the cigar 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Tony’s Reviews

Espinosa Cigars – Alibi, Backroom Series

The Espinosa Alibi is a solid cigar in every category. I usually gravitate towards full-bodied cigars and this is the perfect example on full-bodied done right. The flavors are bold, yet balanced while I wasn’t overpowered by the higher strength this cigar yields. The size chosen is incredible as I usually go for smaller ring gauges as I feel the wrapper, in most cases, delivers more of the flavors I look for.

Guayacan Sabor de Esteli Maduro

The Guayacan Sabor de Esteli is a good cigar, but it does have it’s nuances. First, that tartness was a bit much for me. While that’s strictly subjective something that isn’t is the massive amounts of sap that built up on both samples I smoked. The sap appeared a little more than halfway end requiring me to frequently clip the cap to get rid of it. Some time in the humidor may do wonders for this cigar as the tartness would mellow out and the sap would be absorbed. I’ve smoked and loved the natural version of this cigar and at this point would recommend that one over this cigar, but I’ll have to revisit this one in a few months to see how it shapes up with a bit of age.

Cubanacan Maduro

I wasn’t expecting the Cubanacan Maduro to be as strong as it was, and it was a pleasant surprise. The cigar offers a great balance of bold flavors, and strength without going overboard in either direction. The flavors are just complex enough to keep me on my toes, but not overdone. The smoking experience is top-notch while the price point is well under what I’d shell out for the stick making it very box-worthy and a welcomed addition to my regular rotation

Crux Cigars – Crux Passport Half Corona

The Passport is a high quality, affordable, small format cigar that delivers on every level. It’s got some deep, bold flavors, some great strength, and perfect construction which results in a great cigar smoking experience.

Guest Reviews by Jeff Oda

Espinosa Cigars – Mi Barrio

While the MSRP for singles may seem high, the box prices, and the fact that these are frequently on sale at Famous and up for grabs on Cigar Monster for significantly lower prices (and I mean in the $4-$5 range), makes the Mi Barrio a cigar well worth looking into.  I know that I will keep grabbing five-packs at least to keep in my humidor.

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The Good Stuff:

Cubanacan is a company who has slowly crept their way into our humidors over the course of the last few years. In the recent year the company has really stepped their game up in terms of sales force and have been focusing on getting their cigars into the hands of smokers who haven’t been witness to the brand before in the past. I for one, would love to see more of these cigars in our very mass-market filled area. Cubanacan is responsible for four different brands. The core, Cubanacan lines, HR, Soneros, Mederos. and Here is a bit of history on the company taken from their website:

As long as there have been people, there have been stories. From the stories told in paintings on ancient caves to the family stories shared around the table, stories make up our history and guide our traditions. Cubanacan cigars embraces not only tradition, but strives to tell our story in every cigar.

Our tale begins in the rich tobacco history of Cuba. As the stories of tradition and quality were passed from generation to generation, that tradition was carried forward to the fertile soil of Esteli and Jalapa Nicaragua in 2006 where we started to grow our own tobacco. Shortly after we established our factory in Esteli with just five pairs of rollers set out to create cigars that will share our story with the world.

The name Cubanacan was chosen for it’s vibrant history and the story behind it’s meaning. Cubanacan means “where fertile land is abundant” and is derived from tobacco traditions that predate Cuba itself. The story of Cubanacan is not just one of our past, but one that is still being written.

Our goal is not just to be the storyteller, but to have each person that enjoys our cigar help write the next part of our tale. A story of tradition, pride in our quality, and an appreciation for those that carry our story forward.

The Cubanacan Maduro starts out with an Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper over a Ecuadorian Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers from both the Jalapa and Esteli regions. The cigars all comes in boxes of 20 and are offered in six different formats: Chatos (4.5 x 42), Rothchilds (5 x 50), Piramide (6.12 x 52), Gordo (6 x 60), Churchills (7 x 50) and the Lonsdale (6.5 x 42) which range from $5.90 to $8.90 a stick. Nate McIntyre, the Eastern US Sales Manager for Cubanacan was kind enough to hook us up with a few of the Rothchilds for review.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan from Jalapa and Esteli
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $6.90
Pairing: Ballast Point Victory at Sea (Imperial Porter 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Cubanacan Maduro carried ones of the most beautiful wrappers I have ever seen. It starts with a very rich, dark, consistent brown wrapper with some great almost-black webbing scattered throughout the leaf. The wrapper gleams of oils along it’s toothy, sandpaper-like texture. The wrapper itself is very thick, and very hard while the cigar has almost no give as I squeeze it between my fingers. There are a few softer areas around the foot of the cigar, but nothing concerning. The Cubanacan Maduro is polished off with a perfectly round double cap and a black, white, and copper label sporting the “Cubanacan” crest. Some of the past Maduro blends I have seen carry the standard white label, but all the rothchilde formats that I have seen carry the black. I’m not sure if this is a size differential or if Cubanacan will carry the black labels on the Maduro line going forward. Either way, both bands carry the wording “Maduro” just underneath the crest so you’ll know exactly what you’re smoking.

The wrapper on the Cubanacan Maduro unleashed a massively pungent mixture of deep wood and natural tobacco while the foot of the cigar has a much spicier/peppery character. The cap cut clean and easy using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a really musky mixture of strong tobacco, deep spice, and lots of oakiness.

First Third:

The Cubanacan Maduro starts out with a nice pepper splash which quickly quiets down revealing some deep oakiness, lots of spice, raisin, coffee, and some musky leather. The draw is perfect despite being extremely tightly packed. Each puff releases a massive cloud of thick, white smoke. The Cubanacan Maduro also unleashes tons of stationary smoke as you can actually see the cigar burning the oils off the wrapper as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor sharp and dead even leaving behind a trail of compacted medium gray ash which held on for a little over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Cubanacan Maduro and the flavors are still rocking away leading with some bold spice, musk, leather and coffee while some nice toffee has come into play with an oaky finish. The retrohale was a lot shaper than I was expecting as it coats my nasal passage with a sharp spice and tons of leather and oak. A Few larger waves have started to form towards the end of the second third, but nothing worth pulling my lighter out for. I venture into the final third with a nice little nicotine kick already present.

Finish:

The further I get into the Cubanacan Maduro the deeper and richer the flavors become. Into the final third the cigar pumps out deep musk and spice over dark chocolate, coffee, and caramel. The pepper has been trying to fight it’s way back into the mix too but it’s very subtle. I smoked this bad boy down to the very nub and experience no harshness at all. The burn line finished rather clean and sharp and despite a few waves I never once had to reach for my lighter. This is a bold, and powerful cigar that left me with a decent nicotine kick after the hour and a half it took to smoke it.

Overview:

I wasn’t expecting the Cubanacan Maduro to be as strong as it was, and it was a pleasant surprise. The cigar offers a great balance of bold flavors, and strength without going overboard in either direction. The flavors are just complex enough to keep me on my toes, but not overdone. The smoking experience is top-notch while the price point is well under what I’d shell out for the stick making it very box-worthy and a welcomed addition to my regular rotation. Now let’s get these in my local shops yeah?

Pairing:

Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea isn’t a stranger to Casas Fumando. It’s probably one of my favorite all-time porters, and one of my favorite beers in general to pair with cigars. The Victory at Sea is a 10% ABV Imperial Porter brewed with coffee and vanilla at the Ballast Point brewery in San Diego California. It’s a deep porter leading with some subtle tartness, spice, roasted malt, and very sweet coffee with a light mouthfeel finishing crisp and sweet with milk and vanilla and a coffee aftertaste. The spice, tart, coffee and malt paired wonderfully with the existing flavors in the Cubanacan Maduro while the sweetness added more greatness to an already great cigar.

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