We will make this contest simple. First, please make sure you are 18 years or older before you decide to enter. That’s a given. Next, there will be 4 ways to enter the contest. If you do all 4 of the following tasks you will be entered 4 different times. If you do only one, you will be entered only once. Got it? Good. Here’s what you can do:

1)   Like us on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/casasfumando – if you already like us, you’re already entered)
2)   Share this article on your Facebook wall. (props if you ask you friends to follow us on Facebook. It will be easier for me to track them that way)
3)   Tweet your friends and let them know you entered to win a box of Romeo y Julieta from us. (Say whatever you want as long as you include the link and “@tonycasas” so I can track them)
4)   Comment below. (props if your comment involves Jeremy’s slackerness in any way)

The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, December 13^th, cause, well, it’s Friday the 13^th. I’ll ship these bad boys out the following Monday so that you will be able to smoke them for the holidays. I promise not to lick any.

Simple right? Now get to it. I want to give these cigars away.

The post Win a full box of Romeo y Julieta RyJ from Casas Fumando! appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

(Sorry Lou, I just couldn’t get rid of the goatee! lol)

Before announcing all our winners, I’d like to send a big thanks to Paul Maldonado of The Maldonado Dynasty for all of his awesome support during the fund raiser and his generous donation of a box of “The Mogul”. As you know by know, we’ll be giving away 5-packs of “The Mogul” cigars to 4 lucky winners along with a 5-pack form my personal humidor. My sincerest thanks goes out to you Paul!

Paul Maldonado would also like to share a short message with all our readers, here’s what he has to say:

The Maldonado Dynasty of Beverly Hills would like to thank Tony Casas and Daniel T. at Casas Fumando for offering us this great opportunity to contribute in the fight against cancer. We thank all of you who supported Daniel in this noble campaign and congratulate the Winners! Enjoy our Ultra-Luxurious, Super-Premium cigar “The Mogul,” and keep up with The Maldonado Dynasty at MaldonadoDynasty.com, “Always demand the finest.”

We also wish to announce that we are in the middle of planning our tour schedule for 2012 and look forward to meeting you in person soon. We are also very proud to announce that The Maldonado Black & White Jazz Affair benefiting charities will be hosted in a limited engagement across major U.S. cities.

Respectfully,
Paul Maldonado
President/C.E.O.

Thank you for the kind words Paul!
Now without further adieu, let’s get to the prizes!

Prize #1: 5-pack from Daniel’s Personal Humidor

I mentioned in my Week 1 post(read it here) that I would be giving away 5 cigars of my own to a random person.
The winner of this prize is: Lou Bozzelli

Prize #2: 5-pack of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

The first prize of “The Mogul” goes to the person who kindly donated the most amount of money to my Movember campaign. Clocking in at a SUPER generous $50…
The winner of this prize is:Brent Cossairt

Prize #3: 5-pack of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

This prize goes to the person who came up with the best name for my stash, you can see them posted in the comments section of my Week 2 and Week 4 updates. Paul was given the honor of choosing from the hilarious list of names. The name chosen as the best was “The Mo’Gul” and Paul said that it ties everything in well with the Movember Campaign and the cigar name. Well done! We had some funny ones that I’ll post at the bottom for a good laugh. So who came up with that name…
The winner of this prize is:Jeff Oda

Prize #4: 5-pack of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

This prize pack winner was chosen at random from the list of people who generously donated to my Movember Campaign.
The winner of this prize is:Craig Vanderslice

Prize #5: 5-pack of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

Similar to the above, this prize pack winner was also chosen at random from the list of people who generously donated to my Movember Campaign.
The winner of this prize is:Charlie Greenbacker

For all the winners, please email CasasFumando[at]gmail.com with your address. I want to send out a giant THANK YOU to everyone who supported me! As one final laugh for the Movember campaign, I leave you with the awesome Stash names that you all came up with and my favorite picture from Movember.

• The Conquistador
• Lil Danny boy
• IL Dulce
• The Larry-Curly
• Dalamoustachio
• The Toronto Tickler
• The ‘Mo’-gul
• The ‘Stache With Te’mos
• The Little Mo-maid
• The Magnum
• The Mooooostache
• The Yosemite Sam

The post Movember Fundraiser/Contest Winners! appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

As you should know by now, our friend Paul from The Maldonado Dynasty has graciously donated a whole box of “The Mogul” cigars to help raise money for my Movember campaign. Review of “The Mogul” can be found here. Just yesterday, he also posted a VERY interesting article/interview about his history and how The Maldonado Dynasty came to be. I highly suggest giving it a read over here: http://www.maldonadodynasty.com/dawn-of-a-dynasty.html

Don’t forget that you can also pick up a sampler pack or a box of “The Mogul” directly from the Maldonado Dynasty website: http://www.maldonadodynasty.com/The-Mogul.html

Now here’s a nice summary of how you can win one of the 5 prizes we have up for grabs:
1. Donate to my Movember campaign and help raise funds for Cancer Research
2. “Like” Casas Fumando on Facebook
3. Make up an awesome name for my Stash! See some names from the Week 2 post here

And of course, a quick reminder of the prizes up for grabs:
1. 4 prizes containing a 5-pack of Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” Cigars
2. An awesome prize of 5 specially selected cigars from my humidor

So let’s get some more donations in before Movember officially ends next week. Every little bit helps and every little bit is truly appreciated. Hit up my Mo’ Space page and make a donation now! Lots of cigars are up for grabs so make sure you get your entry in!

The post Movember Week 4 – Sponsored by The Maldonado Dynasty appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

As of this morning, I’m only $27 short of hitting the $500 milestone! Who’s gonna help push me over the hump?!?! Here’s the link again, make sure to get to Donating! http://www.movember.com/m/1819178 As mentioned, the local support for Movember is awesome. I was at a wedding this weekend and there were tons of people sporting a sweet stash. It was like a 70’s high school reunion or something! And in proper form, I decided to “Suit Up!” for the wedding. Here’s my best Barney Stinson impression for everyone!

Isn’t that picture Legen- wait for it…… dary?! (btw, if you’ve never watched the TV show “How I Met your Mother”, the above joke will be completely lost on you, sorry! lol)
And as a friendly reminder, let’s recap the awesome prizes up for grabs!

Thanks again to Paul from the Maldonado Dynasty for donating this awesome box of cigars to give away for this great fundraiser. Make sure to read this post for the rules on winning one of these prize packs.
And a reminder that “The Mogul” cigars are available for sale as a box or sampler pack directly on the Maldonado Dynasty website

The next prize is…

I’m donating these out of the goodness of my heart to help raise some Mo’ money! Here’s the post with the rules on how you can win this great prize!

So best of luck to everyone, and let’s get some more money raised for this awesome cause! Thanks for everyone’s support so far! And just in case you missed my 1000000000000 links above, here’s the link one more time! haha http://www.movember.com/m/1819178

The post Movember Week 3 – Still time to Donate and Win some Maldonado Cigars! appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I’ve raised over $400 already and I hope to keep pushing on! If you haven’t donated on my Movember page yet, please be sure to do so! You will get entry to win a fantastic cigar prize pack for every dollar you donate. Make sure to read the contest post I made last week to see what you could win.

Now for this weeks EXCITING NEWS! Paul Maldonado of the Maldonado Dynasty contacted me last week after seeing my initiative on the Movember Campaign. He was very impressed and proud that I was giving away a Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” as part of my awesome prize pack for the Movember Contest that he went ahead and one-upped me! Paul is sending us an ENTIRE BOX OF “THE MOGUL” TO GIVEAWAY as part of my Movember Campaign!!! How awesome is that?! Thanks so much to Paul and the Maldonado Dynasty for offering up this awesome bonus for such a great cause.

Paul also gave me a little news to give out to our faithful readers. If you haven’t read about “The Mogul” yet, be sure to check out my review I posted awhile back. It’s clear to see I really enjoyed that cigar and I’ve smoked my way through almost 2 boxes ever since. A lot of people who follow us on Twitter and Facebook have asked how they can get their hands on “The Mogul” to try it themselves. As of this moment, boxes of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” are available directly on their website located here: http://www.maldonadodynasty.com/The-Mogul.html

Now for those people who like to sample their cigars before committing to a box, you’re in luck! Paul told me that “The Mogul” will be available for sale as a Sampler pack of 5 starting this week! A picture of the cigars included in the pack will be available next week. So make sure to order yourself a sampler and if you trust my judgement, go ahead and purchase a whole box, you won’t be disappointed! Here is the link one more time: http://www.maldonadodynasty.com/The-Mogul.html

So I bet you’re asking, “How do I win some of the Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” for myself?” Well, we decided we aren’t going to give the entire box away but rather we are going to split it up into 4 separate prize packs of 5-cigars so more people get a chance to try this tasty cigar! Since these were donated as part of the Movember Fund Raiser/Contest, the only way you can win these is by donating (the rules for the original 5-pack I posted about last week will still stand for that prize)

“The Mogul” 5-Pack #1 – Most Donated $$$ for Movember
“The Mogul” 5-Pack #2 – Funniest name for my stash or campaign (Posted in the comments below)
“The Mogul” 5-Pack #3 – Random selection from Donation List on my Movember Page
“The Mogul” 5-Pack #4 – Random selection from Donation List on my Movember Page
Daniel’s 5 Pack! – Don’t forget I’m still giving away my Awesome 5-pack I posted about in my Movember Contest last week.

Now remember, you MUST DONATE TO RECEIVE ONE OF THE ABOVE PRIZE PACKS. At least $1 to be entered for these prize packs and every additional dollar gets you entry into the prize I posted last week in the Movember Contest. So get out your wallets and start donating folks, it all goes towards a great cause!

Now let’s see some funny Stash Names for my Mo’ in the comments below!

The post Movember Week 2 – More Prizes and News from The Maldonado Dynasty! appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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’!

The post Movember Contest and Fund Raiser! appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now typically we don’t post news or press releases on Casas Fumando but The Maldonado Dynasty is offering up a unique chance for anybody to win a whole box of cigars! Not only that, but they are doing it in a very classy way! Take a read through the press release I was sent below and I encourage you to enter and brag about your achievements and successes!

Determination…
Will…
Faith…
Courage.

The very essence of “The Mogul”

Times may be difficult in this economic climate but one thing is for sure, there are always people out there who dare take the risk, they have the vision and fierce will to go after what they know belongs to them.

It is with these people in mind, we are honored to launch “The Mogul campaign 2011.” Our goal is to reward those going against the odds and making their dreams real. These people are strong and possess a determination that is true to the spirit of “The Mogul.” It is our belief that they should not have to sacrifice their Super-Premium cigars to achieve their endeavors but rather be rewarded with some. With no further ado, we unveil your opportunity to win a box of our Ultra-Luxury, Super-Premium cigars “The Mogul.”

**Here are The Mogul Campaign 2011 guidelines for a chance to win. We will be choosing a cigar enthusiast every month for the remainder of 2011 and into 2012** (Please do NOT apply if you are not in fact a business owner/self-employed. We will be verifying every entree submission and you must be established either in your state or online. Must be 21 years old to submit. Thank you for your integrity).

• Must be self-employed and/or own his/her own company (i.e. writers, small business owners, bloggers, Presidents, C.E.O.s, chefs, etc.) Applies worldwide (not only U.S.)
• “Like,” The Maldonado Dynasty on Facebook.
• Print the logo above of “The Maldonado Dynasty,” (Found in our Facebook page under the The Mogul Campaign 2011 album)
• Hold the print out in front of yourself: centered and visible in your office: traditional office, coffee shop, where you conduct business.)
  (Get your employees involved if applicable in the photo.)
• And lastly CAPTION your business information, service(s) rendered, and major goals under the photo you submitted.
  (It is ok to submit more than one month throughout the contest).

We will be choosing the person who personifies the spirit of “The Mogul,” and has a true passion and vision for their company every month and rewarding them with a complimentary box of The Mogul. We will be selecting our Winner every month by number of “Likes,” under their photograph and our belief in them.

This is our token of our faith in your endeavors and our way of wishing you tremendous success in your business. We remind you to push HARD and “Always demand the finest.”

Sincerely,
Paul Maldonado
President/C.E.O.
The Maldonado Dynasty

www.MaldonadoDynasty.com
“Always demand the finest.”

The post The Mogul Campaign 2011 by The Maldonado Dynasty appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today I reached into my Cuban humidor to pick out a stick from a box I recently ordered. I hadn’t tried a Hoyo de Monterrey Spicure Especial prior to this little box purchase so I started off with a 10 count box to see how I would like them before I bought a larger box. The cigars have the standard Hoyo De Monterrey bands with an additional white band below that with the “Epicure Especial” name on it,

Hoyo De Monterrey is one of the many cigar manufacturers from Cuba and they offer a fair variety of cigars. I’ve dabbled in some of their other vitolas and heard good things about this one, especially considering their fair price tag. So I bit the bullet and grabbed a box. The cigars come in a cedar box of 10 with a sliding lid. This damn lid practically required a vice grip to get off! Needless to say, the lid never went back on the box after that… So after prying the lid off I got to see my cigars.

The Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial come bound together with a nice golden yellow ribbon adorned with the cigar name. The name of the cigar is very misleading considering it’s actual vitola. A typical epicure is much smaller but this cigar is almost a full toro size! As I smoke this I’m sitting outside enjoying some awesome sunny weather. Let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial
Drink: Unibroue Brewery Maudite
Vitola: Epicure Especial (5.8 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $8
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is fairly rough looking with quite a few bumps and some medium sized veins running along it
• The color of the wrapper is a nice deep brown, almost chocolate and shines with it’s oiliness
• The top of the Epicure Especial is finished with a triple cap, not messy but not perfectly clean either
• The foot of the cigar looks fairly well packed with no gaps to be seen
• A slight squeeze reveals a fairly firm cigar with just a little springiness to it
• The cut on this cigar was super easy and fell off in one clean piece

Burn:
• Toasting was very simple, the tobacco started glowing quickly
• Turns out the toasting wasn’t too even so I needed a little touch up shortly after lighting
• After that minor correction we’ve be running in auto-pilot! No problem for the first couple of inches at all
• Discovered a little tunnel after the first ash and it’s making the burn a little lopsided now, will need a touch up
• Cigar actually went out a bit early

Smoke & Ash:
• Right off the bat I’m getting a ton of smoke from each draw
• The resting smoke is fairly minimal and gives off an almost campfire type of aroma, like burning wood
• Ash is a little rough looking but it’s staying compact and clean
• The color on the ash is a fairly light grey with some spots being nearly white
• I started to get a bit of flaking on the ash as it grew to almost 2 inches in length
• First ash fell calmly into the ashtray just short of 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the Epicure Especial gives off a nice cedar aroma with a slight nuttiness to it
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and has some nice spice added into the mix, a bit of white pepper and some raw nutmeg
• Initial draws bring more of the woodsy notes and a very creamy undertone, I’m very surprised to see the pre-light spice is almost completely gone
• So far the body is fairly mild but smooth and creamy, retrohale has almost no bite to it with a cedar finish
• I’m getting a little bit of the saltiness that Tony always mentions in his Cuban reviews
• There are some slight hints of leather here and there along with some bits of roasted coffee
• There’s a lot going on the the flavor department, very complex but it’s very smooth, balanced and tasty so I’m enjoying it quite a bit
• As the cigar hits the half-way mark, some of the initial spice is making a comeback with a bit of nutmeg and clove
• All the flavors seemed to slowly intensify as I passed the halfway mark with the coffee and woody notes still being the most prominent
• As I approach the nub I’m getting some interesting earthy and vegetal flavors I wasn’t expecting
• The body had a nice buildup to the finish and started to turn a tad bitter with under an inch to go

Final Thoughts:
Well there’s not much I can say about this stick other than I really liked it! What a great and relaxing experience! The cigar had a nice variety of flavors that were always well balanced and enjoyable. The smooth and creamy aspects made it a pleasure to smoke along with a great burnline. The price of these is also very fair coming in at around $8. It’s not an “in-your-face” cigar and if you prefer a lot of strength you won’t find it here. The little bit of build-up near the end was a nice turn as I was expecting it to be mild the whole way through. Considering the age of this cigar being only from 2009 I think another year would make the last bit just as smooth but it’s still a tasty cigar.

Pairings:
Another Canadian craft brew for me today. The Maudite from Unibroue Brewery! I’ve had this one with quite a few other reviews including the Alec Bradley Family Blend, La Aurora 1495 and My Father Le Bijou 1922. It’s a very tasty and smooth strong beer with an 8% alc/vol. I’ve sai it before and I’ll say it again, this does not taste like a strong beer AT ALL! It’s so smooth and light tasting. you get some fruity/tart undertones with a slight malty bitterness and a clean finish. Very enjoyable and seems to pair well with a lot of cigars. It did pair fairly well here although I think a nice porter or stout would have gone better from the brew category. Port of course would have been perfect and a strong coffee would have been excellent as well.

The post Hoyo De Monterrey – Epicure Especial (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Some of my Empty Boxes...

On top of the secret 5-pack, we have teamed up with Sam at www.cheaphumidors.com to offer a special coupon code that is only available exclusively to our readers and subscribers. Sam’s site has a great selection of humidors, cigars and cigars accessories. He’s got some great prices and always great customer service, make sure to head on over to his site and look at the awesome products. Keep reading below to see how to get the discount coupon code…

www.cheaphumidors.com

Now that we have you attention, we’d also like to announce that we have implemented a newsletter that will automatically notify you when a new post is made at CasasFumando.com. If you aren’t a fan of RSS this is the best way to get the post notifications straight to your mailbox.

So now you must be asking, how do I win this amazing super-secret 5-pack and get the coupon code? Here’s what you need to do (each of the following will count as one entry.):

1. Sign up for our newly implemented mailing list by typing your email address into the box on the right hand side of any page on the site. The exclusive Cheap Humidors coupon will be attached at the end of each email that is sent out.
2. Post a comment on the reviews posted between now and the contest end date. Only one comment per review will be counted and each one is an extra entry into the contest
3. Tweet/post the following on Twitter or Facebook:
CasasFumando.com Contest – Secret Cigar 5pk & CheapHumidors.com Coupon! @TonyCasas @Dalamscius @CheapHumidors #CFRC http://wp.me/pNC63-k6

We will run this contest for 3 weeks and a winner will be chosen on Sunday, May 16th, 2010. In the meantime, you will get a notification of the coupon code with each review we post from now until the contest ends.

www.casasfumando.com

The post Contest Time! 5pk of Cigars and an Exclusive Coupon Code for CheapHumidors.com appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.