Now let me clarify something, I don’t mean “Average Joe” as in you are not special(I’m sure you’re all special…). I’m more referring to availability to the average person. As you run through Tony’s Top Cigars of 2012, many of them are still very new and haven’t hit some of the far reaching markets, especially not up here in Canada. They will roll out slowly to more shops but some may never make it to local B&M’s. Most of the cigars in my list below are pretty easily available nationwide, with a couple small exceptions, and they have nothing to do with release dates. It’s obviously biased to what’s easily available to me but I think my situation will mimic a lot of our friends out there.

As Tony mentioned in his post, this list is completely home-spun, written for the enjoyment of it, and I by no means consider myself any sort of expert smoker or expert shopper. Everyone’s opinion will vary and these might not be what you expect to see. But I’d love to hear your thoughts, let’s have some fun with this one!

#10 – My Father Le Bijou 1922

I had a bit of a tough time squeezing this cigar into this list, and I have a couple reasons for that. Firstly is the price, most of the vitolas are at or over the $10 range which makes them a little too pricey for most. The savior here is that you can grab the tasty little Petit Robusto for a much fairer price. My second concern was availability, they seem to be available in a lot of stores but also sell out quickly and are slower to re-stock to due the lower yield they have. But this is a cigar I’m constantly looking for, I don’t always buy it because of the price but when I see a sale or a package deal, I’m quick to throw one of these in there. The intense espresso flavors are almost enough for me to want this cigar, but it also gives great cedar, spice and cocoa all backed by a smooth and creamy finish. It’s an all around great cigar and will always be on my shopping list.

My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toro Review
My Father Le Bijou 1922 Box Pressed Torpedo Quick Draw

#9 – Padilla La Terraza Capa Habano

Now this is a cigar I honestly stumbled into by accident. I found it on sale, read a couple decent reviews and opted to grab a whole box for a steal of a deal. And I’m really glad I did! For the price of only about $2 that you can find these, the cigar is spot on and burns very nicely. You will find some woodsy, almond and coffee flavors here, perhaps a bit of a menthol kick at the start as well. All in a nice smooth medium bodied cigar. Just make sure to get the Habano version as the general consensus is that the Maduro just doesn’t match up.

Padilla La Terraza Capa Habano Quick Draw

#8 – Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

This is a name you’ve probably seen pop up on our site before. Paul, leader of the Maldonado Dynasty, has been a great supporter and friend of Casas Fumando but that doesn’t mean we take his cigars lightly. I’ve been lucky enough to smoke through a whole bunch of these cigars, including some pre-release, first release and even a bunch from a fresh batch I received a few weeks ago. Paul is constantly working to make things better and it shows in his cigars. The quality of the sticks continues to rise while the flavors continue to impress. You can expect a silky medium-full bodied cigar with lots of coffee, cocoa, dried fruit and nutmeg flavors that will keep you on your toes. The availability of these is still a bit limited so it was a tough choice for me to add to this list, but if you don’t mind getting them shipped you can definitely find a place to buy these.

Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” Review

#7 – Perdomo Champagne Noir

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Perdomo, they constantly impress me with top-notch construction on all of their sticks. It’s been rare for me to run into burn issues on their cigars and all of their sticks come in at fair prices. This is a definite commitment to quality that I can appreciate. Typically, Perdomo’s don’t make many top 10 lists because they don’t tend to be in the trendy boutique sphere and also don’t do anything too crazy. They seem to stick to their roots and just keep producing good cigars. I was a fan of the 10th Anniversary Champagne and when I heard about the Champagne Noir, I jumped to try it. I was happily greeted by a delicate mixture of baking spices, cedar, espresso and roasted almonds. Not to mention this was probably one of the slowest burning cigars I have ever lit up. The standard Toro size flew past 2 hours easily, normally I burn through a toro in under 1.5 hours.

Perdomo Champagne Noir Review

#6 – La Aurora 107

It’s been quite a while since this cigar was released but I still find myself seeking them out. The flavors never cease to impress and they usually come in at a very fair price, especially if you find them on sale. There is a wide range of vitolas in this line for everyone. Every time I light one of these up I know I’m going to get an amazing mix of cedar, light spices and some fruity sweetness. These are available just about everywhere so if you’ve been skipping them over recently cause they aren’t all new and trendy, I think it’s time to re-visit this stick!

La Aurora 107 Corona Review
La Aurora 107 Robusto Review

#5 – Padron 2000 & Londres

I think most everyone knows about this cigar and has probably had one at one time or another. I know I discovered these long ago when I first started smoking cigars. The prices on these are right in the sweet spot of most consumers and they are very widely available. The whole line is very good but I always tend towards the 2000 and Londres. Both the Maduro’s and Naturals seem to be pretty similar in the flavor department and you can expect to find lots of coffee and cocoa making this one tasty cigar!

Padron 2000 Review

#4 – Illusione 888 & 88

I couldn’t decide on which one of these I enjoy more so I decided to group them together since they are pretty similar in my eyes. The ~88~ and ~888~ are staples in my humidor. I know the prices are a bit high but the flavors and construction on these definitely make them worth my while. When you spark up one of these you can expect to find lots of earthy and cedar notes, but the two real winners here for me are the tarty sweet notes near the end and the amazing smooth creamy retrohale that they offer. If you haven’t tried one of these yet, make sure to pick some up! I added the link to our “~888~ Slam” here, the flavors were very similar to the regular ~888~ but I liked the vitola a little more just because it was more comfortable to hold, but both are winners.

Illusione ~88~ Review
Illusione ~888~ Slam Review

#3 – Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial

The first time I had one of these it was sent to me by Tony and I was just blown away by the awesome flavors and construction. I mean who can complain, almost all the cigars out of the My Father factory are top notch. What really caught my attention and keeps me smoking these is the price they come in. For a premium cigar with some awesome flavors and constuctio, the price is amazing. They are also very widely available which can’t be said for all the My Father products. If you like a solid medium bodied stick with awesome flavors such as spice, cedar, espresso and cocoa, you will love this stick.

Jamie Garcia Reserva Especial Review

#2 – Montecristo No. 2 (Cuban)

I know, I know, this is not an easy one for most of our American friends to track down. But it constantly tops my list and many others as one of the best value for a premium cigar you can find. With the right connections, you can get these for under $8 per stick. They have tons of good flavors ranging from coffee to cedar to earthy to creamy, it’s just so good. They do benefit from a bit of time resting but are easily smokable fresh too, you just won’t get some of the more delicate flavors.

Montecristo No. 2 2010 Review
Montecristo No. 2 2008 Joint Review

#1 – Drew Estate Undercrown

If you’ve been keeping an eye on my twitter feed or the Facebook page, you would have seen quite a few of these pop up over the course of the last year. The meaty and balanced flavors of espresso and spices in the Undercrown just seem to hit the spot everytime. Add on some excellent construction and spot on consistency, and this is a winner. I’m also a fan of the T52 and No.9 but I’ve had a lot more luck tracking down the Undercrowns and their price is also much more digestible as a more frequent cigar. I also love the wrapper on this cigar, it’s so dark and has a ton of toothiness and roughness to it, definitely some eye candy in the cigar world. As I write this I realize I’m running low on them and need to order another box… lol

Drew Estate Undercrown Review

There are tons more great sticks I could go into that are easily available, these are just a few that I’ve been smoking or wanting to smoke this past year. And this list could change completely in the next 6 months so take it for what it is and enjoy. If you have a couple that are on your constant shopping list and have been heavy hitters this year, let me know in the comments!

The post Casas Fumando “Average Joe” Top 10 of 2012 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Illusione ~88~

(Tony) The ~88~ was the first Illusione I had ever been able to find on store shelves. For whatever reason El Paso isn’t too keen on boutique blends, or so I thought, until I stumbled into a little shop called Tobacco rd. The shelves are full with hard to find boutique blends, and pretty much every Illusione made. Needless to say this is a rare gem, and I’ve been sold on this shop ever since. 

(Daniel) In Canada, the Illusione name is pretty much unknown. I’ve asked Dion on Twitter about distribution here and he thinks it’s just not fair to see his productsell for such outrageous prices so he has no immediate plans to get it here. Bascially, my only option to get some of these is from a select few online stores or friends. This particular stick was sent to me by none other than Tony Casas himself (Thanks bud!). 

Illusione ~88~

The Good Stuff: 

Honestly, I don’t have whole lot of information on this cigar. Basically this is a Nicaraguan Puro cigar produced by Dion Giolito, of Illsuione cigars using pure Nicaraguan tobacco farmed from fields in Jalapa Valley and Esteli. The cigars are then hand-made in the Raices Cubanas factory amongst a Dream Team of tobacco experts. A lot of care and hard work goes into each Illusione cigar and it shows. 

Each Illusione carries with it a cryptic name which represents anything from cult followings to specific pin point’s in Dion’s life. You can view these on the Illusione website here. The ~88~ has a simple and straight forward story: 

~88~ Robusto 

No secret here. It harkens back to 1988 when I made that fateful decision to transfer from Oklahoma and come to Reno for College. “Robust” was just something different than Robusto. It speaks more for the body of the cigar than the nature of its size.” 

Size: 5×52  –  Wrapper: Café Colorado  –   Filler/Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo  –  Body: Medium/Full 

Illusione ~88~

Prelight: 

(Tony) The ~88~ carries an extremely consistently, medium chocolate brown wrapper, topped off with yet another beautifully round triple cap. There are tons of little veins throughout the cigar, none of which are big enough to cause any concern. The 88 is extremely tightly packed and very firm to the touch with little bounce back. All Illusione carry similar, striking bands. The ~88~ is very simple, and stands out with its simple white background, and black print stating only “illusione” and “~88~”. The wrapper on the ~88~ gives off mainly a strong, tobacco smell with hints of leather. The aroma off the foot gives off a similar, more pronounced tobacco scent with earth undertones. 

The ~88~ cut easily with my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces very leathery tastes with bits of spice, and even honey. 

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel)  The wrapper on my ~88~ had a delicious oily sheen and a dark brown wrapper. The triple cap was cleanly applied and the whole cigar was even, symmetrical and had a slight springiness to it. The wrapper itself was flawless with no large veins, it also had an aroma of spice and sweet tobacco. The foot did not seem tightly packed but was nice and even. The cut was a little messy for me but didn’t cause any major problems. It did have a very open draw but produced some nice floral notes and sweet tobacco. The flavor on the lips had a nice touch of spiciness. 

Illusione ~88~

First Smoke: 

(Tony) The ~88~ lit up very easily under my triple flame butane torch. Instantaneously I am greeted with a touch of pepper, followed up with strong woodsy and grassy flavors back by tons of little spice notes. I am getting an almost fruity after taste. The draw is perfect, and effortless, producing a massive cloud of thick white smoke. The burnline is razor sharp and leaves behind a beautiful, striped light/medium grey ash. The ~88~ doesn’t produce a lot of stationary smoke, however what little smoke it does leave behind is extremely inviting and smells of burned wood and grass. The ash held on well over an inch before giving way. 

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel)  Toasting the cigar with my culinary torch was almost too easy. It lit up completely even and quite quickly. It started to canoe a bit off the start but quickly corrected itself with no extra attention needed. The mouthful of smoke I was getting was near perfect and seemed to linger in front of me after exhaling, making some interesting smoke-art in mid-air. The initial draws gave me a wonderful toasted nut flavors and some earthy undertones. The retro-hale was surprisingly smooth and and had a great tasting toasted nut flavor. The ash was slightly uneven but had no flaking and held on strongly for a good 1.5 inches. 

Illusione ~88~

Halfway There: 

(Tony) I’m halfway through this ~88~ and I can’t put it down. The mixtures of wood and spice, combined with the creamy, smooth smoke is forcing me to go to town on this cigar. I’m really enjoying it. The retrohale is smooth as well, leaving behind cedar and spice. Halfway through the burnline began to thicken pretty substantially, leaving behind small waves, but nothing to be concerned about. I’m not feeling much, if any nicotine off this cigar. Just tons of flavor.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) This stick is going amazingly well. The burn has been a little wavy for me but I think it’s caused by my slightly open draw. It hasn’t required any major corrections and has stayed lit fairly well. It’s allowing me to enjoy it nice and slowly while savoring all the flavors. On top of the wonderful flavors mention at the start, I’m starting to pick up some great coffee notes . All the flavors are blending together perfectly, well balanced, and super smooth. 

Illusione ~88~

Finish: 

(Tony) Towards the end of the cigar the burnline began to correct itself, and no touch ups were needed at all. The draw stayed consistently large, and effortless all the way through the ~88~. The final portion of this cigar was dynamite. The flavors morphed into a straight forward cedar/leather mixture and picked up in body. There was no harshness despite how often I hit this cigar. The ~88~ finished as I wish all cigars would, smooth and flavorful.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) The finish was not disappointing at all. The earthy and nut flavors disappeared for the most part but the coffee flavors have been complimented by a nice cedar note. The pairing of these two flavors is nearly perfect. The draw improved and the burn held strong till the finish. For the most part this cigar was medium but during the last inch or so I felt the body ramp up to a smooth full. I will definitely grab a few more of these ~88~’s, there was almost nothing to complain about. The was nearly no bitterness/harshness at the end and I ended up nubbing this as far as I could. 

Illusione ~88~

Overview: 

(Tony) The ~88~ is extremely smooth and consistent while the flavors switched up just enough to keep my attention, but not drastically enough to second guess what cigar I was smoking. I felt very little nicotine off this cigar, making it perfect for the everyday cigar smoker, or the novice. Needless to say I have smoked a ton of these guys, and plan on smoking a whole lot more. This is one of the very few cigars that I’ve been able to go through one, after another, after another and not get burned out. I think the retail on the ~88~ is close to $8 a stick, although it crests the upper level of similar boutique robustos, spending the money on the ~88~ will not leave you disappointed.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) This was one enjoyable cigar, from start to finish the ~88~ kept me happy and enjoying every moment. The flavors kept my attention and the greatburn allowed me to smoke it slowly without worrying about it going out. My general exposure to boutique cigars has been limited since I live in Canada and I was honestly skeptical about them. This Illusione ~88~ has definitely put the skepticisms to rest and I will be looking further into the Illusione line. As Tony mentioned, the price of the stick is around $8 and this seems like a fair price and I would happily spend it to get more of these in my humidor. 

Illusione ~88~

Pairing: 

(Tony) I decided to pair this cigar with one of my favorite Dopplebocks,Weihenstephaner Korbinian. Korbinianis 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. This was a perfect pairing in my books as it helps pick up the subtle flavors of the ~88~ as well as match up with some of the more prominent flavors.

Illusione ~88~ and Weihenstephaner Korbinian

(Daniel) My drink of choice with this cigar was Alexander Keiths Dark Ale. This is an inexpensive dark beer with subtle hints of coffee and cocoa with an added kick of bitterness. Seems Tony and I picked very similar pairings with this and I also agree it was a great match. The cigar was pairing was well matched enough that neither one drowned out the flavors of the other. allowing me to enjoy them both equally. Some other good pairings with this cigar could be a smooth Tawny port or a fine glassof scotch or cognac.

The post Illusione ~88~ The “Robust” appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.