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.

The Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir comes packed with quality Nicaraguan tobacco and wrapped with a Cuban-seed maduro wrapper that’s been aged for at least 14 months followed by an extra 6 months in bourbon barrels. How could you say no to a combination like that??? This Nicaraguan puro sounds super appealing on paper and I hope it translates to awesome when I light it up as well.

One thing to mention about the blend here is that it contains pretty much the exact same filler and binder as the 10th Anniversary Champagne cigar. The difference is of course the dark maduro wrapper it comes with. So you can see why I was excited to give this blend a try!

As I’ve mentioned before, Perdomo has a pretty big reputation to maintain with me. I’ve always had good luck with both construction and flavors when it comes to their sticks so I expect all of their sticks to live up to that same expectation. Now to be honest, the 10th Anniversary Maduro line up wasn’t as much of a success for me as the Champagne was so I’m really hoping the Champagne Noir rounds out the Reserve lines up with a solid and tasty maduro!

Cigar: Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir
Drink: The Macallan Select Oak Scotch
Vitola: Epicure (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $5.60
Burn Time: 2.5 hours

Construction:
• A smooth and silky wrapper adorns the Champagne Noir, with a soft touch and only a few minor veins
• The wrapper has the color of milk chocolate and is fairly consistent from end to end
• The single cap is cleanly applied and has an elegant touch to it
• The foot appears mostly well packed except for one small area that has a little bit of a gap in it
• The whole cigar has a consistent squeeze and spring to it
• Another great sign of Perdomo quality, the band slid off with almost no effort and absolutely no damage to the wrapper at all

Burn:
• The toasting was a little odd, even though it looked lit up, only the edges seemed to catch. But after one quick draw the whole foot was glowing nicely
• Burn has been razor sharp right from the start
• I can’t believe how slow this cigar is burning, it’s crazy
• As I burn through the halfway mark, I’ve had nothing but razor sharp and slow burning, fantastic quality here!
• Did I mention how slow this is burning? I’m going to easily pass 2 hours here!

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke right from the first draw, fills the air with a fluffy whiteness
• Even the resting smoke is pretty abundant with lots of cedar notes in the air
• The first ash stayed nice and strong with just a bit of flaking
• It lasted past 1 inch and tapped off cleanly into the ashtray
• The full volume of smoke continues right through the whole first half
• Ash is staying nice and clean and strong and easily passing the 1 inch mark every time

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a mostly barnyard/hay type of aroma to it
• The foot brings an interesting fruity tartness along side some baking spices, an interesting combination there
• The pre-light draw has a freshness to it, almost like inhaling mint, along with some sweet cedar and a touch of spices
• The initial draw has a slight pepper kick and some hefty cedar to back it up
• The pepper subsided a little and I’m getting some nice cedar and coffee flavors
• The coffee is making nice full flavored appearance in the middle here
• The retrohale has a nice pepper bite to it, but the finish is smooth cedar and coffee
• The coffee is developing into a nice roasted espresso flavor and adding to it some nice roasted almond flavors
• The flavor started off near medium but it’s easy to see it’s at the border of full now but seems to be holding nicely there
• The whole experience has a sort of creamy undertone to it as well
• The roasted espresso and almond flavors stuck through the the end without any harshness at all

Final Thoughts:
Well it’s easy to see that this cigar did not disappointment at all. There were some hints of the Connecticut version in here but the maduro wrapper definitely brought a different experience to the Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir. The roasted espresso and almond flavors really brought it home nicely in the end and the burn and construction was top quality right through to the end. The pace at which this cigar burned was incredibly slow! Definitely got my money’s worth with the slow burn on these. This is another winner in Perdomo’s inventory for me, give them a try and let us know what you think!

Pairings:
I had first cracked this bottle the week before the wedding and it was and good, so I had been saving it for a special occasion. So this weekend we ended up buying a house so I thought that’s a damn good reason to finish off the last bit of this Macallan Select Oak. It’s so darn smooth that you definitely don’t need ice cubes to drink this one. A touch of smoke, a touch of peat and lots of caramel and fruity notes. Darn good if you like some good ol fashion Scotch! Great pairing for any full bodied cigar and even though the Champagne Noir wasn’t too full bodied, it still complimented the coffee and cedar notes well. A nice stout or strong coffee would have been great here as well.

The post Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.