Category — Cigar Reviews

Apparently, this is the era of “ring gauge bloat.” Every new brand to hit the shelves lately features sizes ranging from the 56-ring Unwieldy Especial up to the 64-ring Utterly Ridiculoso.

Now, I’ll admit I once thought smaller smokes — coronas, petit coronas and lanceros — were the domain of ladies and lightweights. I bought the conventional wisdom, including the case that smaller ring gauges lacked depth because fewer types of filler leaf could be used in the bunch.

But over the last year or two, I discovered something unexpected. When I sample different sizes within a line, I almost always find the slimmer vitolas to be the tastier smokes. Could it be that the old-schoolers are right, that ring gauges under 50 offer the best flavor balance between wrapper and filler? Further, should I really have to set aside an hour or more in order to enjoy a smoke?

So it’s the quest for flavorful, small smokes (and a personal act of rebellion against ring gauge bloat) that leads me to this Por Larranaga Petit Corona, aka PLPC. With the Partagas Short Corona and the Ramon Allones Small Club Corona, the PLPC rounds out the “big three” of Havana petites. Unlike the Party Short and the RASCC, however, the Por Larranaga is not known as a firecracker, but rather as an even-tempered, easygoing smoke.

[Read more →]

The concept is intriguing — gather the world’s best blenders and manufacturers, give them a ceiling of $5.00 per stick MSRP, a single format measuring 5.75″ x 54, and turn them loose to create the best long-filler cigar possible. The result is arguably the most ambitious of all house brands, the Cigars International Legends Series.

The 2005 launch featured color-coded entries from four manufacturers — Puros Indios, Perdomo, Camacho, and Manuel Quesada of MATASA. In the ensuing years, the roster of Legends has swelled to 11 with the inclusion of Cusano, Pepin Garcia, Drew Estates, Nestor Plasencia, Graycliff, La Aurora and Rocky Patel. With primary colors spoken for, they’re now reaching deep into the Crayola box. Gray, copper and maroon are the most recent additions. Periwinkle and raw umber can’t be far behind.

I regularly see new smokers and bargain hunters seeking opinions of these on Cigar Live. And why not? At an average price of $3.00 per stick (often cheaper on CI’s auction site Cigarbid.com), the hope of striking gold on the cheap is irresistible.

So here’s my take on the four versions I have on hand: [Read more →]

One of the great mysteries of recent stogie history is why the Oliva Angel 100 wasn’t a raving sensation. Somehow, they seemed to go right from the roller’s table to the virtual closeout bin. No advertising? No distribution? Probably both.

I hadn’t heard of them until they appeared on CigarBid.com at an average gavel price of $9.00 per five-pack. Between their pedigree and price, they were worth a shot.

Information on these is tough to come by, though Tom at Keepers of the Flame did an excellent job researching its origin here. Angel 100 was produced to commemorate the birth of Tampa’s legendary tobacco man Angel Oliva. Angel founded Oliva Tobacco Company, not to be confused with Oliva Cigar Company, the unrelated maker of the Series O, S, G and V.

Oliva Tobacco Company (OTC) operates and oversees plantations across the globe and supplies leaf to countless manufacturers, including Rocky Patel, Fuente and Ashton. As leaf growers and brokers, however, they do not produce their own cigars. Thus, production for the Angel 100 line was farmed out to NATASA in Esteli. [Read more →]

With Fidel Castro’s resignation, the age-old discussion was rekindled on message boards everywhere: What if the embargo ended tomorrow?

Could Habanos S.A. meet the explosion of demand? Could they do so without sacrificing quality? How much would Cuban cigar prices increase? And, most interesting to me, what would American smokers choose if Habanos suddenly appeared on the store shelves?

To my surprise, the answer from many BOTLs is some version of the following: “Cuban cigars are no longer equal to the hype, and are not worth the money compared to the non-Cubans I smoke today.”

I disagree. Emphatically. (What’s the point of blogging if you can’t be an absolutist blowhard?)

I concede that Cuban quality has seen wild ups and downs since I started smoking in 1996. Increased production, bad harvests and dubious QC (between 1999 and 2003 in particular) resulted in substandard smokes. Meanwhile, non-Cuban cigarmaking came of age, generating a competitive if not superior product. No argument. [Read more →]

I knew little of this brand until about a year ago, when I came across a stellar review in Cigar Envy’s report on US-made brands. Shortly thereafter, JR Cigars put the line on special and I was compelled to give the Flor de Gonzalez Gold Series a try.

Flor de Gonzalez is perhaps best known for their Nicaraguan “Green Label” sandwich smoke. But the Gold Series shouldn’t be confused with its budget sibling.

This was the original blend manufactured under the FdG marque by Cuban-emigree Arnaldo Gonzalez in 1993. The company fared well during the boom, with production handled in-house at Gonzalez’ Hialeah, Florida factory. But FdG struggled to stay afloat when the bubble burst. Production was shifted to Nicaragua in order to minimize costs, with one noteworthy exception – the flagship Gold Series. The FdG Gold is still made exclusively in Florida, crafted in small quantities under the supervision of Arnaldo’s daughter, Yadi. [Read more →]

Unless you’ve spent a lot of time in northern Connecticut, chances are you haven’t laid eyes on this one before. Old Powder Keg began as the house brand of Connecticut Valley Tobacconist, the Hazardville B&M that was my go-to shop for the seven years I lived in the area.

Created by CVT owner and former leaf broker Michael Tarnowicz, OPK has notched high marks since debuting at the 2002 RTDA show. Richard Perelman twice ranked it among the top-10 full-bodied smokes, and Smoke Magazine reviewers have rated it 4+ (on their now-defunct 0-5 scale) in each of three tastings.

Originally rolled by Cuban expatriate Walter Pena in CVT’s storefront, Old Powder Keg’s manufacture was eventually moved to Honduras. The CT-made runs (some in my stash date to 2001) feature a gorgeous Nicaraguan corojo wrapper from the 1996 crop, CT broadleaf binder, and a filler blend of Nicaraguan, Costa Rican and two other mystery leaves.

For this review, I smoked a few of the current release maduros pictured in the foreground above, which are significantly darker than the original release. Also note the neat, three-seamed cap. [Read more →]

It looks so harmless. Maybe even tasty.

It’s neither.

The 5 Vegas Series “A” baffles me. Everywhere I go, I run into people who call the “Cinco” their everyday smoke. My fellow herfers are buying these by the truckload at auction. And Top25Cigar.com’s list is littered with them. As I write, the Atomic Ltd. Belicoso and the Churchill-sized Apostle rank 4th and 7th, respectively, in the Sub-$6.00 category.

So I revisit these again and again, certain my palate is failing me.

First, some background. The 5 Vegas brand, highly regarded in the 90s under Kiki Berger, has been revived by Cigars International’s Keith Meyer. There are now multiple lines produced under the label — the “Classic,” the shade wrapped “Gold,” the TACUBA-made “Miami,” the maduro “A,” and the La Aurora-made “Cask Strength.”

Introduced in 2005, the “A” is manufactured by the ubiquitous Nestor Plasencia in Honduras. It has a three nation filler blend, Nicaraguan binder, and is topped by a toothy Costa Rican wrapper. According to CI, the filler is aged for four years before construction. All the makings for a fine smoke. [Read more →]

Once known as the “Bolivar Fuerte,” the name was changed to distinguish it from General’s Dominican-made Bolivar in 2005. The Cofradia is crafted at Villazon’s Honduras factory under the supervision of Estelo Padron. It is packed cabinet style in quantities of 25, and the bundle is tied with yellow ribbon.

A bonus for the collector is that Villazon is in the habit of writing the box date in pencil on the underside of the box. I don’t know if it’s a factory policy, but I’ve noticed it previously on boxes of JR Ultimate, El Rey del Mundo, and these Bolivars. Handy if you’re searching for aged stock in the B&M. Even when you’re buying on the net and don’t have the option of hand-selecting your box, at least you know the age of the smokes. My box, purchased in December, dates to August 2006.

This 5.62″ x 46 parejo isn’t pretty in the classic sense, but it looks tasty nonetheless. The dark Ecuador sungrown wrapper has moderate veining and an inviting, oily sheen. A glance at the foot reveals a patch of dark ligero. [Read more →]

I should probably note up front that I’m not the biggest Padron fan.

Yes, I know such blasphemy is punishable by caning in many nations, but I can explain. I find their original and “Thousand” lines to be hit-or-miss, an average value. The Anniversario 1964s are always good, even brilliant on occasion. But they don’t always live up to their big reputation or their exorbitant price.

That said, the one that delivers every time for me is the Exclusivo Maduro. So it was my loosely planned quest for a box of Exclusivos that led, in a roundabout way, to this review of 1926 No. 6 Maduro.

A week before Christmas, I set out to treat myself. Bad news at the B&M — the Exclusivos were history. My head clouded with Christmas shopping stupor, I wasn’t ready to take no for an answer. After a moment of panic and frustration, I grabbed a box of the Serie 1926 No. 6 instead and marched defiantly to the register. I’ll show them. I’ll buy an equally overpriced substitute! [Read more →]

The Romeo y Julieta Tubos No. 2 wasn’t on my must-try list, but a three-pack was tossed in as a freebie with a holiday shipment. And who says no to free Habanos? (Yes, there is the “Guantanamera exception,” but you see my point.)

Gone are the dull silver tubes that looked straight out of the 60s. Habanos has finally dressed up RyJ’s five tubed vitolas with the snazzy red and white numbers that debuted on the Short Churchill last year.

Upon pulling this 5.12 x 42 corona from the cedar lined tube, I found a lumpy, slightly pale stick, squishy under pre-light inspection. I quickly downshifted expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by a tasty blast of Habano “twang” when I put the light to it. RyJ has a reputation for mild-medium bodied smokes by Cuban standards, but I found the Tubos No. 2 to be feistier than expected. It’s squarely in the medium bodied range, but packs more flavor than its appearance suggested. Around a damp earth core are hints of leather, a touch of sweet cedar picked up from the lining, and some nutmeg in the final third. [Read more →]