Cigar reviews, news and ramblings by Kevin

Yes, I did it too. In the haze of a C-Bid bender I couldn’t resist the allure of a gorgeous dollar maduro. Sure enough, when the DHL lady dropped them off, the El Mejor Espresso was every bit as stunning as it appeared in the photos — crisply trunk pressed, black and thinly veined.

So I smoked one. And another. I went through about five of them over a couple days before I faced reality — this dollar marvel was utterly flavorless. Some on Top25Cigar.com were raving about them, but I just didn’t see it. I stuck them in the Crap-O-Dor and largely forgot about them until now, 16 months later.

The El Mejor Espresso is made by Nestor Plasencia in Esteli, Nicaragua. As best I can tell, the brand is exclusive to Cigars International, and has become a calling card of their aforementioned auction site. It is a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran filler in a Mexican San Andreas wrapper. Top25Cigar lists the binder as Cameroon, but I was unable to confirm that. It is produced in four sizes — Robusto, Torpedo, Toro and Churchill.

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Mixed Filler is a quick collection of snippets from the online stogie community. For the slower burning, long-filler versions just click on the links provided. Enjoy!

At Stogie Review, Brian Hewitt has a pre-release sample of the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami Churchill.

Matt’s Cigar Journal has the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Presidente.

At Cigar Inspector, Roadrunner reviews one of my all-time value favorites, the Camacho Havana H2. I’ve been meaning to review it one of these days, but I’ll skip it because Roadrunner nailed it.

Velvet Cigar’s Ironmeden finds the Cohiba Maduro 5 Secretos to be tasty, but a bit young.

Cigarfan at Keepers of The Flame reports that two years of age does wonders for the Padilla en Cedro Robusto.

Lisa at Her Humidor has a near-religious experience with the Bolivar Petit Corona.

I’m on a bit of a Luis Sanchez kick. I reviewed the LTC Deluxe Anniversary two weeks ago, and today I have a more recent release from Sanchez-Romay, the JML 1902 Coronita. Big thanks to Jesse at Cigar Jack, who turned me on to these with his intriguing review last May.

Two words: Pennsylvania Broadleaf. And not just a little bit of it buried in the filler blend, either. This cigar is wrapped in PABL. The old Purofino Dom from the 90s (anyone remember those?) used a PABL binder, but I’ve never run across a premium brand using this wrapper. The filler is Dominican and the binder is Honduran.

The JML 1902, named in honor of Luis Sanchez’ grandfather, Jose M. Losa, debuted at last year’s R.T.D.A. show. The first thing I noticed upon cracking open my bundle was that these wrappers are, well, ugly. They’re not particularly veiny, but ruddy in texture and streaky in color. Nut brown with streaks of black. Maybe this is why we don’t run into more PA wrapper?

Not that it matters, but the bands are curious as well. Luis has taken great care in producing band and box art for his other brands, but he obviously punted on these.

Despite the dainty name, the Coronita is healthy-sized corona at 5.75″ x 44. It clips and lights without a hitch. The initial flavors are what you’d expect from a broadleaf — a healthy dose of pepper with woody undertones. First I detect a bit of dry cocoa on the finish. Again, typical of a broadleaf.

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Mixed Filler is a quick collection of snippets from the online stogie community. For the slower burning, long-filler versions just click on the links provided. Enjoy!

Cigar Inspector delivers on an excellent idea — an Online Shops Directory/Rating. I’ll refer to it often, benefit from the experiences of B/SOTLs, and save myself some headaches. Great work, Denis.

Matt of Matt’s Cigar Journal could use some help meeting his fundraising goal of $3,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s Ride for Kids. Check out the details at his site, or go straight here to make a contribution. Matt’s giving away a few boxes of primo stogies to some lucky donors, and Tom at Keepers of The Flame generously sweetened the pot.

While you’re at KOTF, check out the review of the Arturo Fuente Anejo No. 48.

At Stogie Guys, George runs into an uncharacteristic construction issue with the Oliva Serie O Toro.

Lisa at Her Humidor lays down her $12 for the Cuvee Blanc Salomon.

At Cigar Command, Scott is pleasantly surprised by the Arganese Connecticut Ambassador Robusto.

Cigar Beat’s Stinkie tries the Don Pepin Garcia-made Troya Clasico #54. And after a spate of unauthorized cigar purchases, Mrs. Stinkie is really pissed!

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

I’m referring of course to auction sites. Seems like only yesterday that I got the CigarBid.com monkey off my back. Yet I have found a brand new excuse to flag 50 auctions at a time, live-snipe at 3 am and otherwise engage in antisocial behavior — vintage 35mm film cameras.

(What does this have to do with cigars? Nothing, which is why it’s listed in the “Just Plain Random Stuff” category. However, I suspect that many cigar nuts who have fallen prey to C-Bid know just what I’m talking about here!)

Props (or blame) to Trixy, who gently mocked my addiction to digital and sold me on the retro-cool factor of 35mm film. My father, himself an excellent photographer with an encyclopedic knowledge of model numbers, also encouraged my bad behavior. Dad egged me on with gems like, “Of course you need a third Minolta XE-7… for parts!”

Two months later I have accumulated more cameras than an Osaka pawn shop — an arsenal of cheap, bulletproof workhorses I barely know how to use.

Why? Because I have an unnatural interest in photography. Because there’s something wrong with me that compels me to “win” other people’s crap. And because vintage cameras are the best deal since those $9 mazos of Padilla Achilles. (Ah, remember those?)

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Though it never achieved the notoriety of its sibling brand, La Gloria Cubana, El Rico Habano was actually the first long-filler cigar to come out of Ernesto Perez-Carillo, Sr.’s El Credito Miami factory in 1970.

From its inception, El Rico Habano was a full-bodied, “Cuban-style” blend, even as most American smokers preferred their stogies on the mild side. “It wasn’t setting the world on fire,” Ernesto Perez-Carillo, Jr. once said of the brand’s early days.

After the introduction of the La Gloria Cubana label, El Rico Habano lumbered along as a distant second in sales for El Credito. In 1997, with the cigar boom in full swing, Perez-Carillo, Jr. halted the brand’s production because he wasn’t able to procure enough Nicaraguan ligero to maintain the consistency of El Rico’s potent blend. It wasn’t until 2001 that El Credito was able to reintroduce their flagship label.

El Rico Habano is currently manufactured at El Credito’s Dominican factory, using a sungrown Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler.

The 5.75″ x 46 Gran Corona starts with strong flavors of hardwood and a dry blast of white pepper. This dry character immediately suggests this a “love it or hate it” kind of smoke. With a cup of coffee at hand, I love it. For the first half it is powerful and unique, if not terrifically complex. The draw is near-perfect.

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Mixed Filler is a quick collection of snippets from the online stogie community. For the slower burning, long-filler versions just click on the links provided. Enjoy!

Keepers of The Flame gives us a primer on wrapper blemishes — frog eyes, mold, bloom, water spots and most anything else that has made you go, “What the heck is that?”

Lisa at Her Humidor reviews one that I’ve been wondering about, the Te Amo World Selection Series Honduras Blend.

Cigar Inspector smokes an explosive (and not in a good way) Ramon Allones Small Club Corona.

Matt at Matt’s Cigar Journal adds his name to the list of Illusione cg:4 fans. I really have to try one of these.

Elvis at The Velvet Cigar tests the CI Legends Yellow Label by Don Pepin Garcia. Suffice it to say he doesn’t think as much of this smoke as I do. Check out my tasting notes here.

The Stogie Review’s Walt, previously unimpressed with Rocky Patel products, smokes an RP Edge Sumatra. He is still underwhelmed. FWIW, I think he’s absolutely right.

Finally, there was an interesting Associated Press story this week about farm privatization in Cuba. While the program is still small in scope, it struck me as having huge potential implications for the cigar industry. We’ll see…

I gravitated toward Arturo Fuente cigars in my noob-hood. Confronted with a dizzying array of options, I was content to ride Fuente’s reputation for solid construction and fair value. The Hemingway Short Story, 8-5-8 and Cuban Corona were no-brainers. Five bucks could get me a reliable, medium-bodied Cameroon every time.

But with the end of the cigar boom, the demise of the “Don Nobodies” and a new emphasis on value, I found myself reaching for a Fuente less and less. I suppose my palate became more adventurous. I sorted out which other brands merited my attention. And my expectations of a five dollar smoke certainly changed.

So now I revisit my old stand-by brand only on occasion. I’m still wowed by the Opus X, even at the exorbitant price. But my other Fuente experiences have been unremarkable. The Don Carlos can be a little dull, the Anejo is shockingly overpriced, and then there is the King B, a 6″ x 55 belicoso in the venerable Chateau Fuente line.

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Luis Sanchez of Real Tabacalera Sanchez-Romay (formerly La Tradicion Cubana) produces one stellar smoke after another. His blends are diverse in style, his prices never make me cringe, and his consistency and quality control are outstanding. Further, my artsy side likes that Sanchez created his own artwork for LTC’s bands and boxes.

La Tradicion Cubana originally operated out of a Little Havana storefront, a classic “boutique” producing a relatively small number smokes. With the exception of a few private labels, Sanchez’ portfolio consisted of only three brands — La Tradicion Cubana, Sabor Cubano, and the full-bodied, large format Las Memorias Cubana. Only after the company moved production to the Dominican Republic in 2006 did they add new brands, including the JML 1902, El Botin Dominicano, and Palmas Puro.

Introduced at the 2004 R.T.D.A. show, the Deluxe Anniversary was created to commemorate LTC’s 10th Anniversary. It used a Nicaraguan-Dominican filler blend, Honduran binder and a robust Ecuador colorado wrapper, a distinct switch from the EC-CT shade wrapper used in the regular LTC line. All tobaccos for this limited release were from the 1996 crop.

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Mixed Filler is a quick collection of snippets from the online stogie community. For the slower burning, long-filler versions just click on the links provided. Enjoy!

Cigar Inspector checks out the downright delicious looking Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Seleccion Piramides.

Brian Hewitt at Stogie Review was brave enough to tackle some “infused” fare, the Drew Estate Java Maduro Toro. He knew it was going to suck. But in the name of science and dedication to his craft, he smoked it anyway. And only a few days earlier at Brian’s Random Thoughts, he reviewed a tequila-infused Olor Del Cibao. One tough hombre, this Hewitt. The type who stitches his own wounds. We owe him our gratitude.

Cigarfan at Keepers of The Flame tests the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Robusto Grande. It sounds almost worth trying for the aroma alone — “grilled meat and maple syrup.”

Matt at Matt’s Cigar Journal, the wise man he clearly is, shares my skepticism about enormous ring gauges. He tests the 6.25″ x 60 Padron 7000 Maduro and finds it “awkward” and “muddled.”

On the topic of cartoonish ring gauges, Jesse at CigarJack.net fires up the Nub Habano 460. Size aside, it sounds tasty.

Cigar Beat’s Stinkie digs the Tatuaje Havana VI Angeles. Amen.