Gol! – CAO’s lip-smacking robusto

C 09-27-09

09-27-2009
CAO – Brazilia Gol!
Nicaragua

This cigar, which has been sitting in my humidor for over a year, had an earthy pre-light aroma reminiscent of horse manure. It had a plume covered, extremely oily dark wrapper. The first half was mellow, showing hints of cream and licorice. The woodsy second half warmed up to a chewy smoke with hints of cream, cocoa, and a mouth-watering black pepper. Very long lip-smacking finish. This is a great everyday cigar.

92

CAO Brazilia Gol!

My tried and true….

C 06-25-09

06-25-2009
Ramon Allones – Specially Selected
Cuba – Box Date: Oct 07
These are definitely getting better and better. Unfortunately I have to re-stock seeing as I only have one left! The draw on this one started off quite tight but finally opened up showing hints of sweet Havana earth, cocoa, and black pepper. Long Finish. Exceptional.

97

Pete Johnson’s pride and joy

C 04-18-09

04-18-2009

Tatuaje Hermosos

Tatuaje Havana VI – Hermosos
Nicaragua
This cigar is aging well. The fuzzy reddish/brown wrapper is still silky smooth. The cigar burned evenly and the draw was perfect. The chewy smoke was sweet showing signs of nutmeg, earth; rounding out to a peppery finish. Medium to full-bodied.
95

Great weather…Ramon Allones…new post!

C 03-27-09

Sorry about the delay folks, been very busy lately and the weather kind of strays my mind from cigars. However, I kicked off this spring with one of my all-time favs – Ramon Allones Specially Selected. This is the same box that I have been picking at with a box date of Oct ’07. Needless to say, these beauts are aging to perfection. Oh, the finer things in life!

03-27-2009
Ramon Allones – Specially Selected
Cuba – Box Date: Oct 07
This cigar could not have been a perfect pick for my first after a brief hiatus. The age definitely was evident in the oily, fuzzy sheen of the wrapper. Immediately after light, the Havana flavor permeated showing notes of sweetness and earth in the first half, and nutmeg with hints of black pepper in the second. Still one of my favs that gets nothing but better.
95

Agh…

C 02-17-09

Updates coming soon! Been away for awhile….

The Beautiful Art of the Museum

C 01-18-09

Happy New Year everyone and sorry about the delay. I have been busy lately and haven’t had a chance to make a post. I have, however, smoked some tremendous cigars lately…some “tried and trues” and some newbies. The one that stuck out the most was the new masterpiece from Altadis called the Romeo y Julieta Museum Edition. I am not a big fan of non-Habanos RyJ line of cigars, though Altadis went all out on this one. The presentation of these

Romeo y Julieta Museum Edition humidor

cigars is exceptional. The shiny jet-black humidor, containing 36 cigars,  comes with a 3-D Giclee print by world renowned artist Charles Fazzino; each print signed and numbered. Each cigar is packed in a frosted glass tube, wrapped in cedar and a copy of the print itself. At first glance, I felt an overwhelming sense of overkill on packaging, seeing as I am a minimalist when it comes to what the cigars come in; the prize of which being the cigar itself. Once I tasted one, however, all of those initial ideas were quickly washed away. Encased in a Criollo 98 wrapper, the Connecticul Broadleaf binder teamed with a Dominican and Nicaraguan blended filler, this cigar is mouth-wateringly complex. I couldn’t have been more impressed.

01-18-09
Romeo y Julieta – Museum Edition
Dominican/Nicaraguan/Criollo 98
This 54 x 6 toro has a dark, silky smooth wrapper with a very earthy pre-light aroma. It had a perfect draw and burn; the ash was firm and salt and pepper colored. This complex cigar started right off the bat with sweet tobacco flavors very reminescent of a Cuban. The last half showed signs of roasted almonds, sweet cocoa and had a long spicy black pepper finish. Phenomenal.
97

Anejo Shark No. 77

C 01-01-09

01-01-09
Arturo Fuente – Anejo Shark No. 77
Dominican/Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro

Bringing in the New Year with a Shark and a beautiful girl couldn’t have been a better choice. A perfect draw and perfect burn was expected from this amazing cigar, which showed signs coffee, cream and a nice wet spice. Woody notes and pepper came through heavily in the final third. Considering that this is one of the newer Anejos that I haven’t aged, the cigar was very powerful. 

95

Royal Butera with a head cold

C 12-30-08

Preparing for the New Year, with somewhat of a head cold, I reached into my smaller humidor, which is reserved for my everyday smokes, and grabbed a Royal Butera. These lesser known mild cigars, bearing a Connecticut shade wrapper, Indonesian binder, and Dominican filler, have become one of my favorite everyday smokes. This seemed a perfect choice because of my sub-par taste buds, but my palate greeted this robusto surprisingly well…

12-30-08
Royal Butera Vintage – Bravo Corto (Robusto)
Dominican/Connecticut Shade
Surprisingly oily, this cigar burned perfectly, showing hints of cream and roasted nuts during the first half, and gaining strength in the second half, showing spicy hints of white pepper. Not bad for a mild cigar, which is a rare occasion for me to smoke one. The almost bleach-white ash held strong for an inch or so, and the cherry was a perfect cone.
91

Santa’s Shark No. 77

C 12-25-08

Happy Holidays everyone! Every Christmas for the past couple of years, I have made it a ritual of mine to smoke some sort of Fuente Anejo. This year I decided on the Anejo No. 77, aka the “Shark”. This particular cigar is from last year’s box and has been aging ever-so gracefully since. Gleaming with oils, the Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper was showing some signs of plume/bloom, so I reached for it right away. Fuente really goes all out here, aging the

Anejo Band

leaves in cognac barrels for a little less than a year. I do love the Opus X for what it’s worth, I just don’t understand why they are in such high demand when there is a cigar available like the Anejo, which Fuente definitely intends to be their creme-de-la-creme. It is one of those fluke trends I guess, but I am not complaining because there will be more for me!

12-25-08
Arturo Fuente – Anejo Shark No. 77
Dominican/Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Gleaming with oils, this toothy and fuzzy wrapper had aged to perfection. The smoke was very woodsy; showing signs of leather, cream, roasted nuts, and believe it or not, cognac. A lip-smacking spicy finish rounded out this medium-to-full-bodied cigar that had a perfect salt and pepper ash. Excellent.
95

One of my favorite everyday cigars

C 12-20-08

I’m letting the Serie D No. 4’s rest a bit in the humidor until the opportune time. I did, however, smoke an Arturo Fuente Cuban Corona Maduro (5 1/4 x 45), which is one of my favorite everyday cigars. The Connecticut broadleaf wrapper was of rough form, veiny, and toothy, but once warmed up, the cigar turned out to be very pleasant. Here is my review:

12-20-08
Arturo Fuente – Cuban Corona Maduro
Dominican/Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
The dark wrapper was oily, though rough and toothy, and showed some veins. Upon first light, the smoke had hints of charcoal and coffee. Midway through as the cigar warmed up, the chewy smoke started to emanate flavors of espresso, cream, and nuts with a dry, spicy finish. Medium to full-bodied.
90
Have a great holiday! I’m sure I will be smoking many-a-cigar, so expect some reviews in the next few days…