Nothing New

Yep, this is just an update because there's nothing to update. I haven't been over to the local tabacalera lately due to yet another hobby I've been tending to. My food rating blog has a pretty good number of regular readers, well into the double digits with a few new hits each day. It's sort of funny about that blog actually. As soon as I put something up about hydroponics I got about 50 hits the first day from Canada. Of course I don't use hydroponics for what those crazy Canadians use it for *wink*. Isn't it legal over there? Anyway, you can see what they made a small commotion about on my food rating page. The link is on the left of the page somewhere. Sure I can grow tobbacco for cigars but the curing, aging, and other stuff takes years. Maybe one day when I'm a billionaire and I've got nothing else to do.

Dominican Sweets: Vanilla

This is one of the cigarillos I bought the other day that I refer to in the last entry. For 2 bucks I didn't expect much, and as you can see, theres not much to this. Although it looks like its been hand rolled there was no form used. Thats why it has that lumpy look. There's nothing wrong with that in a super cheap cigarillo like this especially when a real tobacco leaf is used for the wrapper and not tobacco paper. A key sign of this is the folded over cap. Crappy swishers, for example, have smooth caps with a hole or open end premade for you where no cutting is necessary. This cigarillo need to be cut.

After the cut and an unlit draw test I noticed an immediate tipped vanilla flavor. That's exactly what is sounds like: the tip of the cigar has a strong sweet vanilla flavor. More quality flavored cigars actually flavor the filler through various methods producing a nice tasting smoke. This cigarillo seems to use one of those methods to also very slightly flavor its filler or at least the wrapper. I can tell this at the aroma of the light. The first puff also gives away a somewhat sweet aftertaste like slightly sweet macadamian nuts. Not a bad beginning and definately more than I expected from this cigarillo. The flavor continued until I finally put it down with a good 2.5 inches left.

*As a note, and for your education, there are reasons that I don't usually smoke cigarillos. It's obvious that smoke from cigars is not good for you but cigarillos are even worse. And of course highest on the list are cigarettes which I've never touched in my life. Cigars are notably wider or have a bigger ring than cigarillos. Not only does that allow better air flow, it also produces a cooler smoke with far less tar. Tar is the biggest cause of lung cancer. A narrow cigarillo sucks air through a narrow foot causing the foot to burn very hot because of the lack of surface area air has to pass through. This produces darker smoke when taken in the mouth and can be seen if you do the toilet paper test. Take any cigar, cigarillo or cigarette and hold a mouthfull of smoke in your mouth. Then quickly take some toilet paper and make a good seal around your lips with your fingers. Blow out through the paper. With a cigarette or cigarillo you're likely to get a nasty brown spot. Keep in mind though that you're not supposed to inhale cigar or cigarillo smoke. If you just did that test with a cigarette, do it again but this time inhale like normal and then blow out through the paper. Not so brown this time? Guess where all tha tar got left behind? Yep, in your lungs. Even cigarillos which aren't meant to be inhaled have a less significant risk of giving you mouth cancer. It's important t moderate no matter what you smoke. buy 1 of each and compare the 3 pieces of toilet paper if you don't believe me.

Long note, yeah? But anyway as far as cigarillos go this gets a 6 out of 10.

It would have been better if it was properly humidified.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto

I got this today at a local shop and it didn't even see the inside of my own humidor. This particular shop seemed to have changed management and as a result, has greatly improved it's cigar inventory. It was a pleasant surprise for me as I saw a number of high quality cigars. I even picked up couple of flavored vanilla cigarillos because I was put in a good mood from potentially having another shop with a nice selection just around the corner from my place. I'll rate those maybe tomorrow. As much as I like cigars, I give myself an absolute limit of 1 a day, yet rarely have a cigar more than 2 days in a row.

*On a side note, some people have been commenting on that background I use when I take a picture of the cigars I have on my reviews. I've gotten a lot of, "That's a damn nice table top"s. And I tell them that it's actually the top of my homemade humidor. And I'd like you to know that it took a damn long time and a lot of effort to get that color and finish. Don't worry, I'll get the pictures of the build up soon.

Moving on. Once I took this out of the cellophane I immediately noticed the velvety feel of the dark vintage 90' wrapper. It smelled like dark unsweetened chocolate with a hint of cedar. Upon cutting I notice a not so well done cap. The guillotine caught an edge and there was slight unravelling but that was fixed when I put it in my mouth for a dry test draw. Yes, a little spit made it stay put. The unlit draw was very loose, a sign of very good construction and arguably one of the reasons cigars are box pressed. Box pressing helps open up the filler leaves after rolling allowing better air passage. Oh, did I mention this cigar is box pressed? I got ahead of myself. Now the light. The foot seemed to toast pretty quickly and lit without any trouble. The first puff was medium with a nice slightly bitter tobacco and cedar flavor. This mellowed out in the first 2 inches but picked up again in the last 3. The draw was so loose that puffing from this point warmed up the cigar a bit. Some people complain about a very warm draw but I think it improved the flavor of this RP. That cedar flavor came back in full force but was still mild in my opinion. The last 2 inches gave off a barely noticeable spice that complemented the cedar flavor nicely. I smoked this till my fingers could no longer take the heat and I only do that when I catch a really good flavor. This was a very good cigar although I wish that the flavor picked up sooner and without burning so hot.

The RP V90 gets a 7 out of 10

and that's partly because this stick was just a little too mild in my opinion and I'm a medium or full kind of guy.

GAAaaAAHhHHhh....

Well, it looks like everything's going to hell. Now I fond out that my bro is writting a blog about our mom's recipes - Filipino food of course. Now I'm fighting like hell from starting up another blog for my food rating system. And if I do end up creating that one, I'll be very busy as I basically have to write about all the food I've eaten in my area. Plus I have to describe my system... Just to give you an idea, my system is rated by taste, price paid, price to what I'd actually pay ratio, consistency, and finally how filling a dish is. AND everything is weighted differently and depends on what kind of cuisine it is. Do you see my problem now? I'd spend days just writing up the system. GAAaaAAHhHHhh.... now I have to bring around a damn camera too.

Mike, I need your Indian food ratings cuz I hate the stuff.

Woodford Reserve

Hell I'm so hyper about what could possibly end up being a completely new hobby that I thought I'd go ahead and pass on some good accompanying drink suggestions.

You can buy Woodford Reserve whiskey from better supermarkets or BevMo, which happens to sell both cigars AND drinks. Can you rock any harder than that? Anyway, this drink is good with creamy, heavier bodied Dominican blends but it's absolutely kick-ass with spicy Nicaraguan cigars. A good example of a creamy, smooth cigar would be anything that A. Turrent has to offer. A. Turrent is actually a Mexican cigar, I should mention, but they're coming up pretty fast and I'm a fan already. But the perfect cigar would be something in the line of Hoyo de Monterrey. These peppery Nicaraguans just, well I'll say it again, kick-ass. From my experience, spicy at the foot, smooth as hell in the middle, and peppery and woody near the end. A great match. I would not recommend, however, a maduro cigar with this whiskey. The earthy, nutty flavors of, say, an Onyx Reserve would be covered by Woodford Reserve. Better a glass of Disaronno with 2 rocks for that.

And thanks Waxy for turning me on to this brand of whiskey.

Consolidation Complete!

Well I finally got done transferring my scattered blog entries about cigars to my blogger account. I have a new review coming up tonight or tomorrow for the Romeo y Julieta Cedro Deluxe No.2. Don't hold your breath though, it didn't get very high marks by me. I'll also put up some pics of my homemade humidor along with some from the building process. I used a very sophisticated cut before you measure technique(eh?). Sure the box isn't perfectly square but at least they're not square and matching. Maybe if I'm bored that'll go up tonight... maybe. I still have to finish up the look of the blog too and that may take some time. Not to mention google is still crawling my site so I can get some kind of ranking on searches. As for now, keep lit but don't burn your fingers.

Romeo y Julieta Cedro Deluxe No.2

I got this guy from the store expecting a lot. I've read the reviews and seen the ratings all around the 7.6 range. Well, sometimes those reviews just aren't as reliable as your own. This cigar is a perfect case of that. It is also a good example of not judging a book by its cover. With such fancy packaging even a new smoker would be drawn into this stick.

Well the first thing I notice is the stamped cedar insert wrapped around it. I think, "Nice, it should incorporate that flavor pretty good then". Second, I take a whiff of the stick without the cedar and notice a nice earthy smell to it. Having a natural wrapper this is a good sign usually. Cut and draw - ok nice with just a little resistance. Then finally toast and light... almost nothing! So in the first inch theres a very light, barely there cedar flavor. From here I just hope that it will develop. 3 inches in I find even less of a flavor and I'm pissed at this point. I'm so pissed that I reach for my box of Mr. Chau's leftovers. But then I stop and continue down the stick for even a glimmer of hope that some kind of flavor will come out, even a bad one. Nothing! Just an empty slight spice. Then I think to myself, "Mr. Chau's over a 7 dollar cigar? That's just crazy!". A known premium cigar failing to a pseudo Chineese piece of tangerine boneless ribs? Holy crap, if a branch tapped my sliding door to my apartment during this freak fest I would have thought the sky was falling.

This one get an extremely disappointing 4 out of 10.
And thats actually high because this thing failed so hard it couldn't even give me a bad flavor.

Onyx Reserve Robusto

Well I promised and its here. My review of Onyx's Reserve robusto.
This is one of those cigars that literally makes me drool. You might understand why after my description. For one, it smells like chocolate! That's right, chocolate and a very fresh earthiness. As you may have read before, I have a thing for box pressed cigars and that "thing" hasn't failed me yet because I haven't had a bad box pressed so far. The wrapper is very oily, a characteristic of the maduro leaves used.
As always this stick cuts clean with a double guillotine. The unlit draw is perfect and at this point I drool even more. The wrapper has a very nutty flavor with a light saltiness like those fresh pretzels that use sea salt. It makes you want to chomp down but wait wait wait... light the sucker first. The first puff is always creamy with a bit of expresso flavor. Some say dark chocolate but this is my blog dammit. It starts off mildly spicy and finishes smooth with only a couple flavor changes along the way. The first half is more earthy and the last half is what makes me want to take a bite out of it from the smoothness plus the salty wrapper flavor.

A very good stick! Gets an 8 out of 10 from me.

AVO XO Maestro

Though I’ve had plenty of these this is the first review i’m doing for them. This one in particular my boss gave me after returning from a cruise somewhere around Spain. I thought, "Great, free cigar!". But in reality, you don’t need to go to Spain or anywhere near it to get one of these for 5 bucks. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what he paid. Hell, all I have to do is go to BevMo(Beverages and More). Anyway, on to the review.
This one had been sitting in my humidor for a few months so I was expecting a lot from it. The construction was good though I noticed a very light vein running almost from foot to cap. No big deal. The cut was very clean but noticed the unlit draw was a little too loose for my liking. Like so loose that I thought I might have a headache after smoking this one. Moving on to the toast and light... The aroma was nothing special to me. Think of warm nutmeg and very weak smell of expresso and burning leather. Uh... easier said than done I guess. The first few puffs were suprisingly mellow where I was expecting a burst of flavor like most cigars are at that point. Again, nothing special at this point. After about 2 inches in the flavors meld and I got a very smooth mild smoke- and a whole lot of it. Mild is not my thing though it was a pleasant flavor. I prefer medium to full just for the record. This mellowness lasted all the way to the last third of the cigar when I finally put the thing down. At this point it just tasted like a run of the mill, yet very smooth, everyday stogie. So now I’m thinking, "What the hell?!?!". Why does such a well known cigar cause me to give off my trademark "BAH!"?. I’m thinking it was just the humidor time, either not enough or too much of it.

This guy barely earns a 7 out of 10 and the first "BAH!" I’ve ever given to a premium cigar. Sad really...

Box only... But hey, it smells nice.

From time to time I like to buy a nice cigar box. Not only are they great for keeping cigars in, they also can hold all sorts of other random crap and they smell nice. Usually you can get one of any size from a local cigar/tobbacco shop for 5 bucks or less. Sadly they're empty except for some pieces of cedar, but hey, if you have a humidor you get some free cedar. WooHoo for free cedar!
Expect a review of the cigars that would normally come in this box soon. As you may be able to see, that would be the Onyx Reserve in the classic robusto dimensions. They're a lasting favorite of mine, not to mention I have a thing for box pressed cigars.

JR Alternative: El Rey del Mundo Cedro

This is my prized every day cigar. I smoke it... well, almost every day. It's the JR Cigar alternative to the El Rey del Mundo Cedro. Yeah thats a long description but hey, I'm bored and the more I type the longer I'll have something to do. Blaaaahhh. Anyway, I found this guy on the JR website and ordered a 20 pack. Mind you this was back when I was still searching for that every day cigar. To those of you who aren't familiar with the hobby, the every day cigar must be good quality, good tasting, and still be cheap enough to burn one every day if you wanted to. I've gone through more of these to count now but I've just been too lazy to post anything. But thats good because a number have been aging for over 2 months in my humidor now and I'm really glad I waited. Out of the box they're good but aged in my homemade humi for 2 months has really improved the blend. Very creamy Dominican leaves and a smooth and slightly spicy smoke make this guy WELL worth the(dare I say?) $1 dollar a piece pricetag. And though this isn't a Cuban or even Cuban seed, its got a lot of flavor. The aged sticks also burn very evenly. But I'm starting to sound too much like a real professional reviewer here so I'll stop with that. Though I wouldn't recommend this one for the beginner, as a developed palate is needed to really taste it. And the ability to puff a little out of your nose helps too. I usually smoke these down to about the width of 2 fingers and partly because it just gets too hot to hold by then.

This one gets a 7 out of 10 in my book. Sweeeeet.

Cheapo Factory Reject Review

Bought out of guilt from a storeowner that always slashed her prices for me. I actually wasn't going to buy anything. "Then why go?", you ask? Because it was right around the corner and I was bored dammit...
No need for a detailed review here. It was just so bland I put it down only about 1 1/2 inches in.

2 out of 10 here.

Kristian Kristiansen Review

Well here goes... Got this one from a store near my apartment after work. I was sort of in the mood for something I haven't tried before, although at that point I didn't really have much experience yet anyway. This one caught my eye because it was the only figurado in the shabby looking store humidor. I also noticed that the celophane was quite colored leading me to believe it had been aging in there a while.
Got home, cut, drew. Nice draw, a little easier than I liked but it was ok. No taste on the unlit draw. The wrapper was very oily like a maduro but the color was obviously a darker natural. I got really excited when I saw this as I'm a fan of super oily maduros. I thought it'd be comparable.
Lighting I noticed the taste of wood... just wood. Nothing special but not bad at all. This continued to the middle third of the stick. At that point there was a sudden flavor change to a somewhat harsh leathery taste. It just got bitter toward the last third. . Burn was even all the way down to the last third, when I put the thing down. I was dissapointed but then again, I really didn't know what to expect. This ended up being a way mild stick even for a beginner.

I'll give this guy a 5 out of 10