Tag Archive: cigar

La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Review

October 22, 2011

October 22, 2011

Tonight I’ll be reviewing the largest cigar in the humidors. This is the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero. I don’t know too much about this cigar, I picked it up at a smoke shop on a whim, as I’ve never tried LFD cigars. This is a large vitola, I’m not sure what it is exactly, but it’s about churchill length with maybe a 60 right gauge. If I recall correctly it was about 7-8 bucks.

It’s a nice looking cigar. It’s dark with a nice oily sheen. It’s certainly not smooth… it’s lumpy and veiny, with no shortage of bumps and valleys. The sticker looks great in gold, black, and red. It’s classy looking.

I hate to say that this stick doesn’t smell like much of anything to me all through the length of the cigar, and the prelit draw tastes like light sweet tobacco. I can’t pick up notes of anything else.

The initial few draws are quite tasty, and a light tangy.. bittersweet taste coats my lips. It produces plumes of thick white smoke that is warm and smooth.

From the look of this stick I expected to get blasted with strong spicy madness, but what I’m getting is much milder. It’s sweet and spicy, not light at all, but not as excessive as I expected. It may be worth noting that cigars almost never end up being what I expect them to be. It’s pretty great actually. The draw is perfect. The ash starts out looking snow white, fluffy, and weak.. That’s what I’d expect with this larger ring gauge.

Oddly, I’m starting to notice an increasing bit of numbness on my lips, tongue, and cheeks. I like the sweet, peppery, spicy taste but the feeling is moving from being interesting to being distracting. I’ve experienced some light canoeing in the first half hour that self corrected… <rant>which is cool, since my torch lighter is being a pain in the balls… and why wouldn’t it. Most all cigar accessories.. cutters, hygrometers, lighters… etc seem to be wonky shit, no matter the price. </rant>.

So far, it’s been extremely slow burning and consistent. It is full and strong. Nearing the end of the first third the ash has held, as weak looking as it is, and it’s definitely not straight. It’s not pretty, but that’s ok. It tastes great and it’s burning well.

Entering the second third, the sweet pepper subsides a bit, and so does the numbness in my mouth and the bitterness on my lips. The stick starts to pick up smooth creamy woody tones with the pepper moving back. Exhaling through the nose though… wow. It burns. A lot. My eyes water. That creamy/woody taste doesn’t last long though and it goes back to pepper. Not black or red pepper though, more like a mild green pepper… spicier than a banana pepper, but not as spicy as a jalapeno… and a fitting aftertaste comes back with it.

At about the halfway point, I start to feel the nicotine. It’s not overwhelming, I don’t feel ill or lightheaded, but just a nice euphoric nicbuzz. This is not a newbie cigar, but I don’t find it particularly complex either. It’s dominantly peppery with a pretty strong sweetness, but not too much character change, and it’s quite strong.. I wouldn’t recommend it to people that like mild cigars, even as a change of pace. Only smoke this one if you enjoy medium-full to full strength. It’s not kicking my ass like the La Bomba I reviewed last week, but I ingest an awful lot of nicotine on a daily basis. If you don’t, this will knock you over.

So far it’s needed quite a few minor touch ups. I’ve had to relight the wrapper 4 or 5 times.. and this really does affect the taste. A good portion of the taste of a cigar comes from the wrapper, and when the filler recedes into the wrapper, all of that flavor gets lost which is as unfortunate as it is annoying. I’ve been noticing this an awful lot lately, which makes me think it’s caused by the RH in my humidor. I’ve historically kept my humi at 70%, but about a month ago dropped it down to 65%. These are also relatively new sticks that have been in the humi < 30 days. Because of this, I don’t want to blame the burn issues on the cigars themselves. I’ve also recently switched from using wooden matches to torch and light, to a 3 flame torch lighter… so take that into consideration.

Entering the final third, once in a while I’m picking up notes of cinnamon, but the dominant flavor is clearly pepper. This stick has been burning for a long time, and honestly, after 2.5 hours I’m getting a little bored. The taste has remained great, with the smoke consistently smooth and plentiful. Overall it’s a great value for a long lasting, strong, spicy cigar. It’s not pushing any limits, but it’s not holding back either. The last third is definitely full strength, and though I could comfortably take this down to the nub, I’m not going to. I’ve had enough, and it’s not offering anything to keep my interest. It’s lived a good life and I’d recommend it for a special occasion. I think if I pick up any more of these, I’ll do it in a smaller vitola.

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My Father Limited Edition 2011 Review

October 14, 2011

October 14, 2011

I am so retardedly excited about this cigar that I almost don’t want to review it. I’m such a DPG fanboy lately that I can’t even really explain it. I’ve got a few My Fathers in the humidor that I haven’t had the gall to torch up, but tonight… tonight is the night I’mma try this bad boy.

The appearance of the cigar is amazing. The wrapper is smooth and light with veins that are seen but not felt. The double stickers are elaborate gold, salmon, and red. This is a 2011 cigar, but the labels look old, and they look old without the impression that they are trying to look old. The construction is perfect, I can detect no soft spots or bumps. The triple cap is expertly applied and equally impressive.

It’s a lightly aromatic stick unlit. It’s not pungent or offensive to the nostrils, but a light balanced banyardish scent. I’d be content just sitting on the couch all night sniffing this thing. Actually, I’ve been doing it for about 15 minutes.

As much as I hate to do it, I snip off a bit of the cap. It feels wrong, but… can’t take them with you.

The prelit draw is dry, sweet, and cedary.  Time to light it up.

The initial few draws are peppery. Less extreme than I expected, and the smoke is also very dry, something that’s new to me. It dries out my tongue and mouth almost instantly. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet, but it’s interesting nonetheless. About a 1/4 inch in, the pepper subsides and turns into a sweet and toasty cedar. That drying effect also went away. It’s really cedary with hints of coffee and caramel. So far the draw is perfect. Just enough resistance, just enough air. There’s a slightly bittersweet taste that is clinging to my lips and the front of my teeth. It’s not ultra bitter, or unpleasant, or even good.. just interesting. Exhaling through the nose is spicy and makes my eyes a bit watery, but then leaves a cool, slightly refreshing sensation in my sinuses. Halfway into the first third I’m getting dominant cedar, with hints of pepper, dark chocolate, and black coffee. This is interesting because these are woody, spicy, and bittersweet flavors without any noticeable cream. I would expect cedar, coffee, chocolate, and cream.. instead of cream, this brings spice.

The ash is of average strength, and snow white, with flecks beginning to fake off about at about 3/4 inch in. The burn isn’t entirely straight, but is not tunneling or canoeing, nor does it give me the impression that it will in the future. Now I am getting very, very strong cedar, and it’s glorious. That initial dryness in the first few draws hasn’t returned in anyway. Now the smoke is cool and satisfying with a nice refreshing aftertaste.

I actually do run into some burn issues entering the 2nd third. Got some canoeing and tunneling right around the same time that needed to be corrected. I just noticed that the burn on this stick is incredibly slow. I’ve just watched a full length movie (Red State, 88 minutes, recommended) and I haven’t even reached the halfway mark yet. The smoke is sufficient, but not overly abundant, and so far, after 88 minutes of smoking the room doesn’t feel heavy or inundated with smoke like it sometimes gets. Could be my Csonka Air Purifier working unusually hard, but that’s always on and still, the percieved level of smoke in the air is minimal. Just a note. This makes the $20 price seem more reasonable to me.

Around the halfway point I can taste the spice picking up, leaving a light on the inhale and the growing steadily in the aftertaste. That’s a nice effect, not sure how Jaime pulled it off. I’m also starting to wonder how it’s possible for this cigar to burn so slowly and last so long. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t seem to keep the fucking wrapper lit anymore. That’s disappointing. I keep my humidors at 65% too, so I doubt it’s an overhydration thing. The flavor at this point seems to stay spicy with the cedar taking a backseat. I am having serious issues keeping this lit though and it’s starting to piss me off, so I’ve started taking unnaturally hard draws to keep it lit. Hopefully I won’t have to do this long because it may ruin the experience of the rest of the cigar. Already I’ve been paying more attention to the burn than the flavor, and that’s not good. So far though, it’s not a problem, even with the harder draw the smoke remains cool, crisp, smooth, and tasty. Impressive. Not a hint of bitterness.

Entering the final third some of the sweetness returns and I’m settling into a nice nicotine buzz. Maybe the stick got stronger, or maybe it’s from the harder draws. Either way, it’s nice.This is a medium-full body smoke, not excessively strong or potent, and it’s got an accumulative kick to it. The way it should be.

Around the 2nd half of the final third, some bitterness picks up. It’s amazing it took this long. I still get sweet cedar and pepper, but the stick is nearing the end of it’s life. Not bad considering it’s been a tasty smoke for over 2.5 hours now. I could probably draw it out till 3 hours, but I’m not going to.

Overall.. excellent smoke. Excellent smoke. I had some severe annoying burn issues, which seems to happen to me fairly frequently, but I got a real lot out of that stick. I don’t know if I’d pay $20 for more of them, but I certainly wouldn’t say no. I’m glad I smoked it and I look forward to the other My Fathers that I’ve got in the humidor… special occasion smokes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cain Daytona Review

October 10, 2011

October 10, 2011

Tonight, after a nice steak dinner, I’ll be reviewing the Cain Daytona Torpedo. It’s a nice looking cigar. Solid construction and a nice soft, dry wrapper (as in not oily). The stick is firm but there is some give to it. The wrapper is light brown and slightly veiny, but only one of the thin veins really protrudes. It’s a nice looking stick, though I dislike the band being placed at the foot rather than the head. It makes me uncomfortable because I’m afraid I’ll damage the foot removing it. Whatever. No big deal.

The smell of the unlit cigar is light and barnyardish.. and the unlit draw tastes really sweet and chocolatey with hints of sweetened coffee. It’s a tight draw, but not plugged.

The Daytona is made up of full bodied Ligero leaves, with a mild Habano wrapper. This is supposed to be Cain’s attempt at toning it down. After the first few puffs, this seems to me to be a medium body cigar. I think it’s touted as full, but it seems substantially less potent than I expected. It’s strong and smooth… But not ass kicking strong.

It’s not producing a huge amount of smoke, likely due to the draw being as tight as it is. The first few puffs taste a bit sweet with a dominant red pepper and nut. Right out of the gate, within the first 15 minutes, the wrapper starts canoeing, so I touch it up quick.

The ash is solid grey and strong, there’s no flaking and I don’t feel like I’ve got to watch my shirt or hang this over an ashtray. It’s not going anywhere. The smoke is warm and smooth, but is leaving a bitter-ish aftertaste on my tongue. That’s odd. At about an inch and a half I held the ash over the ashtray and gave a little tap.. but it isn’t ready to separate just yet. It’s unwavering. There were a lot of flavors in the first third, it was hard to discern them all but I got definite red pepper, chocolate, coffee, and nut. I liked it a lot.

The whole flavor profile changes for me in the second third. It tastes more nutty with sweet undertones and the pepper has subsided. That weird bitter aftertaste on my tongue has gone away and is now short, cool, and sweet. Exhaling through the nose gives hints of cinnamon, also the draw seems to have opened up. I’ve had to fix some canoeing about three times this far.

A bit after the halfway mark it gets really interesting.. I get very woody, earthy tones on the inhale and spicy tones on the exhale. There’s more going on with this cigar than I can explain. Every draw is a little different, on the inhale and exhale. If I wasn’t writing this review, it’s likely that I wouldn’t have noticed all the complexity that this stick delivers.

The final third is noticeably stronger, and the flavors blend together to be dominated by spice. I don’t make it to the nub on this one because it get’s bitter and too hot, but it lived a good, satisfying, 1.5 hour life.

This cigar has gone from a medium to medium-full body while deliver a constantly changing complex flavor profile. Very enjoyable and recommended.

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Fonseca Cubano Limitado Review

October 9, 2011

October 9, 2011

Tonight, Jenn got to rifle through the humidor and select tonight’s tasty treat. What she gravitated toward was the Fonseca Cubano Limitado that I had lying on the lower level of the humidor.. The only one of it’s kind lying alongside a pile of it’s Fonsecan brethren. This is said to be the boldest of the Fonsecas.

It’s easy to see why this is the stick that caught her eye.. The wrapper is dark and oily (which would set it apart from the pile of naturals under it), with an elegant and sophisticated looking gold and black band.

It does look nice, though not perfect. It’s very veiny, and these veins are quite detectable to the touch. They’re like stems. It’s firm and rigid, not even remotely soft. There is no give to it at all. There are numerous bumps along the length of the stick, and unfortunately there are three splits in the wrapper near the foot. Could have come this way, if I remember right this is a cigar that I purchased on cigarbids.com about a month ago.

It doesn’t smell as strong as I’d expect giving the dark bold looking wrapper. The unlit draw is extremely, extremely tight and doesn’t taste like much of anything at all. I’m tempted to take more off the cap, though doing so would likely not make any difference and just cause the stick to fall apart.

The first thing I notice upon lighting is the taste that it leaves behind on my lips, it’s strong and bittersweet. Probably due to the oils on the wrapper. It’s got a unique taste.. Unlike any other cigars I’ve smoked. It tastes strong and almost synthetic. This definitely has a chemical taste to it, and it’s not lighter fluid.. After the first half inch or so I’ve  passed the split parts on the wrapper and they caused no problem. The draw though is very very stiff. Too stiff. This thing so far is… a turd sandwich with paint thinner mayonnaise. I don’t remember what I paid for it, but I want my money back. I hope it changes drastically, and soon or it’s gotta go because this is in no way enjoyable, and I find it bordering on offensive.

AAAND… I throw in the towel. I firmly believe if it’s not pleasurable to smoke, don’t smoke it, no matter how much it cost. This isn’t. It looked nice though. I got about 1″ in. In the future I’ll stick with the normal mild Fonsecas.

Kuckies

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La Bomba 601 Review

October 9, 2011

October 9, 2011

La Bomba 601

The La Bomba 601, by Eddie Ortega is an odd cigar. This was recommended to me by the folks at my local B&M shop (Watch City Cigar Co, in Framingham MA). This recommendation came as a response to my query about spicy cigars. I was looking for peppery stuff, similar to Don Pepin Garcia’s lines. From what I’ve read online this is actually made at the My Father factory. This cigar actually has a warning to dissuade newcomers. How can I  pass that up?It’s uniqueness is apparent immediately due to the long, fuse like tail off the cap. This is intended to look like an explosive. Gimmicky? Maybe, but still, I’m a sucker… It’s cool.

It’s 5×52. Quite large. It’s appearance is great. Slightly oily and smooth all the way through, with thin veins on the wrapper that are visible, but not detectable to the touch. It’s also extremly soft. Almost like a suede. The unlit draw tastes like normal cigarette tobacco, but the scent of the stick is pungent. It smells of strong earthiness at the head and the scent gets stronger down the length of the cigar until it ends with a stronger spicier kick at the foot.

The initial few draws taste full and smooth giving off massive plumes of smoke. It tastes very good. Within the first few minutes I can taste the spice picking up. The ring gauge is a wider than I prefer, and it hurts my jaw to hold it, and I can feel my teeth digging into the wrapper to hold it in place while I type this. The draw is light and easy, and about 10 minutes into the stick I had to relight the wrapper by holding my torch at a distance and rolling the head above it for a few seconds..

The ash is salt and pepper, fluffy and flaky. I can see bits of ash poking up from the head like snowflakes. Specks  have begun to fly off on my shirt.

So far, I am really enjoying this cigar. The spice is fantastic. My only complaint so far is that this is the only vitola the shop had, and I’d prefer it to be bit thinner. Obviously, not a strike against the cigar, more personal preference.

There is no doubt, it’s a full body smoke. It’s not just black pepper, but in the first inch, I’ve tasted several different spices, along with some leather. I ingest quite a bit of nicotine on a daily basis, and this thing is giving me a buzz for the first time in a long time.

About an inch in, the burn hasn’t been even, as I let the ash fall, I’m going to have to touch it up a bit. Not surprising considering the early relight.

Entering the second third the flavor changes a bit. It’s lighter… sweeter, and kind of.. almost… bready. The pepper is still there, and still strong, but not as intense as it was…  Like a pepper cookie. It’s awesome. My jaw is relaxing a bit and the larger ring is bothering me less. My shirt is now speckled with the flecks of ash that continue to drift off.

I’ve read elsewhere that this stick is not complex. It’s complex to me. I’m tasting a lot of flavors with a strong solid peppery base. Exhaling through the nostrils gives me a sneezing sensation. About an hour into it I’ve reached the halfway mark.

I’ve just realized that for a good 10 minutes, I’ve been staring at the screen, blank and thoughtless much like a drooling retard. My mouth is a bit dry with my tastebuds probably a bit dead from the prolonged spicy assault.  The stick is burning unevenly again and will require another touchup. I’m going to give it a little help, and set it down for a minute or too to give myself some time to recover.. and a few sips of coffee.

Entering the last third, it’s about what I expected. Strong and spicy, and there actually what is probably an induced sneeze. All through this cigar the draw has been perfect. Every draw produces a huge cloud of thick white smoke that results in good strong, full smoke rings.

My tastebuds may be shot at this point, but all I’m detecting now is consistent spice. I don’t imagine that’s going to change for the remainder of the stick, and honestly.. that’s not a bad thing. Maybe that’s why folks claimed this wasn’t a complex cigar. In the beginning… I feel that it was.

I don’t generally smoke my cigars all the way to the nub, I usually let them die out somewhere near half way through the last third, but this one was special. At no point did it become bitter or unpleasant or too hot. It stayed consistent and tasty, and strong as hell. When I decided to put this down to sleep I’d had a good solid buzz for quite some time. Total smoking time was 1:58.

This isn’t the kind of stick I could smoke every day, for obvious reasons, but I’ll definitely pick up some more for special occasions and nights when I want to veg out for couple hours without thinking about anything. Definitely recommended for pepper fans and those that enjoy full bodied cigars. Now I’m going to lay down on the couch for a while to recover and watch some Dr. Who.

WhooooWeeee

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