StogieCast.com a cigar Blog for cigar enthusiasts!

We found this cigar at a booth on the Kentucky Bourbon Festival Lawn while wandering around on Saturday, and decided to buy one on a whim. Now it gets the full review workup, now lets see if it was worth it:

Size: 5.5″ X 52
Wrapper: Kentucky Broadleaf Sun Grown
Binder: Cibao Olor
Filler: Dominican Republic South Bonao Pilato Cubano, Villa Gonzales Seco, La Vega Carbonell/Havana Seed
Website: http://www.blackpatchcigarco.com/

Appearance: As you can see in the photos above, this is a bit of a rustic looking cigar. It isn’t the smoothest cigar you have ever seen but it is not nearly the worst either. the wrapper is dark like french roast coffee, and equally as oily. Further perusal showed that the cigar was reasonably firmly packed and there did not seem to be any soft spots.

Pre-Light: Clipped very easily with my Credo Synchro Cutter. Nosing this cigar revealed a richness and some tangy notes, as well as a note that resembled charred oak barrels. The prelight draw was just right and revealed notes quite similar to the initial nosing.

Burn/Draw: This is an aspect where this cigar really shines. This cigar burned like a dream, long and slow and cool. the burn line was light and forget, it never really wandered much farther than the photo shown above, and this is a very good thing. The draw was just perfect, forgiving but providing just enough resistance to keep the burn cool. This cigar produced volumes of bright white fragrant smoke (earthy, and oaky with a sweet offsetting tanginess.). As far as the ash is concerned, it was light grey and a tiny bit flaky, but it held as long as I wanted it to.

Flavors: This was one intriguing cigar, where you have to put your preconceptions regarding American Cigar Tobacco aside. One might be tempted to discount a cigar with a wrapper from Kentucky, and this would be a mistake. For the baseline flavors, you have all the basics of any good maduro cigar. There are notes of coffee and earth, chocolate and a tangy note that provides a pleasant counterpoint and keeps the cigar from getting dull. this cigar is medium full in body and medium in strength. There is also some woodiness, and I think that this might be what makes this cigar special.

In most of the cigars I have smoked to this point, when I have mentioned that there was a woody note, it was usually cedar like in nature. That is not the case with this cigar. This cigar has a not that tastes almost exactly like that of toasted oak. Like the oak in bourbon barrels. I wonder if this is intentional, being the wrapper leaf is from Kentucky. Either way, this not definitely lends itself to being a bourbon drinking cigar. Overall this cigar reminds me very much of a richer, more refined version of the Helix Maduro (perhaps a bit stronger and with that fascinating oak note), which if you know me is not a bad thing. In my formative cigar days I went through several boxes of the Helix. Overall if you want a change of pace with your morning coffee or favorite Kentucky Whiskey, try this out. It has given me hope for the possibilities of American grown wrapper leaves from places outside the Connecticut River Valley.

CAO Gold Corona

I am baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaack! After a bit of a hiatus, another review for you all!

One might have noticed that over the course of the reviews I have posted, I have generally reviewed Medium to Strong cigars, both in strength and body. Well for a change of pace I thought I would hearken back to the days when I smoked mild cigars, and review a CAO Gold, a rather popular Natural Wrapped Cigar. Here goes:

Appearance: Smooth and tan, not much in the way of veins, and pretty firmly packed. Overall a pretty nice looking stogie.

Prelight: Despite a hiccup by my normally dependable Xikar (needs sharpened maybe?), I was able to correct this stick to a nice clean cut. The prelight draw was acceptable, with tangyness and sweet honey as prelight notes.

Burn/Draw: fabulous. burned razor straight, nice easy draw with just enough resistance to prove worthwhile. The ash was medium grey and mottled and held for a bit more than an inch. Burned just like a well constructed cigar should. See the telling illustration below.

Flavor: there was much more flavor than I expected in this cigar. It was dominated by sweet and tangy notes. Woody notes like maple, sweet ones like honey, and nutty notes like toasted almonds and pecans. Over the last third of the cigar some spice crept in, cinnamon, and way toward the end some pepper. This is a cigar on the mild side of medium, in terms of both strength and body but definitely provides plenty of flavor. Overall this is a fabulous example how being a mildish stogie does not mean you have to be a bland one. Recommended.

Arturo Fuente Añejo #77 (Cameroon “Sand Shark”)

Well, I am back! I haven’t been around with a review in quite a while, so I thought it was about time. About a month or so ago I reviewed the Arturo Fuente Añejo #77 “Shark”, a specialty maduro cigar distributed by Arturo Fuente:

Today I thought I would review a rather uncommon variation on that theme I got the privilige to try, the “Sand Shark”!

Cigar name: Cameroon Wrapped Añejo Shark No.77
A.K.A.: “Sand Shark”
Vitola: 5 5/8″ x 54
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: ?? unknown
Filler: Anejo blend
Released: 2006 @ CFC, 11/2006 via Holts
Quantity: ~2,000 via Holt’s “Carlito’s Way” sampler

Notes: This cigar is identical to the regular release Añejo Shark No.77, except that it has a Cameroon wrapper in lieu of the normal Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper found on the Añejo line. Comparison photo.

These cigars are made on occasion for Cigar Aficionado owner Marvin Shanken, because of his penchant for Cameroon wrapped cigars. The Shark was actually made and named because of Marvin Shanken (Cigar Aficionado owner). Carlito named it for him because he loved it so much when he gave it to him on a visit to his office. Thus he called it the Shanken Shark.

The “No.77″ designation comes not from the ring gauge of this cigar, as it does for the other cigars in the Añejo line, but rather from a more amusing reason altogether. Carlito took his kids to Sea World in Orlando, FL, and there noticed that some of the sharks in the tank had two pectoral fins, which looked sort of like two 7’s.

This cigar was also released in November, 2006 as part of the Carlito’s Way sampler from Holts. A kind fellow “Brother of the Leaf” sent me this sampler as a gift. The sampler includes the following:

1 Arturo Fuente Anejo Special Release Cameroon Shark (5.88 x 64)
1 Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro (4.88 x 60)
1 Ashton Virgin Sun Grown Wizard (6 x 56)
1 Fuente Fuente Opus X Belicoso XXX (4.63 x 49)
1 Fuente Fuente Opus X Perfecxion X (6.25 x 48)

(Thanks for the research help.)

Having had a couple of Maduro #77’s before I can say that this is a fascinating variation on on that theme. You get that fascinating half box press figurado that is unlike anything you will find elsewhere, with the interesting lighter twist. When I removed the cellophane from the stogie, the wrapper while veinless and beautiful, looked a bit less sturdy than its counterpart, which raised a concern (that thankfully came to fruition). Upon lighting there was no problem whatsoever with the wrapper.

This cigar was smooth and mellow like a regular Anejo, with complexity to spare, spices and a bit of coffee, leather and a obvious tobacco taste being the strongest notes to pick out. Also, I seem to be able to pick out a note, almost a feel, in all anejos that must be the result of the cognac aging (which I presume occurs on the cameroon wrapper as well), a pleasant little twist on the tongue. That said most of those notes can be found in the regular anejo, but there is also the delicious tangy note that comes from Fuentes Cameroon Wrapper. Almost all cameroon wrappers seem to impart this note too me, and in this case it presents a fascinating twist on a cigar I love. It balances out the spicyness well. While it may not pass the maduro version for the #1 place for anejos in my heart, it is a delicious variation. If you can get one try it!

Rocky Patel Vintage 1992

The weather has been so great that the other night I lit the Tiki Torches, sat on my deck after sun down and enjoyed a nice cigar.

“Vintage cigars” (or cigars wherein all the tobacco used is from the same year) are relatively rare. Making such a cigar obviously limits the production, as well as the variety of tobacco you can use to create the blend.

Rocky Patel founder of the “Indian Tabac” cigar company chose to put his name on this cigar, and I don’t blame him.

The cigar is BEAUTIFUL.
Dark, gorgeous, somewhat toothy wrapper, with a little bloom.
Constructed VERY VERY well, and smelled very nice.

As expected it started a bit mild and worked its way up.
It never got “hot” or overpowering.
It was consistently mellow, even as the cigars “power” amped up.

Very herbal in taste to my palette with a hint of woodsy… cedar like notes.
The ratio of which began to shift to the other side as the cigar neared it’s end.

Very well done.
It’s no wonder Cigar Aficionado Magazine gave this cigar an amazing 92 rating.

I can’t wait to try the Rocky Patel Sun Grown.
I hear it’s a real powerhouse.

Cabaiguan Imperiales

I won’t lie, I tried this as part of a Blind Tasting, which to me validatesthe glowing review. If I can rave about it not knowing what it was, then it clearly wasn’t hype. Read the damage below!

Construction: What a beauty! As you can see in the pic above its a luscious looking ligt brown vitola of decent length, nicely packed and clearly expertly rolled. It seems to me I saw a triple cap which generally means of cuban origin, or a Fuente Opus X, though it did not have the rosado hue of the latter. No soft spots, not veins to see, not one blemish at all!

Pre-Light: Rich and tangy smelling, with a host of earthy smells, this cigar did a good job of highlighting the flavors to come. Clip was easy and the pre light draw was fairly easy, just restricting enough to ensure what was going to be a long languid experience. the Pre-draw yeailede more of the the tasty notes experienced in the intial smell.

Burn: You can see how fine the construction is in the burn of this stogie. Long and slow, cool and straight, this stogie did not need a single touch up after the initial light. Did I mention how slow it burned. I lit this cigar at the beginning of popping in the DVD “The Day After Tomorrow” and the cigar lasted THE ENTIRE MOVIE! And not once did it burn hot, allowing its marvelous flavor profile to shine through. The Draw while it burned was just perfect, restrictive enough as not to burn hot, but yielding a plethora of fragrant smoke.

Taste: What a lovely rich cigar. Amazingly smooth and round on the palate, this cigar abounds with earthy and rich notes. I dont wanna pin down the sweetness with a specific I dentifier, except to say it si natural (molasses maybe?). Also notes of wood like standing in a whiskey aging room, and a field on a farm after the rain (you know, that wet earth rich smell. The thing that stuck me most is that it had all these rich flavors while maintaining that incredible smoothness. Almost the epitome of what a medium bodied medium strength cigar should taste like. A genuine EXPERIENCE, not just a cigar to smoke.

In Summary, all I can say is if you like mild-medium cigars, and you get the chance, smoke one of these!

Arturo Fuente Añejo #77 (Original Maduro Variety)

In my never ending quest to out review the site admin, I submit for you tis gem.

Cigar name: Arturo Fuente Añejo #77 (Original Maduro Variety)
A.K.A.: “Shark”
Vitola: 5 5/8″ x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf maduro (aged approximately 3 years)(aged/cured in cognac barrels for 6-8 months)
Binder: ?? unknown
Filler: Añejo blend

How fortunate that I get to smoke a Classic #77 while close enough that I still have the Cameroon version still fresh in my head. I already knew I loved these bad boys, so I can dispense with the formalities right away. Anyway, on to the review.

Construction: That beautiful dark wrapper. Dont you just wanna tear it off and eat it? NowI know that that would probably be gross, judging by looks alone, wouldnt you want to? This one was smooth and veinless and firmly wrapped in that fabulous characteristic half box pressed pyramid shape. Just a joy to behold.

Pre-Light: Clipped easily and as is my want with pyramid style cigars, drew quite easlit with a rather small hole, better to concentrate the flavors on my palate. Pre light was chocolate and cedar, and a little of that almost imperceptable note that I get from Añejos.

Burn/Flavor: Amazing as always. I will say you could tell that this was an ‘06 Shark, it was a little young, and maybe a tad vegetal tasting (raw), but that in no way detracted from the flavor experience for me. The cigar drew like a dream, with billows of flavorful fragrant smoke wafting all around me, and enveoping me in an intoxicating haze. Burn was fabulous, long (at least 95 minutes in duration), slow, cool, and razor straight, not need ing a touch up till the very very end, as I was trying to milk it to a nub. Flavor wise it was more ASSERTIVE than the Cameroon version, lots of cocoa and leather at first, the cocoa staying and cedar and that toungue lingering tobacco flavor wafting in and out. This one built a decent heat of steam, more so than I remember (though its been more than I year since I have had one, and the ones I had were aged), and reached a fabulous Mocha Esspresso white pepper crescendo about two third of the way through (rounded off on the toungue with that note that I still insist must be from the special aging Añejos get). The tang I experience in the Cameroon version must have been from said wrapper, because that was not present here. An experience to be sure.

Overall a command performance. The hype is real with these bad boys too. I was lucky to acquire another one with the stick I burned, and I plan to sit on it for a while to see how it develops. GOOD STUFF!

Diamond Crown Maximus Robusto #5

A friend came down to visit this past weekend.
It was supposed to a low key time for alcohol, and cigars at a local pub.

Having posted an embarrassingly low number of cigar reviews, I thought I would take the opportunity to do one.
Now, I knew going into this that it wasn’t going to be an ideal review situation.
I wasn’t going to be able to take notes or anything.
So I grabbed a cigar I had some familiarity with hoping that would make remembering the details a little easier.

Additionally it was a cigar I had enjoyed in the past.
The Diamond Crown Maximus.
(this was the Robusto #5)

Things didn’t work out exactly as I had planned.
I had a less than stellar experience with this cigar. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had previous times.
I didn’t enjoy it much at all to be quite frank.

Being a huge fan of the Fuente line up in General, and a relatively recent admirer of the Oliva family products… the Diamond Crown Maximus is a no brainier.

The Diamond Crown Maximus is made in extremely limited quantities and is only available to a handful of suppliers throughout the US. The secret to this fuller-bodied blend is its El Bajo Sun Grown wrapper that packs a robust flavor. This wrapper is grown in Ecuador by the Famous Oliva tobacco family, growers of the worlds finest tobacco. This leaf in conjunction with the expert rollers at the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic have turned the Diamond Crown Maximus into a legend.

- Source: Cigar.com

Since I was previously very impressed with the cigar I found myself wondering… what went wrong?
I mean this is a cigar whose name is often spoken in the same breath as OpusX!

(aff)

1) I was at a bar.
Try as you might you just can’t give a cigar the attention it deserves while socializing at a bar.
You may thoroughly enjoy it, but you’re not likely to retain much to build a solid review.

2) I’ve had some trouble with my humidor’s RH% recently.
This really stinks, and I only have myself to blame. Several times I have walked past the humi to see percentages approaching the lower 50s. (and once even lower!). I just haven’t been as diligent as I should. It is entirely possible that the cigar was adversely affected by this.

3) I had a less than stellar cut.
I think it may actually be time to send the ol’ Xicar (aff) in for sharpening. The cutting of this cigar was awful. It took THREE attempts to get a nice clean cut.

5) I was drinking a Bass beer.
While I like Bass beer I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered it for a cigar session.
t’s a very strong, bitter beer and it really isn’t the type of drink that like to take a back seat to anything on the palette.

6) Had to resort to matches. The icky kind.
Forgot my butane. Damn!
Had to use matches.
They yucky kind.

I took all the precautions one can take in such a situation but it was still less than perfect.
Even the burn was a bit off thanks to my lack of skill with match lighting.

7) The Nintendo NES.
Yes you heard right. The Nintendo NES.
Old school. This bar had a TV setup with a NES and my buddy and I sat there all night playing Mario Brothers, Blades of steel. and Excite Bike. While this little bit of nostalgia was FUN… I let the cigar go out a couple of times. But what was I supposed to do? When you’re marching through levels on Galaga you just don’t put the controller down!

Given all of that I can’t in good conscious give this cigar a good review.
But please take this with a grain of salt. More than once I can remember sitting down with one of these and thinking “Damn that’s a good cigar!”

H.Upmann Vintage Cameroon Robusto

Wrapper: Well Aged Vintage Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, & Peruvian

Pre-Light - A medium mocha brown, kinda toothy wrapper, whrapped nicely around a evenly packed nice looking stogie. No blemishes to speak of. Clipped easy and yielded a prelight draw that was cedary (from the wrap perhaps?) and sweet tobacco. Draw seems good.

Burn - even and medium, producing just enough smoke to feel round and robust in the mouth. Burned razor straight, and the ash held for quite a long time, which helped promote this experience from average to better than. The long ash helped provide a cramy smooth (cool) richness to the smoke I doubt would have been there otherwise. An example of how stellar construction can help elevate and average smoke.

Taste - A pretty simple straightforward cigar, starts off with a burst of black pepper, with notes of spice and cedar in the beginning and a honey like undertone, the cedar stay as it settles in at the halfway point to more pepper, and the tang that I am learning must be associated with Cameroon wrapper. A pretty average tasting cigar.

Overall - This is an above avergae cigar. The pedestrian flavors were clearly helped by the good construction of this stogie, in the first concrete example I can show of form helping function in handade cigars. Because the ash held for so long, the cigar burned cool and smooth giving the smoke a more fufilling body. It also helped me appreciate the flavors of this cigar more, heightening the experience. If all the cigars of this line are constructed this well, I can happily reccomend it.

Cigar Review: Cuban Romeo Y Julieta Coronitas Cedro

I was lucky enough to get this little beauty as a gift from a Canadian visitor.
Forbidden fruit… yes.
But the money had been spent - Castro already had his 7 bucks. Not accepting it would have been an insult to the Canadian Empire and could have cause an international incident.

Cigar Info:
Manufacturer: Romeo Y Julieta
Cigar Name: Coronitas Cedro
Country of Origin: Cuba
Length: 5 1/8
Ring Gauge: 40
Shape / Style: petit cetro

Pre-Smoke Notes:
Wrapper Condition: Much more uneven than I had expected. I wouldn’t call it “wrinkled” … but almost.
Wrapper Color / Consistency: Very consistent. A bit darker than a paper grocery bag.
Smell: DIVINE!
Firmness: Felt a little firm - hoped it wasn’t going to be a tough smoke.
Tobacco at a glance: Ok. a bit unevenly spaced - but nothing to worry about.

Smoke Notes:
Light-Up: Perfect clip and light no issues.
Burn: Straight as an arrow.
Draw: Excellent no problems. The tobacco spacing and firmness was not an issue. It smoked like a dream.
Ash: light gray with black “highlights” reminded me of old stone.
temp: Very cool. I nubbed this cigar so at the end it obviously warmed up, but over all a very cool smoke.
Food & drink had with cigar: Diet Coke
Smokable length: All the way. I only stopped because I could no longer hold it.

Taste Notes:
Started with a bit more bite than I expected but not at all unpleasant. Lots of leather at the start.
Very quickly mellowed out to a medium bodied creamy smoke. Ceder, Leather, and pepper. Very nice. This would be a good morning smoke.

Half way through the cigar really started to come into it’s own.
That classic “Cuban Taste” really started to show up.
This little cigar was very creamy and not at all demanding. Perfect as I hadn’t had a great deal to eat prior to lighting it up. Interestingly enough the only thing I had with this cigar with was a Diet Coke. My rather unsophisticated pairing ended up to be pretty good. The cigar obviously stood up to the Diet Coke no problem… but the Diet Coke took on a decidedly chocolate taste after a good puff. Who’da thunk it?

Getting down the end the cedar was less evident and the leather notes started to take over again.
Must not have been to bad though because I kept smoking even when there wasn’t enough room to safely hold the thing.

Summary:
Like the Cigar: Yes VERY nice indeed.
Buy it Again: Sure! It’s a pretty affordable Cuban
Recommend to a Friend: Absolutely. This one is worth trying. It’s not gonna compete with the PSD4 or Cohiba… but still a great smoke.

Fuente Opus X Perfexcion No. 2

I have another fabulous smoke to share with you today, that is so often associated with quality that it barely even needs introduction. The Fuente Fuente Opus X. So lets get into the nitty-gritty of The Cigar, The Myth, The LEGEND!

Appearance: In a word, Beautiful. This smoothly wrapped, lightly reddish adorned pyramid just begs you to take a bite out of it, it is so tasty looking. It is firm and solidly packed, with no major veins, or blemishes or soft spots to speak of. Fabulously constructed.

Pre-Light Draw: This cigar clipped easily and yielded a nice medium draw, with initial pre-light sweetness. along with notes of woodiness and some tang. It really does entice you to just get to lighting it already.

Draw/Burn: As one would expect from the impeccable construction, the draw and burn of this cigar was a dream as well. The burn was razor straight and slow and cool, leading to full appreciation of the nuances that this cigar can present. Also the nice slow even burn produced quite a bit of white, billowy smoke, that you can easily get lost observing slowly meander to the ceiling. The ash was almost white, serving a nice contrast to the rosado wrapper and held for quite a long time, adding to the smoothness and round feeling of the smoke on your palate.

Flavors: This cigar provides a fabulous flavor contrast. On one hand there are some great sweet (I had often heard many a cigar lover say they tasted raisin in these cigars before, and inwardly scoff. But in this particular shape, it was there! I can finally see what they meant) and tangy notes. But those lighter notes are built upon yummy black pepper, sage, and clove smells and tastes. This cigar shows amazing depth and flavors, and if you feel like contemplating it, you can pull many a flavor nuance from it. If you would rather not, be satisfied you will be getting one of the worlds best medium-full flavor experiences.

I could wax poetic more on this stogie but I do not think it is necessary. This is a great cigar. You will enjoy it. It is not the cheapest of cigars but I can heartily say it is worth the price.