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     So I thought I would write a little about the cigars that currently inhabit my humidor at home. My humidor is a small one, it says that it holds 50 cigars, but that is only if you pack them in like sardines. Currently I have 30 puros in there and I am running out of room quickly. I am looking to upgrade to something like this one sometime in the near future. I like to buy samplers and I end up buying more cigars than I smoke, so my humidor is filing up slowly. I like to let them sit in there for awhile to cure and blend the flavors with the other cigars that are in there. So lets get down to business…..

I’ll start from the low end and work my way up. My boss traveled down to Honduras about 6 months ago and brought me back a hand-rolled kiosk type cigar that was rolled in front of him. Because of this, I don’t really have any information on this cigar. It looks to be about a 7 x 40, with a medium brown natural wrapper. I have been letting it sit in my humidor hoping to cure it as much as possible before I smoke it, giving it a chance to mature.

Next up we have 2 Cienfuegos Blazers which came to me in a Maduro sampler from Cigars International (which I have mentioned before on this blog, and will many more times). Without a doubt, this is my least favorite cigar in my humidor, and I look forward to getting rid of these, one way or another. They are full bodied and very spicy, much too spicy for my taste. Also, they are somewhat bottom shelf quality, producing stinging smoke, uneven burn and an overall difficult smoke.

Following those, we then have the Hansotia Signature 101 Robusto which I have reviewed on this site. I have 2 of these left. They only rank lower in my humidor because I am not a big fan of the first 2 inches or so of this cigar, but I love the finish and I do look forward to the 2 that I have left. However, I probably won’t be buying any more of these.

Next at bat would be the La Gloria Cubana Churchill Maduro, a 7 x 50 heavy hitter (for me at least!) which packs a smooth and enjoyable smoke that lasted well over an hour for me. I have 3 of these left, and I have been procrastinating a review on this stick. The link above lays out a nice review, which will have to do for the mean time. I enjoyed this one, but I think the next time I smoke this, I will be putting it down about an inch earlier, or at least be well hydrated before I light it up. This cigar had a real pleasant wrapper, nice and oily and a very nice pre-light aroma. These will be reserved for when I have time to burn, so to speak.  I also recently acquired a shorter but thicker version of this same stick (6 x 55 I would guess), so that technically makes 4 of these killers.

Let’s see, what’s next….I have 3 Onyx Reserve No. 4’s, which I can’t find a good link to so screw it. It is a 5 x 44 dark Maduro. These are a perfect “on the go” cigar, matching a small stick with a relatively short lived smoking time. The draw on these is somewhat difficult, and they have a tendency to want to go out in the first inch or two. It has a consistent and steady flavor, though it does get a little warm as you get to the last 2 inches or so. These are a weekday smoke standby for me.

The next is the older brother of the previous. It is the Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso, a 5 x 50 torbusto that was my introduction to real cigars. Currently, 3 of them call my humidor “home”. I just love this cigar. Its got the Torbusto shape, which I am a big fan of. It is a lot like the No. 4, but it lasts longer and it has a fuller draw and taste. Its not the best I have, but it is a favorite and for the price, you can’t go wrong. This is one of my mainstay’s, I will always have some of these on hand.

Coming next, I would say the Dona Flor makes up the majority of my natural wrapper cigars. I think this cigar has a lot of potential, if it manages to stabilize in the humidor. There are 4 of them, and they came straight from Brazil (Thanks Dad). Like I said, I don’t have a lot of natural wrapper cigars, I lean heavily towards maduro wrappers. But this is a pretty decent stick that would be a great addition to any night out with the guys.

On deck after that, I have 3 Macundo Maduro Hyde Park. The Macundo Brand is approaching middle of the shelf at your favorite tobacco shoppe. This cigar would probably qualify in the low to mid level of this brand. But I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar the first time around. Weighing in at 5.5 x 49, it has a pronounced but smooth flavor with excellent texture and a very oily feel to the wrapper. I am in love.  Look for a review on this one sometime in the near future.

Following that, I have a single Nestor Reserve Maduro.  I have not yet tried this but I am looking forward to it.  It may be the darkest Maduro I have, with maybe the La Gloria ladies coming in a very close second.  It has that got-to-have torpedo shape and the size is tempting, 6.5 x 54, translating into a lengthy smoke, if the flavor is reasonable.  I got this in kind of a buy-one-get-one-free deal so if it sucks, no biggie right?  But from what I have read about it, I think I have a lot to look forward to.

Next I have 3 Punch brand sticks, 2 magnum and 1 Rare Corojo.  I have had 2 of the magnums before, and I gotta say, since I have started learning cigars these are my favorite.  There are others that rival it, but if you want to introduce someone to cigars, this is a sure bet.  I am looking forward to the Rare Corojo, which is slightly darker, though not really a maduro, as far as I know (hey, what the hell do I know anyway!?).  Even in a Cigar shoppe, you shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 dollars for a medium quality stick of this dignified brand.  I get all giddy just writing about these.

And rounding out the last of these, I have 3 Gurkha Grand Reserve Select which were given to me as gifts.  Retailing at about $13 a stick and individually encassed in glass tubos with a strong air of fine cognac, these are not the type of cigars that I would make a habit of buying.  I haven’t smoked any of these yet either, I have been saving them for a special occasion.  I have nothing to say about them yet, I don’t want to spoil anything.

So that wraps up my inventory.  For now, at least.  I am leaving in a week for Hawaii, Josh will be there, so will our other brother Jason and our Dad.  I am sure there will be lots to write about after we get back, and I am sure my stock will need to be replenished!  Until then, Cheers! (as Josh says)

I don’t like to spend my money on things very often, so I am kind of a novice McGuiver when it comes to some things.  I smoke in my garage a lot, one of the last places on the planet cigar smokers are allowed to smoke a cigar indoors.  So I kept running out of places to put the cigar down while I piddled around with my various tools and weapons.  I decided I needed an ash tray.  So with a little liquid nails, some spent casings from a 9mm and a Kalishnikov (which I sampled last summer) and lid from a cookie tin, I set to work.  This was the final result.  Not bad, if I so say so myself. 

  Thanks to Dad for bringing me some of these fine smokes back from his cross country trip through Brazil last month.  But because they came to me this way, I don’t know much about them.  So let me just tell you about the smoke and forget about all that snappy background information. 

This was about a 6 x 50 size stick.  I think these cigars got jostled a little bit in transit, so they are a little soft in some places, but despite that, the burn and draw on this cigar was reasonably consistent and didn’t show much of the stress of the trip. 

  I lit this up with matches, and it struggled just little to light evenly.  The first few draws on it were very bold and spicy.  The flavor seemed to be good, but I wondered if it was going to stay that strong. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish it, me being a flavor lightweight.  But after just about a half inch, that spicieness gave way and mellowed out into a smooth and mild flavor.  I couldn’t really pinpoint a certain taste, but I enjoyed what I was getting.  The smoke was thick and white, and the ash was mostly whitish-gray with some hints of black here and there.  The flavor stayed consistent through the rest of the cigar and I spent about 30 minutes really enjoying it.   

That being said, once I smoked it down to about two thirds, it really started to heat up, and it was difficult to draw on it without burning my mouth.  I think that had more to do with the time spent traveling rather than its overall quality.  Unfortunately, while I was smoking it, I bumped it into my workbench and knocked a significant part of the still burning tip right off.  This resulted in it going out, so I had to relight it, which I am sure didn’t help it any.  It was good cigar overall, and I would probably rate it a C+ to B-. 

I will try to find out more about this cigar to add to this review in case anyone out there is interested, but for now, this is all the effort I am going to put into it.

So after writing about the Hansotia a few weeks ago, I had another to see if I liked it any better the second time around. I also wanted to see if some of the faults (for instance, the poor construction and uneven burn) were unique to that single stick or if it was typical for that brand.  I am glad I gave it another shot. The second was mildly smoother than the first, still spicy but without the bite that the last one had. The burn was better, though still far from perfectly even. I forgot to mention last time the texture of the wrapper on this stogie. Very oily and lots of those signature bumps that tend to indicate a decent wrapper. It was a pleasure to hold and feel that oily finish between my fingers. The aroma of the smoke was a little foul, not enough for me to avoid it, but you wouldn’t want to smoke this wearing your favorite sweatshirt. As with the first one, just like clockwork the taste went from full bodied and spicy to smooth and mellow about two thirds of the way through, making for a very enjoyable finish for me, a lightweight when it comes to flavor. I am upgrading this cigar to a B, if the rest of them are more like this one and less like the first one.

So I have been trying to smoke something different lately whenever I light up a stick. On this particular night with a cheap bottle of Trader Joe’s Cabernet wine, I lit up a Handmade Dominican La Unica from the Cameroon series and I have to say it was an enjoyable delight.
This is a pre-light pic I took with my Razor camera phone. Not the best pics but I was one-up’d by my brother’s post, so since he is raising the bar with pictures I thought I would give it a shot. As you can see it’s not too long, nor thick. This was an excellent stick for say a 30 to 40 minute smoke. I typically would light it with wooden matched but I forgot them, so I resorted to torturing it with my zippo. It lit well and had a great draw all the way to the end.

Here you might be able to notice through the distorted pixels that is maintained a nice even burn keeping a light gray with black speckles. The pull was consistent through the entire experience, and the taste was a bit more full bodied than I would normally like but yet smooth.

From this shot you can see that I still have the band on which I did for the pictures. Shortly after this I removed it and continued to enjoy this as I poured my second glass of red. I was thoroughly impressed with this for a couple reasons. One, it is a relatively cheap stick at around $8.00 or so. Two, it’s an excellent timed smoke, you can knock this puppy out in about 40 minutes, so it would be great to bring to your wine bar, or out on the gold course. Three, it tastes fantastic and you will not be working your lungs or cheeks to get a decent draw. I would most definitely recommend this .

Overall Rating B+ 

I sampled this cigar that was a part of a Maduro Sampler that I purchased about 3 months ago from Cigars International. This is the first of the four Hansotia Signature’s that I have smoked. I didn’t know what to expect because the background of the brand demands attention but I almost expected a bottom shelf quality considering the price I paid and the nebulous history of this particular band. Hit up this Link for some background on this cigar.

Initial inspection revealed a solid construction with a firm feel as I squeezed it about midpoint. It possessed a very deep and earthy smell prior to lighting. Not the most pleasant smell to my untrained nose. Getting it lit evenly took some work as I worked at it with about 4 matches. This turned out to be indicative of how the cigar was going to burn – uneven all the way to the bottom.

The draw was excellent with plenty of blue tinted smoke. The initial taste was mildly spicy and quickly got spicier as I progressed through the cigar. The first half was about as full bodied as I can handle. While it wasn’t bad, it was not entirely to my liking. The uneven burn was persistent all the way through the cigar and mildly distracting to me, as I couldn’t do anything to change it. The ash was unevenly colored and ranged from black to almost a dark brown in some places.

In my mind, this cigar was quickly going downhill until about two thirds of the way through. At this point, it suddenly lost most of its spice and mellowed out quite a bit. The taste turned to a deep yet soft woody aroma. Before the change, I was planning on dousing this stick and putting it out of its misery. Once the taste mellowed however, I decided to smoke it to within about an inch and a half from the cap. It was a surprising and satisfying end.

Putting the good together with the bad, I would have to rate this cigar about a C+ or B-. I’ll take this one to the next par three with me.

So I light this bad boy up two nights ago. The Cusano Corojo is dark, yet smooth and spicy with a full-body and robust flavor.

The unique complexity of this cigar is the result of the vintage 1997 Corojo wrapper leaf that Cusano has exclusive rights to. This Cuban seed grown in Ecuador is second to none and is one of the only authentic corojos available. This wrapper is then complimented with a Sumatra binder and the finest Dominican fillers to give the cigar a long, wet, and sweet finish. The only part of the experience that I noticed was the draw was not as full as I am used to, but that was partly due to my inadequate cut. This stick lasted a solid 55 minutes, as I took a pull every two - three minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed this smoke. The ash didn’t quite burn that evenly, however again, due to the storing of it over the last couple of weeks it’s not surprising. I had it in a one quart ziplock bag with a water pillow. So it probably wasn’t perfectly humid all around.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet full bodied flavor. This cigar cost me about $11.00 USD at a local cigar shop. Overall Rating is a stong - B

Cheers,

-j

I picked this cutter up about three weeks ago, and so far I have to say it was the best / cheapest investment thus far. I paid $6.99 USD for it, and have cut about 7 cigars. The name is Credo Synchro Cutter. Credo is a leading manufacturer of cigar humidification units.  I will continue to use only this cutter for a while, and update with the longevity of the sharpness.  In the meantime, if you are looking for a  great small cutter I would surely recommend this.

Officially named Corona Gorda, I smoked one of these this weekend at a local cigar shop.  This was a pleasant experience first of all because it was the first time I have enjoyed a smoke indoors.  I have had one of these sticks before and was anticipating a smooth and low key smoke.  I was not disappointed.           

The initial presentation of this cigar was on par with anything you would expect to find in a decent humidor.   It was soft enough upon the intial squeeze, yet easily rebounded.  The aroma before lighting was soft as well, and gave me plenty to anticipate as I clipped it and lit her up.              

The draw was excellent as I lit the foot with a match (my preferred method).  The first few draws came easily and produced a medium body of flavor and smoke.  The flavor was constant throughout the stick and didn’t vary too much as it inched slowly towards my finger tips.  While maybe not terribly complex, the flavor was excellent.  The burn stayed even all the way down.  Only at the very end did any heat penetrate the cap and cause any kind of discomfort in my mouth.  The ash stayed a healthy white color with maybe a hint of gray and black speckled throughout.  The ash stayed strongly connected inch by inch confirming the excellent construction.              

Overall this cigar was excellent, as far as a beginner can tell.  While the flavor was definitely there, it was not overpowering in the least and it made for an enjoyable 40 minutes in the cigar shop.  Highly recommended.   Overall Rating - B

Welcome to Cigarbros.net. This site is ran by two brothers, Joshua Chase and Isaac Chase. We frequent a cigar stick often, and wanted a place to talk, review and recommend what we think. We hope you enjoy the site and frequent often, as we smoke often and in turn will be reviewing …often. hee hee.

Thanks,

Cigarbros