2 Cigars A Month: A Cigar Review Blog

Fellow Aficionado, I must ask your forgiveness for not posting reviews. Let me put your fears aside and say that my wife did not win, I still have my 2 a month ration. There was a moment there though that I feared all would be lost. But persistence prevailed!!!

Look back soon as I will review, the Knuckle, a Triple Ligero, a shorty, AVO, and other ones that I have had the pleasure of enjoying. I have a two week vacation coming up so I plan on making up for lost smoke.

Hit up my comments section to further encourage me. Thanks everyone.

Keep it lit!

I had an amazing opportunity to vacation in a multi-million dollar vacation home at Sea Ranch. As you can see from this picture I was able to get some great fishing too. Well there is only one thing on my mind to complement a vacation and fishing...a great cigar. Unfortunately one of the two was not. (Can you spot me on the cliff?)

This a medium-bodied cigar with a unique blend of Brazilian, Dominican, and Nicaraguan filler. Interestingly enough this cigar is the creation of
resort owner Enrico Garzaroli and cigar legend Avelino Lara who is credited with founding the Cuban Cohiba that I just smoked a couple nights ago. Enrico opened the Caribbean’s very first 5 star restaurant and is considered by many to have the most discriminating palate in the world. Enrico’s expertise in blending and Avelino’s knowledge of tobacco, makes the pair unmatched in making the worlds finest cigars. Unfortunately I do not agree. As I do with any cigar that I do not like, I stop and do not force myself to take anymore. I believe cigar smoking to be a pleasurable experience and when it is not, I stop. Too bad, another dud.

The next cigar was not a dud at all. It was enjoyed while I caught my first fish ever. Casa Magna is a new cigar from the creative minds of Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plasencia. It is a Nicaraguan puro. The surprising aspect of this cigar is its taste, which has a unique, clean sweetness. Let me try to explain. There’s a hint of caramel, and the smoke is perfect. The draw was a bit tough though, but from reading reviews they all come like that. It did not hinder the flavor, just the enjoyment a bit. Although it did help in the sense that I did not run through the cigar as I usually do.

The one that I smoked was a 6-inch by 56-ring Gran Toro beast. It had a smooth, oily, medium brown wrapper with minimal veining. The initial taste was indeed rich and smooth, with a moderate lingering sweetness. Hitting the sweet spot, the caramel-like notes enhanced into a richer, toffee-type of taste. The salt/pepper ash held well, requiring little attention. Manuel Quesada has delivered a rich, full-flavored cigar that should be very competitive with the Nicaraguan puros market. Coming from the famous Esteli factory, it does not disappoint.

After a wonderful dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse, I was treated to a cigar that rivaled the all you can eat top sirloin, filet mignon, skirt steak, parmesean pork loins, (should I go on?) The cigar was better than all that. So of course you knew it had to be cuban.

This cigar boasted the signature peppery taste, amooth flavor of tobacco, even draw, and excellent construction. Not much else can be said about this superb specimen. Great cigar, great dinner, great company. Thanks everyone for sharing that night with us. We should do it again.

Not being able to go to Hawaii this summer, I decided to have Hawaii come to me. Well, not really, but putting a hold on my two-a-month limit has been a very good consolation prize. I have always wanted to try a Camacho after reading reviews. Now, either I am really a lighter weight than I thought when it comes to cigars, or I just didn't appreciate the blend.

With a smirk on my face I read that the Camacho Corojo is one of the strongest cigars in the world. It has a blend of rich tobaccos grown in Honduras from a rare seed smuggled out of Cuba after the embargo. Now I have tried Litto Gomez's Double Ligero, Ghurkas Beast, and Rockey Patels Sun Grown cigars. These are particularly strong, yet perfectly balanced. I did not find Camacho to be like this. I would be a sport and say I will give this cigar another try in the future, but as July comes to a close, the 2 cigar limit will be back into effect. Therefore I aqcuiese to trying this particular cigar anymore. Sorry Eiroa family, I may be missing out, I may be too light weight, or I may be a good judge of a cigar. I guess I will never know.

I RETRACT I RETRACT. Full apologise to Sam Leccia and the Oliva family. I guess this month has been full of mistakes on my part. I was very hesitant to try this cigar. I once foolishly called it a publicity stunt, a ploy. Saying that only the gullible would part money with this joke. I WAS WRONG. I AM THE GULLIBLE FOOL THAT WILL PART WITH MONEY AGAIN FOR THIS CIGAR.

Now it is not a cuban, or Davidoff, but the "sweet spot" theory is true!!! From the moment that I lit this Nicaraguan delight, wrapped in a complimenting cameroon wrapper, it was sweet. Now the end was not sweet and I must say that with purchasing a torpedo is a waste as when you get to the end of the cigar you run out of room to hold it. (A problem easily fixed with purchasing the robusto size the next day.)

This cigar was excellently made. Even burn, great construction, and wonderful draw. That enormus ring size helped keep the temperature down but more notably, the flavor of the tobacco was mouth watering. This cigar is a must try, and a new favorite. One word of caution for quick smokers like me, TAKE YOUR TIME. Although it boasts that it will burn just as long as a regular stick, you will quickly start smelling your fingers burning as you are ending your experience with this wonderful creation. Great cigar!!!

Now this is a cigar that I do not frequent too often, but I was a proud recipient of this specimen from co-workers that gave it to me as a gift for the hard work I had given throughout the year. It was a real treat to see that my hard work was recognized, but more importantly, recognized with a fine cigar.

Any day of the weak I will compare a Davidoff to a Cuban. It is the first cigar I ever smoked and the owner of the store was right. I walked in never having the pleasure of a cigar before and I asked the owner, give me a cigar that will make me hooked. We walked out of the humidor, he directed me to a special cabinet where only Davidoffs are kept and he grabbed a $30 stick. I thought for sure he just wanted to make a sale, I mean, what could the difference be with a product going up in smoke? Needless to say, after a few more cigars, a blog, and my wife putting a limit to my new hobby, I was hooked.

This Davidoff Aniversario No. 3 like all Davidoffs are just superbly made. No flaws, no inconsistent burns. The draw is always smooth and easy. But the flavor/smell/taste/even feel before lighting, is just as pleasing till you start burning your fingers at the end. I don't know what it is but Davidoffs always give a little buzz towards the middle that you have to fight a bit. Not a bad thing, but don't try to drive while enhoying one of these beauties. You get a little light headed and just brace yourself to continue because it is so good. This Dominican treat is always a good stand by, if you can call a 15-20 dollar minimum cigar a stand by. Oh in the picture you can see a twin bed in the reflection. I was in a UCLA dorm room when I took the pic. Glad to know that our fine college insitutions are smoke friendly at 1am in the morning.

My family and a couple friends (30) to be exact went to Mendocino County to do a little camping. It was great. There is no better way to get away from work than to go to a place that has no cell phone coverage. Plus we escaped 100+ degree weather by going to Mendocino that boasted 76 degrees at the warmest part of the day. Well, there was one thing that made it better. The Cusano Corojo 1997. This full-bodied cigar features a nearly 10 year old Corojo wrapper and is one of the best values in cigars.

I have been a little hesitant to try this cigar bacause of its cheesy design and $5.00 price tag. But after scoring a 91 from Cigar Insider I thought I would give it a try. My buddy and I went into town to check email and sit on the cliffs overlooking the pacific. IT WAS GREAT. Oh the views were good too.

This cigar made its debut in 2004. A dark and smooth blend of wrapper, binder and filler makes this cigar a must try. Cuban seed grown in Ecuador, a Sumatra binder, and Dominican fillers. I also had bias before trying this cigar. I originally thought have so many different tobaccos was due to the maker not having enough or just putting any available/on sale tobacco together. Boy was I wrong. The Cusano Corojo is dark, yet smooth and spicy with a full-body and robust flavor. It has a wet and somewhat sweet finish. Superb Mr. Mike Cusano, superb!

Cigar.com calls this Nicaraguan puro the finest maduro on the market. I must agree. I had this to celebrate as today is officially the beginning of my summer vacation.

This perfecto was wrapped in a maduro wrapper, a process that ages and extends the fermentation process, so a natural sweetness is drawn out of the tobacco leaf. I could taste caramel notes. This blended with medium fillers, makes this cigar a sweet complement to the filet minon wrapped in bacon and a cup of 100% pure kona coffee. It was a great night. The perfecto shape is a personal favorite. Due to the complexity of wrapping this style, it of course comes with a heftier price tag. But at $5.75, it was worth every penny. I most note that this size and shape is unique to Cigar.com, so if you want one you'll have to order from them. But as everyone who reads this blog knows, they are my first choice to buy cigars. Cheap, high quality, quick and friendly service, plus a SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!!! I never had to use the guarantee, and I hope to never use it, but my friend did and they not only gave him a replacement, but more cigars to boot. Cigar.com, you guys rock!

My friend came over and I offered him a La Aroma de Cuba, churchill. He loved it. La Aroma is a rejuvenated brand from Ashton. They take Cuban seeds and replant them in Honduras. It once received a 93 from cigar aficionado. (In case you are wondering, I did smoke this cigar till my fingers burned.)

My friends that know me knows that I love my cigars with a kick. Smoothness is always a factor and so is the after taste the next day. Call me a light weight, novice, or what have you, but I do not want to experience my cigar in the morning when I wake up from bed. Gurkha has never failed me, and after a night in Bodega Bay, Gurkha are still batting a 100.

I was a bit leary though. I have been on a Cuban cigar fix so I knew that my next cigar had to be one of my all time favorites. It is like doing karaoke after Michael Buble, the next singer better be good or everyone will notice. Well this Gurkha was not bad as I said. It was a bit on the lighter side though (typical of a Connecticut wrapper). What was not typical was the binder and filler both came from Nicaragua (these regions typically produce stronger, yet blanaced cigars). I would have to say this was a bit unbalanced as it was too light for me. Good nonetheless. However, my particular stick was a bit dry and therefore it burned very unevenly. I actually had to sell my humidor so I have placing a couple smokes in bags. I guess having the Spanish Cedar really helps to give that flavor. I have a couple travel and small humis. I could just use those so I don't damage them before I get a new one. I am picky about my humidors so I am taking my time. The "bad" part is that I have to smoke all of my old stash soon and buy more when I get a new humi. (What a hard life I live...) Enjoy, and if you think that I am off on this commentary, please let me know. I wouldn't mind buying another Gurkha, the Rolls Royce of Cigars.

Last night was a good night. Barbecued ribeye steaks and asparagus. Garden salad with seseme seed oil dressing. Strawberry pound cake, and champagne. Topped off with a fine Cuban pinar. The only thing that could have made the night better was my Lakers to win and push a game seven! My hat goes off to the Celtics. They were the better team. Danny Ainge pulled off a late in the season miracle with acquiring KG and Allen. That alone brought 32 years of experience to a team that won less than 30 games last season. Plus getting PJ Brown, Cassell, and Posey, that added another 30 years of experience. Don't get me wrong, they won very convincingly. They wanted it more. But with a team stacked like that no wonder they had the best record and beat the "new" Lakers. Kobe, although he is somewhat of a veteran, is only 29. Pao, 27, and everyone else is younger than them. Including a big piece that we went without for the post season, Andrew Bynum. So Laker fans all over the world, rest at ease. We did win! We gain experience and we have youth on our side. Our Laker Dynasty will be revived once again. Plus, aren't we Western Conference Champs!?! Hold your head up, it was a great season. Even better next year!

Ok, sorry. Back to more important things. This cigar of course was cuban so all the cuban characteristics were there. Triple seemed cap, excellent construction, intoxicating smell, and just a hint of cuban spice balanced with a smooth draw and finish. Unfortunately the cigar was a bit wet. My friend is still getting used to properly aging and storing a cigar. Due to the high moisture it was hard to keep the stick lit, and the draw could have been more easier. It was no fault of the cigar though, so I am sure the rest of the beauties are just waiting to be ripened perfectly. The ash was very dark, and there was a bit of tunneling. But the taste was great, and the flavor it left on the pallet was spicy smooth. The after taste the next day, even right after was very minimal too. Had we waited to smoke these beauties it would have been up there on my favorite list. But with steaks, champagne, a game, and beautiful wives, we had to cap it off with a cuban.

A soldier from Iraq just commented on my blog and I wanted to let him and everyone that is fighting for the freedom that we are enjoying know that I appreciate you and the risk you are taking for this great country. From the bottom of my heart, on behalf of my family, my wife, and children, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR BRAVERY, WE THANK YOU FOR OUR FREEDOM!

I am really not a band wangon smoker. I tried for years to stay away from Cohiba for that reason. Ask any newbie smoker and they will just name the first cigar brand that comes to mind...Cohiba. That and since Cohibas are the most imitated cigar, led to me stay away from this brand. Until...My good friend and fellow cigar aficionado just came back from Jamaica. He recounted his visit to an Indian owned cigar shop. As he walked through and was smellign and pinching the cigars the owner came up to him and said these are for real. Then he did the unbelieveable. He reached into a box, took a cigar, cut it and lit it and said, "Here you go, I stand by my products." Not being a sucker for free99, my friend proceeded to smoke the Cuban Churchill, Romeo and Julietta in 10 minutes. He said it was the smoothest cigar that he ever had in his life. My all time favortie was the same brand, and size from Cuba. See an earlier posting for that. So I had to come over and see for myself.

My friend was kind enough to give me a Cohiba, Limited Edition, Cuban! It was hands down the BEST CIGAR I HAD IN MY LIFE!!! If I could cuss I would, it was so great! The draw was perfect from this double corona size. This pinar was Cuban built so you expected that. I did taste it in my mouth for a bit before lighting and it was a dream. If I could I would have just chewed on it like it was gum. The really incredible thing was that after I lit it, it was just as smooth. I could not tell the difference in taste, heat, or flavor. Usually when you lite a cigar, the flavor changes a bit to when it is not lit. Not this Cuban master piece. The smoke was nice and white and the ash would not fall off. It was so smooth and creamy that I really took my time for the first time. Here is my analogy, you know you are experiencing a great meal when half way through the meal you are already thinking about the next day when you can eat this dish again. I was like this with this cigar!!! From the moment I lit it I was already thinking about the next time. Fortunately that next time is TOMORROW! I will let you know how that goes.I smoked it till my fingers got burned.

I recently came back from Oregon, home of the largest humidor in the western states and 2nd largest in the whole nation...With that introdution let me just say that it was a disappointment. I mean the selection was top notch but the prices were terrible. All very over priced. It was an experience, that I chose not to have because there are great places like cigar.com that also has a great selection and they are cheaper. Plus they deliever to your door. It sounds like a no brainer.

I went over to my buddy’s house this Saturday and we had a great night. De La Hoya fight, NBA playoffs, pasta, jokes, and cigars…did I say it was a great night. He gave me a Gran Habano Connecticut #1. I was a bit weary at first since the only Gran Habano I recall smoking was the 3 Siglos. (See that review.) I was not impressed with 3 Siglos, but I was surprisingly impressed with the #1. Granted, it is not the strong, flavorful ones that I usually smoke, so I could not help feel throughout the smoke though that something was missing. There was an excellent sweet spot towards the very end when the flavor was intensifying, but it was unfortunately short lived. The cigar war wrapped in a beautiful golden Ecuadorian Connecticut shade grown leaf. It has Nicaraguan binders and fillers. The burn was even, and the ash was nice and white. The aftertaste the morning after lingered more than I thought this mild cigar would produce. But still a good overall cigar. I would try another one just to round out my opinion of this brand.

It was also a good to try and convert a Black and Mild smoker to a real cigar. He got a Philippine brand cigar from my friend and was moderately impressed. Then I gave him my Cohiba Extra Vigoroso, red dot. He could not stop talking about how great it was. I will not say I fully made him see the light, or smoke I should say. But I think that my friend and I gave him all the tools and knowledge to make that transition. The Cohiba Extra Vigoroso is an excellent cigar that is a bit more flavor than the original red dot. It features a dark, almost black Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, fillers from Nicaraguan and Dominican ligeros, bound in a three year aged connecticut leaf. It was a great cigar that I did not mind parting with for such a great cause. Hope you enjoyed it.

Just sold my humi on craigslist. I loved that thing, but tough times calls for tough measures. With a 100 capacity, and my shrinking wallet, I could not keep enough sticks in the humidor to keep it at the right humidity. It is the "age old problem" I smoke more than I store. So I need to downgrade. If any readers out there are in need of letting a humidor go, free99 or close to it, I would love to assist you. So for now, goodbye my humi, you have made me proud. Make your new owner just as, if not more happy than me....

Sorry I have not posted in a while. I quickly met my quota, and then some, while in Hawaii. But getting back, a couple friends came over and we had a bit of a cigar aficionado reunion. I was even able to trade a stick that I had just recently for this months review. I had the Cuban Cabinet, made by Sol Cubano. It was a great time.


The Cuban Cabinet variety of Sol Cubano hails from the Tabacalera Fernandez factory of Esteli, Nicaragua. Home of Rocky Patel Fusion (which I don't really care for) and the RP Double Maduro. The smoke is beautiful in appearance, boasting a dark Habano Ecuador wrapper that’s thick, leathery, and oily to the touch. Inside, a Cuban-seed mixture of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos unites, resulting in an eventful medium to full-bodied smoke. Layers of spices, strong pepper and earthy undertones greet the palate with each puff, leaving behind dry notes of leather and wood. The finish is strong and robust, completing a fantastic cigar worthy of the finest occasion.

I must admit that at first light I was very tempted to put it away. That peppery taste was very over powering. But time did wonders, and further down the cigar it became more balanced. I hastily made the decision that I would not buy this cigar, but now I must recant that statement.

The Gurkha Titan is a great smoke. The draw is always perfect, and the construction top notch. It burned a bit uneven at the start, but tapped nice and even. One of the biggest selling point of this cigar, and a couple others are the packaging when you buy a box. This particular comes in a cool airplane aluminum metal. I cannot afford more than one at a time so my review will be limited to just the cigar itself. Which is what it should be anyways. The Titan uses aged tobaccos including a Costa Rican wrapper from 1996, a five-year old Nicaraguan binder, and a filler of five-year old Honduran, Dominican, and Colombian tobaccos. The Titan uses more ligero tobacco in the filler (tobacco comes from the top of the plant and is darker and more flavorful). It was a good smoke, but not the best I have had from Gurkha, and especially at $27.00 retail for each stick!!!

The Big Kuhuna was a Big Disappointment. Sir Wilfred had a great story of coming to the islands and starting up a business with cigars since the competition was absent. He had little success and added coffee to his business and that supported him. Unfortunately this Honduran filled and Connecticut wrapper bound cigar burned uneven, there was no pleasing taste, and the smoke was not even pleasant to look at.

Gurkha Shaggy. This cigar is just as good as I remembered it. The frist time that I smoked this was in San Diego. It was smooth, very flavorful, and a breeze to light. I can't get over how eventhough you have strong (flavorful) cigar, you can smoke it till your fingers get burned. I enjoyed this cigar on a bench in Marin, overlooking the Golden Gate. It was a great night, the cigar, the scencery, not being at work, hotel is all paid for...the only thing that could make this better is...another cigar.

La Flor Dominicana. This is my all time standby. I love the draw. Since it is a chisel the tappered end fits just right in the mouth. One would think that it would hinder the draw, but it does the opposite. One thing to note though is if you have a firm grip, it could get a bit sunken in where you are holding it. I usually rotate a cigar so that I am not holding the same place too long, but with a chisel you one get to turn it over. But that is a small price to pay for a cigar that cost $6.00 but smokes like a $15 cigar. The smoke is always great with this one. The flavor is just right for my pallet, but I guess too strong for some. Being "double ligero" means that you not only have one spine of the leaf in the cigar, but you have two. Coincidentally, Gurkha sells one with a triple! I dare not try that one. Enjoy, and if you smoke one of these beautys let me know and give a review.

Cigars come in many different shapes and sizes. The diameter of a cigar is measured in increments of 64ths on an inch which is termed its "ring gauge." Therefore a 44 gauge Corona is 44/64th inches in diameter. The change in your pocket (assuming you are in the United States) can be used as quick and dirty ring gauges.

44 Ring Gauge
Commonly used in:
Lonsdale
Long Corona
Corona
Petit Corona

46 Ring Gauge
Commonly used in:
Corona Extra
Grand Corona


48 Ring Gauge
Commonly used in:
Robusto
Toro
Churchill
Corona Extra

54 Ring Gauge
Commonly used in:
Robusto
Rochschild
Toro
Churchill
Double Corona
Giante

There are others. I have a couple 58-60 ringers in my humidor, but the above is just to get you up to speed with most of the more popular sizes.

Against better judgement I tried a new cigar that I had a funny feeling about. I am not usually right, but I like not to waste my rations. Gran Habano 3 Siglos is one of those cigar makers that tauts an expensive cigar in the hopes that one would be foolish enough to equate cost with quality. I was said fool this month. Visiting Sacramento for a conference, I stopped by a local cigar shop. You know, pay those ridiculous prices so that I could help out a local cigar retailer. Well the cigar turned out to be as much of a disappointment as the owner!!! This Honduran disaster was terrible from the first inch, to the last. (Actually, I did make the first inch the last. This is "loop hole" to the 2 a month edict.) The draw was tight, not due to it being moist, but because of poor construction. The ash was very dark almost as if the cigar was not aged well. Once again proving that price IS NOT AN INDICATOR FOR QUALITY. Lesson learned...again.

However, I did have a pleasant suprise as a fellow cigar brother came back from the mother land (Philippines) and got me a national delight. Don Juan Urquijo is a cigar that is totally made in the PI from PI leaves. My friend told me to be honest so I will not pull any punches. (I would apologise in advance but what do you expect from a Spurs fan...) Seriously, although the cigar was harsh from beginning to end, it did shock me that there was no accompanying after taste. The morning after was proof positive of the excellent balance of strength and smoothness. It was no Montecristo, or La Flor, but it is definately worth trying again. The draw was easy indicating that the construction was not bad at all. Ash was very dark, perhaps a bit on the wet side. But I could not really draw a taste from it. It was not earthy, or spicy at all. Definately no sweetness. It just seemed to lack flavor. If it would have been wrapped with a maduro leaf (meaning getting the leaf at a more of a "ripe" stage, this process matures all of the natural oils and sugars from the leaf), perhaps that sweetness would have made a nice balance to the strength of the cigar. Hopefully someone like Don Pepin, expert blender from Cuba, can explore possibilities there in the islands and take PI cigars to another level. Overall, I will give my people props for delivering.
So there it is. We close February and welcome March. (See bro, that review wasn't too bad huh?) Shortly after writing this I read a review that not only confirmed my experience but made me think if these cigars were babies? If you ever get a fresh cigar, fight all urges to smoke them right away. Cigars need to age to get all of the residual moisture out of the stems and veins and then undergo that fermentation process. This coupled with using Spanish Cedar will give the cigars that oaky, cedar smell and taste. So if my generous friend is out there, let these babies age for 4-5 months. And if I didn't burn any bridges, I hope to burn another cigar with you.

This months selection was an absolute beaut. I have always read reviews that used adjectives such as "creamy" and "mouth-watering," now I love cigars as much as the next guy, perhaps more as my wife would say, but I never would use these terms to describe a cigar...until now. The Montecristo Original, is a "mouth-watering "cigar named after the tale of the Count of Montecristo. It is wrapped in a "creamy" Conneticutt seed, shade-grown wrapper, and filled with Dominican tobacco. I really must give this cigar one of the highest ratings ever.
It was a cold, cold, day but that did not hinder the enjoyment of this fine specimen of a cigar. In fact, the cigar "tunneled" a bit and actually went out at the end, but it was so good, I tried to relight and got another inch or so from it. I believe this happened due to high humidity, as I was next to the ocean, but more so due to the extremely cold weather. I will be having another one of these very soon.

HORRIBLE!!! I will not count these two sorry excuses for a cigar towards my two a month limit. I only lit the Torano and smoked only an inch and a half of the Cuban House Blend. Regardless, I will give their review just in case I got a "bad" stick. Please comment if you feel otherwise.

The Carlos Torano 1916, I have heard, are a wonderful smoke. They are wrapped with an African leaf, and filled with Honduran fillers. I prepared my palate for a smooth, medium-bodied smoke, with that noticeable taste only a Cameroon leaf can give, but only experienced a dry, uneven burning, very bittery, and even ashy taste. I usually pair my cigars with a strong coffee, and even that did not help my experience with the Torano blend. To their credit, I will concede that perhaps mine was dried, or that it was a bad cigar. Unfortunately it will be a long while before I try them again. But I will. If you look at the picture, you can see a very dark grey smoke coming from the cigar. Not good.

Cigar.com, like many other cigar retailers, market their own "House Blend/Private Stock." They typically do not make it themselves, but make deals with factories in Nicaragua, the Dominican, and Honduras etc. to manufacture extra cigars that they inturn add their label to. Many of these cigars you will find are similar to big name brand cigars such as Pragtas, Macunudo, etc. because they are made from the same factories, same rollers, and even same tobacco. Yet I think that the secret is they use the lesser grade tobacco or tobacco that did not make the cut for whatever reason. As was the case with this Cuban House Blend. I recall an interview I saw with Jorge and Orlando Padron. They mentioned that the term "spicy" was never a good thing with describing cigars. I would agree. Cigar.com markets this Cuban blend made from Domincan tobbacos as "spicy." Again, I agree under the Padron's understanding of the term. I may try this again in the distant future to confirm.

My two choices for the first month of the year are a Ligero Sumatran Dominican from Cool Cat and a 5 Miami from Pepin Garcia. I have already spoken on the Cool Cat cigar (see below), so I will now just focus on the 5 Miami. This cigar is advertised as a full bodied smoke. I don't know if my passion for La Flor Dominicanas skewed my pallate, but I found 5 Miami to be mild. This being said I wish not to take any credit away from this amazing cigar built in the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Nicaragua. At first light one can tell that this is a Nicaraguan. It's seeds are taken from Cuba and carefully grown in Nicaragua. Pepin oversees these puros to be expertly balanced with long ligero fillers with a dark corojo wrapper. All this combined to make it a slight spicy, and somewhat peppery, but absolutely smooth and memorable experience. The longer you enjoy this cigar, the more smooth it will get. Discerning aficionados will not be disappointed with this cigar. If you find a box of these, buy them before I do.

The last smoke of the year was an absolute winner. A Gurkha Black Beauty! At 25 bucks a stick this cigars features a Honduran filler aged at least 5 years and a creamy Connecticut wrapper aged 7 years. This 6 and a half inch cigar with a 58 ring gauge was smooth and silky. The aroma was just mouth watering. I am salivating as I write this. I cannot say enough about Gurkhas. I had originally stayed away from this brand as it was beyond my budget and I was always weary about high price equalling high quality. However, I got a sampler of Gurkhas as a birthday gift and now I am a believer!!! I will save the rest of the sampler for another day. Only 2 a month the wifey says. Forgot to take a pic of the cigar before i lit it up so here's a pic I found on the web.

http://www.cigargeeks.com/community/random-quotes/view-random-quotes.asp

Really cool quotes from famous people. Good to know we rub elbows with some pretty good company in our cigar hobby.

I took an early lunch at 10am and returned to work the next day. This is one way to beat the Monday blues. It was a friends birthday so I picked him up some Honduran pinars. Of course I got some LSD (Ligero Sumatran Domenico) cigars for myself.

Review: LSD cigars are full bodied smokes. It starts off a bit spicy, but it quickly smoothes out. Burns a bit uneven, but gives a nice white ash. Not much after taste. They are similar to Gurkhas, Rockey Patels and La Flors. Of course seasoned smokers can tell the difference, but at 6-8 bucks for a double robusto with a ring gauge of 58, that was worth my 150 mile drive for lunch. That and the weather was almost 70 degrees in the afternoon!

In San Diego I stumbled onto the Cuban Cigar Factory. I just want to publicly thank the owners there for suggesting I try La Flor Dominicana, Double Ligero Chisel. Ever since I smoked that, I fell in love with all that Litto Gomez makes and I always make sure that I have La Flors in the humidor. Coincidentally, I went to SD for business, and just wanted a way to spend a 45 minute lunch. Needless to say after a 6.5 inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, I was 2.5 hours late from lunch. Well worth it!!!

If you ever find yourself in Monterey California. It would behoove you to stop by Cool Cat Cigars. They only sell their brands but you will find they rival some of the best popular cigars in the market today. I enjoy a strong cigar, yet it much smoke very smoothly without leaving an after taste. My tastes always makes me come back to La Flor Dominicana, Gurkha, and Rocky Patel Sun Grown. Cool Cat has a similar cigar called LSD. Try it and tell me what you think. Plus at half the price of the others I named, it was a good change for me and my wallet.

Me enjoying a Mexican cigar (Te Amo) in Mazatlan, Mexico. Memorable vacation, not cigar. I enjoyed the cuban Cuaba, Cohibas and Romeo and Julietta much more. Wish I took pics of me enjoying those. Guess I'll have to go back and make sure I do that.