Saturday, February 13, 2010

Winter Quickie Cigar Reviews

Man, it's been cold and nasty the last few weeks...and, to be truthful, most of the few stogies I've managed to smoke recently have not been the best I've had...I was thinking I'd skip reviewing them but I figured it might be good to have some less-than-stellar stogies on my blog for perspective.


 
First up is the Camacho Select (robusto). The double bands make it look classy but removing the top one damaged the cigar. I have no tolerance for that kind of crap. The smoke smelled tart and lit well. It also had nice smelling smoke and a decent burn. However, the cameroon wrapper just doesn't "go" with the Camacho flavor or expected experience and I just don't much like the flavors (a mix of nuttiness, pepper, and "something else". 
 
RTR quickie review (4 point scale): 2. This cigar might really please some people; I just don't like the flavor much-will not purchase again.


Here I am looking real damn cool. Check out the "smoke beard": "Camacho will put hair on your chin!"


 
Camacho Corojo (robusto)
This stogie was really good. The smooth dark wrapper and (new!) label really looked good together. When I lit up, the stogie immediately let me know what I was in for: a ride dominated by powerful pepper and tobacco flavors and a lot of power! This was one of those smokes that every puff reminded me I was smoking a beast but I kept coming back for me. My only complaints were that the label doesn't tell you what "model" cigar it is  (had to look it up) and the flavor never really changed...but when I want a potent cigar in the future, this one is on my short list. Construction, flavor, and plummage were all very good.

RTR 4 point rating: 3 (not my favorite but really good). I will always make sure have a few of these in the coolidors.




Don Kiki Green label (torpedo)
First of all, the band is cheesy. Second, I'm not a huge fan of torpedos anymore. Third, the prelight was not impressive. After about ten puffs (each tasting somewhat like wet cardboard) and I knew that this was one of the worst cigars I've ever had . I got it for free but I still can't get the bad taste out of my mouth. The cigar is made by Cuban Crafters and, from what I read, CC and Don Kiki DO have some good cigars. This is not one of them. 
 
RTR 4 point review: 1 (bad. Give to a mooching friend who you want to make funny faces while they smoke it). Dog Rocket.
Tatuaje Black (robusto)
This stogie has been in my humidor for about a year. I picked up a "free" 3 pack at the Pete Johnson/Tatuaje event at the Outlaw in KC. I have been wanting to try one of these for a long time and had high expectations (which might account, in part for my overall disappointment). Basically, it's a "more potent" Tatuaje with a kind of ugly wrapper. It's not that different from a Don Pepin Garcia Black label (which is easy to get and very affordable). Overall I was expecting more from this, considering the difficulty in obtaining it and the hype surrounding it (supposedly it's Pete's "special personal brand". 

RTR 4 Point Rating: 3 (it's a good cigar and I enjoyed smoking it but it did not meet expectations or climb into the coveted "RTR Favorite Smoke List".



Bonis Pic #1: Here is Eric's dog house-soon to be refurbished, I'm sure, for Mojo! Eric will undoubtedly use it when my new sister-in-law discovers what a pain in the ass he can be and forces him out of  the house!




Bonus pic #2: Here is my sweetie! She has recently grown too large to ride it so notice the cool "chopper-style" riding technique!