La Gloria Cubana (well-aged)

ejr postback: 2010.02.04

Likely-years-aged La Gloria Cubana (from 2009 kc aficionados holiday party raffle).

• Appearance - 8 \ nice but length makes (robusto?) thickness seem thinner. Dark brown wrapper. Looks like maybe a hint of blume? Funny sweet cloying aroma before lit.
• Burn - 10 \ perfectly even.
• Draw - 6 \ a little tight, but if it was too much looser, it would have smoked too fast.
• Plumage - 9 \ above average, plus the aroma was also thick with the flavor described below, which added to it.
• Flavor - 10 \ initial flavor really caught my attention... It had a whole different layer of flavor on top of the normal cigar flavor. Good. Different. Sort of more 'herbal' or 'dusty' or 'deep'. In a way the normal flavor-adjectives often fail me and with this especially, these words capture the whisp of recognition better than food or wood flavors. It did have something of an aftertaste of mild old pepper, that's the only way I can describe it. It really tasted very much like it had been blended with another type of plant than tobacco entirely. Having very limited experience with bloom, I wondered if it was related. The spicy undertones built slowly but progressively, providing variation and an extremely satisfying rhythm that built to a peppery powerhouse crescendo.
• Overall - 10 \
• Rt scale - 4 \

Smoked while reading technical manual on an Adobe product at Mulligan's. The picture doesn't do the gray spots of suspected bloom justice, and I know it's not really replicable, but definitely a worthy smoke worth mentioning. Possibly one of the best cigars I've ever smoked, though certainly different than most other greats.

HL Illusione - "Holy Lancero"

20100312 HL Illusione

I pulled a little background info (see bullets below) off this fellow's fine review at InTheHumdior.com, as well as one of his pictures of the band, which I had a hard time capturing with the little camera I was using.

• Wrapper:Nicaraguan Puro
• Binder:Nicaraguan Puro
• Filler:Nicaraguan Puro
• Size: 7 1/2″ x 40

Appearance - 6 \ just too thin (lancero) for my taste, and although the HL and illusione on the label were a cool dan-brown-illuminati style, it wasn't as cool with the rest of its plainness.
Burn - 8 \ quite good. It was a little off but never had to touch it up.
Draw - 9 \ great. Bordering on a little tight, but it made the stick last alittle longer, which was enjoyable.
Plumage - 9 \ fantastic, especially for a thinner cigar like this. Dense orbs of amoke with a rich and spicy aroma.
Flavor - 10 \ Excellent. See below. Much more flavor and strength than I expected.
Overall - 10 \ Just an awesome cigar.
Rt scale - 4 \ This makes it into that "top of the top" category of cigars for me.

Spicy, bold and full-flavored, especially for a lancero. A hint of edginess and bite that I actually liked because it didn't go too far and become bitterness. Somehow, with all that I might have detected a hint of caramel in it, but maybe that was the coffee residue in my mouth - though I wasn't drinking flavored joe or anything. It was raining and dark, with the temperature dropping as I watched the concrete ramp glisten before the open doors. Smoked while watching Chuck season 3 in the smokeshack until the battery died. I'm gonna need to work on that problem...

Various Other stuff from 2/26/2010 weekend in KC

ejr postback Date - 2/26-27/2010 - Part 2.
I wanted to give a nod to a few other great smokes we had that weekend as well. The Ashton VSG lancero I had Friday night was a tasty treat, despite not normally being a lancero man, myself.


And here I wanted to give a brief nod to continued use of my Valentine's Day gift, the Cigar Stub accessory (not to be confused with a cigar roach clip!!!)... Fuller review and notes on it coming soon.

Here's one of the first baddies T-Bone enjoyed, a La Flor Dominicana with brandished scimitars and red dunes on the band:

Liga Privada No. 9 by Drew Estates

ejr postback Date - 2/26/2010
I have promised some flashback reviews, and here's the first... Comes from a fun weekend where the bro came into town after a harrowing few months of broken dog bones and disheartening blizzards. Good to see him and enjoy some smokes, some great meals, a little Hendricks' Gin, and watching Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War.

Here we are enjoying the Outlaw.

Here's RT enjoying one of the many countless wise gems I passed along to him over the course of the weekend.

Mmmm... Coffee AND cigars... Heaven.

The following cigar was one we said we'd do a "dual review" of, as he picked one up for me and himself and we smoked them at the new Kansas Outlaw Cigar location.

Liga Privada No. 9 by Drew Estates
Here are my ratings:

• App 9 \ striking, cool simple black pen signature on white, dark wrapper, nice blunted torpedo
• Burn 8 \ very solid
• Draw 8 \ fine
• Plumage 10 \ great! Wonderful rich, peppery aroma
• Flavor 9 \ was arresting in its pepperyness, very good, but so full-bodied it may have gotten in its own way... Seemed that there were some creamier layers that may have been too hard to discern that could have been better 'married'. But by far a small complaint because the base flavor was great.
• Overall 9 \ just a great, pleasurable smoke.
• Rt scale 4 \ Although I can complain about the cost (even though I didn't pay for mine!) and maybe that there was some nuance I thought I was missing -- I really, really enjoyed this bad boy. Just won't run out and buy another.

Final analysis: Great smoke, cool appearance and band especially, but value is tough at $15 per stick retail at outlaw. Very compelling taste, aroma and experience.
And here's RT enjoying a smoke earlier in the day.

Oliva V Belicoso (5" x 54)

Oliva V Belicoso

This little torpedo is from one favorite lines: the Oliva V. Though it is not my favorite from the line, it is a damn good smoke!

The dark wrapper was flawless. The band is attractive and easy to remove (something I really appreciate given my recent experiences with the Arturo Fuente King B cigar).  The prelight was rich and a little sweet.

I really don't know where to go with this review...the cigar is just damn good. I've sampled every size in the Oliva V line and gone through at least two boxes in the last year or two (my favorite being the figurado). The cigar never disappoints.

The smoking experience can best be described as "smooth power". Several times I have enjoyed the rich tobacco flavors to the nub, never once experiencing hardshness, surrounded by a haze of fragrant smoke...and stood up to realize that I needed to sit back down again. These are fullest bodies smokes I've had that manage to pack that power in a refined package-literally it's a steel fist in a velvet glove. Though this stick doesn't really have that many subtle flavors that I can pick out, the flavor is outstanding, as is the value (I think this stick cost me around $5).

This Nicaraguan puro is a solid 4 on my 4 point scale and may be my favorite cigar of all...when cost is factored in, the Oliva V has no competition at all.

 

Here I am enjoying this sweet stick on the way to Wright Park.

 

Here is my bonus cigar review guest: all played out!

La Gloria Cubana (robusto) (unique smoke)

La Gloria Cubana

This was a special smoke...the kind that was both a gift and a rare cigar that I can probably never get another of. This particular L.G.C. was given to me by my bro and was an aged stick-unsure of how old it was but I'm guessing five to ten years. Rico told me he had won it in some kind of cigar raffle and that it was a "very aged stogie" from some dude's collection.

I got a glimmer of a nice day and I jumped on it-grabbed up this robusto, microwaved up some coffee and I was out smoking my Lunch hour away...

Here's the layout-I was ready to go!

This stogie had been through several hands before it got to me...the wrapper had some small nicks and bumps. Overall it looked like it had outlasted whatever elements had stood against it but it hadn't gotten away unscathed.

Here's a close up of the label. I think that the modern versions of this cigar have a similar but more polished label.



The stogie almost ended up in the trash can-I spent about two minutes trying to light it-thought it was fire proof! After I got it lit, it started giving off these strange almost fungal flavors and odors and I was (again!) about to toss it...when I remembered how excited Rico had been the one he had smoked so I stuck it out.

I'm glad I did.

The stogie was all over the map-in a good way. After about four or five puffs, it kicked in an intense and powerful aroma that really satisfied. The flavors alternated between traditional maduro flavors, a leathery flavor, and even some strange vegetal/earthy/fungul  notes that (believe it!) were satisfying.

I give this cigar a solid "4"-it was one of the best cigars I've had and certainly my favorite "aged" cigar. Wish I could get more!

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!