San Cristobal "Monumento" (7.25" x 49)

I'm kicking it on my patio, enjoying a new Scotch and one of my favorite cigars of this year: the San Cristobal "Monumento" while rocking out to some old punk rock from my youth on Pandora (State of the Union album songs keep coming up-rock out Soulside, Fugazi ,and Ignition!). 

Here is what Ashton has to say about this stogie (they produce it):

San Cristobal is a boutique cigar handcrafted in Nicaragua by Jose “Pepin” Garcia.  Blended entirely from rich, well-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos, these cigars feature dark, oily Nicaraguan wrappers.  The flavors are rich and full-bodied, exhibiting a perfect balance between strength and complexity. Hearty notes of earth, cedar and spices are accompanied by lighter notes of walnuts, espresso, black cherries and dark chocolate.  Each cigar is constructed impeccably and finished with a traditional Cuban Triple-Cap.  San Cristobal is available in 8 sizes; packaged in cedar chests of 21 and 22.

This stogie looks very sharp-the band is doing most of the heavy lifting here. I love the colorful parrot! The stogie itself is dark and mottled and a rough looking-maybe that's why they went with the nice band! This cigar has the rounded torpedo type tip that I've seen on another Ashton (the VSG?)-and I like that too!

The prelight aroma is earthy and tart-made my mouth water! I lit it up and was immediately hit with a heavy tart/peppery flavor. This flavor lasted half the cigar and then intensified. I didn't taste half the stuff Ashton claims (surprise!) but it's a great cigar. The aroma is full and the plummage is solid as well. 

I've smoked about a half a dozen of these dudes and they've all been excellent-some of my favorite Don Pepin Garcias. I think that they retail for around $11, which I know isn't cheap. However some serious quality comes with these and I think that, for a stogie of this size and quality, it's a pretty good deal. I expect to keep one in my humidor for special occasions. For instance,  this week my good buddy Seth called-haven't heard from him in a long time. That's good enough to light up for me!

Here I am enjoying this San Cristobal.

Here's a bonus pic of my wife and her new "friend".

El Rey del Mundo Rectangulars (5.6" x 45)

El Rey del Mundo Rectangulars (5.6" x 45)

Here is the stogie, along with my Red Stripe, Swiss Army cutter, Blazer lighter. Not pictured are my laptop, the dvd "Torchwood: Children of Earth", and my sweet wife!

I thought I'd revisit this cigar, one of the first I reviewed on this blog. With two years of smoking these (some new, some with two years of aging), I have come to two conclusions: 1) Cigar smokers' tastes change a lot over time and 2) This is still a really good cigar. 

Though I used to think that this cigar was one of my favorite, I have since moved on to stronger stogies-the El Rey just doesn't have enough flavor or body to hold my attention. Even so, I have found that it is a really great cigar-I enjoy it most in the morning or anytime I want a cigar but I don't want to have to "worry" about it or pay too much attention to it. 

The construction is top notch, the price is affordable, and the flavor is a pleasant tobacco and nutty concoction. I have smoked at least twenty of these and I don't know if I have EVER had to do a relight or experienced any kind of cracks or problems of that sort. On my 4 point scale, I give it a "2", though-because the flavor just isn't varied , interesting or strong enough to keep my attention...but when my attention is diverted (such as when I'm watching a Dr. Who spinoff!), it hits the spot!

This bonus pic is of my elite posse of martial arts enforcers after H.T. filled their bellies with Oklahoma BBQ and set them loose with a camera! Note the way that the middle one's Ki power has been focused as light bursts from her forehead!

J. Fuego Delirium Robusto (5"x50)

J. Fuego Delirium Robusto (5"x50)

This cigar is dark and feels a little dry...but smells of strong tobacco-chock full of that "barnyard" smell that almost always promises a good smoke. On the web I discovered that it has a Brazilian wrapper and Costa Rican binder; the filler is Nicaraguan and Honduran (mixed). 

I decided to try a punch cut on it and, after lighting, was rewarded with dry cocoa type aromas and flavors. As I began smoking, I rapidly began associating the flavor and smell with a dark beer like a Guinness. Though I was enjoying the Pacifico I was drinking, I began making plans to try this cigar again with something dark or perhaps a heavy coffee. 

Here the stogie is in all of its glory. 

This cigar is one of those that starts out with a given flavor (kind of a dry chocolate or cocoa) and then ramps up the intensity as you smoke it. I've had three and all of the provided the same experience...an enjoyable experience up until the last 1/3...at which point it reminds me of that third piece of chocolate cheese cake when you realize you might have overdid it. I presume that's where the name "Delirium" comes in, as in "I'm delirious with the rich chocolate flavors of this thing". 

I think I pad around $4 for it and have been seeing it on sale the last month or so. It has great plumage, aroma, construction, ash, flavor and burn...It's a really good cigar if you like more mocha and chocolate (LOTS MORE CHOCOLATE) and less pepper in your maduros.

On RTR's 4 point scale I rate it a low "3"-it is a really good cigar and I'll be smoking more...but that last 1/3 is just "too rich" for the stogie to ever make it into "4" territory.

Here's a bonus pic: Me and my two littlest ones after Thane won (another) bike-this time at the Easter Egg hunt!

Brick House Toro (6 x 52")

I'm lighting up the Brickhouse toro by the Newman Family...picked it up a few months ago after I started seeing buzz on it on the web. Apparently, many believe this to be one of the best new "budget" smokes (costs less than $5 at a cigar store)-in this economy, who wouldn't be interested in trying it out?

The cigar has a decent appearance with a kind of understated red, white, and cream band. The stogie feels heavy in the hand, like it is chock full of goodness. As I prepared to light up, I realized that The Smiths was playing on my Pandora radio and I wondered if I ever thought I'd jam to The Smiths while lighting up a stogie...not 100% certain that Morrissey would appreciate the pairing!

The prelight smells peppery and sweet. The initial draw was a bit loose and it seemed to have trouble lighting completely (some blackened areas that don't look lit were prominent). After a few puffs I started picking up some medium strength tobacco with an underlying mild sweetness. I paused after these first few puffs, and savored the overall experience...and realized that The Smiths rock just fine with this stick!


Here is some background from a cigar sales website:

The Newman family has brought back one of their vintage brands at an affordable price.  Eric & Bobby Newman, 3rd generation cigar makers, have recreated the Brick House cigar that was originally created by their grandfather, Julius Caesar Newman. The Brick House cigar was originally produced to honor J.C. Newman’s rich family heritage and childhood memories of his family's brick house.  (Back then, it was a big deal to have a house made of brick.)

Brick House cigars feature a "puro" blend of hand-selected Nicaraguan tobacco and a medium-brown Havana Subido wrapper.

Here I am enjoying this stogie.

The more I smoked this cigar, the more I like it. The smoke quantity and quality is high, the appearance is high, and the flavors pretty good too. I like the pepper and tartness but the underlying sweetness would probably keep me from smoking very many of these. I'd call it a medium on flavor and body.  I can see many people really enjoying them, especially for the price. I give it a 3 on my 4 point scale and look forward to smoking another to confirm. 

Here is a bonus shot of H.T. and some grandkiddos!

March Smokes

Hello Faithful Readers!

It has been very busy and the weather has been super-nasty-that is the only rational explanation for how my little brother has managed to utterly surpass my cigar reviews this month!

Though I have dutifully smoked a few stogies this month, I have somehow managed to fail to actually review them. In this one blog post, I shall attempt to rectify that with a few quickie reviews.

 I smoked this San Cristobal (Nicaraguan puro) over the weekend-these continue to be real treats. Full bodied, this stogie is made by Don Pepin Garcia for Ashton. The smoke has a fair amount of power and the flavors sort of flit in and out-I typically get some pepper as well as some tart "black cherry" and "charred meat" type of flavors. I read a few chapters of the Imperial Guard Omnibus  and talked to my bro on the phone-I rate the experience a 4 on my 4 point scale and the cigar a 4 as well.

 I few weeks ago I smoked a J. Fuego "Delerium" robusto while helping Dad feed the sheep. As I told the esteemed H.T. Reid, "This is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the type of experience I smoke cigars for. It is below freezing, outdoors, with high winds. And I'm holding a pitchfork". I can't really review the stogie considering the conditions and will need to revisit it.

 I honestly can't remember what I smoked on St. Patrick's but I do have a shot of my beer (guess which one) and Michelle's Harp. I'm really starting to appreciate this holiday as I get older.

Last Saturday I enjoyed the La Flor Dominicana "Mysterio", a rare cigar that runs around $20. The fact that the store I bought it from had three available for $10 each made the experience so much better.

This stick has a dark wrapper with light tips at each end. Though I often suspect these kinds of things as being gimicky, this stogie delivered fantastic flavors, plummage, and burn. At $20 a pop, I simply cannot afford these things very often but damn it was a fine stick. On my 4 point scale, I rate it an easy 4 and would consider it a super-premium.

As I'm writing this, I'm smoking a Padilla 1932, a stick that I have already reviewed. I picked up a box a year ago and have enjoyed a handful. With the year of aging, I am detecting very little change in the stick-it has great tobacco flavors, with a little pepper, and a little sweetness. It is super smooth, despite having some punch to it. I will say that I am not as enamoured with the Padilla line as I once was...but that may just be my evolving tastes-I seem to be preferring more full bodies smokes lately and Padilla's stuff is more medium or medium-full.

Here are a couple of bonus pics. My two little ones spend much of their time trying to kill each other it seems...so these are true rarities!

Padilla Series 68 Corojo Edicion Limitada 2009 (Salomon) AND The Cigar Stub

ejrpostback: 2010.02.13

This is sort of a dual review, both of my Padilla 68 cigar and my new cigar accessory, The Cigar Stub, noted below.

I split a pack of 10 with my bro last year and have been slowly wheedling away at my stock of 5 sticks. This one, I smoked at the Outlaw after my wife gave me my brainchild-realized: the Cigar Stub. I have for years been proclaiming the benefits of an invention I conceived (I'd say back in 2003 -- aka "aught-3" -- or so) that I then called the "Cigar Arm". Evidently, some brilliant person actually stepped up and engineered just such a device. Wish it had been me!

Cigar Stub Review

The idea was that sometimes the truly best part of a cigar is the wee nub, when you most want to eek the last bits of heartiest flavor from it. Unfortunately, that's also when you find your fingers creeping further back on the most tenuous grasp as the burn encroaches on your fingertips and lips!

So why not invent a device that let's you grasp that last nub gracefully and smoke it down to the last drop? I first thought some kind of bar that t-boned into a horizontal spike at the top could 'spike' the cigar. But later I decided that such an approach would not only be inelegant, but would result in problems with your draw, plumage leak, and possibly destruction or damage to the nub of your stogie. So then I envisioned more of an extended 'clip' that would clamp only as tightly as needed. As some people have said "a roach clip for your cigar".

And with its easily pocket-sized, stainless steel cylinder shape, which extends out into a slick retractable pincher, including a slider to lock the clamp to the desired diameter, this looks like the perfect realization of my brainchild.

Upon further usage, I discovered that the Cigar Stub is the bomb, better than I even realized when I was imagining it years ago. The real incarnation of this idea turns out to do a good job of holding the cigar (no matter what the thickness) without squeezing it too tightly or damaging it. Plus a nice bonus I have come to experience using the Stub is that it actually seems to "focus" the draw a bit more -- delivering you slightly more "directed" puffs, which actually improves your smoking experience. The flavor and especially the draw and the plumage are a bit enhanced by its use.

Now, that said, it is extraneous and perhaps a little goofy-looking in usage, so I don't usually use it until halfway into the cigar or further, but for that last half or quarter of a cigar, I actually find that it not only lets me enjoy the cigar longer, but also actually becomes easier to hold in a relaxed way, without "worrying about it".

Padilla '68 Review

Now I am loathe to review this cigar right now... May have to redo it honestly, because it isn't nearly as awesome as I remember all my previous experiences with the same sticks of that batch.

... [time delay]

Aw, good. I will say the flavor has improved considerably after passing the bulbous peak at the far end. (Initially with THIS instance the flavor had been a bit bitter, but in most other specimens of this type, I didn't have that problem that I recall.) Now, though, after that first quarter, the plumage is thicker and more creamily aromatic, and the puffs are a mixture of tasty cream and spice. It really is a great cigar, and most of my experiences have been a little more straightforward.

• Appearance - 7 \ Large, dark wrapper, cool double band with serialized number, and a funky salomon form factor
  
• Burn - 9 \ Fine
• Draw - 5 \ OK, but a little tight- improved by the Cigar Stub
  
• Plumage - 8 \ Decent - also improved by the Cigar Stub
• Flavor - 8 \ Nice and spicy, full-bodied, with a creamy taste/aroma
  
• Overall - 8 \
• Rt scale - 3 \

That said, I myself am not actually a fan of the funky salomon shape, but it doesn't preclude a good cigar experience. I just find it unwieldy and a little clunky. Also, I did enjoy the cigar with a super-rich white chocolate mocha coffee -- delicious but may have made the stogie initially seem bitter, so you may have to disregard that bit.

Nestor Miranda Special Selection (Rosado) "Coffee Break" (4 1/2" x 50)

Nestor Miranda Special Selection (Rosado) "Coffee Break" (4 1/2" x 50)


I've been on an ongoing quest to grab a decent "short smoke" for those Winter days when I have to smoke outside...and when I saw heard some buzz about this "Coffee Break" mini-cigar, I was interested. When I saw some at the Cigar Chateau in Wichita, I grabbed them-was pretty excited.

In keeping with the size of this smoke, I'll keep my review short. Yes, this is a decent small cigar. The burn is good, the flavor is just basic tobacco (but it has more "fullness" than most tiny smokes). The plummage is solid. It's a decent cigar to be sure.

Sadly, I can't ignore the cost. I gave $4.50 for each of the three I bought and that's too much for what you get with these. I sure wish that a guy could get ahold of a handful of small Winter cigars for closer to $2 each. Meh. I give this a "2" on my four point scale.