Montecristo Habana #2 87.585

My daughter and son-in-law just got back from a 2 week honeymoon in Europe.

He will be posting some of his cigar finds soon. However, somehow, some

Cuban cigars ended up in my humidor. Anyway, decided to light up my first Montecristo

torpedo. It was actually pretty much what I expected from reading other reviews online.

Given that Cuban cigars have a Cuban wrapper, binder, and filler, it does not give you much of

a chance to mix leaves and flavors to achieve a great smoke like they can do with Dominican, Honduran, Sumatra, and even African leaves now. All in all it was still an ok smoke.

Cohiba Dominicana 95.09

One of the highest ratings I have given yet. Just really enjoyed this cigar from start to finish. Burned well and kept a good ash.

You could taste a little peppery flavor at times and then chocolate. It also produced very prodigious smoke. My dog even let me pet her, many times she does not want to be near the smoke, so I assume even she appreciated this one. I guess a four paw rating. I may want to try some more for consistency and then age some in the humidor and have them on hand.

Origin: Dominican Republic
Length: 7.00
Ring: 49
Strength: Mild-Medium
Wrapper Color: Medium Brown (E)
Wrapper Type: Cameroon
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Dominican Republic
Shape: Parejo

NUB Cameroon 68.07

This was my first NUB. It was started by the Olivia company. The intent is to have a large ring gauge cigar that will burn almost as long as a churchill. It did have a nice burn, however the large ring gauge did take a little getting used to. Unfortunately my cigar had a slight tear as if it was over humidified and had cracked a little. The one thing I like about churchill size cigars is that by having a good ash, it tends to cool the smoke down a little as you draw in. By the time you get a good ash on the NUB you have already smoked half the cigar. Cameroon is my favorite wrapper at this point and I was a little dissapointed in the quality of the wrapper on this. It did not seem to hold up very well. I am not sure I will do NUB's on a regular basis or stock up on them.

Smoking Yoda

Found this on http://www.cigarweekly.com/. A good site to get and receive cigar info.

Gurkha Special Edition Crest 63.07 73.74

These cigars are aged 8 years. They are a very mild cigar even though the wrapper on this one was darker than normal. There just was nothing exceptional about this cigar to justify the price. I have been very dissapointed in the Gurkha line so far. I am starting to get upset that I have about 10 more of their cigars in my humidor left.

This is also the second one that had trouble with the draw. It just seems it is rolled too tight and will not let you enjoy a smoke without having to suck on it like a Hoover(and/or Dyson). I have talked to others who have been trying to let their Gurkha's sit in the humidor to let it expand as much as possible because of the same issue.

Here is a second smoke score, still a problem with draw and a canoe issue. Just not good rollers at the Gurkha plant.

CIFUENTES PARTAGAS PADRE 1845 91.255 Rating

Just finished this one today. This was a slightly different Fuentes than I had tried before and I really liked this one. My golf sucked really bad, but at least the cigar gave me some moments of calm. My golfing partner even commented on what a nice smell this cigar gave out. Some cigars seem to really have some 'bite' or a sour taste from the wrapper, but this one just seemed to have a nice chocolate/coffee taste that was really pleasant.

Partagas CigarsThe secret of today's rich Partagas cigars lies in their wrapper leaves. Grown in Cameroon, the Central West African country where the steaming, sub-tropical climate unique to the fourth parallel is ideal for growing superb wrapper leaves, Cameroon wrappers have no equals for rich flavor. Indeed, Ramón Cifuentes determined that he could begin producing his Partagas cigars again only after he had discovered, years after the Cuban embargo had begun, that the best wrapper leaves were being grown in Cameroon rather than in Cuba.

Partagas Cifuentes Blend is a limited-availability extension to the Partagas portfolio of cigars. It builds upon the legacy of Ramon Cifuentes by introducing a cigar specially blended for the Fall season by Ramonos proteges, Daniel Nunez and Benji Menendez. Cifuentes Seasonal Blend cigars are medium-to-full bodied, rich in flavor, and use a special Honduran Medio-Tiempo wrapper, as well as Nicaraguan filler and binder tobaccos.
These cigars bare the name of the Cifuentes family, the legendary makers of Partagas in Cuba. In a tradition that spans a century, the masters of Partagas would create cigars under their name with a unique and distinct character from all others readily available. That tradition continues with Partagas Cifuentes Blend.
Its deeply satisfying, full, rich taste is derived from a limited crop of sun-ripened Honduran wrapper leaves. The extra aging on the plant gives the wrapper leaf flavor characteristics like no other. And naturally, the quality and craftsmanship found in these cigars is everything you'd expect from a Partagas. This is a cigar that Ramon Cifuentes himself would have been proud to offer.

Blanton's Single Barrel Cigar 86.75

This is another cigar from Kentucky Gentleman Cigars. http://www.kentuckygentlemencigars.com/.

They are working with Blanton's to age their tobbacco in Blanton bourbon barrel's. I think they need to find a way to get just a little more bourbon flavor into the cigar. There has to be a way to pressurize the barrel or something to infuse the flavor a little more. However, this is a great smoke for a Kentucky grown tobbacco that has a Connecticut wrapper. Keep their web site in your list of cigar sites because they are continually adding new cigars and ideas.

Now, if you are a bourbon drinker, the horse toppers are a collector's item. They have letters on the horse and if you collect all the different ones you can spell out BLANTONS and store them in a special racetrack. See it at http://www.blantonsbourbon.com/ . You can also store the cigars in the special tubes in the same racetrack. The cigar horses do not spell out anything however.

Graycliff Bahamas Espresso 88.08

This one provided courtesy of my son-in-law while out in his garden getting a bucket of fresh vegetables. Already made a batch of Gaspacho and some of my famous tabouli salad. Anyway this is a nice mild smoke. The robusto I had was a nice size for a quick smoke. Even though it is a nice full bodied cigar, the price is a little steep at $20.00 a stick(but for free it was nice, thanks John).

Here is blub from cigar.com:

The Graycliff Espresso is the fullest-bodied blend in the Graycliff line.
After establishing themselves as the world’s foremost makers of super premium cigars, Graycliff’s creators Enrico Garzaroli and Avelino Lara set out to make their finest creation yet, the Espresso. While their previous releases had been wildly successful, the legendary cigar duo wanted to reach the palates of aficionados who enjoy a full-bodied and full-flavored cigar.
The cornerstone of the Espresso line is the dark Costa Rican Maduro wrapper which brings this smoke to life. Its robust flavor hits your palate fast and is expertly balanced by a hearty filler. A true connoisseur’s cigar, the Espresso line is intense and consistent from the moment you light it. If you have a discerning palate and are looking for a top notch after dinner smoke, this is your cigar!

European smoking

My daughter and son-in-law are on their honeymoon in Europe. Here is his first cigar post from there. We are planning a Canada trip soon to smoke some up North.

I have purchased 3 Cubans since we've been over here. A Romeo y Julieta, Cohiba Siglo IV, and a Montecristo No2.I need to tell you about the Montecristo No2. I have seen where it is rated behind the Opus X. It's not by my taste. It's Chocolate and leather of the start and some very nice flavors kick in part way in when it warms up. Most of all some spicy notes that will tingle the tip of your tongue. It smoked perfectly. I bought a torpedo so that I knew that it would be rolled by one of the more experienced rollers in the factory. It paid off, very nicely. I sat beside the river Thames and even in the London wind, the ash grew to a staggering 2"+. You definitely need to have one of these. I stood in the largest humidor I've ever been in @ Harrods. It's a room by it's self called the Havana Cigar Room. I took a pic for you to see. It's impressive. Kristyn had to track me down when she couldn't find me because I was secluded in the cigar room analyzing their entire selection. I tried to get you an empty box to bring back also, but they throw them all away when they are near empty. By the way, the Opus X's that we smoked were wrapped and boxed exactly the same as they are in England. I checked. We're in Paris now. I'll check out their cigar scene too.

Kentucky Gentlemen 80.07

Decided to try and attend the "longest yard sale" in the world along highway 127. It is 600 miles of seeing that we as Americans have way too much junk.
Did find a few cigar collectibles, but not much else. While heading south of Frankfort I saw a small handwritten sign that said 'Hand rolled Cigars'. Pulled off the side road and it was the home of Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars. http://www.kentuckygentlemencigars.com/
I got to meet Allen Mobley and his wife and had some good discussions on cigars and some new blends he is trying. I have a few that I will try and keep you informed. They are now doing a sweet deal with Blanton's bourbon and I am looking forward to trying that one.

Anyway, I did try the Kentucky Colonel cigar. It was a little harsh at first but did mellow out. He ages these for 3 to 6 months but I do not think that is near long enough for these cigars. Allen is experimenting to find new ways and flavors which is what good tobacconists like to do.

Zino Classic Premium Selection 91.75

This was my first Zino. I still have yet to try an actual Davidoff and thought this would be a good one to try in that line. It was a very mild cigar and smoked very nice, but did not have as much flavor as I would have expected from this line. However still got a good rating. Here is standard diatribe from a web site. I had earthy, but for the life of me could not find smooth, creamy or undertones of spices.

The Zino Classic Premium Selection blend is composed of Honduran Jamastran tobaccos maintaining the cigars distinct earthy Honduran flavor. The Zino Classic Premium Selection is further enhanced by a special blend of Dominican tobaccos that is added to give the cigar a smooth, creamy quality. The cigar has deep flavors of earth with undertones of spice, it is a very complex cigar, the spice fades on the long finish and leaves the palate with a subtly sweet taste. The Zino Classic Premium Selection is an outstanding recreation of an old favorite and is sure to please long time Zino Classic smokers and newcomers alike.

Cigar Gargoyle

Here is a site I saw in about.com. Cute stuff for you cigars. http://www.cigargoyle.com/

mobile cigar lounge

Saw this in Gary's blog at about.com and thought it was worth mentioning. It is a mobile
cigar smoking RV that can go to your events etc. Here is the website: mobilecigarlounge.com