Sancho Panza Dulcinea Torpedo 89.255

Smoked this one after putting up my annual Halloween display. Hence my friend in the picture enjoying a smoke. I was very pleased with this cigar. I usually don't like torpedo's because they can tend to have a hard draw, but this one was handmade very nice. I have several of these aging in the humidor so I look forward to smoking some more. Nice flavor and wrapper had a great taste.

Cigar.com says:

With an everyday low price, Sancho Panza is all about value. These box-pressed Nicaraguan cigars have received top marks by industry publications.Crafted by Estelo Padron, the revered Honduran Cigar Master, these cigars are superbly constructed, draw perfectly and provide exceptional flavor - befitting a cigar named for Sancho Panza, the memorable literary figure created by the great Spnaish author, Miguel de Cervantes. Manservant to the famed Don Quixote de la Mancha, Sancho Panza personifies trustwothiness and reliability - attributes you will find in these cigars bearing his name. A cigar of uncommon character and taste, worthy of its Cuban heritage, Sancho Panza is carefully grown with Cuban-seed filler tobaccos and a rich Connecticut Broadleaf binder. Wrapped with a seamless Connecticut leaf, Sancho Panza provides a light body with full flavors of cedar and earth.

COHIBA EXTRA VIGOROSO 80.08

I was suprised that this cigar was more milder than I would have

expected. It was still a pretty good smoke, though I prefer the regular red dots. I like the little disclaimer label. The Cohiba name fight continues.

The Bonita Smoke shop has this to say:

The Cohiba XV Vigeroso cigars are blended by the famous and talented Cigar master Señor Daniel Nuñez. Señor Nuñez set out to create an extension of the successful Cohiba cigars line. The result are Cohiba XV cigars, an Extra Vigoroso cigar made with all the inspiration and dedication to quality that have made Cohiba one of the most respected premium brands in the country. The most distinctive leaf of Cohiba XV cigars are it's sun-grown Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador. These leaves are harvested only from the tops of the tobacco plants. Each of these wrapper leaves is aged in tercio for three years. The flavor is then enhanced even further by aging all of the leaves again for six months in crates of fragrant cedar. In crafting Cohiba XV cigars, the most flavorful Nicaraguan Ligero and Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero are bound with the richest three-year-old Connecticut Broadleaf. The result is a cigar that is made, not only to please, but also to impress. Every inch a Cohiba in terms of its tobacco selections and craftsmanship, Cohiba XV vigoroso cigars will deliver you the richest, deepest cigars you can find with the, true to tradition, Cohiba flavor in a bold and beautiful way.

Golden Zeus 14K

Saw this article on the Golden Zeus cigar at the millionaires show in Germany.
I can see the ratings on this one "Tastes a little too rich for my blood, and has a slight
tinny taste that I can't quite put my finger on." I think I will just wrap one of mine in aluminum foil and call it close enough.

Rocky Patel vintage 1990 79.575

This was an ok smoke, but did not stand out in my mind. It was a very mild cigar, and I tend to lean toward stronger cigars.

H.Upmann vintage cameroon 1844 92.255

I have several of these in my humidor that I have been aging. I smoked this one while eating some of the doves we shot in September along with some fish from this summer. My neighbor even complimented me on the great aroma coming over the fence. Anyway this is one I will want to get a whole box of and store. I still am a great fan of these Cameroon wrappers now. It really adds a great taste to the cigars. This one in particular is just the right ring size to really enjoy a good draw.

Here is a stogieguys.com review also:

Immediately after toasting the foot with a wooden match, the cigar produced a harmonious floral flavor that was pleasing to my entire palate. The combination of Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Peruvian fillers yielded pleasing notes of jasmine.
In the second phase, the taste shifted from floral to fruity with significant hints of citrus and pear. With such pronounced flavor I expected this stick to be a bit harsher, but the taste remained smooth and creamy. Like many cigars, however, this parejo became quite spicy towards the end of the smoke.
On construction, this stogie earns high marks. It lit quickly with a few wooden matches (I was outdoors), it burned evenly, and the draw was easy with a bit of resistance – just the way I like it. My only complaint is that it went out once mid-smoke after I had failed to puff for about three minutes.

Camacho Maduro 77.575

Thought I would try this robusto version of Comacho. It was a good smoke but not as flavorful or enjoyable as I thought it would be.

fummeworld has this to say:

The Camacho SLR’s (Special Limited Reserve) are a fantastic blend made with a hefty dose of Corojo filler and wrapped in a beautiful Honduran grown Cuban seed wrapper, or the US Connecticut Broadleaf maduro. These superbly balanced blends offer a ton of flavor, with noticeable coffee and woodsy notes.

COHIBA SIGLO MMH-HMM rated by Miguel Angel Jimenez

Was getting Miguel Ángel Jiménez autograph at the Ryder cup on Tuesday during practice rounds. I asked how he like the Cohiba(Oh well, so what if the Europeans can get the Cubans).

His response, with cigar still in his mouth was, 'MMH-HMM'. I take it that he liked it.

Here is a pic I got.

Ashton VSG 76.74

Had this one in the humidor for while and decided to finally give it a try while out walking the dog around the neighborhood. This was another mild smoke with some nice aroma, but not the best I have smoked. I don't know that I could tell it was "Virgin Sun Grown" from other cigars.

From the uptowncigar.com site:

ASHTON CIGAR VIRGIN SUNGROWN

For those who desire a powerful and intoxicating flavor with a complex rich finish, look no further than the Ashton VSG Cigar. The VSG is blended exclusively for Ashton by Carlos Fuente Jr. using 4 to 5 year old aged Dominican tobacco taken from the finest and most fertile plants. The distinct flavor of VSG comes from its wrapper grown on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family where this proprietary wrapper leaf is grown for the Fuente Family exclusively for Ashton VSG. The leaf is taken from the higher primings and matures slowly by sunlight filtered through the region¹s natural cloud covering. The result is the rich intoxicating wrapper which has made the Ashton VSG Cigar the most in demand cigar on the market today.

Gurkha Legend 84.42

I have been having trouble with Gurkha's lately with having a hard draw. I found this one smoked very nice and I enjoyed it very much. I have found that the longer I leave these in the humidor the better they smoke. So I am going to put some of these away for a while to try down the road.

Bolivar Dominicana 79.58

Enjoyed this mild smoke and the Gurkha rated next while out Dove hunting with my son-in-law.

Did not catch the limit on birds, but have enough to have another nice cookout. Basically, you just sit out in a field and wait for the little suckers to fly over and everyone starts shooting. Then you try and claim that it was your great shot that brought the bird down. Anyway, in between birds, a nice cigar is a great way to pass the time. Our drink of choice is always a native Kentucky ginger ale called Ale-8-1. Then of course, a nice bourbon after the shooting.

From cigar.com:

Originally founded in Cuba, the Bolivar is a tribute to its Cuban heritage with a medium bodied mix of robust tobaccos from the Carribean and Central America.
Like its flavor, the Bolivar history is also very rich. The brand got its start in Cuba at the turn of the 20th century. Since day one on the market they have been highly sought after and recognized as a fine premium cigar.
Today"s blend is hand rolled in the Dominican Republic and is crafted in an effort to recapture the original Cuban blend, which in 1901 was smooth yet very robust. To succeed in doing this, legendary cigar maker Daniel Nunez utilized a wide range of tobacco leaves including rare fillers from Isla de Ometepe. The resulting cigar has received great praise from industry experts. The blend starts with fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras and is held together with a Connecticut medio tiempo binder. This binder is similar to the wrapper that is used on the full-bodied and world-renowned Partagas Black Label. To finish the Bolivar, a Honduran grown San Augustine ligero wrapper is added providing that last shot of spice. Although full-flavored, the Bolivar is not too overpowering, providing hours of enjoyment with a long finish.

cigarman redware

Got this off of Ebay. He looks great sitting on shelf above my humidor.

TeAmo World Selection Nicaragua 78.75

This was the best out of the three WSS cigars. It still had a little problem with the draw however.

I am keeping others in the humidor a lot longer to see if that loosens them up a bit.

CAO CAMEROON 73.74

Smoke this the other night while sitting out on my patio enjoying the nice summer evening.

The flavor of the wrapper was just great and the smoke was nice. I had a little problem with the draw on this one. It was box pressed and I think it restricted the leaves a little too much. I am going to let my other ones sit for at least six months before smoking to see if it loosens up the cigar a little bit. Then it will probably get a much higher rating.

Montecristo Habana #2 87.585

My daughter and son-in-law just got back from a 2 week honeymoon in Europe. And somehow a couple of these Montecristo cigars showed up in my humidor. This was a torpedo. It was pretty much as expected since I had read reviews of this cigar prior to my lighting one up. It was a good smoke, but since they use Cuban wrappers, binders and filler it limits the amount of flavor you can obtain by taking advantage of leaves from the various countries that now grow great tobacco. I think a lot of these is still the mystique of it not being readily available in the states.(I give it 5 years at the most that this will change). Anyway, I am glad to have had the chance to try this so I have a comparitive for other cigars.

Cohiba Black Label 79.575

John and I both enjoyed one of these the other day. He was able to pick 6 of these Pequenos that are great for a quick smoke.

Nice little cigar.

From cigar.com:

The Cohiba Black is one of the newest additions to the Cohiba family. With a dark maduro wrapper and aged Dominican Piloto binder, the Cohiba Black has a rich and complex flavor that appeals to even the most discerning aficionado.
As perhaps the most recognized name in cigars worldwide, Cohiba has been an icon for what many consider to be “the best.” Debuting in Cuba shortly after Castro came to power, Cohiba cigars were made from the country’s top 1% of leaves harvested and the cigars were reserved for diplomatic gifts and government VIP’s. In fact, speculation exists that the brand was initially made for Fidel Castro who considered the blend his favorite.
Cohiba Black was introduced at the 2006 RTDA show in Las Vegas. As one of the most popular super premiums, the Cohiba Black follows its predecessor, the Cohiba Red Dot, which is also made in the Dominican Republic. The cigar features a multi-country blend with a rich and dark Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. However, perhaps more exciting than the oily wrapper is the filler, which encompasses leaves from the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

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.