Archive for November, 2012

Post Turkey Day by Tommy Zman

Friday, November 30th, 2012

So Turkey Day has come and gone again and now we’re only a few weeks from Christmas. Good Lord, will somebody slow down this runaway freight train we call life! Now if you’re anything like me – which is a scary thought, indeed – you’ve been eating like a deranged sociopath from Thanksgiving Thursday and right on through leftover heaven. Desserts have become part of the norm and pretty soon you will be wheeled around on a hand truck wherever you go.

While my caloric intake has climbed to a higher stratosphere, I’ve also been smoking my cigars like a herfer possessed. I really don’t know what the hell it is about this time of year, but I always ramp up my stogie intake and enjoy the absolute hell out of it! Maybe with this eclectic mix of rich food and drink, my palate is yearning for even more flavor and nothing can satisfy me like a good premium hand rolled smoke. Or maybe I’m just an excessive fat bastid with zero self-control? Probably a whole lot of both.

It’s weird but I really have been craving cigars much more than normal. Even in the summer I do one a day during the week and two or three each of the weekend days, but since Turkey Day, I’m cranking up like 3 a day. In the morning I’m going mild to medium, maybe something like an Alec Bradley American Classic. After lunch I’ll have a robusto in the medium to full range like a tasty Oliva Cain, and then after dinner I just have to spark up a full bodied beast like an AJ Fernandez San Lotano Oval (a smoke that is flavorful beyond comprehension.)

While I am truly enjoying my total cigar smoking love fest, my wife, who has always loathed the leaf, keeps reminding me that I stink like a smoldering ash can. I keep reminding her that some chicks really dig that, but when she asks who, I conveniently change the subject. It’s just wonderful being in the cigar biz while having a wife that can’t stand the smell of ‘em. My smoky cross to bear in life.

So, now with Christmas on the way and a rash of holiday parties to be attended and a mountain of fattening foods to be devoured, the cigar smoking will no doubt continue at a torrid pace. And if you just take a look at the JR website http://www.jrcigars.com, you’ll be blown away like I am at the spectacular pleathora of choices! There’s not only all the great standbys like Partagas, Punch, Cohiba, Macanudo, Hoyo, Fuente, Romeo y Julieta, Dunhill, and Montecristo… but there’s a bounty of new comers, some of the hottest smokes in the industry like My Father, Rocky Patel, CAO, La Aroma de Cuba, NUB, Cain, Alec Bradley, Don Pepin, Omar Ortez, La Flor Dominica, La Aurora 107, and San Cristobal! This is cigar madness, my friends, but if I’m going to lose my marbles, it’s going to be at the mercy of master blenders and the torcedors of Latin America.

Now if I may shill for just a brief moment or three, do you have any idea what a magnificent place JR is for Holiday Gifts… including cigars and accessories for yourself?! Oh, you say you knew that? Okay, just had to make sure, never can tell who’s asleep out there.

So that’s it for this week as I promise to eat, drink, and smoke like a holiday whack job possessed. Hey, you enjoy, huh…

I urge you to PLEASE SUPPORT Cigar Rights of America as they continue to deal with congress, the senate, and all US legislators who need to be made aware that our cigars are the best friends we know of and we will fight like hell to keep them in our lives! >> http://cigarrights.org

As always, stay smoky my friends,

TZ.Sig.2

 JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

 > CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special

Alec Bradley American Sun Grown Blend

Friday, November 30th, 2012

While the Sun Grown Blend isn’t exactly new, it is the latest in the Alec Bradley American series. I enjoyed the Classic Blend, but it was sort of your run of the mill Connecticut. That’s not to say it was bad. I was curious how this would compare, so let’s get to it.

 

Wrapper: Honduras Connecticut

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Esteli, Condega

Size: Toro 50 x 6

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper was very smooth, with virtually no seams or flaws. I can only describe the scent as earthy with typical rich tobacco. Squeezing the cigar revealed some hard spots, mainly towards the head. This caused the draw to be a little snug, and barely within my tolerances. The pre-light flavor was mild spice and dark cocoa.

The ash held for just about one inch, and the burn required a few small corrections. Luckily, the tight draw loosened up in the first third.

1 Alec_Bradley_American_Sun_Grown_Blend cigars

Flavor:

The first third was a mixture of espresso, pepper, and nutty notes in the background. The smoke feel was dry, and had an interesting aftertaste. I couldn’t pin it down, but it reminded me of fruit.

2 Alec_Bradley_American_Sun_Grown_Blend cigars

Espresso mellowed a bit in the second third, which allowed sweet creaminess to stand out. At the halfway point, wood and fruity notes joined in. The pepper calmed down, but kept some pep.

3 Alec_Bradley_American_Sun_Grown_Blend cigars

The last third had dominant flavors of espresso and pepper. The sweet creaminess fell to the background, and the smoke feel became dry. That elusive fruity note remained way in the background, along with earthiness and a touch of leather.

4 Alec_Bradley_American_Sun_Grown_Blend cigars

Conclusion:

This a good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. It had some nice complexities and nuances that held my interest. I may have been in a picky mood while smoking this cigar. In some small way, there was a lack of richness, except in the last third. This isn’t to say it was bad, and my mood could have been a factor while smoking this particular cigar. The American Sun Grown Blend is worth a try for sure.

Herrera Esteli Arrives and more by Frank Seltzer

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Willie rolling the Herrera Esteli

At this summer’s IPCPR trade show one of the best cigars on the floor was the new Herrera Esteli from Drew Estate maker of ACID and Liga Privada, Undercrown and others.  The cigar is the product of Willie Herrera who left El Titan de Bronze in Miami to join Drew Estate a little over a year ago.  Willie was charged with coming up with his own blend and it took a while but he did.  Herrera says he went through like 70 different blends using all the tobaccos at his disposal, which is considerable because Drew Estate is the largest importer of tobacco in Nicaragua (and that doesn’t include the Nicaraguan tobacco!)

At the trade show, it was said the Herrera Esteli would be coming out in December.  Well not so much.  Now the cigars will roll out in January and February to select stores.  The number of stores is dependent upon the amnount of tobacco and cigars that can be rolled.  Willie says right now he has 10 pairs rolling his cigars and it is a slow process.  But the results are worth it.

How do I know?  Well, the cigar debuted at our Post Turkey Day Crawl.  Willie and Fabien Ziegler from Drew Estate came in to unofficially launch the cigar at our event.  (But we only had 50 boxes total for sale and they all went)

The Herrera Esteli uses a Habano-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, over a Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  It comes in four sixes, Short Corona at 5.25” x 46, Robusto at 5.5” x 52, Lonsdale at 6”x 44 and a Toro at 6.25” x 54.  Willie says his favorite is the Toro mainly because he smoked the corona in like 15 minutes.  Prices on the cigars range from $7.95 for the Short Corona up to $9.35 for the Toro.

Snake Eyes

Davidoff is announcing a cigar for next year…but not our year, the Chinese New Year.  Come February,  Davidoff will release a special lmited edition Year of the Snake edition cigar with accessories. The year of the snake—the chinese versionb not the cigar—is the sixth in the 12 signes of the Chinese zodiac and it is characterized as being wise and graceful. According to Davidoff

It is said that Snake-people like to possess the finer things in life.

The Snake cigar will be a Churchill at 7” x 48 with an Ecuador wrapper over San Vincente Seco and fillers of Piloto Seco, San Vincente Ligero, Piloto Viso, Hybrid 192 Seco/Yamasa.  The price for this special cigar is $29.90 each.

Holiday

Speaking of holidays, you can check out the new JR Catalog  for some gift ideas which while Tommy mentioned,  he forgot to add we have a nice story on the Fuentes as they mark their 100th year.  If you don’t have the catalog you can get it here.

Traveling

If you were flying over the past Thanksgiving holiday, you should know that the Center for Disease Control is now saying some airports are unhealthy.  Why you ask?  Gee because they actually have areas where smokers can light up.  Now mind you, non-smokers don’t go into these rooms, and I remember them being pretty thick with smoke, but why does the CDC care? Because they are nannies.  The weasels surveyed five big airports :

These airports are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Denver International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport. The CDC said these five airports account for 15 percent of all U.S. travel last year, with more than 110 million passengers traveling.

Two other large-hub airports, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, have designated smoking areas that are not accessible to the public, such as in private clubs.

I wanna know where the smoking area is in McCarran…didn’t see it when I was last there earlier this month.  In the press release the CDC screamed:

“People who spend time in, pass by, clean or work near these rooms are at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke.”

 If they spend time in these rooms…most likely they are SMOKING.  Morons.  Ever see a cigarette smoker having to run outside for a smoke before boarding a flight?  Not a pretty picture.

PTDC Thanks

Last week, I told you about our 18th annual charity Post Turkey Day Crawl.  Well this year’s was the most successful ever.  Not only did we generate about $15,000 worth of cigar sales at a total of three stores, we also raised $2500 for charity.  Not bad for about 45 people on what is generally a down day for cigar stores.  We also collected cigars for the troops and around 500 smokes are headed to Afghanistan.  All in all a very successful day.

The reason it was a success was due to support from the industry,  I want to publicly thank Drew Estate, Altadis, General Cigars , The Quesadas and SAGAlec Bradley ,Christian Eiroa and his new company, My Father Cigars, Maria Martin and the Pedro Martin Family cigars,  Ernesto Perez Carrillo and EPC,  La Palina, Miami Cigar, Joya de Nicaragua,Pete Johnson, AKA Cigars and Torano.

Without their help, the crawl would not have been a success.  Thank you.

Rocky Patel Edge Habano

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

The Edge Habano is the latest installment in the Rocky Patel Edge line. I think this is the sixth variation in the series. Anyway…

I purchased the cigar being reviewed today. Originally, Patrick V. from Rocky Patel Cigars, sent me two samples of the Toro. Spoiler alert, I enjoyed them, and ended up smoking through my samples without thinking. So off to the store I went. I couldn’t find a toro locally, but no big deal. On to the review!

 

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Torpedo 6 x 52

Price: $6.09

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper was chocolaty brown, with small to medium veins, and a toothy appearance. The wrapper had a cedary aroma, and the foot was earthy and leathery. There was a little squishiness when squeezing the cigar, but no construction flaws were found. The pre-light draw had slight resistance, with a dark coffee flavor.

The ash held for around an inch, and the burn didn’t require any correction.

1 Rocky_Patel_Edge_Habano cigars

Flavor:

The first third began with a familiar Nicaraguan zing. After about an inch, black coffee took center stage. Within a few puffs, I picked up notes of cocoa, earthiness, leather, and wood. The smoke feel became creamy and sweet, and the peppery zing died down a bit.

2 Rocky_Patel_Edge_Habano cigars

The second third kept the same flavors, but delivery changed from draw to draw. Some were creamy and sweet, while other draws were dominated by coffee and wood. Earthy and leathery notes lingered throughout, as did a pleasant, easy peppery zing. The aftertaste became sticky, and left a tingle on the lips.

3 Rocky_Patel_Edge_Habano cigars

The last third was pretty consistent, without a lot of changes between draws. Cocoa, wood, sweet spice, and a tingly aftertaste rounding things out. I had a hard time picking out earthiness and leather, but I think it was back there somewhere.

4 Rocky_Patel_Edge_Habano cigars

Conclusion:

This was a good, even a very good, medium to full bodied cigar. I’d say it is my favorite out of the Edge line. The flavor profile was complex, refined, and took some nice turns. Construction was near perfect on every one I smoked. I think the asking price is well worth it. I’ll smoke more of these for sure.

Tatuaje Apocalypse

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

Thanks to Abe from Smoke Inn for sending me a sample to review. The Apocalypse is a Smoke Inn exclusive, and the next installment in their MicroBlend series. It is also the sequel to the Anarchy, which is a favorite of mine. It should be noted that the band on my sample is from the original Anarchy. The Apocalypse will have a similar band, but reversed colors.

 

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 5.25 x 48-52

Price: $8.95

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The dark wrapper was glistened with oil, and was topped with a pigtail cap. The aroma of the wrapper was dark chocolate and hay. The cigar was evenly and solidly packed, which led to a draw that was on the snug side. The pre-light flavor was dark chocolate. Think cooking chocolate, bitter, sweet, and dark.

The ash held for about an inch, and the burn required several corrections. The snug draw opened up in the first third, so that wasn’t an issue.

1 Tatuaje_Apocalypse cigars

Flavor:

There was no build up in the first third. I was immediately greeted with a nice peppery zing, cedar, and black coffee. After smoking about an inch, cocoa joined in and rounded things out.

2 Tatuaje_Apocalypse cigars

The second third had an increase in pepper. Coffee and cedar dominated the flavor profile, along with that peppery zing. Behind it was notes of cocoa and slight earthiness. Overall, the flavor profile felt richer and fuller bodied.

3 Tatuaje_Apocalypse cigars

The last third was very similar to the second third. What changed was the smoke feel. It became very crisp and dry. Otherwise, the same flavors remained.

4 Tatuaje_Apocalypse cigars

Conclusion:

This was a very good full bodied cigar. It was very similar to the Anarchy, but just different enough to set it apart. Is it worth the asking price? As a treat I’d say yes, but it definitely isn’t priced as a daily smoke. I think I like the Anarchy more, but that is based on smoking only one Apocalypse. No matter, I think this is worth a try at least.

CIGARS to Make the Holidays Just Dandy!, by Tommy Zman

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

First of all, I never use the word “dandy” when I speak, but in this instance, I thought it worked nice in the title.

Okay, it’s officially the holiday season and I love cigars, yes, that’s a fact. If you want a fun read on the subject, make sure to take a look at my column (What Really Roasts My Robusto) in the brandy-new, JR Holiday Catalog. It’s my official 2012 Holiday Rant, entitled: The Good, the Bad, and the Smoky. Basically what it all boils down to is that I used to love the holidays and enjoyed them to the fullest. But I think I’ve joined the masses in a collective Scrooge encrusted mindset that the holidays have become, for lack of a better term, a big pain in my roasting chestnuts.

Newsflash to my wife… EVERY kiss does NOT begin with Kay and NO, he DID NOT go to Jared! Instead he paid the freakin mortgage and bought you a new robe ‘cause the one you got is lookin’ a tad ratty… ho, ho, ho. All right, add a pinch of Grinch to my Scrooginess, but it’s not supposed to be all about getting expensive gifts, dammit! I mean every time I see that commercial with the humongous red bow on top of the Christmas morning Lexus, I fire out the obscenities sounding like Tony Soprano giving some cretin a Jersey-style beatdown.  ENOUGH already, will ya!

Okay, I know, I’ve gotta calm down… and luckily there IS an amazing relaxer known to the world as the premium hand rolled cigar. And guys, NOTHING is more wonderful than before – during – or after a sumptuous holiday meal than to spark up a good cigar and let all the trials and tribulations that the world delivers just blow the hell away!

Now, speaking of cigars and the Holidays, I believe that the new JR Cigars Holiday Catalog has 110 additional pages on top of my loud and leafy rant. There is so much tobacco-laden goodness in between those glossy color pages that your head is guaranteed to spin – but trust me, that’s a good thing. Yeah, I know, I’ve turned this into a shill, but hey, it’s not beneath me, especially since they actually pay me to spout my smoke-filled insanity (seriously, can you imagine that.)

What’s truly great about the new holiday offering is that there’s not only all the great standbys like Partagas, Punch, Cohiba, Macanudo, Hoyo, Fuente, Romeo y Julieta, Dunhill, and Montecristo… but there’s a bounty of new comers, some of the hottest smokes in the industry like My father, Rocky Patel, CAO, La Aroma de Cuba, NUB, Cain, Alec Bradley, Don Pepin, Omar Ortez, La Flor Dominica, La Aurora 107, and San Cristobal… WHEW! Now if that didn’t get your heart racin’, blood pumpin’, and the salivation glands in full gear, I think you’d better check your pulse, my friend.

So as you recover from the Thanksgiving gorgefest and shovel down the leftovers like a guy who’s never eaten a meal before in his life, make sure to enjoy those special holiday smokes. And if you didn’t get your JR Catalog in the mail – FILLED with SPECIALS you can only receive this time of year – CLICK this LINK for a free pdf download of all 112 pages along with ten zillion photos of sweet & luscious cigars! > http://www.jrcigars.com/jr/index.cfm/hurl/evt=catalog

Give the gift that keeps on smoking and tell ‘em Zman sent you. Okay, don’t tell them that because they really won’t care and who can blame ‘em?

May the holiday’s begin & smokem cuz ya gottem!

TZ.Sig.2

 JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

 > CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special

Happy Thanksgiving by Frank Seltzer

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Thanksgiving is on us this week, which means a time to stop and be thankful for all the joys and concerns in your life.   It also means relatives, way too much food and football.  Oh yeah, and I guess the day after Thanksgiving shopping.  I do hope you all have a great holiday.

Is Bigger better?

I don’t know but it seems to be the way people are going.  Part of this I am sure is the myth that the bigger the ring gauge the cooler the smoke.  That’s right this is a myth.  Any well made cigar will be cool.  If it is badly rolled, it can be hot at any ring gauge.  The bigger ring gauges are easier to roll and do allow for easy blending–often using full leaves instead of partials when in say a 42.  Anyway,  I still prefer coronas but there are so many big ring gauges..like EPC’s the Inch, now comes word from Pepin Garcia:

As times change, smoking preferences change and the new trend for consumers is the 60-ring-gauge cigar. There is now a new size in the My Father line and one in the Don Pepin Garcia Original.

In the My Father line we have added the My Father #6, a box pressed Toro Gordo 6 x 60, in an 18 cigar count box. This box will have the beautiful and signature packaging of My Father, but will be in three rows of 6, a new style for this line. Suggested retail price for the My Father #6 is $12.00 per cigar. For the Don Pepin Garcia Original we will be releasing a 6 x 62 Toro Grande, also box pressed in an 18 cigar count box, with traditional Don Pepin Garcia packaging in rows of 6. Suggested retail price for the Don Pepin Garcia Original Toro Grande is $9.50.

The cigars are shipping in the next couple of weeks and will be available before the holidays.

Cigar Festival

Last weekend (Saturday the 17th to be exact) was the  14th annual Ybor City Heritage and Cigar Festival in Tampa. The yearly event benefits the Ybor City Museum Society.

The festival is the museum society’s largest fundraiser. The museum, at 1818 E. Ninth Ave., was established in 1977 in the refurbished Ferlita Bakery building, which dates to 1923. The museum complex, which is a state park, includes the adjacent garden and fountain, a trio of cigar workers’ houses and the museum store.

The day long event highlighted Ybor City’s role in the cigar industry and in honor of Arturo Fuente’s 100th anniversary, tours of historic Ybor City buildings were offered…and of course there were lots of cigars.  In case you didn’t know, Ybor City was the creation of Vicente Martinez Ybor who moved his cigar manufacturing operations out of Key West in the late 1800s.  Tampa’s board of trade helped Ybor buy 40 acres, which he soon increased.  The result initially was a company town for Ybor’s operation and within a few years, the other cigar manufacturers in Key West moved up to Tampa to join him.  At its peak in 1929, Ybor City made 500-million cigars a year.  Today J.C.Newman is the sole remaining factory which used to make Cuesta Rey’s in the building and today makes several machine made cigars there.

18th annual

Lastly, I need to brag a bit.  On Friday, we will be holding our 18th annual Post Turkey Day Crawl in Dallas.  From what I can determine this is the oldest ongoing cigar crawl/event in the country.  (We are one year older than CA’s Big Smoke, but then again they get a lot more people.)  The crawl began as an idea on the old newsgroup Alt Smokers Cigars when Dr. Marc Schneiderman was coming to Dallas to visit his in-laws over Thanksgiving.  The idea was while others went out shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, a bunch of guys in the Dallas area would get together, hit a few stores and then have dinner.   Back then, it was easy finding locales for the dinner.  Today, not so much.  But the tradition continues and our dinner –now called the Chris Edmonson Memorial dinner, to mark Chris’s passing and to acknowledge his tremendous efforts in putting the initial crawls and the Dallas cigar group together.  Over the years we have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity and I am sure this year will be no exception.

Emilio AF2

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

I recently reviewed the AF1 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I planned on waiting a while before trying and reviewing the AF2, but I obviously changed my mind. Like the AF1, this cigar is blended and manufactured by A.J. Fernandez. Thanks goes out to Gary Griffith, owner of Emilio Cigars, for sending me a couple of these to review.

 

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: Toro 6 x 50

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper was shiny and oily, with small veins. It had an aroma of earth, barnyard, and bitterness. The foot had a sweet, spicy aroma. There were some soft spots here and there, but the cigar was rolled well. The draw had some resistance, but it was well within my tolerances. The pre-light flavor was woody and earthy.

The burn required a few minor corrections, and the ash held for around an inch.

1 Emilio_AF2 cigars

Flavor:

The first third started off with earth and cayenne pepper. In short order, the smoke feel became smooth, and bordered on creaminess. Black coffee joined in and became a dominant flavor. Bitter sweetness lingered in the background. Some draws were smooth and sweet, and others had a nice, easy spicy kick.

2 Emilio_AF2 cigars

The second third had a nice quick turn. Cocoa and coffee became dominant flavors. The cayenne pepper died down a bit, but made for an easy, tingly aftertaste. The smoke feel was creamy and smooth. Like before, some draws were dry and crisp, while others were smooth and creamy.

3 Emilio_AF2 cigars

The last third kept the same core flavors. Some draws were espresso, or at least black coffee. Other draws were sweet dark cocoa. The pepper was consistent throughout. The creamy, tingly aftertaste clung to the lips and tongue for quite some time.

4 Emilio_AF2 cigars

Conclusion:

This was a very good medium to full bodied cigar. I enjoyed the smooth flavors and complexities. There was nothing to complain about at all. How does it compare to the AF1? They are similar in a lot of ways, but they are different enough to make it hard to pick a favorite. At this moment, I’d pick the AF1, but that is subject to change. Like the AF1, I’d smoke more of these.

Smoking Cigars No Matter HOW COLD…. by Tommy Zman

Friday, November 16th, 2012

For those who live in regions where the weather changes and the cold is now setting in – yeah, I sure do know the feeling. And while the cold weather affects a lot of things, cigar smoking is sure as hell one of them.

We do a heck of a lot less smoking of our precious stoagies in the winter than during the summer and after a while when the frigid air sets in, I go stir-crazy, constantly jonesing for a hand rolled happy stick. Right now it’s not too bad out, the crisp air allowing for a quick, smaller smoke at night, but It’s not long until the outdoor enjoyment gets really tough and we all need an indoor place to partake, as few and far between as they are.

In the late spring, summer, and early fall, I enjoy the living hell out of my cigars. I’ll smoke one to two a day during the week and two to three each day on the weekend. (I know a lot of you guys are going, “that’s it?” and to that I say God bless your smoky butts!) But in the dead of winter the enjoyment of a premium blend slows down to a grinding halt for many.

Thankfully I have a small lounge five minutes from my house to hit up several times a week, but part of the ritual was smoking while watching hockey games, and the meatheads at the National Hockey League have really stuck it up the fans collective ashes this time. They really might put the kibosh on the entire season so I just might have to watch some badly conceived reality crap… dare I mention Honey Boo-Boo for the third straight week in a row? Although, I will say that Doomsday Preppers is an entertaining show – in a highly extremist, ODC, mentally insane sort of way. If I was a “prepper” I would have an air tight, cedar lined, cigar bunker ten feet below the earth’s surface, but then again, who’s to say that I already don’t. Shhhhhhh… the wife has very big ears…

One thing I definitely noticed is that since I smoke less in the late fall and winter, I’m a lot more choosy about my cigars, and tend to smoke the better sticks in the stash. I think I enjoy those premium blends a little more and it also gives time for some of the everyday cigars to age a little bit more. In the summer, I just reach into one of my humidors and grab any decent stick, but during this time of year I tend to fawn over them, inspecting my collection and taking up to 15 – 20 minutes to choose the right partner to spend quality time with for the next hour or more. While I admit that is a tad anally retentive, I sure do have a damned good time smoking those bad boys, and I KNOW you know what I mean!

I know some of you out there have made your own man-caves in your garages, but unfortunately my garage just isn’t good for it. You need a decent source of heat and an even better source of exhaust for the smoke. Plus, I don’t care what you say, the garage is gonna reek for other members of your family, especially cranky wives, and seriously, who needs to be bitched at in the dead of winter, especially when your jonesing for a decent smoke?

I thought it might be a good idea and prepare this year by picking out a selection ahead of time, you know, to choose from before the weather turns frosty, but then I thought to myself, “nahhhh… spending time fawning over my premium bombs is almost as good as smoking them!”

Hey, I urge you to PLEASE SUPPORT Cigar Rights of America as they continue to deal with congress, the senate, and all US legislators who need to be made aware that our cigars are the best friends we know of and we will fight like hell to keep them in our lives! >> http://cigarrights.org

As always, stay smoky my friends,

TZ.Sig.2

 JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

 > CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special


Blue Mountain Cigars El Threesome

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Thanks to Blue Mountain Cigars for sending me a few cigars. I had one sample of the cigar up for review today. Normally I’d smoke two or three before reviewing, but there are always exceptions. I know very little about this company, but more information can be found at their website. On to the review!

 

Wrappers: Connecticut, Habano, Maduro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 6 x 60

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

I’m sure you’ve noticed the triple wrappers. The maduro wrapper at the head was very delicate and oily. The Habano middle section was velvety smooth. Finally, the Connecticut wrapper at the foot rounded things out. This cigar was evenly packed. I mean PACKED like a rock. This led to a draw that was a bit to snug for my liking. The pre-light flavor was earthy and bitter. The aroma of the wrapper and foot was cedar mixed with barnyard.

The burn required two minor corrections, and the ash held for about two inches.

1 Blue_Mountain_El_Threesome cigars

Flavor:

The first third was very basic. Earthiness with a touch of nuttiness just about sums it up. Through the nose, a slight pepper. The smoke feel was dry and crisp, which left me feeling parched.

2 Blue_Mountain_El_Threesome cigars

Some of the large ring gage cigars can mute the effect of the wrapper. As predicted, the transition into the second third, which was the Habano wrapper, showed minimal change. There was a touch of wood, but earthiness remained the dominant flavor. Slight nutty notes were far in the background. Pepper increased slightly, and was only noticeable though the nose. Like before, the smoke feel left me craving water.

3 Blue_Mountain_El_Threesome cigars

The last third was the maduro wrapper. An increase in pepper, along with a slight bitter sweet component, were introduced. The change was subtle, and a predictable maduro effect. Otherwise, that core earthiness was the focus of the flavor profile.

4 Blue_Mountain_El_Threesome cigars

Conclusion:

This was an OK cigar. The flavors were very basic, but not bad. I suspect a smaller ring gage would have allowed the wrappers to stand out much more. I am no expert though, and I could be wrong. The flavor profile was consistent and one dimensional. I think this cigar would go well with coffee. Pairing with water was just too bland. Keep in mind, this is a first impressions review. If I happen to run across these in the future, I’ll give it another shot.

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