Cain Maduro

I finally got my hands on the Cain cigars from the mind of Sam Leccia gifted to me by the local Oliva representative who is one of the better guys in the business. The Cain is triple fermented and contains 82% ligero. It comes in two forms, the Cain Habano and the Cain Maduro. There is also a limited edition F that comes in 5 packs and are limited in release.

To find out more about the Cain visit the website at www.caincigars.com

Cigar: Cain Maduro
Size: 6 x 50
Wrapper: Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (Jalapa, Esteli, Condega)
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (17/20): The cigar features a band on the bottom of the cigar which i love as it prevents damage to this non cellophaned stick. The maduro band is white with gold and red. The name of the cigar is written in script, and it states straight ligero under it. The stick features a nice looking triple cap although it has a few veins that stand out. The cigar feels a little light but these were samples from the IPCPR. There are no soft spots on the cigar.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The prelight is interesting with some serious notes of cocoa/mocha on the stick it self. The prelight draw offers some spice but nothing that stands out. There is also some pepper on the tongue even before lighting it up. The first third of the cigar isn’t as strong as other ligero cigars I have smoked but it is still powerful. There are some pepper notes here, but also an underlying sweetness of cocoa present.  The second third of the cigar the sweetness pretty much disappears, and what remains is pepper, wood, and some leather notes. The final third has continued spice with wood and leather on the finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): The burn of the cigar on my samples both needed a slight touch up, but this could be due to numerous reasons having to do with storage and transportation from the convention. After the touch up the cigar burned like a dream. The ash was fairly light in color, with no flake and it held on very strong. The draw was perfect, and the cigar was a nice slow smoke that lasted me an hour.

Overall (24/25): This cigar can be felt when you smoke it. Do not smoke on an empty stomach as the high nicotine content is noticeable. I felt it as I smoked this beauty and it gave me the sweats. Call me a masochist but I loved every single minute of it. I wish the cigar produced more smoke, but that complaint is so minute it was almost not worth stating it. This cigar is a winner, and will be a regular in my casual smoking rotation especially after a hearty meal.

Rating: 92
Price: $129.99 a box of Famous

Don Pepin Series JJ Salomon

This past week Jerry Cruz from The Stogie Review organized a cigar event among the friends of stogiereview.com and twitter. 2 years back Jerry had the worst nightmare come true. His son JJ died. And on his birthday 7/22 he organized a smoke a JJ for JJ each year since. Well, this past week I smoked a JJ maduro in his memory. Those who hate cigars do not understand the tightness we share as a community and the friendships that bond over a cigar. People from all walks of life come together to help a person get through a difficult day and it doesn’t matter your background, class, religious or political beliefs. A cigar is more then just tobacco. It is a a fraternity, and in some cases a sorority. So when you discuss taking away the rights of smoker remember it is more then just the tobacco that you effect. It is a community. The community that helped build this great nation I live in.

The JJ for JJ event got me on a Don Pepin kick and my favorite cigar store Ashes Tobacconist just got today’s smoke in. The Salomon is a size that has become a favorite of mine, despite having burn issues with some of them.

Cigar: Don Pepin Series JJ
Size: 7.25 x 57 (Salomon)
Wrapper: Corojo Oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (19/20): The Salomon is a difficult cigar to roll and that is why many companies stay away from the size. The Don Pepin Series JJ Salomon has a lot of tooth and the wrapper looks closer to the maduro line then the regular JJ line. The roll is seamless and the wrapper shows no flaws what so ever. The cap of the cigar and the foot of the cigar are sheer works of art. Upon closer inspection the cigar has a couple of soft spots and I hope this won’t effect the burn. The band of the cigar is the classic JJ white label with colors of gold and red.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): Prior to lighting the cigar I lost track of time taking in the notes of cocoa that poured off the wrapper and foot. The sweet notes were so calming and relaxing on this hazy hot and humid day. The prelight draw reminded me of anise and it too was quite enjoyable. The cigar starts off with the signature Pepin pepper, but it quickly fades by the time your past the nipple of the stick. The first third of the cigar has notes of pepper, leather and some anise hanging out in the background. So far that sweet cocoa I got offer the wrapper is missing and that has me disappointed.  As we enter the second third of the cigar the sweet cocoa notes begin to emerge. While leather is the dominant note, it is quickly being caught by the cocoa notes that become dominant by the time the second third is in its peak. The final third has some slight leather notes in the background but a wonderful sweet cocoa on the foreground. The cigar has a chocolate spice finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): Smoking a Salomon has me feeling like a novice as no matter what I do they always start out with an uneven burn. But unlike some other cigars of this size this one corrected itself before the first third is complete. The ash on this cigar holds extremely well, but the white ash is a tad flaky. The draw starts off a tad tight, but that is due to the size. Once past the tip the cigar opens up to a perfect draw with just the slightest amount of resistance.

Overall (22/25): The Salomon is such a classy cigar, and I was glad to have smoked mine for review. I should let you know due to the price I only smoked one to formulate my review, but a friend was smoking his as well and at the end we compared notes and they were dead on. The cigars price is bit much, but if your a fan of the vitola and Don Pepin you will like the Series JJ Salomon. I would like to also take the time to let you know that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome causes mores then 2500 infants to die each year. Awareness is key, support the American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Institute.

Rating: 92
Price: $81.00 a box of 5 at Corona Cigar Co.

Rocky Patel Summer Collection 2009

It seems this year the Rocky Patel seasonal blends are coming out quicker then last year. It wasn’t to long ago that the spring collection was in my hands. The one problem with them coming out this fast is you move on to the next one without taking the time to appreciate the prior seasons blend.

Cigar: Rocky Patel Summer Collection 2009
Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (18/20): The 2009 Summer Blend has a different look then last year. The band change denotes the change. The band features a shade of red that reminds me of the sky during an Indian summer along with silver and black writing. The habano wrapper has some small veins on it and a decent sheen from the oils. The cigar itself is well packed and the cap held strong as I went with a hole punch.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): The cigar has a prelight draw of mocha with the same note on the foot. The first third of the cigar starts out with a bite that would of been bothersome on a hot summer day. But thankfully it faded. What remains is a cigar with some amazingly delicious notes of mocha and some fruitiness. As we enter the second third the cigar continues to please. The notes take you away to a tropical island. The citric/fruity notes remain but not in a pansy way. The final third of the cigar is a mix of mocha and leather that slowly bring you back to reality.

Burn/Ash/Draw (24/25): The burn of this stick is flawless from start to finish. The ash is a nice light grey and it holds strong. The ash has no flake and is solid. The draw of the cigar is a bit loose though and because of this it smokes a little fast.

Overall (24/25): Don’t let the fruit like notes fool you this medium bodied cigar is a grand slam. The cigar is the best of the seasonal blends to date for my tastes. I smoked this baby til my fingers burned.

Rating: 93
Price: $7.00

Alec Bradley Tempus Magistri

I had plans to review another cigar today but I took the wrong notes with me to write up the review. So today we have another Alec Bradley, the Tempus Magistri which is a limited edition figurado cigar.

Cigar: Alec Bradley
Size: 6.5 x 53 (Figurado)
Wrapper: Honduran Criollo 98
Binder: Indonesia Embetunda
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (20/20): The Alec Bradley Tempus Magistri is one of the best looking figurado smokes I have ever seen. The wrapper is flawless and the roll is seamless. On the shelf this criollo cigar stands out with its intricate cigar band of gold, gray and purple. It also has a secondary band denoting it is the tempus line. The wrapper has some oils and crystalization on it that lets you know it will be tasty.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): On the prelight draw there are notes that are similar to black cherry and citrus. As we begin to the smoke the cigar notes of dark chocolate begin to emerge with some wood in the background. As we aproach the second third of the cigar notes of licorice begin to take hold of the cigar with notes of chocolate remaining in the background. The final third of the cigar the chocolate slowly begins to fade to nothes of leather.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): The burn of the cigar is flawless as it burns even throughout from start to finish. Like most figurado cigars the ash does not hold on at all, as you get into the thicker ring gauge of the smoke the ash holds well. The draw of the cigar is a tad loose but nothing really worth complaining about.

Overall (22/25): The magistri smokes different then the other sizes of the tempus. Despite having the same tobacco the cigar seems to be more diverse. While I wish the prelight notes made it into the cigar this limited edition cigar deserves a box purchase if you enjoy the tempus.

Rating: 91
Price: $10.00

Alec Bradley Tempus

I have been spending a lot of time on twitter lately and today’s suggestion comes from a regular reader of acigarsmoker.com via suggestion from the social networking platform. I was surprised to see that I had not done a review of this very hyped smoke that has scored big in magazines around the globe. The word Tempus means time which is important when creating a fine cigar.

Cigar: Alec Bradley Tempus
Origin: Honduras
Size: Nova Terra 5×50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Honduras Criollo 98
Binder: Honduras Criollo 98
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction (20/20): For me this is where a band on a cigar is important. I have been smoking these cigars before I was aware of the reviews because I was attracted to the band. It is a little big, but the gold and purple is eye catching. When we get down to the wrapper of cigar you can tell this is a high end premium cigar. The triple cap and flawless roll draw your eye to this chocolate colored wrapper that has a touch of reddish hues.  The cigar has plenty of oils and upon close inspection there is a silkiness about the wrapper. The wrapper is nearly flawless with only a minimal amount of veins.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The criollo wrapper for me has a very distinct richness about it, and most of the time that is enjoyable. This is one of those cigars where it is enjoyable. The 1st third of the smoke features a very rich earth note with some wood and nuts in the background.  As we get to the 2nd third of the smoke I beginning to pick up some cocoa with faint spices as wood becomes the dominant note. We finish the smoke with notes of earth, spices and some nuts. I am not a huge fan of cigars that have so much earth in the flavor, but with this cigar it really works for me.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): When I smoke a cigar for review I tend to smoke 2 cigars unless it is so rare I try to get away with smoking just one. In the past I never had a draw issue with the Tempus, but both smokes were a little tight on the draw. It was annoying, but I was able to get through it. The ash was a medium gray that held on tightly and I only lost the ash when I made the decision to loose it. The first third of the cigar I had a little bit of a burn issue, but a quick touch up corrected it and I was fine til the nub of this smoke.

Overall (23/25): When I geared up for this review I was asked if I felt the cigar was over-hyped. I feel it was, and the 94 that Aficionado was a little bit crazy. But when I sat down and crunched the numbers I guess they weren’t that far off after all. Despite all the hype and industry buzz this cigar is very good and it is worth keeping a few on hand

Rating: 93
Price: $9.00

This time our review was brought forth by a bet over a 3 game set between the Boston Red Sox (boo!!) and the New York Yankees (yay!). The bet was the loser had to send the person a cigar of $15.00 or greater in value to the winner. Well, I got this cigar which retails for about 18.00 for around 10.00 so I sent it up to him with a San Cristobal and a Montecristo baseball cap. As you can tell I lost the bet.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Partagas 160
Origin: Dominican Republic
Size: 4.5 x 48
Wrapper: 1977 Cameroon Wrapper
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dominican Republic & Mexico

Prelight:

Smoke:

Overall:

Rating: 90 (We both gave it the same rating)
Price: $18.00

A special thank you goes out to Stew! a fine sports fan and a terrific brother of the leaf. Thank you for coming up with this wonderful idea. Let us know if you like the joint review and if the feedback deems it so, the next one will be when the Jets play the Patriots on November 13th and the review will follow somewhere near thanksgiving

The Skinny:

Cigar: Carlos Torano Tribute 2008
Size: 5 x 48
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina Triple Fermented
Binder: Nicaragua (Pueblo Nuevo)
Filler: Nicaragua (Esteli & Jalapa)

The Tribute is not due to hit shelves for about a month, so I consider myself very lucky to have obtained one to smoke. The cigar is limited to 72,000 sticks and will be available in 3 sizes in which 1,200 boxes of 20 cigars each will be released. Each box of this release is individually numbered.

Pre-Smoke: The wrapper on this cigar looked like chocolate candy which was visually pleasing to me since I am on a diet. The cigar had some veins but none of them were more than surface veins so they did not detract from the beauty. The roll was seamless, and I cut the cap with my idiot proof hippotech cutter. The wrapper offered very faint notes of mocha, while the foot was a strong mocha note with some pepper. The cigar itself was very firm to the touch, with the exception of one soft spot/pocket about 1/4 inch from the foot.  The pre-light draw was great with notes of mocha and some spices.

Smoke: It was a beautiful morning to light this cigar up. There was a gentle breeze coming in off the water which was looking very rough with white caps as far as the eye can see. The sky was sprinkled with clouds, and visibility was endless. I found myself thinking, that I could realize how they thought the world was flat at one time. As I lit the cigar I took my first pull I verbally said out loud, “Wow!” The strength of flavors that came off this cigar was incredible. In the initial third I picked up notes of mocha, with some nuttiness and coffee that was occasionally joined with some raspberries. As the middle third arrived the raspberries were gone and I had strong coffee notes with some mocha and nuts. The final third of the cigar became a little bitter for me; however this bitterness was an enjoyable mix of coffee, nuts and leather.

Overall: This is yet another great Torano cigar which I am enjoying more and more as a company. The burn line was great, the ash was tight and light while the draw was perfection defined. I look forward to smoking some more Torano cigars as the year winds down including the new sizes they offered at the trade show for existing lines. The Exodus 1959 has added an Exodus Churchill (6.75 x 47). The regular Carlos Torano line has added the Virtuoso Baton (7.5 x 38) and finally the Exodus 1959 Silver Edition has added a Toro Elegante (5.5 x 55).

Rating: 91
Price: $Unknown

Today’s review is yet another Pete Johnson cigar. The Cabaiguan cigar is created in Miami in the tradition of Cuban cigars, the label of the cigar has the word Cuba to the left of the logo and Miami to the right of the logo. Cabaiguan is named for a city in the northern Sancti Spintus province that is home to some of the most knowledgeable cigar men in Cuba.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Cabaiguan
Origin: Miami
Size: 5.58 x 54 (Guapos)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Pre-Smoke: As with all Pete Johnson creations the cigar appears to be perfect. From the pigtail to the foot the cigar is flawless. It is firm to the touch being very well packed with tobacco. The scent of the cigar is spices with slight wood notes on the wrapper and the foot. The pre-light draw is perfect and offers notes of tobacco and wood.

Smoke: I lit this baby up at 8:30am or a dismal cloudy day. The beach had red warning flags up warning people of the dangerous surf as Tropical Storm Hanna approached. Despite this as I smoked my cigar people kept making their way on to the beach this morning. The cigar had a great draw and was mild despite an initial burst of pepper on the light. The cigar required some serious concentration to pick up the notes. Perhaps this is a sign of fall allergies setting in on my part. The notes of the cigar consisted of subtle spices, coffee and wood with each taking turns in the limelight so to speak.

Overall: This well packed, well blended cigar smoked nice and slow, taking me just under two hours to smoke. It is the 4th cigar I had of this line and each cigar was identical which was a nice. As with all Pete Johnson cigars it is hard to find, but you can order them from silocigars.com

Rating: 90
Price: $10.00