Update on Technique:

I recently read a quote from Alfred Dunhill about blowing into the cigar, that he believed it was not to be done because it introduces the moisture from the breath, etc. So I took it a bit further, you know how wet the head of a cigar is by the time you're done with it, well I tried to keep it as dry as possible and see what it would be like. Not such a great difference, I thought it might keep the flavor more consistent to the end so it's not so wet when it gets down to a stub. There may yet be something to it though.

Cutting:

I was at Mom's Cigar shop and I bought a Padron 64 anniversario, and the tobbaconist cut it with a very sharp utility knife. First I was appalled but he really only traced around the cap and slipped it off so the fillers were not even cut, so pretty much the entire cigar was there. But it did leave an irregular cut and surface. I therefore modified this by using my xikar cutter, however instead of the usual snap and cut, I lined up the cap with a blade, slowly pressed so the blades were touching the cap and then began to turn the cigar as you would with a punch cutter. It was a beautiful cut...more like an incision. The cap just fell off and revealed the tobbacco. Keep in mind you can cut shallower with this leaving 99.999999% of the cigar intact and the draw was great. However this will only work and I think it's ideal with a cigar with a very short shoulder, not to be done on torpedos or any pointy capped cigar. Works great on churchills, and similar shapes. I used to carry 2 cutters, a Xikar cutter, and a Xikar punch. Now all I will be using is the cutter for all or most shapes :)!  

Favorite Tobbaconists:
Mom's Cigars Valley Stream,NY
Huntington Humidor, Huntington NY
Fortune Smoke Shop, Westbury NY
Northshore Tobacco, Great Neck NY

Favorite Places:
Starbucks courtyard, Great Neck NY
At Mom's Cigars
Race Palace, Plainview NY

Places I'd like to smoke at
Carlton on the Park smoke club :) too expensive to join for an individual. for now :) :) :)

Smoking Spiritualized

by Ralph Erskine

PART I

This Indian weed now wither'd quite,
'Tho' green at noon, cut down at night,
            Shows thy decay;
            All flesh is hay.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The pipe so lily-like and weak,
Does thus thy mortal state bespeak.
            Thou art ev'n such,
            Gone with a touch.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the smoke ascends on high,
Then thou behold'st the vanity
            Of worldly stuff,
            Gone with a puff.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the pipe grows foul within,
Think on thy soul defil'd with sin;
            For then the fire,
            It does require.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And seest the ashes cast away;
Then to thyself thou mayest say
            That to the dust
            Return thou must.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

PART II.

Was this small plant for thee cut down?
So was the plant of great renown;
            Which mercy sends
            For nobler ends.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

Doth juice medicinal proceed
From such a naughty foreign weed?
            Then what's the pow'r
            Of Jesse's flow'r?
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The promise, like the pipe, inlays,
And by the mouth of faith conveys
            What virtue flows
            From Sharon's rose.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

In vain th' unlighted pipe you blow;
Your pains in inward means are so,
            'Till heav'nly fire
            Thy heart inspire.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The smoke, like burning incense tow'rs
So should a praying heart of yours,
            With ardent cries,
            Surmount the skies.
      Thus think, and smoke tobacco.
 

Puros Favoritas

1. Padron Anniversario 1964 the entire line- If I could only have one brand and model cigar to fill my humidor, I would choose a box from each line of these anniversarios. If I were to be executed via firing squad and had the opportunity to have a last smoke this would be it. LOL!

2. Avo Domaine #50

3. Montecristo White Toro and Court

4. Ashton Cedar wrap-

5. Gurkha Legend

6. Savinelli (corona)

7. Punch Grand Cru Torpedo

8. Ashton VSG Torpedo

9. Diamond Crown #3

10. Carlos Torano Exodus Torpedo

11. Rocky Patel Vintage

12. Ashton Cabinet

13. Cohiba Red Dot Churchill

14. Cohiba Extra Vigoroso

Stogie The Bear’s Humidor

A. Fuente

A. Fuente Anejo Torpedo (Xtra Viejo)- This is one of my favorite smokes now, it is a rare one though. It started off slow, mild and then kicked my butt in the end! Turned into a full bold smoke made me dizzy :P it was a complex taste and the after taste was minimal. It's not a cheap smoke but you can get em. www.cigar.com it was over an hour to smoke this baby. I do take my time with my cigars so as to not have the smoke burn too hot nor shock the tobacco. burned slightly uneven, but if you have a good torch you can even it out. white ash slight gray. beautiful wrapper and construction. 9/10

A Fuente cedar wrapped (lil 4in one)- Excellent cigar! Use the cedar to light it. Nice nearly white ash which showed a beautiful construction as it went. The flavor was good, hints of a nutty, woody taste. Smoke was medium bodied. Will buy again 9.55/10

A. Fuente Gran Riserva Perfecto-A nice smoke. This was bit uneventful in comparison to the rest that I have had like the Padron anniversarios and the AVO Domaine and XO. It however is a nice mild smoke, perhaps a good morning smoke. Every aspect is mild about this cigar, the taste is however sweet and herbal, quite pleasant. Burned unevenly. Descent construction, pretty white ash. 7.5/10

A. Fuente Gran Reserve-

Ashton

Ashton Cabinet VSG Torpedo- This was a great pleasurable smoke! Rare! If you can find it get it! 10/10 Beautiful golden brown wrapper, excellent texture. Meduim body smoke. The flavor was complex and very pleasant! Hints of nut, herbal notes, sweet flavors, chocolate notes. Fairly even burn, excellent construction. It's one of those ashes that would stay on for more than 1 inch :o) I have to get more of these!

Ashton VSG Enchantment- was a good lil smoke :o) cute too, like a chubby ol bat. hheheeh. 9.5/10 Even burn, medium to full body. Wonderful flavors, wood, leather notes, slight herbal undertone. Aromatic smoke.

Ashton VSG Sorcerer- The VSG's are always a good smoke.This one was no different, though I had a slight struggle with it toward the end when it wanted to go out and I was not done yet :o) I did learn something though about a cigar that is about to go out (the burn is all inside and the wrapper is no longer sychronized with it) I started to blow out on the cigar, as if stoking a fire and lo and behold it begins to light up the surrounding area again and up to the wrapper, making the inside burn and the wrapper burn sync again. Thats the lil trick I learned from the Diamond Crown, but was much more obvious here, since I did it alot. Now to the taste. It has cocoa, nut, and leather notes to it, with herbal hints and wood.  The taste is medium and likewise the body of the smoke. Very consistent, excellent draw, good construction. However, it did burn unevenly. 9.25/10 I seriously preferred the Torpedo as opposed to this one, or the Enchantment though it's really expensive.

Ashton Cabinet Torpedo- Excellent cigar, even burn, great smelling wrapper, extra silky wrap it felt soo good on the lips, medium body, medium taste, definitely not flat, the aftertaste is complex not ashtray. :o) This takes its place into my top 3. About a 40 minute smoke. :o)

Ashton Heritage (Churchill)-

Ashton Cedar wrap- 9.5/10 You are greeted with a mild herbal smoke and a chestnut/almond flavor and hints of cedar and light leather taste upon lighting this cigar. You will be treated this way nearly all the way throught, until you get to that last third, which then will introduce a strong leathery taste. A definite favorite of mine. The burn was perfect, the ash was very white. This cigar was constructed very well.

Avo

AvoDomaine # 50 Perfecto- The BEST cigar I've had thus far. I like this better than the Padron '64 that I boast of. This is definitely a box worth. SPICY!!!! Great peppery taste, sweet undertones, delightful! Medium to full body, perfect construction, light gray ash, perfect draw consistently. Go get this cigar! 9.99999 :o) great burn not as even as a Savinelli though, that was nearly geometric. Even the aftertaste was good, rich, and again peppery. This is the cigar I light to redeem my smoking experience from an utterly dreadful cigar. From cigar to cigar it has always been the same, perfect taste, burn, excellent draw, impeccable construction! I have to get a full box of these.

Avo Domaine #40 (Torpedo)-9.5/10 Compared to the #50 This one is a bit milder in the beginning. Smooth. Burn was the same as the #40 perfecto shape; good. The smoke was mild, but complex and aromatic, if I could have this scent as incese I would get it probably. My theory on why this was milder in flavor than the perfecto style is the the torpedo has an open end to it after it's rolled, the perfecto is nearly sealed at the foot retaining all the strength and potency of the tobacco with very little loss. I enjoyed this one, but prefer the #40.

Avo Domaine cigarillo- excellent spicy taste, great after taste too

Avo Signature Robusto- Aromatic smoke. 7/10 Peppery taste a bit harsh. Definitely not mellow. It's good initially but made a second cut to experiment on a theory of mine, that making a second cut may improve the flavor late in the game of the cigar, because it would actually take the part of the cap off where the tar n stuff accumulate when you smoke which gives a bitter tinge to your cigar. But in this case it made the part you draw from a bit big for me and I nearly inhaled a little of this....::cough cough:: Full and strong smoke definitely. Herbal, peppery, leathery flavors. Slightly sweet aftertaste. Burned evenly, and the construction was great. But we didn't hit it off very well with the harsh smoke. Definitely try to keep the smoke away from your nostrils, it's that irritating unlike other cigars. This to me is an ok smoke. Burned hot and fast with voluminous smoke. Easy draw.

Avo Legacy- Oh what a delectable cigar, even in 30degree weather in just a fleece and gloves :o) The smoke is full bodied. The shape is quite unique, its not a typical torpedo, I don't even know if it is classified as a torpedo, but it has a sharp arrow like cap as opposed to the smooth bullet shape of a regular torpedo. Pre-light notes are warm chocolate and licorice flavors. The taste that greets you initially with the first light is nutty, dark chocolate notes, slightly leathery. The construction was beautiful, medium gray ash, and the burn was even.  The finish is consistent but with added spicyness and leather notes. 9/10 in my opinion

Avo Maduro-

Avo Maduro Robusto-

Avo XO Robusto-

Avo Classic Robusto-

Avo Domaine Robusto-

Bahia

Bahia Gold 5"- Nutty chocolate almond rich heavy, viscous, dark, oily, full flavor. great construction, nice almost white ash, similar to Partagas. Medium bodied to full smoke. fairly even burn, evens itself out later on. solid 9/10 I would buy it again, its not my favorite taste but its good. so maybe not a box but perhaps 5-10 sticks in the future.

Bahia Blue- Smoked this one at the beach with a fine young lass :o) I didn’t really get to take good notes on this cigar as I had finer things to attend to! But from what I do remember, this was a lot better than the Bahia gold. It wasn’t as heavy and oily; it was leathery, sweet, with hints of cocoa and refreshing. I also had to hold it up above the waves so it didn’t go out, which was an interesting achievement. It did go out as we walked up the beach, so I’ll have to try this one again to find out how it actually finishes.

Camacho

Camacho Torpedo- out of 10 its a 6.5, decent taste,terrible construction, fullbody, aftertaste not great.

CAO

CAO maduro Churchill- A good smoke, but I had cut the cap of this weeks ago and I think it got soggy in my humidor, so it only smoked good for the first half and died thereafter. But from what I did experience it was a tasty smoke :o)

 CAO maduro Torpedo- This was a good cigar. What you will notice when you are enjoying it is the mild licorice taste with notes of nut and coffee. This was very mild for a maduro, but it was pleasant though the depth of the flavors were a bit shallow for me. The burn was great from start to finish, very even and slow, the smoke also was cool, not harsh and not hot. Very white ash. If it had deeper flavors it would have been so much better. So overall I give it a 8.9/10

CAO Cameroon Toro-

CAO Brazilia-

CAO Italia- this was an excellent, dark , richly flavored cigar. I didn't have an idea as to how this was going to taste but it was very pleasing. The burn was uneven, but the taste was compensated for it enough. Would definitely buy again. It had hints of chestnut, coffee, a bit of sweetness. 9/10 slight after taste.

Cohiba

Cohiba Extra Vigoroso Pyramid- What an excellent cigar! 9.75/10 Starts off with a nutty chocolate flavor, with a bold full smoke. Ends full and strong, nearly harsh but a pleasant smoke indeed. Near white ash, a little bit like cement color. The construction was superb! A good box of cigars to add to your collection if you can afford it :D. LOL!

Cohiba Red Dot (Churchill)- Ah this was indeed a pleasure. 9/10 a bit mild for me :D hehehe. I like tone! LOL! But this was a pleasant mild to medium body cigar. Consistent all the way through, perfect burn start to finish! Burns like a Padron Anniversario! The flavor was herbal, earthy, wood notes. 9.35/10

Cuesta Rey

Cuesta Rey Centro Fino Pyramid-

Diamond Crown

Diamond Crown Robusto No. 4- This is a wonderful smoke :o) Medium bodied to full smoke, and a niice complex flavor. The flavor is a mix of wood notes, leather, and herb. It is a consistent smoke all the way through, a cool smoke which gets warm at the end near the cap as all others do. A very relaxing cigar :o) The construction was impeccable, started a little uneven but the burn evened out. It has a nice near white / light gray ash that stays on for a while. 9/10. And as a pre-light draw and wrapper tasting, this cigar offers a sweet dessert liquor taste.

Diamond Crown #3- What a cigar! A very complicated smoke as it had very many phases and varietals in one cigar. First off this was 20 dollar cigar that I got for 8 because it was slightly imperfect, I have a generous tobacconist :o) LOL! Anyhow, here's chapter 1. At the initial light, you get an exquisite and to my knowledge, unsurpassed sweet and creamy flavor. I could not believe this flavor was coming out of a cigar, I could almost picture the flowing cream with deep flavors of heavy cream. This initial smoke was mild mixed with that mild creamy flavor. This goes on for about the first 2 inches of the cigar. This was my favorite part. Then after a lil while it begins a metamorphosis and  starts to get bold and with a fuller smoke. It did start to get plugged a little. I tried my new experimental cutting technique of making a second cut after a little while when bitterness starts in. So I cut it but it didnt change much. The flavor started to have more nutty, leather and wood notes in it with a slightly harsh herbal smoke, harsh is too strong a word actually though. But this continued till the last third when it almost went out. Now I basically relit the cigar. This was a rewarding event because it restored the creamy flavor after I blew out some of the old smoke before relighting it. So this starts ch3. A regained creamy taste but stronger with the leathery notes. Before I put it down I had one last draw and it was good, a cornucopia of those flavors. The construction was great on this cigar, you will get about a 2 inch, almost white ash  if you don't tap it out. My rating out 9.25 /10 Definitely a multidimensional cigar.

Diamond Crown #1-

                                          Dunhill

This cigar was about 7in long. I was so excited to smoke it because Dunhill is such a popular name in cigars and elegance. It had a nice light wrapper, and a pretty thick ring size. Upon lighting it let out a wonderful herbal aromatic scent. The initial taste is creamy and mild. The smoke is relatively light, I would say medium bodied. This is the coolest cigar I've ever smoked, literally. The heat was so well managed and stayed consistently up front and not too far back into the cigar. It tasted great for the first two ashes, ashes that held quite nicely and were of a light gray color. The finish was not great a bit harsh and bitter. So I would say half the cigar is fantastic, once you get to the last third stop, so that your remembrance of the cigar is of the good part. I give it an 8.5 out of 10

Fuente Fuente

Opus X Churchill- This is soo rare! I can't believe I got one. :o)

Graycliff

Graycliff Black Label PG- This was a disappointment. :( I had high hopes for this cigar, since it came highly recommended by my tobacconist, and the price tag was definitely premium. Not worth 20dollars, since it behaved burned and tastes like a 5 dollar cigar. I have had 5 dollar cigars that were alot better than these. Harsh leathery taste, with tastes reminiscent of cigarettes which I hate. The construction on this was horrid for its price point, and it burned very uneven. 6/10 didn't enjoy it at all. Nice cigar band, woulda been better on another cigar. I didnt even smoke half of this one, maybe half, but threw it out and lit up an Avo Domaine to redeem the cigar experience. I remember now why I like the Avo Domaine #50 so much :o) perfect draw all the time consistent peppery flavor, voluminous smoke, complex flavors, and consistently perfect burn, etc etc. :o)

Gurkha

Gurkha Legend Churchill- Unbelievable!!!!! 10/10 Rich flavors, have another one can't wait to have it.

Gurkha Churchill Gran Reserva Rum infused- 10/10 excellent cigar! Lights and burns evenly. You are greeted with a nice chestnut taste with a full body smoke, there are also light wood notes, and a little sweetness in the flavor.

Griffins

Griffin Fuerte-

La Aroma de Cuba

La Aroma de Cuba Robusto- This was rated 93 I think by Cigar Aficionado as per cigar.com...while it does indeed taste good, the burn was AWFUL totally uneven. (this is after 2 of the same cigars) so its not a fluke. They were both consistently and identically uneven. One side was like a jack rabbit and the other a turtle with a ball and chain attached to its legs. :oP The construction was ok, it had potential to be good i think, but the wrapper just didnt burn well or one side not at all. I thought it was just the way I lit it the first time, so I had a second one and lit it textbook perfect. I mean my other cigars never got this much attention, the foot was toasted all around soo evenly and slowly, I was expecting a perfect burn....but alas, I got the most uneven burn of my life. However in regards to taste it is quite pleasant. You are greeted after the initial light with a nice full smoke which is aromatic, and the taste of cocoa, nuts, with herbal notes. As you go along, leather and wood notes are introduced. Over all for a 5 dollar cigar it's not terrible, but I've had better experiences with the churchill shape of this brand. I don't think the construction, or maybe skill of the rollers, are up to making such a large gauge cigar. 

La Aroma De Cuba (Churchill or corona) - And i was surprised by this one a lil 5 dollar cigar my tobacconist from Fortune (westbury) suggested it, i got it for free and what a good tasting cigar. Mild to Full flavor good burn, gray to with light brown ash, full body, burned a bit hot though, aftertaste not terribly ashtray like.Oh and what a great smoooth wrapper comparable to the Ashton cabinet that I had last night.:o)

La Aroma de Cuba Torpedo-

La Aroma de Cuba Double Corona 7.5"-

Macanudo Maduro

Robusto-

Churchill-

Montecristo

Montecristo Serie VII- It comes in it's own single box! And I didnt even know Montecristo made this serie VII.

Montecristo Figurado-

Montecristo White Toro- It's a fine smoke that you can relax and find no difficulties in burn or whatever. I give this a 9.6/10 immediately. From the lighting of the cigar which burned near perrect to the inviting mild/ medium bodied smoke it was an utter pleasure having this cigar accompany me to lunch. It begins with a very smooth coffee and nut taste with hints of cedar and remains quite consistent through out, untile it gets a bit more bold in the end. This is a cigar I'd consider to a box of.  Note the cool smoke with the large ring size.

Montecristo series VI belicoso- What a treat! This cigar has a beautiful wrapper and torpedo shape.  It's large ring guage really made for a cool smoke. There were 2 stages to this cigar; the opening light was smooth, surrounded by flavors of nuts, chocolate, and coffee. This lasted nearly 2 inches as did the ash revealing the wonderful and near perfect construction of this cigar. After the first ash dropped more leathery notes and cedar flavors were revealed together with a slight harshness. However it still buned quite evenly and only ran once but evened out. The best part was the first two inches, the latter end was bold which was not as pleasing to me. Overall it is a good smoke, I'll give it a 9/10. A few notes on this experience was that I made one cut in the beginning, one at the middle and another at the very end. My theory behind it is to trim off the part where the highest amount of tar build up because it contributes to the harshness and bitterness of a long burning cigar. Did it work? Yes it did, and this was especially noticeable the last time, because it made the flavor closer to the beginning.

Montecristo White Court- This one is also from the White series, however it is of a smaller guage than the Toro that I reviewed only a 44 ring guage. Cigar Aficionado rated this one 91 out of a 100 which is quite high for a non cuban. That rating is very accurate. This cigar is mellow and smooth, it is a medium bodied cigar, with flavors of leather, herb, and cedar. This may be due to the cedar wrapping inside the tube. The burn was so perfect, even burn and draw, cool smoke (warmer than the toro due to ring guage) and a nice slow burn. A pleasure indeed to smoke. The ash is grey and held true for a long time, showing its perfect construction. The wrapper was also excellent, smooth, silky and not veiny. 9.5/10

Montecristo White No.2 Torpedo- is A wonderful smoke also just like the rest of the series, tough the Court is the best of them. 9/10

Oliva

Oliva "O" Oasis (Torpedo)- This is  an ok cigar. 7.5/10 Maduro wrapper was nice. Ordinary, Woody, leathery taste. Nice band....eh....

Padron

Padron 1964 Diplomatico Ann.Maduro- Close to the perfect cigar, start to finish was unbelievable! The tobacco burned so well, easy to light, almost immediately even. The lit part seemed to wait til the rest caught up to it. :o) LOL! The aroma of the wrapper was wonderful. The initial draw was delightful and such a pleasant taste immediately. A sudden rush of dark, earthy, sweet, cocoa, and nutty flavors. It was a very rich and crisp taste. The Bahian gold had a similar taste, but not crisp. This cigar is what the Bahia wants to be when it grows up :o) It has a full body smoke, definitely full flavor. The burn was excellent, nearly geometric, better or at least just as good as the Savinelli burn. The construction was perfect! The ash stayed on soo long it was starting to look silly :o) light gray ash. After taste was good too, complex and rich. Light oily taste also but not overly just near the end. Oh the finish is strong so brace yourself! Not as strong as the A. Fuente Anejo, but strong. Though there is no perfect cigar I'm sure, I will grade this on a curve and give it a 10 comparatively to the others. I said before that the domaines from AVO were better than the anniversario from Padron...well in some ways it is, but not entirely.

Padron Anniversario 1964 Maduro Torpedo -

Padron Ann.1964 Pyramid-

Padron 1964 Ann. Monarca-

Padron 1926 Ann.-

Partagas

Partagas Black Label- Rich dark maduro wrapper, beautiful white ash.Full flavor for the first half but went south for the second half. Apparently it was not just me who experienced this because my tobacconist said he had a few complaints regarding the 2nd half too.

Patel, Rocky

Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Churchill- Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Tasty! Made me hungry it was soooo good! This goes into the favorites list! Even from the initial light unto the final draw, this cigar has a wonderful rich taste and aromatic smoke. When the smoke begins you begin to taste the rich flavors of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and notes of nut. No herbal taste here. It is a smooth ride through until it punches you in the end. The smoke has a medium body and aromatic scent. The burn is fairly even, not the best but good, the ash is near white, but my only complaint is that the ash was flaky, it stayed on but it was sort of "shedding", but it is a minor thing with such taste going for it. So, overall I'd say 9.5/10

Punch 

Punch Grand Cru Torpedo- This was recomended to me by my tobacconist. Then Punch brand never really appealed to me but I wanted to try this one, since there have only been about 3 cigars that I didnt like that my tobacconist recommended. What a delighful smoke this Grand Cru is! You will be met with a nice medium bodied smoke and sweet mild to medium flavor, smoothly mixed wood notes, nut and light leathery tastes. It has a very aromatic smoke. 9.5/10 Burned very evenly. It is also notable that I put this cigar out after an hour because I had to meet a friend and then lit it up again five hours later, it tasted good, but not as good as the first light. That says alot that it can hold its taste even after being lit.

Romeo y Julieta

Romeo y Julieta #2 Tubos- Decent smoke, mild all the way through, slightly uneven burn, ok construction not anything to write home about, the taste resembles the Bahia gold, but not as dark and oily. This one has herbal notes in the flavor and smoke, with predominantly almond and other varietals in flavor. Mild taste and smoke. 8/10

Romeo y Julieta-

Sancho Panza

Sancho Panza Dulcinea (torpedo)- This was quite pleasureable. It was a good taste, nice bitter sweet combo, uneven burn, good construction, medium to full body, flavor was woody, earthy, sweet notes, great draw! this is a contender for the box :o) 9/10 mild aftertaste.

Sancho Panza Valiente-Good smoke :o) A very pleasant cigar to close a stressful day with. Mild flavor and smoke. The flavor is crisp, nutty, herbal, peppery, woody, with sweet moments too. This would make a good buy for a box. about an hour to smoke. The burn was un even for me, had to play catch up, near white ash, good construction.8/10

Sancho Panza Primeroso-

Savinelli

Savinelli (looks like a corona) hehe see i do take suggestions :o) - Oh this was super good! 9.5/10 The burn was so even, the taste was sweet, with hints of wood, complex but not overpowering, it smelled so good burning it was like incense. unreal must have a box of these. I have room for 4 boxes of cigars in my humidor actually 5 but i want to save that room for individual cigars :D Go buy this stick! the after taste was light.

Just had this cigar again, it is consistently good!  This has the perfect burn, I mean it is picturesque! The burn is amazing that it burns soo well, and the draw is perfect, not too loose, and definitely not plugged. The construction is literally impeccable, the rollers of this cigar are skilled and very talented! When you light it you start your event with sweet flavors, intertwined with coffee, nut, with herbal notes. Again the smoke is super aromatic. It is a complex mild to medium body smoke. After you have it lit, it will reveal such a fine ash that is light gray in color, and will  hang on for more than an inch, you can have 3 solid ash drops before putting this one down. Not only is the burn geometrically perfect throughout but even the color of the flame and the exposure of it against the dark evening was so beautiful because you can see the embers burn inside, through the building ash. Which by the way remained straight until I tapped it out. If you want a complex medium bodied cigar with rich complex flavors, and a perfect burn without emptying out your wallet this is it! And quite honestly this cigar has better taste, consistency, flavor, and burn than many of the 15-20 dollar cigars I've had. I really must buy a box of these. 9.75/10 Higher marks because it has remained consistent and reliable from cigar to cigar. :o)

Torano, Carlos

Carlos Torano, Casa Torano Series- This was a pre-release cigar not to be publicly available til about 9/04. My tobacconist had a hand roller from the company at the shop and they had a special. I ended up getting 8 free of these. They are a Churchill shape. I mean I actually saw the guy roll some of these...talk about fresh! :o) Med to full body and flavor. Herbal, coffee, and leather flavors swirling about, with hints of nut. Brisk. Grey ash, Fair Construction, ash dropped off quite quickly. Fairly even burn. Voluminous smoke. If you smoke everyday its a good everyday smoke. 8/10

Carlos Torano, Exodus 1959 Torpedo- Wow!!!!!9.5/10 This gives the Padron '64 Anniversary a run for it's money, especially at nearly a third of the price! It is kind of in the middle of the Bahia Gold and the Padron '64 in taste. Its flavor is not as exquisite as the Padron but it is similar, so very similar it is excellent; one may mistake the flavor for a Padron. Comparatively to the Padron the construction is not as good, but it is good, it has a beautiful deep brown wrapper nicely rolled. The burn is very similar to the Padron and likewise the smoke and flavor. So the main difference from the Padron is that this one is slight bit harsher, albeit nearly unnoticeable, and the ash does not hang on as long (this is the reason I said the construction was not as good.) It's not as heavy and oily as the Bahia, which is a good thing. Tasting notes are: Sweet, cocoa, light oils, nutty hints, rich and dark, but then makes a refreshing return so as not to be too heavy. Full flavor, full body smoke, truly a great cigar hidden in an inexpensive price tag. At under 6 dollars per cigar,  I would highly suggest a box of these (25). Oh and the cigar band has a beautiful design to boot. It is box pressed, so it will fit all nice and neat in you humidor :o) This is a good all around cigar, if you want a quality daily cigar this would be it. This beats out the Casa Torano that i review just before. But we'll see when the actual production models go out for sale.

Trinidad

Trinidad Belicoso- This lil fella was quite good, an oily aromatic smoke, the flavor is mild the body also mild, id give it a 7/10 :o)

Zino by Davidoff

Zino Platinum Stout- :What can I possibly say? It's by Davidoff. This was a mild cigar with herbal flavors. It has a very consistent burn near perfect. The wrapper was silky smooth a delight to have upon the lips. I've had better cigars, and this was a bit non dramatic as a Padron, Gurkha, or Diamond Crown would be, but still a good cigar by all means. I give it an 8/10 But if you're going to spend 14 dollars on a cigar, buy a Montecristo white instead because you will get a more complex taste and medium bodied smoke. Or why not go for 4 more dollars and get a Padron Anniversario or a Gurkha Legend. It is of note however that this has a very cool smoke which made it much more delightful.

Cigar Emergency Room: :oP LOL!

When your cigar burns unevenly:

Gasp! You bought a cheap cigar, get rid of that Dutchmaster crap LOL! :oP LOOOOL!!!! Jk! That’s not what it means at all :o) There are premium cigars that wil burn unevenly for various reasons. Sometimes its because you lit is wrong, the construction, the particular wrapper, it was over humidified, etc. etc.

Whatever the case it’s uneven, and its an unsightly thing to behold a puro that’s burning so badly. Solution is take some saliva on your finger and moisten the side that is burning too fast. (Don’t drench it, don’t use your tongue either it’s hot!) LOOOL! Heat the non-burning side with your lighter or other heat source, if there’s a talkative person next to you who is full of bull, then you can use that “hot air” too :o) jk! Actually don’t do that they’ll just spit all over your nice cigar and put it out. LOL!

Oh and I have just noticed this recently. Turn the non burning side to the bottom, it actually makes it catch up. I think this is due to the way we draw; that the mouth draws harder from the bottom. But it does work. So, take a few draws with the lazy side down and it should catch up. Look at the foot of the cigar and see if it’s catching and blow on it a little to encourage it ;oP LOL.

Using Cedar spills to light your cigar:

I suppose this is the more “romantic” way to light you cigar. :o) It is highly suggested by connoisseurs, so I tried it.

Unfortunately it definitely is a primarily indoor way to light your cigar, there is just no chance that the flame will stay even if there’s a light breeze. Cedar spills are pieces of the cedar that is used as a divider in cigar boxes. You can ask your tobacconist for them whenever you’re there or if they’ve chucked it, ask them to save it for you next time.

So what you do is make strips of these cedar veneers, you can just break them or use scissors (keep them about 3 inches). Once you have the strips and are ready to light your cigar here’s what you do.

1. Take 2 strips and light them, hold in a V pattern so you get a wide flame. You will notice the fine cedar scent, but don’t get carried away by it cause what you’ll notice is that the cedar spills turn to ash quite quickly and start making a mess! Anyway, once they are lit begin toasting the foot of your cigar, you’ll probably go through these strips in just toasting the foot.

2. Once the foot is toasted, after however many strips you needed to burn, it’s time to light. Light the new strips, as you hold them in that V pattern, hold the cigar foot about a quarter inch from the flame and draw as you turn the cigar all around.

The benefits of this way of lighting are that you are introducing a nice cedar scent into the room and into your smoking sensation.  What’s more is that you will be enjoying fume free flame to light your cigar and enhancing your cigar with a nice cedar aroma.

If you cannot find or acquire cedar spills, use long matches, preferably with no sulfur tips like Davidoff matches.

Prefered Cigar Equipment

Prometheus Lighters- Churchill #26, Apex

Xikar cutting instruments- Xi, 007punch, Colibri Duo (cutter, punch combo) Xikar is waaaay better a cutter!

Davidoff matches

Csonka pocket humidor

Thompson crystal cigar ashtray

Thompson Humidor

Alfred Dunhill Travel Humidor

Csonka Pocket Humidor

Aluminum Humidor (Note I replaced this with the Dunhill because if you keep your puros in this you will notice a slight aluminum scent on them, not a good thing.)

Online Cigar Sources

www.cigar.com

www.thompsoncigar.com

www.prometheuskkp.com

www.xikar.com

www.davidoff.com

www.cigaraficionado.com

Cutting your cigar:

Using a Xikar cutter is what we'll be studying here. :o) Through experimentation, I learned almost nothing, I read this in and Altadis ad or from Cigar Aficionado as to how to effectively use a double bladed cutter. How do you line up the area you want to cut and squeeze with power while maintainint a straight line? Well, I used to leave my cigar floating amidst the cigar cutter hole and just cut and hope it lands right approximately where I wanted it. Well, here's the thing, it's fine on torpedo, belicoso, and figurado shapes, however not on churchills etc. So what to do? Take your cutter open it up and put the cigar in the cutting hole. Now make you cigar touch one of the blades and line it up exactly as to where you want the cut to land, then in one decisive clip, send the other blade down. Finito a nicely trimmed cap and open cigar ready to smoke :o) I have found that I think I preffer cutting as to punching churchill shaped cigars, because the residue build up is not as great around the edges.