What did you smoke today?...short and sweet review.

[stickman]

Revisited the Montecristo Grand Edmundo EL 2010 after two previous, sub-par experiences: by far the best performance in its burn, and a delight on the palate. Not as much leather and autumn leaves as previous sticks (still a hint), but much more floral and sweet-spiced, especially in the last third. Still lovely cocoa and marvelous balance. In a word, excellent!

[stickman]

Montecristo #2 - very refined, best of the box so far.

[stickman]

Cohiba Siglo VI (from a three-pack of Tubos, unknown date code). Clearly still young, but I am completely enamored with this stick! More velvet glove than iron fist, but I think it's an appropriate analogy nonetheless. Such impeccable balance between richness and elegance! Still a fair amount of hay/grassiness, particularly in the first third, but such high quality, aromatic, elegant tobacco, cedar, honey, spiced banana bread, and floral notes throughout, with the best, most complex final third I've experienced since my last BHK 52. 'Also utterly perfect construction, on the firm side of a medium draw, completely hassle-free, and burned gently and slowly for about an hour and fifty minutes. Just stunning!

[youngcollectorsf]

Had a Por Larranaga Petit Corona today...medium body...cream, honey, and toast. My favorite small smoke behind the Cohiba Siglo I and the Partagas Mille Fleurs.

[stickman]

'Just finished an Opus X Lost City Pyramid. Nowhere near the quality of the Toro IMHO, but an elegant, sophisticated smoke nonetheless, which ended with an interesting spiciness that put me in the mind of a smoky pepperoni flavor. In this general vitola, I much prefer the Fuente Añejo No.77, which isn't much easier to find but costs about half as much.

[stickman]

I recently had one of my last Oliva Serie V small diademas, available only in the vintage sampler sets. 'Small' and 'diadema' are rather contradictory terms, but Oliva makes one - 6x46, and it is outstanding IMO. I'm often displeased with over-packed Serie Vs (especially the double robusto), which results in much too firm a draw. Not here. Perfect draw IMO, and a very cool impression. Not overly peppery, but very smooth, with lots of cream, spice, and leather. If they sold boxes of these, I'd continue to buy, but to get one per box in a sampler, I'm ending up with too many stogies with which I'm not so endeared, especially that 7x52 Churchill!

[calgarydetail]

Stickaman, i have to tell you that I love your cigar posts. I am on a stict no cigar order from the doctor so i am living vicariously through you.

[stickman]

'Sorry to hear that you're under restrictions, calgarydetail. 'Hope that doesn't last too long. Are you recovering from surgery or something of the like?

In the meantime, I hope this helps : I just tried the new My Father El Hijo. It's a Smoke Inn exclusive (the third in a series which began with Tatuaje and Padron), and it comes in only one vitola, a box-pressed 5 1/2 x 52 robusto extra with an unfinished foot. It's got a dark-milk-chocolate color to the wrapper, and it feels light in the hand despite its firm construction. Like many of My Father's best blends, it wraps an Ecuadorian leaf around Nicaraguan binder and fillers. This shows a kinship to the My Father robusto, but it seems denser, creamier, and even buttery, while toning down the pepper of the regular line a bit. Still more savory than sweet, focused on earthy, rich tobacco flavors, with a hint of background cocoa. Draw and burn are exemplary. In short, I absolutely loved it! At under $10 a stick, I can recommend it highly. IMO, it pairs wonderfully with a Caramel Macchiato; I wouldn't want to mar the subtle nuances of this stick with too strong a beverage, like an espresso or whiskey.

[youngcollectorsf]

BHK 52 for me today....good but crap compared to '10 boxes. Wrapper seemed too dark. I'd take the Siglo VI over current BHK 52 production anyday.

[stickman]

BHK 52 for me today....good but crap compared to '10 boxes. Wrapper seemed too dark. I'd take the Siglo VI over current BHK 52 production anyday.

I wouldn't give up on the '11 BHKs just yet; I had one that was even better than one from '10. When I first got them, the wrappers seemed too dark, but after a few months in the same humidor, they look much more similar. I've only had one of each so far, but my '11 (MES ABR 11) was the best cigar I had this year.

Of course, I don't think you could go wrong if you chose to stick with the Siglo VI either!

[stickman]

To celebrate the New Year, I pulled out an Opus X 2010 Scorpio Natural. The pre-light aroma of the wrapper was one of the best I've ever encountered, with an intoxicating sweet spice blend, including cinnamon and clove. The better part of the first two thirds, however, was disappointingly rather muted on the palate, with the dominant flavor being a generic dry tobacco with some peppery spice. The last third showed some interesting notes of red fruit and a curious mintiness, but over-all this did not live up to expectations. Perhaps it just needs some more aging. I've got one more Scorpio with a natural wrapper and two maduros. I'll try to be patient with the others.

[calgarydetail]

'Sorry to hear that you're under restrictions, calgarydetail. 'Hope that doesn't last too long. Are you recovering from surgery or something of the .

Preparing for eye surgery, I have a retine that is bleeding into my eye. Cigars will have to wait a few months. Until I can light one for myself I will be living vicariously through you.

[stickman]

'Very sorry to hear that. Heal quickly, my friend. In the meantime...

Casa Magna Domus Magnus Optimus (a box-pressed robusto extra). So interesting! Starts out with lots of red fruit and a peculiar horehound flavor, turns more to a bitter nut, coffee, and cream, and finishes dark and serious with a kind of blackstrap molasses and toast flavor. Just a touch harsh at the nub. Every puff coated the palate, providing for a long, thought-provoking finish. This stick is very popular on several cigar blogs, and I think the hype is well-deserved. I've not been blown away by most Casa Magnas, but this is something altogether different.

[stickman]

EP Carillo New Wave Brilliantes (robusto with a Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper). This wrapper is darker than the typical CT wrapper, and the cigar is a bit fleshier and more flavorful, IMHO. Very smooth and well-balanced throughout. I'm not a huge CT-wrapper fan, but I really enjoyed this, and at $5.25 a stick it gets the thumbs-up from me.

[stickman]

Padron 1964 Maduro Torpedo: amazingly slow, steady smoke. Not terribly complex, but the flavors remained smooth and consistently well-balanced between toast, bitter nuts, and leather. Delicious and sophisticated, with a long finish to each puff.

[stickman]

Quesada Seleccion España. This brand is available in robusto, short robusto, and corona. I've sampled all three, and the best at this point IMHO is the short robusto, but I've got high hopes for the corona's future. The short robusto features pre-light aromas of cedar and sweet fruits - almost apricot-like. Ample smoke delivers lots of flavor - joining the sweet fruit is a subtle grassiness, sweet baking spices, and hazelnut - on an elegant frame. I can't count the number of times that I've heard someone say that a given stick seemed very 'Cuban' in character, only to try the stick myself and disagree. This is one where I see the resemblance. CC-lovers won't be fooled, but they'll certainly respect the class and sophistication of this stick. My batch of coronas seems rather young - still tight and tannic, but with promise of much of what I found in the short robusto. The robusto doesn't exhibit the same fineness of balance and is dominated by the cedar and grass - still a decent smoke, but not nearly as complex and refined.

[cohibacal]

Hello All !!
Been away for a while , business is tad slow and have to spend more time working that smoking LOL !!

Finally made some time for some great smokes ...... had genios yesterday , was very good but young ....great flavors of cohiba with that sweet maduro 5 spice ! Cant wait to revisit in 6 months ! Went to a trini reyes from a 5x5 and also very young but started with floral and coffee then built up to be very full in the middle ...to then slow down a bit for a leather and coffee finish, very good for only 4 months of box age ....91 points ! The genios I give 90 points with room to go to 93-94 with time. Just received my 10 count box of monte GE 2010 LE and had to spark one right outta the box as they looked delicious to say the least! Nice DARK wrapper ( Thanks Ravi @ COH ) and felt very heavy in the hand which made me think overfilled. Well lite her to find draw was perfect and burn was nice and slow with tons of smoke. Great flavors of coffee and cream which led to sweet spicy licorice flavors in the middle which sounds crazy but its the only way I can describe it. Lovely finish with long lasting flavors that just stick to your pallet with every puff ! This cigar is just fabulous IMHO !! Ready to be enjoyed now and easy 97 points .... taking off the 3 points for a swaggly burn which was no big deal ! Almost perfect and by far best cigar ive smoke not only 2012 but 2011 as well ! Going to revisit the box of RA extras 2011 LE's ive been sampling at lunch today, will give a review after a few sticks.


CohiBaCal

[stickman]

Liga Privada Feral Pig: not the most elegant name, but a rather sophisticated smoke IMHO. Far more nuanced than the #9 or T52 Flying Pig, rather impressive for a 60 ring gauge. Wonderful sweet pepper to start, some standard leather and 'tobacco' in the middle, and a nice smore-like finish, with char, graham cracker, and chocolate. One caveat: this needs to be smoked where there is ample ventilation, as it never stops smoking, even when at rest.

[stickman]

...Just received my 10 count box of monte GE 2010 LE and had to spark one right outta the box as they looked delicious to say the least! ...Great flavors of coffee and cream which led to sweet spicy licorice flavors in the middle which sounds crazy but its the only way I can describe it. Lovely finish with long lasting flavors that just stick to your pallet with every puff ! This cigar is just fabulous IMHO !! Ready to be enjoyed now and easy 97 points .... taking off the 3 points for a swaggly burn which was no big deal !...

I've had similar experiences: fantastic flavors with admirable complexity, while the burn can be anything from a little crooked to outright canoeing. The best sticks are classic for sure!

[ceejay67]

Just finished a Bolivar Belicoso from recent order. Been in Humi only a month. Great ash, perfect construction, nice sweet mild smoke with just the right spice. My favorite Med stog. Great inspiration for working on my humidor on a stand that I am only a couple cigars away from finishing. Just in time for the Partagas coming. Great way to start the day.