San Cristobal de La Habana Mercaderes Review

The San Cristobal that is easily available in the United States has been a favorite of mine for some time now. When I was offered the chance to smoke and review this San Cristobal, I could say no. I completely understand that these are, in no way, related. But I figured that it would be interesting to review this one to show that the Nicaraguan San Cristobal is nothing like the Cuban San Cristobal.

I don’t want to repeat myself on everything I said about the San Cristobal that I reviewed before, so Click Here to go to that review.

The wrapper on this cigar is beautiful. It is a medium shade of brown with not one single thick vein running throughout it. The only problem with the wrapper was a little chip out of it on the foot, which really isn’t a huge deal. The cigar is solid throughout with not a single soft spot to affect burning at all. The cap on this cigar was made up of several layers that all sat perfectly flush. As I looked over this cigar, I noticed it had a strong earthy smell to it, which I knew meant that I was in for a treat.

Drew Estate Tabak Especial Red Eye Review

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $7.00

As many of you have probably noticed, I have not reviewed many flavored or infused cigars. Well after talking to a friend of mine, he offered to send me a few different infused cigars for me to review. He is, what I consider, a very knowledgeable person when it comes to this genre of cigars. There was part of me that was hesitant to try these, but I knew it was something that I could do to change the pace of my reviews every once and awhile.

I chose to review the Red Eye first because I was told that it was probably one of the better ones to start with to ease into this type of cigar. Well the dark brown wrapper on this cigar was very smooth with only a couple very thin veins in it. The cap lays perfectly flush and has a small twisted end on it. There is also a shaggy foot on this cigar that makes it very easy to light. As i was finishing up inspecting this cigar, I noticed how solid it was and just how strong the chocolate smell was coming from this cigar. 

Nub "Dub" Double Maduro Review

Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $8.00

For the past several months I have been asked to reviews some Nubs. I have several in my humidor, but just never got around to reviewing them. Well a couple nights ago I went through my humidor in search of this cigar because I wanted it to be the first Nub that I reviewed. I have heard nothing but good things about this cigar. So I knew I was in for a treat.

The Brazilian maduro wrapper is very dark brown. The wrapper is very smooth with only one very thin vein running through it. The cap is made up of two layers that both lay perfectly flush. The cigar itself is very solid, like every other Nub I have smoked. There are absolutely no soft spots throughout this entire stick. Before I lit this cigar up, I noticed it had a very sweet smell to it that resembled a mixture of dark chocolate and pipe tobacco.

Gurkha Evil XO Review

Wrapper: Brazilian

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $8.00 - $9.00

Gurkha cigars are always in my humidor. Ever since I was in college, I always appreciated cigars made by them. The first time I had an Evil was my sophomore year of college. I remember walking into a new smoke shop and seeing them sitting on the shelf. They drew my attention because they had a very unique band. Up until that time, all of the Gurkhas I had smoked had roughly the same band. This one, however, had a very rustic look to it. After I smoked a few in college, I never saw them in another store.

A few months ago, Gurkha released the XO sizes for some of their biggest brands. The XOs are a series of 6” x 60 cigars. One of them happened to be the Evil. A friend of mine sent me one of them that he received and asked me to review it. After sitting in my humidor for a while, I decided it was a good day to enjoy a huge cigar like this one.

Press Release: Cremo Cigars

"The original Crémo Cigar, an icon of early America and the most successful cigar brand of the early 19th century, made a commitment to providing their customers with value. The company which rose out of beautiful Manhattan, New York City attained the largest sales of any cigar in its class. The brand was also famously linked to musician Bing Crosby in the early days of Broadcasting Radio.

With a shift in the way cigars were made, factories moved south and all was lost... Now in the 20th century a new dawn awaits. After new buildings were built, and old ones were torn down, a piece of history remained. Now, that piece has been found. Walter Santiago, better known as "Lilo", a native New Yorker, decided that this amazing company, a staple in the cigar world, should rise from its ashes.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapos Toro Grande Review

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $9.50

Since I had my first Tatuaje a few months ago, I have been trying their various blends every opportunity I get. Well about two months again, a friend of mine sent me this cigar I had very high hopes for it. Since Saturday was a long day to start, I needed to relax a little bit when I got the chance to. So I went to look at what cigars I had to review, and I found this one on the bottom of the humidor. So I figured I mine as well light this one up and see what it’s all about.

The broadleaf wrapper was a nice dark brown shade. The wrapper was also very oily with a nice shimmer to it. The cap on this cigar laid perfectly flush and had a small twisted end. The cap wasn’t a pig tail, just a small twist. There were a couple thin veins that ran through the wrapper, but none were bad. The cigar seems pretty solid on was side, and slightly softer on the other.

Emilio Cigars AF2 BMF Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Filler: Nicaraguan, Pennsylvania Ligero

Price: $8.00 - $9.00

It is not very often that I get to enjoy some boutique cigars because there aren’t many shops in my area that carry a large selection of them. Well a few months ago my local shop, The Smoking Dog, got them in. When the area rep was in there, he gave me a few samples to try out and review. Shortly after I met him, I reviewed the Emilio AF1, now after some time I needed to review the AF2.

The medium brown wrapper looks absolutely flawless. The wrapper is very smooth with only a couple very thin veins running through it. The cigar is very solid with not a single soft spot at all. There are two layers to the cap, both of which lay perfectly flush. There is also a great chocolate and earth smell coming off of this cigar as well.

God of Fire Serie B 2010 Robusto Gordo Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican

Price: $20.00

A few months ago I reviewed the God of Fire by Don Carlos 2007 and absolutely loved the cigar. When I saw that they were releasing a new line for the God of Fire with a maduro wrapper, I knew that I would most likely love this one too. After contemplating for a while on what I wanted my next review to be, I decided to grab this out of my humidor finally give it a shot. I have very high hopes for this cigar since the Don Carlos 2007 made my Top 10 of 2011.

The first thing I noticed about this cigar was quite disappointing; it was almost covered in extra glue. There was glue around the bands and all over the wrapper. The wrapper was a dark shade of brown and very smooth. The cap was perfectly flush as well. The stick itself was very solid all the way through and the cigar gave off a very sweet smell. Once I noticed how clean the cut was, I knew I was in for a treat.

AVO Companero Limited Edition 2009 Review

Wrapper: Dominican

Filler: Dominican and Peruvian

Price: $15.00 - $16.00

Back in December, one of my readers noticed that I had never reviewed an AVO cigar. After messaging each other back and forth, he offered to send me a couple to try out and review. If you remember, last month I reviewed one (Review Here), and I saved this one to try out later. Well over the weekend, I took this one with me to one of my local shops, and smoked it before a couple of friends joined me.

The Dominican wrapper on this cigar is flawless. It is a darker brown with almost no veins running through it. The cap is consisted of multiple layers, and all of them lay perfectly flush. The stick itself is very solid from cap to foot.  The smell coming from this cigar reminds me of a very sweet chocolate mixed with a little bit of spice. When I cut this cigar, there was nothing revealed, except a perfectly even roll of filler tobacco.

Drew Estate Liga Privada Unico Serie L40 Review

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $13.00

A few weeks ago I traded a couple cigars to get one of these because none of my local shops seem to be able to get Liga Privada cigars, or if they do, they can’t stock them for long. So when I received this cigar, I had a hard time keeping in my humidor because I desperately wanted to smoke it. This past weekend, I woke up early Sunday morning for no reason whatsoever and just really wanted to smoke this cigar. So I grabbed it and walked outback at around 7:30. The worst part about that was that it was about 30 degrees outside, but that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying this cigar.

The dark brown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is very smooth and very oily. There are almost no veins running through this entire cigar. Given the size if this cigar, I knew it was going to be a solid cigar, and that is exactly what it was. There were no softer spots throughout the whole cigar. The cap sat perfectly flush and actually was made up of two layers. The smell coming from this cigar was very sweet and had a slight resemblance to cedar.

Trinidad Robusto Extra Review

It’s not very often that I get to smoke a cigar like this, but when I do get the chance, I have to wait for the perfect day to enjoy it. Well this past weekend was actually quite nice. When I realized that it was a good day to smoke some cigars, I went into my humidor and grabbed a few nice cigars for the day. Around lunch time, I decided that I wanted to give the Trinidad that has been sitting in my humidor for several months a try.

The medium brown wrapper on this cigar looks absolutely flawless. There is a nice twisted cap on this one as well. It’s not a pigtail, just a little twist. There were a couple very small veins that ran through the wrapper that looked a little like stitching. The cigar itself is sort of spongy, but it wasn’t soft enough that I was worrying about it. The cigar had that distinctive Cuban smell and yes, it was very nice. Once I cut this cigar and noticed how clean the cut was, I knew I was in for a treat.

Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series Majestuoso Review

Wrapper: Cameroon

Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Price: $9.00

A few months ago, I got in touch with another cigar enthusiast from Texas. Through our conversations he learned that small batch cigars, and many boutique cigars for that matter, were hard to find in my area. So we decided to set up a small trade. This was one of the cigars he sent me. Prior to our discussions, I had never head of this particular Partagas. I was excited to finally get the chance to sit down and enjoy this cigar.

The Cameroon wrapper is a medium to dark shade of brown and is very smooth. This cigar appears to have no veins throughout it. The one that is there is so thin, I know I won’t have an issue with it. There was a little crack on the foot, but that was most likely due to me carrying it to the cigar lounge from my house. The cigar has a very sweet smell to it, with a slight accent of cinnamon. The cigar is very solid all the way through which lead to a very clean cut.

Viaje Summerfest 2010 Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: ~$10.00

As many of my readers know, I do not have easy access to Viaje cigars. The closes cigar shops that carry them are roughly an hour and a half to two hours away. So when I get my hands on a couple Viaje cigars, I try my best to hold onto them, but sometimes I just can’t wait, which I am sure you understand. Well a few months ago, one of my readers sent me a few different Viaje cigars to try out and review, this is the last one I had left in my humidor.

This cigar features a very nice shaggy foot, and slightly resembles a paintbrush. The wrapper was a nice medium shade of brown with a couple very thin veins that ran through it. The wrapper is also very smooth and the torpedo cap was wrapped perfectly flush. The stick itself was very solid with not a single soft spot throughout. The torpedo cut very clean, and the shaggy foot made this cigar quite easy to light.

Alec Bradley Family Blend M23 Review

Wrapper: Honduran

Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan

Price: $7.00 - $8.00

If there is one thing that I enjoy doing, it is smoking a good cigar early in the morning. Well this past Saturday started off pretty boring. I decided to go out for a little bit and go enjoy some cigars. So I went up to Holts because I knew it would be quiet and I could relax and review some cigars. So as I walked into their humidor to try and find something different, I came across this cigar. I have heard several people say it is their favorite Alec Bradley, so I decided it was time to review this one.

This wrapper has a very nice medium brown wrapper to it. There are a couple thin veins running through it, but none of them pose any threat to the burn pattern. The cap of this cigar appears to be wrapped instead of layered and it comes to a little twist at the end.

Padron 1964 Anniversary Principe Maduro Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $9.00

Every once and awhile I like to treat myself to a good cigar, like most cigar smokers do. Well my father has been in love with these cigars for over a year now. Every time we go over to Holt’s he grabs one or two of these. This past Saturday was one of the nicest days of the New Year, so it seemed like a perfect day to grab one and review it. I usually prefer grabbing the maduro over the natural, so that is exactly what I did.

The one thing that always intrigues me about these cigars is just how rough they look. They are not perfectly symmetrical, but they still have a perfect construction. The dark brown wrapper has no veins running through it at all.

Another interesting feature of this cigar is the cap. It is only one small layer. This cigar is also very solid with not a single soft spot throughout it. When I smelled this cigar before I lit it, there is a very sweet smell.