Alright smokers and jokers, time to get this Saturday Smokin’ Summary back on track. I know, I know… I’ve been lazy. You know how it is… Saturday comes along, you wanna sleep in late, but then there’s stuff to do and you plan on getting back to the computer but by the time you hit the rack, the day’s over and that’s that. Well, I’ve gotta do better so here we go!

***You’ll be seeing some new additions to our Smokin’ Summary as we’ve added a couple blogs to our Links list. Make sure you check them out.

• Padron Serie 1926 No. 6 Natural - Cigar Inspector
• Torano Exodus 1959 Double Corona - Cigar Jack
• CAO Criollo Mancha - Cigar Monkey
• Augusto Reyes Criollo Corona - Keepers of the Flame
• Pacific Cigar Company Robusto - Stogie Review
• Nub Habano - The Stogie Baby***
• Isla de Cuba Aged Maduro Robusto - The Stogie Guys
• Gurkha Grand Envoy - The Velvet Cigar***

There…that should keep you busy reading while you’re enjoying your own great smokes. Also, be sure to check out Chris at Cigar Alliance who has just posted his 20th podcast. He’s got two reviews up for you to listen to.

That’s it, folks. Make sure you get a chance to relax and smoke a good one today.

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Good morning, smokers and jokers. It’s finally Friday!! I’m sure y’all are like me and are thinking about this weekend. Unfortunately, while I’ve got great plans for this weekend, I’m not gonna get a chance to smoke any cigars. So, I wanna know what you’ll be smoking. Let’s hear it, people. Make me jealous.

Oh, and just a little advance notice… Keep checkin’ in because sometime next week I’ll be having a cigar give-away for one lucky winner.

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If there’s a shortage in Cuban cigars in the near future, we’ll know why.

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Okay, so I know the J. Fuego has been sitting in our Upcoming Reviews section for awhile and that’s my fault.  I wanted the chance to be able to smoke a few before giving my review to make sure that the first two I had weren’t just from a bad batch.  That being said, I’ve had the chance and can now get to the review.  For this review I selected the 6 1/2×58 Grande size.

Appearance: This is a nice, elegant looking cigar with a dark corojo wrapper.  This specimen had prominent veins and was slightly toothy, but the wrap was very clean and seamless.  I like the band on this one as it’s simple but classy.  The cap was clean and well done.  Looking at the foot you could see the bunch looked pretty good.

Taste: Nothing exciting here.  I’m usually a fan of the corojo leaf, but this line seems bland compared to some of the other corojo cigars I’ve had.  This had a very woody taste to it that was slightly tannic throughout the whole of the cigar.  I had to purge it a couple times after I burned it past the half way point when the tannic taste started to turn bitter.  The taste was consistent throughout the cigar; the only thing that changed was the strength.  It started at a light-medium and increased to a medium-full.

Aroma: Again nothing too spectacular.  Some coffee and tobacco.  The smoke was light and not too harsh on the nostrils.

Construction: Doing the regular pinch test, this cigar felt pretty consistent.  The draw was a little tight at the beginning but loosened to a medium draw once the heat expanded the tobacco a little.  The burn was so-so, and I’ve found this to be true for each I’ve smoked.  I had a hard time getting this one to light fully at the beginning.  It produced an average amount of smoke and the ash held well enough.

Overall: For the $8+ price tag on these, I think I’ll pass.  It was a slightly less-than-average stick on its own let alone being overpriced.  The flavor was a bit on the bland side, though if you like wood you might like this.  I kept trying to come back to these and give them one more chance before I did an official review and each time was disappointed.  It has a medium finish that doesn’t stay too long, which in this case, was just fine with me.

Cigar Rating:

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So I was sitting at my local cigar shop, and they just happened to get some of these Chiselitos in stock. I really enjoy a strong cigar, and this one is supposed to be no exception, so I pick one up. I took it the length of my nose and it was smelling semi sweet with some spice. I cut it with my palio, and lit up. I gotta say the flavors I got out of this were great! Lots of spice, with some sweetness, and great amounts of smoke. The flavors were pretty consistant through out, and I did notice that

this was one STRONG smoke. I made the mistake of smoking it on an empty stomach, and even as an experienced cigar smoker, this one threw me for a loop. All in all, I really enjoyed this smoke, and I can’t wait to have another! I highly suggest picking one up.

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Image provided by Stogie Fresh

Appearance: This was a decent looking cigar with a nice dark wrapper. There were thick, very prominent veins running through it and the color was a little mottled. Smooth with no tooth and the cap was well done.  The wrapper is elegant and not too overdone.  Not too much to say but that this is a decent looking cigar.

Taste:  Overall, this is not a complex cigar.  It starts out with a good leather taste that’s strong, but not too strong.  The leather taste fades about half way through the cigar and then it picks up a very distinct coffee flavor.  Black, no sugar.  This taste lasted to the end and then some.  To say this has a long finish is an understatement, as I could taste this cigar still an hour after I smoked it.

Aroma: Nothing special here.  Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco.  But, then, they all can’t smell like 11-year-old Madagascar vanilla, can they?

Construction: This is where we kind of ran into problems.  Feeling along the body of this cigar, there were major inconsistencies.  There were hard spots and very soft spots.  The draw was extremely loose.  Surprisingly, even with this, the burn held rather well.  The ash didn’t, as it was loose and flaky.  It did, however, produce copious amounts of smoke (that’s always a plus in my book).

Overall: For a special release cigar that’s a few years old, I have to say it didn’t live up to expectations.  A medium to full-bodied cigar, the taste was average at best with a below average construction.  When you drop $10+ on a stick, you should be able to expect at least superior quality, if not taste.  Thank goodness this was part of a bomb I received months ago (thanks, Ron!).

Cigar Rating: 

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As our loyal readers probably read, yesterday was my birthday. I turned 28 years old. I had this Padron 1926 80th Anniversary sitting in my humidor for a while, and I had made the decision a while ago that I would save it for one of my birthday cigars. I couldn’t think of a better cigar to review than this birthday cigar. With no further ado, lets get this thing rollin!

Pre-light: As I pulled this cigar from my cigar case, the first thing I noticed was this thing was firm with some small bumps on the chocolaty brown wrapper. This one was firmer than I like generally, but being a big fan of Padron, I was really hoping that this cigar didn’t dissapoint. I clipped the end of this perfecto with my palio cutter, and it cut like a hot knife through butter, as usual. As I took a pre-light draw, I was pleasantly surprised that the draw seemed just right. Not too tight, and not too loose. I was really looking forward to this cigar, so without further ado, here we go!

1/3: As I started on this cigar, the first few puffs gave me a very nice and sweet cocoa and chocolate flavor, with some sweetness. After a few puffs, it seemed to get even sweeter, and almost felt like I was smoking a chocolate bar. That sounds bad I am sure, but I can assure you, this was a good cigar. The smoke was very abundant, and when I exhaled through the sinuses I got a little bit of spice toward the end of the exhale.

2/3: So far, I was enjoying this cigar, as I do with all other Padron products. This one was no exception. The chocolaty sweetness was continuing, and at the start of the 2/3 was where I had to ash the cigar. The ash was a light gray color and fairly firm. This cigar at this point started to remind me of the standard Padron Anniversary serie 1926 line.

3/3: On this last part of the cigar, the chocolate flavors and cocoa flavors were still there, and the smoke was still thick. Let’s just say that even with the air cleaner going in the cigar shop and fans going, the smoke was still lingering. That was ok with me though, as I was enjoying the amount of smoke that came from this cigar!

Overall Impression: This cigar as I said, was very reminiscent of the standard 1926 maduro line. I really love the 1926 maduro, and this cigar was no exception. My only problem is that the 80th anniversary is usually more money than the standard line, so if I have a choice between the two, based on price I am going to go with the standard line every time, because these two were so similar. I really enjoyed this cigar, and I recommend that everyone try one of these as soon as they can. They are definetly worth the price.

Cigar Rating:

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Hey y’all!  Just a quick note to let you know that today is Scott’s birthday.  I know he’s got some great smokes lined up for today.  And in case you’re wondering, he’s a young 28 years old.  So join me in wishing Scott a happy birthday!

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