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Montecristo No.5, 2006. Now, wait a minute! There's still one short cigar I almost forgot. The last M5 in my humidor, where it has been suffering for five and half years. This particular cigar was the most shiny and the most dark wrappered CC I have ever seen when I received it. The colour and the gloss have lightened a bit, but it's still quite an attractive little stick. I have thought to age it forever, but hey, cigars are here to be smoked! Music: Moody Blues / In Search Of The Lost Chord. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 6.15g. Hard and solid construction. Maduro and oily wrapper with mild sweet tobacco scent. Somehow I feel a little guilty because I have to cut its head, but no can do, scissors will do the job. Nice firm draw. Clean tobacco and mild ginger as cold flavours. No mercy, fire! 1/3 Smoked tobacco. Very dark flavours. Nuttiness and pepper. Ginger, toffee and pepper on the burning wrapper, very nice. Roasted coffee beans and some toasted hay. The overall feeling is oily and greasy - I'm not surprised because of the wrapper shine. Very tasty cigar! Medium to full body and flavour. 2/3 Spicy heavily toasted tobacco, ginger, pepper and toffee. The oiliness is stunning. Coffee on the background. The style of this cigar reminds me a lot of Partagas Shorts and on the other hand Ramon Allones Extra EL 2011. Full body and flavour. 3/3 Strong black tobacco with pepper. Heavy toastiness. Black coffee beans. Thick cream. Tar. Bonfire. Smoking time 0:52. Strong tobacco aftertaste and a nice nicotine buzz as a bonus. Very good strong black cigar. If every Montecristo #5 was like this I would definitely buy some boxes, but unfortunately they are not. Thanks for reading.

Partagas Shorts, LSM SEP08 This cigar is quite popular, but very rarely reviewed. One of my long time favourites, a cigar that doesn't let you down. How is it today? Music: Pink Floyd / The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Drink: Coke, as usual. Cigar weight 6.63g. Firm construction. Medium shiny colorado wrapper with clove and leather smell on it. Punched the cap with 7mm blade. Quite open draw, a bit too easy for me personally - a gram more of tobacco wouldn't do bad. Clove flavoured cold draw. Now, let's go! 1/3 Heavily toasted and slightly nutty tobacco with some leather and black pepper. Clove on the background. The toasty element is very strong and so is the pepper. Very earthy cigar. Medium to full body, full flavour. 2/3 Pepper settles down together with the level of toastiness. Leather with mild ginger and clove as the main flavour. Strong tobacco taste. Dry sandy earth. Body and flavour medium to full. 3/3 Black pepper is coming back. Thick fried cream with some delicious tar. Wonderful heavy cigar smell in the room. Dry earthiness with hints of toffee. Some toasted bread. Bonfire on sand with creamy sweetness on the background. Body and flavour medium to full. Fingers are telling me to leave the cigar. Smoking time 0:49. A great basic medium complex little stick with plenty of nicotine in it. Strong and long toasted tobacco aftertaste. Will remain one of my favourite small cigars. I just can't imagine a humidor without Party Shorts. Thanks for reading!

Prelight:Smooth wrapper which is slightly oily. The cigar is firm yet pliant and has a wonderful cold draw that reveals nuts of tobacco leather and salt.1/3:Semi sour finish with the main players being cedar and a light tobacco flavor. The flavor is leaning towards the medium category and there isn’t any discernible spice. The smoke is voluminous and there is the classic “cuban twang” present towards the end of the first third.2/3:Flavors of salted butter, cedar and tobacco have taken over. The smoke is very creamy but has a peaty finish like scotch. The flavor remains medium and the finish is very crisp and ends abruptly after exhaling. The burn and ash are incredibly even and solid and held on close to the end of the second third.3/3:The finish of the cigar was a fitting end to a huge buildup. The flavor remained very buttery and creamy and continued with the same flavor profile that was present in the second third. The finish was incredibly intense and the flavors doubled in terms of intensity. Overall ImpressionsThis was not a cigar that fell into the “paying double for an extra band and not getting anything out of it” category. It had incredible flavor, great construction and had a wonderful evolution from start to finish. I am really looking to getting some more of these in the future as I can see a lot of potential with aging these.

One of my favorite cigars of all time, the Bolivar Petite Corona... look at this handsome gentleman: And this handsome gentleman for Lisa: Prelight: Mottled, oily dark brown wrapper. Construction is spot on with no obvious soft spots and the watermark adds a nice bit of character not unlike a birth mark. The prelight draw is all cocoa with hints of pepper. 1/3: Initial pulls are very typical BPC: cocoa, coffee and soil. Not much in terms of spice which was somewhat surprising due to the cold draw. The smoke is very ample and creamy while maintaining a slight bite on the finish. The burn is somewhat wonky but always rights itself after a while. The flavor is full and the ash is dark and solid. 2/3: Flavor is intensifying and the cocoa drops off a bit and lets the coffee notes really shine. There is a slightly bitter aftertaste but it complements the rest of the cigar really well. The draw and burn remain very good and the cigar does not really require any touch ups. 3/3: This cigar is truly a caged animal. The flavor has intensified once again and the coffee notes are totally dominating the cigar. The ash gets a little lighter towards the end and the draw opens up a little more but it smokes cool right down to the nub. There is a slight sweetness to the smoke at the end of the cigar which I hadn't experienced in a boli PC before. Quite a nice surprise at the end of a wonderful smoke. Overall: By far the best boli PC I have ever smoked. I got these as part of a 5 pack that I added onto a big order of REs and I had forgot about them for a while now. I figured I would review it because bolivar is one of my favorite marcas along with ramon allones and the BPC in particular just shines. I have honestly never had a bad BPC other than one that took a little while to open up, and as such I can always rely on the BPC to meet or exceed my expectations... I really need to invest in a cab one of these days. Oh, and lets not forget... BONUS ART SHOT!

Romeo Y Julieta, Julieta 2011 production 5-pack tin (No box code) 4 3/4 x 33 Second cigar in one week, this is really starting to get to me, lucky boy! It's still muddy and wet but jumped out with the doodle again during a break in the rain. I've always had a soft spot for RyJ it's just a pity the state of the marca nowadays but hey, that's just how it is I'm just trying to find some smokable offering from them. This is the first time I've had this cigar. First Impressions Construction is spot on, good oil on the wrapper but no aroma to speak of. Perfect draw and a sweetness on the cold draw. Again it's not possible to do a cigar this size in thirds so just a general review. First off I'm really impressed, I've heard some terrible things about these but it's started off with a classic RyJ profile; herbal vegetation, ceder and just a hint of natural sweetness (not a sugared one). Progressing with a super slow smoking technique (aka the Tiny Tim weak lungs approach) to get the best out of this ring gauge and nearing an inch in the sweetness has gone and a pleasant biscuit has come in, it's working well with the quite strong herbal nature. Medium body at best. Having wrestled a feather from the dog I needed a relight, not sure if it was that or just the progression of the cigar but the biscuit has left now and the herbal nature has really become powerful, almost to the point of grubby but not quite there. The unsweetened cherry drifts in and out for the first time but never really makes a statement. Getting under an inch near the band the herbal flavours have taken on a bitter note and the cigar takes an undignified end with a pitch into a puddle. Overall this is on the complete opposite scale of RyJ flavours to the Short Churchill. It's old school and quite similar to the Celestiales Finos. It showed balance but had an aggressive side which to be honest I think will lead these to be great in a few years time when everything had melded together and that final 'third' has mellowed out. it lasted about 25 minutes and seemed to be a little quicker than the Upmann Half Corona. 88/100 with potential

La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No.4, POL ENE11 Music: AC/DC Live At River Plate. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 4.71g. Glossy claro wrapper. A bit loose/soft construction. Tobacco with powerful leather as wrapper scent. A bit young sound on the smell. Cutting with Palio. Medium draw. Toasted tobacco and ginger in cold draw. Showing some fire. 1/3 Herbal toasted tobacco. Something very bright, like etheric oils. Dark soil like earthiness. Excellent flavours! Medium body and flavour. 2/3 Some round sweetness under the toasted herbal tobacco. Some creaminess. Hints of clove and cinnamon. Medium body, medium to full flavour. 3/3 Stood up to put the music louder - oops, there's a lot of nicotine in this little stick! Herbal/etheric oil brightness has changed to creamy sweetness. Toasted tobacco has transformed a couple of degrees to the direction of smoked tobacco. Layers of different flavours are very clearly sensed like it has been through the whole cigar. Excellent! Toasted bread. Very rich tarry creaminess. Toffee. Body and flavour medium to full. It's getting too hot for my fingers... Smoking time 0:53. No aftertaste. Despite the young age and the cold smell there was no youth sensed anywhere when smoking. What an excellent little fingerburner! Very tasty, very complex, very nice indeed. One of the best skinnies out there. A few words about the music. Bought three newly published albums this weekend, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Soundgarden. There's no doubt about the winner. Brian, Angus, Malcolm, Cliff, Phil - YOU ROCK! Thanks for reading!

Ramon Allones Small Club Coronas, TEB JUN08. I have already reviewed four small quality cigars, so why not going through a fifth one. Cigars from this box, and also from another box of TEB08, have been very delicious. Why would this be an exception. Music: Frank Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 8.48g. Colorado maduro wrapper. Firm elastic construction. Mild tobacco with a hint of chocolate as cold smell. Cutting with Palio. Pleasant firm draw. Cold draw gives flavours of sour tobacco and chili. Torching. 1/3 Rich tobacco with mild ginger. The tobacco has a bit smoked style. Existing flavours are mixed together so intensely that it's difficult to divide them to particular flavours. The result of mixing is one thick and rich flavour. Some round nuttiness. 2/3 Some mild chocolate and a hint of perfume on the background of spicy tobacco which continues until the end of the third. 3/3 Some cream. Mild black pepper. Now there's also some tannins. Spicy tobacco continues covered by a thin curtain of youth. Some chocolate in the very end. This time I didn't burn my fingers. Smoking time 0:55. Creamy sour tobacco as an aftertaste. A basic cigar with absolutely no complexity. Medium body and flavour. This was maybe the worst cigar out of my TEB08 boxes, but still a good and definitely smokable one. Would have needed some years of sleep to be better though. Thanks for reading.

Prelight This is an ugly little guy. Dark wrapper with an almost suede feel and prominent veins. The cigar is pliant and the cold draw reveals a loose draw with a very slight tobacco flavor. 1/3: I was incredibly impressed with the amount of flavor right off the bat. Tobacco, honey and cinnamon. Great, even burn with a very smooth smoke. The draw is loose so I had to take my time as not to let the cigar overheat and become bitter. The cigar is medium in flavor and is very consistent. The ash is bright white and hangs on very well despite the slightly loose pack. 2/3: The honey and cinnamon are dialed back a bit at this point while the aged tobacco flavor takes over. As I smoke the cigar slowly I am trying to think if there is any other cigar I have had with this flavor profile and I simply cannot think of one. The smoke remains very thick and moist while delivering a ton of flavor. 3/3: At this point the cigar is galloping towards the finish line with tons of honey and tobacco on top of each other. I slowed down my smoking even more and was treated with a ton of flavor that I haven’t been able to find in any other cigar to date. Great finish! Overall: I was somewhat hesitant on buying a full box of these as I haven’t really purchased full boxes of any 10+ year old cigars and I haven’t had much in the SP lineup but I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got to burn one down. For this review I took out the most obviously flawed cigar (ugly, loose pack) and I was surprised at how well it smoked as long as I was willing to take my time with it. a+++ will smoke again.

Prelight: Smooth wrapper with a slight sheen to it. Cigar is well packed and heavy in the hand with no obvious flaws or soft spots. Easy cold draw, if somewhat loose, flavors of coffee are very obvious. 1/3: Very smooth smoke with no obvious spice notes. Main flavor profile consists of coffee and leather with a semi-sweet tobacco in the background. The draw and ash are incredible with a razor sharp burn. The smoke is a solid medium which I attribute to the age of the cigar. Generally I prefer Bolivars very young for their serious punch, but I have come around to the aged bolivar flavors. 2/3: Flavor picks up a bit but remains closer to a medium than a full. Rich coffee and tobacco flavors in the forefront with no real background flavors preset. The once obvious leather has dissipated. The smoke remains very smooth and ample which is a nice compliment to the burn and draw characteristics. 3/3: Flavor is now hovering around a full as the coffee flavors become a little more bitter but still maintaining a very smooth and creamy texture. The burn and draw are both impressive all the way to the nub. Overall: I am a huge fan of the skinnier bolivars after being a strictly BRC/BBF fan for a long time. It only took a few BPC/BCE to totally turn me around and show me the light that is the skinny bolivar flavor. Since then I have sampled some inmensas, BCE, lonsdales and they have all been spectacular. If you can grab a few, I highly recommend them.

Punch Royal Selection No.11, 2009 Hey Prez, now we're talking about Punch! Another cigar I haven't enjoyed before. Bought a couple of singles a month ago and of course forgot to write down the box code, but I can remember it's from 2009. Music: QOTSA / Songs for the deaf. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 12.38g. Lovely shiny colorado maduro wrapper. Good construction with two little soft spots. Very good scent of tobacco, ginger and cinnamon on the wrapper. Punched the Punch open. Easy medium draw, could be a bit tighter but this goes pretty well. Smooth tobacco flavour on the cold draw. Toasting... 1/3 Smooth, soft and rich tobacco with a hint of marzipan. I would say this is a demi-sec cigar. Some mild black pepper on the background. This is really delicious! Nuts and ginger. Nice "green" flavour under the black pepper, something like spearmint. Black soil with clove. Toasted tobacco with some bread. Wonderful smell of ginger and toffee in the room. All the flavours are exploding from the centre to every direction in my mouth when having a puff, excellent. Smoked and slightly salty tobacco with occasional hints of rose. Medium body and flavour. 2/3 Suddenly the black pepper gets stronger. There's also some vanillatoffee on the background. The main flavour of toasted tobacco is extremely delicious. This cigar is truly brilliant! The toasted tobacco flavour is mixed with Scotch whisky in an oak barrel. Spearmint again on the background. Some mild chocolate. Body and flavour still medium. 3/3 Some vanilla with rich toasted tobacco. This cigar has an extremely warm spirit. Some marzipan. Some soil. Smooth cream sauce with ginger, cinnamon and clove - a nice mixture with toasted tobacco. Pine resin (WOW!) and other forest flavours dancing on a wide vanillabed. The saltiness of the tobacco is increasing. Black pepper wakes up again. Fallen brown leaves of autumn. Very warm flavours. Fine sweetness. Body and flavour remaining on medium level. Fingers burnt. Smoking time 1:40. Long aftertaste of nutty tobacco and spearmint. An extremely excellent and complex flavourbomb cigar! WOW! Period.

Diplomatico #2 (1996) This cigar came from a friend, so I'm unsure of the exact box code. The cigar had a colorado/maduro wrapper. The appearance was slightly bumpy, but that didn't detract from the cigar at all. Looks usually never play a part in the rating of a cigar for me, as I'm only concerned with the construction and flavor. The draw had just a bit of resistance, just the way I like it. It was packed well with tobacco and had no soft spots. I paired sparkling water with the cigar. With unknown or older cigars, I usually like to start out with something light and refreshing, before reaching for anything stronger. 1st third: Right of the bat, there was a bit of black pepper on the tongue. Along with the typical, leathery base, there was an espresso type bitterness that was prominent. This could probably also be taken as a slight earthiness. A very slight sweetness was present as well. 2nd third: At this point, the pepper evolved into a more complex spiciness. The bitterness died down, and a dark chocolate or cocoa note was present. Exhaling out the nose, a honey sweetness was also present. The aroma was heavenly. It smelled like fresh baked pastries, cocoa, and roasting nuts. Last third: It was pretty much reminiscent of the 2nd third. I wasn't able to detect any changes in profile. It remained thoroughly enjoyable until the point at which I laid it down. Overall, I'd rate the cigar as medium bodied. Although it wasn't overly complex, it certainly wasn't lacking in flavor. It certainly hasn't lost anything with age. Given the chance, I wouldn't object to smoking another one. I would rate it a solid .... 8/10

I think this is going to be my last review. I was hoping to smoke a diplomatico 1 before I go to bed tonight but work sucked, its 20 degrees outside, windy and I am tired (WAH) Prelight: Bumpy wrapper with some small veins. Light caramel color with a slight sheen to it. Firmly packed all the way through and VERY heavy. I cut the cap with my xikar xi3 and took a cold draw which was all leather and peanuts. 1/3: The first 1/3 was all leather, peanuts and a sour flavor that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Slightly tight draw which opened up toward the end of the first third with a large amount of smoke. The smoke was very creamy and left a heavy finish behind. The intensity is hovering around a medium and the burn is perfect. 2/3: The leather has picked up and the peanut flavor has backed off a bit. At this point there is the flavor of graham cracker which I always seem to pick up in the smaller ring gauge cohibas specifically the siglo II and lancero. The ash is holding on for dear life and is a very dark grey, which is somewhat surprising as the ash on cohibas tends to be lighter in my experience. The flavor is a solid medium but never gets quite to the medium-full end of the spectrum. 3/3: The leather and graham has taken over completely and the peanut flavor has dissipated. The cigar is teetering on the medium-full and the draw has completely opened up providing me with tons of thick smoke which delivers an incredible amount of flavor. The burn and ash are solid and the amount of flavor that is pouring out of the cigar at this point is incredible. Overall: This is the first siglo III I have had to date and I have to say it is one of the best cohibas I have ever had. The only one I can think of that was better was a 2010 CCE which Wes gave me at the Toronto herf this year. The amount of flavor and how it was delivered was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better smoke and it almost made me forget how cold it was.

Prelight: Light caramel wrapper, slight oil cover and fairly spongy. The cold draw is firm with a little bit of nuttiness. 1/3: First few puffs are very sweet with a large amount of nuts and grass. Further down the first third there is a bit of graham cracker thrown into the mix. The smoke is very creamy and coats the palate quite well. The predominant flavor of the cigar is roasted peanut. The burn is a little lopsided but the ash is strong and it requires very little in the way of touchups. 2/3-3/3 There really wasn’t much more to add. The flavor continued till the nub and except for a little increase in flavor intensity, it was a fairly consistent cigar in terms of flavors and intensity of those flavors. I have had some aged trini reyes that showed a little more evolution during the smoking process so hopefully they will get a little better with some maturity. Overall: Great cigar. I bought a few boxes during a recent sale for another vendor and I dont regret it at all. I have had some aged trini reyes before so I am looking forward to seeing how they come around in a few more months.

Prelight Slightly oily wrapper somewhat bumpy but packed very nicely. Clipped the foot, prelight draw was very good and had a heavy flavor of dried fruit and tobacco with some sour notes. 1/3: Slight spice on the initial few draws which quickly fades. Main flavor profile is all dried fruit with some flowers and a nice sour note which is a great compliment to the slightly sweet dried fruit flavors. The burn and ash are spot on which has not generally been my experience with RASS. Usually I will get a wonky burn unless they are aged for at least two years. 2/3: Flavor intensity has picked up and is at a solid full instead of the medium-full from the first third. Burn and draw remain very consistent and the flavor profile is very much the same although the smoke is a little lighter in amount but much creamier than the first third. The spice has also completely diminished. 3/3: Once again the flavor intensity has picked up and the sour notes present in the first third have come back. Sour dried fruit and tobacco are at the forefront of the flavor spectrum with some peppering of floral notes which disappear as fast as they appear. BONUS ART SHOT Overall RASS is the first CC I smoked after having a montecristo no 3 about 12 years ago. It will always remain a staple in my humidor (I just ordered a cabinet to restock as I haven’t for a year now) and the reason is because of the flavor. RASS dont generally have the best burn or a fancy ash, but they constantly deliver intense flavors that aren’t replicated in any other marca.

This is going to be my shortest review yet... I guarantee. Prelight: Oily wrapper which is very smooth to the touch and nicely pliant. I cut the cap and took a cold draw which was very mild with only tobacco and sweet notes. 1/3-3/3 Upon the first few pulls I noticed a very creamy smoke which had serious bread flavors. The burn was even and the draw was very smooth as well. The flavor didn’t change throughout the cigar but it was incredibly pleasant. Overall: Great 20 minute smoke. I wouldn’t mind picking some of these up in the future. I wasn’t expecting much in terms of flavor development and I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get the complexity of some bigger smokes. Its good for what it is, an easy, quick smoke.

Trinidad Reyes, OUS DIC09. Just another short cigar. After this I have gone through every shorty from my humidor, except HUHC which has already been reviewed here. Music: Living Colour / Pride. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 6.47g. Perfect construction. Colorado wrapper with clean tobacco scent on it. Used Palio for cutting. Medium draw. Cold draw gives tobacco flavour, stronger than usually. Fire. 1/3 Toasted tobacco, ginger and white pepper in perfect balance. Some hay. This is a tasty cigar! The mentioned flavours change their levels a little within the mixture on every puff. Otherwise the cigar would become boring, but this behaviour makes it interesting. 2/3 Some sweet toffee every now and then on the background. Hints of mild herbal aroma. All the flavours above are still swaying nicely with each other. 3/3 The herbal aspect is getting a bit stronger. Toasted tobacco with ginger for a long time, pepper has gone away. Some clove. Mild burning wood. Some citrus-like sharpness. Wood. Leaving the cigar with warm fingers. Smoking time 0:56. Creamy tobacco as an aftertaste. Excellent medium complex cigar with medium body and medium to full flavour. I'd like to say this is somehow a very sophisticated cigar. Trinidad gave its best today! Thanks for reading.

Prelight: Medium brown wrapper some veins no soft spots well packed. I clipped the cigar with my xikar x3 and did a cold draw which had a simple taste of tobacco and spice. 1/3: The first few pulls are all nuts, leather and tobacco. There is a nice, even burn with a lot of white smoke. The ash is very dark and holds on fairly well. After the cigar progresses, the leather flavors drop off and is replaced by a creamy wood and baked bread flavor, which I have experienced in other JL cigars, with a semi sweet finish. 2/3: At this point the flavors remain pretty constant and the burn continues to be fairly straight with a lot of creamy smoke. The bread flavor is the most pronounced at this point while all the other existing flavors taking a back seat. 3/3: The last third dropped off in flavor and strength but it remained very pleasant. I was expecting to get more powerful at the end so I was very surprised when it pulled a 180 on me. Overall Impressions: Wonderful smoke. It was very similar to the JLS2 that I have had in the past with the only difference being that the strength started out high and dropped off towards the end. Almost as if I smoked a JLS2 backwards. All in all a great smoke for the cold months.

Bolivar Coronas Junior, LAG DIC10. Thank God it's Friday! I smoked my previous one of these about 13 months ago. It was as strong and peppery as a cigar can be. How they have changed and to which direction? We'll see... Music: White Denim / Workout Holiday. Drink: Coke, again and again. Cigar weight 7.50g. Firm construction. Colorado wrapper with medium strong tobacco smell, maybe some tea also. Let the scissors do the cutting job. Easy open to medium draw, could be tighter. Spicy tobacco in cold draw. Showing some torch to the cigar. 1/3 Dry tobacco with some cream and woodiness. Strong pepper and citrus. Very light nuttiness also in there. Box pressed format disturbs me a little, I prefer round sticks. The cigar also feels thicker than 42RG, so I measured it and got 43RG as a result. Toasted tobacco with white pepper - dark soil on the very background. 2/3 Velvet-like spiciness with toasted "black" tobacco. I'm very close to say there's some apricot. Got a phone call, that's disturbing! White pepper has mellowed and got "wider". Tobacco is starting to get creamy. 3/3 There's a good flavour with toasted tobacco - I'm thinking hard but can't nail it. It's possibly some kind of a nut or earth or something, anyway it's a "light brown" flavour. Some freshness of green leaves on the background. Some good tar. Cream and citrus. Some cedar. Fingers are warming up once again. Smoking time 0:56. Strong creamy tobacco as an aftertaste which lasts for a long time. Very good medium to full cigar. Burning was a little odd sometimes, but not too much to cause any troubles. Shortly, nice! Thanks for reading.

Diplomaticos No.5, EOA DIC07. Every cigar I have smoked from this box has been excellent. How it is today when I'm very tired and quite pi$$ed off because of rotten-egg-like spirit at work. I certainly hope the cigar gives me a good lift. Music: Weather Report / I Sing The Body Electric. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 6.11g. Very good elastic construction. Colorado wrapper with mild tobacco smell on it. Cutting with Palio. Very good firm draw. Tobacco, ginger and chili in cold draw. Ignition. 1/3 Very nice medium spicy tobacco with few moments of nuttiness. I have difficulties to concentrate on the cigar, just laying on the couch and listening to the music and having a puff every now and then. Some white pepper. Hint of chocolate. Some ginger. Suddenly an authentic taste of fruity champagne - WOW - followed by dark chocolate. Now we're talking! 2/3 Tasty tobacco with some chocolate and some unnailed sparkling flavours. Sweet candy and cream. Toasted tobacco for a while. 3/3 Rich toasted tobacco continues for a long time. Then in the end fried cream. Bonfire. Sweet cream. Fingers on fire......DOH! Smoking time 0:53. Aftertaste toasted tobacco with sugar, exceptional sweetness - just like I had eaten a candyfloss (don't know if this is the correct word). Fifteen minutes later my mouth was filled with orange flavour, how nice! Excellent and at least to me a quite exceptional cigar of medium body and flavour. The first half was a rollercoaster of flavours, on the second half the cigar calmed down to a more basic fine tasty cigar. I'm sad I didn't succeed to buy another box before they were sold out. And now they're gone, vanished, disappeared, DISCONTINUED! Anyhow, the cigar gave me the lift that I was looking for. Now I need only a good sleep. Thanks for reading.

Rafael Gonzalez Perlas, RUE AGO11 Once the train has started it's jolly hard to stop it. Today it's the time for another cigar I haven't smoked before. Music: Jazzanova Funkhaus Studio Sessions. Drink: Coke. Cigar weight 6.96g. Firm construction. Very smooth colorado maduro wrapper. The cold smell of the wrapper is some kind of a mixture of brass and clove, interesting. Cutting with scissors. Tight draw, yes! Weak and mild tobacco taste on the cold draw. Fire! 1/3 Fresh and clean tobacco flavour with a little white pepper on top of it. Some bright and sweet feminine flowers on the background. Very mild barnyard. White pepper is getting stronger. Some soil. Medium body and flavour. 2/3 Toasted tobacco with a touch of mild white pepper for a long time.Some milky sweetness is trying to evolve behind the mask of toasted tobacco. Caffe latte and later with a hint of vanilla. Body and flavour still medium. 3/3 Tannins are starting to show up. Toasted tobacco with just a tiny amount of vanilla. A couple of herbal moments. Toasted tobacco with coffee. Strong tar and black pepper. Strong toastiness. Full body and flavour. The cigar gets too young and hot to smoke, have to leave it. Smoking time 1:04. Nice long aftertaste of tobacco, first with vanilla and later with fresh leaves. I liked this cigar despite its youth, but if I had more of these I'd leave them alone for a year at least. A comparison with another small new product H.Upmann Half Corona would leave this RGP to the honorable second place IMO. Thanks for reading. (Darn! I just realized that I've forgotten to take photos of this cigar for my website, and it was the only one! .......$@£!#€#¤%&!!!)

H.Upmann Half Corona 5-pack tin 3 1/2 x 44 2012 production First off, this is my first time trying this cigar. I've heard a lot about it and seen how fast they are flying off the shelves world-wide. It's fully into the mud and sludge season in the UK so if this vitola doesn't shine now then it never will! The dog has her legs crossed and needs a walk so time to crack open the tin and light this up! First impressions Plugged. Seriously this thing is harder than granite! I've no idea how this much tobacco could have been stuffed into a mould, there is nearly enough squidged into here to make a Sir Winston! Super oily cigar though, almost dripping off the wrapper and the aroma is very strong coming out of the tin, I can smell them from a meter away. OK, so some mildly disturbing stabbing action with my cigar poker and me pulling out enough tobacco to roll a mag 46 has finally enabled some drawing action so time to head out the door. Yes it's muddy, it is wellington weather and I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the doodle! Not sure how I'm going to do thirds with this so just going to describe how it smokes. First off it's straight off into medium to full body with a strange sweet and sour taste. It's certainly Upmann but maybe a little hint of ammonia? A few puffs later and that sour taste has died away and what's left is a sugar sweet shortcake, this little guy really is straight into full stride with flavours. What's getting me is that there is actually evolution of flavour here. The sweet shortcake is joined by a very rich and buttery tobacco body which fills the mouth despite there not really being a large amount of smoke. The weather isn't great, infact this is how it's been for the last 5 months nearly! At least there are a few things seemingly enjoying it. Into the last 'third' now and not a huge amount of change, the body has shifted down a notch to medium which isn't a bad thing; it adds to the evolution of the cigar. The nice thing is that there is no harsh or bitter characteristics to this cigar even nearing the end and it not being exactly the perfect cigar smoking conditions. Overall it's a medium-full bodied cigar that from pretty much the start is a buttery rich and pastry sweet. Interestingly there is no evidence of leather which is a nice change from the regular production Upmann. It's DNA is more similar to the Sir Winston than say the Mag 46 which is no bad thing, it's certainly a pleasant smoke and does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a short cigar for when time is short. Very approachable and enjoyable. Construction was an issue here but I'm hoping it is just a one off. 89/100

This cigar is my whitest of whales and I was able to grab a few with the box included for a very reasonable price. The box is currently sitting next to my Siglo VI jar in a shadowbox and they look very nice. So without further ado... Prelight: The cigar isn't the prettiest thing in the world and it has a decent amount of medium sized veins. The wrapper is chocolate brown and mottled. The cigar is heavy in the hand, well rolled and filled perfectly. When squeezed there is a slight give and nothing to indicate that the cigar is over/under filled. I cut it with my xikar and did a cold draw which showed very simple flavors of tobacco and oak. 1/3: The first few pulls were exactly what I was expecting. A bit of spice, heavy tobacco flavors and dried fruit, in this case raisins. The smoke is very thick and leaves a very significant coating on the palate. Further into the first third the flavors remain very consistent and the burn is razor sharp with a firm, dark ash that holds on like a terrified first time skydiver at the door of a plane fifteen thousand feet in the air. 2/3: There is still a very consistent thick smoke with lots of raisin, oak and tobacco. The draw and burn remain very consistent and the smoke continues to deliver incredible amounts of flavor. At this point the smoke has smoothed out a bit and all traces of spice are completely gone. The smoke is very creamy and some of the dryness experienced in the first third is gone. 3/3: At the last third of the cigar, the intensity of the flavors is full bore and delivers serious oak and raisin. There is vanilla that pops in from time to time but its not consistent enough to consider it as part of the flavor profile. I was expecting the cigar to have a little more variety and flavor profile changes but I am glad I was wrong in my assumptions. These flavors in this particular vitola work perfectly together. Overall: I was told by a negative nancy that this stick was all hype and I am glad I didn't listen to him. This cigar had everything I am looking for in a full flavored smoke; lots of intense flavors, consistently impressive burn and draw with a vitola that forces me to slow down so I can really experience everything it has to offer. I would be lying if I said this was the best cigar I have ever had to date, but it is definitely in my top three (my favorite cigar being the bolivar china release from the jar). I highly recommend that you pick one up if you can find it because these are amazing cigars that are going to get harder and harder to find as time goes on. If I could afford or source a full box from 2002 I would do it in a heartbeat.

Cohiba Coronas Especiales Never smoked these before so I'm about to lose another virginity this evening. Bought a 5-pack of these as try-outs a month ago so I don't know the box code, but I assume these are not older than one year. My attitude against Cohiba is maybe not too positive, but it's nice to smoke something different every now and then and who knows if they change my mind. I'm expecting this cigar to be very grassy, a countryside flavoured cigar in another words. That's why I chose Roadhouses & Automobiles of Chris Jones for the music and filled the glass with Coke. No, not any whisky, it's Wednesday for God sake! "Hey, stop that bs and light up the cigar!" - Okay,okay... Cigar weight 9.12g. Tight construction. Nice shiny appearance with colorado wrapper. Very mild sweet tobacco scent on the wrapper. Cutting with scissors. Tight draw. Some very mild tobacco taste, if any, in the cold draw. Ignition, at last. 1/3 Mild tobacco flavour with a hint of nuttiness. Not much to say, but the tobacco is of high quality. Mild white pepper appears on the background. The pepper is getting a little stronger towards the end of the third. Some hints of toffee also. Body and flavour mild to medium. 2/3 Quality tobacco as the main flavour and, well, nothing else. The smell in the room is spectacular though. I'm getting bored with absolutely no complexity. The tobacco flavour is excellent, but hey cigar, please start to deliver! Medium body and flavour. 3/3 Guess what? There is still the quality tobacco flavour! Yes, it's better than poor quality tobacco flavour, but... A slight hint of sweet cream visited but went away very quickly. A hint of coriander, strange. Some black pepper. Tobacco is getting tarry in a good way. Medium to full body and flavour. Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco - ok, we're done. Smoking time 1:29. That was a Cohiba with no grassiness - is it good or bad, I am not sure. Good aftertaste of, surprise, tobacco which doesn't last very long. The cigar was like a gorgeous looking woman with no brain and capable to do it only in one position. I think the cigar would have been a good companion when having a conversation or playing some poker or chess, but not for meditation which I like mostly when smoking myself at home. A good basic cigar, but definitely not worth its price. Thanks for reading!

'95 Montecristo No.4. Provenance: Friend gifted this to me in '09. Passive storage in father's humidor. From what my friend told me, his father stopped smoking 15 years ago. I'm guessing this is from '95 but it could be older. Smoked 1 cigar for this review. Appearance:/Structure: 13/15 Smooth Colorado wrapper. Not much tooth. Some greens spots which are a little less noticeable with age. Smoking characteristics: 22/25. Firm draw, though a little tight at the opening. Plenty of smoke. Burn is consistent. Flavor: 24/25 Tastes nothing like current Montecristo No.4 production. Very refined tobacco taste. Light coffee and tea/floral flavors. Just high quality tobacco flavor. First third reminds me a lot of the SCDLH O’Reilly. Flavors picked up in 2/3 third. Very rich. Starting to find notes of leather, espresso, and cream. Also has become slightly nutty. Only noticeable change in last third is more leather and coffee. Smoked it down to the nub. No harshness whatsoever from this well-aged specimen. Overall Impression: 34/35. This is really my first experience smoking a cigar with this much age. I was definitely not let down. It is amazing to see so much class and refiness in a Montecristo No.4. The only problem was the tight draw at the beginning. If you ever get the chance to pick up a Monte from the '80s or early-mid '90s, go for it. Fortunately, these were free for me. Overall: 93 http://s1043.beta.ph...t12342.jpg.html http://s1043.beta.ph...213826.jpg.html (sitting in the stack of Montecristo Edmundo...I'm actually thinking this might be the Montecristo B or No.3, but not entirely sure).