Camacho Havana Monarca Cigar Review
Camacho is one of those brands that I came into after smoking cigars for a while. For some reason or another they just weren’t carried in my local shops (not much is). I gave high marks to the Camacho Coyolar but just average ratings for the Camacho SLR Maduro and the Camacho Corojo Natural. Hopefully, the Camacho Havana will be as good as the Coyolar but even if it’s just as good as the other ones that will be fine with me.
It’s veiny, there are a bunch of bumps all over the place and there are a couple of holes in the wrapper. Not a good start. This cigar feels a little soft as well. The wrapper is rough to the touch but it is oily.
After looking at the Camacho website I found out that the tobaccos used in this cigar are grown in the Jamastran Valley, Honduras. The wrapper is criollo while the binder and filler tobaccos are corojo. It’s offered in 9 different regular vitolas and three special vitolas that are aged an extra three years. They are made in Danli, Honduras (satellite map).
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Price: around $5.35
Turbo Fire!
The first thing that is noticeable is the slightly loose draw. After that you will notice that this robusto produces more smoke than an old school bus that has been out of commission since the Clinton administration. And then comes the flavor.
It starts with a burnt graham cracker flavor. There is also a significant burnt flavor as well. Then comes a progressively strong candied cherry flavor. As you can imagine this is not the best mix of flavors that I have ever smoked but, on the whole, it isn’t bad.
One of the things that I am noticing about Camacho cigars is that their strength gradually builds. The Camacho Havana starts out medium bodied and then builds to being medium-full bodied. Not a big jump but a jump nonetheless. The burn is even.
88 points
Netflix and Cigars
When I started smoking cigars I was content sitting out in the Southern Californian night as long as there was some bourbon to fill my cup. Cigars and bourbon are a great way to unwind after a long day but, after a while, it became a bore. Cigars and bourbon are wonderful but a man needs more than libations and smoke.
That is when I realized I have a treasure box filled with gems. Westerns, action flicks, science fiction and oh so much more all in my laptop just waiting for me.
Instead of whiling away the early mornings with Padron and Patel I now had something for those unused synapses. I watched movies that I knew I should have watched by now. Full Metal Jacket was great, Eyes Wide Shut was odd but it was a decent movie and that one with the modern version of vampires in that Alaskan town wasn’t worth the two hours. C’est la vie.
Then I took a tour through a post-apocalyptic America with Jeremiah and Kurdy. If you have not watched the science fiction TV series Jeremiah then you should do yourself a favor and watch it. Unfortunately, it only lasted two seasons because, I’m guessing, the budget on that show must have been astronomical and it aired during the earliest parts of this new millennium. If it aired now I’m sure it would have lasted as long as Battlestar Galactica. Even though it is a step down from Battlestar Galactica, which was a post-apocalyptic romp through space, it did have a lot of redeeming qualities.
Now I am puffing away to the stylings of J. J. Abrams’ Lost. I’m almost through the third season of Lost as of this writing and it is at least as wonderfully convoluted as I had been told. Who would have thought crashing a smattering of misfits on an island would be allegorical gold? Wait, wasn’t there a book….
Yes, there was a book but it wasn’t as rich as Lost. With a preponderance of exposition and a never ending back story that is as intricate as any Opus X, Lost is one of the most addictive shows I have ever watched. Even if it didn’t have all that intrigue I still would watch it because any show that creates a fake whiskey, McCutcheon, is worth watching.
So, thank you Netflix for giving me another reason to stay up late. Cigars, bourbon and Netflix are a great combination.
PRESS RELEASE: CRA Offers 2 FREE Exclusive Premium Cigars – FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!
CIGAR RIGHTS OF AMERICA
10533 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, U.S.A.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 24, 2009
Contact: Brian Berman
Phone: (818) 541-1535
Email: brian.berman@cigarrights.org
CRA Offers 2 FREE Exclusive Premium Cigars – FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!
Fairfax, VA – Cigar Rights of America (CRA) has announced an exciting new bonus offer exclusively for members that will serve as a unique member benefit, while advancing the cause of protecting cigar enthusiasts from intrusive taxation and regulation.
An initial coalition with approximately twenty of the world’s top cigar makers have joined forces to create an exclusive one-of-a-kind collection of cigars specially blended or sized for CRA members only! These cigars are not available anywhere else and you must be a CRA member to get them.
THE BONUS OFFER: Starting today, anyone who joins CRA or renews their existing CRA membership, will receive 2 FREE exclusive premium cigars.*
The cigars will be randomly paired and packaged from the following brands:
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Ashton
Arturo Fuente
Avo
Alec Bradley
CAO
Camacho
Casa Fernandez
Drew Estate
Don Pepin
Fonseca
La Aurora
La Flor Dominicana
La Gloria Cubana
J.C. Newman (Maximus)
Oliva
Padron
Tabacalera Perdomo
Punch
Puros Indios
Rocky Patel
Tatuaje
Torano
For more information, or to join/renew, please visit www.cigarrights.org
About Cigar Rights of America
Cigar Rights of America (CRA) was founded on the principle of fighting for the freedom to enjoy premium cigars. A consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works with local, state and federal governments to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts, CRA works with its constituency of members including manufacturers, retailers and cigar enthusiasts to focus on opposing restrictive smoking bans and increased taxation of cigars.
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* While Supplies Last. Member must pay $5 for shipping/handling. Cigars are Toro size.
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Cigar Review
Reading into the history of the Hemingway line a little bit is actually quite interesting. Evidently, the perfecto shape was popular from 1920-1940. But, since these shapes are so difficult to make, cigar makers stopped making this shape. Luckily for us, Carlos Fuente, Jr. remembered his grandfather making perfecto cigars for a line called Fancy Tales and worked with his grandfather so that they could make some for their own personal use. After smoking twenty of these cigars a day they realized that other people might like them and then, in the 1980s, the Fuentes launched their Hemingway line. Thanks guys!
It’s a great looking cigar and you just have to admire the Fuentes for bringing back the perfecto when they did. It is not easy making them. The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story is amazing not only because of its perfecto shape but also because it is so small. I have had the Short Story a number of times before and have liked them all. The wrapper is oily.
Cigar Stats
Perfecto
Length: 4″
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: around $5.50
Blue Flame!
It is packed with a breadth of flavor. A warm spice, akin to cinnamon, gets a lot of play and is especially noticeable when you blow the smoke out your nose. Meaty, sweet and earthy flavors bolster the warm spice. The flavors balance each other out well.
With a perfect draw and an even burn this is a very enjoyable cigar. And, even though it is a small cigar, I am getting the chance to enjoy it for a good amount of time because it burns slowly. It’s a medium bodied cigar.
While it is a very good cigar it isn’t perfect. There may be a kaleidoscope of flavors bouncing around in my mouth right now but they are not particularly strong. The spice does linger long after you put it down, which is always a good thing in my book.
Overall, I’m not convinced it is a truly great cigar. It is a cigar worthy of praise solely due to its shape; even though cigar presses are used in the making of these sticks I’m sure it is not easy making them. And the flavors are good. Just not amazingly good.
89 points
Fundadores Jamaica Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke: Barrington House sent me these cigars a few months back. They have surprised me because, even though they are very mild, they are enjoyable.
The Fundadores Jamaica is not a good looking cigar. Full of bumps and veins. The wrapper is somewhat oily. I’m smoking their churchill vitola.
Smoke: Like I said, it’s very mild. Floral sweetness with some oak. The flavors are surprisingly strong for such a mild cigar. While it isn’t a complex cigar it is great for what it is; mild sweetness. The draw is perfect and the burn is very good.
After-Smoke: What I really like about this cigar is that it is relaxing. It doesn’t take any effort to enjoy it. But the thing of it is that there isn’t a ton of complexity to it. If you like sweet, mild cigars then you will love this one. However, even though I tend to like the more full bodied cigars, I actually liked this one.
3 points
Price Range: around $7.00
