Donald Duck – Trick or Treat
This has nothing to do with cigars but it’s definitely a blast from the past for me. Loved this video growing up.
Happy Halloween!!!
AFGL: History, Shameless Self Promotion & an OK Cigar
Start your weekend off with a bang with a little history lesson, a couple of guest posts I did and a review of an OK cigar!
- Did you know that Captain Morgan was the first person to appear in a photograph?
- I recently did a couple of guest reviews. One was on Cigar Rants about the Diesel Unholy Cocktail (which, I might add, to me tastes a little different from the ones first released) and the other was on Cigar Channel and it was a grudge match between the Padilla 1932 and Miami Salomons. Check ‘em out.
- Mike (@KnightRid to us Twitter folk) at Stogie Review didn’t have much nice to say about the Red Lion Maduro. By the way, you can follow me on Twitter too: @Travis_Lindsay.
SEE!!! I told you. That's Captain Morgan there.
Cu-Avana Intenso Short Cigar Review
When Cigars Direct sent me this cigar I did not know what to think. Is this a joke? Intenso? Did Opera Man name this cigar?
0/3: It actually looks like a well made cigar. Some veins, but none too pronounced. A small amount of oils on the wrapper and the cigar is a little hard to the touch. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to like this cigar since the Cu-Avana Intenso cigar is so cheap.
1/3: Wild is the first word that comes to mind. Wild spice leads the way. And then it calms down. I get a little bit of plum in the retrohale.
2/3: The burn goes a little off. Not a full bodied cigar, more medium-full bodied. Wildness is all gone now. That plum flavor has grown. Good draw.
3/3: Plum, leather and earth are evident. Good finish.
Conclusion: I don’t know why but I was surprised that this was a good cigar. Good flavors all the way through.
4 points
Guillermo León Cigar Review
The first time I smoked one of these cigars was back during the spring in the Dominican Republic at the La Aurora factory. Jason Wood, now the Director of Finance at Miami Cigar & Company (who provided the cigars for this review and advertises on this site as well), secretly handed us these unbanded cigars and told us to give them a try. Needless to say, we were all intrigued and got down to smoking these cigars.
I can’t remember anyone who wasn’t pleased with their cigar smoking experience. And then they told us that this was going to be the first cigar to feature Guillermo León’s name on the band. So that was a pretty cool experience. And now onto the cigar that should be available in your neck of the woods by December at the latest (Miami and New York already have access).
The dark brown habano wrapper looks good. There are a couple of veins that are sticking up a little bit but nothing major. Well packed from cap to foot and it is an oily wrapper. The ones I’ve smoked in the past have all been excellent so I am looking forward to this one.
Cigar Stats
Corona Gorda
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 47
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano (Vuelta Arriba)
Binder: Cameroon and Dominican Republic Corojo
Filler: DR, Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru
Price: $8.50/cigar
Rediscovery Flame!
This is one of those cigars that is good from the first puff on. Nicely balanced flavors that coat your mouth and an abundance of smoke. Cedar is the driving force behind the early stages of this cigar’s flavor development.
There is also a certain sweetness, not quite fruity but close to it. This flavor is most pronounced on the retrohale and starts coming through shortly after starting the cigar (less than an inch in). After that sweetness flavor dissipates on the retrohale there is a mixture of leather and a mild spice that lingers in the back of the sinuses for a while.
A great draw is accompanied by a somewhat wavy burn. This medium bodied cigar easily makes up for that at times erratic burn line with a great group of flavors. The main evolution of this cigar is from cedar notes in the beginning to a sweeter fruit flavor mixed with spice and leather as the cigar progresses.
93 points
AFGL: Boutiques & Beginnings
This is the first A Few Good Links (AFGL) post and it is awesome! Here are this week’s top links:
- Barry at A Cigar Smoker’s Journal tracks down a much sought after boutique brand. Is it a good cigar? Not yet.
- La Aurora (whose American distributor, Miami Cigar & Co. advertises on this site) is launching the eponymous Guillermo León. I’ve smoked a couple (one in the Dominican Republic actually) and they are great cigars. The cigar goes nationwide in December.
- Cigar Rights of America is launching CRA TV. From the description it sounds like a wonkish look at cigar-related legislation and politics with the occasional industry guy or gal thrown in to add a little life.
- The rest of The Faces will be arriving at tobacconists nationwide soon. Confused? Try to imagine a cigar that tastes like this picture:
I have not tried a Tatuaje The Face yet but if it tastes anywhere near as aggressive as Leatherface then I will be drooling after I nub it.
One truly frightening character.
