Cigar Humidification Tip #1
The other night one of the gentlemen I was smoking cigars with asked me what he should do about this (Cuban) Cohiba he had. To my horror, the Cohiba has not been properly humidified in a couple of months. This, I told him, was a problem and it is a problem for many people who smoke cigars infrequently. Letting a cigar dry out leads to cracking of the leaves, the cigar smoking too quick, harsh flavors and an overall bad experience.
For his case, which is that he has this one cigar and it needs some TLC, I told him to:
- Get a plastic sandwich bag (i.e. Ziploc)
- Put the cigar in the bag
- Put a Boveda Humidification pack with 69% relative humidity (RH) in bag with cigar because it is foolproof – it keeps the environment at that humidity level for as long as it still has juice left
- Close bag and let rest for a month in a place that doesn’t have wild swings in temperature (like a desk drawer or in a closet – someplace safe) and it’s best to find a place that is around 70°F
- Every few days check to see if the Boveda pack is completely spent (if you touch it and it’s hard then it’s no longer providing any humidity) and if it is spent put a fresh pack in the plastic bag
- After a couple months of doing this the cigar should hopefully be ready to smoke again – feel the cigar to determine if it’s good to go; if it no longer feels dry to the touch and you cannot hear the tobacco leaves cracking when you roll the cigar with your fingers then it’s good to go
Is this the right advice? Should I have told him to start out with a Boveda pack that maintains a 65% humidity level and then go up to the one with the 69% humidity level as a way to ease the cigar back to health? Is there a better way to do this?
Obviously, my solution isn’t all that elegant but I think it should get the job done and the cigar will be saved.
La Gloria Cubana Serie N Cigar Review
I promised this review yesterday so I thought it was a pretty good idea if I followed through and delivered it. Full disclosure: I received the samples I used for this review from General Cigar.
Here’s a little backstory to this cigar:
A sister brand to the critically-acclaimed La Gloria Cubana Serie R collection, La Gloria Cubana Serie N debuts in a lofty position. La Gloria Cubana Serie N is the brainchild of Yuri Guillen who developed this new collection in concert with Michael Giannini and Rick Rodriguez, collectively known as Team La Gloria Cubana.
The wrapper is dark brown and it has the letter N on it, with the letter N being cut from a Connecticut grown leaf and glued on the wrapper (it is the Serie N after all, clever). To the touch it feels oily and kind of reminds me of the texture of fine grit sandpaper after it has been used for a while. Overall, the cigar feels densely packed and has a light hay smell to it.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 ½″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Capa Oscura
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: around $6.35/Single | $120.00/Box of 24
Serie N Day Flame!
One thing to know about this cigar above all others: it’s heavy. No, not heavy in the sense that I can use it to do curls while I’m smoking it; the flavor profile is pretty heavy. It’s a full bodied cigar, that’s for sure, but it’s the flavors that are overbearing with one of those flavors firmly grasping the golden ring.
For example, take the earthiness of this cigar. It’s not necessarily a bad flavor but it is pretty much dominating everything during this first third. There is a little bit of cherry that sneaks its way through along with some hay. I think it would be a better cigar if the cherry and the hay can increase in prominence a little during the next two thirds. It would also be better if some chocolate or leather entered the fray.
There is some appreciable changes during the second third. While the cherry flavor has receded and has almost disappeared the hay has come into its own. It is now on equal footing with the earthiness, which has moderated some.
Entering the last third and the cigar’s flavor profile has mostly returned to that dark and brooding earthiness. It has a dusty/chalky consistency to it that isn’t great. Working in the La Gloria Cubana Serie N’s favor is that it has a great burn and draw.
After all is said and done I’m a little conflicted about this cigar. Part of me wants to pan it but that wouldn’t be fair. The dark flavor profile of this cigar is a little alluring at times and I liked smoking it. But I do not think it will be a cigar I will go back to often.
87 points
PS: Check out the Serie N Day call later today.
PSS: If you’ve got the latest Cigar Aficionado rip out your coupon for a free Serie N and bring it to one of the approved local brick and mortars (today only). More info here.
La Gloria Cubana Serie N Day
I was contacted a little over a week ago about Serie N Day. Basically, it’s going to be this big conference call between La Gloria Cubana and a bunch of retailers where questions will be asked and answers will be given. The site also says that cigars will be given away (and who doesn’t like some free stogies?). Here’s a screen grab of their Serie N Day page:
- Find out some info on the La Gloria Cubana Serie N and you might also win some free cigars.
As you can see there will be 4 different broadcasts of the event tomorrow night and I, for one, will be checking in to see what is going on. Personally, I have smoked a couple of the La Gloria Cubana Serie N cigars and they are pretty good. From what I remember (I just smoked one a few days ago) it was a really earthy cigar with some heft to it. [Full disclosure: I received some samples, which either means they think I'm awesome or they know that they are going to get some free publicity out of this.] I should have a review up on this cigar before the broadcasts tomorrow night.
So check it out, it could be interesting.
Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your free Serie N at your local cigar shop tomorrow (you will need that coupon insert from the latest Cigar Aficionado). More info here.
Cain Habano Cigar Review
Perhaps you may think that it is a little curious that I would be posting a review of the Cain Habano shortly after the launch of the Cain Daytona (Is it a spring break cigar? I don’t know.). And maybe you have a point, this isn’t exactly the most topical of cigar reviews that are out there.
I have previously reviewed the Cain F and the Cain Maduro with the F receiving a score of 90 points and the Maduro receiving a score of 88 points. As of yet I do not have a review in the hopper for the Cain Daytona and, if my previous predilection towards being topical are any indication, I won’t have one up for a number of months.
All the Cains are perfectly constructed. They might have a few veins but none of them are too pronounced. This Cain Habano 660 is an oily cigar. In the past I have done reviews for the Cain Maduro and the Cain F. My favorite so far is the Cain F but, based off the Cain Habanos I have had thus far, the Cain Habanos will give the Fs a run for its money.
For all of you scientists out there who live for the nitty gritty details about things here is the ligero mixture in this cigar (info from the Cain website):
- 25% Esteli Ligero – Strongest ligero in all the land (well, out least out of these three)
- 27% Condega Ligero – Medium bodied but adds substance
- 30% Jalapa Ligero – More noticeable range of flavors
Cigar Stats
Double Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 60
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: around $6.40/Single | $135.00/Box of 24
March Madness Light!
It starts out with the fury of a hurricane. Unruly spice dominates the palate and it is definitely a full bodied cigar. Actually, I love this kind of a cigar since my favorite flavor is spice. But I also like what the cigar evolves into.
The spice is obviously still there; it’s still the predominate flavor. But it loses its tempest in a tea pot demeanor and takes on the resolute firmness of a Beefeater. Another flavor, oak, enters and becomes a sturdy secondary flavor.
Technically speaking, it is a good cigar. The draw is open throughout and the burn is fairly even. As I mentioned before, it is a full bodied cigar but it isn’t overpowering.
What you should expect when smoking this cigar is pretty straightforward: spice and oak in a full bodied package. In the end, I would peg this cigar a little below the Cain F but it is definitely better than the maduro version.
89 points
March Madness Bracket Challenge 2011
Cigars Direct, one of the sponsors of this site, has announced their March Madness Bracket Challenge for 2011. Here are some of the prizes you can win:
- 2010 Opus X Charity Box – 22 Count Coffins – $999.95
- Opus X Perfecxion X – Box of 32 – $924.95
- Anejo No. 77 “The Shark” – Box of 20 – $414.95
- Padron 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduro – Box of 24 – $249.95
There are a total of ten prizes that you can win in this competition (if you are like me you will be “in the money” until the last game and then you will fall completely out of the competition). For more information, including contest rules and how to sign up, click on the picture below.
You can't win those cigars if you don't enter the competition... so enter it!
