Camacho Select Cigar Review

It’s a fairly good looking cigar, nothing special though. Tobacco is flaking off the cap, a few pronounced veins, soft, kind of oily and a couple of discolorations. The pre-light draw is easy but without a lot of flavor.

In what is a total surprise to me (I’m just basing it off of the pre-light draw, which was boring) the Camacho Select comes packed with a goodly amount of flavor. Even better, they are flavors that I like. Spice, oak and a background of smokiness that is very pleasing.

Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras – Cameroon Seed
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Price: Box 21 – $120 | 1 cigars – $7.35

Go Flame!

After about an inch I wear the ash. Not a big deal, I was just entranced by this medium bodied cigar. Once that happened I regained my senses and realized that the burn had gone astray, quite a bit astray actually, and touched it up.

Now that I reach the halfway point I am at a crossroads. I really am enjoying the flavors but, alas, there is not a great deal of complexity. While that will prevent it from becoming an amazing cigar in my book it is still better than the vast majority of cigars that I have had the pleasure of smoking.

The oak flavor, mild at first, has almost vanished from this cigar. It was an imperceptible change and I didn’t really notice it gone until I started to really concentrate on trying to pick it up again. I get whiffs of it here and there but, for the most part, it isn’t coming back. In its place is a mild sweetness that is enjoyable.

Spice is still present, which I am thankful for, but the main flavor is still that smoky cross between what I can only describe as dry earth and leather. That makes it not a particularly smooth cigar but the flavors are definitely winning me over.

Even though the burn betrayed me at one point it righted itself after I corrected it. In the past I haven’t had a problem with the burn. I’m still at the halfway point as I write this and I don’t see any indication that the burn is going to misbehave any further. As is the case with nearly every Camacho that I have smoked, the draw is impeccable.

The final couple of inches of the cigar sees a little change. In addition to the smokiness there is a doughy flavor that comes on. Not bad but nothing special either. Actually, after my initial impression of this cigar it has tailed off a bit.

This cigar just seemed to fizzle before my taste buds. It started out really good and then, especially in the second half began a mini downward spiral. That being said, I do look forward to smoking another one of these cigars.

89 points

Diesel Cigar Review

This near-jet black beauty of a cigar is made by A.J. Fernandez who has made cigars for Rocky Patel, Padilla and the Man O’ War lines as well. I must be honest, this is one of the better looking cigars I have seen. In addition to the jet black wrapper it is a rather smallish torpedo that absolutely glistens with oils. There are no seriously raised veins either.

It is rough to the touch, though. And the cigar is tightly packed. Based off of my previous experiences with this cigar neither of those things should hurt the flavor at all.

Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: USA/Pennsylvania
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega, Esteli)
Price: $6.00/Single | $100/Box (30 cigars)

Funny Flame!

As expected, the draw is very good. Not too tight, not too loose. Also, as expected, the Diesel has a ton of flavor that runs smack dab through the “dark” flavor profile. Lots of espresso/coffee beans, earthiness/grassy and some charcoal. There is a little bit of spice but not a whole heck of a lot to speak of. Oh, and chocolate – milk chocolate to be precise – is a fairly prominent flavor with the Diesel.

The flavors coat the mouth and just won’t leave, which is a pretty good thing here. It’s a very good cigar throughout the first half and shows no signs of slowing down.

Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. One of the previous Diesels I smoked had the flavors drop off around the halfway point but, with this one, the flavors are sticking through – so far.

For the most part the flavors are staying strong even as the burn line crosses the three-quarters mark. There is some complexity with this cigar and, overall, I am liking it a lot. This isn’t to say that this cigar is special but it is above average for sure.

Leather starts to come through during the second half along with some spice. Further on, within a half inch of the nub, the flavors take a bad turn but, as long as you don’t smoke it way too far down, it’s a very good cigar. The bad flavors revolve around salt, which isn’t a horrible flavor but does diminish my enjoyment to a degree.

What amazes me about this cigar is that if you buy it by the box it is less than $3.50 per cigar. That’s amazing for a cigar that tastes this good. While the flavors are not mind blowingly great they are well above average for the majority of the stogie. If you can buy a box I would strongly suggest you do so; after all, Christmas is just around the corner.

89 points

Alec Bradley Overture Cigar Review

The Alec Bradley Overture Robusto is a good looking cigar. It has a waxy feel to it and the construction is great. Besides a couple of discolorations and a minor rip on the foot it should be fine.

Here’s what the only retailer, Famous Smoke Shop, has to say about this cigar: “Overture employs a well-balanced blend of Honduran Trojes and Nicaraguan Jalapa longfillers married to a luscious Honduran Trojes Viso wrapper. You’ll enjoy a creamy, full-bodied symphony of complex flavors offering traces of oak, cedar, sweet spices, and espresso on the finish.”

We’ll see.

Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
Price: $6.75

Afternoon Flame!

I have smoked a couple of these in the past couple of months and I have been completely underwhelmed but the first couple of puffs of this AB Overture have been great. For about the first inch the flavors are warm and spicy. Then the spice falls back somewhat and a bitter earthy/cocoa flavor comes to the fore.

Around the two inch mark the flavors start to change. The earthiness remains along with a diminished cocoa as well. A candied flavor starts to creep into the mix; it’s a nice sweetness that compliments the other flavors. It is a medium-full bodied cigar with a great draw and an even burn.

Over the last couple of inches the spice reappears without much sweetness. My only problem with this cigar is that the flavors are somewhat muddled. They mix together fairly well but the flavors themselves aren’t pristine.

Actually, this was a very good cigar. Lots of flavor and nuance. I would not say that this cigar is amazing but this one specifically was worth it.

When I have smoked these in the past I didn’t like them: 83-86 points – in my opinion. If you do buy some of these cigars I would suggest that you let them rest in your humidor for at least a month, probably more.

89 points

Barry over at A Cigar Smoker’s Journal gave this cigar 90 points

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

CAO Gold Corona Cigar Review

My last review was of one of these a couple of weeks ago and I gave it 87 points. This one was a little better but there’s just something I’m not getting from this cigar. Even though it has all the right things going for it there is no way this will ever be a favorite cigar for me. Here’s my review:

This cigar looks pretty good save for one white vein that runs from the cap to the foot. Light sheen of oils – good. Very good construction overall.

Cigar Stats
Corona
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $4.50

Second Light!

The draw is substantially more open with this one compared to the one I gave 87 points to. It makes a big difference. Even though it is a mild cigar there are a good amount of flavors. But there’s just something wrong about them – they seem faded.

Oak and vanilla are the major flavors. The smoke is creamy and it is burning well. But, like with the other one, it’s not a great cigar. It’s still somewhat boring to me. I do think that other people would like this cigar.

I also get some floral flavors as the cigar starts winding down. There was not one glaring negative I could point to about this cigar. And yet, I am not impressed. Maybe it was due to the fact that it is a mild cigar (that definitely does play a big part). Whatever the case may be it is still a very good cigar… technically. It’s technically a great cigar but it’s not my cup of tea. It could very well be what others like and that is what bumped this cigar up two points.

89 points

Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur (Natural) No. 3 Cigar Review

I smoked this one a while ago so I’m just basically going off of my notes.

There’s a decent amount of oils on the wrapper but there’s also a minor stretch mark in one area. Other than that stretch mark it looks like it has perfect construction. Right before this I smoked a crappy Don Tomas and a second one (forget what it was at this point) that was just as bad. So there’s a chance that they can adversely affect this cigar. Drinking Maker’s Mark, Cherry Coke, and a water.

Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6 1/8″
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: USA/Conn
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dom Rep, Nic
Price: $6.00

Night Light!

CAO Vision Prana Cigar Review

Like almost every CAO cigar I have smoked in the past this one looks perfect. It’s very oily and has a light brown wrapper. I am drinking water with this cigar.

Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Dom Rep
Binder: Dom Rep
Filler: Dom Rep, Nicaragua
Price: $12.00

Go Light!

Ashton Double Magnum – Cigar Review

This is a well packaged cigar with a cedar sheath and two bands; one at the foot and one near the cap, like normal. The problem is that the glue securing the bands to the cigar are actually securing the bands to the cedar sheath and when I went to take the sheath off it also took both bands off. Oh well.

The cigar itself has a nice, oily wrapper. The wrapper is unusually smooth. Looks nearly perfect with only a mild imperfection in the way the wrapper looks in one spot. Light brown cigar. I’m smoking this cigar with Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel and some water.

Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Price: $10.00

Evening Light!

Finally, a cigar with a good draw! It’s not the best drawing cigar ever but after the last couple of cigars I’ll take it. Even though in the past I have thought this was a mild cigar there is a little more bite to it this time around. (Note: It should be a mild cigar, I don’t know what was up with this cigar.)

Flavors: earthy, black cherry, peat; almost tastes like a single malt. It is also burning evenly and I think it’s medium-full bodied, which it shouldn’t be. It is supposed to be a mild smoke.

Guess my luck, the draw got a little tight about halfway through. The flavors are still mostly there but, for me at least, when the draw tightens up it lessens the flavors and thus my enjoyment of the cigar. Wait, I just ashed the cigar and the draw has opened back up. Weird.

Nearing the end now and there haven’t been any more problems with the draw for this cigar. There is also an added sweetness to this cigar now. I think it’s an excellent pairing with my single barrel bourbon. Good cigar.

89 points

Ashton VSG Robusto – Cigar Review

Cigar Stats:

Length: 5.5′
Ring Gauge: 50
Approximate Price: $11.75
Wrapper: Dominican, Sumatra

Ever since I started smoking cigars I have heard great things about Ashton. These are supposed to be some of the strongest, most robust cigars on the market. They aren’t for children. OK, no cigars are for children, spoil sports.

Ashton cigars are made by the Fuentes, so they probably are very good cigars. The VSG, in this case, means “virgin sun grown.”

The look of this cigar is just wonderful. Very dark robusto, perfectly constructed, absolutely no problems with the look or feel of the cigar. Tons of oil to the touch. Should be a good cigar – I hope.

Nuevo Flame!

Silky smooth cigar. Wow! There is some spice supporting the dominant cream flavor. I saw someone else say there was a peat taste to this cigar, can’t substantiate that claim here. There is a hickory taste to it though. And I’ve got to say that this is just an exquisite cigar.

Man, it seems like the cigar is just getting darker. The draw is great but it isn’t burning perfectly evenly. About an inch in it gets a little harsh but that quickly disappears. Maybe I was puffing on it too much. Bad Travis!

Even though everyone says this is an explosive, full bodied cigar I just don’t see it. It’s medium-full bodied with a slant to being full bodied, maybe. But it’s not blowing the brains out of my head. But the lack of strength doesn’t bother me all that much because this is a very complex and well balanced cigar.

An example of this complexity is how the cream has morphed into vanilla at this point. The spice has mostly left the cigar and has been replaced by an immense earthiness.

It is a very interesting cigar. Some of you will love it while others will think it is just a decent, good cigar. What do I think? That’s a tough one. There are some problems with it that cannot be denied.

If this had been a stronger cigar that would have been better for all of us. Likewise, if there had been more spice, the type of spice that punches you in the gut, that would have been great. Even with all that it is still an enjoyable, albeit somewhat mundane, smoke. This wasn’t a great cigar, but it was very good.

89 points