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

Man O’ War Ruination Cigar Review

I get it, the marketing whizzes behind the Man O’ War’s branding really want to get across the point that they are extremely bad ass by calling their newest creation “Ruination.” Well, it’s either they want to position their cigars as the bad boy of cigardom or their Ruination line is an ode to America’s economy. Alright, now that I have done the requisite mocking of the bad boy image thing I can actually get to reviewing this cigar.

Two bands adorn this dark and oily cigar. It is very hard to the touch and has some imperfections (veins, minor holes, discolorations) but, based on the other cigars from this line I have smoked, those negatives do not translate into a bad cigar.

One thing that I do have to mention is the sheer size of this cigar. I am smoking the Robusto No. 1 that measures 5 1/2″ by 54 ring gauge, which is fairly substantial, to say the least. Cigars of this magnitude will almost always take longer to smoke than their smaller brethren and, when you also factor in the price, which is north of $10.00, you would be well advised to take your time with this cigar.

Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador grown Habano-seed ligero
Binder: ???
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran long-leaf ligeros
Price: $10.00

Legion Flame!

While the draw is definitely too tight with this cigar, it’s not to the point of being unsmokable by any means. Flavors are definitely rolling through. A phalanx of warm spice is followed up by a cacophony of other flavors ranging from leather to herbal notes to sweet wood.

After about the one inch mark the draw does noticeably open up so that it is no longer a problem. The burn is very consistent and the strength of this cigar is definitely in the full bodied range.

This is definitely one of the best cigars I have smoked in a couple of months. With robust flavors and some strength this cigar is definitely growing on me – and I’m still in the first third of the cigar!

The second third of the cigar features a smokier flavor profile that features leather and a slight hint of charcoal. There is also a vein of sweetness that runs throughout the flavor profile.

Nearing the last third and it this Man O’ War Ruination is still great. What is really great about this cigar is the shear number of flavor layers. Sweetness, spice, leather and a couple of other tasty layers make up what is a great cigar.

Near the end a blend of salty and meaty flavors come through.

93 points

Arturo Fuente Rothschild Natural Cigar Review

Over the weekend I did reviews for the Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente with both the Sun Grown and Natural wrappers. The one with the natural (Cameroon) wrapper scored 87 points and the sun grown (Ecuador) wrapped cigar scored a low 84 points. I have no compunction to smoke the sun grown one again and there really isn’t any immediate need to go out and pick up the natural one either. Maybe the Rothschild, which is the same size as the two I have mentioned, will be better.

It has a different wrapper than the Chateau Fuente Natural, with this one having a Connecticut Shade and the Chateau Fuente having Cameroon (hat tip cigar family guy for the clarification), and the blend is different as well. The Rothschild is less spicy, which isn’t exactly a good omen for me.

The Arturo Fuente Rothschild Natural is a good looking cigar, well-made. A couple of raised veins and a firm packing being the only negatives I can find. The wrapper has a good coating of oils on it.

Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 4 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $4.40

Charm Flame!

Sure enough, it starts out milder than the Chateau Fuente Natural and Sun Grown. With that being said, the difference amongst the strengths is not too great with all of them being, basically, medium bodied. And, even though it is the weakest (strength-wise) of the bunch I have to admit that I am liking this one the most at this early stage (less than an inch in).

There is some complexity with this one. Rich, sweet wood notes (oak) along with some spice that I get mostly on my lips and the tip of my tongue. After 1 1/4″ a charcoal flavor starts coming through. There was something similar to that flavor in the other two cigars but this time this flavor is neutral if not a positive.

The draw is very good and the burn is even; no touch ups necessary. It looks like third time really is the charm. While I cannot say that this is a 90+ cigar it is very good. Either 88 or 89 points, not completely sure yet (almost to the nub now).

What I really like about this cigar is that the flavors are pretty strong and clean. The charcoal flavor, which could easily be a negative with most cigars, is actually pretty good with this one. I enjoyed it.

88 points

Camacho Select Short Cigar Review

Pre-Smoke: This is part of the upper echelon of the Camacho lines; ultra premium is its designation. According to the Camacho Select page this cigar comes in five different vitolas with the binder/filler tobaccos hailing from Honduras and the wrapper picked in Cameroon.

This cigar has a couple of raised veins but, other than that, it looks perfectly fine. Not overly oily and the wrapper feels fuzzy, like velvet. Packed nicely. I’m smoking the robusto vitola.

Smoke: The flavors start out meaty and leathery. There is also a smokiness about this cigar that works out really well with the meatiness. After an inch or so a charcoal flavor begins to dominate.

It is a medium bodied cigar with a good draw. The burn is not even though.

After-Smoke: It was not that impressive of a cigar. The flavors are alright but any chance of me liking it a lot was dashed by the uneven burn and the charcoal flavors that came on too strong.

3 points

Price Range: $6.00 to $8.50