Fonseca Habana Selection Short Cigar Review
First, thanks to Cigars Direct for this Fonseca Habana Selection cigar. Now onto the down and dirty review.
Wrapper: Nicaragua | Binder: Nicaragua | Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: Cosacos (robusto) | Price: $30/5 pack
0/3: Oh, neat! The cigar is wrapped in wax paper. With the wax paper now disposed of there is a cigar to look at. It’s not a particularly good looking cigar. A couple of significantly raised veins and bumpy. Sort of reminds me of a witch’s arthritic finger. It is very oily though, the wrapper that is, and it is uniformly packed with a little bit of give whenever I press down on an area.
One last thing; this cigar is made by Manuel Quesada, who also makes the Quesada Tributo, which I liked.
1/3: I’m getting this tangy flavor that is not at all appetizing. Behind it there are a couple of good flavors: oak and some sweetness. Weird.
2/3: Sometimes things happen that can’t be explained and this is one of those times. After I ashed the cigar about 3/4″ down from the foot that tangy flavor mostly disappears.
It now has a fierce group of flavors all fighting for predominance. Hay, oak and some nuttiness but not in that kicked back, “let’s enjoy the sunset together” sort of way. It’s more like “let’s put a bunch of hay, oak and nuts in the back of the truck, loosely tie it down, and head down the highway at 100 mph!” Basically, it’s feisty.
3/3: The final third sees a bit of a departure from the previous third. There’s earthiness and some cocoa.
That tangy flavor never completely leaves though. It’s just weird but, all in all, doesn’t ruin the cigar for me.
3 points | Try it sometime
Casa Magna Colorado Cigar Review
Pikito
Let us dispense with the fawning adulation that this cigar has received in the cigar world and get down to business. I mean, really, the Casa Magna is basically royalty now. Heck, the other cigars in my humidor even cleared some space to give the Casa Magnas some breathing room (and I’m sure that if the Casa Magnas had been wearing their rings at the time the other cigars would have kissed the rings as well).
But, of course, that fawning adulation was earned. Just look at these cigars; perfectly constructed, glistening with oils, beautiful wrappers. For this post I’m going to review two different vitolas: the Pikito (petite corona) and the Robusto.
And thanks to Cigars Direct for providing the cigars for this review.
Cigar Stats
Petite Corona
Length: 4 ¾″
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $30/5 Pack
Twin Flame!
Rich flavors (and a ton of smoke) hit you right off the bat. Muddied cocoa, leather and some other deep flavors. Really complex, somewhat powerful (lower end of the full bodied scale really) and refined.
Both the draw and the burn are doing very well on this cigar at the halfway point. As a side note: I like trying these thinner cigars because that way you get more of the flavor from the wrapper.
This Casa Magna Colorado cigar does evolve throughout. The biggest evolution is with spice. For about the first third there really wasn’t any spice. After that the spice has continuously grown and has made this a much more enjoyable cigar.
91 points
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Robusto
It looks and feels just as good as the Pikito, just bigger.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 ½″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $44.95/5 Pack
Starts out with a punch of spice with lots of smoke. Spice remains a strong presence during the first third; it’s like allspice or something like that. Nuts and hay (not burnt). The draw is great and the burn is good during this third.
The second third progresses nicely. Spice has moderated a great deal leaving nuttiness, a floral sweetness that takes on a more primary role and a dry woodiness. Very good on the complexity.
Flavors are excellent with this cigar. After the first third the strength settles down and the flavors really come out. Would still label it as a full bodied cigar though. Very interesting cigar at that.
92 points
PS: As it turns out, I did a review of the Casa Magna Robusto a while back and nothing has changed.
PPS: It was interesting to see the differences in these two cigars. They are the same brand but the flavors are different. Goes to show that the vitola does matter.
Liga Privada No. 9 Cigar Rights of America Special Edition
I was getting ready to watch the final episode of Oz the other night and I realized that I needed to make it a special occasion and, as I am wont to do, my mind quickly drifted to cigars. As I walked to my humidor I got to thinking about the cigar sampler I bought from Cigar Rights of America: Padron, Rocky, CAO and all the others. Once I got to my humidor there was this cigar that was gently resting at the top of the pile that was begging to be smoked.
But then my mind raced back to the other cigars from this cigar maker and how they are all infused with flavor. It didn’t take long to recall my horrible experience with the Acid Kuba Kuba – how it was sickeningly sweet and how I swore to myself never to smoke one of those cigars again. But this cigar is different.
The Liga Privada line isn’t infused with anything. So I picked it up, slid it out of its cellophane wrapping and took a look.
It’s a beautiful cigar – one of the cigars from the special Cigar Rights of America sampler, in fact. The jet black, oscuro wrapper, is just dripping with oils. Upon further inspection I can feel that it is nicely packed but I see a number of veins marring the cigar’s look. I smell it and, to my mild consternation, it smells sweet. Not sickeningly sweet like the Acid KK but sweet nonetheless.
Fighting my reservations I take the Liga Privada No. 9 and sit down to watch the final episode of one of the greatest television series I have ever seen.
The cigar is cut. My nose keeps on screaming “It’s sweet!” but the prelight draw says otherwise. It’s earthy and there may even be a hint of cocoa. My hopes are lifted.
I take out my lighter and put the flame to this cigar right after I hit the play button on my laptop (I do have to smoke outside after all). The draw is good and….
On the retrohale there is a noticeable sweetness that is a lot lighter than the Kuba Kuba but also reminds me of it. And then, as if God himself decided to save this cigar, the sweetness gracefully falls into a supporting role. Hopefully, my expectations for this cigar won’t be shived by a major return of this sweetness.
Earth and cocoa quickly take over on the flavor front. It’s a nice, full bodied cigar in the beginning with lots of promise. Hopefully the Oz finale works out as well as this cigar is shaping up.
Doing a little research I find that this is the same length as the Liga Privada No. 9 Parejo, six inches. Don’t know whether or not it has the same ring gauge but I am guessing that since the length is the same that it is similar to what that cigar offers. CRA claims that the cigars in their sampler are special blends but I have no idea how special they are. Whatever the case, it starts out great.
Full bodied with a great draw and an even burn; so the fundamentals are good. And, while everyone is singing like stool pigeons on Oz this special Liga Privada No. 9 is also singing along with great flavors.
Chocolate and a small amount of spice start to come through about an inch-and-a-half of the way through. Nice additions both. Furthermore, shortly before reaching the halfway point that chocolate flavor becomes one of the leading flavors, perhaps the leading one.
Oddly enough, the strength of the cigar is subsiding the longer I smoke it. Usually, it is the other way around but this one is now medium-full bodied. Still an above average, flavorful cigar.
Besides a weak ash this Liga Privada No. 9′s flavors aren’t the most evocative ever but they are well above average. The finale of Oz is better.
At the commencement of the final third of the Liga Privada No. 9 a salty meatiness starts to emerge. And it’s good. It adds to the overall complexity of the cigar and the meaty flavor is a plus on its own.
This cigar is not as complex a tapestry as Oz is but the LP has it’s moments. Upon reflection, it was a pretty good match for the series finale. Oz didn’t leave me asking for more, it was one of the better finales I have ever seen. This cigar didn’t leave me begging for much more either.
Casa Magna Colorado Cigar Review
There are two important things to know about the Casa Magna Colorado line of cigars: they are relatively cheap and they are the reigning #1 cigar according to Cigar Aficionado. I smoked a few of these recently and, for the most part, I have gone away with a positive perception of these cigars. For this review I am smoking the torpedo vitola, which isn’t the same vitola as the CA #1 cigar of the year (it was the robusto).
A couple of the cigars I have smoked have had some small holes in the wrapper but, for the most part, I have been impressed by how oily the wrappers have been. There have been some that have more veins than the others but the veins are not too pronounced. Beyond these aspects, the construction of this cigar is great. The reddish brown Nicaraguan wrapper houses a firm packing of filler and binder tobaccos.
Furthermore, I think if I was in a pinch and needed to stab an intruder I could use the Casa Magna Belicoso as some sort of icepick since the point of the torpedo is extremely pointy! Even though “use as a weapon” does not fall into my scoring rubric I will keep this little tidbit in mind if I’m torn between two scores. The only drawback from the ability to weaponize this cigar is that it could be difficult cutting it… but, no, it cuts just fine and the pre-light draw is fine as well.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $7.00
Glee Flame!
A core of spice is buffeted by a mild floral sweetness, woodiness and an oily nuttiness that all works well together. After the first half an inch the spicy core is superseded by those other flavors and only remains as a background flavor. There is a good deal of complexity and strength of flavor with this cigar that I really enjoy.
So far, this Casa Magna is burning and drawing really well. I have had some minor burn problems in the past with this cigar but nothing major.
It starts out as a really robust, full bodied cigar but mellows out once the spiciness takes a step back. Still full bodied but the finish is smoother and the other flavors really get to shine through.
The draw has remained even but I did have to cut a little more off the head of the cigar to open up the draw. For the remainder of the cigar it draws extremely well.
At the beginning of the final third of the cigar there is a faint cocoa flavor but it quickly fades away. The main flavors – spice, floral sweetness, wood (a heartier wood unlike oak) and nuttiness – remain throughout in some variation or another. It is an impressive cigar, that I am sure of.
Is it one of the best cigars ever? Probably not. It is complex, full flavored and the essentials (burn and draw) are average to above average. When you factor in the price (although I had to pay around $8.50 at my local tobacconist – damn cigar taxes!) it does make this cigar even more attractive. Let me put it this way, I loved this cigar and will definitely be smoking more of them in the future. Additionally, there is now a Casa Magna Oscuro that was recently released and I’ll get my hands on those as quickly as possible.
92 points
Carlos Toraño Signature Collection Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
The Carlos Toraño Signature Collection features a sun grown Brazilian maduro wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder and the rest of the tobacco is Cuban-seed ligero from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Very good looking cigar with tons of oil. This cigar is truly a fine piece of craftsmanship. I am smoking the toro vitola (6″ x 50) for this review and it retails for a little more than $7.00 a stick.
Smoke
Earth and cocoa are the first flavors I get. Most of the flavor is evident in my mouth and not when I exhale out my nose, which is different than my normal experiences with most cigars.
There is an almost tart flavor on the tip of my tongue. The burn is basically even, the draw is good and this is turning into a tasty medium bodied cigar. The flavors are moderately above average.
Sweetness is apparent in the immediate aftertaste associated with the cocoa and then fades. On a side note, the cocoa becomes watered down.
After-Smoke
If I had to teach the “law of diminishing returns” I would have my pupils smoke this cigar. It starts out as a solid example of earth and cocoa. But then it progressively got weaker. Still, at its low point, it is a decent cigar. For the most part… I liked it.
3 points
