Top 10 Cigars 2010
As I sit here earnestly smoking an Arturo Fuente Short Story I realize that now is the time to do another Top 10. It was just a year ago when I published my first Top 10 and much has changed in the world. Instead of getting philosophical and patter on about this or that I’m just going to present the list (you of course know that these lists don’t matter, right?).
10. Carlos Torano Casa Torano Toro
This is the only mild cigar that makes this list but it does make this list because the grassy and oak flavors are very good.
9. Nestor Miranda Collection Dominicano Robusto Grande Rosado
Medium-full bodied treat with a whole host of flavors ranging from maple, earth, cream and so on.
With this cigar you will get lots of flavor in the spice and leather mold. Full bodied and reasonably priced.
A full bodied cigar with some very good flavors ranging from spice to oak and some complexity.
6. Alec Bradley Family Blend T11
A delicious medium bodied smoke that delivers on flavor and complexity. The reason why it’s not closer to the top is because I have smoked more of these since I reviewed it last and my opinion of it has slackened off a bit.
Oak and spice and everything nice. This is one of my favorite Padilla made smokes.
Medium bodied cigar with loads of flavor and complexity. I love this cigar because it offers the right amount of wood and leather flavors without too much of a kick strength-wise.
Loads of spice and leather with some nuttiness acting in the background. Another awesome cigar that you must try (but you are going to have to act quick because this is only a limited edition cigar and once they’re out they’re out).
Leather, meat and spice make up the flavors for this cigar. I love this cigar, an absolute must try.
1. La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro
Insanely good cigar. Tons of flavor and complexity. Fits right into what I like about a cigar: spice, leather and some sweetness.
There was an Opus X that scored extremely well, but since the Opus X line had a representative last year I decided to disqualify it for this year’s Top 10. As you can probably tell this is not an exhaustive list but this is what I liked for 2010.
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro Cigar Review
A very impressive cigar to behold. Oily, dark wrapper. Probably a bit too hard to the touch. There are some veins that run throughout. But, even though it does have some negative aspects to its appearance it is just looks like a cool cigar. Plus, it smells like one. It smells aggressive.
The prelight draw gives off a distinct chocolate flavor along with some spice, which was to be expected. For the couple of Chisels that I have smoked their draws have seemed a little tight before I lit them up. But after I have lit the cigars the draw for each cigar has been perfectly fine.
Cigar Stats
pyramid
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $75.00/Box of 10 | $8.50/Single
Smoke
Sure enough, this cigar starts out very aggressive. Spice and a grassy earthiness. The chocolate flavor is there as well. They mix together wonderfully well and the flavors are fantastically alive. And the draw is great as well. All is good!
In addition to the aforementioned flavors there are some sweet flavors. Toffee, anise and some leather as well. There are a ton of flavors going on in this cigar and they mix together very well.
Full bodied? Sure – but the strength makes sense with this cigar. In no way is it harsh or obnoxiously strong. Exquisitely smooth cigar. Oh, and the burn is even. Yeah!
Slow burning gem of a cigar. A little over an inch in and the flavors are still wonderful. Leather and meat are taking over as the major flavors but all those other flavors are still there and they are great.
While the flavors do not match up perfectly there is a smoky-woody flavor grouping that seems right for this LFD. But just because the flavors do match up perfectly I do not see that as a problem. This is a very complex cigar, there’s bound to be a flavor or two that I don’t think matches up perfectly.
At the halfway point now and meaty/salty flavors are taking the lead. Really complex cigar.
Somewhere around the two-thirds mark the flavors do begin to lose some of their luster. It’s still a very good cigar but just not as much. And that, unfortunately, brings this cigar down a notch. A very, very small notch since this cigar after losing a bit of its “luster” is still better than most anything out there in my book.
94 points
Another View from Cigar Jack.
Two Great Cigars
Maybe you have noticed that over the last couple of days I have been spending a lot of time tracking cigar news. Most of it has been bad news. Boston, Dallas, England & Wales, Ontario [Canada], and Baltimore have all launched further assaults on cigars and other tobacco products over the last week.
But there’s a bright side to all of this! For the foreseeable future we can still smoke cigars and here are reviews of two great, classic, perfect cigars!
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel (pyramid)
Cigar Stats
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dom Rep
Filler: Dom Rep
Price: $7.00
The cigar construction was a thing of beauty. A Flawless wrapper and beautiful chisel cap let me know I was in for a good smoke. The burn was sharp and never fell off it’s path. The flavors were of spice and leather in the first 3rd. It started to mellow out in the 2nd third with more leather and some salty nuances. I was really enjoying this cigar even though my head was doing a little spinning from the nicotine intake.
As you can see the cut on the cap is a little different, I read somewhere that if you punch through the head like I did It will amount to a better draw. Well I tried it and got a really nice draw, so I recommend trying the punch cut like you see below. I would not recommend this cigar to beginners or novice smokers. It packs quite a punch but is really good.
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Cigar – In The Humidor
The La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel received a score of 4.75/5.00 stars from Niko over at In The Humidor.
Here’s another review from A Cigar Smoker’s Journal:
Cruzado Marelas (perfecto)
Cigar Stats
Length: 5 5/6″
Ring Gauge: 46
Wrapper: Nicaragua (criollo)
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua & Honduras
Price: $9.00
OK, this is where I question my sanity. When I clipped my cigar and began the prelight ritual I had notes of rye which caused many looks of bewilderment with the people I was with. It even prompted the question, “What did you have for breakfast”. The answer to that is an English Muffin. Anyway, the note of rye was so defined and so wow, I thought I might of been delusional. So after a few minutes of sitting there questioning myself I lit my cigar and sure enought the 1st third of the cigar offered notes of rye and chocolate which was a really nice combination. The middle part of the cigar the notes of chocolate were joined by a subtle leather. The final third of the cigar was notes of leather and a heavy spice. As I approached the end of this cigar I was looking for push pin to continue smoking it. I had to put it down when there was nothing left to hold.
Cigar Review: Cruzado – A Cigar Smoker’s Journal
The Cruzado received a score of 96/100, which is amazing.
Gosh, both of these cigars have gotten me in the mood for a good cigar of my own. I’ve got a couple of Fuentes and an Upmann (not Cuban, sigh) to choose from. This should be a good afternoon.
