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Cabaiguan Guapo Review Vitola: Toro I normally start each review with the "official" background description from the particular brands website or from one of the retailer websites, as most of them use the same description anyhow. The difference being, I actually quote the source to give credit where credit is due. This one is different as, for example, I'm finding conflicting (read more...) |
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La Riqueza No. 2 Review Vitola: Belicoso "A new brand from Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson, La Riqueza means "The Wealth" in Spanish. Nicaraguan Binder and Filler are encased in a Dark Natural Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper. They are traditionally box pressed in the box. La Riqueza is an old Cuban brand name from the 1920's that was made in (read more...) |
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El Triunfador No. 2 Review Vitola: Belicoso "Originally just a Lancero, produced to keep the El Triunfador name alive, the line is expanded to a full line of 6 vitolas with a new blend. The original Lancero, with its Broadleaf wrapper is still available as originally released. Feb. 2010: Originally slated for an international release (read more...) |
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Benchmade Toro by Don Pepin Review Vitola: Toro "Benchmade is a new brand handcrafted in Nicaragua by Jose "Pepin" Garcia. These cigars feature gorgeous, dark-brown Nicaraguan wrappers, a pair of sturdy Nicaraguan binders and a delicious selection of high-grade Nicaraguan fillers. Each cigar is finished with a handsome pigtail top. The flavors are (read more...) |
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Tatuaje Cojonu 2003 Review Vitola: Toro "Tatuaje has taken the industry by storm! The Cojonu line represents the pinnacle of production coming out of the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Little Havana, Miami. Cojonu 2003 introduced, in that year, features an oily ligero wrapper, adding to its robust flavor. Under the direction of Maestro Tobaquero Jose 'Don Pepin' Garcia, master rollers (read more...) |
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Cohiba Piramides Edición Limitada 2006 Review Vitola: Piramide "The 'Edición Limitada' originally made its appearance in 2001 with the launch of the Partagas Piramides - still regarded by some as one of the best cigars to date. Characterized by a specially prepared and aged dark Maduro wrapper the cigars sported a unique gold and black band with the year of production. The distinctive wrapper (read more...) |
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Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Robusto Corojo Review Vitola: Robusto "When you open a chest of Olde World Reserves, the rich aroma of lush tobaccos hits your nose. Available in either a nutty Corojo or a cocoa-rich Maduro wrapper, the OWR is a full-bodied smoking experience that combines the smooth complexity of the Vintage series with the earthy strength of (read more...) |
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Dusting Off The Golf Clubs After a false start about a month ago,
spring has finally kicked off here in Germany! This week, it went from near freezing temperatures to temperatures in the 60's. I actually
saw flowers blooming alongside the road. I had the afternoon off, so I decided to do something I hadn't done in about a year...I went to
the driving range. With working major overtime last year, studying for my degree, and working on this website, I didn't have much time for much else. On a side note, I found out today that I passed all of my exams and I am now a college graduate! I'm pretty excited about that. |
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Diamond Crown Maximus Toro No. 4 Review Vitola: Toro "Diamond Crown MAXIMUS is a supreme achievement of three legendary Cigar Aficionado 'Cigar Hall of Fame' families: the Fuentes, Newmans, and Olivas. To celebrate J.C. Newman Cigar Co.'s 100th anniversary, Stanford Newman teamed up with Carlos Fuente, Jr. to the legendary Super Premium cigar, Diamond Crown. A decade later, (read more...) |
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Tatuaje Havana VI Artistas Torpedo Review Vitola: Torpedo "Tatuaje has taken the industry by storm! The medium bodied Havana VI cigars are hand rolled in Nicaragua. Under the direction of Maestro Tobaquero Jose ‘Don Pepin’ Garcia, master rollers skillfully handcraft each cigar, resulting in an impeccable construction and smooth draw. Tatuaje’s creator, Pete Johnson, carefully selected (read more...) |
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Edición Limitada 2009 Romeo y Julieta, Bolívar & H. Upmann Review
"The 'Edición Limitadas', whose filler, binder, and wrapper leafs have been cured for a minimum of two years, have been in the market since 2000. Every year aficionados are anxiously waiting for them, and they continue being extremely popular. Every year, certain formats are selected for the limited production, which are not part of the brands' standard portfolio. They also stand out through their naturally fermented dark wrapper leafs. They are made from tobacco leafs from the upper part of the plants." (read more...) |
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Casa Magna Colorado Robust Review Vitola: Robusto "Manuel Quesada has been making cigars since 1974. His original cigars were mild bodied, most of them a blend of Dominican filler and binder tobaccos cloaked with light Connecticut-seed wrappers. His latest endeavors are bolder, more vibrant smokes. The Casa Magna is his greatest innovation. (read more...) |
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Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva Review Vitola: Canonazo "I lit up the canonazo —the name the factory workers use—the moment I sat down at in the small, private outdoor restaurant. It measures 52 ring gauge by 5 7/8 inches. And I was in heaven the moment I cut the cigar and took a draw. Even cold it tasted good with (read more...) |
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Montecristo Open Master Review Vitola: Robusto "Montecristo Open is ideal for the newcomer to the world of Habanos or those who prefer milder premium cigars from the Caribbean. But the MONTECRISTO OPEN also expands the spectrum of smoking options for Habanos lovers. Be it as the cigar for the early hours of the day or as a particularly adaptable companion for (read more...) |
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Flor De Selva Double Corona Review Vitola: Double Corona "This perfectly rolled cigar from Honduras has a medium strong aroma with a large volume of taste. The tobaccos used in this cigar have been perfectly matched to achieve this excellent blend of different aromas. The Flor de Selva is available as a Double Corona and in seven more formats."8 That is what the store description says. I have to disagree. Here's what I think... (read more...) |
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Cognac The clear brandy known as "eau-de-vie" (or aqua vitae, meaning "water of life") began export from the Cognac region of France in the late 1500's. We know "eau-de-vie" more commonly today as Cognac. Cognac is basically distilled wine aged for a time in oak barrels at first then later on into older barrels for years. By law, it can be sold thirty months after distillation, but a good quality Cognac will take several years to age. |
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Davidoff Lounge Country: Germany |
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Top 5 Cigars of 2009 |
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Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Flor Fina 8-5-8 Maduro Review Vitola: Gran Corona "The Fuente family's cigars have remained the most sought after cigars in America for decades. From the world famous Chateau de la Fuente wrapper leaves of Fuente Fuente OpusX, to the complex flavors of Don Carlos, to the innovative perfecto shape of Hemingway, each Fuente cigar is a product of the Fuente family's love and passion for making the world’s best cigars." (read more...) |
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La Flor de Maria Mancini Edicion Especial De Gaulle Review Vitola: Robusto "The "Edición Especial" from Maria Mancini is made from Havana seed cultivated in Honduras. Contrary to the "Edicion Clásica", the Edición Especial has a darker wrapper and offers a more full-bodied blend of tastes. The tobaccos used develop a very harmonious wealth of aromas - a distinctly refined and delicious composition." (read more...) |
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Women In Lounges Women in a cigar lounge is an interesting dynamic. The question stands...do women belong in a cigar lounge? A century ago the answer would be clear and direct...NO! At that time societies norms and
mores were quite different than what they are today and a woman would have thought twice about crossing this gender barrier.
You would think that times have changed since then? They have changed...haven't they? Cigars are predominately a man’s world
even today. It is however no secret that woman today are emerging as an increasing market in the cigar industry. Almost 30
years ago, women purchased one tenth of one percent of cigars. Today women are buying two percent of cigars sold on the
market. That may seem like small numbers, but it is actually a 3,000 percent increase! |
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Union Cigar Club State: Pennsylvania |
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Olde World Tobacco State: Pennsylvania |
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Posted on November 14th, 2009 by Kurt Wolaver I stopped by a total of four cigar lounges during my visit to Central PA. I'll do a full review of two of them shortly. As for the other two, I want to give an honorable mention to one and a WTF! to another. Let me explain... J. Thomas O'Malley Tobacconist The very first cigar lounge was visited before we even reached our final destination. We reached Central PA a couple hours earlier than expected. As we were staying with family, nobody was home because we were expected later. What's a great way to pass some time? You guessed it, after an eight and a half hour flight and three and a half hours in a car, we decided to give J. Thomas O'Malley Tobacconist (I love the name) a try. It is actually connected to the pool room of Coakley's Restaurant and Irish Pub. located at 305 Bridge Street, New Cumberland, PA 17070. It is also accessible through a very cool, old, speakeasy style front door on Bridge Street. It boasts a beautiful hand-crafted wooden bar with a nice selection of high end whiskies, cognacs, and brandy and also cocktails, wine and beer. There is a humidor cabinet standing next to the bar containing a small but well selected choice of cigars such as Padrón, Arturo Fuente, Oliva, and Rocky Patel. The staff was friendly and very helpful with any questions or assistance we required. We purchased our cigars and settled into some comfortable chairs at the end of the room with our beers. I enjoyed a spicy Padrón Robusto Maduro ($5) and my smoking partner-in-crime enjoyed an Oliva G Special G ($4). We passed the time catching up on American football on the large flat screen TV in front of us, enjoying a Yuengling beer after a long hiatus, enjoying each other’s company and the atmosphere smoking our cigars. J. Thomas O'Malley Tobacconist recently opened in September of this year. It is (read more...) |
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2006 Regional Edition Asia Pacifico Punch Super Robusto Review Vitola: Super Robusto "Punch Super Robustos De Punch Regional Edition 2006 - Cuba 6 ½ x 50 This cigar is the new vitola of this prestigious brand exclusively handmade for Habanos lovers in the Asia Pacific markets. These Habanos are part of one unique issue of 2140 numbered cases with both 25 and 50 cabinet boxes. A wonderful hand rolled cigar (read more...) |
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2007 Regional Edition Asia Pacifico Por Larrańaga Robusto Review Vitola: Robusto "Press Release For Immediate Release 7 Nov 2007 Por Larrańaga Robusto 2007 Regional Edition For Asia Pacific Made exclusively by Habanos SA under the request of The Pacific Cigar Company Ltd for the Asia Pacific, a new cigar size in the Por Larrańaga brand. Available in the coming weeks of November 2007, the 2007 Regional Edition – Por Larrańaga Robusto – will be launched (read more...) |
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2008 Regional Edition Asia Pacifico
Bolívar Short Bolívar Review Vitola: Petit Edmundo "The 2008 Regional Edition cigar was made by Habanos at the special request of The Pacific Cigar Company. This unique size – Bolivar Short (petit edmundo) – was chosen as it has never existed in this brand and (read more...) |
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2009 Regional Edition Asia Pacifico Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos Review Vitola: Celestiales Finos "The launch of the 2009 Regional Edition Cigar – Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos, stirred the interest of cigar smokers across Asia Pacific. The Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos was chosen as one of the (read more...) |
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2009 Regional Edition Germany Bolívar 5ta
Avenida (109) Review Vitola: El Conde 109 "The "5ta Avenida" was able to revive a format which hadn't been manufactured for decades. The name of the Vitola de Galera is "El conde 109" representing the original format of the Partagás Lusitanias (read more...) |
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2009 Regional Edition Germany Bolívar Especiales No.2 Review Vitola: Delicado "With the Bolívar Especial No.2 a virtually legendary cigar returns, which is enthusiastically welcomed by aficionados. The illustrated encyclopedia of post-revolutionary Havana cigars by Ron Min Nee and Adriano Martínez Rius reverently calls it a monumental cigar (read more...) |
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Davidoff Lounge Country: Germany |
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José Martí "Cuba Libre" Don Juan Review Vitola: Double Corona "The José Martí brand is Nicaragua's number-two-selling brand. Frankly, in 1996, when it was first launched as a Nicaraguan after many years of production in Honduras, the cigars weren't all that great... but then again, a lot of brands in 1996 weren't that great. At the time, the industry was in the middle of the cigar-boom, (read more...) |
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NUb Sun Grown 464T Review Vitola: Torpedo "A cigar is judged by the enjoyment it provides. That enjoyment is defined by the quality of the ingredients, the craftsmanship in construction, and the form that blends (read more...) |
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Rocky Patel Decade The 46 Review Vitola: Petite Corona |
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Montecristo Afrique Jambo Jambo Review Vitola: Toro "The Montecristo Afrique is the culmination of a joint effort between George Gershel, Altadis USA's Tobacco Expert, and Lew Rothman. The goal was to create a new cigar of African-grown black tobaccos, (read more...) |
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Romeo y Julieta Short Churchills Review Vitola: Short Churchill "Named after William Shakespeare's tragic lovers, the origins of Romeo y Julieta as a Habano date back to 1875. The brand rose to international fame during (read more...) |
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Por Larrańaga Toro Review Vitola: Toro This Por Larrańaga is an extension of Cuba's oldest continuously made cigar brand."Dating back to 1834, Por Larrańaga was the rarest of the legendary (read more...) |
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Cigarrum Country: Germany |
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La Casa Cubana Country: Singapore |
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The Olde Cuban Country: Singapore |
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Edición Limitada 2008 Montecristo & Partagás Review Montecristo Sublimes Edición Limitada 2008 Partagás Serie D No.5 Edición Limitada 2008 Montecristo Sublimes Edición Limitada 2008 |
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San Cristóbal de la Habana La Fuerza Review Vitola: Gordito "San Cristóbal de la Habana was the original name of Havana, Cuba’s capital city, when it was founded in 1519; San Cristóbal (St. Christopher) (read more...) |
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From Homebrewing to Microbreweries in America I wrote the following article back in 1993 for my college English 101 class. Yes, a brief return to the days before internet was a popular medium to express your ideas. I was cleaning my basement recently and came across this article typed on paper with an old relic called a typewriter. I found it relative enough to include on this website. It is informative and offers an insight into beer and home brewing and its history as it relates to America. Here it is... |
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Carlos Torańo Noventa Review Vitola: Toro "The Noventa is a celebration of the Torańo family’s 90-year tradition as tobacco growers and producers of (read more...) |
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Louixs Rosados "Louixs Rosados by Goldwin Tobacco In the words of Tennis legend, John McEnroe..."You can NOT be serious!!" As a daily cigar smoker, I give more consideration to the price of a cigar. Even though I have some expensive cigars in my humidor which I bring out to smoke from time to time, I have many affordable cigars I smoke for my neccessary daily ration. But this article reminds me of the Pulp Fiction scene about a $5 milkshake: |
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Partagás Presidentes Review Vitola: Taco Don Jaime Partagás founded the Partagás brand back in 1845. After his death, the brand passed to Ramon Cifuentes in 1889 and was owned by Cifuentes y Cia. prior to nationalization. The factory itself (read more...) |
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Ramón Allones Specially Selected Review Vitola: Robusto Back in 1837, a pair of Spanish emigrant brothers Ramón and Antonio Allones created the Ramón Allones cigar company and has survived through the years to become one of the oldest brands in production today. (read more...) |
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Habanos Day 2009 Habanos Day 2009 was quite the experience. After an uneventful 2 hour drive, we arrived early in the rather quiet and dead little town of Unsleben in Bavaria. We found the event, parked the car and looked for an outside cafe to sit and enjoy a coffee and a starter cigar (Sancho Panza Non Plus) before the event kicked off. After walking about the "town" we had no luck. We did find a small bakery with two tables inside and a friendly staff. We had our coffee and cake and left with 30 minutes until they started allowing people into the event. I lit my Sancho Panza and we liesurely meandered in the direction of the castle, killing time until they were ready to start the event. (read more...) |
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La Gloria Cubana Torpedo No. 1 Review Vitola: Torpedo Don't let the name fool you. It's not a Cuban cigar. La Gloria Cubana's are produced in Florida and the Dominican Republic. Tobacco grower Ernesto Perez-Carillo fled Cuba in 1959, (read more...) |
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Mi Dominicana Review Vitola: Belicoso "Everything that is beautiful about the Dominican Republic has gone into this cigar," claims José Seijas, General Manager of Tabacalera de Garcia Ltd. (read more...) |
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La Casa del Habanos - Frankfurt am Main Country: Germany |
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CAO CX2 Review Vitola: Toro CAO Cx2 (Cameroon times two) is the first cigar to incorporate two Cameroon wrapper leaves into the same blend. (read more...) |
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Totalmente a Mano I sit here enjoying a beautiful freshly rolled Cohiba Siglo VI which I acquired yesterday while attending a live cigar rolling display by Señor Lazaro Alberto Garzia, "Jefe de Galera" of the El Liguito Cigar Factory in Cuba. He is here in Germany doing a few live cigar rolling displays at select venues before appearing at "Habanos Tag 2009" in Unsleben, Germany. I was fortunate enough to attend a disply he did at Magne Falkum Tabak store in their Keller. I must admit Magne Falkum, a family run Tobacconist since 1948, is my favorite Tobacconist this side of the Atlantic. Every time I enter the store, (read more...) |
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