review: nica libre

My fellow members, if i gave you a blind taste test between a Padron series 26' and a Nica libre, I'd be shocked if you could tell the difference.This is one dynamite stogie!!. Very smooth and very full flavor. hint of dark chocolate on the tail end, spice to boot. considerable less expenive than a PADRON at about 50 bucks a box too. mine was a torpedo. you can find these on cigarbid most of the time. This is most certainly a keeper. I believe PADRON does make thse to ,not sure though. HAPPY SMOKING JEFF

Newest Member

Rich Luebcke has accecpted our invitation to join OCCS. Here is his reply:


It is my honor to accept your invitation. You have a great group, and I hope I can add to it.
Theresa and I spent some time in Tobakko's yesterday, as I needed supply for our upcoming Corvette trip. I purloined your Cigar Aficionado mag yesterday and found a beautiful cutter. Imagine my surprise at being able to purchase the last one Tobakko's had!
I will work to get on the blog in the near future and understand what's already been reviewed.
Thanks again,
Rich

I for one, can't wait for our next meeting. Joe, I beleive you have the honors. Do we have a date and place yet?

Matt

August meeting and cigar review

Thanks to everybody that was there on Friday. As always, Jeff was a great host, Joe came through with the pizza, Adam brought the soda and I brought the smokes.

Oh, about that smoke. Rocky Patel Sungrown Torpedo 6x52. One of my favorites. Prelight aroma of cedar and spice. Perfect oily wrapper, firm but not solid. On lighting with my trusty Zippo, beautiful thick white smoke came billowing out and caught my nose with the spice (pepper) and on the roll I found there to be very earthy, minerally notes. Almost like wet earth in a cave. Flawless smoke from foot to tip and burnt my fingers again. 9/10

Matt

Bahia Blu L600 Toro Review

Another cigarbid.com purchase. 5-pack for $11, so $2.20 per cigar. 6.0" x 50 ring gauge. Smoking time-50 minutes. The cigar had a decent looking, not too impressive or oily, corojo wrapper. Pre-light smell and taste were of cedar and a little spiciness.
-The first ¼ of the cigar was medium-full bodied, thick smoke, spicy and cedar tastes dominating and a cool-even burn.
-The second ¼ of the cigar dropped to medium bodied and turned to a rich/sweet flavor, but the cedar notes were still present in the background. Still thick cool smoke at this point as well and the burn remained even.
-¾ of the way gone, the smoke is still thick, even burn and the cedar notes are starting to move back to the forefront again and while the sweet notes drop to the background a little. At this point the smoke is becoming a little hot.
-The great draw and thick smoke remained for last ¼ of the cigar. The smoke is hot at this point and I could almost be given up on it, but I take my time and smoke on. The cedar notes are back with a vengeance along with a bit of a resin/chocolate flavor.

Besides the ok looking wrapper and the hot burn towards the end, this was a pretty decent cigar. Complex in flavors, good draw, even burn throughout and $2.20. Not bad at all, and could be a decent every day smoke. This was cigar 2 of 5 and both were pretty good. I’d recommend trying for sure.

7.9/10 (I'd rate it higher, but I'll wait until I have smoked all 5. The consistancy is there so far, but the price has me a little skeptical.)
-Joe

trade show update

I have been trying to keep track of the cigar trade show going on in New Orleans this week and these guys sum it up best.

So far what I have read has made me excited for the Cain (made by Sam Leccia - who made the nub)and the S-this cigars. Check it out on the middle of the page of this link. Way cool!

http://www.stogieguys.com/

Matt

Recent JR visit...

Stopped by JRs after work Friday as usual. The guys that work there are extremely helpful and know there stuff. Anyway, what's what...

They have a box of the limited Oliva V series torpedo with the Maduro wrapper (the other Oliva Vs have the Nicaraguan wrapper). Have you all had one of them? It was around $11, so I bought a RP Renaissance instead. But almost splurged. Let me know if anybody would like me to pick one up before next weeks meeting.

Also, I asked if any events were coming up and they mentioned that Rocky himself will be there on a Friday afternoon in mid October. Rocky will be releasing two new cigars and will be promoting them at the store. I'll keep you posted once they know more details. They will also be selling raffle tickets for around $25 for a 40 someodd inch flat screen TV at the event. I don't need a TV, but I'll probably take a half day at work and head over.

One of the clerks said to try a blind taste test with the Indian Tobac Cameroon Legend Maduro against the CAO Brazilia. He swears that they are so similar that the price difference, the IT wins hands down. Worth a try.

-Joe

single vs multi

i've be pondering this subject for some time now and am looking for you imput. is a single torch lighter better than a multi torch lighter and which uses the least amount of fluid. does a single torch with a big ring gauge cigar use the same amount of fluid as a triple in the same cigar? is it worth thinking about or i'm i just rambling.....happy smoking...jeff

REVIEW: DAVINCI

every once in awhile,i go into a cigar store with no real idea what i'm looking for. i went into the dirt cheap in desloge friday and picked up a DAVINCI. WOW but what an awesome smoke.very full body spicy though out with a touch of carmal. smooth smoke from start to finish. thick white aromatic smoke,was a true delight 9/10 going to be a favorite of mine for sure.............happy smoking .......jeff

REVIEW: Victor Sinclair Series 55 Sun Grown

Well, I picked up a sampler of these guys about a year ago for next to nothing (admit it--everyone has been lured in by the cheap prices at least once!). I tried one when I first received them and was very unimpressed--terrible burn, poor draw, very harsh tasting. So I left them in the humidor for a year, thinking they may improve/mellow with some time. Nope. Terrible smoke from start to finish. Don't waste your time or money. On a similar note, most, if not all, of the Victor Sinclair cigars I have had have been poor to fair. Don't waste your time or money. 0/10

Adam

Rocky Patel Autumn Collection-2008 Review

So far, my cigarbid.com experience (two orders) has been pretty good. I recently purchased quite a few samplers and tried to stick with cigars I have yet to try. One such cigar I purchased was very good indeed—the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2008. As I was unpacking all of my cigars, the Connecticut wrapper and the Churchill size, 7” x 50 ring gauge, stood out from the pack. I had to try one right away. Beautiful Connecticut Shade wrapper that smelled somewhat sweet. After lighting, I was in 45 minutes of blissful solitude. This was one of the creamiest and smoothest cigars I have yet to try. There was an earthy taste here and there as well, like toasted walnuts or something. Medium bodied. The draw was excellent, but the burn was a little uneven for the first half of the cigar. What a pleasant cigar! I hope there will be a 2009 edition…
$4.20/cigar and a rating of 9.5/10

-Joe

Review Rocky Patel Renaissance Robusto

Man do I love Fridays. I usually pick out something nice for the drive into work and today is no exception. I chose the Rocky Patel Renaissance Robusto, 5x50. Prelight I noticed some oil on the wrapper with a somewhat veiny apparance. Aromas of spice and seimi sweet. On the light same aromas. Good draw with an uneven burn that corrected itself both times without relighting. Just the right amount of medium to almost full body throughout the smoke and a sweet aftertaste on the palate after the draw. 9/10

Matt

Man O' War Review

This morning I smoked a Man O' War Robusto 52x5.5. Pre light aromas of chocolate and coffie. Great burn, solid ash and decent draw. Medium to full bodied with full flavor. Very distinct chocolate, mossy and fresh cut grass flavors and aromas. I wish it was a little stronger, but all in all, very good smoke. Especially the cost of 2.36/stick on cigar bid. 9/10

On a side note, I can't wait to try the Man O' War Ruination. Has anyone had that yet and if so, how does it compare?

Matt

August meeting

Well, if it is okay with everyone, I will switch my October hosting with John as he will be out of town on what seems to be the only date for most of us to meet, August 14, 2009. I have a couple of ideas for the night, but I need to get confirmation on a couple of things as far as location and my supply of smokes.



If all else fails, we will still go to Jeff’s, but I am hoping to secure Alcorns for the night. Unfortunately, Cindy is on vacation until Saturday. Once she calls back I will know where we will be, what kind of food will be available and most importantly, what cigars we will be having.



Mark your calendars for the 14th and I will have more info after Saturday.



Matt

REVIEW: Sol Cubano Maduro Churchill

I picked a five pack of these up from Cigarbid.com. With shipping, total cost per stick was less than $3. Dark, oily wrapper; thick, white, chalky ash; heavy plumes of sweet smoke; spiciness and richness that approaches the Edge; full-body cigar. Wow--sums it up. Strongly recommend picking these up and trying for yourself--because you will get NONE of mine!! 9.5/10

Adam

july meeting

Well another night at Growlers has passed. It was good to see everyone once i got parked that is. And Jess is the icing on the cake. Anyway, This months selection,the DARK KNIGHT, is also one of my favs. medium bodied almost tasted of grapes,kinda sweet. tiny bit spicy,but not to much. 8/10.Second choice for the evening was a PERDOMO RESERVE DOUBLE EAGLE. Medium to full,very smooth with a hint of ceder. not to spicy and a very enjoyable smoke. All in all it was a great evening with my best friends. Happy smoking jeff