here it is guys,my cigarbox guiter made with my cain habano box. pretty kick ass if i do say so myself. my friend did an awesome job.........happy smoking guys.....jeffro
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
What are you smoking today?
I had a Man of War Ruination (MOWR) On the way in this morning. Robin got me a sampler for fathers day and this was my first impression of it. Dang, great smoke and what a way to start off the weekend.
Speaking of the weekend, I have the golf tournament with Adam, Joe and Brian on Saturday then the Tool Concert with Adam and Joe the same night. Sunday I will be relaxing by the pool most of the day then next week is Robin's and I annual trip for our anniversary. Man, 5 great years has flown by.
What are your plans?
Matt
Speaking of the weekend, I have the golf tournament with Adam, Joe and Brian on Saturday then the Tool Concert with Adam and Joe the same night. Sunday I will be relaxing by the pool most of the day then next week is Robin's and I annual trip for our anniversary. Man, 5 great years has flown by.
What are your plans?
Matt
REVIEW: 5 VEGAS CASK STRENGTH II
Cigar Name: 5 Vegas Cask Strength II
Wrapper: Nicaragua Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua and Honduras
Size: Toro (6 x 52)Strength: Medium/Full Body: Full
Price: $2.xx - 5.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 hour
Made in Estelí, Nicaragua, The 5 Vegas Cask-Strength II is in my opinion, a great value especially when bought on an auction site. 5 Vegas is known for their value but it is not readily available except on line. On to the review!
APPEARANCE: The Cask Strength II has a reddish looking, oily wrapper. Very few veins. It is box pressed. The label is a maroon label with a foot label with CASK STRENGTH II written on it. Decent looking cigar. There is also something to be said for the box this comes in. It is a small “cask” that is filled with tobacco. Pretty unique. 10/10
CONSTRUCTION: The cigar is soft throughout but seems to be packed with plenty of tobacco. 8/10
BURN: With the softness of the cigar, I was worried that the draw would be fast and hot. I was dead wrong. With every cigar for this review, I had zero issues with touchups. The burn was perfect on every one. The ash would not hold more than an inch so you do have to watch for that. 10/10
AROMA: This has a very oaky and mossy aroma to me. Very pleasant and not overwhelming at all. 8/10
DRAW: Like the burn, I was expecting this to be like sucking through a straw and it was just not the case. Great draw. Very smooth. I had to use little or no effort to get huge billows of smoke. 10/10
FLAVOR: Leather along with the oaky aroma. 8/10
AVAILABILITY: As I mentioned above, these are easy to obtain but only online. If you play your cards right, you can score them for less than 3.00 per stick. However, retail is over 5.50 each. 9/10
PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I really enjoy these especially when you consider the value of the cigar. I would recommend these anytime of the day as it is not over powering at all for a cigar labeled as full strength. It is very gradual and smooth. The very defination of box worthy. 25/30
Total Score: 88/100
Matt
Wrapper: Nicaragua Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua and Honduras
Size: Toro (6 x 52)Strength: Medium/Full Body: Full
Price: $2.xx - 5.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 hour
Made in Estelí, Nicaragua, The 5 Vegas Cask-Strength II is in my opinion, a great value especially when bought on an auction site. 5 Vegas is known for their value but it is not readily available except on line. On to the review!
APPEARANCE: The Cask Strength II has a reddish looking, oily wrapper. Very few veins. It is box pressed. The label is a maroon label with a foot label with CASK STRENGTH II written on it. Decent looking cigar. There is also something to be said for the box this comes in. It is a small “cask” that is filled with tobacco. Pretty unique. 10/10
CONSTRUCTION: The cigar is soft throughout but seems to be packed with plenty of tobacco. 8/10
BURN: With the softness of the cigar, I was worried that the draw would be fast and hot. I was dead wrong. With every cigar for this review, I had zero issues with touchups. The burn was perfect on every one. The ash would not hold more than an inch so you do have to watch for that. 10/10
AROMA: This has a very oaky and mossy aroma to me. Very pleasant and not overwhelming at all. 8/10
DRAW: Like the burn, I was expecting this to be like sucking through a straw and it was just not the case. Great draw. Very smooth. I had to use little or no effort to get huge billows of smoke. 10/10
FLAVOR: Leather along with the oaky aroma. 8/10
AVAILABILITY: As I mentioned above, these are easy to obtain but only online. If you play your cards right, you can score them for less than 3.00 per stick. However, retail is over 5.50 each. 9/10
PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I really enjoy these especially when you consider the value of the cigar. I would recommend these anytime of the day as it is not over powering at all for a cigar labeled as full strength. It is very gradual and smooth. The very defination of box worthy. 25/30
Total Score: 88/100
Matt
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
REVIEW CAIN F TORPEDO
Cigar Name: Cain F Torpedo
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Torpedo (6 x 54)
Strength: Full strength
Body: Full bodied
Price: $5.xx-$7.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 ½ - 2 hours
The Cain F is the brain child of Sam Leccia, a former salesman for Olivia and also the father of the Nub cigars. The Cain F was originally a "special release" cigar that has now been introduced into a regular line up. The first release was only in the Robusto size (5x50) but they thankfully decided to make 3 sizes of the F upon the full release. The other interesting fact is that the F series has a whopping 82% Ligero. Lets see how they did with the blend:
APPEARANCE: The Cain F looks like it will knock your block off. Very smooth, oily wrapper with no flaws. The Torpedo is a very good looking cigar and the bright red band at the foot makes it stand out even more. 10/10
CONSTRUCTION: This is one solidly built cigar. You could almost drive a nail with this. I would expect nothing less from an Olivia rolled cigar though. 10/10
BURN: My biggest concern with that much Ligero was the actual burn of the tobacco. I don't know how they did it but out of the five cigars I have smoked so far, I only had one that had ANY burn issues. And that could have been just pure chance. However, hat one was a pain as I had about 6 or 7 relights and touchups. The ash was solid and white. The other thing is the Ligero makes your eyes burn. Badly. You have to be very respectful of its power. 8/10
AROMA: Honestly, I didn't get that many different aromas out of the Cain F. I can normally pick up on something but not here (other than smoke and tobacco). I think the Ligero will mask some of that and it is something I miss. 7/10
DRAW: With the exception of the one, draw was excellent (again I think that is a tribute the excellent quality of the rollers at Olivia). Despite the harness and solid feel of the cigars, I had a very good draw. 8/10
FLAVOR: I did get some but it was of a leather, hayish smell. Not bad, just different. 8/10
AVAILABILITY: These are very easy to come by now. Just by doing a quick search online, there are several pages of places that have these in stock. Very different than the origional release. 10/10
PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The power of this Cain F Torpedo is not to be taken lightly. It is not as strong as the origional release Robusto but none the less, this is probably the strongest line of cigars I have ever had. I had one of these in the AM on the way to work one day and I had to go out and get food. Even after soaking my arteries in fat and grease, I didn't feel right until 2pm. Again, you just have to be respectful of the power of this cigar. It is a great smoke after a full meal and I am VERY glad I still have several of these in my humi. The Torpedo seems to concentrate the smoke (and power) and it is a nice touch. 25/30
Total Score: 86/100
As this was the featured cigar of May, I would like to know what everybody else thought. Please add comments.
Matt
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Torpedo (6 x 54)
Strength: Full strength
Body: Full bodied
Price: $5.xx-$7.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 ½ - 2 hours
The Cain F is the brain child of Sam Leccia, a former salesman for Olivia and also the father of the Nub cigars. The Cain F was originally a "special release" cigar that has now been introduced into a regular line up. The first release was only in the Robusto size (5x50) but they thankfully decided to make 3 sizes of the F upon the full release. The other interesting fact is that the F series has a whopping 82% Ligero. Lets see how they did with the blend:
APPEARANCE: The Cain F looks like it will knock your block off. Very smooth, oily wrapper with no flaws. The Torpedo is a very good looking cigar and the bright red band at the foot makes it stand out even more. 10/10
CONSTRUCTION: This is one solidly built cigar. You could almost drive a nail with this. I would expect nothing less from an Olivia rolled cigar though. 10/10
BURN: My biggest concern with that much Ligero was the actual burn of the tobacco. I don't know how they did it but out of the five cigars I have smoked so far, I only had one that had ANY burn issues. And that could have been just pure chance. However, hat one was a pain as I had about 6 or 7 relights and touchups. The ash was solid and white. The other thing is the Ligero makes your eyes burn. Badly. You have to be very respectful of its power. 8/10
AROMA: Honestly, I didn't get that many different aromas out of the Cain F. I can normally pick up on something but not here (other than smoke and tobacco). I think the Ligero will mask some of that and it is something I miss. 7/10
DRAW: With the exception of the one, draw was excellent (again I think that is a tribute the excellent quality of the rollers at Olivia). Despite the harness and solid feel of the cigars, I had a very good draw. 8/10
FLAVOR: I did get some but it was of a leather, hayish smell. Not bad, just different. 8/10
AVAILABILITY: These are very easy to come by now. Just by doing a quick search online, there are several pages of places that have these in stock. Very different than the origional release. 10/10
PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The power of this Cain F Torpedo is not to be taken lightly. It is not as strong as the origional release Robusto but none the less, this is probably the strongest line of cigars I have ever had. I had one of these in the AM on the way to work one day and I had to go out and get food. Even after soaking my arteries in fat and grease, I didn't feel right until 2pm. Again, you just have to be respectful of the power of this cigar. It is a great smoke after a full meal and I am VERY glad I still have several of these in my humi. The Torpedo seems to concentrate the smoke (and power) and it is a nice touch. 25/30
Total Score: 86/100
As this was the featured cigar of May, I would like to know what everybody else thought. Please add comments.
Matt
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
JUST FOR HIM 'A Unique Gift Shoppe for Men'
On my way back to St. Louis this past Sunday, I took an opportunity to stop into a tobacco shop in Springfield, MO: JUST FOR HIM (click for website). I found this place by surfing the net before I left for my trip to Table Rock Lake.
JFH is located in the major shopping area of Springfield and is only a couple of miles off of HWY 65. The shop is situated in the middle of a strip mall with a huge sign that you absolutely cannot miss. The shop’s layout is half gift shop and half tobacco. The right side of the store is the gift shop for men. It is full of chess boards, home beer and root beer brewing kits, wallets, globes, poker cards and other games, book ends, canes, tie accessories, etc. The back of the right side of the shop is a huge selection of hats. Cool hats! Not baseball or visors or anything commercial. They had fedoras, bowlers, madhatter hats (!), straw hats, Indiana Jones hats (that was the name of the actual hat), derbies, safari and anything else you could think of.
After 15 minutes of browsing through the gift shop side I went to the left side of the shop. It was cut in half…half pipes and half cigars. The pipe section of the shop was probably the biggest selection of them I’ve ever seen. I don’t know much about them, but the selection was cool to look at. The back half of the left side of the shop was all about cigars. Cigar accessories were available, but I didn’t really look at them. The back part of this side was a lounge area (seating for about 5) and a TV. I walked up the step or two and asked the guys what was on TV and they were all friendly. One of them (a long time customer…Jon maybe) took me to the walk in humidor and showed me around. The humidor was of decent size (comparable to Alcorn’s) and had a nice selection. Jon recommended a few of his favorite cigars: Illusione, La Riqueza, El Triunfador, Liga Privada and Padron (obviously he doesn’t mind spending a lot of money on cigars). I chose three cigar brands that I have never had before: an Illusione Epernay Le Grande (6 x46), an Illusione f9 Finesse (6 ¼ x 44) and a Liga Privada Oscuro No. 9 (5 x 52). There was a nice selection of Tatuajes, Don Pepin Garcias and a few other cigars that are not found in every cigar shop.
I chatted with the gentleman that manned the register (don’t recall name) and he said the shop does very well and has been around for over 20 years. He just got back from St. Louis where he met with a few cigar shops in St. Louis to discuss cigars and what is going on in the cigar world. He met with John’s Pipe Shop, Hill Cigar and Town and Country Tobacco. He said they are all excited about the new EP Carrillo Short Run lines coming out (which might be available at JRs already). The price is supposed to be friendlier than the Inaugural blend ($13/cigar) at around $7 per cigar. The ‘short run’ means that there will be enough tobacco for an estimated two year period that will provide consistent a consistent blend. I think I remember him saying that this fall a ‘long run’ will be released for a consistent cigar with enough tobacco to last for 5-7 years.
JUST FOR HIM is worth the detour if you are ever in Springfield, MO. The cigar prices are similar to Alcorn’s in St. Louis and the staff and patrons were very friendly (there was even a little dog running around the shop that was friendly too) and the gift shop was very interesting to look through.
Side note (not worthy of a seperate post)...
I have already smoked the Epernay and the f9. Both cigars looked great had superb construction and burn. The flavors in both were sweet (main stage) and floral (aftertaste and background) and had very smooth draws with ample smoke. The Epernay was VERY mild with just a tiny hint of black pepper here and there. The f9 was more of a medium bodied smoke with more pepper spice to it. The flavors were a little too mild for me, and I kept waiting for the cigars to actually develop into a rich cigar, but they never did. There is a lot of hype around Illusione cigars and for the price ($9-$10 per cigar) I expected a lot more from them. I will smoke more Illusiones if gifted to me, but I will not purchase anymore as the price is not justified. If I had to rate them…I would say a 65/100 for the Epernay and a 79/100 for the f9. The Liga Privada will be smoked this week and after some light internet searching this one should be more full bodied and have a really sweet profile. After the Illusiones, I have high hopes for the Liga Privada.
Take care and see you all this Friday at Growler's-
Joe
JFH is located in the major shopping area of Springfield and is only a couple of miles off of HWY 65. The shop is situated in the middle of a strip mall with a huge sign that you absolutely cannot miss. The shop’s layout is half gift shop and half tobacco. The right side of the store is the gift shop for men. It is full of chess boards, home beer and root beer brewing kits, wallets, globes, poker cards and other games, book ends, canes, tie accessories, etc. The back of the right side of the shop is a huge selection of hats. Cool hats! Not baseball or visors or anything commercial. They had fedoras, bowlers, madhatter hats (!), straw hats, Indiana Jones hats (that was the name of the actual hat), derbies, safari and anything else you could think of.
After 15 minutes of browsing through the gift shop side I went to the left side of the shop. It was cut in half…half pipes and half cigars. The pipe section of the shop was probably the biggest selection of them I’ve ever seen. I don’t know much about them, but the selection was cool to look at. The back half of the left side of the shop was all about cigars. Cigar accessories were available, but I didn’t really look at them. The back part of this side was a lounge area (seating for about 5) and a TV. I walked up the step or two and asked the guys what was on TV and they were all friendly. One of them (a long time customer…Jon maybe) took me to the walk in humidor and showed me around. The humidor was of decent size (comparable to Alcorn’s) and had a nice selection. Jon recommended a few of his favorite cigars: Illusione, La Riqueza, El Triunfador, Liga Privada and Padron (obviously he doesn’t mind spending a lot of money on cigars). I chose three cigar brands that I have never had before: an Illusione Epernay Le Grande (6 x46), an Illusione f9 Finesse (6 ¼ x 44) and a Liga Privada Oscuro No. 9 (5 x 52). There was a nice selection of Tatuajes, Don Pepin Garcias and a few other cigars that are not found in every cigar shop.
I chatted with the gentleman that manned the register (don’t recall name) and he said the shop does very well and has been around for over 20 years. He just got back from St. Louis where he met with a few cigar shops in St. Louis to discuss cigars and what is going on in the cigar world. He met with John’s Pipe Shop, Hill Cigar and Town and Country Tobacco. He said they are all excited about the new EP Carrillo Short Run lines coming out (which might be available at JRs already). The price is supposed to be friendlier than the Inaugural blend ($13/cigar) at around $7 per cigar. The ‘short run’ means that there will be enough tobacco for an estimated two year period that will provide consistent a consistent blend. I think I remember him saying that this fall a ‘long run’ will be released for a consistent cigar with enough tobacco to last for 5-7 years.
JUST FOR HIM is worth the detour if you are ever in Springfield, MO. The cigar prices are similar to Alcorn’s in St. Louis and the staff and patrons were very friendly (there was even a little dog running around the shop that was friendly too) and the gift shop was very interesting to look through.
Side note (not worthy of a seperate post)...
I have already smoked the Epernay and the f9. Both cigars looked great had superb construction and burn. The flavors in both were sweet (main stage) and floral (aftertaste and background) and had very smooth draws with ample smoke. The Epernay was VERY mild with just a tiny hint of black pepper here and there. The f9 was more of a medium bodied smoke with more pepper spice to it. The flavors were a little too mild for me, and I kept waiting for the cigars to actually develop into a rich cigar, but they never did. There is a lot of hype around Illusione cigars and for the price ($9-$10 per cigar) I expected a lot more from them. I will smoke more Illusiones if gifted to me, but I will not purchase anymore as the price is not justified. If I had to rate them…I would say a 65/100 for the Epernay and a 79/100 for the f9. The Liga Privada will be smoked this week and after some light internet searching this one should be more full bodied and have a really sweet profile. After the Illusiones, I have high hopes for the Liga Privada.
Take care and see you all this Friday at Growler's-
Joe
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