Gran Habano Corojo Vintage 2002

Cigar Name: Gran Habano Corojo Vintage 2002
Wrapper: Nicaraguan-grown Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua and Dominican
Filler: Nicaragua and Dominican
Size: Robusto 5x50
Strength: Medium-Full
Body: Medium-Full
Price: $39.99/20 (bundle)

Smoking Time: About 1 hour

Jeff introduced me to this cigar a couple of months ago and when my self imposed ban lifted, I picked up a bundle as they are pretty reasonably prices. I actually got mine for less than $2.00/each on Cigarbid.

Appearance: This is a decent looking cigar. It has a cedar wrapper that makes it look more elegant and sets a nice contrast to the reddish brown wrapper. This cigar has very few veins and is very oily. 8/10

Construction: For such a value cigar, this is extremely well made. The cap is even and there are no soft spots or blemishes. 9/10

Burn: I would not call this a razor edge burn, but it is pretty even. 9/10!

Aroma: Very earthy with some hay and grass. Not like a lot of corojos I have had where you get hit with a lot of spice. Very pleasant. 8/10

Draw: Pretty good. Nothing wrong with it at all 10/10!

Flavor: Like the Aroma, it is very earthy. Not a lot of spice but enough to keep you interested. It is however, pretty one dimensional. 7/10

Availability: Only online, but for the price, it’s not bad. 8/10

Personal Overall Experience: Good. Like I said though, it was pretty one dimensional. It wasn’t a flavor bomb but a good everyday smoke. I would put it one step up from a “yard gar” and will be a regular staple in my humidor. Heck for less than $2.00 each you really can’t go wrong. 24/30.

Total: 83/100

Matt

Missouri Athletic Club Vs. the Nanny state

I ran across this article this morning and it is similar to the one Joe posted a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/article_a28bf0c6-346d-11e0-8ad4-0017a4a78c22.html

Now, here is my problem (s) with this entire situation and the smoking ban:

1. What about my rights to choose where I go? This is a private club that people pay dues for. What about their right to choose?

2. Second, if the city, county or state is going to continue to make laws restricting or outright banning smoking, they should not be able to collect tax revenues from the sale of tobacco products. If you are going to ban it, ban it. Make it illegal. Like prohibition (which is why an outright ban will NEVER happen - too much money involved for all parties).

Now, let's see how many comments we can get with this post...

Matt

OCCS: Aged 3 Years

That's right. February marks our anniversary. It has been three years (2/1/08 to be exact) since the inaugural meeting of the Original Chapter of the Cigar Society. Matt, Jeff, and Adam were in attendance at Growler's Pub. (We all remember that place, right?)

ITC Split Decision, RP's Olde World Reserve, Gurkha Legend, Camacho Coyolar, Serie B Pinar Pre-Embargo, 5 Vegas Series A, and JDN Antano 1970 were all enjoyed that night.

Another milestone: OCCS has been online for two years as of last month.

Looking forward to our anniversary meeting on the 11th.

Here's to family, friends, cigars--and great times!!

Adam

Review: Tatuaje Ambos Mundos Sumatra

Cigar Name: Tatuaje Ambos Mundos Sumatra
Wrapper: Sumatra Equador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto #1 5 x 50

Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Price: $4.00-6.00/each.

Smoking Time: Just over an hour

Yes, yes I know. Another Tatuaje cigar review. Sorry, I just can’t get enough. This little gem is also made in a Habano wrapper (which recently scored a #11 rating for the year in Cigar Afficionado). This one however is made with the elusive Sumatra wrapper.

Appearance: Honestly this is a very plain looking cigar. The band is very rustic and non descriptive. I have included two photos for you, the older band and this years band. I almost like the older band better just because it is so blah. It’s just different. The wrapper is seamless and has a milky brown color. 9/10

Construction: This cigar is made in Don Pepin’s factory in Nicaragua so I was not surprised when there were no soft spots and a beautiful triple cap. 9/10

Burn: Excellent. No touch ups, razor thin burn. Ghostly white ash. 10/10

Aroma: This was a very sweet smelling cigar. Almost fruity with a lingering of sugar. Man I love Sumatra leaf. 10/10

Draw: Perfect. 10/10

Flavor: Some chocolate with coffee notes. The aftertaste was indeed of fruit. Figs maybe? I don’t know exactly but it was good. 10/10

Availability: Alcorns has these as does Town and Country. You might be able to score some on CBid pretty cheap if you ever can catch them. 10/10

Personal Overall Experience: I love to see a Tatuaje cigar for under $5.00. That never happens. Pete Johnson says this is his “value” based cigar and I am glad to see it. While this did not have the flavor profile of one of his big sticks (The Face), this is a very well made cigar for a pretty reasonable price. And, you don’t see too many Sumatra cigars under $10.00 each so this will be a box purchase one day. I almost hate to rate this so high but it is a very good cigar and the value really brings up the overall experience. 25/30.

Total: 93/100

Matt