Jeffro Goes to Hell

January 2011 OCCS Evening

2011 is here and so is the year's first OCCS evening. It will be held on the 14th at Alcorn's on Watson Rd. I'd say to show up at about the normal time (somewhere between 5-6). Dinner will be provided (undecided) and so will the evening's cigar (undecided but will purchase at Alcorn's that evening). Please bring $5-$10 for a card game of sorts (Rummy Royal). I will bring a movie as well in case Jeff quickly takes all of our money.

Looking forward to it-
Joe

Top cigars for 2010

It has been a while since anyone posted and I think I know why. We have all been busy. No excuse, but still, life has a way to creep up on us.

That being said, I can't wait to escape life for a few hours tonight and hang out with the gang and enjoy some cigars. Speaking of enjoying what is everyones top three cigars for 2010?

Mine are:

1. Tatuaje "The Face" - There will be a review in a couple of weeks after I finish my 5th one.

2. Liga Privida T52 - Joe, thank you AGAIN for making that trade with me. Wow, what a great one.

3. My Father Le Bijou - I have only had one of these this year, but it was a memorable one. I smoked it on the way to the funeral home the day after my dad passed. I think I told this story before but the cigar started out great. Fantastic flavor, great burn, but towards the end it just fell apart. The wrapper was cracked, uneven burn, you name it, it went wrong. Everything but the flavor. The flavor stayed true to form and was excellent to the end. Just like my dad, his body (and the body of the cigar) fell apart at the end, but the ESSENCE of the man (and the cigar) stayed true. That was by far the most memorable cigar of the year for me.

Matt

November Meeting Notes

Another great meeting @ Jeffro's ("OCCS remodeled") place. I can't believe that I have not seen "Taken" before--what a great movie! "Splice" was, well, entertaining.

We enjoyed Rocky Patel's Edge, Cecil's pizza & wings, as well as the company of Matt B. and Michael M. We missed you Joe, John, and Rich--hope you are doing well.

Great seeing everyone, and looking forward to December's Meeting.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Adam

OCCS October meeting notes

OCCS MEETING: OCTOBER 22, 2010

Members in attendance: Adam Sherman, Jeff Stein, Matt Hall, Joe Piotrowicz and John Saksa

Place: Alcorn Cigars lounge

Featured cigar: Camacho Corojo Figurado (see review)

Host: Matt

I brought some good pizza and wings from Cecil Whittakers for us to enjoy and we were going to watch the movie Taken with Liam Neeson but we finally found the Blues game and we were able to watch them smoke the Blackhawks (no pun intended - well, maybe a little pun).

Here are a couple of pictures from the night. As you can see, the lounge is pretty nice. They have a full bar and for a Friday night, it was pretty relaxing. All that was missing was our favorite server, Jess.

November OCCS Meeting

Date: Friday, November 19th, 2010
Place: Jeffro's
Cigar: Rocky Patel Edge

I will be bringing pizza and wings.

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Adam

REVIEW: CAMACHO COROJO FIGURADO

Cigar Name: Camacho Corojo
Wrapper: Honduran Jamastran Corojo
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Size: Figurado (6.1x54)
Strength: Full
Body: Full
Price: $5.xx to $8.00.xx depending on website or store. I bought mine at Alcorns Cigars for roughly $6.00 each after the box discount.

Smoking Time: About 1 hour and 30 minutes

Billed as one of the strongest cigars in the world, the Camacho Corojo is made with what is also billed as the only true authentic Corojo. Camacho cigars are known for the strength and full flavor. The Eiroas family took the Corojo seed from Cuba after the embargo and started growing, then later rolling in Honduras. Let’s see how the Camacho stood up to the hype.

Appearance: I have always loved the appearance of Corojo cigars. They have a very earthy, leathery look to them and this Figurado was no exception. Kind of a bad-ass looking cigar if you ask me. 10/10

Construction: I don’t know why, but Camacho cigars always seem very light for their size. I am always afraid of the burn because they are soft (more on that later). I really enjoy a densely packed cigar. To me, they just FEEL better. The Corojo did seem soft all over but the torpedo shape was perfect. 7/10

Burn: While I was afraid of the burn on this, I should not have been. True to form, this burned flawlessly with no touch ups. 10/10!

Aroma: Almost a sweet aroma but with very earthy notes. Lots of leather and spice. 9/10

Draw: Like the burn, I was aftaid this would be a real hot box but it was not. Just a great draw. I don’t know how they do it with such a soft cigar, but they do, every time. 10/10!

Flavor: I really liked the flavor of this cigar. It was very subtle. 9/10

Availability: While you can find most of the line almost anywhere, it is fairly hard to find the figurados. 7/10

Personal Overall Experience: I have liked every Camacho cigar I have ever had. This one is probably my favorite. It is just very balanced and consistent. I could enjoy these almost any time of day and still want more. I would not agree that this is one of the strongest cigars in the world (not by far), however it is a very enjoyable one. 28/30.

Total: 90/100

Matt

OCCS featured in October 2010 Xikar newsletter

Here is a link to Xikar's October newsletter that features our review of the Connecticut Shade Grande.

http://www.xikar.com/email/2010_10.html

Hopefully we will get more opportunities to have our site featured as time goes on.

Matt

Review: Nording by Rocky Patel 94/100

Brand: Nording by Rocky Patel
Blend: Mexican Binder, Nicaraguan Filler, Costa Rican Maduro Wrapper
Size: 6 x 56
Origin: Honduras
Source: Alcorn Cigars
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium

Matt picked up a box of these from Alcorn Cigars for me. I’ve been wanting a box of these for quite some time—and I now wonder why I waited so long.

Appearance: 10/10
Very dark and oily. This is one of the best looking cigars I have ever had in my humidor.
Construction: 10/10
Nearly perfect. Fairly heavy for its size. Very small, almost invisible, veins (if any at all on some of them). Well made, for sure.
Burn: 9/10
I had a few relight issues with a couple of these cigars, however, these relights were while I was smoking on the golf course (fairly windy).
Aroma: 9/10
The prominent aroma for me (and flavor, for that matter) is toast.
Draw: 10/10
I had no draw issues with any of these cigars. The draw on the Nording is exactly what I want from any other cigar I smoke.
Flavor: 8/10
Again, the most prominent flavor throughout to me is toast, with hints of sweetness towards the middle to finish. Given this cigar's appearance, though, I almost expect a little more spice.
Availability/Cost: 8/10
In stock at Alcorn’s (decent online availability, too). $6-$7 a stick.
Personal Experience: 30/30
This is one of my favorite Rocky Patel cigars. They are well made, taste great, burn well, have a great draw, and I think they are priced right. Can’t ask for much more.

What have you been smoking?

I enjoyed a Padilla Miami last night, which is a pretty good cigar. I've also had a Brickhouse and Rocky Patel 1961 this week...all very good cigars. While the weather is nice like this, it is tough not go outside and indulge.

Take care-
Joe

What the hell is wrong with people?

With any number of bigger troubles in the world, people complain about cigars after a baseball game.

Cincinnati fans averaged terrible attendance this year (ranking 21st out of 30 teams) despite winning the National League Central Division...and then their fans or staff called the authorities on them for celebrating their first division title, in 15 years, with cigars...in the locker room.

This is plain ridiculous. I could understand if the cigars were being smoked in the school gym after an elementary school play or on the bench after a 9 year old girl's soccer game. But this is baseball...America's past-time...a man's sport with cussing, spitting and dirt and sweet.

Maybe next year MLB players with have to celebrate with Kool-Aid and Pixie-Stix while petting kittens ans singing Kumbaya.

(ESPN's short article on the matter.)

Take care and smoke one for the Reds. Why not?

-Joe

Juan Lopez Corona

This Nicaraguan, from Altadis USA, Inc., was given to me by Matt, obviously my best son-in-law. I have smoked 3 of the 5 he offered, providing some experience with the smoke.

This corona sizes at 45 by 5 5/8, and is box pressed. I normally enjoy a larger cigar, and this one did not last the 3.6 mile walking tour Evelyn and I take every other Wednesday at Fenton city park. She was surprised, also, and stayed awake to tell me about it.

The first one I smoked was spicy, and stayed that way throughout the burn. The draw was consistent, and it did not bite at the end. The next two disappointed, as they were not spicy nor medium in strength, but otherwise consistent in the other areas. To me, a good cigar, but one to be experienced when I can't pay full attention to it.

Rich

ONE PUFF REVIEW: HC Habano Colorado

ONE PUFF REVIEW: HC Habano Colorado

Wrapper: Habano Colorado-Jalapa Valley

Binder – Esteli

Filler – Costa Rica, Jalapa Valley Honduras

Size – 6x60 Grande

As it was time for my regular Friday morning cigar enjoyment, I decided I wanted a little something special. Then I saw the second (and last) sample provided by Xikar. MMMMMM, Colorado wrapper.

There were no flaws, no soft spots (in fact, this was solid like a 2x4) and a perfect cap. The gorgeous, reddish hued wrapper was gleaming with oils. It was just a great looking cigar. I again cut flawlessly with my Xi cutter and noted some pre light aromas of barnyard and coca. I started my drive and was sipping my coffee along the way.

The first third was very mellow and smooth with some notes of spice and chocolate (like an Aztec hot chocolate?). The burn and draw were perfect. The second and last third had lots of spice kick in. It was a semi-complex smoke especially in the last two thirds with lots of different aromas and flavors but the burn stayed steady.

Again, I can’t give a full review based on one cigar however; this is ANOTHER fine smoke that I will be looking for in the future. I normally don’t like this large of a ring gauge but this blend seemed to fit it to a T. What an excellent way to start my Friday.

Matt

ONE PUFF REVIEW: HC Connecticut Shade

ONE PUFF REVIEW: HC Connecticut Shade

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade – Ecuador

Binder – Sumatra

Filler – Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua

Size – 6x60

I came home Friday after work and had a great surprise. Bob Moreno from Xikar had sent a couple samples of the HC Series for me to try. One was this new Grande (6x60) Connecticut Shade. The cigar was blended by Jesus Fuego and promised to be stronger than your average Connecticut.

Upon examining this large cigar I found no flaws in the wrapper. It had one large vein but nothing out of the ordinary. The feel was firm yet forgiving. I cut into this behemoth with my trusty Xikar Xi cutter (which by the way, for such a large cigar, this cutter had no problems with it) and lit it up. I was awash in great tasting hay and grass aromas in no time. There was a razor thin burn line that held even for the entire cigar which goes to say it is a very well made cigar. That is hard to do for such a large ring gauge. As I continued to enjoy this on my way into work I started to drink my coffee and that proved to be a great pairing.

About half way through a little spice kicked in, more mild to medium than anything. This was very reminiscent of the Montecristo White label. Excellent morning cigar or with dessert to wind the day down. I highly recommend this with coffee. What a great way to start the day.

While I can’t give this a full review based on just one cigar, I can say this would be worth picking up a few more so that I can do a full blown review. I can’t help to think that a little more spice would come with a thinner cigar (also available in a Londsdale 6x46). Unfortunately, the HC Series is not yet available in St. Louis. You would have to buy online or travel to purchase this. Bob from Xikar said he would have his reps try to correct that.

Matt

GUESS WHAT?

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DID NOT UNDERSTAND MY E-MAIL.I AM GETTING 6 ROBUSTO CIGARS FROM 13 FLOOR CIGARS. DONATED TO THE CLUB TO REVIEW ON THIS HERE BLOG. WELL,HE SAID HE WOULD SEND THEM,WE WILL SEE ,CROSS YOUR FINGERS EVERYONE.......HAPPY SMOKING GUYS..........JEFFRO

Cigarbid's New Look

Just wanted to see what you all thought of Cigarbid's new look. http://www.cigarbid.com/

There is a new category called Free Fall. An item is placed up for auction at X amount and you can watch the price fall and can bid at any time. However, Cigarbid will reset the price back to the original price once someone bids on the item or Cigarbid thinks the price has fallen too low. If you bid, you win. You can't see what other people bid and you don't know the quantity their offering. Kind of neat. Maybe I'll try it out one day.

Another new feature is 'Buddy's Bonus Buys' where if you purchase 2 or more items on one day with the Buddy Bonus symbol, you'll get 5% off of the Buddy Bonus items. Just don't start bidding on lots with this symbol just to save the big 5%.

The 'Lots Opening Soon' feature is no longer available. It was nice to see early in the day what was going to open and what time (so I could be the first bidder if I wanted).

I placed a bit on an item (have not won or lost yet) and my email address that Cigarbid has on file received an email stating that a bid was placed using my account. That's nice, I guess.

The overall look is more spread out than before that cases more scrolling. It seams easier to filter your search than before and you can even set up your search results to show a picture of each lot.

I guess we have to say change is good. I will say that I miss the old format's simplicity, but I'm sure I can get used to the new format.

What do you all think?

-Joe

Short Ash: Rocky Patel 1961

Jen picked one of these up for me while visiting with friends in Dallas. I have seen them online and in stores before, but always had other cigars on my mind, so I had yet to try on.

Rocky Patel has a winner with this one. Reminds me quite a bit of the Edge--maybe less powerful, but just as tasty. I would certainly recommend giving it a try, and I look foward to stashing some in the humidor.

Adam

Cigar Review: Gispert Churchill

Cigar Name: Gispert
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan long fillers
Size: Churchill (7x54)
Strength: Mild
Body: Mild
Price: $2.xx to $4.xx depending on website or store. Alcorn's lists a box of Churchills (25) for $107.85.
Smoking Time: About 1 hour and 15 minutes

Gispert Cigars are handmade by Altadis in Honduras. Harold at Alcorn Cigars (cigarsnmore.com) was nice enough to give us at OCCS five of these cigars to review. Reading up on Gispert cigars, I've found out that they are billed as a mild, daytime and a value cigar. I've smoked all five and here is my review:

Appearance: Very nice looking Connecticut shade wrappers with a decent looking red, white and gold band. The ring gauge on these Churchills are 54. Very good looking cigars. 9/10

Construction: Some large seems, but an overall excellent made cigar. 9/10

Burn: 10/10!

Aroma: A light and sweet tobacco aroma. Very pleasant. 8/10

Draw: 10/10!

Flavor: The cigar does not taste bad. That being said, I score this cigar low on the flavor rating because of lack of flavor. On a three of the cigars, I couldn't even tell that I had lit the cigar until smoke came flowing out of my mouth-it was like smoking air. At times, the cigars seemed almost flavorless. 6/10

Availability: 10/10

Personal Overall Experience: I've seen these cigars around since I started smoking cigars but have never tried one. They are very mild cigars and are great for a light morning smoke or to hand out to friends that may not be into the stronger cigars. The lack of any consistent flavor was its only downfall for me. 23/30.

Total: 85/100

Take care-
Joe

REVIEW ASHTON VSG ILLUSION

Cigar Name: Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Illusion

Wrapper: Ecuador (Sun Grown)

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Dominican Republic

Size: Lancero 6.5” x 44 ring gauge

Strength: Full strength

Body: Full bodied

Price: $9.xx-$14.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

I have spoken a LOT about how much I enjoy my VSG’s. However, it was pointed out to me that I have never done a review on them. So here goes:

APPEARANCE: My VSG’s look like elegance. They all have veinless wrappers and a slight sheen of oil. 10/10

CONSTRUCTION: There are no soft spots on these and they feel very solid throughout. Each wrapper must have been inspected with a fine tooth comb because they look identical. That is hard to do. 10/10

BURN: For all of the VSG’s that I have smoked, the Illusion has by far been the best burn. That is not to say the others have been bad, just that this size is rolled expertly. 10/10

AROMA: As I am taking notes on this cigar, I am beginning to think that this could be our first perfect score. The aroma is rich with leather and tobacco. As the cigar burns down to the second third, it starts with lots of grass and hay. Certainly nothing unpleasant. 10/10

DRAW: There is just the slightest hint of resistance to the draw which makes for a very smooth smoke. I was able to smoke each of these down to the nub and beyond. I can’t say enough about the precision that went into making this cigar. 10/10

FLAVOR: I admit I am not the best at picking up flavors but I did get some earthy nuttiness. Because nothing was really outstanding on this category, I am afraid I can’t make it perfect. The search continues… 9/10

AVAILABILITY: Ah yes, availability. While you can find these at any number of brick and mortar stores, including Alcorns, where I bought mine, these are certainly cost prohibitive. However, you get what you pay for. This is not an everyday smoke, but when you can afford it, this is worth every penny. 8/10

PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I never, ever want to be out of these cigars. I have said several times that these are my favorite cigar and from the review I just posted, you can see why. I do have to add that these particular Illusions have been in my humidor for over 3 years. I don’t know if that affected the review much, but it needs to be stated. Just a great time smoking these and I can’t wait to have another. 30/30

Total Score: 97/100

To date, this is the highest rated cigar we have on here and again, full disclosure, these ARE my favorite and they have been resting/ageing for over 3 years. Has anyone else tried these and if so, what are your thoughts?

Matt

Cigar Review: Perdomo Reserve Limited Oscuro

Cigar: Perdomo Reserve Limited Oscuro
Wrapper: Nicaraguan sun-grown broadleaf
Binder: N/A
Filler: Nicaraguan ?
Size: 'E' (toro) supposed to be 6x50, but was more like a 6x48 or 6x49
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Price: $2-$3
Smoking Time: 50 minutes

Appearance: 9/10

Construction: 7/10

Burn: 6/10 Corrected burn issues on 2 of them.

Aroma: 8/10

Draw: 4/10 Too tight of a draw on all five cigars.

Flavor: 3/10 A times the cigar was great, but about half the time the cigars had a charred tasted that was not all that enjoyable.

Availability: 9/10 Cigarbid, CigarsInternational, Cigar.com...

Personal Overall Experience: I think I bought a five pack on CigarBid for $9 looking for another bargain cigar. Not a bargain. Not for me. 10/30

Total: 56/100

Take care-Joe

Short Ash Review

Robin picked up an Alec Bradley Tempus for me while she was in Dallas. I guess she wowed the person working there b/c she asked specifically for a cigar with plume. Anyway, I wanted to throw this out there b/c I had previously written off Alec Bradley cigars for a couple different reasons:

1. I wasn't that impressed with the previous smokes I have had of his
2. Good Lord man, button up your shirt on those advertisements. Ugh, I hate those ads.

Anyway, what a great cigar. I had the Terra Novo (robusto) 5x50 and it was spectacular. Great construction, draw, flavor and just the right amount of spice.

Once my self imposed ban on purchases is up in January, expect a full review.

Matt

August OCCS Night

Another fine night of cigars and friends at Jeff's place.

Jeff, Adam, Matt, John and I were in attendance. Rich was mysteriously unavailable (not sure what could be more important than an OCCS night) and we all hope he is doing well.

We had Dickey's BBQ for dinner and it was delicious as always.

The cigar for the evening was the Casa Fuego churchill (I just posted a review of the cigar on the blog as well and look forward to every one's thoughts).

Movies on hand for the night were American Gangster, True Grit and Patton. The thunderstorm that swept through the area was the other entertainment for the night, which caused us to call it an early evening and only watched about an hour or so of Patton. American Gangster and Patton are good flicks, but I'm still not sold on John Wayne. However, I am looking forward to the Cohen brother's version of True Grit, which comes out Christmas Day.

We talked about working on Jeff's bathroom during one of our meetings and determined that Jeff needs to pick out the tile and that the rest of us should have the rest of the other materials already. Jeff-pick out the tile and name the day.

I beleive John or Rich is the host for September.

Take care-
Joe

Cigar Review: Casa Fuego Churchill

Cigar: Casa Fuego
Wrapper: Habano (Nicaragua)
Binder: (N/A)
Filler: Corojo (long fillers from Nicaragua)
Size: Double Corona (Churchill) 7 x 50
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Price: $2-$3 on Cigarbid or Cigar Internal web sites
Smoking Time: 1 Hour

The Casa Fuego cigar comes in the following sizes: corona, robusto, belicoso, toro and double corono (not sure why they don't refer to these as churchills). They are made by Jesus Feugo in Honduras. Jesus Fuego also makes the Gran Reserva and 777 cigars (have not tried the 777 yet, but have been wanting to for some time) and is the President of Tabacos SA. Jesus has been accredited to many blends including, but not limited to, Rocky Patel's 1990 and 1992 cigars and Xicar's HC cigars. I guess Jesus is considered a boutique cigar maker, but he has made this mass production exclusively for Cigars International. I bought these on one of my Cigarbid orders taking a chance on a cheaper cigar that could be good enough to buy again.

Appearance: The habano wrapper is slightly oily with some small-medium veins and I found small tears and nicks on some of them. Tripple capped. The band was black and gold with some red and was slightly embossed. The gold on the band flaked off on all of the cigars and left gold glitter on my hands every time. 6/10

Construction: Again the wrapper was constructed very well and the seams were hardly noticeable. The triple cap held strongly after clipping. The cigar had a decent weight to it and had a slight give when squeezed. 10/10

Burn: The Casa Fuego easily lit every time. The burn line wasn't exactly straight, but I do not remember having to relight or touch up a single one. 10/10

Aroma: The aroma was not bad. Of course tobacco and a slight wood-burning smell. 7/10

Draw: Great. Slight resistance, but ample smoke with each puff. 10/10

Flavor: The flavor was consistent from foot to nub: coffee and a sweet spiciness that was very pleasant. Some hints of that wood-burning (like a campfire...this was a good thing). 7/10

Availability: The cigars are available at anytime on Cigarbid or Cigar International web sites. 10/10

Personal Overall Experience: I initially bought a 8 cigar flight sampler on Cigarbid which had all of the sizes except for the corona. I liked the churchill the best and have since bought several 5-packs of them for about $9-$12. I'm always looking for a inexpensive cigar to throw in my humidor and I've found one here. I don't think it will win any awards, or is strong enough to match up to an after dinner cigar, but I think it is very enjoyable. 24/30

Total Score: 86/100

Thanks for reading and take care-
Joe

OCCS Bookkeeping

I'd like to see us get back in the habit of posting pre and after meeting information on the blog. This is, after all, one of the reasons we created this thing. The meeting host should at least post the pre meeting info on the blog, and ideally he should be the member putting up the after meeting info.

Pre meeting info can be as simple as the time, date, location, and featured cigar (makes it easier than digging through emails if we forget to put it on the calendar). After meeting info can be as simple as club notes (if any), maybe what movie we watched, what we thought of the meeting host's featured cigar, etc.

I'm looking forward to seeing the first Alcorn's Feature Cigar Review (for the August meeting) by Joe, and many thanks to Matt for getting this sweet deal set up.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Adam

oil workers monument

Cigar Review: Blue Label Corona

Cigar Name: Blue Label
Wrapper: Habano (Honduran)
Binder: Corojo
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan and Domincan
Size: Corona (6x44)
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Price: $2.xx depending on website or about $45 for a box of 20.
Smoking Time: About 50 minutes

Blue Label cigars are made by Gran Habano in Honduras and come in churchill, corona, torpedo and robusto sizes. I've bought a sampler (8 cigars) on Cigarbid, which contained all of these sizes. The corona was my favorite and I've since bought a couple of 5-packs and I just finished my last one tonight.

Appearance: Medium-brown colored wrapper with some veins that didn't cause any worries. The band is black and gold but mainly blue and slightly embossed-simple and good looking. I think they were triple capped none had visible wrapper tears or holes. The cigars had a slight bumpy look to them. Nothing special, but a decent looking cigar. 7/10

Construction: I believe they were triple capped. When squeezed, the cigars were solid and had a slight give that promised a solidly rolled cigar. No soft spots were found on any of the cigars and the foot of each looked great with tightly packed tobacco. 9/10

Burn: I had to re-light a few here and there and had some uneven burns, but overall a good burn. (The one I had tonight I had to re-light once and do a touch-up.) 7/10

Aroma: Great aroma. Scents of cedar and spice (cinnamon???) and a light sweetness (vanilla???). Very pleasant. 10/10

Draw: Great. Fantastic. Draw of thick smoke with every puff. 10/10

Flavor: Cedar, that spice (cinnamon???) and a slight vanilla taste. Great balance and consistent from start to finish. 10/10

Availability: I've never seen them in a brick-and-mortar, but they can be found on Cigarbid.com and CigarsInternational.com at all times. 10/10

Personal Overall Experience: Great. The price, quality, and the cigar's consistency make this a great cigar to keep on hand. An overall very relaxing smoke. The burn issues weren't that bad and I really enjoyed every one I smoked. I will try my best to buy more with every Cigarbid purchase I make as you can't go wrong with the Blue Label. 25/30

Total Score: 88/100

Take care-
Joe

A match made in heaven...

Big news boys. Big news.

Friday night I went to Alcorns to look for a cigar for my host night coming up in October. I went in and while I was looking around Harold came up to talk and see if I needed anything. I explained why I was there and he asked a couple of questions about the club and invited us to host some of our meetings at his store. He pointed out he just opened up a bar (actually a VERY nice selection of beer, liquor, Scotch and wine) and that we could just about count on having the lounge to ourselves. Well, one thing led to another and Herold said he would have "No problem" sponsoring our club with 5 cigars a month. All we have to do is link our site to his (thank you Adam or Joe for doing that already).

Harold did say "Now, I can't give out Padron 1926 every month". I told him that our budgets don't allow for that either so no harm, no foul. Alcorn Cigars will provide us with five cigars per month (actually supplied by the cigar reps so who knows, we may get some special stuff) to review on our blog.

We will rotate the privilage each month with the understanding of whoever reviews the cigars must do these things:
1. By law, as a review, we must state the cigar was a gift from Alcorn cigars and whoever the manufacturer is.
2. Post the review on our site
3. That's it. I will contact Herold in a couple of weeks to pick up our first selection. Can't wait!

Oh, by the way, the cigar for October will be the Camacho Corojo Figurado. Just a couple of tidbits on that:A 93-rated knee-knocker with a remarkable, potent flavor. Camacho Corojo is the Eiroa family’s flahship brand, and known for capturing the true, bold tastes of old Cuba. The secret is the tobacco, a robust blend of 100% Jamastran Corojo leaf grown in Honduras, coated with beautiful, reddish-hued wrappers of the highest primings. The result is a feisty, Cuban-esque flavor layered with deep, earthy undertones delivered in a powerful, yet balanced and smooth manner. -Earned a spot in Cigar Aficionado’s Top 50 Cigars of the year with an impressive ’93’ rating.- SMOKE Magazine awards the Corojo Toro with a well-deserved 4.4 rating!- After testing over 100 different brands (including Cubans), Cigar Cyclopedia named the Camacho Corojo as the top full-bodied cigar.

Matt

It's Friday

Nothing in particular...

Not only did Growlers impose an early ban in smoking this week effective July 1st, the city of Clayton did as well. The tobacco shops will not be affected directly, but smoking is not allowed in any of ther restaraunts. Such a shame. I sent Growlers a strongly worded email (some idiot named Pepe responded) and Adam did as well. Send an email too if you'd like to speak your mind: PVantreece@bsrservices.com. I'm not sure I'll be spending any more of my money there. Bunch of bums!

I smoked my Liga Privada T52 after work today and it was a ver good cigar. At about $10 per cigar, I won't be buying a box, but it was good enough to buy another single on a special occasion. Here is the link to Stogie Review's review of the Liga Privada T52. (I'm sure you'd enjoy this one Matt.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day and the long weekend. There's beautiful weather in the forecast.

Take care,
Joe

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

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

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

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

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

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, the weather will be just about perfect this weekend for just about anything you can think of to do outside. So, get outside! BBQ. Take the kids to the park. Driving range. Siesta in the shade of a tree. Have a cigar on the patio.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has a really good website about the history, ways to observe and other interesting facts about why we have a Memorial Day. Here is the website: http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/

Both of my grandfathers served in the US Military, but died many years later after their service. However, I will still be thinking about them and the coutless men and women who have died for serving and protecting our wonderful country this weekend.

So, have a great weekend. Relax. And enjoy that cigar!

-Joe

OCCS Members' 2010 Goals/Resolutions

How are we doing with them?

I am hanging in there, I suppose, as I have shed some pounds, still working with the German (not often enough, though), but the ASE Master Certification is simply not going to be completed this year--I am still working on the shop's Hazard Communication Program (which is just one of several requirements).

Hope you are doing well.

Adam

Cigar Magizine...Updated

The newest Cigar Magazine has been released. The link at the bottom of blog has been updated to point to Cigar Magazine's electronic version.

-Joe

June's Meeting Date & Location Set

We will be meeting at Growler's Pub (hopefully in the beer garden) on Friday, June 11th. I will post the featured cigar in a comment to this post when I decide what we will be enjoying that night.

Adam

What is your favorite wrapper

We have all sampled a LOT of cigars. So the question comes to mind, what is your favorite wrapper?

Me, I have a lot of characteristics that I look for in a wrapper rather than a PARTICULAR wrapper. I like spice (but you can't always tell by looking). I also like oily wrappers. Those two things said, I usually like to reach for a Corojo from Nicaragua, in particular a Sun-grown Corojo. However, one wrapper that has also never let me down is the Sumatra. They are a little bit harder to come buy but are they good. ESPECIALLY sun grown Sumatra. Loves it!

Any guesses as to what cigar has a Sun Grown Sumatra? Hint: It is still my favorite...

Some other Sumatra wrappers:

Sol Cubana Sumatra - Medium bodied, semi-sweet taste (not infused, just how the tobacco is cured)
ITC 10th Anniversary - Medium to full bodied, plenty of spice
RP Renaissance - Medium to full bodied, spice on the back end

What are your favorite wrappers? And can you guess what has the Sun Grown Sumatra?

Matt

Cigar Review: Casa Magna Colorado robusto

Cigar Name: Casa Magna Colorado
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Colorado)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto (5.5 x 52)
Strength: Full strength.
Body: Full bodied.
Price: $5.xx-$6.xx per cigar
Smoking time: 1 ½ - 2 hours

The Casa Magna was created by Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia. It’s rolled in Esteli, Nicaragua and is a Nicaraguan puro. Tobacco used for the cigar is all Cuban-seed and grown in Estelí (produces stronger tobacco) and Jalapa.

I finally got around to the box of Casa Magnas I split with Adam, plus a few singles I bought before the boxes finally arrived. They’ve been sitting in my humidor for 6 months. The weather has been great for sitting on the patio and enjoying a cigar and a book. Over the last three weeks this is the only cigar that I have had. What a great three weeks. The Casa Magnas are all gone and here is the review:

APPEARANCE: One of the best looking cigars I’ve ever seen. The wrapper is reddish brown that shined with oil. There were small veins on all of the cigars (I like this), but nothing too big or to worry about. The cigar looked tough and striking. The Casa magna sports an elegant and masculine band that is thick and embossed. (This is the 2009 release, but I do remember the 2008 release having problems with the glue on the band not loosening up and it was a fight that ended in tearing the band every time to get the band off—I did not have that problem at all with the 2009 release.) 10/10

CONSTRUCTION: Beautifully triple capped. Seamless wrapper. When squeezed there was a slight give and the cigar felt very solid…and heavy too. I felt no soft spots on any of the cigars. You could tell that these cigars were made with care and quality control was working nicely. 10/10

BURN: I did not have to make a single touch up with a flame. Half of the cigars I smoked burned straight, perfect and even. The other half had a slight uneven burn—one or two of those burned almost uneven enough to warrant a flame touch up and I think this meddled with the taste a little bit. But I might be able to blame the uneven burns on my lighting skills or some of the windy days we’ve had this spring. The ash was solid on every cigar and really only needed to be ashed 3 or 4 times per cigar. The ash was ringed with alternating light and dark gray. The cigar that burned the most unevenly had a bit of a yellow tint to the ash. Either way, the burn was good. 8/10

AROMA: I’m not that good at picking up on aroma notes, but I enjoyed the smell of the smoke very much. It was thick, and strong, but not a cigar you would want to light up at a bar because of the strong aroma. The aroma was of tobacco, earth and I think maybe something sweet too. 10/10

DRAW: The draw was perfect on every single cigar. I used my double guillotine to snip off the head and each time the draw was the same. The draw was a bit snug, but not too snug, and sometimes required a second ‘toke’ to create that REALLY good draw. The snug draw was expected because of the weight and tightness of the cigar. I like a slight tug of a draw in a cigar. Another great result of the slightly snug draw and plethora of tobacco was the COOL draw that lasted to the nub and fingertips each time. 10/10

FLAVOR: Again, I’m not great at picking out flavors either, but the cigar was spicy to the lips and tongue pre-light and had an earthy smell. I used a triple torch flame to light the Casa Magna and the expected spice was up front and center. I was able to ’roll’ the smoke with much enjoyment and no discomfort even with the large amount of spice (a few strong cigars are too strong for me to ‘roll’ the smoke and fully enjoy the cigar). Coffee was in the background. During the second third the spice faded to the background and coffee, earth and the taste that I loved—the taste of chocolate that reminds me of my grandma’s homemade chocolate cake. These flavors balanced very well and made the cigar very complex. The last third the spice came back a little bit to the front and the chocolate, coffee and earth flavors jumped out here and there. This cigar had a lot of different flavors going on, but in a very good way. 10/10

AVAILABILITY: The 2008 release was like hunting for Sasquatch, but the 2009 release isn’t hard to find at all. Some online tobacconists are on backorder, but so far most retailers are keeping this cigar stocked and in several more vitolas than the 2008 release (which was only the robusto). The price is a HUGE bonus for this cigar as the robusto is only $5-$6. Not too many cigars of this quality are priced this low. So, availability may become scarce as the year goes on, but so far so good. 10/10

PERSONAL OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The strength of this cigar is labeled as full bodied…and it was just as expected. Now, it is not the strongest cigar that I’ve had, but it does not rate itself as a super strong cigar either. The Casa Magna is superbly made and beautiful to look at. I’ve been smoking cigars for almost a year and a half now, and after trying MANY cigars, this will be one of the first boxes I will buy to stock my humidor once room as been created. The price is very affordable and I really enjoy the flavors. I enjoyed every one of these cigars this wonderful spring. With the smoking time at over an hour and a half, they’ve thankfully helped me be outside and enjoy the weather. The Casa Magna Colorado robusto is a wonderful cigar. 27/30

Total Score: 95/100

Take care-
Joe

Jeffro's B-Day Bash: Fairmount Park May 15th

I realize that this is not an official OCCS event, however, it seems fitting to post the reminder here.

We have reservations in the Black Stallion Room for the "Stein Party". There is a buffet dinner before the races start, the doors open @ 6pm, and the races start at 7:30.

For more info on the place: http://www.fairmountpark.com/

Hope to see you there.

Adam

Old 10/10 Cigar Reviews

Here is the list of cigars we gave a 10/10 before the new cigar review rating system:

>A.F. Chateau Fuente Queen Bee Sun Grown
>Don Pepin Garcia M.F. Le Bijou 1922
>Illusione 888
>Rocky Patel 1961 Robusto
>Diesel Unholy Cocktail Torpedo
>HC Hababo Colorado
>Cain F
>Nica Libre
>Nub Maduro
>Don Peppin Garcia-My Father
>Casa Magna
>Arturo Fuente Opus X Fuente Fuente

Cigar review system changed on 04/16/2010.

-Joe

Review of the review

Okay, how did it look? I think the structure is good but I got to tell you guys, I felt kind of weird rating the Band. I would like to get rid of that and either replace it or put the points in something else.

What do you think of the weighting of the overall personal experience?

Matt

SPECIAL REVIEW: CAIN F NUB

Okay, here goes. This is the first attempt of a review with our new system. As this is a special occasion review, we can probably tweak it if we need do.

BRAND: CAIN (BY OLIVIA)
BLEND: F
SIZE: 4 X 54 (NUB)
ORIGIN: Filler, Binder and Wrapper all come from Nicaragua with most of the triple fermented ligero filler hailing from Condega, Jalapa adn Esteli valleys.
PURCHASED FROM: Tampa Humidor in Tampa FL. I got it for free as a sampler freebee when I bought the Cain F Torpedos
BODY: FULL
STRENGTH: FULL

OVERALL APEARANCE: Reddish hue with dark oily wrapper. Very good looking cigar. Band was a very simple red band with gold lettering CAIN F NUB. 9/10

CONSTRUCTION: No veins. No hard or soft spots throughout. Nice looking cap. 9/10

BURN: Like most of the cigars made by Olivia, this burned like a champion. Great solid ash (this close to being able to stand it upright on the ash). 10/10

AROMA: Very strong tobacco smell (duh) but it also had a hint of barnyard. That hit you in your face burn of amonia from the nicotine. 8/10

DRAW: Exceptional. No touch ups at all. Held the flame for a long time. 10/10

FLAVORS: Coffee, toffee and hay 8/10

AVAILABILITY/COST: Extrememly rare. You can only get these from the Cain events or from select merchants that will sell them as sampler packs when you buy a box. 3/10

OVERALL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: While this was a very good cigar, I was not wowed by it. It did not seem as strong as the standard F's. It was however much mellower. Actually, much smoother in fact. While still full strength, I was more impressed by the full flavored aspect of this. Much different than standard F's. 27/30

OVERALL SCORE: 84/100

Matt

The OCCS Rating

The notes I took during our last meeting while discussing the official OCCS rating system have evidently been stolen by another cigar club. I know we all gave quite a bit of thought to this, and we take it seriously--so I am very sorry for dropping the ball on this.

The best way to avoid this from happening again, other than obviously having someone besides me in charge of taking & keep the notes, may be to post our thoughts/discussion here. Besides, such discussion is one of the reasons we set this blog up in the first place.

I know we formulated 10 different areas for rating our cigars, each having a possible 10 points (thus making the "perfect" cigar a 100). We also discussed the number of a particular cigar that must be smoked before a cigar can be considered for a 100 rating, and I thought there was talk of having a minimum number for even posting a review for a particular cigar. I believe we also discussed what information should be posted in the description area of the cigar (origin, price, where it was purchased, etc.).

Again, my apologies for allowing our sacred notes out of club hands, but lets take it from here.

March OCCS Evening

Fried bluegill and french fries. Cole slaw, baked beans and apple pie with ice cream. NUB Habano cigar. One crazy movie about killing goats and another with a kung-fu island. Aweomse night gentlemen!

Thanks for letting us crash your house again Jeff. There isn't a better place in town. Thanks for bringing the frier and sides Adam.

The NUB Habano cigar is, as always, a treat. It was a 4 x 64 torpedo. I think most of us have had the NUB Habano before and it is fantastic everytime.

How many times did I tell you NOT to interupt my Fung-Fu?!?!

Until next month, take it easy-

Joe

Reminder-March OCCS This Friday Evening (The 26th)

Just a reminder that this upcoming Friday is our March OCCS evening. It will be at Jeff's house and we will be frying fish for dinner. I have plenty of bluegill and I'll bring some other stuff too.

Also, I finally picked up our cigar for the evening: NUB Habano 464T. This has to be my favorite NUB cigar. It is a 4x64 torpedo. Can't wait.

See you all soon. Take care-

Joe

Question of the week - with observations

Well, it is official: Time flies. I was looking at my calender making sure I have everything done for Friday. You see, I have Friday off as we have friends coming in from KC and hopefully, weather permitting, we are playing golf (the invite is still open Adam and Joe) on Friday. That being said, holy crap it is already March freaking 10th. You know what that means. One, Spring is just around the corner. And two, and more importantly Evelyn will be one on Sunday. I really can't believe that.

Which brings me to my question: What, if any, gems are you saving in your humidor for a "special occasion"? As you well know, I like to hoard my puros so I have quite a few to choose from. But I am leaning towards one of these for Evelyn's b-day (not for her but for me):

1. CAO Sopranos, aged 4 years in my humi.
2. Fuente Opus X, aged 1 year (more than likely this will be what I choose as this was the present Robin gave me to celebrate our daughters birth).
3. Gurkha Castle Hall, aged 1 year (this would also be appropriate as this is the last cigar from the box I got for Evelyn's birth to hand out).
4. Rocky Patel Old World, aged 4 years
5. Tatuaje Red tubo

What are your thoughts?

Matt

Question of the week

This may be a little more thought than any of us want to put into this but how do we (you) rate your cigars?

Part two: Should we come up with a Standard grading system?

How I do it honestly is more how I feel about it at the end. I give everything a 5 just because it is a cigar and then add or take away points on how much I enjoy it.

Some things to consider:
Draw
Burn
Flavor
Apparance
Construction
Aroma

What other type of variables should there be? Any input would be appreciated.

Matt

febuary meeting

Hello everyone, It was good to see everybody last night, I think a good time was by all,sorry John didn't make it though. Thank you for the chilli pizza Joe. It was awesome!! This months cigar was the ROOM 101 GORDO,6 BY 60.8/10 I really enjoyed this cigar,very smooth with a wonderful aroma. Great flavors and the burn was pretty even. Getting them in the mail the day of the meeting was cutting it close though. ...HAPPY SMOKING EVERYONE..........Jeffro

Food, OCCS Evenings and Lent

Hope everyone is doing great. Just want to throw a couple of things out there. We’ll have chili pizza this Friday at Jeff’s. The chili will contain no meat so you can still enjoy if you are observing Lent.

Jeff has been kind enough to let us meet at his place again for this March’s OCCS evening—couldn’t think of a better place—thanks again Jeff. Again, the date of the March OCCS evening is still March 26th. This will also be during Lent and I just so happen to have several bags of bluegill filets (maybe some crappie too—not sure) in my freezer. How does a fish-fry sound? I could bring some fries or tater-tots too. Does anyone have a turkey fryer?

Sound good?

(No, I do not have a cigar chosen for March yet.)

Take care-
Joe

Question of the week

We may have discussed this in the past but haven't really talked about it on the blog.

Do you find yourself smoking the same cigars time after time or are you more of a variety type of smoker?

Myself, I tend to smoke the same things over and over. I like to buy boxes to save $ so I find myself smoking say a Serie V or a Rocky Patel Edge until they are gone. I usually save the singles for times when I know I have a couple hours to spare so I can give it a proper evaluation.

Matt

REVIEW: CAO LA TRAVIATA

i went by paradise liquers friday and saw thay had the new CAO'S. so i had to have one or two. i'd call these medium to full. lot of scicy flavors like pepper and a hint of carmel, some coffee notes. even burn throughout. very very nice aroma. for 5.50 a stick it reasonble . i would definately recommend this to everyone 8/10.i loved this cigar.i just might change to this one for febuaries pick........happy smoking everyone......jeff

OCCS is 2 YEARS OLD this Month!!

It's been two years since our first official meeting--held at Growler's, of course, on 2/1/08. In some respects, it feels as though we just had that meeting, but in other ways, man, a TON of stuff has happened since that night...

I'm very much looking forward to another great year of smoking cigars with friends, and i hope everyone is doing well.

Adam

Question of the day

Happy Friday everyone!

Does anyone remember their very first cigar?

Mine was a Te-Amo. All I remember about it was that it was a gift box from our neighbor to my dad. I was about 10 years old. I didn't smoke it until I was about 12-13 but that gives you an indication on how dry and awful it was. I think I even inhaled some.

Now, the first Good cigar I had was a Fuente Hemmingway. Some buddys and I went to New Mexico for Spring break and we decided to buy a box of cigars. 5 guys and 20 cigars. Of course it was excellent. I don't remember too much about it other than we were sitting under the stars in the middle of the desert. And Cyotes. Lots of Cyotes.

Matt

review : ecig

i bought debbie one of these last year and got to try it. We ordered the stongest they had. the kit came with two cigs ,one to smoke and one to charge so you could swap. this is a brilliant consept,but it did not work effectively enough. would not stay charged for any considerable amount of time.the tips, which use some sort of paste type nicatine,did not last long enough either. then there were the charging problems. it would't stay charged long either and then it got so hot it burned debbies hand. taste of the ecig was ok ,there is a vapor that you exhale not smoke and the end lits up when you inhale and exhale. was not a good experience, going to wait till the technology get better ,then we wil try it again. oh almost forgot ,for 70 dollers you got the kit,which had two e cigs,a charger and some tips to but on the end that have the nicotine in them and tips cost about 5 dollors for 5 or six tips....happy smoking everyone............jeff ..see you on the 19th

What???

If you have had one (Jeff), please review:

http://www.smoke-light.com/electronic_cigar

-Joe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM

Happy birthday Adam. So what are your plans man? What are you smoking today?


matt

OCCS First Golf Outing of 2010

It was great getting out for awhile to swing the clubs again, smoke some cigars, and do some catching up. Great idea, Joe. I'm glad we braved the cooler weather--still not bad for January, and I look forward to hitting the links when it warms up a bit.

I enjoyed a RP Olde World, an RP Edge, and a Nica Libre. All three were top notch (10/10, which is more than I can say for most of my practice shots).

We just need to convince Rich, John, and Jeff that playing golf is the one of the best ways to enjoy the outdoors, smoke cigars, and hang out with friends.

Adam

Review Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Queen B Sun Grown 5.5 x 52

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Queen B Sun Grown
Origin: Dom Rep (?)
Size: 5.5" x 52 Torpedo
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Filler & Binder: (?)
Body: Full
Strength: Medium to Full

Santa was nice enough to get this for me for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. I couldn't find much info on it on line except for what is above. I smoked this last Friday after a hard week and it did not disapoint. With the Fuente name behind it, the wrapper and construction was flawless. No veins, perfect head and no soft or hard spots. On the prelight I had hints of sea salt and barnyard. The draw was perfect and I got more of the sea salt as it progressed. It also mellowed from a full body to more of a medium. It also developed a lot more earthy and coffee notes as I burned it down to the nub.

If I could buy any cigars this year, this would be it. I really can't talk enough about this one. Fan-freaking-tastic! 10/10

What are you smoking this week?

The weather is a tad warmer and I've been taking adavtage of it by enjoying some really amazing cigars.

Saturday I had a XIKAR HC Connecticut shade lonsdale--the last of the HCs I got on my trip to Kansas City. This cigar was superb and my first lonsdale.

Sunday I smoked a fantastic Padilla Series '68 robusto. I beleive Jeff gave this one to me-and I thank you, Jeff. This was my favorite in the past week. A 10 rating without a doubt.

Yesterday I beleive I enjoyed my first Alec Bradley Tempest. It was an Inceptio (46 x 5 5/8) and a fantastic full bodied cigar that I will have to try in a bigger ring gauge.

Today I had an Oliva O Maduro robusto while finishing a book. Always a fantastic cigar.

If the cards fall just right I will partake in my last 5 Vegas Miami M5 (5.5 x 55) tomorrow evening. This is another remarkable smoke.

So, life is good. What are you all enjoying this week?

Take care-
Joe

no cigar related

was wondering if anybody watched the golden globes sunday night. the JEW KILLER from INGLORIOUS BASTARDS won one, pretty cool....strange speech though.....happy smoking everyone.........jeff

What is your favorite cigar band?

It's Friday! Hope you will be able to enjoy the warmer weather this weekend with a cigar.

There are thousands of cigar bands out there. Some huge, small, near the head, on the foot, glued to the cigar itself, graphic, simple, classic and some bands from cigarbid.com are scotch-taped together.

I've seen a few cigar bands and the one I like best is the Oliva Master Blends III (I or II are about the same too). Here is a link that shows the colorful and graphic band:

http://www.olivacigar.com/cigars_master.aspx

Do you have a favorite cigar band?

Take care-
Joe

another guest for march meeting

whats up guys? i have contacted JEFF BURTON of the POINT and asked him if he would like to attend one of our meetings. told him the date and time and place ,so mybe he will stop by. i just thought it would be cool since he is a felllow cigar smoker ..pretty cool huh.........happy smoking everyone.....jeff

Tatuaje Red Tubo (Veracu)

Tatuaje Red Tubo (Veracu)
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 6" x 52 Torpedo
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Filler & Binder: Nicaragua
Body: Medium to Full
Strength: Medium to Full

The blood red tube this came in is quite the presentation. Easily one of the more impressive tubes I have seen. I opened up the tube to reveal a VERY rough looking torpedo. It seemed like it was rolled in a rush with very little attention to detail. Some soft and some hard spots throughout and several holes throughout the wrapper (it didn't effect the taste but still).

While the cigar looked bad it tasted great! Lots of coffee, lots of spice. However, the burn on this was so bad I almost considered throwing it out. Five relights and lots of unhappy faces I was making.

I have 2 more to try and I am praying that the first one was a fluke.

6/10
Matt

Review: E.P. Carrillo Edicion Inagural 2009

E.P. Carrillo Edicion Inagural 2009 description: 5 3/8 x 52 (only size), $13 per stick, Ecuadorian Wrapper, DR and Nicaragua binders and fillers, made in DR by Ernesto Perez-Carillo. Ernesto left General Cigar to start his own cigar company with his children last year. This cigar is their first. Ernesto is known for blending the La Gloria Cubana cigars.

Sharp looking cigar with a chocolate brown natural wrapper that felt very solid. Pre-light draw was decent with really no taste. The cigar started off with a tough draw that didn’t go away until only two inches left. The cigar started off with hints of caramel and butter. Less than an inch into the cigar the butter notes went away and the caramel notes fell to the background while a nutmeg-spice came forward and stayed the remainder of the cigar. This was a medium bodied cigar that almost developed to full near then end once the draw was better. This cigar was complex, but the draw left me a little exhausted. I give this cigar a 7/10 because of the draw and because the price and hype did not live up to expectations during my one opportunity to enjoy this cigar.

The E.P. Carrillo website is quite unique (and a little confusing to me with little useful information). There is a map of the world and every time there is a ‘Tweet’ in the world, that ‘Tweet’ will display on the map live. Check it out if you want at: http://www.epcarrillo.com/

This was Adam’s gift to me from our OCCS gift exchange, so thank you Adam for the opportunity to try this cigar.

Take care-
Joe

January Meeting & Devil's Weed Review

Those of us that braved the cold were rewarded with superb company, great food, and a pretty good smoke--Devil's Weed. I chose to smoke the Churchill, and I thought the flavor remained pretty consistent from start to finish. Devil's Weed is far from the powerhouses I tend to enjoy the most, but it is tasty nonetheless. I picked up quite a bit of caramel and bread flavors. Well made, even burn, great draw, and no relights for me. A definite repeat. 8.9/10

Rich & John--we missed you, and I will get your Devil's Weeds to you at the February Meeting (provided you both come out of hibernation by then).

Sad to hear that this meeting was likely the last we'll see of our regular waitress, Jess.

We should give serious consideration, as we discussed, to bringing a deck of cards/board game when our meetings are held at Growler's, and I will do my best to remember to bring a few real ashtrays.

Great to see everyone, and I am looking forward to Jeffro's Meeting next month.

Adam

The First Smoke of 2010

What, where, and how was your first 2010 smoke?
Mine was a good old Rocky Patel Edge Maduro, I smoked it while cleaning out the garage on Saturday (1/2/10)--so that Jen could once again park her car in there (and so I could use the sweet new skateboard I got for Christmas in there), and it was a perfect 10/10, or course.

Do you have any personal goals or resolutions for this year that you would like to share? (Just remember, if you list your personal goals & resolutions here, you'd better be pretty serious about them--as there will be a group of guys grilling you about your progress on a fairly regular basis.)
I have three personal goals this year: lose 15 pounds by June 1; use my Rosetta Stone German 1&2 at least 3 times a week (until I am ready for the next level); obtain the new ASE Master Service Manager Certifcation by the end of the year. Here we go!

Adam