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