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