Changes in review

Over the last few days I have been looking over the few reviews that I have on the website in a way to make them better. I have decided to go in a different direction of what I have been doing the past year. One of the main things I will be doing away with is the point system based on Cigar Aficionado. While I do like this rating system, sometimes I feel it can be confusing to some people on what makes a cigar an 89 and what makes one a 91.

The changes will also be present in the written review. While it will still be a full review, it will no longer be separated by categories. Instead it will be written out in paragraph form on what took place while the cigar was reviewed. The 5 star rating that I have been doing will stay in place and will be the only score I now give cigars based on what was the outcome of the smoke. The rating will be a more simplified system and will work as followed below.

1 star – I would not even consider giving this smoke to my worst enemy. I would still never smoke this cigar again even if it was free

2 Stars- This would be a smoke that is decent and would smoke if you were not able to give it your full attention. Something you would smoke while working on the lawn, working on your car or maybe even the golf course.

3 Stars- This is where they start getting better, something that you would give a little more attention to. Something you smoke when you are hanging out with friends and having a good time. Maybe even a good everyday smoke and a regular humidor staple.

4 stars- You better give these your full attention, because you may be missing out if you don’t. Take the time to go through all the smoking rituals in getting ready to smoke this one.

5 Stars- These are the best, pure euphoric experience. This is the ultimate in cigar smoking and will give you an experience like no other.

Along with the score I will let you know why the particular score was given. Price, wrapper, flavor, construction, and draw will all be factored in to the 5 star rating and you will know exactly why it was given a 1 or a 5.

I hope this helps to simplify things and gives you a good visit to my site. Over the next few days I will be converting all my current reviews into the new format. All future reviews will be done in the new format and hopefully you will enjoy.

Happy Smoking until next time!

Quick Review-Diesel Unholy Cocktail

A.J. Fernandez seems to be producing hit after hit and this cigar is no exception. Measuring in at 5×56 this Nicaraguan cigar smokes very good for its size. A very full flavored and full bodied cigar that gives off tons of thick smoke. Chocolate and coffee bean are the prominent flavors in this cigar with a nice sweet tobacco taste lingering on the palette. Razor sharp burn and a cool smoke lasting just about one and half hours.

At $99 over at Cigar.com for a box of 30 this is a definite must try. These should be a good smoke to keep in humidors at all times.

I give this cigar a 5 out of a 5!

Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1979 Robusto

Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5 x 50
Price: $6.00

Don Pepin Garcia, one of the hottest cigar makers in the business has been putting out some of the strongest Nicaraguan cigars out there. From brands Tatuaje, San Cristobal, La Aroma De Cuba and many more. I finally lit one up and the results were surprising, maybe not one of the strongest out there but just perfect for me. Now on to the tasting!

Appearance: The appearance on this was almost flawless. beautiful color, silky wrapper not dry at all. The only flaw came at the foot which I believe was a fault of my own in storage. So no points taken away from that. Very nice classic black two banded cigar.

Feel: Very smooth wrapper, almost no veins to the touch. Felt very silky and had a nice texture. The cigar felt rolled perfect with no soft spots, consistent the whole stick.

First 1/3rd: The flavors or should I say flavor I got did not surprise me at all. Just a little bit of spice and lots of leather. I expected there to be more spice to it, but I am glad at how it did turn out.

Second 1/3rd: To me….leather the whole way through. Not much changed, but that was a good thing.

Finish: Long finish on the palate, thick smoke and notes of leather just hanging in there.

Strength: I would say medium to full, I typically stick to medium so the strength was perfect. It had that right about of kick to the stomach.

Draw: Perfect!

Burn: Burn stayed pretty good, I had to correct it once and it gt a little wavy. I am not picky at all with slight burn problems, and this one was good.

Smoke: Thick white smoke, tons of it.

Ash: Very good ash, held on well.

Overall Impression: C I was very impressed with this cigar. It was sitting in my humidor for about 5 months so it had some nice age to it. I was afraid to touch one of these, but after I liked  the San Cristobal so much, I thought I would try it, It was very good and I would definitely consider a box. I very well made and great tasting cigar. almost flawless.

Appearance and Construction (20/20)
Flavor Profile (25/30)
Burn (21/25 )
Overall (25/25 )

Score: 91

My 5 star rating: 5 stars

San Cristobal Clasico-Cigar Place

Cigars: San Cristobal Classico
Qty: 22
MSRP:$176
CigarPlace.biz $10 off special $129.95

Retailer Rating:
Price: 10
Shipping: 10
Quality: 10
Customer Service: 10
Overall Rating: 10

CigarPlace.biz has one of the best prices online for these cigars. Unfortunately they are currently out of stock on these. If you have been thinking about possibly buying these the keep an eye open at cigarplace.biz.

Nica Libre Exclusivo

Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5 1/2 x 50
Price: $2.75

Appearance: This was a very good looking cigar. Very smooth looking wrapper, some veins on it but not sticking out. The cap was a little ragged looking, but nothing to bad. The color was very even with no noticeable flaws.

Feel: Wrapper was very smooth, did not feel dry not too oily. The cigar felt like it was rolled perfectly and box pressed.

First 1/3rd: Very good flavors! I had a little bit of spice fr around the first minute or so but that wore off. Not a lot of flavors going on, but what I did tase were very good. Just the right amount of leather and coffee flavor notes in this cigar. Very rich and creamy.

Second 1/3rd: The flavors did not really change much, kept the same flavor profile.

Finish: A bit of a short finish, with the coffee notes fading quickly as the smoke leaves your mouth.

Strength: I would say medium to full, but it definitely stayed arund the medium area. At one point it felt like it was about to get stronger but it just stayed the same.

Draw: Draw on the cigar was perfect, effortless draw without being to loose.

Burn: The burn was pretty good on this cigar. Stayed almost straight the whole way and stayed lit the whole time. I had to retouch one time with my torch lighter and that was it.

Smoke: This is what I liked. Tons of smoke, lingering around. The aroma on the cigar was amazing very nice and mild aroma where you could almost sense the coffee flavors in it.

Ash: Very good ash, held on well.

Overall Impression: Considering the price, this was a very good cigar. Wait even without the small price tag this was still an excellent cigar. I would definitely buy more of these. The flavors were pretty much one dimensional but they were the flavors I enjoy. That is what have made me like it the way I did. If you can not afford Padron but want something that may be a little similar, give one a try. They very good for an everyday smoke or even a weekend smoke. I definitely enjoyed it and hopefully you will too.

Appearance and Construction (15/20)
Flavor Profile (25/30)
Burn (23/25 )
Overall (25/25 )

Score: 88

My 5 star rating: 4 1/2 stars

Nica Libre-Cigars Interational

A few months back as I was browsing through the massive catalog of Cigars International, I came across a new brand of cigar that caught my interest. Nica Libre was the brand that I saw and had my interest right away. Too many times I am drawn into the look and marketing of certain unknown cigars, but these seemed to have promise.

I immediately saw that they were back ordered within days of having them listed on site. I searched high and low for anything I could find from this mysterious brand that was compared to Padron Cigars.We will get to the Padron similarities in a bit. I waited and searched for a few months and finally I saw a quick review from one of my brothers at the Puff forums. So based on that I decided to pull the trigger on a box of these new beauties.

So I decided on going with the 5.5″x50 Exclusivo size, the same exact size and name as a Padron 1964. In fact all of the 5 sizes match the Padron 1964. So I waited anxiously until they finally came in, and I got to see them first hand. Below is the packaging of the Nicaraguan beauties.

The Box is very well presented with a very nice seal on the corner.

Corner label on the box, that I still have not figured out what 1990 stands for.


20 Cigars box-pressed

Next to a Padron 1926.

The description on Cigars International puts them as a Padron clone. Now you can tell by the pictures how similar they look. They even copied the band somewhat. I only had one Padron to actually physically compare it to, and that is the 1926 above.

I do not have an official review because I smoked it fairly young and it was good at that time. Once they get a good rest I will post a detailed review.

So if you want to check the out go to Cigars International.com and maybe try a five pack.

Until next time.

Rocky Patel Decade Toro

Wrapper: Sumatra
Binder: Secret
Filler: Secret
Size: 6 1/2 x 52
Price: $10.00

Appearance: Upon inspecting this smoke I found very few if any flaws. It had a beautiful wrapper with a nice and even color. Very nice oily wrapper, perfectly wrapped, overall a good looking cigar.

Feel: This cigar felt perfect in every way. Very smooth wrapper, no soft spots, felt like it was rolled very good.

First 1/3rd: Upon lighting this cigar, it had very a very strong spice to it with some hints of dark chocolate. It was very smooth and had no harshness whatsoever to it.

Second 1/3rd: So around here the spiciness wore off and just stayed with strong chocolate and leather flavors. Very smooth and creamy smoke, this cigar was really tasting very good.

Finish: Long finish with the leather notes definitely staying on the palate for a while.

Strength: I have smoked this cigar before and would probably say medium to full. However this one actually hit me a little harder than the previous decades. I would rate this as a full bodied cigar.

Draw: The draw was a little bit more loose than I like, buy definitely not a bad draw. It allowed to draw smoke with ease without ever burning hot.

Burn: Burn was very good, it was not razor sharp but I usually don’t expect them to be. Once it got past halfway the wrapper started burning a little wavy. It did not at all affect the enjoyment of this cigars

Smoke: Lots, and lots of thick white smoke. You could engulf yourself in the smoke of this cigar and did not ever have to struggle just to get some good smoke.

Ash: Held a pretty firm ash, before I just gave it a light tap. Nice and solid ash.

Overall Impression: I really enjoyed this smoke more than I have in the past. It was a pleasure to smoke it. I never had trouble with it at all. The burn stayed cool the whole cigar and the thick smoked really helped in getting the flavors. The spiciness in the beginning then along with the dark chocolate and leather made this very flavorful. The price tag is a little high but I do think It is one of Rocky Patel’s top cigars.

Appearance and Construction (20/20)
Flavor Profile (25/30)
Burn (22/25 )
Overall (23/25 )

Score: 90

My 5 star rating: 4 1/2 stars

Casa Magna Colorado Robusto

Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5 1/2×52
Price: $5.23

Appearance: The appearance was flawless, very shiny oily wrapper and a beautiful color. Perfect cap and excellent construction. Very few veins, well put together.

Feel: Consistent throughout, no soft spots, very firm cigar.

First 1/3rd: Leathery and spicy in this part of the cigar. A lot of pepper and some subtle coffee bean notes.

Second 1/3rd: This point is where the burn got bad, but still a lot of leather. The pepper went away and some very dark chocolate notes starting to come through.

Finish: This one had a long finish with the leather and dark chocolate staying on he palette. Very good finish.

Strength: I would rate this a medium to full. It started with that spicy punch to the stomach but wore off quickly.

Draw: Draw was excellent, when it was actually staying lit. Very firm but not in a bad way.

Burn: Maybe I got a bad one or did not let it rest enough, its been 2 weeks. It was horrible. See the pictures.

Smoke: Tons of thick smoke, again when it was fully lit. Which was rare.

Ash: Well it was looking good, but I put it down for a sec and the very mild wind knocked it to the floor and the ash fell off too soon. I never got a good test afterwards because I kept knocing off the ash to fix the burn.

Overall Impression: I was really excited about this stick, but this first stick was not very good. The construction and appearance were amazing. The flavors started out very good but took a turn for the worse when I had to keep relighting it. I am hoping that I just took it out of the humidor too soon. I have more resting in there and plan to do a second review soon.

Appearance and Construction (20/20)
Flavor Profile (25/30)
Burn (15/25 )
Overall (15/25 )

Score: 75

My 5 star rating: 2 1/2 stars…It really had the flavor going for it, but that is about it.

After this last picture, the burn started going horrible again and this is the point where I stopped smoking it.