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HDM Elegantes ALO SEP 16....quite strong, med-full, no real personality, won't revisit for a while, did nothing for me, my 3rd one 2014 Cohiba Piramides....meh LGC Paraiso RE Caribe....I may be in the minority on these but enjoy them if the right wrapper is found, box worthy Johnny O 1966 freshie, perfect stick for the course, tasty, one dimensional and cheap

Monte Especial (BAP August 10), delicious evening bonfire smoke:

NeedEd more Mag48s and found BHK52's at a buyable price

Back in 2008 my good mate Jose pulled me aside and gifted me a medallion/key ring. It was the medallion/key ring for door number 1, room 5, Senate, Capitolio Building Havana. I know Hamlet has one. JDC another. All in all a dozen of us. A little brotherhood. It has taken near 10 years but I decided to turn mine into a simple bracelet. Gold was my first pick but I am not a "Gold" person. Hell, I am barely a jewelry person at all. Brushed Sterling Silver with a custom mechanism where the medallion can be flipped allowing you to chose which side to be shown. I will work the SS to achieve a patina over the coming months. I think it has turned out well. One to be worn when we come together. One to be passed down to Ben.

This Bushido started off a bit dull with Woody flavors being the dominant flavor. Burn was phenomenal. Once this cigar hit the second third it really came alive and brought around some sweetness to wrap around those woody undertones. Phenomenal Cigar at this point. Pairs perfectly with my cheap Cabernet. Given the price point, not sure I would be hawkish one more of these even if they were to be found. But that has more to do with my budget then my taste.

00 Punch RS No. 11 from a generous BOTL via a trade. Thank you sir, it is fantastic. Thanks for breaking into the box.

Thought I'd start taking some notes and offering up some thoughts. Montecristo Edmundo (PCC Vintage stock), a 52x135 robusto Box code: OPA AUG 09 Smoked on: April 4, 2017 (aged 7.7 years) Bought: Via 24:24 on August 3, 2015. Notes from El Prez: PSP: I only put up Montecristo Edmundo when I come across them like this. When they are at this standard (and it is not often), they are the closest thing in regular production to the Monte 520 that you will find. There is depth and richness to the flavour no doubt elevated by the stunning wrappers. Construction is flawless. My review: Appearance: Colorado Claro, a bit lighter than most good Montecristos I've had. The wrapper is smooth and has retained a soft, oily sheen. Construction and cut: Overall very good. Slightly soft in places. Guillotine cut. Good draw. Aroma at cold: Brilliant. Alluring. Cocoa. Soft aged tobacco. Raisiny sweetness. Body: Mild-Medium First third: Faint baking spices. Soft through the nose. Brioche buns. Light smoke. Finish is on the short side. A bit of cidar and Cuban saltiness. A touch of woody spice begins to appear -- not much, but it lingers on the palate. Second third: Room note is noticeably pleasant. The cocoa wavers between bittersweet and baker's chocolate. A bit of light coffee flavor, but without bitterness of any kind. Salty character increases somewhat. Aroma is evocative of the old stacks in a library. Very sensitive to smoking speed. Smoking too fast creates excess heat, which turns the light woody character into mushrooms. Final third: Cocoa at the core, and the brioche is now a mild baked sourdough. A gentle, settled palate of aged tobacco. Touch of anise. Return of cedar and a background of lightly creamed coffee. A delight to retrohale. Last thoughts: Excellent mellow cigar of moderate age. No great evolution, but hints and accents gradually shift, maintaining interest. Must be smoked at a gentle pace. Absolutely wonderful aromas. Montecristo to the core. Glad to have most of a box remaining in the humidor. Rating: 90

I will disagree and agree at at the same time.... Boxes from before 1998 were a different seed and had much more power, aging was almost a must on some sticks.... Cigars from the early 2000's still had some strength... but stuff these days I honestly don't think will hold up for 20-25 yrs...of course I could be wrong and would be happy to be wrong but I don't see a Bolivar Belicoso Fino from today aging like they did in the 90's. I find that more of my cigars that are over 10yrs old....so from mid 2000's are going flat....stuff that is evern 7yrs old is super mellow....Boli's, HdM, PLPC, all that is at peak at about the 5yr mark these days. Now all that said....it is more fun that you buy and hold on to something that long than it be an amazing stick.....I would say if you have the space get a 50 cab (cool big box anyway) of RASS or Punch or Partagas...something with some body....and smoke 1 a year on their birthday until they are old enough to join you then it is 2 a year until the sticks are gone.

My first 24:24 shipment arrived yesterday. Punch Punch PSP's from 2013 ! Woohoo! Thank you, Rob. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Surprise today...

yes, two concepts you never thought to see in the same sentence. anyway, it seems that the good old days where rob would come for a review and next day, i'd have three empties (and know i'd had less than half a bottle) are long gone. i can live with that but complete abstinence is not good for you. even most vaguely sane religions (another first seeing that oxymoron but no matter) allow drinking. rob coming around monday for another review (hurry up, greg, too many in the can) and bringing a really top cigar. as he should. i was keen to crack something special to go with it but prohibition pete is off grog. and not quite the same thing, drinking on your own (not that i am against that but...). so, perhaps this, from the Times, will make him reconsider. Red or white, drinking wine is an ideal workout for the grey matter Ben Hoyle, Los Angeles April 5 2017, 12:01am, The Times Wine engages more of our brain than any other activity, according to a top neuroscientist. The next time you reach for that chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc or pour an extra glass of pinot noir, take a moment to congratulate yourself: research suggests that your mind could not be working harder. Drinking wine “engages more of our brain than any other human behaviour”, according to a leading neuroscientist whose decades of work have helped to redefine our understanding of how the brain processes flavour. Encouragingly for those who hate to waste a drop, Gordon Shepherd, a professor of neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, also argues that spitting wine out during a tasting session prevents the drinker from fully appreciating it. Swallowing is one of the key processes, he claims in his book Neuroenology: How The Brain Creates The Taste of Wine. It is vital “for obtaining the most information possible about the quality of a wine”. Dr Shepherd has been instrumental in carving out an emerging branch of science known as “neurogastronomy”, a term that he coined in 2006. His work has shown that our psychological, sensory and physical response to food and drink combine to create what we think of as flavour in objects that do not inherently possess it. Our understanding of how this works and what is means has been expanded through detailed scientific research by Dr Shepherd and other scientists and through the practical experiments of chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, at the Fat Duck in Bray, and Ferran Adrià of the El Bulli restaurant in Spain. In Neuroenology, Dr Shepherd is advocating a new approach to wine along similar lines “that can be summed up in the phrase: the taste is not in the wine; the taste is created by the brain of the wine taster”. Where other wine-tasting books focus on the wine, Dr Shepherd is much more interested in the drinker. He has the data to show that they are engaged in a series of operations more elaborate than listening to music or solving a difficult maths problem. “The molecules in wine don’t have taste or flavour, but when they stimulate our brains, the brain creates flavour the same way it creates colour” [by responding to the effects produced when light hits the objects that we see, which are actually inherently colourless] he told National Public Radio in the US. Sniffing that pinot in advance requires “exquisite control of one of the biggest muscles in the body” while moving it inside the mouth engages the intricate muscles that control the tongue as well as stimulating thousands of taste and odour receptors. This explosion of mental information is then processed through a frame of reference that is “heavily dependent on our own memories and emotions and those of our companions” at the time, as well as additional factors like the composition of our saliva and our age and gender. Dr Shepherd does however caution against overdoing the pursuit of pleasure. Often he observes that after a few sips “people are just downing the stuff. If you take too large a sip, you’ve saturated your system.” At which point the brain may recognise the possibility of another complex phenomenon: the hangover. What happens after each sip ● Taste is an illusion. The perception of wine is formed in the brain, not in the mouth. Smell plays the key role. ● Two movements activate the brain to create flavour perception: the movement of the wine through the mouth and the movement of air through the throat and nose ● The most important contribution from our sense of smell comes not from sniffing the wine in advance but from molecules released in the mouth when we breathe out.

@Canoli dont be worried about cigars fading away at only 20 years . i open up boxes of cigars I bought 20 or 25 years ago quite regularly ... I have yet to find an "expired" box of cigars . i believe it all has to do with storage ... buy em fresh and age ... I would not buy older cigars that somebody else aged ( but that's just me ) . derrek

Hangin' with my pal Dennis again. Love sharing smokes with him. What a grateful fellow.

From coming Monday they will be on the tobacconist shelf in all Italy. New Italian Regional Release . Box of 10 . La Flor de Cano - Casanova - Cost 100 euro.50 x 110 mm- Petit Robusto.

This is very interesting because I have seen people who only smoke what would be considered "vintage" cigars. One example would be awong_this_life on instagram (worth the lookup, his collection is amazing), and he will notate on many that they are still flavorful. I feel that while you run the risk of them not being great cigars in that amount of time, the thought and what those cigars represent is far more important. For example, I am part of the single malt whisky society and recently was able to purchase a bottle for my friend who turned 30, the bottle is from his birth month and year. We opened it and while good, it isn't something that fits either of our tastes. However, the plan is every birthday for him to have a glass of this. In this case it will also oxidize over time before he finishes it. But to him it's the idea that I was able to track down a bottle that's from his birthdate.

that is so weak, you could play for the reds. binge drinking at your age? have you no shame? when you finally come to your senses, there must be a punishment. you will be met by warm sauv blanc served in vegemite jars while i crack a top champers or perhaps the appleton 21 year old. you can watch.

Boli RC ROTT Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cohiba Robusto here in the desert. Very nice coffee profile and spot on construction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

A rare 2 cigar night: Partagas de Partagas No.1 followed by an outstanding Mag50

Awesome mail call today. PLPC from our host, purchased blind from CUNTINT and received a box with an amazing 3 years of age on it! Thank you @Elpresidente. Also received a Bolivar Gold Medal and 08 Monsdale from amazing BOTL @treberty, Thank you again Sir!

RA 898 Alemania - luxury Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

There are varying opinions on this. I believe some cigars fade as they age, it's simply the science of decay. A leaf eventually turns to dust from decay. However, you can slow the process down, and many have, by chilling and vacuum sealing the cigars to minimize the exchange of air. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I disagree with the 'with good friends' idea. The sublime cigars (and they are but few) I have had have been alone. The thoughts begin to wander as I settle in with the realization that I am smoking a good cigar and don't have to stress about it, and then all of a sudden about half way through the realization hits that this is something truly special. It's maybe 1% of the time. It is pretty random but probably happened most often with 2014 Cohiba Esplendidos. Should smoke more of those come to think of it

As they say in 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' "Sometimes the man drinks out of the bottle,.........Sometimes the bottle drinks out of the man". Upon hearing this, I basically just try to avoid drinking out of bottles.

08 Principe and an Espresso Martini post lunch. A match made in heaven

Another lineup I saw today - And this one came home with me today As Arnold would say, "I'll be back" (for that Hibiki 17) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I picked up a Compass Box Peat Monster Reserve Edition (1.75 L !)- And a Miyagikyo 12 yr old - Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Before you grab your pitchforks and run me out of town... I have about 40 NCs left over from before I caught the CC bug, about half of which are worth a damn (Padron/My Father/Davidoff). And the rest are odds and ends from samplers and other random purchases that I've been giving away or smoking when I know I'm going to have to toss it prematurely. This Alec Bradley black market probably cost about 3$ in a sampler I bought a few years ago and sat in my humidor until today and was actually quite good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Happy little seedlings...

Never done it, but I'm giving it a go this year... Getting the garden beds ready....

You'll never know until you give it a go! Some decent tutorials on the net. Just wish it was legal here in the nanny republic!

"The ash on your shirt and the smell of cigars on your breath is making me hot..."

Brew your own beer? Is that like those "fancy" restaurants where they bring you a really hot rock and you cook your own steak? I know Drew Estate offer "Cigar Safari" in Nicaragua at their factory a couple times a year where you sit a blending workshop and at the end of the trip you take home a bundle of cigars that are your own personally blend. As a DE fan I've always liked the idea of heading stateside, jumping on a Cigar Safari trip and then finishing the trip off with a week in Cuba. A mans gotta have a dream, I guess

Generally fat and expensive.

Owl Shop in New Haven Conn. which is a cigar store w/drink and food sells loose tabac by wieght so you can mix and match what you desire. Check the oline site and see what is offered by this one in a million place, A cigar smokers delight the place is. Not many places left that at least not in Conn. that has this wide range of offerings.

The vitola often seems to reflect the (perceived) preference of the target demographic. Otherwise, I've found RE to be (way overpriced) excellent representations of their marca, on the average. They're as varied as their marca's blend plus whatever the vitola contributes to the experience. On the other hand, I've found the EL to share a lot more in common because most of the ones I've had all taste pretty similar... like they were rolled with Nicaraguan tobacco.

Quick answer: Yes. Varnished boxes are kept pretty for presentation, which is the reason they are put in the cardboard outer box. My boss told me he's a cigar connoisseur. When I asked him what his favorite brand was, he said, "It's a Boy!".

12 Connie 1 Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Celebrating a terrific quarter a few days late. Wonderful stick from our host.... only 10 more in the box..... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice cigar. Haven't had one in about 5 years.

..And getting the seeds going...

I have found the Diplomaticos REs from 20015 (Cuba, Paises Bajos) to be very similar.

I've got some tobacco plants growing right now. No intention of using for smoking just growin for the hell of it. I like that these guys take a lot of the processing out of the mix. That's the big reason I plan on doing nothing with my tobacco plants other than just enjoy looking st em. I smoke a pipe on occasion and would love to make my own blends

You guys can tell how much we enjoy our cigars and how much I enjoy participating on this forum, right? Another forum or two as well. Trading cigars is an activity I enjoy occasionally. Last night, for the first time, I smoked a famous custom rolled "Monsdale" cigar. I love love loved it! Today I looked to acquiring some. A similar friend brought home a bundle from a roller named Jorge. Turns out we met Jorge at a cigar store a few years back in Toronto. Blew the guy away with this photo collage. So now we will have cigars from Jorge, but from his home. Awesome!

Yes. La Gloria Medalle are like this as well. Cohiba are not if I recall correctly.

Indeed...let's have a follow-up discussion in regards to Habanos naming trademarks.

Very pot kettle here imo.

Italian regionals are the only ones that REALLY stood out to me. The punch I had years ago was a top 5 cigar for sure. I never see them on vendors sites. If anyone knows where I could score any Italian re, please pm me. I'd be forever in your debt.

"Ken sure was well-groomed in the latest FoH review."

Nice HDM Du Gourmet.