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First cigar since July of last year. 2006 Diplo 4. I must say wow it was marshmallow and graham cracker. Amazing smoke. Thank you to @cfc1016 for the opportunity. If I had to rate 95-97 points almost perfect.

TOS NOV 16 HUPC from @Akela3rd Thank you for this!

Trinidad La Trova 2017 - La Casa del Habano Exclusivo ARS Mar 2018 Are you familiar with William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18? Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. Can I argue that the qualities which make the Trinidad La Trova a great cigar are like this sonnet? The qualities of the young person described in the sonnet are eternal, but the person themselves, as we know, will pass. In the same way, the La Trova has been universally acclaimed as an exemplary cigar (yet it's difficult to source). But what makes it so exemplary? In World War I, Anzac troops (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) went to Europe to fight in the Great War supporting Britain and the Allies. Many were sent (later labelled) Anzac Biscuits by their family to sustain them in battle. This Anzac Biscuit lives on in Australian and New Zealand culture today as these rolled oat, butter, flour, sugar, golden syrup and baking soda biscuits have a long shelf-life and are popular. I mention these Anzac biscuits because they are full of flavour and I feel the La Trova is exactly the same way. (Incidentally, Anzac Day is a Public Holiday in Australia and New Zealand set aside annually on April 25th to commemorate Service Men and Women who have fought in conflicts since the Gallipoli campaign in World War I.) To me, the La Trova is like a rich butter cookie slightly burnt. The mouth feel of this cigar certainly resolves on the palate for some time after one smokes it. Like all Trinidad vitolas, it comes with a pig tail which I had no issue untwisting with my thumb nail. The resultant draw produced from preparing the cigar in this way was quite adequate. In regards to strength, some have said it's below medium, others argue it's over. I believe that the fact that the La Trova is full of flavour belies its strength and hence the disparity, or lack of communal consensus, in this area. How did it taste? It was rich in butter, salty, full of spice (and I emphasis spice..it was very spicy all the way), contained elements of coffee, earth and leather and it made me smoke more slowly on account of the velvety and voluminous smoke per draw. I also nubbed it until the very last ¼ inch. The Trinidad La Trova, in my opinion, is not similar to a regular production 'go-to' cigar. Rather, it is like a rich delicacy and is best enjoyed on occasion and preferably after a larger meal. It is not the type of cigar one smokes to precede another. Instead, I would end a night with this one. You'll understand precisely what I mean when you smoke one.

Had JL #2 from weekday sampler as break time cigar. I actually prefer RASS over this by slight margin but I have to admit that it is definitely one of the greatest CC Robustos as well as Coffee and Cocoa bomb! Total Time Spent: 1hr 30mins (longer than my usual time allocation for Robustos)

San Cristobal De La Habana El Morro (2001) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Throughly enjoyed this first Partagas Serie 2. Passed to me by Nate Chu out of a 5 count box from 2013. Had a more creamy profile than other Partagas sticks I’ve had though the usual Party traits were still on show. The paprika a little more muted

Home from a wedding and enjoying a medio Siglo. Cracked a new box and giving these a whirl. My 17s are definitely better but this box will likely be just as good. Just need some more time down. UTL NOV 18 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had a good day and then out for a great evening. Midnight now and really enjoying this POU MAY 12 Siglo I with some San Pellegrino. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For those who recognize this day, Happy Easter ! Placed a Brisket and pork butts on yesterday and let them go 17 hrs. Enjoying the morning,

A little to rainy out for anything too big so this '14 RG Perlas should be perfect. I must say, these things pack a great flavor in such a little cigar. Anyways, Happy Easter everyone. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Bolivar Libertador MSU JUL 18 and a 3 pack of Cohiba Espi’s UAO DIC 18 from a box split

Giving this H.Upmann a try! It was an excellent short smoke. Smooth dry, solid ash, good smoke output, and smooth mild taste. Will definitely smoke again. Enjoyed this RA while cleaning up around the pool. Very nice and easy smoke. The H.Upmann from yesterday was lightly better, both will be in regular rotation with my A.Fuente Anejo and Padron 64 Anniversary Maduro.

Partagas Serie E 2 - Nov 17

Easter morning. Wife playing games on her phone, kid napping. I'll go enjoy the nice morning.?

Another Beautiful Day. She is drawing perfect....

New arrival..

With the length of a Churchill and a 54 ring gauge, the QdO Capitolio is a big cigar. I am only 1/3 of the way down, but so far, it doesn't taste much different than a QdO 54, which is not a bad thing.

Ahh, the ultimate outdoors cigar. Went fly fishing for the day with The Boy as he's back from uni for the weekend. The sun's out, which buggers up trout fishing no end, but we went anyway (spoiler alert, didn't catch anything all day). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder indeed. This brute of a cigar had some serious ridges from the ribbons, a rough, thick wrapper, speckled with oil and a hint of white mould. Looked like a cracker to me as I know this box has really started to blossom recently. Strung up the 5 weight and tied on a little emerger nymph to test the waters. Sparked up the Cazzie. Beautiful. Rich and powerful - leathery coffee, hint of something sweet. I love the way these start at full throttle. Got lost in the fishing for a while as i smoked away. No fish interested, changed to a weighted nymph to see if they were feeding deeper. The cigar, much like the fishing didn't develop much but was very enjoyable. Great burn, great clouds of thick smoke on this windless day (another nail in the fishing coffin). The wrapper on these always seems thicker than most cigars giving them a tendency to be fire proof or tunnel (but dry boxing sorts this out) and I thought it might be starting to tunnel but it just kept the burn slightly ahead of the wrapper (what a great design feature for the perfect outdoor cigar, it's own windbreak...) Tied on a wet fly to try and stimulate an attack response from fish that clearly weren't feeding. Didn't work either with the sun now high in the sky and cooking the surface. The Cazzie just chugged along being excellent, casually classy despite its appearance. Leather and wood throughout, hints of sweet fruitiness here and there, and before I realised it an hour and a half had passed lost in the cigar and the repetition and wait of the fly cast and watching the wildlife ( herons, swimming grass snakes, jays, rabbits, geese, swans and a multitude of others). Wonderful day to not catch fish. Score: one nil to the fish Sent from 47171 Lempo

Happy Easter. LLN NGO 03 Sig VI

Purchased in those five pack boxes here, 2017. Next year will be even better. CB

Hello all. Spring is in full swing in CO so to the extent any of you thought you were going to get reviews done in circumstances other than the golf course, you're sadly mistaken. My RyJ Churchill rode along with me yesterday as I continued my quest to reduce the ol' handicap. This one is from a Clearance sale from 24:24. The price was too good to pass up, and at something close to 10 bucks a stick it has serve me well as a box of golf cigars. Let's see how it stands up, shall we? Cold draw is straw with a hint of cherries, and initial third starts off very mild, creamy, with stone fruit as the predominant flavor. The construction is solid as well, and the burn quickly evens out though the initial burn was off due to lighting this thing in a moving golf cart. Squeezing this stick makes me fear it is a tad under filled, but nothing to worry too much about. It's a beautiful day and surprisingly there is no one on the course. Let's see how many holes this puppy can get through with us. The first third continues to build up in strength and body, though the flavors have not changed much. I'm still getting cherry/stone fruit as teh predominant secondary flavor to toasted tobacco. The second third picks up strength in body, and some earth tones move into the foreground of the flavor department. Still mild to mild/medium and very pleasant. Stuck on the 7th tee waiting for the grounds keepers to clear off the green (it's aeration season), the wind picks up slightly and this does begin to effect the burn line. Up to this point, the burn has not needed correction and I have not had to re-light the cigar. Not bad for an hour's time of putting it down, picking it up, driving around, and swearing at my idiot buddies. My favorite part of this cigar has always been the middle part of the second third through the middle part of the third. That's when the flavors come together beautifully and marry with a medium bodied smoke. I've never felt that the nicotine levels got too overpowering with this cigar toward the end either, which allows one to appreciate the flavors toward the nub without getting a headache or a numb upper lip. We've made it to the 11th green by the time this last picture was taken. This was the first time I needed to correct the burn with my torch the entire time. The wind had picked up, but I wasn't about to complain as I rode a 3 wood nicely left to right to set up an eagle chance on a difficult to reach par 5. I left the cigar go out on the 13th tee, as it was getting harsh and was beginning to get mono dimensional in the flavor department. All in all a great stick, one I have always enjoyed on the golf course and yesterday was no exception. Hope everyone is having a relaxing holiday weekend.

PUS Oct 17 LMB Oct 17 Especial No 2

Montecristo Petit #2 It's a tasty one and creamy, but I enjoy the Monte #4's blend of flavors much more.

This is from my first box of Churchill's, which I'm about ¾ through. Most have been very good, but I've also experienced a few plugs, and a few with a very strange burn issue - in that the entire cigar, not just the wrapper, seems fire proof. As luck would have it, the one I pulled out this evening was perhaps the worst example of this yet. From the get go, there was some swelling and cracking of the wrapper at the foot, but I figured once I burn past it, life will be good. Upon lighting, there was an immediate intense aroma of barnyard wang - like horse piss on hay. Not an unfamiliar nor necessarily an objectionable element, but this usually plays a minor role as part of a larger array of flavors. In this case, it was THE flavor. Burn issues of several varieties appeared immediately - I had to puff like crazy each time just to keep it going, and it ran up one side, well, like a racehorse. More cracking appeared as I tried in vain to correct the burn. The ash was black as night, indicating incomplete combustion. I even tried a complete re-boot, knocking all the burning portion off and re-lighting. No luck, in the chuck it bin it went. S**t happens. While not at all reflective of the majority from this box so far, my score for this particular cigar is a negative number. Not only was it an utter failure on all counts, damn thing wasted a ½ hour of my time. I grabbed a trusted Connie A, washed my mouth out with some St. Germain, and got on with life. Cheers all, and Happy Easter! This is where I chucked it. And this was right after I lit up a Connie A

Happy Easter all. I hosted for the family. (Man I hate/love hosting) Pig Roast for Easter. I hope JC approves!

H Upmann Connie 1’s Nov 18

La Gloria Cubana Revolution 2015 - Edición Regional Asia Pacifico SGA Nov 2015 The La Gloria Cubana Revolution is an Asia Pacifico Regional Edition release that followed the Diplomaticos Bushidos. Although listed as a 2015 release, like the Bushidos, it didn't hit the market until the following year, in the case of the Revolution, around mid-2016. Following the actualised hype of the Bushidos, this was a tough act to follow. Not unsurprisingly, the Revolution is not as acclaimed as the Bushidos, but reviews haven't been that bad either, flavour-wise. I split a box of these in 2016 with cigar enthusiasts and since it was a La Gloria Cubana vitola, I felt I really needed to give these time prior to sampling one. How did it turn out? Similarly to other reviews on our forum, this was white-ashed, suffered construction issues and was not short on flavour. The cigar started out perfectly mild, smooth and floral but very soon after regressed into a much stronger cigar, with flavours of cream coffee, wood and lots of pepper, which suggests to me that the ligero leaves in this need more time. There was a knot of bunched leaves up one half of the cigar which induced an uneven burn and revealed some tunneling, so maintaining a consistent ash around the midway point proved difficult. The final third saw the wrapper unbind and it was at this point that I thought it best to let it go and look forward with anticipation to the next one. And when will that be? In my mind, at the very minimum, 18 months.

Some folks collect them- some can become quite collectible and valuable (to some people). Like @wineguy, I don't collect mine. Last thing I want is a reminder of how much I've spent on cigars sitting around...

I've had that happen a bunch of times in the past. I dont get that rock hard ember anymore. Here's what I decided was causing it. Aggressively lighting the cigar by over toasting the foot with too much heat followed by smoking too fast.

Today’s arrivals: Cohiba Siglo II - MOL MAR 18 El Rey Del Mundo Choix Supreme - BRO ABR 18 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The first Capuletos I had was with Ted @fastkiller13 and was thoroughly enjoyed. Much like the first one, this one was very full of chocolate. First third had a bunch of cooking chocolate. That raw cacao nib flavor is strong throughout. Great white ash. The second third began and that's when the chocolate/cherry combo kicked in. I will say that the image below came to mind with the cella's chocolates I use to enjoy as a kid, but the flavor here was more dark than milk chocolate. I missed out on the photo, but I had more than 2 inches of ash going. It was gorgeous. The last third was more of the same. I'd say less cherry and more cacao. I really enjoy these. I didn't give myself a chance to drybox this one but it smoked incredibly well. I'll give it a solid 91/100. Happy Easter all!

I have long been looking forward to walking around this box, persuading myself to wait at least until September... But FOH weekend review comp pushed me to smoke the first stick. Aroma at cold: sweet cedar. 1/3: velvet thick smoke. Taste: cedar, butter, salt, light sweetness. Minerals crunch on my teeth. The wrapper smells like toasted wheat bread. 2/3: the cigar suddenly began to give a powerful refreshing taste. Here all together: sour, sweet, salty, spicy taste. Sometimes roasted tobacco appears and disappears. Between puffs aftertaste is driftwood with salted butter. After a while, the buttery taste disappears and now is dominates the woody and roasted tobacco tastes. Cigar added strength and I feel a pleasant weakness in the body. 3/3: here the taste is clogged with resins, it is affect of the cigar youth. The tip of the tongue feels sharp and tingling. The taste is hard to separate, but it's a nice Cuban tastes mix. Conclusion: indeed 2018 is a great year for this cigar. I really liked the taste and it is much better than the Churchills of the past years, which I tried. I'm willing to put 5/5 stars up to advance, because with some aging this cigar will deserve them.

Yesterday with a friend

Part 2 Zigarren Herzog Classic cigar lounge I believe in the Charlottenberg area of west side Berlin. Only a handful of one type of regional offering - the Punch Preferidos 2018 (which are now gone??). They indicated that they just got this cigar in four days ago and are now completely sold out)?? Party Maduro No. 1 Oct 16 - nothing in the Habanos profile tastes like this one - spectacular (I might have to yank my box from Oz humi soon)

Another productive day. BMS NOV 13 A very nice Medio Siglo from @crking3 I see a box of these in my future.

I stopped by a shop in Paris today and bought these big, 54 X 164, QDO Capitolios. I have been wanting to try them.

This is box just landed yesterday and I decided to smoke one ROTT. I always thought about how people smoke a newly stocked cigar at a B&M would go through similar experience so I wanted to see the progression myself. I feel like the transit would be kind of like a dry boxing effect but who knows. I decided to pick what I felt was the most underfilled stick so I wouldn’t have an issue being too wet and end up with a plugged cigar. Punch cut and the cold draw was grassy barnyard. Nice and easy pull. Once lit, the first half yielded strong cocoa and sweet fruit notes. Smoked beautifully and the second half was more cocoa and more pronounced sweet fruit. It did have a wonky burn at the end and I let it sit too long in between puffs which I felt it caused the tunneling effect. But a quick squeeze and extra puffing got through the tunnel without a hitch. It was a very tasty stick and the transit didn’t affect the flavor for me. I don’t know if the tunneling was due to the transit since I have had sticks that had been in the tupperdore tunnel so I’ll probably be smoking another one in a week or so to see, for science.

A ? for my Cigar adventures in Berlin.. Just arrived at hotel in Berlin from Chicago - room isn’t ready yet - oh well...guess I’ll just fire up this HU2 from @inter4alia while I wait  Berlin tour continues at Krohan Bress - a very nice cigar lounge about 12 minutes walk from my hotel in NW Mitte neighborhood Punch RE 5th Avenue Preferidos. (I’ll look up the year later I’m busy right now?) Edit - Proprietor says that these were supposed to come out end 2017 or early 2018 but that they just got these this month (April 2019). They only have about 6 sticks left in the whole store. (They may be sold out by close business later today???)   2011 Sancho Panza Belicoso Easterfest Alexanderplatz Berlin accompanied by Berlin Pilsner

1009A071-E709-432F-AF4F-BEE09AFD4898.MP4

Dont talk about me on this forum like that. I'm not proud of it....

Thank you kindly, gentlemen. What can one say? A special write-up deserved for a special cigar!

Tried this PC from LFD. Friend told me it would blow my mind... Surprise: It did not. Put it out half way through, lit up a party short instead. I admittingly like air benders, so I guess I can see why he thought I'd like it. But only because of the cinnamon and citrus blast on the retrohale, and nothing else. This was too strong and left a bad aftertaste. But, we'll see how they do with some age. This is why my stock is 95% CC.

Part 3 La Casa Del Habano Berlin in the Savoy Hotel. Gorgeous setting a few tables out front and nice 4 top leather chairs and tables inside with a few seat bar. Surprisingly sparse humidor and the only shop I’ve been to in Berlin so far without ANY REs at all - not one stick. LCDH? WTF? ? Can you guess which drink I’m having? Cohiba Especial - no idea what year I wasn’t allowed to touch the box? Cough syrupy ?? - oh what I do for FoH!

HdM le Hoyo Rio Seco. Having the first baseline sample. LGR Sep 18, quite young. I'm going to make 2 predictions: 1) the bitching and moaning over the ridiculous ring size will continue, and; 2) they're going to sell like hot cakes...with maple syrup, sweet cream, cinnamon and caramel, on a spiced exotic wood base. And a touch of mint.

Too windy to smoke outside, so I’m hiding in the garage. ‘14 JLPC, first one from the bottom row of the box Wish they were still around, one of my favorites.

Another beautiful day in the mountains with a partagas D #4

Batten down the hatches, the torpedoes are coming. ? I received this past week from our host two boxes of torpedo sized cigars. These were purchased on clearance and they look amazing!!! First box is a box of Partagas Serie P No. 2 "MSU NOV 18". Second box is a box of Vegas Robaina Unicos "BRE JUL 18". Again, both boxes of cigars look and smell incredible. I can't believe they were clearance price. I will put these two boxes away in one of my coolidors and since I like a little age to my cigars I would not even think to pulling one out to smoke for at least 3 or 4 years.

Latest arrival: H. Upmann Noellas Jar - BRE NOV 18 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk