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An older CCE single

MSU SEP 18 Happy Thanksgiving my Canadian BOTL/SOTL Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Romeo y Julieta Capuletos Edición Limitada 2016.

Lusi & RGPE Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

Bolivar Libertador TUA OCT 20 and fingers crossed for a Padres win!

Very solid current M4

Allones With Ardbeg 10

A six-pack acquisition of ALP Mar 2007 Romeo y Julieta Churchills Anejados courtesy of our host...

Mmm spice and cream

Biggy Dark Skinny MC#2 damn near perfect.

Perfect day for a Dip 2

Rass. Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canucks 🇨🇦 🦃 🪓

Another great RyJ Cedros de Luxe Lcdh SOR JUL 21...

These are not Fishing sticks !!!!!

Background: I've been a cigar smoker for about 6 years now, with limited experience with CCs. I'm more of a night-time smoker, so please excuse the poor (cell phone) lighting. It's a cool 53°F in New England at 7:30 PM, with little to no wind. I'm coming off of what I think is a cold, but taste and smell feel unaffected. I bought this box as a box of 10 2 weeks ago, so they've been resting in a 65% tupperdore since then. The one I smoked has been dryboxed for about 48 hours. Pre-light: I chose a straight-cut as I felt a V-cut would be too deep. The body is firm with little give, but not "crispy". The draw feels just right: not too tight, but with a little resistance. Cold draw has some pruney, dried fruit taste. I chose to pair it with a can of root beer. First third: Little to no pepper, with some of that dried fruit taste. There's some creamy woodiness to it, with a hint of leather. After the ash fell off by itself, it tasted like a hint of mustard and the smoke smelled vaguely of soy sauce. I thought I would have to touch-up the burn, but it corrected itself. Second third: The smoke has a floral scent, and the taste developed to dark coffee with a touch of cream. After a few more puffs, the taste was similar to chocolate cereal like rice krispies. The ash yet again fell off on its own after about 1.5". Third third: There's a smooth dark chocolate with a bit of cherry. It's starting to burn a bit hot, and after it ashed itself yet again at about 1" left I let it out completely. Total smoke time: 1 hour, 10 minutes. The good: - Smooth flavors: even fighting a cold, there was no irritation to the throat or lungs. - Draw: just the way I like it, not too tight, not too loose. - Smoke output: Thick smoke billowing out consistently. - Burn: although it repeatedly ashed itself, the burn line always corrected itself. The bad: - Ashing: maybe it's user error, but despite little to no wind and not a lot of movement, the ash kept falling off by itself and ended up on me. Conclusion: I used to read another website that based their reviews off of how much they would purchase, so I'm going to do the same. cubancigarwebsite says the RyJ Mille Fleurs come in boxes of 10 and 25, so my scale is: No buy, Single, Fiver, Box 10, and Box 25. I give the RyJ Mille Fleur a Fiver. Originally from a box of 10, I still have 5 remaining. They've already been aged for 3 years, which probably lead to the consistent smooth flavor. They're not so amazing that I'd buy another box, but I'd keep some more on hand to age just a bit longer. Thanks for reading!

I never have a problem digging into a box. Smoking the last one is hard. I get attached to the box itself. This one, man, tear in the eye. We’ve been through alot. A great ending cigar too to a great box. I think I smoked every one of them myself too.

Mushroom foray with my daughter last weekend. Of ten edible species we found, ceps and bay boletes mostly. Flawless quality and in abundance! (pic credits go to her)

Sorry for being the one pooping the party, and am aware I am repeating myself. But the policy of putting out polished specials, while not having one single regular on offer, let alone a decent range of regular production, I call hoodwinking smokers. As a long-standing lover of LGC I constantly feel they’re taking the piss out of me... ! All the effort put in that packaging..., man! Nice! Perhaps even beautiful. But if I want a humidor I’ll buy a humidor! I don’t need a big bling box consuming space and rolling around empty when I am done with my twenty sticks. Much less, paying extra for it. Don’t get me wrong, if one loves a shiny product give them their ‘caja de lujo’. I am guilty of being a buyer myself on occasion. But - pleeease - also give me (back) my simple box and cigars! Give me a choice! I want to just smoke those damn things and not get a boner looking at them. Not always 😅

If you have ever wondered what the recent R&J Churchills are like, look no further. Smokey, cherry log and a bit of savory spice. I suspect that the rollers were given 14" leaves and cut the first 10" for the Churchills and the remainder was used in the Petit Royales. Same blend, from my POV. My 1st smoke from the back patio at my new place in Raleigh NC. The weather is cool here, so much that I'm already wearing thermal underwear! Razor burn on these little smokes. If you like the Churchills, you'll love these half-pints! I'm giving them a 92 for flavor and construction. Full Moon tonight, getting used to trees that aren't made of palm...

A wonderful Sunday morning smoke

Bbf

For sure this is my cigar of the month. 2000 RyJ Cazadores. Only one left now. Gutted.

Rio Seco

In the first third of this Romeo y Julieta Churchill, I taste the familiar breadiness I've come to associate with this Marque. The retrohale is smooth and buttery. The smoke has a sweet, fruity aftertaste. The aroma of the smoke is wonderful - rich toasted chocolate. It is subtle and complex, like a cinnamon muffin. When I smack my lips, there is a heavy sourdough flavor. The combination of richness, spice, and sweetness reminds me of a sweet potato dish at Thanksgiving. This first third is fantastic. The smoke is smooth, sweet, cool, and flavorful. The aroma is intoxicating. The construction is excellent (slight resistance on the draw, lush smoke output, perfect burn line). In the second third of this cigar, the retrohale becomes spicier yet also sweeter. In contrast to the first third, during which I found myself retrohaling regularly, because of the spice I now only retrohale occasionally to liven things up. Cedar is coming onto the scene. I don't particularly enjoy the flavor of cedar in cigars, but I will say this cedar is refined and not overpowering. The flavor of the cigar continues to be marvelously complex and delicious, with a fantastic array of sweet and savory flavors. Based on the level of class and refinement, I think the tobacco used in this cigar is very high quality. There is a sweet licorice flavor, similar to Ouzo. The breadiness continues and reminds me of yeasty, white wine. Toward the end of this third, the cigar bursts with the flavor of cherry cordial! I've certainly come to predict the flavor of cherry in Romeo y Julieta cigars - based on common association between this brand and that flavor. Nevertheless, I'm certain I tasted it! And even more sure that it was delicious! In the final third of this cigar, it comes back to earth a bit. Its youth brings anesthetizing smoke, which fills my mouth with peppery numbness. This sensation unpleasantly melds the previously refined and complex flavors of the cigar into a monotonous cedar/chocolate taste. Still decent, certainly rich. Just much less impressive than the magnificent first two thirds. I don't smoke too far into this final third before laying the cigar down to rest in peace. I would classify the Romeo y Julieta Churchill I smoked today as one of the finest cigars I've had during this late summer and fall, along with a superb 2022 Siglo V, a marvelous PSP 2019 Magnum 46, and a finely-balanced Trinidad Coloniales. Had this cigar continued its performance from the first two thirds into its final third, exhibiting a complex array of refined sweet and savory flavors, I have no doubt it would have been one of the finest I smoke all year.

2001 Hoyo du Dauphin

This Espy was from a 2021 box I cracked. I hold these as precious now but damn they’re so good. It was like sleeping in my own bed after a business trip. Serene.

ABU MAR 17 1st 3rd Opens with a sweetness I can't place, a bit of cedar, and earthiness Red pepper on the retro 2nd 3rd Getting dried fruit, toasted tobacco, and earthiness A sweet, spicy note I can't place on the retro Final 3rd Pretty much the same as the 2nd, a touch richer 3.8/5

The last few weeks have been quite good for picking mushrooms. Even if some are not edible, they are simply beautiful.

I saw this review weekend listing pop up last week and the first thing I thought was, “wow. That’s the major marca I own the least of.” I think recent Churchills have been correctly praised but my friends seem to to love the wide/short/petit and I don’t really connect with them. My friend came over on Friday and said, serendipitously, “I know you don’t like Limitadas but these are good.” I said, “it’s not that I don’t like them, I just think they all taste the same and they rarely disclose the DNA of the marca.” Its a really pretty cigar. Oily wrapper and thankfully not too thick. Slightly tight draw but easily fixed. Size is actually nice. I wasn’t expecting to like the size as much as I did. I’m not going to bury the lede. This is a pleasant cigar if you like sticks that tend toward Maduro. It CERTAINLY doesn’t taste anything like a Romeo. It’s very dark. It’s not terribly complex and I pitched it with about 2 inches left. At its most generous, I would give it an 86. Maybe with time, more complexity develops. Ultimately it tastes like an undistinguished Limitada. It’s not as bad as the Partagas and Punch Limitadas from similar (the same?) years. But I don’t love it. Would not rush out to buy a box. For those that like this cigar, I’m excited to learn what I missed or what this one was missing,

MC#2 circa 2020? My neighbors stock. Easily 95+ smoke. i touched up the wrapper a couple times. Draw was perfect. Nice complexity and finished through the band with some floral perfume notes. A stunner.

A 2021 petite Eddie from our host. A little chocolate bomb

LAR OCT 13 ERDM Infantes RE Cuba. Great cigar. Awesome ribs and then made some Maple Syrup salted pecans on the KJ ERM ABO 21 Trinidad Esmeralda. First disappointing one from the box. Ok, maybe the problem was the brutal Blue Jays collapse.

The review competitions are definitely make coolidor decisions a lot easier. I first got into cigars around 2011 when I had very little disposable income and zero aged stock. This was the first ever box in bought for $179, back when the £ was probably a much more favourable rate. While I was excited to get the box, I realised my mistake when I held one in my hand, they were much larger than I was ready for. I remember making an absolute hash of lighting the couple that I tried and found them to be an absolute chore. There was a rather large hiatus and I started again in 2020ish, trying some aged cigars was a real eye opener, an eye opener that came just after I sold most of the cigars I had. These managed to stay on account of me having no idea with regards to pricing, that same them still being available on the market some 10 years later! Anyway, back to last night. I went with a punch cut and the draw was great, slightly snug but my wife was watching Stirctly and I had plenty of time to myself. The cigar construction was faultless, beautiful wrapper, the first cap barely visible it had been put together so well. First third - smoke output was fair. The flavour was absolutely 100% nice, middle of the road, completely inoffensive, I really tried to pull some flavours out of the air but it was difficult. It felt incredibly mild, perhaps some cream but that would be too flavoursome so I'll go with whole milk. Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying it, I just really struggled to get more than mild but tasty tobacco. Second third - much the same. The burn was faultless until I pushed my luck and went to get another drink, left it a touch too long and things went a touch sideways. Final third - continued fairly similar but a couple of puffs revealed a savoury note that I couldn't put my finger on, umami goodness would be close. Despite the lack of real progression in flavour I got the Perfec draw out so it was definitely doing something right. I'll give this a solid 4/5.

Amazing response to this cause, folks, truly wonderful stuff ... The lottery has been drawn and the five prize winners are below. 1st prize winner, please PM me as to which prize you prefer. Congrats to all! 3rd/4th/5th Prize Winners: @Boxer31 @foursite12 @rcarlson 2nd Prize Winner: @MPhillips 1st Prize Winner: @JY0

As we have a lot of figs this year. Eating them mostly from the tree. But a few things are 🍽🤤 Quick collecting in 20 minutes fig/Quince costarda parmesan/thyme Fig my favourite: grilled figs with thyme/honey/goat cheese & pistachio

Just got an email from a usually fairly high priced Belgian LCDH offering them at 995 euro. Factoring in early-bird tax and B&M markup, and assuming they someday appear in volume, which seems to be a pretty big assumption at the moment, I'd guess eventual worldwide price maybe $850.

Quai D’Orsay No. 50 SMA ABR 2019 One of the best constructions I’ve ever had:

Many thanks to our host 🥂

Sold Out they are folks. $10,000 USD raised

https://halfwheel.com/new-la-gloria-cubana-glorias-designated-as-lcdh-exclusive/414777/ Was released yesterday in Brussels. Prices not known so far.

Prize goes to this JL1 from a b&m i’ve had in the humi for 6 months and this opus x angels share i got from the AF cigar lounge in Santo Domingo. Aside from being great smokes the best thing was i was away on travel and had 0 distractions from the wife and kids to enjoy

Well I will just say hello and you guys know I never mention anything about gender. I just like collecting, smoking and talking about anything here. CB, some night at dinner in Chicago with Mr Beaver.

Sincere apologies for that. We thought it would run into Sunday at least but member generosity overtook events. Putting it through the carts allows for reports to be printed. It also required a cap and $10,000 USD (500 units) was where that cap was decided upon given the timeframe we were looking at. I can't thank you good people enough

Pulled a Monte 4 and cut it… was plugged and the PerfecDraw didn’t work so grabbed this Petit Royale (21 box) and it smoked great til the end. Such an easy, pleasant little cigar. Out of all the “small cigars” I’ve tried, this and the Monte MC are my favourites. Much, much better than the HUHC (second to last in the box) I had last night. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JL1 Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

Media Corona

CFB & La Trova making for a nice afternoon

E2 in Paris! Great. Not shown was a great PL Galanes, mediocre Monte Media corona, and crappy D4 earlier. Fun city for cigar smoking that’s for sure.