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This Connie A completely canoed on me. i got tired of fighting it. Still some decent flavors so we tango on.:.

My first CC... as Prez would say, a bloody enjoyable smoke

Hotel rooftop smoke

Short de Punch TRU OCT ‘19

Evening relaxation with HU Royal Robusto GLE MAR 21...

Dantes from our gracious host for tonight.

Good Connie b, amazing Rio seco

Grand Edmundo (2010 of course) because what the heck, not getting any younger. Woody doesn't do it justice as a descriptor.

Some singles found at my B&M AF Short Story AF Don Carlos Presidente X2 Opus X Petit Lancero AF Rare Pink Short Story AF Rare Pink Work of Art

Nice evening with HU Connie 1 GEM MAY 21...

Surprised there is so much hate for the half corona, I love them. Great to start a session if everyone hasn't turned up to the party yet. Fantastic as a mid session break from the larger format cigars. And perfect for the last cigar of the night, when you still want a cigar, but know you have to leave soon... because @JohnS is falling asleep.

My last HUHC of my last box. I won’t replenish these. I just can’t get from these what so many others do. And that’s okay. Glad to have smoked a bunch of these to explore them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It should be a good read. I am assuming it hasn't already been released. https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/the-rise-of-arturo-fuentes-cigar-dynasty/ A new book follows the cigar brand from humble beginnings to global powerhouse. DUNCAN QUINN NOV 8, 2022 The original Dominican puro cigar, the Fuente Fuente OpusX, paired with Germain-Robin XO, an exceptional California brandy (Ian Spanier for Arturo Fuente/Assouline) This is a story of The American Dream. Of struggle, passion, vision, and more than a little smoke and magic. The story of how a legend was nurtured into being by hard work and pure force of will. And friendship. An uncompromising commitment to perfection in every way. And the story of cigars. Not just any cigars, but those of Don Arturo Fuente and his progeny. As I was transported into this realm on a jetliner from New York City to the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, at the behest of Ciro Cascella, the executive president of Tabacalera A. Fuente & Cia, I wondered what this particular adventure would behold. The Fuente Fuente OpusX Serie “Heaven and Earth” Purple Rain atop a macassar ebony travel humidor by Prometheus ((Ian Spanier for Arturo Fuente/Assouline) Almost 24 hours later, I was again racing back to the city that never sleeps—pondering incredible aromas, beautiful things, an artisanal commitment to perfection, a private club, a plantation house in rolling tropical hills, and most of all the story of Arturo Fuente and a desire to return to this land of tobacco and dreams.On my coffee table now sits a thick, perfectly bound book. Within it, a story deserving of such gravitas. If you are lucky enough, this book, Arturo Fuente: From Dream to Dynasty, by Aaron Sigmond can grace your coffee table too. Fresh off the press from Assouline, it’s as close to my epic excursion as you can get from the comfort of your favorite wingback. Royal palm trees loom over prized tobacco fields as Don Carlos Fuente Sr. and Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. inspect the crop (Fuente Marketing Ltd.) The story of Arturo Fuente begins with a man dislodged from life. Arriving in Key West from Cuba in 1906 to start anew. Just as Joseph Krug believed he could make champagne, Arturo believed he could make cigars. So he did. At first for others, then for himself and his friends. By 1912 he had started his own factory in the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City, where the company is still headquartered. A fire burned his dream to the ground in 1924 and led to near bankruptcy, but he eventually paid his debts, and in 1946, aged 58, he started all over again. By 1958, Don Arturo sold his son, Carlos Sr., the family business— for the tidy sum of $1. And in 1980, after several false starts, the family decided to gamble on the Dominican Republic—and the bet paid-off big time. Carlos Sr. only ever endeavored to be the best, but on the road to being the best he became one of the biggest. When asked later in life what he credited with his success, he bluntly said, “I took risks and I have big cojones.” Assorted Fuente cigars and accessories including the Fuente The OX Society by Manny Iriarte crystal whiskey rocks glass, 2000 limited-edition OpusX Voyage travel humidor, 2021 limited-edition OpusX Purple Rain ashtray and 2015 limited-edition OpusX 20th Anniversary lighter and cutter, all from Prometheus International (Ian Spanier for Arturo Fuente/Assouline) From the airport I went straight away to the equatorial-posh Arturo Fuente Cigar Club; I was immediately shown to Ciro’s private offices where he gradually coached me on the love and passion and patience that went into building the business, a clear fire burning in his heart for all that it was and could be. As we sank into deep leather armchairs in a hidden back room, he opened a beautiful leather pouch and pulled out some of Fuente’s finest sticks, offering a cutter and lighter. The space filled with smoke and stories as he proffered up a very special rum formulated by boffins in a secret lab. Its aromas and flavors transformed from an initial swirl and sniff by the addition of Fuente smoke into the bowl of a glass. Different. Better. More rounded. More enjoyable. Perhaps a metaphor for how everything must be when Fuente is added to life. Ciro Cascella, executive president of Tabacalera A. Fuente inspecting cigars resting in one of the aging vaults (Ian Spanier for Arturo Fuente/Assouline) The story continues: Around 1990 the cigar market had started to significantly shift from its almost exclusive Havana-centric focus. Alfred Dunhill and Davidoff had joined Fuente cigars in the Dominican Republic after politics and crises mired down their Balearic and Cuban operations. Around the same time, Cigar Aficionado magazine debuted, lauding the luxury pursuit of cigars. Things were beginning to boom for Dominican cigars. However, as a Parisian cigar merchant snidely pointed out to Calos Jr., aka Carlito, on a fateful day, a few years prior, “You will never make the best cigars in the world, because you just assemble them.” An insult, and a challenge. Entranceway to Cigar Heaven: Arturo Fuente Cigar Club, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, one of the foremost cigar bars and restaurants in the world (Courtesy Arturo Fuente / Assouline) It remains readily accepted that the best cigars are from Cuba. True or not, in great part this is due Cuba’s wrapper leaf. The special, aesthetically pleasing, outer foliage of the utmost quality used to wrap within it the binder and filler tobaccos that make up every cigar. Dominican cigars were missing this key component, hence the Frenchman’s jibe. No one had ever managed to grow tobacco for recurrent commercially viable wrappers in the Dominican Republic. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. Or lack of funds. Many with deep pockets had tried and failed. But fueled by a desire to prove the Gaul wrong, Carlito, with the unwavering support of his father Don Carlos Sr., was about to change the world of cigars forever. Carlito’s style: a custom guayabera with Stefano Ricci cufflinks, Panama hat, and Hublot Classic Fusion “Forbidden X” Chronograph, with a cigar in hand (Arturo Fuente/Assouline) Ciro and I met again early the next morning for a whirlwind trek into the interior of Hispanōla. En route a stop at a beloved roadside restaurant for a full Dominican breakfast and coffee—brewed from local beans. As we drove, Ciro shared about his unfeigned relationship with Carlito, the Willy Wonka of cigars. A visionary who plucked ideas from the ether, and with the help of his pragmatic sister Cynthia, and Ciro, and turned them into success. With a nose for blending cigars second to no other. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. On the hunch of a family friend and renowned tobacco whisperer born in Pinar del Rio Province in Cuba, Carlito went to visit a finca in Monsenõr Nouel Province, near the Rio Yuna. It was the only place the tobacco whisperer had ever seen royal palm and pine trees grow side by side, except in the fabled tobacco soils of Cuba. Refusing to sell the farm to Don Carlos Sr. and Carlito until his hunch was proven correct, nonetheless this land became the base from which the cigar codenamed “Project X from Planet 9”—the now legendary OpusX—softly launched in the waning weeks of 1995. The books’ author, cigar expert and man of the world Aaron Sigmond (Courtesy Assouline) Every element of these game-changing, limited-production cigars is made in the Dominican Republic, with the key being the wrappers grown at the finca, now known as Chateau de la Fuente. The OpusX was an instant success, becoming one of the holy grails of cigars for collectors the world over. Back at the Chateau we walk, and talk, and smoke as I see the ins and outs of the beautiful Hemingway House built to welcome guests and friends into the embrace of the family. And we discuss terroir, and climate, and seeds, fermentation, humidity, and most of all the mystical wrapper leaves grown here. Time passes easily, and with the inability to overstay, we speed back to the airport. The oversized hand-bound volume ‘Arturo Fuente Since 1912’ by Aaron Sigmond from luxury publisher Assouline (Assouline) Along the way, Ciro tells me I should remain to see the factory in Santiago. But time waits for no man, and all that…. He chuckles, and agrees that it is better to leave wanting more and to come back, than to feel satiated and have seen it all. I sprint to catch my flight. In Arturo Fuente: From Dream to Dynasty—one of two Fuente x Assouline books, the other being an XL luxury edition Arturo Fuente: Since 1912—Sigmond tells the ins and outs of the rise and rise of the Fuente clan from humble beginnings to the understated-luxury global powerhouse it is today in three generations. Portrait of the founder, Don Arturo Fuente Sr (Fuente Marketing Ltd.) As Cuban-born actor Andy Garcia, a close friend of the Fuente family, writes in the book’s foreword, the Fuentes’ dreams “came to fruition through hard work and perseverance. They have not only produced great cigars, but have always maintained their dignity and commitment to excellence.” Sigmond’s books are about as close as you can get to being there without a time machine and a Hasselblad in hand. So, go find yourself an OpusX, light it up, and enjoy. And even if you don’t smoke, revel in this deep dive into the history of an American Dream come true, and then some.

I’ve always been told it’s more how you use it than the size of it but I picked panatela and half corona or below.

Cohiba short while waiting on my footer inspector to show up. This thing is great. And smooth as silk. 2018 100 box.

HUHC didn’t get a pic of the start but here’s how it ended

Very good RGPC (2017) from our gracious host.

Partagas Maduro 3…really good but no evolution kinda got boring by the last third

thank you for clarifying he is just really damn high, not intergalactic

JL1 most likely 21 box code. Little too young but very tasty and definitely made up for the flavourless NC Illusione Epernay I had last night. Paired this with some Ardbeg. May need to pick up a box of JL 1 or 2 from our hosts and put them away. The aged ones I’ve had from another member here are fantastic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Really something... One of the few that makes me think NC's are able to keep pace with the best...

I picked up a box of these in Cuba and have enjoyed most of them. The do have SC DNA for sure, and I love the size. I paired this with a new bottle of Blantons I picked up this past week. Draw was excellent with very slight resistance. The combustion was on point, with very little touch ups required. 1st: dark coffee, molasses with a woody note on the finish. 2nd: pancake/bread with wood 3rd: molasses, coffee, woody notes to finish. Medium full which was nice. I do feel these to have more strength than the la fuerza, and closer to the el principe. Rated 92 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Two firsts. My first qd that isn't a senadores and my first opportunity to smoke a cc from 24:24. Been resting for about 40 days.... Time to try!

MoeFOH's Album of the Week 🎶 Same as the movie thread, each week we're going to spotlight an album... be it a classic, new release, hidden gem, or outright turd... and open it for discussion: i.e. post up your favourite tracks, clips, lyrics, experiences if you saw live, etc... or dive deeper and give us a critique on why you think it's great, overrated, or a complete train wreck... And finally score it for us... All contributors go into a monthly prize draw for a 3-cigar sampler! PM me with suggestions if there's an album you want to nominate for next week's discussion. Week #34: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Wiki says: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26 May 1967, Sgt. Pepper is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composition, extended form, psychedelic imagery, record sleeves, and the producer in popular music. The album had an immediate cross-generational impact and was associated with numerous touchstones of the era's youth culture, such as fashion, drugs, mysticism, and a sense of optimism and empowerment. Critics lauded the album for its innovations in songwriting, production and graphic design, for bridging a cultural divide between popular music and high art, and for reflecting the interests of contemporary youth and the counterculture. At the end of August 1966, the Beatles had permanently retired from touring and pursued individual interests for the next three months. During a return flight to London in November, Paul McCartney had an idea for a song involving an Edwardian military band that formed the impetus of the Sgt. Pepper concept. For this project, they continued the technological experimentation marked by their previous album, Revolver, this time without an absolute deadline for completion. Sessions began on 24 November at EMI Studios with compositions inspired by the Beatles' youth, but after pressure from EMI, the songs "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" were released as a double A-side single in February 1967 and left off the LP. The album was then loosely conceptualised as a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band, an idea that was conceived after recording the title track. A key work of British psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper is considered one of the first art rock LPs and a progenitor to progressive rock. It incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde, and Western and Indian classical music. With assistance from producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick, much of the recordings were coloured with sound effects and tape manipulation, as exemplified on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and "A Day in the Life". Recording was completed on 21 April. The cover, which depicts the Beatles posing in front of a tableau of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by the pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth. Sgt. Pepper's release was a defining moment in pop culture, heralding the album era and the 1967 Summer of Love, while its reception achieved full cultural legitimisation for pop music and recognition for the medium as a genuine art form. The album spent 27 weeks at number one on the Record Retailer chart in the United Kingdom and 15 weeks at number one on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the United States. In 1968, it won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honour; in 2003, it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. It has topped several critics' and listeners' polls for the best album of all time, including those published by Rolling Stone magazine and in the book All Time Top 1000 Albums, and the UK's "Music of the Millennium" poll. More than 32 million copies had been sold worldwide as of 2011. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time and was still, in 2018, the UK's best-selling studio album. A remixed and expanded edition of the album was released in 2017. Over to you... How do you rate it? 🤔 Thoughts, experiences, memories... post em' up! Score it out of 10!

Forgive me if you've seen this one...

Hello everyone, I'm excited to make my first post on here. Little bit about myself, I'm about 2 years actively in the Cuban cigar community, although I've been following for the last 4 years or so. Just had my 30th this year, the older I get the more obsessed I'm getting with the Cuban sticks! Looking forward to the years to come to grow my collection. I'm a Canadian from Western Canada. Our cigar prices and rules (plain packaging) have become slightly ridiculous. Nevertheless, which is why I was excited about my trip to Cuba that I took last month that I'm about to share with you all. I often post a lot in the reddit cuban cigars forum however I was excited to post here. My first post is something I have already posted on Reddit which was some shots of the LCDH in both Havana and Varadero (Plaza Americas). Good experience, the LCDH in Havana was beautiful. Oddly enough, the network was down when buying cigars so I had wait over 1 HOUR for it be back on as they only take credit card. What a first experience in Havana... Nevertheless I was excited to buy my cigars when the purchase finally went through. Stock levels were decent. Not a lot of LCDH edition cigars left. Lots of HU Royal Robustos, however I'm not a fan of HU oddly enough. I know I'm definitely in the minority there. So I did not pick up any, however now that I'm back in Canada I'm having second thoughts. Looking forward to becoming part of the FOH community. Hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Leaving Rome tomorrow… did a food tour in Pratti and it included a stop at Bonci Pizzarium. This dude has been called the Michelangelo of Pizza. W the actual F! Best pizza I’ve had in recent memory. The rest of the food tour was great but who cares… this pizza couldn’t be topped. If you want to see what this guy is about… Netflix. Chef’s Table Pizza series episode #2. Gabrielle Bonci. True food artist.

..I had no idea FACTS The Kit Kat Flavor Made Specifically For Adults By Chandler Phillips|Nov. 7, 2022 8:26 pm UTC Kit Kat is known around the world, but in Japan, the Kit Kat culture is on a whole different level. While most Kit Kat audiences have access to the classic milk chocolate, white chocolate, and maybe a wild seasonal flavor like blueberry muffin or key lime pie, overseas consumers have year-round access to Kits Kat flavors like matcha milk, purple sweet potato, and cherry blossom. Though Kit Kats have been a favorite among chocolate enthusiasts young and old, in the past few years Kit Kat has been carving out a niche for premium, mature, sophisticated candy. Since the chocolate brand's master pâtissier, Yasumasa Takagi, came aboard in 2003, he's been the creative force behind Kit Kat's line of boutique chocolates for adults, Takagi tells The New York Times Magazine. Some of these luxury bars go the decadence route, with ornate confectionary decorations to rival a plated dessert. But lately, Takagi has taken a special interest in refining the bars to be more sophisticated in taste and presentation, dialing back the sweetness to spotlight the natural flavors of specially sourced cacao. Takagi's black-and-gold packaged Chocolatory Sublime Bitter Kit Kat evokes images of a high-end cigarillo, and Sublime Volcanic uses premium chocolate grown in volcanic soil on islands in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Philippines. Although these chocolates are intended for a more mature, refined palate, the newest addition to the luxury Kit Kat roster features a flavor that caters exclusively to an adult audience. The secret is barrel-aged whisky Though chocolate and alcohol is not a new combination, Nestlé Japan has introduced a new premium Kit Kat infused with the flavors of whisky barrels. This premium candy starts with a base cacao sourced from Ghana. The mellow taste of this rare cacao allows the cocoa nibs to blend well with complex flavors after 180 days of barrel aging (via Sora News24). Contrary to other alcohol-infused chocolate, this Kit Kat doesn't contain a drop of liquor, instead, the chocolate gets all its flavor from aging in Islay scotch barrels. Scotch is already distinguished by a smokey, leathery, tobacco-y taste, but Islay scotch is renowned for its intensely peated whiskies. These whisky-barreled Kit Kats retain all the flavors and aromatics of an Islay scotch, with a nose of intense floral notes, a smoky, sweet body, and a salty coastal breeze finish. In tandem with the bitter dark chocolate, the whisky flavors harmonize perfectly for "adults who can enjoy the delicate aroma and taste of whisky," per Sora News24. Another distinctive element of this premium Kit Kat is the packaging. Unlike its mainstream predecessor, this Kit only has one Kat! These single-serve delicacies are adorned in a sleek amber and charcoal wrapper inside a case that's reminiscent of a cigar box made of a barrel stave. This candy radiates sophistication from the moment you see the packaging to the very last bite, an athletic flavor perfectly in tune to deliver a premium Kit Kat experience. It may seem like an unlikely combination, but the blend of Japanese candy and Scottish whisky cultures actually makes sense given the two nations' industrial relationship throughout history. Though Kit Kat started in the U.K., Japan's obsession with Kit Kat varieties prompted the subdivision of Nestlé to develop more unique flavors, to the point where novelty Kit Kats have become a quintessential part of visiting Japan. In the mid-1800s, Scotland sent developers and engineers to Japan to assist with its industrialization. Reciprocally, Japan sent citizens to Scotland to foster diplomatic relations and learn about western heritage, especially whisky. When Masataka Taketsuru ventured to Scotland in 1918 to study in scotch distilleries, he learned all about the methods, equipment, and environments necessary to make scotch whisky. Upon his return to Japan, he facilitated the development of a handful of Japanese whisky distilleries designed to emulate the distilling and aging practices of Scotland. Ever since, he has been widely regarded as the father of Japanese whisky (via Nikka Whisky). As a result, it probably shouldn't come as a big surprise that Kit Kats — which are Japanese candy royalty — found common footing with scotch whisky, especially given the fact that both are delicacies that have been adapted and beloved by Japanese culture.

Perhaps geographic location/weather have a huge effect on preference. I'm way south of you in Myrtle beach, South Carolina so cold weather not a factor with cigar size. I'm a huge fan of petit corona/Mareva as the 42 ring is ideal along with the 60 minute smoking duration. From my viewpoint I think the Upmann half corona size is pointless. By the time you get past the "foreplay" stage and into the "physical lovemaking" the party ends abruptly! C'mon man!😨

Maggie was right! Eventually you run out of other peoples’ money!!!

The eagle has landed! </holdbreath>

First third Opens with a light floral note and molasses sweetness Getting a woodsy finish Second third Same as the first except the molasses is dialed back a bit Smoke production has been light from the start, burn has been straight with no touchups needed Final third No real changes from the previous two thirds. Overall boring cigar, the flavors were good, just left me wanting more. 3/5

Im glad you asked! So between both stores: Punch short de punch (10), 2022 $130box Bolivar Royal Coronas (18 left in box), 2019 $14.25each RyJ short Churchill (15), 2021 $14.80each Diplomaticos no 2 (25), 2022 $327.50box Montecristo no 2 (15), 2018 $270box Ramon Allones Specially Selected (25), 2022 $406box Hoyo Escogidos (10), 2022 $185box and 1 love at first sight ashtray I have some pictures for you

About time I got some of these.

French Historicism bronze mounted ebonised wooden tortoiseshell, mother-of pearl and brass marquetry cigar box, 19th C.

..you can almost taste the draw of the first cigar!

Blessed in California to have great Mexican food. Molcajete!

This photo shows the duct they installed that will connect to a return in the house. This will pump filtered air into the house. It is not hooked up to the existing ductwork yet to avoid dust and other debris being sent throughout the house (because it is not yet connected to the ventilator). Another pipe will be installed in the ceiling near the doorway shown here to pull smoky air out of the room. So there will be one pipe pulling fresh air in from outdoors, one pulling dirty air out of the room, one shooting dirty air out of the house, and one pushing filtered air into the existing ductwork. Insulation will be sprayed in four days, I will update as best I can this weekend.

This morning, the HVAC contractors finished what they needed to finish in order for us to spray the foam insulation into the room. The preliminary ductwork is complete, and it will be enclosed in a bulkhead after the insulation is completed. Here are the pics now that we are ready for insulation. The first pic shows the various ducts that have been installed above the far corner of the room where the ventilator will be mounted on the wall. They used flex material and tape to connect everything to avoid using screws. The opening at the top right of the window will be an exhaust pipe, while the pipe to the bottom left of the window will pull clean air from outside the house.

These crepes were delicious .... Do they look like genuine French crepes? Idk. But they tasted great from the French market

Quai d'Orsay No.54 MSU Jul 2018 The resurgence of Quai d'Orsay as a marca in worldwide Habanos markets since its re-branding in 2017 is something quite remarkable to reflect on. In the time that the QdO Nos. 50 and 54 were released, they've been colloquially termed the 'poor man's Cohiba' by enthusiasts. The Quai d'Orsay No.54 has been the more popular of the two new releases than the No.50, both on our forum and worldwide. Personally, I've connected more with the QdO No.50 than the No.54 in the last few years, but my last few QdO No.54s in 2020 have shown a large improvement for me in quality. Quai d'Orsay is the only marca founded outside of Cuba and by request. The story goes that French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing wanted a uniquely French luxury cigar product to compliment other synonymous French luxury items such as French champagne, perfume and foie gras so he asked the French tobacco monopoly, SEITA to come up with the product. Tobacco Executive Gilbert Belaubre, rarely credited in these Quai d'Orsay origin anecdotes, was really the man responsible for the brand being light and Habanos as he was adamant that a French luxury cigar could not be machine-made and utilise Sumatra and Cameroon leaves (as one of the other project teams planned to do). Belaubre worked with Cubatabaco to come up with the brand in 1974. At first the brand consisted of light-wrappered cigars; in fact the Quai d'Orsay Coronas Claro had two versions as the lightest-wrappered product was called 'Claro Claro' and was marked 'Clarismo' on its box. This lightest-wrappered product was discontinued in the early 1980s as the extra expense didn't translate into an extraordinary cigar-smoking experience in comparison to the other cigars in the marca such as the Coronas Claro, Gran Corona, Imperiales and Panatelas. For many years the marca utilised light wrappers in keeping with its light and mild strength and herbal, shortbread and citrus flavour profile. Quai d'Orsay became the second largest Habanos marca behind Montecristo in France but it didn't really dominate other non-French speaking markets. Fast forward a number of years, and with the brand down to one cigar in regular production; the QdO Coronas Claro, a change in using light wrappers and an upgrading of blend has meant that the Quai d'Orsay would have to be one of the hottest marcas outside the current Global (Cohiba, H.Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo, Partagas and Romeo y Julieta) and Value brands (Bolivar, Punch, Ramon Allones and Trinidad) in the world today. As I mentioned already, I've preferred the Quai d'Orsay No.50 (of the two new Quai d'Orsay releases) and as a result, this is actually my first Quai d'Orsay No.54 I've smoked in almost two years. My last Quai d'Orsay No.54 had a quality hay, light cedar, cream and spice blend together with a brioche texture which made it smoke superbly. Fast forward to the present time and a almost four-and-a-half years this QdO No.54 had a similar egg and brioche blend which was much less woody as I progressed through the cigar. It also had no spice. It was quite easy to smoke; in fact, it was over after only 65 minutes but I didn't think I smoked through it too quickly. It certainly didn't become bitter. I have no doubt that the upcoming Quai d'Orsay No.52 (a unique 52 ring gauge x 156 mm or 6⅛ inch in length Lanzas) will generate great interest whenever it arrives. In the meantime, the resurgence of Quai d'Orsay has been quite something to marvel at. There were only five special releases in this brand prior to 2018, since then they've been eight. For me personally, the old adage that Quai d'Orsay cigars require time (in the vicinity of somewhere like three to five years) to appreciate more fully is certainly true when it comes to the Quai d'Orsay No.54.

El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse SGA Sep 2016 The El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse can be such a delightful little flavour bomb on the proviso that they have decent construction. By that I mean whether they are rolled correctly or not. My previous box of MLU Dic 2018 ERdM Demi Tasses had far too many samples with construction issues for my liking. This older SGA Sep 2016 box has been much better; alas, I've only smoked four of them and this is my first one from the box in three and a half years. Thankfully, this entreactos cigar was rolled well; I didn't need to re-light it once, it wasn't under-filled, it didn't burn harshly and it had a good ash-length throughout. It had the usual lemon citrus combining with a core fruit and shortbread profile, some floral and honey notes and a hint of almond flavour on the edges, which is what I was looking for. At six of years of age, I can finally say that although it was still around the medium mark in strength, it wasn't 'toasty'. I can be satisfied that this ErdM Demi Tasse today smoked much, much better than my last one from my MLU Dic 2018 box. It lasted twenty-five minutes but the memories of my last box were long gone before I had finished it!

Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill The Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill was Cigar Aficionado’s No.8 cigar of the year in 2018 and 2020, with scores of 93 and 95 respectively. I was so impressed with the last Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill I had a month ago, I decided to acquire a 10-count box in the meantime. This cigar is the first from the box that I decide to smoke 'right-off-the-truck' (ROTT), so-to-speak. The Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill is box-pressed but has a normal straight foot and a slightly curved head with a 178 mm (or 7 inches) length and 50 ring gauge, which is a little bigger than the traditional Habanos girth for a Churchill-sized cigar that is usually 47 rg. It comes with the now accustomed, yet impressive, Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper but it is the binder and filler which makes a difference to the Melanio line. Both the binder and the filler use Nicaraguan Jalapa tobacco which is said to impart more flavour and less strength. On the cold draw I got some cedar and sweet barnyard. The aroma of the cigar was exquisite. The sheen on the wrapper was impressive too. It's remarkable how well these are made. The cigar opened with a mild strength and some sweet notes of dark chocolate, walnuts and cedar which gave way to more rudimentary notes of coffee and leather in the middle third. In the last third the strength intensified a little, but honestly not too much, and the flavour blend stayed much the same. I mentioned in my last review that Habanos S.A. have very few Churchill-sized cigars left; in fact, just three in regular production (Cohiba Esplendidos, H.Upmann Sir Winston and Romeo y Julieta Churchill). These all enjoy a ‘lofty’ reputation within the Habanos catalogue, Although, this wasn't brilliant as the last Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill I had a month ago, it was still a pleasure to smoke over 110 minutes. I very much enjoyed it and I'm glad I acquired a box. In my opinion, I feel the Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill is a quality addition to my collection of other Habanos Churchills in my humidor.

Media Corona

Impressive Cigar!