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Ninfa- NOV 02, EAR

Punch Punch from 2018. Darrrk! Was a PSP box (remember them?) which has needed a decent rest. Now… phenomenal. This is developing that unique tropical top note alongside strong musty Punch funk. Thanks Rob.

RA EL RAE JUL 15 with some bourbon, from our gracious host 👍

Young... yet amazing

Por Larrañaga Picadores (RAT OCT20).

2007 Diplomaticos No 4

BPC ULA JUN 14 SLR Tesoros (16) RyJ Cazadores MOE JUL 15 H.Upmann RR UPE SEP 13 RASCC ULA DIC 13 Partagas 898 AUM FEB 14 RAS ULA OCT 14

Smoked a 109 nudie while listening to @El Presidente and Hamlet, beautiful smoke and discussion!

7 years of bliss. Wedding month box with ROM SEP 16 on a beautiful evening in the 8th arrondissement.

Smoking a delicious HUPC. Remember when these were 130 a box and nobody wanted them?

Phenomenal smell to these Exhibicion No.4's

‘18 D4

Bbf

Nice rib steak and then a LBT MAY 12 Siglo VI last night.

Looking for advice. Smoked few a year ago and they were good but after foh review I thought I’ll revisit and the 3 I smoked were not great. Should I give them some time or burn through them before they become worst ?

Britannicas extra. 😞 don't get it.

Just arrived. Price hike was blessing and curse.. I would have not looked into/researched other brands. I liked the history with Por Larranaga with consistent tobacco blends, they were my first purchase 2 years ago. Still looking for some aged Montecarlos & Panetelas.

I’d fly back to Japan just for the eel 😬

Grabbed a couple of boxes of these on sale back in the good ole days, unfortunately they must of had a ruff landing. I think 7 of the 20 had cracked heads, which made an investment in cigar glue necessary. The idea of having a box of mostly damaged cigars aging in my humidor doesn’t appeal to me, so I’ve been burning through that problem. i’ve burned through the crackheads, this is the first one that wasn’t damaged. This cigar has a smooth colorado maduro wrapper and is nicely filled. The cold draw is very sweet with some toasted almonds. The draw has no resistance but isn’t open, should be perfect for this shape cigar. Time to push the play button on the Japanese GP and light this cigar. Opening flavors are caramel toffee, it’s beautifully rich and sweet, a little over medium body. This should pair nicely with the Sauternes I’m having, it is Saturday night in CA. It just cruises in toffee world for 20 laps, then the toasted almonds kick in. The body just keeps creeping up to medium full, by lap 40 it’s toffee and black coffee to the finish. I was worried the cigar wouldn’t make it to the checkered flag, but it did. I’m going to give the rest of these cigars a few more years down. The first half smoked beautifully, the second half body was a little overpowering for me.

I was pleased to snag these on 24:24 a couple weeks ago, having wanted to try one for a while now. I believe it may have been the only box up that day:

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-new-cuban-hoyo A New Cuban Hoyo Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 3 gets premiere party in Spain Sep 25, 2023 | By Gregory Mottola https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-new-cuban-hoyo

Guys, this one is starting off special… I had no intention of posting anything when I grabbed this cigar out of a 10 count box today to enjoy an early afternoon smoke, but what I am getting from it demanded it. Great Monte 2’s seemed hard to find for a good long while, but this 2020 stick, from our host, may be one of the best cigars I’ve had in a few years. Medium body. Dark rich coffee, earthy, dark and milk chocolates mixing in back and forth, with silky cream and rich toffee toward the finish. Rich earthy nose. Incredible 1st third. I’ve had a few here and there out of boxes from 2019-2022, and they have largely had the ingredients to believe they could be classics, but this is the first one that has brought everything together for me. Wow Throwing in a photo of a Monte 2 from the mid 90’s for fun (next to a pair of 2000 Partagas Piramides Edicion Limitada). I’ve moved into the second third while writing this, and the progression has moved to smooth cream and sugar coffee with silky milk chocolate. The earthy hints are gone from the palate, but still they’re in the nose. Body back down tow <medium, but is creeping back up as I am nearing the last third. My son needs to get to a baseball game in <1 hour…… he’s going to miss a bit of his warm ups!

Pedrito Martinez is a Cuban percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a Cuban Conguero performing classic Cuban Rumbas, Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music. He is a Santería priest. Born in Havana, Cuba, Sept 12, 1973 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana, and began his musical career at the age of 11.Since settling in New York City in the fall of 1998, Pedrito has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdez, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Palmieri, Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne, Elton John, James Taylor and Sting, and has contributed to well over 100 albums. A consummate master of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and the batá drum he is also the world’s first-call rumbero—playing, singing, and dancing with dozens of Cuban rumba groups and contributing to, or appearing in, several important films, including Calle 54 (2000) and Chico and Rita (2010).

I am a lover of eel. If I ever see it on a menu, I am there. Prepared properly, it is simply a delight. One for the many FOH foodies among us

Current 22/23 Epicure Number 2's shading out Serie D Number 4's and RASS. Monte 2's are on song. For those 4 cigars it is a golden period.

I have been eager to bust into these nudies since they arrived 51 days ago, but admit I have concerns that people overhype them because we all like Prez and Hamlet. I finally found a time when there will be zero interruptions, which is a rarity. So here we go. Cold draw- Graham cracker, almost a s’more. 1st third. Great draw, tons of smoke output- probably more than almost anything else I’ve had. There some medium/dark cocoa there, but with a touch of sweetness. I get the ‘brown edge of cookies’ comment I have read before. Perhaps ‘decadent’ is the proper adjective for me. Towards the 2nd third, there is another flavor slowly ramping in. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s a slightly fuller flavor. Somewhere between toast and cedar taste, no longer as sweet- but rich in a slightly lighter way. As we hit the home stretch, the cedar flavors recede as it gently turns into pain au chocolat. At this point, it reminds me of motor sailing at sunset- when you have set the course and have auto pilot on. So much so I forgot to take any more pictures. It’s interesting, lots of monte 4 notes, but somewhat lighter. Unlike my monte 4’s, this has flawless construction and burn. There were a few puffs where I could tell it needs a little more rest time, but only a few. There is an odd bite with most NCs that I dislike (it may be some Esteli flavors 🤷‍♂️), but kudos to the team because they have avoided that entirely. Smoke time 48 min. I think in the future with rest it will easily squeeze out a few more points, but for now, 91/100.

Sunday morning short story with a coffee and catching up on the overnight news

Most enjoyable smoke this year! 2013 psp RyJ chuchill from LITW from our host. Smooth sweet cherry and dark chocolate notes 👌 Better than the reserva imo..

Motivated by @HoyoFan's thread on NC alternatives that the CC smoker might find palatable, I decided to order an assortment of the sticks recommended here and elsewhere and see what I like. Looking at all these sticks, I realize this will quickly get out of hand and I need a way to keep track of my thoughts on each to help me figure out what to try in the future. Motivated by @JohnS's smoking diaries, I will try posting my notes in this thread. These aren't full reviews. Instead they are a summary of my impressions and a rating using the system below. - No thank you. Wouldn't smoke it again. + Decent, but don't need to smoke it again. ++ Great. Would smoke it again. +++ Wow! A superlative experience in some way List of (+++) rankings so far: Buffalo Ten CT Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel-Aged (BBA) CT Gordo Perdomo Double Aged Vintage Connecticut Robusto (very similar to the BBA CT) Warped Maestro del Tiempo 5205 Atabey Divinos (reminiscent of HdM Epi. 2) Atabey Spiritus (also reminiscent of HdM Epi. 2) Illusione Fume D'Amour Lagunas Rojas KSG Lonsdale (reminiscent of Monte No. 1) Rojas Unfinished Business Robusto Caldwell Pacific Standard Double Robusto Caldwell Savages Toro Casdagil D'Boiss DB-52 Casdagli Club Maerva Spalato II El Rey del Mundo Rectangulares Natural MOFOH Spada Gorda Freud Superego Lonsdale CAO BX3 Robusto (retrohale is reminiscent of Bolivar and SCdlH) La Flor Dominicana Lancero Cameroon RoMa Craft Intemperance BA XXI Vanity RoMa Craft Intemperance BA XXI Intrigue Cavalier Geneve Viso Jalapa Lancero Quesada 1974 Robusto Quesada 1974 Corona Oliva Master Blends 3 Robusto Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 Churchill Rocky Patel Number 6 Robusto Puro Desnudo N1 Lancero Puro Desnudo Pyrimide N2 Puro Desnudo N7 Ninfas Black Label Trading Co. Royalty Corona Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Rothschild Natural Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R 44 Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No.3 Natural Dapper Desvalido Dilsa Lonsdale Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Maestro Torpedo EP Carillo La Historia Parientes Patoro Gran Anejo Reserva No.1 Churchill Black Works Studio Killer Bee Petite Corona Vega Fina Master 2012 Tatuaje Escasos E Davidoff Yamasa Robusto My Father Fonseca Cosacos Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose Lonsdale The Tabernacle Havana Seed CT #142 Lancero Foundation The Tabernacle Corona Plasencia Reserva Original Toro ADVentura The Explorer Short Robusto Emilio Cigars LJZ Lonsdale El Rico Habano Corona Supremo

I was reading a review in Traveller magazine of the new Peninsula Hotel in London and came across this lovely little paragrapgh that put the base room rate in perspective "Okay, rooms at The Peninsula start at £1,300 a night, but few places do service and technology like this. And there aren’t many London locations that feel quite as rarefied. Apparently, £5,000 is a relative bargain for the Cohiba Majestuosos cigars available at the Brooklands walk-in humidor. Maybe, just maybe, the same could be said for the hotel as a whole." https://www.cntraveller.com/hotels/the-peninsula-london

...I would certainly hope so

I'm willing to bet I'm the only FoH member that is a USA tipped employee. I'd rather roll the dice for 20%+ than accept an hourly for working a fine dining service. I'm regularly greeted with a 'presidential' handshake. Those savvy people get an exceptional level of service. The selling point of most of the hardware/software systems is little to no upfront costs. Toast is king for small venues right now. They do all the CC processing and lease/sell/give you all the hardware for cash registers, compris, order taking and tracking. Kitchen screens, POS terminals, all of it. The post-payment screens are templates. They're easy to remove, but it just adds the opportunity to tip as you see fit for exceptional service as we drift into cashlessness. Is it abused? Absolutely. Do I tip for cigars when I buy boxes? No. Do I tip when I buy 2 sticks and the humidor assistant offers cut & light and a pour of house whiskey? You betcha. Minimum wage for tipped employees is set by the state, it's $2.13 in TX. To be annoyingly precise, $/hr is calculated by the week (at least in TX), so it takes a couple of really bad shifts to have the venue pay true minimum wage to a server. Also, many servers are also paid minimum for hours doing setup, breakdown, and cleaning. Details you may not know, most venues have 'tipout' where a % of sales is diverted to other tipped employees for support, eg bartenders and bussers. It's pretty normal to payout an estimated 20% of your take (4% of sales) for full support, so, say you have a $200 table that decides $10 is a satisfactory tip? You owe $8 to support, the table wasted your time and took up room in your section. Maybe the bill was higher than expected and they're on a budget. Maybe they don't believe in tipping like Mr Pink. Maybe they don't understand the system. None of that matters, service is effectively commission sales without a guarantee. Frankly, I'm a little appalled by some of the comments here. D4s are ~$20 a pop. Basic CC and Nudies are $200 a unit. If you're smoking Cohibas, you can afford to tip a server. The dollar difference between 15% and 20% for a nice dinner for two is usually a cigar, maybe two.

Rojas Breakfast Taco CT (+): A fun little perfecto. Flavor in the first half is very mild. So much so that you can taste "ash" as one of the main flavors. The only merit to the first half is that it is better than the Henry Clay War Hawk. The second half brings a nice bump in flavor level. A little bit of toasty bread with a hint of pepper. This profile ramps up to medium by the end of the smoke -- which is fast since this thing is so small.

Henry Clay War Hawk Corona (-): Upon lighting the flavor is immediately recognizable as the generic flavor of most mild cigars distributed by Big-Cigar (Altadis / General Cigar) in the late 1990s: mild, flat, and uninteresting. Amazing how I can be transported back in time after only the first puff. I didn't find this interesting in the 90s and I still don't today. Smoked the first third without any change observed. Tossed the stick at this point: life is too short to smoke this crap. it is funny, I recall the standard Henry Clay as being one of the few standouts worth revisiting in the Big-Cigar lineup. Maybe I need to revisit that.

Cohiba Siglo I EPM Dic 2017 The Cohiba Siglo I is the smallest of the Siglo range, a perlas (like the Montecristo No.5 and Rafael Gonzalez Perlas), it is slightly smaller than a minuto (like the San Cristobal de La Habana El Principe or Partagas Shorts) at 40 ring gauge x 102 mm or 4 inches in length. I've found that the Siglo I tends to be the strongest of the Linea 1492 range (i.e. Cohiba Siglo I, II, III, IV, V and VI). That doesn't necessarily mean that it gets above medium to medium-full, rather they are more intense in those typical Cohiba flavours than other cigars in this line. In fact, in general, I'd rate the Cohiba Siglo I at five years of age as stronger comparably even to similar-aged minutos and perlas such as the San Cristobal de La Habana El Principe, Rafael Gonzalez Perlas or Montecristo No.5, in general. The Linea 1492 series was famously introduced in 1992 to replace the Davidoff Chateaux Series as a premium marca. The five Siglo cigars had correlating Davidoff Chateaux vitolas, with the Cohiba Siglo I replacing the identically-sized Davidoff Chateau Haut-Brion. It's interesting to note that reviews of this now thirty year-old Davidoff cigar on Cigar-Reviews.Org are universally exemplary whereas reviews of the Cohiba Siglo I on the same site are mixed. Perhaps the Cohiba Siglo I needs more time down than other comparative Habanos minutos/perlas? Hmmm...perhaps indeed! This was the second Cohiba Siglo I smoked from a quarter box I acquired in mid-2021. The first Siglo I, smoked in April 2022, had notes of black espresso coffee, some honey, some elements of Cohiba grass or hay with a little citrus twang. If it had some more notes of honey and/or a little vanilla bean I guess I would have enjoyed it more but it was fine as it was. This second one was better because it didn't have dominant notes of mocha coffee and it shone in its other flavours; namely Cohiba grass/hay, honey and even a little sweet vanilla on the edges. Yes, this was a fine example of a Cohiba Siglo I smoked over 35 minutes. However, for its current price, I too would admit that I would prefer other options in the minutos and perlas range instead of the Cohiba Siglo I, the next time I want a short smoke.

Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales SMA Jun 2019 In comparison to the H.Upmann Half Corona, the Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales is a cigar that looks bigger in girth and length than its dimensions of 47 rg and 95 millimetres or 3¾ inches in length. I think that since the RyJ Petit Royales is a newer release and my HU Half Corona are aged, it means that with rest my HU Half Coronas have shrunk in size as they've lost moisture over a longer period of time. Indeed, it's quite normal for aged cigars to shrink in size for this reason. This particular SMA Jun 2019 RyJ Petit Royales seemed bigger too because it was tightly-packed. It proved a little more challenging to smoke also as yes, it was slightly tight in the draw. My last SMA Jun 2019 RyJ Petit Royales had a wonderful combination of milk chocolate and sweet cherries, coupled with some typical anise and turkish delight; you know, the typical flavours you'd expect from the Romeo y Julieta marca. It was certainly a delight to smoke. This one, smoked around four months later also had a light milk chocolate base and was quite 'fruity'. It lasted a long sixty minutes on account of the tight draw. Despite this, it was a good smoke overall. So, in summary, as this box enters its fifth year it seems evident that those examples I enjoyed in the past that contained a 'robust' chocolate element to them have not tapered off in that aspect and they've become more fruity. I've been quite pleased with this outcome, as I continue to enjoy them, and I therefore look forward to the next time I reach for a Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales.

H. Upmann Half Corona OPG Feb 2015 The H.Upmann Half Corona was released in 2011, has a 44 ring gauge and is 90 mm or 3½ inches in length. It typically smokes around 25 to 35 minutes. It comes packaged in a 5-pack metal tin or 25-count dress box. This OPG Feb 2015 H.Upmann Half Corona I smoked today came from a dress box. Since its introduction, the HU Half Corona has become quite a popular release because its generally known as a vibrant smoke which one can reach for when pressed for time. It may surprise you to know that its vitola is not unprecedented; there was a Partagas 'Half a Corona' that was the same length but slighter smaller, at 42 ring gauge, which was discontinued in the early-1970s. I've mentioned in my last few reviews on the HU Half Corona that when young, it can noted for its espresso coffee, toasted tobacco and white pepper/spice flavours. I opened up this box after five years and I've steadily noticed a change in how the cigars have smoked from late 2020 to the present day. The first lot, up to around mid-2021 were average to just above that mark, in general, mainly because they were quite potent in their toasted tobacco and/or white pepper flavours. From mid-2021 until mid-2022 they developed still to be less dominant in coffee and toasted tobacco, and thus, I graded them higher, around above average. The last four I've enjoyed since August 2022 have been all outstanding. This is therefore the fifth one I've had in the last twelve months. This HU Half Corona has reached its eight-and-a-half-year mark and this time, no...it wasn't outstanding but it was certainly above average. The reason for this is because the flavours here were quite light, basically there was some light coffee and leather with some white pepper in the back half. Still, I didn't mind it, but if you are accustomed to younger H.Upmann Half Coronas I would have to say that this HU Half Corona would not have been 'your cup of tea'. I now have seven cigars left from this box. I still think there's no need to let them age further as this box of H.Upmann Half Corona is within its 'peak period'. I look forward to enjoying the rest.

This song floored me the first time I heard it, so simple yet passionate and elegant. The Spanish lyrics make it a delight to smoke to as well

Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas GOB Dec 2021 Ever since the re-structure of Habanos S.A.'s cigar production in mid-2022, there has seemingly been a hiatus on the availability of longer cigars such as the Double Coronas and Churchills. This late-2021 Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas may be from a batch of the last produced as personally, I haven't seen any examples in box codes from 2022 onwards (N.B. At the time of writing this review; and prior to publishing it, there has been an instance of UPO Feb 2022 Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas made available for purchase on a recent FriendsofHabanos 24:24 sale). I was recently fortunate to acquire some singles of this cigar, and so I was eager to sample one ROTT (Right-off-the-truck or immediately, so-to-speak). This HdM Double Coronas was quite mild for its relative youth. I found that it had a minimal light cocoa, together with a core cedar, biscuit and light cream texture. As I smoked down the cigar towards the halfway point, I picked up a touch of spice, perhaps a smidgen of nutmeg but frankly the cigar stayed fairly consistent in its core flavours throughout until the end. Construction-wise, this was on-point from the very beginning. It was effortless to light, it ashed very well and it was also very easy to smoke and retrohale. This Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas took me two-and-a-quarter hours to smoke and very much delivered on flavour, body and strength. How often do we get the chance to light up a Double Corona? Not often, I'd bet, with the demands of modern life, two to two-and-a-half hours to set aside and reflect on a cigar can be considered a luxury in terms of time. However, in addition to its current hiatus, we could also note that smoking a cigar of this type is a luxury in terms of opportunity cost too.

Sancho Panza Gran Quixote 2017 - Edición Regional Belux (circa 2018) The Sancho Panza Gran Quixote Belux Regional Edition is a curious cigar. Its tapered head and foot-shaped perfecto vitola immediately draws attention as being unique for a special release, and indeed this is the case. Only the 2011 Chinese Bolivar Distinguidos and the 2011 German Juan Lopez Distinguidos have been released in a similar vitola (known by its factory name of Romeo). Otherwise, in regular production the Cuaba Distinguidos has the same dimensions. There have also been three special releases each in the Cuaba and Romeo y Julieta marcas featuring this 52 ring gauge x 162 mm (or 6⅜ inches) length cigar. This cigar represents the fifth BELUX release (of six in total) and coincidentally perhaps, also the fifth Sancho Panza Regional Edition release. Since its inception, there have been two further Regional Edition Sancho Panza releases; the Chipre-Grecia Omeros and Asia Pacifico El Rey. Incidentally, it's easy to confuse BENELUX Regional Editions with BELUX ones when researching these types of cigars. BELUX Regional Edition cigars are released for the Belguim and Luxembourg markets. At one time BENELUX releases covered these two markets and the Netherlands one. Currently Paises Bajos Regional Editions represent the Dutch market on its own. Although a 2017 release, it wasn't until December 2018 that ten thousand 10-count Slide Lid Boxes were made available to the public (so one hundred thousand sticks in all). It didn't take long for the Sancho Panza Gran Quixote to establish positive 'word-of-mouth' and with it, strong demand. I lit up the tapered foot quite easily and the cigar soon settled into a full-flavoured example true to its marca. It was replete with wood and salt, with some nuttiness here and there. The cigar remained quite heavy on the palate throughout and didn't evolve much over two hours. By contrast, the last Sancho Panza Gran Quixote I had three-and-a-half years ago was quite different. It had an array of flavours such as fine oak, espresso coffee, toast, roasted nuts and orange citrus. The mouthfeel on that cigar was quite smooth and 'velvety' which elevated it above your standard Sancho Panza Belicosos or Non Plus regular production cigar. By comparison, this SP Gran Quixote was more 'standard fare'. In other words, typical Sancho Panza, only more full-flavoured. I am grateful to @Perla for making this review possible. I consider myself fortunate for sampling it today but I must admit that my previous SP Gran Quixote I smoked in early 2020 was more to my preference, only because it was more delineated, milder and honestly easier to smoke. Still, this was fine for a Sancho Panza cigar.

Bolívar Tesoro 2016 - Edición Regional 5ta Avenida (circa 2016) I've mentioned in my recent review on the Por Larranaga Coronas Regional Edition that 5ta Avenida (or Quinta Avenida) is the name of the distributor of Regional Edition cigars for Germany, Austria and Poland. This 2016 Bolivar Tesoro was released in February 2017 and came courtesy of @Perla (thank you gain, kindly!). If you are familiar with these releases from this distributor, then you'd know that all four have been reputable - the La Gloria Cubana Glorias (2015), the Bolívar Tesoro (2016), the Por Larrañaga Coronas (2017) and the Punch Preferidos (2018). The Bolivar Tesoro comes in a big Salomon vitola, like the regular production Partagas Salomones and Cuaba Salomon, it's a 57 ring gauge x 184 mm or 7¼ inches in length double perfecto. It was released in six thousand 10-count boxes. Contemporary reviews on this release were especially praiseworthy in 2017. In general, the Bolivar Tesoro was noted as a great cigar. After seven years, what can be deduced retrospectively? In other words, are they still great? Or indeed, how have they developed? Upon lighting the foot with a single-flame cigar lighter, notedly because it was markedly tapered, it took a little bit of effort to draw some smoke, but after a few minutes the cigar started to burn efficiently. Initial notes were cedar and quality leather, in other words, distinctive Bolivar flavours with a sweetness that was beautifully caramel in nature. As the cigar progressed that caramel combined with a marshmallow texture that was simply gorgeous. Honestly, it reminded me of my recent 2015 Bolivar Tubos No.1s in its smoking by the halfway point in how delicious and nuanced it was. In the final third, this aged Bolivar Tesoro became more 'Earthy' and took on the characteristics of a typical Bolivar cigar, in that it became a bit more heavier on the palate, but I nubbed it nonetheless. The cigar took me a close to a whopping three hours to smoke, but what a fantastic journey it was. If you have the Bolivar Tesoro in your humidor, you are indeed fortunate. For me, to have the opportunity to smoke a cigar of this size and quality is indeed rare. This was most definitely a special cigar that I wish was in regular production. As it approaches seven years of age, I have no doubt whatsoever that it is entering its 'peak' period. In my opinion, there is no need to let it develop much further as it is smoking so well right now.

Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande The Illusione Epernay line was released in 2009 as a lighter extension of the Illusione ~eccj~ line. The line consists of aged Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo fillers wrapped with a Rosado Corojo wrapper from Nicaragua. The Le Grande is a 46 ring gauge x 152 mm or 6 inches in length cigar. They are noted for being milder than other Nicaraguan cigars. I would like to acknowledge and thank @Perla for making this review possible, as paradoxically, despite Non-Cuban cigars being relatively easy to acquire in Australia, the Illusione brand is not. This particular Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande began with a wondrous hit of cream and spice, combined with a sandalwood one can commonly encounter in a Sancho Panza cigar. There was a lot of smoke per draw and I needed to smoke it bit-by-bit, but the texture of smoke was somewhat 'toasty', which reminded me of the discontinued Partagas Serie du Connaisseur Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in mouthfeel (though not in blend). Despite sipping from the head of the cigar in small increments the cigar didn't take long to smoke down as it was aged and on the 'drier' side, but it smoked really well. The last third continued that sandalwood and cream texture but there was an increase in white pepper in the end, which made for some nice transitions. Upon finishing the cigar I could see for myself why cigar enthusiasts who mainly smoke Habanos cigars speak well of this series. Alongside the Le Grande, the Epernay 2009 line has other vitolas which all carry French monikers; Le Voyage, L'Elegance, Le Ferme, L'Excellence, Le Monde, Le Matin, Le Taureau, La Vie, Le Petite and L'Alphiniste. I can't help but feel that this is an overt reference to the luxury-brand naming of cigars that was common in the Habanos Cigar industry in the 1940s. (For example, the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo des Dieux et al.). If so, it's a 'nice touch'. So, in summary, if you are looking for a cigar that is lighter in body and creamy in texture, with a semblance of being 'Cubanesque' (although in my opinion, it is quite obviously Non-Cuban in its smoking), the Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande is one such cigar.

The humidor I would have as a showcase in my price smoke room. They charge about the same as an old aristocrat but at quarter of the capacity, so they are definitely in luxury category and meant to be ornamental. The reality of my showcase humidor.

Galanes ‘21 RJ PC A/T ‘20 cedar woody beginning that turned into vanilla and chocolate coffee

2016

Short

Watching the supporters of the Irish Rugby Football Union saunter down the street. PLPC from a 2019 cab. Caramel goodness.

They landed