mwaller

I also smoked a 2024 RASS and 2024 BRC a couple days after Cigar 1. Both were entirely different experiences, so I figured it must have been a cigar I didn't have on hand to compare...🤷‍♂️

Oh the audacity....😂

None of mine have pigtail caps…

I decided to tackle Cigar 1 this afternoon. As others have noted, the stick appears to be box pressed. By comparison to other cigars in my collection, this example appears to be 50rg, not 48rg. So, it’s probably a robusto. The cigar opens with tangy, toasty flavors and a hint of spice cookie. The retrohale is very smooth, and adds a bit of nuttiness and vanilla to the mix. Some nondescript fruit flavors enter in the 2nd third. Some woody notes creep in during the final third. There was little in the way of transitions, but it was an enjoyable cigar with no notable flaws.

Hmmmm… you guys must be on the naughty list. FOH is saving the real competition sticks for their favorite customers🤗

I tried my hand at growing cigar tobaccos for a few years before the pandemic. It was a lot of fun, but didn’t produce anything with an aroma or flavor that remotely resembled a cigar 😂 The plants themselves are pretty easy to grow, and the modern strains can produce some impressive leaves in a temperate climate. When your seedlings get a few more leaves, consider removing half of the 2-3 largest leaves to stimulate growth. Curing the leaves properly is one of the biggest challenges for home growers. Most Caribbean tobaccos are harvested one leaf at a time, then hung up to “color cure” in a high humidity environment. If the humidity isn’t high enough, the leaves will dry green. After color curing, the leaves need to be fermented. Commercially, fermentation is performed by creating massive piles (“Pilons”) of leaves that trap moisture and heat sufficiently to sustain fermentation. At home, you may need to create a “tobacco kiln” or find some other way of supplying the heat and moisture necessary to ferment your leaves. If you want to learn more, check out the Fair Trade Tobacco forum - it’s the go-to site for home growers. Have fun!

I’m curious if anyone else feels the flavor of Habanos have generally improved in recent years. That has certainly been my impression. I got into Habanos about a decade ago and invested heavily for about 5 years. I had plenty of good sticks, but very few really stood out. Eventually, I sold everything off. In the last year, I started buying again, and I’ve been generally very impressed with the flavors. Across the board, I seem to get much more toast, coffee and cream, and much less grubby / bitter flavors. What changes, if any have you noticed?

Are the new Piramides already available for sale somewhere?

True, you do need a screwdriver to adjust flame height. However, this is typically a 1-time adjustment.

I store my NC cigars in large gasketed storage tubs with 69% Boveda packs.

I really want to love these and the Canonazo, but I have yet to have a great one. Most have been sharp and spicy, then turn bitter at the halfway mark. My experience is so wildly different from other members that I've been scratching my head trying to figure out the problem. It dawned on me that my cigars were stored in an unheated part of the house, which can dip to 50F in the wintertime. Perhaps this was drying out my cigars too much? I've moved my sticks upstairs where it stays closer to 70F, so I'm hoping better times are in store. Thoughts?

Sisu is a pretty common Finnish word that translates to grit, fortitude, determination, cajones etc...

As a Finnish-American, I was delighted to learn about Sisuman products. I ordered a torch lighter, and have been very pleased with its functionality. Piezo igniters are fussy and can become misaligned, so the flint ignition of the Sisuman is a very welcome attribute. I also like that all routinely used features of the lighter - including the punch and filler valve - are easy to access without tools or long nails. The large tank provides good use time between refills. The criticisms I have a fairly minor: 1) The lid sticks straight up when lit. While moving the lighter in circles to evenly toast the foot of a cigar, the lid will occasionally hit my cigar. After increasing the flame height, this has become less of an issue. 2) The inside of the lid binds slightly with flint wheel. This means that my lighter has a slightly 'rough' feel when I first lift the lid. It also means that the lid doesn't always close fully without a bit of help from yours truly. The flint wheel has been wearing grooves into the inside of the lid, so perhaps this issue will sort itself out soon... Overall, though, it is a great product at a fair price point.

Probably one of my home rolls… just wrapped these last night, and I’m pretty pleased with the blend. The filler is from Honduras, Dominican Republic, and Brazil. The binder is from Ecuador and wrapper is from Nicaragua. All tobaccos are at least 5 years old; the Honduras and Brazil fillers have more than a decade of age. Based on an earlier test roll, the predominant flavors are toasted marshmallow with a touch of hazelnut. The blend finishes with a bit of cocoa and peanuts.

I’m curious if anyone can comment on the differences among the three versions of Nudies Carlotas. I have unopened packs of all 3, and I’m wondering which is most likely to suit my palate. I don’t typically smoke skinnies, but I have tried some of the 2019 Lanceros. The flavor is indeed wonderful, but the smoke output is pretty low, and they are fairly light in flavor. This works on a weekend morning with a cup of coffee, but is somewhat unsatisfying for an evening cigar. From what I’ve read, the 2023 version is quite full bodied. How are the 2019 and 2021?