|
|  | The Annual “Cigars for Troops” drive is under way. This is a great opportunity to give back to those who protect our freedoms and earn the coveted "Troop Supporter" badge at the same time. You can find information here: http://www.cigargeeks.com/community/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5418... A special thanks goes out to Nathan (nwb) for running the drive again.
|
| | The 2021 Marine Toys for Tots drive is under way again this year. This is the way to earn the Toys for Tots badge for being a contributor. If you give a kit for auction, win an auction, or donate at least $20 you will be awarded the badge A special thanks goes out to Emerson (McBryde) for stepping up to run the drive again this year.  |  |
| | | The points contest is under way for the month of September. The 26 members with the most points for the month have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Famous Smoke Shop. You can read the details HERE. To view the previous month's contest results see here. |
|
| Camacho Liberty 2021 | September, 2021 | 89
CG Rating |  | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Murphy223 | | Thanks to Kevin (wescat) and Bruce for allowing me to participate. This one was fun. Overall, I enjo... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2021 | September, 2021 | 86
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: tuck0411 | | Pretty nice smoke, this one, the uneven burn and needed maintenance aside. Flavor for days and if I ... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2021 | September, 2021 | 92
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: nirab | | I really enjoyed this cigar. The oak notes were perfect with the coffee and pepper, and the natural ... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2021 | September, 2021 | 83
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Nick (nkowal) | | The Camacho Liberty 2021 was a bit of a disappointment given the high bar I have for the Liberty ser... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2021 | September, 2021 | 87
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Steve Ladd (Caveman Steve) | | All in all, this was real pleasure to smoke. The performance of the cigar itself overcame... Read More |
|
| Casa Cuevas Habano Toro |  | tuck0411 | 9/14/2022 12:30 PM | Humidor time: 488 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 69, foot - 59
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately soft pack with no soft spots... Gave it a punch and PLD was open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium-bodied profile with a slightly spicy retro and notes of light wood, spice, and hints of coffee and citrus. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors staying consistent through the first third after which the coffee hint faded and the citrus hint ramped to a full note through the 2nd third where it stayed through the remainder. Very tasty, overall, and pretty much right in my wheelhouse for a medium blend. Strength was about medium. (24/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. The burn continued evenly through the 2nd third, then it started to tunnel a bit towards the end of the 2nd third, but it recovered fairly quickly and things were then uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output remained optimal throughout. (23/25)
Overall impression: Another very nice smoke from this brand, the brief tunneling episode aside. This was one of the nicest habanos I've had in awhile, not to mention now that I'm four sticks into this sampler, I'm very impressed with this brand so far. The first one wasn't up to much, but the last three have been absolute bangers. Two more to go so we shall see if the streak holds... (32/35)
Burn time: 1:42
Rating: 92 | | Casa Cuevas Reserva Maduro Robusto | | tuck0411 | 9/13/2022 10:12 PM | Humidor time: 487 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 71, foot - 70
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was moderately tight so gave it an additional single deep V-cut and PLD was now moderately open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a slightly spicy retro and notes of charred wood, leather, black coffee, and hints of creamy butter and spice. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors mellowing just a bit through the first third but otherwise staying consistent for the duration. This one seemed fairly complex as there was more going on than I can describe and, while I didn't detect any transitions, it was very tasty, overall, with a delicious creamy/buttery aspect that seemed fairly unique as I don't get that sort of flavor very often. Strength was about medium. (24/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, smoke volume a bit below optimal, and an even burn to start. I quickly gave it a second deep V-cut on top of the previous cuts and this gradually helped to improve smoke output which reached optimal about 1" in to the first third. The burn stayed even through the first third with the tight ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub with draw and smoke output remaining optimal from the first third on. (23/25)
Overall impression: A really nice slow-burning smoke, this one, with great flavors and excellent construction. Definitely one of the better Dominicans I've had in awhile and I might just have to get some more of these. (32/35)
Burn time: 1:24
Rating: 91 | | Aganorsa Leaf (formerly Casa Fernandez) Rare Leaf Reserve Titan |  | tuck0411 | 9/13/2022 4:50 PM | Humidor time: 504 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 71, foot - 68
Appearance and construction: A few veins, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a wide-ring punch and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium+ profile with a spicy retro and notes of wood, spice, and a hint of butter. The spice in the nose faded after a few puffs and the body receded towards medium with the other flavors mellowing slightly but otherwise staying consistent through the remainder. No transitions to note, but this was quite flavorful and pretty close to my wheelhouse for a medium blend. Strength was about medium. (22/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, smoke volume on the low side of optimal, and an even burn to start. Smoke output gradually improved and reached optimal part way through the 1st third. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. The burn was a bit wavy but self-correcting through the 2nd third, then got lopsided after getting hung up on a vein going into the last third and finally needed a touch-up before reaching the nub. Draw and smoke output remained optimal from the first third on. (19/25)
Overall impression: Pretty nice smoke and similar to the toro and robusto I've had from this blend over the last couple of days except I got citrus in the profile in those and I didn't get that in this one. This one also wasn't quite as well-constructed as those what with the maintenance needed along the way. Good smoke, though, and I'd smoke it again, although if I were going to buy any more of this blend it'd probably be the toro. (26/35)
Burn time: 1:39
Rating: 80 | | Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro | | tuck0411 | 9/13/2022 12:07 PM | Humidor time: 487 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 71, foot - 72
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a faint whiff of tobacco. The light gave a mild/medium profile with a slightly spicy retro and notes of light wood, spice, and hints of citrus and butter. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors staying consistent throughout. Quite tasty, overall, with just enough spice and citrus hanging around in the background to keep things interesting throughout. Strength was medium at best. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, smoke volume on the low side of optimal, and an even burn to start. Smoke output quickly improved and reached optimal about a 1/2" into the first third. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a small cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub with draw and smoke output remaining optimal from the first third on. (24/25)
Overall impression: A very nice morning smoke, this one, with all the great flavors I expect from a good conny blend and excellent construction. I'd definitely smoke this one again in whatever vitolas are available. As a side-note, this is a different conny blend than the conny stick I reviewed yesterday from the same brand. This one's much better, IMO. (32/35)
Burn time: 1:26
Rating: 91 | | Aganorsa Leaf (formerly Casa Fernandez) New Cuba Corojo Titan | | tuck0411 | 9/12/2022 9:00 PM | Humidor time: 503 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 64, foot - 62
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately soft pack and a bit softer at the head... Gave it a wide-ring punch and PLD was open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium-bodied profile with a spicy retro and notes of light wood, spice, and a hint of citrus. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors mellowing just a bit through the first third and then staying consistent through the 2nd third after which the wood note ramped a bit going into the last third. Very tasty, overall, and pretty close to my wheelhouse for this type of blend. Strength was about medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, smoke volume on the low side of optimal, and an even burn to start. Smoke output gradually improved and reached optimal part way through the first third. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub apart from a small bit of self-correcting waviness in the burn line in the last third. Draw and smoke output remained optimal from the first third on. (23/25)
Overall impression: This was the 2nd vitola I've had from this blend, the torpedo being the first, and my review of that one shows a very similar experience both with flavors and construction. That one had a bit more citrus in the profile than this one, but otherwise it was identical to this one. It's a great budget smoke any way you slice it and I'll be buying more of these in every vitola available as soon as Cigar Page has them on sale again. As a side-note, this had a very similar profile to the Rare Leaf stick I had this morning and it makes me wonder if this has some of the same tobacco in it as that one. I'm guessing it does. (31/35)
Burn time: 1:20
Rating: 89 | | Aganorsa Leaf (formerly Casa Fernandez) Rare Leaf Reserve Toro | | tuck0411 | 9/12/2022 3:35 PM | Humidor time: 503 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 70, foot - 66
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium+ profile with a spicy retro and notes of light wood, spice, and a hint of citrus. The spice in the nose faded after a few puffs with the other flavors mellowing just a bit and the body receding to medium through the first third, but otherwise this was all consistent for the duration. No transitions to note, but this was very tasty and pretty close to my wheelhouse for a medium blend with just enough spice and that citrusy hint sticking around to keep things interesting throughout. Strength was about medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, smoke volume on the low side of optimal, and an even burn to start. Smoke output gradually improved and reached optimal part way through the first third. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. Apart from a small bit of waviness in the burn line in the last two thirds things were then uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output remained optimal from the first third on. (23/25)
Overall impression: This was a very similar smoke to the robusto from this blend that I had yesterday. Same great flavors and construction so it's another winner from Aganorsa. Got the gordo yet to go so we'll see how that one does, but this is a great blend that I look forward to smoking more of in whatever other vitolas I can find it in. (31/35)
Burn time: 1:46
Rating: 90 | | Casa Cuevas Reserva Natural Robusto |  | tuck0411 | 9/12/2022 9:23 AM | Humidor time: 486 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 70, foot - 64
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was moderately tight. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a mild/medium profile with a slightly spicy retro and a note of light wood with hints of grass, butter, and spice. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors staying consistent throughout. No transitions to note and, while this was decently pleasant, it missed my wheelhouse by a good bit due to the relative lack of much spice along with the grassy hint, which I'm not a fan of. It was just kind of bland and not all that interesting. Strength was about medium. (17/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling on my shirt just past 1" leaving a small cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output remained optimal throughout. (24/25)
Overall impression: First stick I've had from this brand and, while it didn't blow my doors off, flavor-wise, it was very well-constructed so was a decent morning smoke if not exactly inspiring in the flavor department. This came in a sampler from Small Batch, so I've got a few other blends to try including another conny blend that's different from this one, so we shall see how that one does. (26/35)
Burn time: 1:18
Rating: 79 | | Aganorsa Leaf (formerly Casa Fernandez) Signature Series Maduro Corona Gorda | | tuck0411 | 9/11/2022 8:47 PM | Humidor time: 502 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 64, foot - 62
Appearance and construction: A few minor veins, a light sheen, a pig-tail cap, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a punch and PLD was open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of rich tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro and notes of charred wood, leather, spice, and a hint of chocolate. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors staying consistent through the first third after which the chocolate hint gradually faded away through the 2nd third leaving a nicely balanced mix of the remaining flavors through the remainder. Very tasty, overall. Strength was about medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling past 1" leaving a small cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub with draw and smoke output remaining optimal throughout. (25/25)
Overall impression: Another fine smoke from Aganorsa, this one, with both flavors and construction checking all the right boxes. This was another sampler stick from Small Batch, which means I don't have any more, but I sure wish I did. Great smoke! (33/35)
Burn time: 1:12
Rating: 94 | | Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Churchill | | tuck0411 | 9/11/2022 3:17 PM | Humidor time: 510 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 74, foot - 66
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately soft pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of rich tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro and notes of coffee, wood, leather, and spice. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the other flavors staying consistent through the first third after which the wood and the leather started to fade with the coffee coming to the fore and also gaining a slightly sour aspect. This somewhat sour coffee note then became predominant part way through the 2nd third with the spice lingering in the background and the wood and leather fading almost completely through the remainder. Not bad, overall, but it missed my wheelhouse by a fair bit as sour coffee is not really my thing. Strength was about medium or a bit better. (19/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a small cone. The burn continued wavily but self-correcting through the 2nd third and things were otherwise uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output remained optimal throughout. (23/25)
Overall impression: This was only my 2nd smoke from this brand, and as with the first, it was hard to see what all the hype's about. It was an OK smoke, but definitely not better than a lot of smokes I've had that go for a lot less than I paid for this one, and this one came from Small Batch as one of their COTM selections, so I got it for considerably less than MSRP. At any rate, I'd smoke it again, but probably only if it were handed to me. (27/35)
Burn time: 1:35
Rating: 81 | | Aganorsa Leaf (formerly Casa Fernandez) Rare Leaf Reserve Robusto | | tuck0411 | 9/11/2022 9:54 AM | Humidor time: 502 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 64, foot - 59
Appearance and construction: A few minor veins, a light sheen, and a firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double shallow V-cut and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium+ profile with a spicy retro and notes of wood and spice, followed by a hint of citrus that appeared shortly into the first third. The spice in the nose faded after a few puffs with the other flavors staying consistent through for the duration. Very tasty, overall, and close to my wheelhouse for this type of medium blend. Strength was about medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a small cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub with draw and smoke output remaining optimal throughout. (25/25)
Overall impression: Great smoke, this one, with both flavors and construction checking all the right boxes. I have this blend in two other vitolas which all came in an Aganorsa sampler from Small Batch, so looking forward to shortly smoking those up with reckless abandon... (33/35)
Burn time: 1:14
Rating: 94 |
|
|
Del.icio.us
