If you have not done a Critique in the past three months I am looking for volunteers. I would like at least Veteran status members* for this review!
If Noel gets his cigars here in time to ship Monday we will be doing the Guayacan. The torpedo version of this cigar was rated 91 by Cigar Snob Magazine and it is considered Medium Strength.
Noel Rojas has a colorful history when it comes to cigars. He hails from Pinar Del Rio, Cuba and began working in tobacco fields after school when he was just 13. He speaks fondly of his six years in the tobacco fields. After his compulsory military service, he tried to make ends meet by making cigars on the side. It went pretty well, but it didn’t take long for the authorities to put an end to that. So he got a license to be an artist and switched to making wooden sculptures for tourists out of Guayacan, a wood he described as tough, oily and aromatic. Unfortunately his artist license didn’t permit him to acquire the wood he needed, and once again he ran afoul of the authorities. Then five years ago, he gave up on trying to make it in Cuba and set up shop in the US.
Fast forward to the present day, and Guayacan by Noel Rojas is in more than thirty shops around the US. The cigar, named after the wood he carved in Cuba, is available in four sizes, Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Torpedo (6 1/8 x 52) and Churchill (7 x 50). There are differences in the blend between vitolas, but all feature a mixture of Aganorsa leaf from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaraga.
If the Guayacans fail to make it here by Monday afternoon we will be doing the Falto Mentor Toro a Medium/Full Dominican made cigar featuring an Ecuadorian Habana Vuelta Wrapper, with both Brazilian Sumatra and Cameroon Binders with fillers from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Brazil.
Luis Falto has been making cigars since 1995 and I had an opportunity to herf with him at his shop/office/lounge on my last visit to Puerto Rico.
When asked during an interview by Toasted Foot: "How did you get involved in the cigar industry?" Luis replied,
"I was looking for what I used to smoke with my father as a kid and could not find it. While in college, I decided to make cigars according to my own taste since I have tasted so many (some were fine but others did not have it at all). So, I headed out to The Dominican Republic and came to an agreement with La Aurora in 1995. They agreed on my terms: choose my own blends of tobacco, make in very small quantities, and maintain a close personal relationship with “my” rollers. My relationship with La Aurora will be eighteen years this February, and I still choose all my blends and my cigars are made by the most skilled rollers in La Aurora."
Falto cigars are produced in ultra small batches of 2500 to 4000 cigars per vitola/blend and are highly prized by his followers including, Steven Tyler, James Belushi, and Ron Perlman.
This cigar was blended by Master Blender Manuel Inoa of La Aurora Cigars and is named Mentor in his honor..........
Both of these are excellent cigars and this is a great Critique to get your feet wet if you have yet to do one and enjoy a truly delicious medium/full cigar.
Please don't volunteer if you only like Mild Cigars!
These reviews will be due no later than January 25th !!!!!!
* Sorry Cannuks but, limited time does not allow for cigars to be shipped to "The Great White North"......... 
