La Gloria Cubana Glorias Maduro

Cigar: La Gloria Cubana Glorias Maduro
Origin: Dominican Republic
Length: 5.50
Ring: 43
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper Color: Dark Brown
Wrapper Type: Ecuador Sumatran
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: DR/NIC
Shape: Parejo
Purchased: Cigar & Co., Oklahoma City, $4.65

When: June 20, 2008, 9:30 a.m.
Where: Mike's Garage
Environment: Calm, Sunny, 80 degrees
Beverage: Equal Exchange Love Buzz blend
Lighter: Wooden matches
Cut: V-cut

Pre-light: A dark and alluring corona sized cigar with a silky and oily maduro wrapper. A light earthy scent.

Smoke: This stogie has a slightly firm but very even draw with the v-cut clip. Sweet creamy start. Immediately I thought, "This is a great cigar!" Perfect burn, perfect ash. Strong and consistent taste of milk and honey with notes of sweet chocolate and English toffee. The aroma was earthy and there was a wonderfully sweet chocolate and nutty taste on the tip of the tongue.

The second half brought forth hints of French roast coffee and mild salty leather mixed with the ever-present chocolate and toffee.

Finish: Nutty, sweet, and spicy with notes of cedar. Smooth coffee aftertaste.

I love this cigar!

Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve Toro

Cigar: Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve Toro
Origin: Honduras
Length: 6
Ring: 56
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper Color: Medium Brown
Wrapper Type: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: HON/NIC

Purchased: Cigar & Co., Oklahoma City, $6.95

When: June 16, 2008, 10 a.m.
Where: Mike's Garage
Environment: Breezy, Sunny, 80 degrees
Beverage: Equal Exchange Love Buzz blend
Lighter: Colibri Firebird Torch
Cut: V-cut

Pre-light: This is a BIG cigar with a huge 56 ring gauge. Firm to the touch with a dark and oily Nicaraguan leaf wrapper. Smells exactly like walking into a humidor at an exclusive cigar shop.

Very well made end cap. I cut it with a sharp v-cut clipper and lit it with a Colibri torch. Good draw throughout the smoke. At first draw I was immediately reminded of a Punch Gran Cru. Smooth and creamy with hints of leather and subtle spice. Ah! The aroma! This is one of those cigars that I keep under my nose in order to fully benefit from the incense coming off the wrapper as it burns.

Because of its big ring gauge, this is a slow smoker. Make sure you set aside plenty of time to enjoy this stogie.

The first inch had a bit of an uneven burn (which may have been my fault) with a small crack developing in the wrapper. But neither of these things affected the smoke whatsoever. Classic ash.

That's the word for this cigar: Classic! After 1 1/2" this fat stogie showed itself to be in every way a classic hand-rolled premium cigar. Mild and subtle and beautifully aromatic.

At 2" the burn became even and a rich creaminess came to the forefront.

The second half of the cigar was superb with a touch of cinnamon on the tip of the tongue and hints of creamy black tea and very mild coffee.

The finish was moderately complex with various spices and other flavors coming and going. A smooth mixture of mild and robust smoke all the way to the end with a gentle earthy undertone and a smooth tobacco aftertaste.

I've got another one of these beauties tucked away in the humidor which I will eagerly anticipate enjoying at a later date.

Hoyo de Monterrey No. 450 Robusto Maduro

Cigar: Hoyo de Monterrey No. 450 Robusto Maduro
Origin: Honduras
Length: 4.50
Ring: 50
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper Color: Dark Brown Maduro
Wrapper Type: Ecuador Sumatran
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: DR/HON/NIC
Shape: Parejo

When: June 6, 2008, 11 a.m.
Where: Mike's Garage
Environment: Calm, Sunny, 80 degrees
Beverage: Starbucks Ethiopia Sidamo
Lighter: Wooden matches
Cut: Double Guillotine

As in David's review below, this bundle of fine cigars was purchased for me by my wonderful wife as an early Father's Day gift. The picture above is of my #2 humidor with 25 of these beauties lounging in it.

Pre-light inspection showed a well-made cigar with a wrapper the color of dark creamy chocolate. The cigar was firm to the touch with a sweet and earthy aroma.

I used a Cuban Crafters double-bladed stainless guillotine to snip the end cap. I like this cutter because it is sharp and is designed to cut at the precise depth to avoid overcutting the end cap. Makes a very straight and neat cut. I prewarmed the head and lit the stogie with wooden matches. The cut end had a pleasant salty taste on the tip of my tongue. The draw was a bit tight at the beginning, which was a concern of mine when I felt the initial firmness of the cigar.

Upon first draw there was an immediate flavor of spicy semi-sweet chocolate. One-half inch in I began to experience a strong creamy coffee - and the draw became much easier. The burn on this stogie was symmetrical with a well-built ash the color of gray marble. The aroma was outstanding - the sweet sacred incense of this hand-rolled Central American art form.

One-third of the way into the smoke the spiciness began to grow more and more subtle and was gradually replaced by a smooth and mellow creaminess. I like the complexities of this cigar!

The second half provided me with hints of creamy dark french roast, strong but mellow, with absolutely no hint of the peppery bite which I often find in the second half of strong cigars. The aroma grew very cocoa-chocolatey. I can't overstate how surpised I was by the mellowness of the second half of this Hoyo. Like a strong cup of coffee to which a copious amount of real dairy cream has been added.

And speaking of coffee, I again accompanied this smoke with Starbucks Ethiopia Sidamo. It was the perfect companion, matching the Robusto in strength, smoothness, and intensity.

A really long finish! Lots of smooth rich cocoa with hints of nuts - especially almonds - which grew stronger as the cigar neared its end. A fine cigar for the maduro lover. Strong but never overpowering.

Partagas No.8 Maduro

You’re not a cigar smoker if you don’t know a Partagas No. 8 Maduro. They are wonderful from their dark Cameroon wrapper to their Mexican and Cuban-seed Dominican filler. The one I am smoking now was an early Father’s Day gift from my beloved bride.

First and foremost, it is a beautiful cigar, especially if you love Maduros. It is dark but not black. It burns even and smells like I imagine Heaven must. It is a medium-body cigar, rich and complex in taste.

There are dispensations of pepper-spice and toasty woods under an overarching covenant of cocoa. Like Spurgeon, my smoke rises toward the heavens to the glory of the Lord only. How’s that for allusions to theology?

Qty: Box of 25
Size: 6 7/8 x 44
Cigar Shape: Lonsdale
Filler: Mexico, Dom. Rep.
Binder: Mexico
Wrapper: Cameroon
Country: Dominican Republic
Cigar Rating: 87 - Jul, 1997

Jose Marti Remedios

Cigar: Jose Marti Remedios
Origin: Nicaragua
Length: 5.5
Ring: 44
Strength: Medium
Wrapper Color: Medium Brown
Wrapper Type: Ecuador Sumatran
Binder: Honduras
Filler: NIC/HON/DR
Shape: Parejo

When: June 5, 2008, 10 a.m.
Where: Mike's Garage
Environment: Windy, 85 degrees
Beverage: Starbucks Ethiopia Sidamo
Lighter: Wooden matches
Cut: V-cut

I bought a box of these cigars from JR last week and I thought I would wait for the weekend to get them a try. I'm glad I didn't wait! I was really pleasantly surprised by this cigar.

The overall appearance is good. No protruding veins or obvious defects in the wrapper. The wrapper itself is Ecuadorian Sumatra, which is my absolute favorite. I used a v-cut and the end cap stayed intact throughout the smoke. The pre-light aroma is pleasant, with hints of cedar and that bit of spicy earthiness that you find in Nicaraguan cigars.

I prewarmed the head and then lit the cigar with wooden matches. The draw was amazingly easy. The ash was very good - staying put until I decided to knock it off into the ashtray - with a good gray color to it. The burn was as close to perfect as you can get, perfectly symmetrical all the way down.

The first half of the cigar was mild and subtle with hints of leather and cream. As a fan of full strength Honduran cigars I'm usually a little afraid of the bottom half of a cigar, but this is where the Jose Marti got really interesting. The complexity of the multinational fillers kicked in during the last half and bombarded my palate with a variety of flavors without getting harsh. There was a subtle pepper and a bit of spiciness. Not as much sweetness as most Nicaraguan cigars, though. The draw and burn stayed perfect all the way to the end. I didn't want to put this Remedio down, but finally laid it to rest with only about an inch left.

My beverage of choice to accompany this fine cigar was Starbucks Ethiopia Sidamo. a bold coffee similar to Sumatra, but without the extra Sumatran kick. Smooth and powerful. Almost too much for this cigar. Ethiopia Sidamo would probably be more suited to a full-bore Hoyo De Monterrey or a Partagas Black or an Onyx. Regardless, I enjoyed the two together.