At last, a new cigar - 1998 Le Hoyo du Depute'

It's been a while since I smoked a cigar that has not been smoked here before.  I am not very swift with the updates, and I don't smoke many cigars in a year, so oftentimes you will find that I have reviewed a cigar that I have tried 2, sometimes 3 times before.  Tonight I grabbed a old and beautiful cigar out of a fresh cabinet of 25, seemed a shame to break up the set. 

It provided a breezy draw from the slightest cut.  To me that spelled trouble, but I have had more trouble lately from stingy flows, so I lit it up quickly and drew the first, tasty puff.  At first I thought, man, this is a 13 year old cigar and it tastes like it came off the roller's table yesterday.  But after the first half inch, I realized that was just the power talking.  These are strong and woody cigars without much complexity.  Tasty, but not extremely interesting.  I had a hard time determining what intricacies I was experiencing in the taste.  I tasted crushed weeds and a mentholated cool, vegetal taste with a body of white wood.  The cigar burned extremely straight and reasonably fast.  Within a half an hour, I was pretty much done with this one. 

There was a full inch to go when I put it down, but I couldn't see much sense in continuing.  The cigar was good, but not compelling enough to take it to the nub.  On this cigars best days, they are really refreshing and mouth-watering.  I love em.  It's sad to see this one be a little blah.  If you can find a box of these you should really pick em up.  Don't be put off by this one.  80 points.

Another crack at Diplomaticos No.5

Smoked a few of these over the last few years of this blog, kind of a hit and miss proposition, but I think it might be wrong of me to expect Diplomaticos No.4 performance out of these.  nahh.

Fired one up today, a decent looking cigar, decided to pinch a divot out of the end with the fingernails rather than cutting it, it did not make me pay the price, and it drew air well, so off we go.

There was a slight hint of good things to come, a little of the oft-cited, seldom-tasted cuban tobacco twang.  A bold package of strong smoke and long finish on the tongue, but not a lot of individual flavors to detect.  Hints of leather, char, a little tea.  The cigar is perfectly humidified with a nice even and slow burn.  It burns through halfway without changing much at all.  It is a good cigar without any really outstanding flavors.  There are occasional hints of black cherry and woody varieties, I detected a juniper freshness and astringency and an oaky, dank taste.

As you can see, it really burned well, perfectly behaved and never ceased to provide a nice mouthful of smoke.  Out of the three that I have smoked for this blog, this one is in the middle.  It is not the horrible smoke I had fresh from the new box.  But neither is it the redeemer that came a few months ago that made a liar out of me.  I really thought they would never be very good, and I said as much.  These are just too inconsistent to give any kind of definitive review on. 

As this one began to tick away, there came a sudden increase in power and a little bit of piney tang and hints of tarry chocolate and leather.  A good but strange cigar.....75 points

Sidetracked by a Por Larranaga Petit Corona

I had an assignment tonight, and that was to smoke a Cohiba Maduro Secretos from 2007.  But I opened up the humidor and saw instead a cigar that I had selected during a recent rampage through my ice chest.  A lovely Por Larranaga Petit Corona.  It was from the bygone days of nudity in the dark...cabinets of 50 lovely, oily, bandless beauties resting in rough familiarity with their siblings.  Moist and decadent.  Rich and chocolatey.  Calling to me.  So what the hell, I sparked it up.  This is as close as I am going to get to lovely nudity in the dark these days, anyway. 

I was never a fan of these.  Or rather, I only had one box I ever loved, and I loved every last one of those down to the nub.  A flat box of 25 1998 vintage, contraband from Canada.  Never had another good box of these.  This cabinet I am smoking the last of these days is from 2003.  They were all gorgeous, which made it all the harder to explain their plain, uninteresting flavors.  Make no mistake, they were good cigars, but not great.  They have all been oily, perfectly constructed, not a bad draw in the bunch.  But this cigar has a reputation for exotic and delightful flavors among aficionados, and to hear them describe it makes your mouth water.  Toffee, cream, nutmeg, coffee, butterscotch.  Sounds like a perfect start to a Christmas morning.  Perhaps I just have no palate. Heck, I KNOW I have no palate.  I have been handed the best of the best in my time and only thought, ehh, that's OK...smooth.

So tonight I was looking for redemption.  And I got it to some degree.  These smokes have mellowed some over the years, but still offer a fine, razor sharp burn, a great draw and loads of delicious smoke.  Smoke that for once in many months offers up lots of  delicious tea and cream flavor.  Now we are talking.  I drew a steaming hot bath, wadded up a washcloth behind my head, closed my eyes and smoked.  What a great cigar.  A ton of good creamy flavors with hints of vanilla and spices, kind of wrapped around a base of shortbread cookies.  What is tuly astounding about the smoke is the AROMA.  Just delightful in it's sweet, bakery deliciousness. 

This is one of those smokes that has people craning their necks to get a look at the source of the smoke, remarking to their loved ones that they HATE cigar smoke, but someone somewhere is smoking one that smells GREAT.  Aside from the tea flavors though, for the bulk of the first inch it was muted somewhat.  Once it got warmed up, it began to exude oils and flavors started to come in bunches.  All mild, but all new and exotic.  Cinnamon here, toast there, tea and honey, coffee and cream.

And the smoke is of course, the perfect size.  A petit corona allows you to sample excellent flavors without becoming bored.  Just when it is starting to get a little tired, the cigar is ready to put down.  No Churchill stretch, playing out the string on a cigar that used to be great, but now is just something to hold and puff while the sun goes down or you have a conversation with a friend.  The cigar gave me lots of sweet flavors, a medium body and a perfect burn start to finish.  Near the end it got to be really medium bodied and toasty, not much flavor but a richly refined palette of interesting puffs.  None the same as before, but nothing that I had to think and concentrate on.  Entertaining to the last.

And now with only 8 to go, I am thinking "Now who can I reward with a few of these?"  It's good to have friends.

A superb performance.....91 points

LSU versus Bama and why the Tigers Win

Believe who you want to believe, but do not bet against the Tigers.  I know there are a ton of people who will tell you they know BAMA will win this weekend, and I don't blame them, I'm a homer, they're a homer, wouldn't you like to be a homer, too.  Even Vegas is not sure, their line on the game is barely over the traditional 3 points for the home team. 

And while we're on the subject, sports writers, blog posters, people in general....the word is VERSUS.  From the latin, meaning "Turned Against".  You have sportscasters on local Radio and TV, commentators on NATIONAL sports netwoks, joe schmos on web forums saying 'verse' as if that means something.  vs. is the abbreviation for versus.  Rant over.

OK, here is why LSU is going to beat Alabama on Saturday November 5th. 

I have what I deem to be an overbearing amount of Alabama folks on my cigar web forum.  I like em, hell, I am an Alabama fan second when they are not playing LSU.  But I like the idea of being an underdog amongst a ton of Crimson Tide wolves.  I can't point to one or the other and say one has more obnoxious fans than the other.  But it's Bama. lol.

However, a few weeks ago, Auburn found out how LSU covers kick returns.  A freaking trebuchet of man flesh, de-cleating them in front of tens of thousands of fans.  Copy and paste that 3 more times in a row.  I had to stand up a few times and just exclaim OUCH!  It was brutal.  And that was when I knew it.  LSU wins this game.  During that Auburn game, I realized LSU just exists on a higher plane of ferocity. Bama has LSU on size and immovablility of the offesive line, ours goes up and down in their ability, week to week it seems. But they have had no trouble protecting the quarterbacks.  Establishing the run has proven a tiny bit more difficult at times, but no one would accuse the Tigers of an inability to run the football.  So I am OK with a little variablility in the face of Bama's steadiness.  And besides, we are not running the ball against their offensive line, but their defensive line.  I think LSU will do fine.  It won't be easy, but it will get done.  And on the subject, I am not convinced Bama fans should be so quick to extrapolate success with Lacey and Richardson running the football against porous defensive lines thus far as having any bearing on Saturday's contest.  LSU's defense is overstocked with manly men.  But I still view it as a push.  One side or the other will gain a slight edge, this is not where the win will be secured by any means.

 A LOT of analysts are saying that playing in Bama's home stadium is an automatic edge for them,

but in the grand scheme, I don't think their stadium is all that feared conference-wide.

Tiger Stadium is MUCH more of a factor, as is West Virginia's renowned venue where LSU has dominated unaffected.  Kentucky, Florida, Miss State, ALL are tougher places to play. I do not give that as an edge by ANY means.  People just don't fear Bryant Denney Stadium.  And LSU SEEMS to flourish under intense partisan crowds, be they hostile or sympathetic.  And our defense has a knack for quieting crowds.  Been doing it all season. 

Alabama's left tackle is a phenomenon, though, and I KNOW the Tigers must deal with him to get a good pass rush on the QB's blind side. Barrett Jones is a LARGE, SMART, STEADY left tackle, and I think the Tigers' best alternative is to rush from the opposite side, where McCarron can see it coming, and employ a robber on the left side.  But I have no fear that LSU will not find a way to McCarron.  He is going to spend a lot of time picking himself up off the turf.

Coaching is another push for me, I think Nick Saban is the smarter coach, but Les Miles is the gutsier one, and players like to put it all out there for someone who believes in them and their abilities to lead on the field.  You are already asking them to risk everything; their health, mobility and future...why not let em take a chance on a fake field goal, a fake punt, an onside kick.  Players like that kind of nerve, and they will go to the wall for a coach like that.  Nick Saban controls everything and is risk-averse.  It works.  I just think Les Miles' system works better.  YES, you get discipline issues from this philosophy that Saban doesn't get because he doesn't tolerate it.  But robots don't beat players head to head.  You'll see.

So where does the edge come from that puts LSU on top?  Two places, and that's always better than one.  Sorry Bama, but LSU is the faster team.  The Tigers are every bit as BIG, but faster and deeper.  LSU seems to have more quality TAILBACKS than Bama has stars on the whole team.  But stars are not the measure of a great team.  Our defense is tough and FAST.  Our offense is explosive and FAST. LSU is fast, FAST, FAST.  That kind of  speed covers over things.  Speed makes up for things.  Things LSU really doesn't need to make up for.  Speed....advantage LSU.

LSU has an edge in Quarterbacks.  I never thought I would say this in 2011, but it's true.  McCarron is a great player.  But he is not a lot better than Jarrett Lee.  And he is not a lot better than Jordan Jefferson.  And there's the rub.  On any given set of downs, Alabama's defense is going to come out onto the field and face uncertainty.  I would not DOUBT for a minute that LSU might trot Russel Shepard out onto the field for a play or two.  Les Miles can change QBs play to play for that matter.  I think the things LSU can do with the quarterback trump what Alabama can do, although that is mitigated somewhat by the fact that Bama's backup quarterback is more mobile than McCarron.  MOBILE and ready to play against LSU are two different things, however.  Make no mistake, Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee are both ready to play at any time in Tuscaloosa. Both have the full confidence of the head coach and the team as a whole.  The same cannot be said of Saban's top two QBs.  Saban is not the kind of coach who is going to send Phillip Sims into the ball game with A.J. McCarron standing beside him, healthy and ready to play.  He will not risk the outcome, even at home, in this particular game.  It is too close to call, and Saban is a calculating coach with a strict plan for victory.  And that plan does not include Phillip Sims alternating series.

In the end I guess it's all about one thing..............Miley Cyrus LOVES LSU!

 So suck on that Bama....

Sorry Bama fans, the game of the 21st century goes to LSU by 10 points.  No matter the outcome, wrong or right, I am going to REALLLLlllllllly enjoy this football game.  I won't be alone.

An old love visits.......Partagas Robusto Dominican Republic

When I first started smoking, before I realized that there were other cigars out there that rewarded the bold and reckless, I used to smoke a few Dominican cigars, a lot of H. Upmann and a few Partagas: the stellar Sabroso Tubos, the mild but roasty No.10.  But I never had any illusions, these are pedestrian cigars to satisfy a public sleepwalking through an embargo.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with them, but they don't seem to rise above the mildness of their ingredients by letting any one flavor be bold.  You get the delicious taste of the Cameroon wrapper, the slightly chocolate and sweet mexican binder, and the marrier, the dominican filler.  But while they are well made and reasonably worth the money they charge, they are boring to me, I'll just say that out right.

At a herf earlier in the year, I was handed an old Partagas Robusto, likely at least 8 years old, very yello in the cello, and smelling quite aged and mild.  I wanted to taste what I had been missing.  I had no expectations, and was going to allow it to be good.  I poured a glass of Victory Baltic Thunder, which was dark with chocolatey notes and very light licorice, but bursting with a brilliant fruitiness.  Great beer.  The cigar I made a bit of an error on, I cut it with a wedge and while it drew fine, it never really performed, I got air through it, but not a draw that I thought would add much to the flavor.  So why didn't I re-cut it with a guillotine?  Well, that's easy...I am an idiot.

The smoke was much as I remember it, good taste from the wrapper, but boring inside.  A slight metallic, pencil lead flavor with a grassiness that overall was just not impressive.  But I do not really rate non-cuban cigars, and I handicapped the smoke with my lazy cutting.  A more open draw would have worked out better.  I am confident of that.  It's hard to take much away from a cigar that just is what it is.  It's not their fault that they can't get tobacco from the fobidden zone.

But in general, this is why I left these cigars years and years ago.  It's like the old Wendy's ad that has returned...Where's the BEEF?  If I had no access to the better cigars in the world and had only these to smoke forever, I would resign myself to enjoying these, much as I used to 15 years ago.  But in 2011........Ehhh.

Smoking more of the fakes

I have a friend in the cigar fraternity who sent me a box of cigars in lieu of cash one day, and I was glad to get them.  When the cigars are Edicion Limitada 2010 Montecristo Grand Edmundos, why not?  But while I trust my friend, apparently I can't trust his vendor. 

In the first MGE EL 2010 post in this blog, there was a beetle hole in one of them.  Now there are beetle holes in ALL of them....MULTIPLES.  So again, because I honestly believe that no modern Habanos cigars should be hatching beetles under proper storage conditions, I have no doubt that these are fakes.  On forums I get a lot of guff about this theory, but on my blog I can say what I please.

So tonight I am going to smoke another one.  First it should be said that I don't even really like these cigars.  They are giant, round sticks with an airy draw.  And the beetle holes are not going to help the airy part.  So let's take a look at what's left of the box.  The flash brightens the wrapper a bit, they are not this light.

So it lights up slowly but evenly, which is pretty important with any large cigar.  You need to really light a fat cigar well or you are going to have problems all the way down to the nub.  Oftentimes even touching the cigar up periodically will not help.  It all starts at the foot.  Light em right. 

It does not immediately TASTE like a fake, in fact were I handed this cigar out of the blue, outside of a little youth, I would not think anything was out of the ordinary with the flavor.  It tastes a lot like a Hoyo Epicure No.2, which people might think, "Hey, there you go.."  Not with me.  I hate those crappy smokes, haha.   But it's not a terrible smoke yet.  It should be noted that box, bands, embossing...all look fine, no trouble with my eye wanting to pick this cigar apart.  Holding a finger over the beetle holes allows me to draw a very decent amount of smoke through the cigar.  If I don't, there is no draw.  One thing that does not look right is the sloppy cap.  On almost any other type of havana cigar I would have concerns about that, but with this EL wrapper, it's all they can do to just get it to look like a cuban cigar and not a San Andres Valley second.  The smoke is slightly sweet, pretty medium-strong, leaning toward strong, and a slight flavor of tea and a little twang.  There is a touch of creaminess to be found, but nothing on the whole to get excited about.  The stick is very firm along it's length, yet very light, but not spongy at all.  This COULD be a major league smoke in a blind test with the holes patched.  At the half-inch mark I taste a hint of beetle-ass.  Not a bad burn at all, a little shaggy due to the standard H2000-type wrapper, harvested from the corona leaves to boot, so it's really thick and oily.

My argument or complaint with the cigar is there is nothing really special about it.  This could be as cuban-esque as it wants to be and still be a fake.  It may smile and smile and yet be a villain.  It could be rolled on some guy's table with his own tobacco and boxed in the readily available pilfered boxes with pilfered labels and bands.  This is my leaning at this point.  It is cuban, but how authentic?  These guys don't freeze or vacuum crush their tobacco or cigars.  No one who knows about these smokes would deny that at best, they are gray market to begin with.  The tobacco is not tasting all that great, nor the blend.   Tough call on these.  I have no questions in my mind that they are not what they are supposed to be.  These HAVE to be better than this.  Everyone who has had them finds them excellent, most would say better than the Montecristo Sublimes of several years ago.  I would love to send these to people, but I wouldn't want to taint their supplies with beetle potential. 

What these smokes DO say to me is that I don't think the cubans are getting enough credit for how well they are currently CONTOLLING beetles in their Habanos products.  I do not keep my cigars in the best of conditions when it comes to temperature.  I TRY, but in the peak of the southern summer, it's difficult and expensive.  And yet again, I have never had a single beetle hatching incident in over twelve years of keeping stock.  This box must have hatched 4-5 dozen.  I mean, look at the DUST they created.  I have crushed a few dozen myself at various times upon opening the box. 

But now I have gotten to the point where I will not be holding the holes closed anymore, and I am hoping that the cigar improves in flavor as I KNOW it will in it's burn.  It gives me a chance to sip the smoke and probe for flavors.  Indeed it does improve quite a bit.  The power continues unabated but is softer in it's flavor.  But still there is just not much there. 

So in the end, what has any of this meant?  If this was a review of the Grand Edmundo, it might be worth something.  As it is, I am not in any way further assured that these are not fakes.  Not a negative reflection on my friend at all either.  Just not good cigars.  I am going to smoke ONE MORE in the distant future, perhaps over New Years.  Maybe these are sick.  They sure aren't good.  Once the cigar butt cooled, I disassembled it and found no glaring evidence of standard fake cigar pedigree.  A FEW scraps, but mostly long leaf filler of varied shade and grade.  Inconclusive, but with credit, nothing I saw made me think they were illegitimate.  What I wanted was a sheer sign to support my theory.  I didn't get it.

So on a theme, I will also smoke another under-whelming cigar that others find a darling.  Tomorrow for LSU-Tennessee, I will have a Trinidad Robustos T.

My favorite cigar......how many are there, lol.

I like to think I have 5 top cigars.  And then I smoke another one and 5 becomes 10.  I think this cigar is in that top 5.  ALWAYS tastes SO GOOD.  Poured a Sierra Nevada 2011 Bigfoot Ale.  Wow, good beer.  Looking for a good cigar.  This year at the Shack, a generous brother palmed me with a Diplomaticos No.4.  CONSISTENTLY the best of Havana, and as is tradition, Habanos cuts the best cigars from production, as they have done with this one. 

This one is pretty, a nice mellow box press, beautiful color, perfect weight.  And then the trouble started.  As I looked around for a cutter, I saw my wedge.  Great for golf, not so hot tonight.  I am a lazy person at heart, and I need to look harder for a cutter.  There are only about 20 in the house.  But I settle for the wedge, draw decent air, so I go ahead and light it.  The cigar draws fine but produces stingy smoke.  Good flavor with light tea and some leather.  Not a traditional Diplomaticos, but again, aren't these things all the same with different bands??  This one doesn't help kill the myth.  A little mineral flavor, no coffee or cream, no nutmeg or cinnamon.  Hmm.  Not terrible, but for the first real cigar of fall for me, a little disappointing.  One thing I DO know, this cigar is young.  I didn't ask, but I am thinking 07+.  And now as my memory comes into it's stride, I think I got this from Greg from NC.  One of my favorite people in the smoking biz. 

So of course, I want this to be great.  But it's only good.  When I poked through the humidor, I passed a Trinidad Robustos T.  A Sancho Panza Belicoso.  Twinges of regret course over me.  The skeeters ate me up outside, so I am finishing the smoke indoors.  It gets better, but is still far short of the one VOLFAN gave me in Memphis.  Man that was a fine Diplo 4.  So I am thinking this one is just going to be a bad choice on a good night.  LSU wups a fit on Florida, and looks good doing it.  And as luck would have it, I get the Tigers versus Tennessee again next week on CBS.  So that makes FIVE games on national TV that I got to see this year, an absolute miracle.  I guess being No. 1 in the nation gets doors open.  But I digress.

 This was a well-anticipated smoke tonight, but it falls short of it's potential...I give it a 75.