Aging Room M356 Rondo

It has been a good long while since I posted. I have been very busy, but during that time I have been smoking and taking notes. Let's get back to it.

The cigar I had was an Aging Room M356 Robusto. This cigar is a Dominican Puro, the wrapper being a habano.

The cigar was a little soft to the squeeze, but did not feel loose. The wrapper was very oily.

This cigar starts out with a spicy flavor. A few puffs in it becomes more nutty and is starting to give off hints of coffee. They did not just pop up either, but transitioned well into adding each flavor.In the second third of the cigar the coffee started to drift away, as well as the nutty flavors. These were replaced with more of a wood flavor and hints of roasted nuts. These flavors stuck in your mouth, but in a pleasant way. In the last third the spice changed to be a little bit more like a white pepper, and the flavor became more toasty. The roasted nut flavor fell off, but the wood remained the same.

This cigar had great construction. The burn was very good, the draw was smooth, and the ash was perfect. Held on about halfway before I knocked it off.

This cigar will run around $8-9 in Minnesota, maybe as high as $10 in some shops. Considering the complexity of this cigar, and the time it took to smoke it (about 50 minutes), it is a good buy. This cigar was well made, had great flavors, and was enjoyable the whole way through. I would buy these, easily. I might even be willing to pick up a box in the future. This cigar goes great with a dark roast coffee.

Final Grade: A+

Authors note: I am aware of the error in the numbers I wrote. I was typing faster than thinking. I apologize for the mistake.

Blue Mountain El Threesome

OK, this review is going to be a little different. This cigar is a triple wrap, and it is sectioned off into thirds. I will write about each section as their own smoke. Please note that this cigar is only available at Little Havana Tobacco in Anoka, if you live in Minnesota. Other states you will have to check with the company. They are not sold online either, last I checked

Now, to make this easy, all of the tobacco is from Nicaragua. Easy part of describing it. The first section is a Connecticut shade wrapper, while the second is Habano, and the third is Maduro. Each section has a different blend of ligero filler.

This cigar looked well made. It felt like it had a very nice and even wrap. The sections looked a little separated, but that could be due to different wrappers.

This cigar starts off with a nice creamy flavor with hints of butter. About one-sixth into it you start getting some cedar in there. There is a subtle spice throughout this section. The aftertaste was a spice with a mild cream.

The next section has leather notes too it and a nice toasty flavor. The spice from before is more pronounced in the Habano section. The aftertaste on this one was mainly toasty with a little pepper. This section was a little tart for two to three puffs, but that disappeared.

The last section kept the toasty notes but instead of leather the flavor was earthy. The spice became more like a light black pepper in flavor about halfway through this section. The aftertaste was earthy.

This cigar had a good draw and was well constructed. No issue producing a good smoke. It needed two corrections in the Habano section.

This Double Toro runs for around $9, which is a great price. The flavors are pretty standard, and nothing to write home about. What gives this cigar marks is how good it is for price, and the uniqueness of the smoke itself. Three wrappers with three different blends is something you do not see often, and the skill to make that is impressive. This is a great cigar to try if you are curious about different strengths, or if you cannot choose what kind to have. The tart area and corrections knock it off the top bracket, but not too far due to value.

Final Grade: A

Cuba Aliados Miami Edition

I saw this company on Facebook, but never saw their cigars much. So, I decided to try them out.

This cigar is made with a Habano wrapper, Dominican Republic binder, and Nicaraguan filler. The wrapper was like a fine velvet and there were no soft spots. This cigar was made in Miami, Florida as well.

This cigar had a nice cedar flavor to it, accompanied with a nice spicy walnut flavor. A nice nutty flavor came into play as well. These flavors were very consistent and balanced. All of them had a nice peppery undertone to them, and hints of leather, and cocoa. At times you could get hints of a light coffee flavor. The aftertaste is nutty as well. It stays very even, and it just has a nice mild tone to it.

The burn was decent. Had to correct it a few times, but I was outside and the wind picked up, so I will let that one slide. The thing that bothered me was the ash. It looked terrible and all split up. The draw was a little firm, but you could still get a nice smoke.

This cigar (I had the robusto) runs about $7. It is $8 for a toro and $9 for a Churchill. For a nice 30 minute smoke, that is not bad. This cigar did not pop out as anything special, but it is unique in the flavoring and how even it stays. I would say give this one a try. Goes great with a nice cup of tea (heavier teas may overpower it, so keep it more medium strength), or a nice medium blend cup of coffee.

Final Grade: A-

Thank you to Reyes Family Cigars for sending me a sample.

Blue Mountain Double Wrap

Note: I got it at the only shop in MN that sells these, Little Havana Tobacco. As far as I know, no other shop sells Blue Mountain. Also, they are not sold online last I checked.

This cigar is a Nicaraguan puro. The wraps are Connecticut and Habano Shade.

This cigar felt firm and well made. The wrap seemed a little separated but I would have to see how it smoked and burned to determine if this was an issue.

When lighting this cigar I got a terrible taste. Very tart and papery. The cigar was not dry, so I was thinking I had a dud, or that it was just a poor cigar. About 1/5 of the way through, that changed. Flavors started coming in. I got a creamy flavor mixed with one that could be described as something like oak. Underlying all of this was a hint of spice and cedar. The aftertaste was of a bitter cream. It lingered a little bit, but the taste remained consistant. Throughout this cigar, no flavors really came out though. It wasn't bad, but nothing to make you amazed. It was a more subtle flavor.

The draw and burn were good. It started to split and burn uneven at the end, but it was around the time of it being finished anyway, so that did not cause a problem. The separation in the wrap caused no issue either.

This cigar, for a double toro, was only $9, which is pretty good. This cigar does not have the some mix as other double wraps, as it is not as bold with its flavors. As I said, it is more subtle. The mix of flavors is good though, I just wish they came out more. All in all, not a bad smoke.

Final Grade: B

Oliva Serie V

This is a cigar that I have heard about and seen. I had it in a Churchill size and I loved every second of it. Now, my tastebuds were not having their best day, but that didn't matter. I will tell you way. Let's get to the review, shall we?

Habano Sun Wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Jalapa Valley Ligero filler are all put together very well. The construction of this smoke is very well done. Usually I find a flaw or two with an Oliva, which I understand (you make so many, you are bound to have errors) but with this one there are none.

I lit this cigar and had a wonderful draw. Just a little firm, but that is to keep you from being overwhelmed with flavor. A nice spicey flavor was consistant throughout this cigar. A nice earthy flavor with a coffee like flavor were under the spice. It was a wonderful mix. The aftertaste had some spice, but more like eating a piece of steak with pepper on it. The spice is nice a mild. There was a slight bitterness to it, but almost the same as a dark chocolate. So, it was a nice addition.

The draw and burn were perfect. Never had a problem with either. In fact, it took all my might not to puff to fast.

The price is around $12.50, which is not bad for an hour or more smoke. So price isn't an issue.

The only downside was the tastes. I thought a little more of the undertones would have made it better. Still, this is a great cigar.

Final Grade: A+

Cain "F"

When I saw the name I thought of the movie Robocop 2 when the main character says "Cain, let's step outside." Well, with this cigar it is almost like that on some levels, but in a great way.

I walked into Little Havana and saw Steve at the counter. I asked what he had that was new and he showed me a few cigars. Nothing really caught my eye until I saw this box that said "Cain" on it. When he pointed it out it kept on me. This Robusto cigar with a Habano wrap and Nicaraguan ligero long leaves from Condega, Jalapa and Esteli as a filler. I had to try it.

Now, Steve told me "this thing starts out kicking and keeps going." He was right. The first puff had strength, no doubt about that. The flavor came on strong and stayed strong. It felt very mellow though. The flavor got a little stronger but it stayed mellow throughout. The strength creeps up on you.

The flavor did not become complex, but comforting and simple. It is like having a cool glass of water on a hot day. The water is very simple, but very enjoyable. This cigar had that for me, at first. Speaking of water, have water with this cigar. It is like separating the flavors of a strong scotch.

The flavor was full of spice. When broken down you could get rich earthy tones, some nutty tones, and even some cedar like flavors. Hints of coffee and leather came to surface too. But overall, the spice ruled. This had other flavors pop up, but that spice was the only one in full force. Like a hot pepper, you taste the pepper, even though your mouth feels like it will burst into flames.

The mix of tobacco added some bitter and mellow elements when puffed slowly and the smoke is let out even slower. This cigar kept having new layers no matter how you smoked it. Simple with a standard quick puff, and enjoyable, or complex with the slow puff, and still enjoyable.

The strong flavor never ceased. It started out kicking and kept on kicking... the flavor went on and on. I tasted it about an hour after I finished and the taste didn't dull or sour.

This cigar burned perfectly and had a wonderful draw. 

If you like them strong, try this smoke. If you are a novice, you have been warned. This is a very powerful cigar. For $9.50, this is a darn good smoke.

Final Grade: A