Di Fazio Barroco

This cigar is a Nicaraguan Puro with a Habano Claro shade wrapper. The wrapper was soft, a little toothy, and slightly oily. There were no soft spot in the feel. Not the tightest of wraps, but not loose either.

The first puff on this was spicey, and that in an understatement. That dropped off quickly and some woody flavors came into the picture, similar to campfire wood. Towards the end of the first quarter I got hints of roasted bell pepper and a slight sweetness. The cigar kept the woody flavor, but the spice was more like a mild pepper. Hints of chocolate started to come up. In the third quarter the chocolate went away and was replaced by a nutty flavor. The wood and slight pepper remains. The last quarter the pepper went down to almost nothing, leaving a woody flavor and hints of leather. The aftertaste in this cigar was mainly that of a dry wood. Hints of other flavors came into being depending on the part you were on, such as sweetness in the beginning, pepper in the middle, and just woody at the end.

This cigar was very well made. Needed no corrections. Sometimes the burn looked like it was tilting, but corrected itself each time. The draw was nice and smooth. The smoke produced was a good size. The ash held on about 2-3 inches in before I accidentally knocked it off.

The size I smoked was the Inmenso (6x60) and the MSRP says it should be $11. Now in MN with markups and all of that stuff, it might be closer to $14. That is a good price for a smoke that takes more than an hour. This is a complex smoke that is well worth your time. Thank you to Di Fazio for sending me this sample.

Final Grade: A+

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

Blue Mountain Rum Dipped

I stopped by Little Havana Tobacco, Inc. and Steve pointed out a new cigar from Blue Mountain, so I decided to give it a try.

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

Now research on this cigar is tough, but what I know is it is a Connecticut shade Nicaraguan puro. This tobacco is dipped with rum to add flavor.

The tobacco in this cigar has a mildly sweet taste to it, and when lit it becomes much more powerful within the smoke. The cigar is a creamy smoke with the sweetness of rum. Behind all of that is a hint of pepper. It mixes very well to produce a flavor of spiced rum that would be mixed with a cream. That same flavor remains as the aftertaste, though that can linger and change at times. The flavor did get a little dull and tart towards the end.

The draw on this smoke was very good, with no problems producing a good smoke. The burn was even and consistent.

This cigar (a torpedo shape) runs around $8, which is very good for a 50 minute smoke. For a rum dipped smoke on the affordable range, this is very good. Usually the quality is low, whereas this was rather high. This cigar had its problems, but still came out darn good.

Final Grade: A

JD Cigars Habano Claro

This is the second post I am making for this company.

This from what I know is a Nicaraguan Puro. This cigar had not soft spots and the wrap was like soft leather.

This cigar gave a nice creamy flavor with some cedar thrown in. It was a mildly bitter flavor though. With this was almost what seemed to be an almond and oak mix. The almond flavor came out in the aroma a lot more than the smoke itself. The aftertaste was that of a mild cream. The flavor is very even throughout the whole smoke.

The draw was really good. Seemed to have trouble at times keeping a smoke, but that passed after about the first half an inch to an inch in. The flavor was not effected by this, just so you know. I had to correct this cigar a few times as well. Nothing huge, and only happened about three to four times in the span of an hour. The ash got about halfway through, and was very white and fine. I ashed it out of fear of having it drop on the floor, so it could have gone longer.

This cigar would run about $7 and for a double toro, that is not bad. The only hassle is keeping it lit in the beginning and the minor corrections. This was a pretty good cigar. The flaws make it have a hit, mainly because to correct a cigar of this size you almost have to have a torch lighter. If you have those tools, it is not an issue.

Final Grade: A-

JD Cigars Maduro Perfecto

This is a new company, and they sent me a few smokes to try. I am a Maduro fan, so this is the first review I have to write.

This shape I have seen been called a perfecto or diademas.

This cigar is a Nicaraguan Puro.

The construction on this one felt a little soft, but I think it was a little more moist than it should have been. When I received this cigar there was a cold snap and the wrapper had a crack. The binder was fine though, so I took that into consideration.

The flavors on this were nice and mellow, but not subtle. You knew they were there. It started off with a rich earthy and chocolate flavor, mixing into what seems like a dark roast coffee. Over it all was a nice pepper note to it. The aftertaste was a nice earthy tone with some pepper in it.

This cigar had a firm draw for a perfecto, but not a problem. Still got a great smoke. There was a large vein in this one, but that did not cause a problem with the burn. The crack in the wrapper did not even cause an issue, which is saying something. The ash on this was a perfect white and it got about a third of the way down before falling off.

They say this cigar will be around $7. That is a darn good price for this smoke (perfecto or diademas shape, 6x52). Other than the firm draw, there was nothing wrong. Also, that price is not set in stone since it is not out, which makes grading difficult. But, the range it is in remains the same.

Final Grade: A

Blue Mountain Connecticut

When I had this cigar, I thought about Little Havana Tobacco. They have this nice poker table, and this made me think of a poker type cigar.

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

This is a Connecticut shade, Nicaraguan puro.

It felt a little soft and the wrap was even. There were a few veins here and there, but nothing that made you think it would burn badly.

Lighting this cigar, the flavor came off very generic. A few puffs in and I got a bitter cream flavor. A little further and some cedar and light tobacco flavors came in. Also, the aroma was a light sweet tobacco, which would balance out the bitter if it was just as strong. It didn't. This cigar had a small bite too. I could feel the edges of my tongue tingle from this smoke.

The burn on this was good. I had to even it out once. The draw was really good. No trouble getting a good smoke.

This cigar runs about $9. Not bad for a double toro. The only downside was with the flavor. To get anything other than the bitter cream and the bite, you really had to pay attention. Not much popped out at you. That is why this is a good poker game type smoke. The burn and draw is good, so you do not have to worry, and the flavor simple, so you do not miss anything. For the average cigar smoker, it is just that: average.

Final Grade: C+

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

Blue Mountain Maduro

These cigars were ones I never saw, and in keeping up, I gave one a go. I picked the Maduro because I like Maduros.

This cigar had an even wrap on it. No soft spots. The wrapper felt soft, yet a little paper like. This is a Nicaraguan Puro. All of it is from the Esteli valley.

The flavors on this cigar were pretty simple. It had an earthy flavor followed by the smallest bit of nuttiness. Towards the end was a hint of what could be described as a peppery coffee like flavor. With the aroma it had a nice toasted flavor underlying all of it, except during the first moments of the draw. The aftertaste Was a little bitter, still toasty though.

The draw was good and it produced a very nice ash. It started even, then random holes were popping up, and it was burning through places before the end could get to them. This should not have happened considering I was puffing about once every forty five seconds to a minute. About halfway through the smoke got warm, then hot. At this point all the flavor became bitterness. The cigar turned into Mr. Hyde.

The price on it was only $8. Several people have not had the problems I had with them, so I will dismiss them for the most part. It could have been a number of things. I got the bad one in the batch, which happens, or it could have been a little dry, which in Minnesota during the winter could explain it. The price helps keep this cigar out of my "F" or "D" range. If had burned proper, and not turned, I would give this cigar a solid "B+" for it had good flavoring for such a price. This one, gets less.

Final Grade: C-

Perdomo Habano Maduro

I see people get the Perdomo Habano Connecticut cigars so I decided to look at this particular line. I saw it in a Maduro, which was full, and I wondered why that box was full.

The wrap on this cigar was even and well made. This cigar is a Nicaraguan puro, as all in this line are, but this had a Maduro shade wrapper. The filler comes from the valleys of Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. The smell was earthy with some spice. So, I decided to clip the end (it was a torpedo) and give it a go.

The flavor was very full. Very earthy yet not overwhelming. The center of this earthy flavor gives hints of black pepper and also a slight hint of leather. It was smooth. The finish was nutty with a hint of spice, which comes from the Habano tobacco and the Nicaraguan filler. The taste was potent, but never got harsh. The tastes didn't linger at all either. The flavor and finish was pretty quick, but very nice.

The burn and draw on this was very good. I have no issues with this cigar as far as construction.

This cigar is a good smoke and a nice change in flavor to the "traditional" flavors of a Maduro. The only downside was the cost. Priced at $11.25, plus tax, brings the rating down, but not by much. Still lasts at least 40 minutes and has a good flavor.

Final Grade: A-