Erez Cigars Habano

Next one in the Erez line is their Habano edition.

This cigar is wrapped in a Criollo 98, has a binder of Olor Dominicano, and has filler of Cubano San Vicente, Olor Dominicano and Criollo 98.

This cigar started off with a smokey oak flavor and just your average woody notes. A short while in hint of leather and bitter cream added to it, along with a very subtle spice similar to paprika. Getting closer to the end I got more leather and cream, with the spice getting less. At the final moments, the oak flavor came back and dominated the pallet. The aroma for this smoke was mildly sweet.

The construction on this smoke was pretty good. Produced a good smoke and had a fair draw. It burned uneven but corrected itself each time. I noticed to splitting a little, but it burn right past it with no problems and it did not get larger.

This Robusto will run around $7-$8, maybe as high as $9 depending on where you go, which is pretty good for something this complex. The only thing that brought this down was the splitting. Granted, it did not cause an issue, but it is still unpleasant when it happens. I would say this is a good smoke and it should be tried at least once, if not twice, by those who see it on the shelves. Thank you to Erez for sending this in for review.

Final Grade: A

Vegas de Santiago D8

I had one of these and decided to have another and write up a review for it.

This cigar is made with Habano 2000 wrapper from Ecuador, a bind from Ecuador, and filler from the Caribbean.

This cigar started out with a light chocolate flavor, mixed with some black pepper and a straw/leaf type flavor. After the first quarter the pepper dropped and notes of tea and pecans entered the mix, which blended very well with the chocolate. At the end there were notes of fruit, adding a little sweetness. The aroma was a sweeter aroma. I know those around me really liked it.

The construction on this was very good. Even feel and even wrap. The draw was a little firm, but the smoke was still good. The burn on this cigar was razor sharp.

I had this cigar in the Emperador size (6x60) and it would run around $10, probably closer to $13 here in Minnesota, which is still a great price for a smoke that lasts over an hour. I would say give this cigar a go. It is unique and there are flavors that I could not quite describe. This cigar has a great price point and is very well made.

Final Grade: A+

Di Fazio Connecticut Torpedo

I am doing another Di Fazio cigar, this time the Connecticut shade.

This cigar uses a Connecticut shade Ecuadorian wrapper, and Indonesian binder (from what I could find) and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. Little veins and smells like creamy and straw.

I got a creamy straw flavor out of this cigar on the first puff. The cream took over and started giving off hints of sweet butter, slight hint of nuts, and a touch of oak. The oak flavor goes away and a sweet nut flavor comes in. It is almost like a sweet peanut butter made from roasted nuts. The cream and sweet butter stay with this. The aftertaste is creamy and of light tobacco flavors. You get a hint of straw in the aftertaste as well.

The construction on this cigar was very good. The draw was a little loose, but not too loose. This cigar burned even, it only needed one correction thanks to wind, and produced a large amount of smoke.

This cigar, in Minnesota, would run aroun $8-$9, and that is for the torpedo vitola. I could not find much wrong with this cigar. If you want a mild smoke, this is a good one. Complex, smooth, and mild. I would suggest this smoke to anyone who likes them light. It goes great with a cup of coffee.

Final Grade: A+

From Connoisseur to Cremo

I have been honest with my reviews, being as straightforward as possible, and now I must be straightforward with you on something else. I now have a job within the cigar industry. There are many reasons I bring this up, and I want to go through them.

The main reason I bring this up is because I feel full disclosure is a good thing. People should know a little of the reviewer. That is something that comes with the territory. A reviewer that is distant and unknown is hard to connect with. Though doing that through the review site itself seems like a moot point thanks to social media.

Another thing is the potential conflict of interest. To avoid that, I will tell you I am Chief Marketing Officer for Cremo Cigars. I had come in contact with the owner, Walter Santiago, a couple months back. A new company brings new, and sometimes more interesting, smokes. So, I decided to give it a try.

Now, I have been offered to do sales for cigar companies, and have done some freelance work for others (usually involving writing and ads, but I tell them if they make crap, I will let them know). Half the time, if they had a good product, I would let them know and post it (if B- or above) on my site. If it was less, I would tell them. Believe me, I still got arguments on a B rating. I told them why and I would not back down. But, to work for a company, I have to be blown away. I needed a cigar that would be worthy of an A+, and I would want a box, which is rare. So, I gave Walt some advice, helping things flow, giving my take on some pictures. Nothing big. Nothing I hadn't done for others. Companies like feedback and I figure to want me to review their smoke, it is the least I could do. I tried the cigar and I wanted a box,and I wanted one right after I finished that one, which is even more rare. I offered to work for him, not vice versa. I tell you this because there is a review of the Cremo cigar on this site, and I do not want to seem bias. I reviewed that smoke first. I have not put that review on the Cremo website, nor anywhere else since it was official I was working for the company.

Now, since then, I have posted reviews and not mentioned this. Several reasons are because things were started up, and I was very busy. Another was timing. I did not feel it was time to bring this up yet. I did not even bring it up after I reviewed the Cremo cigar. I did not know how to word all of this. I had to think about it for a long time.

I still have reviews to come too. I might work for a company, but I love the cigar. I know there will be cigars better and worse than what Cremo makes. What I want is for people to enjoy a great cigar. My cigar will please many, I am sure of that, but not everyone. Maybe there is something else they look for and in a review of mine they might find it. I review because I love new things all the time and I love sharing that with you. I am not going to give low ratings because the cigar is not one I work for, or a company I do not like, but because the cigar is bad. The standard has not changed. Construction, draw, burn, taste, and price point will always dictate ratings.

I thank you again for reading the reviews I post, and I hope you keep reading them. More will follow, I promise that.

Thank you again.

- Josh

Erez Cigars Connecticut

I picked an Erez cigar out of my humidor for review. I figured I should because the day was nice and I have a feeling there will be less of those.

This cigar is make with a Connecticut shade Ecuadorian wrapper, a Criollo 98 binder, and Cubano San Vicente, Olor Dominicano and Criollo 98 fillers. The wrapper on this looked even and had some veins; nothing too out of the ordinary. The construction felt nice and firm.

The first puff of this smoke offered a toasty flavor followed by a bitter cream. About a fourth of the way through the creamy drew back and became similar to a salty butter. At about the halfway point almonds came into the mix, which added a very nice touch. To make this better, the cream and butter aspects evened out. The after taste of this smoke was a simple toasted and creamy flavor. The aroma was toasty and had a hint of sweet throughout.

The draw on this was nice and even. The burn started off uneven, but corrected itself about a third of the way through.

In my state this cigar would run around $8, and that is for the Robusto size. The price is a little steep, but within range. Nothing to get in a tussle over. The smoke was plain, yet good. It had little complexity, but the flavors it gave off were pleasant. I did enjoy this cigar. This is one I would have while reading a book or something. Nothing to write home to mom about, but nothing to shake a stick at either. I want to thank Erez Premium Cigars for sending this sample in for review.

Final Grade: B

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