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

Cremo Classic Intrepidus

I got a cigar made by Cremo, which is a new company due to launch January next year. Luckily I got to review their smoke.

This cigar was made with a Habano wrapper, the binder is Nicaraguan, and the filler is Dominican and Nicaraguan. As a fun note, the cigar is American. Made in Miami at El Titan de Bronze cigar factory.

This cigar started out with almost a sweet cream flavor. This was accompanied by an almond/walnut tone, a hint of straw, and a subtle spice. After the first fourth things began to change. The cream was not as sweet, but not bitter either. The amount of cream increased, bringing with it subtle notes of toasted nuts and a little pepper. The last third of the smoke had the almonds and walnut come back, keeping with it the creamy flavors. The aftertaste of this smoke was of a sweet cream and butter. At times I could have sworn it tasted a little like peanut butter.

This cigar was very well made. The wrapper was tight and very even. Some veins here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary. The wrapper felt like a soft velvet or a suede. No soft spots, even after it warmed up. The draw is a little firm but produces a decent smoke and there is no lack in flavor. The burn was even and needed no correction and the ash was very nice.

I had the Intrepidus sized cigar (52 x 6) which lasted me a good 45 minutes to an hour. This smoke will run between $10-$12. Very nice prices for this smoke. This mild to medium smoke provided very complex flavors, and was very pleasant to smoke. Wonderfully made and great flavors. I suggest this cigar to anyone that sees it.

Final Grade: A+

NOTES: I found out on their website, when you register, you sign up for the chance to get a free box of Robusto cigars. They are only giving away one, so I already put in my e-mail for it. Best way to get info is through their Facebook page. Also, since my camera is broken they provided me with a picture of their cigar. Exactly like mine.

JD Cigars Temptation Lancero

After a long day I decided to go up to my local smoke shop and have a cigar. I found a JD Cigars Temptation Lancero and decided to give that a go.

This cigar is made with a Habano Claro (Connecticut shade) wrapper from Ecuador. The filler and binder are Nicaraguan.

This cigar started out rather simple. The flavor was that of a heavy cream and a light butter. About a third of the way through there was a straw type flavor, and some leaf tones. It had a subtle earth flavor similar to some teas. The aftertaste produces hints of pepper, while the main flavors were that of butter and almonds.

This cigar was well made. The wrapper was even which made this cigar nice to look at. The roll was tight and even, but that caused no issue with the draw or smoke for both were very good. This smoke never got hot. The burn on this was consistent and even, requiring no corrections.

This Lancero (7 1/2 x 38) was a very good smoke. Usually I do not like this shape for you have to puff extra slow and it can become hot or tart very easily. I did not have an issue with this at all. For $7, this is a very good smoke.

Final Grade: A+

Alec Bradley MAXX Connecticut

So, I met up with my friend Mike, who also runs a review site called Old Cigar Box, and we decided to review a cigar together. We had some differences, but our final take is not too far off. Let's get to this review.

This cigar is made with a Connecticut wrapper leaf grown in Ecuador, a binder from Costa Rica, and filler from Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras.

This cigar started out with a creamy flavor, hints of spice, cedar, and butter. The butter flavor made the cream slightly bitter, but not bad. The aftertaste was of cedar, spice, and cream. About halfway through the cedar flavor left the taste and it became toasty in flavor. This also goes for the aftertaste. Shortly after that it became tart, and I set it down to see if it would come back. Needless to say, it didn't. The taste, and aftertaste, became very tart for the last fourth.

The construction looked good, with a slight veiny appearance. It had a good draw to it throughout. Towards the end the draw became hot, the cigar was splitting, and it was unraveling. The burn started uneven and corrected itself, then went uneven, the corrected, and so on.

The size of the cigar was The Freak which is just a little bigger than a Double Toro. The cost was $11 and it was not worth it. This cigar, no matter how it was smoked, was terrible. It turned and never came back. Also with this one, when I thought it couldn't get worse, it managed to find a way.

Final Grade: F

Thank you

To my readers:

I have had this blog for over a year now, and I hit over 2,000 hits. I wanted to thank you for reading my reviews and using them in your decisions. Over the past year I have had many cigars, some good and some bad, but you keep reading, and keep smoking. With the busy world out there it can be hard to find time to have a really good smoke, and I hope with my reviews I help save you some time and add to your enjoyment by helping you avoid some bad cigars.

Again, I thank you for reading, and I hope to give you many more reviews in the future.

Sincerely,

Josh

Kristoff Ligero Maduro

I was at Little Havana Tobacco for a Kristoff event. They had all their cigars out, and since I like full bodied cigars, they suggested the Ligero Maduro Churchill.

The wrapper is a Brazilian Maduro while the binder is Dominican. The filler is made up of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

This cigar started off with a nice spice and earthy mix. Within a third of the cigar a toasty flavor came out, as well as notes of coffee. Just before the halfway point, small hints of chocolate came into the mix. The spice could overpower some of these more subtle flavors, which can be frustrating. The after taste kept on the earthy and coffee notes, with the spice being in the background.

This cigar had a veiny and oily wrapper. Sliding the fingers across the wrapper, it felt a little slick, but soft. The construction felt firm throughout, so no soft spots in that sense. It had a mildly firm draw, but could still produce a good smoke. The burn was very good.

This smoke was $13.50, which is a little steep. It is a good smoke though for those that like full flavor, but some of the good, subtle, flavors are masked during the smoke. Those flavors are great additions, and I wish they would be more consistent. The flavors that do remain are good though. I like how it opens up, but I wish it would stay a little more, and for that price it should. Still a good smoke.

Final Grade: B