Category: Cigar

         The Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 is one of the most popular of the Arturo Fuente Cigar Co.’s Gran Reserva family of cigars. Blended in honor of Carlos Fuente, Sr.’s 85^th birthday, the cigars possess aged long-filler tobaccos and superior construction. Additionally, the cigars come in a wide variety of wrappers, such as natural Cameroon, Rosado Sun Grown, broadleaf Maduro, and candela. The 8-5-8 possesses an unusual vitola at 6×47, but that ring gauge was quite common for old Tampa vitolas, such as a Soberano (5.75×47) or a corona de Cuba (6.5×47).

The 8-5-8 candela features the iconic green, extra claro wrapper associated with the olden days of the cigar industry and the Oliva Tobacco Co. Candela is created by partially curing or freezing raw tobacco leaves and then smoke curing them to seal the chlorophyll inside the leaf. The result of the process is a magnificent green wrapper with a mild flavor and a fragrant, floral aroma. The sweet, mild flavor of the candela wrapper is balanced by the aged Dominican binder and filler tobaccos, creating a perfectly blended cigar.

The 8-5-8 candela is the perfect cigar for a novice smoker or a long-time smoker. For novice smokers, it represents a perfectly constructed cigar with complex tasting notes and a mild wrapper. For long-time smokers, it represents a throwback to the old days of the cigar industry when green cigars were a common sight. The box of 25 is well worth the price point of $134.85. The cigar burns evenly, even in the case of a haphazard lighting job. The smoking experience lasts for about an hour and yields pleasant-tasting notes of tea, coriander, honey, and hazelnuts. The consistency of the smoke and flavor across multiple cigars is truly remarkable.

The Arturo Fuente Corona Imperial is a masterpiece and a perfect representation of what you can do with aged tobacco. Although the cigar is mild, you will experience flavors that leave you satisfied and fulfilled. The thin ring gauge of the cigar extenuates the genuine Connecticut Shade Wrapper grown in the loamy, glacial soil of the Unites States River Valley. Inside you can expect nothing less than finely and generously aged Dominican Tobaccos from Chateau de la Fuente. Packaged in boxes of 25 cigars, the Corona Imperial will surely catch your eye wearing the iconic green foot ribbon which the Fuente family pioneered decades ago. 

After giving the cigar a guillotine cut, the cold draw yields hints of peanuts and hay, with a slightly sweet finish. The 46 diameter of the cigar makes for easy lighting in windy conditions. The draw is phenomenal and can be best described as flawless. The smoke output is generous. Overall, the taste gives off hay, peanut, white pepper, and lemongrass. I was surprised to find citrus notes, which is not a flavor I find in many mild cigars. I found the flavor to stay the same except for the white pepper becoming more pronounced at the end. The average burn time between three cigars was around 1 hour and 5 minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar; the size, flavor, and intensity made a great unison for me. The ring gauge is a selling point for this cigar without a doubt. A smaller diameter like this is easy to light on a boat or the golf course. The flavor pairs perfectly with the salty air or freshly cut grass. Whether mild cigars are an occasional or regular thing for you, I highly recommend picking up a box of these. With a price point of just under $150, a long burn time, and unrivaled quality I think it is a no-brainer.

There is no better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than smoking some American tobacco. The Brick House Double Connecticut Short Torpedo is the perfect pairing for any U.S.-based holiday. With a genuine Connecticut Shade wrapper, a real Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos; this cigar steals the show! The cigar wears the traditional Brick House band, complimented by a foot band that looks like the American flag. I do not typically prefer torpedo-shaped cigars, but this one is rather fun. The torpedo is rather subtle and makes a smooth transition into the rest of the cigar. After cutting, the cold draw gives off notes of hay and peanuts. After lighting the cigar, I get a well-balanced, light to medium-bodied flavor. Notes of peanut butter, grass, bread, hay, citrus, and a slight hint of white pepper show themselves. Overall, there is no bite or overly intense components. I will say that the smoke is thick and fulfilling, making this cigar just a notch above mild on the intensity scale. 

Between three samples there were no variances in flavor, construction, or smoke time. Each one burned for about 50-55 minutes. With the cost of labor in the United States and how labor-intensive it is to grow tobacco, I’m not sure how the guys at J.C. Newman can price this cigar so affordably! For under $7 a cigar and with two Connecticut components, this cigar is a steal. With labor costs in the United States being so high, usually the tobacco and cigars are pricy too.  It is the perfect price point for a daily, long-filler, premium cigar. Packaged in boxes of 25, with a price tag of under $160 this one will surely help you celebrate Independence Day properly!

Rocky Patel is a brand that persists in the hearts and minds of cigar consumers through sheer force of will. While other fledgling brands faltered and came to an abrupt demise towards the end of the 1990’s cigar boom, Rocky Patel’s brand sustained itself through the large volume of cigar production and advertisements. Rocky Patel’s brand greatly benefitted from the opening of cigar lounges, such as BURN. Now, Rocky is counted among the legends of the cigar industry. The Rocky Patel portfolio features numerous cigar brands from Nicaragua and Honduras, but one of the most successful Rocky Patel brands is The Edge. Warning its consumers to beware of imitations on the cigar band, The Edge marks itself as an exquisite smoke and one of the finest regular production cigars on the market.

The Edge Connecticut Robusto is a 5.5”x50 Parejo Robusto-sized cigar produced by Rocky Patel El Paraiso in Honduras. The cigar features an immaculate Connecticut shade wrapper. The box of twenty showed much consistency in terms of wrapper color and quality. The binder and filler tobaccos are Honduran. The cigar lit evenly and smoothly with slight canoeing towards the second third of the cigar. This cigar is notable for the long ash structure it maintains. The cigar tasting notes include toasted wheat, honey, cinnamon, cedar, and a slight aftertaste of white pepper. The cigar flavor was consistent and pleasing throughout the smoking duration of an hour and fifteen minutes. The cigar’s profile is mild to medium and is approachable for the smoking novice and the cigar aficionado. Rocky Patel’s website suggests this cigar as the perfect golf course cigar. Similarly, this cigar is recommended for its quality and value. At $129.60 for a box of twenty, Rocky’s value cannot be beaten. It is because of this quality and value that Rocky Patel has persisted in the cigar industry.

Perdomo traces the roots of its company history to the work of Silvio Perdomo in Cuba. In 1992, Nicholas Perdomo, Jr. revitalized his family’s cigarmaking legacy by starting Tabacalera Perdomo out of his home in Miami, Florida. The company now boasts several popular brands, such as the Estate Seleccion, the 10^th Anniversary Blend, and Lot 23.

         Lot 23 is one of Nicaragua’s best-selling premium value cigar brands and comes in three wrapper varieties (Connecticut, Sungrown, and Maduro). Beginning in 2000, Lot 23 cigars are made from carefully cultivated Nicaraguan tobaccos on Perdomo farmland. The Lot 23 Connecticut Toro is remarkable for its exquisite Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper as well as its value at $147.90 for a box of 24.

         The Lot 23 Connecticut Toro is a 6×50 parejo cigar with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper and Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar lit evenly but suffered from slight canoeing throughout the first two-thirds of the cigar. However, the taste of the cigar was quite consistent with tasting notes of cedar, grasses, toasted wheat, baking spices, white pepper, and honey. The Nicaraguan binder and filler provided the cigar with some bite to cut through the rich, creamy shade wrapper. Overall, the cigar was pleasant to smoke and represents a good showcase of the Perdomo brand. Although Perdomo is a fledgling member of the American cigar industry, its brand history, and cigar portfolio mark it as a veteran in terms of sophistication and quality. The Lot 23 cigar brand is excellent flavor and value. If you are interested in a good premium value cigar from Nicaragua, look into the Perdomo Lot 23.

Montesino is one of the oldest, continuously made Arturo Fuente cigar brands. The brand peaked in the early 1990’s and has struggled to maintain its popularity in recent years. Similar to the Casa Cuba cigar brand by Arturo Fuente, Montesino lacks the name recognition. As such, Montesino is criminally underrated and underappreciated. This cigar brand represents fantastic value and flavor. Cigar plume is another factor to consider with Montesino. Many Montesino cigars sit in inventory, waiting to be smoked by someone with a discerning palate. Montesino is a lady-in-waiting, then, and the exquisite plume on the wrapper is Montesino’s dowry to the cigar afficionado. The natural wrapper on these Montesino cigars was a Connecticut Shade, crystallized with plume.            

The Montesino Sampler is a sampler box of six Montesino cigars with the natural, Connecticut Shade wrapper. The six sizes you get are Diplomatico (5.5” x 42), No. 2 (6.25” x 44), Robusto (5” x 50), No. 1 (6.8” x 43), Toro (6” x 50), and Gran Corona (6.75” x 48). Handmade at Tabacalera A. Fuente is the Dominican Republic, the binder and filler of these cigars are Dominican tobaccos. The cigar blend is an elegant, mild blend of tobaccos with tasting notes of cedar, grasses, nuts, baking spices, toasted wheat, and brown sugar. With the smaller ring gauges, such as the Diplomatico or the No. 1, you taste more of the phenomenal Connecticut Shade wrapper. The three cigars smoked for this review were the Diplomatico, the No. 1, and the Robusto. The smoking duration for these cigars ranged from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half. The cigars lit well and evenly. The quality of the cigar’s flavor was consistent and pleasant. throughout the smoke. At $26.95 for six cigars, the Montesino sampler is great value and even greater gift for the cigar smokers in your life.

Sharing a name with one of the first missionaries to the Dominican Republic, Antonio de Montesino, Montesino was one of the first cigar brands Carlos Fuente, Sr. manufactured in the Dominican Republic in the 1980s. As such, the cigar now ranks among the oldest names in the Fuente portfolio. After all this time, the cigar maintains renown for its remarkable flavor and value. The Montesino no. 1 Maduro, a Lonsdale Parejo, is the ideal for the old school appeal of the Montesino cigar brand.

The Montesino no. 1 Maduro is a handsome cigar. The cigar is comprised of a Connecticut wrapper with a Dominican binder and long filler. The Maduro wrapper is an aged Connecticut Broadleaf with dark red-brown coloration. The aroma of the cigars is that of vintage tobaccos, rich with hints of dark cocoa and barnyard hay. The Montesino No. 1 Maduro is a Lonsdale Parejo (6.87”x43), representing an hour to an hour and a half smoking experience. Upon cutting, the cigar’s fantastic construction and good draw are on display. The cigar lights easily with a rich, creamy smoke generating from the burning broadleaf Maduro wrapper. The tasting notes on this cigar are dark cocoa, barnyard hay, mesquite, coriander, and molasses. The cigar builds in strength towards the second third of the burn, coasting in flavor down to the nub.

There is a reason why the Montesino is a perennial favorite of cigar smokers. The brand never disappoints. Although the brand receives less attention in recent times, with the Chateau Fuente and Curly Head eclipsing it in popularity, the cigar cannot be beaten in terms of value. At the Luis Martinez price, each cigar costs four dollars and some change. If you are looking to pick up some Maduro cigars for a fuller-bodied smoke and cannot afford a box of 8-5-8 Maduro or Chateau Fuente Maduro, pick up a box of Montesino no. 1.

The Ashton Virgin Sun Grown (VSG) was released at the tail end of the cigar boom in 1999. Ever since it has received and maintained a good reputation amongst all types of consumers. It has proven its worth as a super-premium cigar with a 94-point rating.

The wrapper is a Sumatra seed grown in a private estate of Ecuador where it is very cloudy. These clouds provide shade and allow only gentle exposure to the sunlight. Once the wrapper is grown, it is fermented by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic to yield oils and a dark sheen.

Then it is adhered to Dominican binder and filler tobaccos that have been aged 4-5 years. This sort of care and execution of aged tobaccos can only be achieved by the Fuentes. The Sorcerer is one of the 3 sizes carried by LM Cigars which measures 7 x 49. It is a longer cigar but a very good representation of the blend. Construction is a no-brainer since it is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente it is flawless. You can expect every one of the 25 cigars in the box to be consistent and perfect.

The flavor is unique and refined. A rich sweetness encases hints of espresso bean, earth, leather, and a milder spice. The entire 1 ½ hour of smoke time was extremely pleasurable. I found both strength and flavor to be medium to full-bodied.  If you are looking for a super-premium luxury cigar that has loads of natural sweetness and flavor, you have found the one! The Ashton VSG Sorcerer a great cigar to keep stashed in the humidor for when you’re feeling special or celebrating an occasion.

Ever since 1884 Cuesta-Rey Cigars have maintained a pristine reputation as premium cigars.

Started by Angel Cuesta and Peregrino Rey eventually the quality of their cigars gave them the title of the official tobacco purveyor for the Spanish king and court. Rarely do brands this old keep their traction in an ever-changing market. Cuesta-Rey is timeless; the box of the Centenario line still pictures Sally just as they did over 100 years ago. The no.7 Maduro is a 4½ x 50 robusto with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. These rich and flavorful cigars are available in boxes of ten for just over $60. This makes it a very affordable box purchase with a great presentation.

The cigars themselves are sturdy, the Broadleaf wrapper is thick and has a rough feel. When given a squeeze they have only a little give, resulting in a perfect draw. Notes of barnyard, hay, leather, earth, and pepper are delivered in a medium-bodied package throughout the entirety of the cigar. On average, burn time was between 30-35 minutes. The biggest compliment I can give these cigars is consistency.

Every one I smoked has the same draw, flavor, and construction. For a cigar under $8, this is outstanding. I can see this cigar fitting into any part of your day. It is not too strong to smoke in the morning and it has enough flavor to pair with a variety of beverages in the evening. The brand permeates rich history from its conception in 1884 and is still going strong. I hope Cuesta-Rey by J.C. Newman can celebrate another 137 years in your humidor and ashtray.