In The Pipeline:Prometheus:God Of Fire:Don Carlos

Alright, last week I've learnt a lesson. Never leave your laptop near the ledge of a table so that it could be easily kicked off by a sleeping family member. My laptop survived the fall fine, but because the HDD was being used during the fall all its data go erased.Along with many many years of personal accumulated data all my pictures that I was saving to do future reviews were lost, in a nut shell they were "In The Pipeline". Well my favorite part of the reviews I do are the pictures, the unique long ashes that I try to capture are kinda of my niche in this Cigar Blogging World we live in. But Since I don't wanna see the cigars I smoked and reviewed go to waste, I will post short summaries of the cigars. Cigar Afficianato style, sans pictures:


Prometheus:God Of Fire:Don Carlos:Robusto:2005

This cigar is very Iconic to me. Ever since I started getting into cigar this stick was sort of a Holy Grail to me, and I was very lucky to get to smoke one. The band on this stick is just outstanding, and the wrapper only adds to the icon of the cigar. The wrapper has aged perfectly and is silky smooth to the touch and the slight sweet wheat aroma is interesting. The foot had a great smell of sweat honey,chocolate,and earth. This cigar just had a bouquet of flavors, the first initial puffs were just a pure silky smooth chocolate with no spice. The smoke felt so soft in the palate it felt as if it could be inhaled.Towards the middle of the smoke though the lack of spice was missed. The cigar felt like it needed something to chug it along, during this point the cigar could of had more volume of smoke. In the palate the smoke just felt slightly puffy, and the flavors were lack luster do to it. The ash help up well and the burn line was solid. Towards the nub of the cigar the spice picked up and the flavors got more creamier with slight hints of a herbal honey and star anise, this was a treat of a cigar, Rating-93

I have plenty more of reviews that I can do in such a format. If you guys are interested leave me some feedback and comments. What do you guys think of this short format?

CAO Brasilia Versus Italia:Artistry of Champions:Brazilian Flag Perfecto

I seem to to be review a lot of rare item recently, I have some other rarities on my pipeline. Well today I bring you the CAO Brazilia Perfecto. Like its Italia sibling both of them are somewhat rare and are part of CAO's Artistry Of Champions Humidor. I also have yet to see I review on this particular cigar, so this is also a little bit of a comparison review to the Italia. Let's see how these cigars stack up.


SPECS-
Size-7x47
Wrapper-Brazilian Maduro with Candella and Conn. Bands
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Cost-$20
Cut-Straight
Smoke Time-1 hour and 15 mins.
Drink-Coke over Ice


FIRST IMPRESSIONS-The first thing I noticed when I picked up the cigar was its smell. The cigar just oozed of a aromatic cedar. Second was the wrapper, it glisten with oil and the somewhat spotted maduro is a sight to look at. At close inspection though the triangle in the middle of the cigar is slightly green. Now I don't if it was originally Candela that got discolored or if it was a Conn. leaf that turned slightly green. The foot had also I interesting aroma of a sweet spice almost like clove and the tickler head had a nice aroma of aged tobacco. The construction is also a great piece of art and with a good cold taste of a nice subtle hay this cigar begged to be smoked.


FIRST HALF-As soon as the cigar took the flame it presented a great deal of a deep earth and chocolate flavor that I haven't experienced before. The black pepper was also deep and slightly sweet adding to the overall profile of the smoke. The spice is slightly stronger than the Italias but I like the profile. Exploring the chocolate flavors I could detect a slight roasted coffee undertone and the earth had a nut undertone. The ash never really hung out for very long but the burn was always straight with only 1 touch up needed.


LAST HALF-Once the burn line reached the Conn. portion of the cigar I thought the smoke couldn't get better. The overall flavors had a nice toasty finish and a few hints of a roasted caramel that slightly tasted of toffee. The main flavors never really changed trough out the cigar, after the main Conn. strip was gone I was reintroduced to the original Maduro. The maduro now got slightly darker and lost all its complexities, a new leather taste was produced along with a soy sauce finish. Though interesting it wasn't my cup of tea and after a few puff I felt I was satisfied by the cigar and set it down.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-I think I might have to eat my words here. I never thought a Italia could be better than a Brazilia. But after smoking the Trumpets of the same humidor set I quickly found out that the Brazilian wrapper gets rather too dark and almost harsh when taken in large doses. Which one is better though you might ask? I think they're both equally good. The Italia for those who prefer a milder and less complex smoke and the Brazilia for those who can pick up on subtle tobacco subtleties easily and prefer a darker smoke. I can see me picking up another vitola (If I could) and smoke it after a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. So if you have one of these cigars and holding up for a special occasion but can't decide on when to smoke it, I hope I helped.

RATING-94
Buy It Again? Yes
Suggest It? Yes

CAO Brasilia Versus Italia:Artistry of Champions:Italian Flag Perfecto

Ah rare cigars, or rare anything really. Nothing out there in world has more prestige then something that is rare. Today I bring you the CAO Italia, not just any regular ol' Italia, but what I think is THE Italia to own and to smoke. This cigar is 1 outta 5 special vitolas that CAO made back in 05' to show their master rollsmanship and a tribute to their flagship brands. These cigar we're all shipped in a special commemorative box that retailed $100 and only 2000 of these boxes have been made. I was lucky enough to get a hold of one of these boxes, these things are so rare that trying to find any info on these is pretty much next to impossible. As far as I'm concerned I'm the first one ever to review this vitola and I plan to do it justice. So in to the deep abyss of CAO I go!

SPECS-
Size-7/46ish
Wrapper-The Center Piece is a combo of-Maduro,Candella,and Conn. Natural Wrapper
Binder-Honduras
Filler-Italy,Nicaragua,Peru
Cost-Around $20
Cut-Straight
Drink-Iced Tea
Smoke Time-1 hour and a Half

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-At first glance this cigar is a piece of art. The lines are very neat. The Italian flag center piece is in perfect squares, though at the reverse side the Candela strip is slightly discolored probably due to uneven sun exposure. The wrapper on this cigar is very oily and almost veinless giving the cigar a silky appearance, the sweetly fragrant cedar on the leaf just adds to this masterpiece, its almost a shame to smoke it. The foot of this cigar smells of peaches and the cold taste produces a perfect draw of sweet peach and cedar.

FIRST HALF- The cigar took the flame very well, at the first puffs the cigar opens up with a super smooth and creamy nut taste with a slightly salty cedar finish. The black pepper profile in this cigar was blended to a T, it hit the nose smoothly and never overstayed it's welcome. As the cigar progresses one can notice its very simple taste. There's nothing too complex, all the flavors are well homogenized and play off each other well. Once the smoke reached the flag centerpiece the flavors got simply sublime, along with the original main flavors small touches of chocolate and caramel were hinted with a touch of a toasted bread finish.

LAST HALF-As the longest ash feel a slight flavor switch was made. A deeper caramel flavor is added along with a deep espresso. The smoke becomes less creamy and smooth but the smoke is still soft on the palate. The construction is still holding up well and the ash is a very even and never flaky. Touch ups on this cigar were kept at a minimal but there was only a slight flaw on this cigar. During this last half the flavors didn't progress much they just stayed the same, though a pleasant taste of leather was added towards the end. The slightly salty cedar is also a minor complaint on this cigar, the saltiness sorta builds up in the back of the throat and just becomes a little too much.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-This in no doubt in my mind the best CAO I ever tried, also one of the best cigars I have ever had and the best Italia out there. The tastes this cigar produced were very easy to follow and I'm sure any palate could appreciate the cigar. As much as I'm sad to see this cigar go, as one of my main center pieces in my humidor, I'm much happier now that I've smoked it. This Italia is also one of the better Vitolas in the B.vs.I box. I've smoked the trumpets and the Bratalia(the centerpiece) and I believe those are much better off left alone as pieces of art. I now cannot wait to taste the Brazilia Flag Perfecto and see how it compares to this majestic stick.

RATING-95
Buy It Again? If I could I would
Recommend It? If you can get your hand on 1 make the plunge, you won't regret it.

Arturo Fuente:Hemingway:Between The Lines

After going through some of my past reviews I was surprised to see that I didn't review anything remotely rare. Well today I bring you the Hemingway Between The Lines. I originally planned to age this cigar, but with me moving to a new house and a bottle of Baileys on a sunny day I couldn't think of a better time to smoke one of my rarities. This cigar was first conceived by Cynthia Fuente who wanted a cigar that was flavorful but yet not harsh. The BTL is only released on Christmas season on very limited quantities and to only a very lucky few. This limited window to get a BTL only adds tinder to the hype machine that is Arturo Fuente and like many Fuente's, getting one of these for the MSRP is very hard. But tobacco is tobacco,it comes goes, and today here's my attempt to review one.


SPECS-

Size-4.5x54
Wrapper-Connecticut Shade and Maduro
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Price-$13.95
Cut-Straight
Smoke Time-45 mins
Drink-Bailey's Over Ice


FIRST IMPRESSIONS- This cigar in short words is just neat. The wrapper is very clean and almost veinless. The double wrapper seam very close together, one could think that the Fuentes grew a Wrapper leaf that is multicolored when analyzing the overall neatness of the cigar. The nearly smooth wrapper presented a succulent aroma of cedar and slight hay. The cold taste produced a very good draw that showed a bit of earth and slight chocolate truffle, the natural sweetness of the wrapper leave left a good taste on the lips. The craftsmanship of this cigar is pretty much perfect.


FIRST HALF-The nipple end of cigar was very easy to light and even with the slight breeze I was having the cigar took a flame really well. At the first puffs the cigar produces a unique taste of creamy cedar that I never experienced. The cedar produces a undertone of hay which itself has an undertone of black pepper. The profile is very mild and smooth producing subtle tastes of ripe peanuts and a nutmeg finish. There's not much going on on this first half. The main flavors of hay and cedar play on each other and sometimes highlight and outshine each other leaving the smoker with a very interesting experience. The burn is good and with a room note of sweet honey this delicacy can definitely be attributed to the touch of a woman.


LAST HALF-This cigar isn't very big on flavor spectrum. The main flavors of this cigar never really change. But what does change is the texture of the smoke. The cigar goes from a creamy wonderland to a Oreo cookie splendor. Towards the end of the cigar the smoke leaves and feels like a hearthy chocolate cake in your mouth, very soft yet moist. The finish changes from an earthy chocolate to a dry cocoa powder, what this cigar lacks in flavors it makes up for it in the smoke profile. The creaminess of Baileys just adds to the overall flavor of the cigar.


FINAL IMPRESSIONS-This to me is easily one of my favorite AF cigars. The cigar is mild and flavorful. But here's one major flaw about this cigar, the flavors and the profile sometimes is too mild. This cigar reminds of me chicken, mild but with a good taste, chicken can be prepared in many different ways but in the end it will taste like chicken and we all know chicken can get rather boring and bland. While I was smoking this cigar I wished for just a bigger bloom of smoke for my palate or maybe more array of flavors to sample, and this is the only bad thing about this cigar, everything else is just perfect. This cigar is worth every penny of its MSRP but paying anything over the MSRP is just crazy. After all chicken is just chicken even if it lays golden eggs.

Rating:92
Buy It Again? Yes
Recommend It? Yes

A.Fuente Anejo:No. 49:Maduro

Time to shake off the dust on my cigar notebook today, after a solid 3 months without posting I feel bad about not updating you, my fellow readers on my cigar adventure. This brief hiatus was due to me not having a digital camera and I sorta felt bored with the blog in general. I hope this blog would of spread like wildfire once I released it, but to my avail it didn't. I did capture the attention of a few and for that I'm thankful for y'all not giving up on me. But enough chit chat and circle jerking, its review time. Today I bring you a rather infamous cigar. The Arturo Fuente Anejo. After 1998's hurricane swept through the Caribbean it left a huge aftermath. The Fuente farm found itself without its Rosado Wrapper leafs. After some digging the Fuentes found a Aged Maduro leaf, (hence the word "Anejo") and with the new found leaf and previous filler tobacco they created the Anejo. So if this cigar is about fresh starts and here's mine.

SPECS-
Size-8x49
Wrapper- Conne. Broadleaf Maduro
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Price-~$14
Cut-Straight
Smoke Time-1 hour and a Half
Drink-Coke

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-The wrapper leaf on this cigar looks weather worn. The dark brown leaf presents thick veins and small discolored spots. But in between the lines is a smooth fragrant cedar leaf. This cigar had very good overall construction with just a small soft band near the band. The leaf was slightly salty on the lips and the near perfect draw had woodsy sweetness almost contradicting the rum and raisin scented foot.


FIRST HALF-The cedar in this cigar seems like a big flavor in this cigar. As the cigar develops the initial puffs are of a dry cedar with an undertone of red pepper. The initial dry finish is soon replaced by chocolate and a rum sweetness, this is what I describe as a Anejo signature taste. I've smoked lots of Anejo's and they all seem to have this main flavor. Exploring the flavor it presents a vanilla wafer after taste and is slightly musky.


LAST HALF-In the last half the volume in the last half picks up tons of smoke. The main Anejo flavor now gets slightly tart but still maintaining its original flavor. The cedar turns sweeter and the pepper is at its most pleasant at this point hiting the nose smoothly. Through out the smoke the flavor never really changes up, that main flavor usually is completed by slight woodsy flavors. sometimes cedar and oak with slight Cinnamon backdrops is ussually hinted but never remain.


FINAL IMPRESSIONS- A. Fuente does tend to make some epic cigars from time to time. But what Fuente is really more famous for is being a hype machine. I believe they can get their regular Gran Reserva line, slap a new band on it and say only 200 cigars were made people would swear by them. The Anejo is not one of those cigars. Overall the Anejo line is good, the flavors are deep,pleasant and overall a great experience. But if you're not one of those lucky few that can get these in season this experience might cost you $30.


Rating-88
Buy It Again? Sure.
Suggest It? Sometimes, while its season is a great smoke.

My Fellow Readers I Do Apologize.

To those that still come to this blog reading old reviews and expecting something new. I am sorry for the lack of updates. My camera on my phone broke and I am unable to take pictures of the cigars I'm reviewing and this has slowed down my review process quite significantly. During this brief hiatus though I've smoked plenty of cigars and I hope that I will get to review the cigars as soon as I have a picture taking device. So in hopes that there are people reading my blog I'm going to ask you guys for suggestions. Is there anything you guys want me to review? If you're wondering whats my tasting notes of a cigar you have not tried yet please feel free to email me at bxcarracer@hotmail.com with suggestions on my next review, or any questions or comments or if you just want my thoughts on certain cigar without me reviewing drop me a line. Or if you have questions about anything I will be more than glad to answer and thank you for your patience fellow readers.

With All Due Respect,
Alex G.

Romeo Y Julieta:Exhibición No 4:Cuba

Ahh Cuba, a land of many mysteries and misconceptions. A land famous for its Dictators and Cigars. Everyone has heard of the such famed and glorified cigars. Many non cigar smokers know the prestige that a Cuban Cigar carries especially due to their legality issues in the U.S.This is my first ever Cuban that was gifted to me from a very good friend of mine.(Thank You man, I'd put your name out here but I didn't know how comfortable you are with the Cuban thing.) So today on a very random Saturday on a pretty average day I decided to smoke something less than average. Just trying to write my first Habano review is exciting, its hard not to write about Cuban over glorification or the Cuban's semi-rarity. But are Cubans really that good? Let's find out.

SPECS-
Size- Robusto 5x48
Wrapper-Cuba
Binder-Cuba
Filler-Cuba
Price-~$13
Cut-Punch/Guillotine
Smoke Time-45 mins
Drink-Cuba;(Rum and Coke)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very neat and well constructed cigar, the wrapper was a very smooth cardboard brown that was nicely wrapped a compost fragrant wrapper. The wrapper featured a nice Cuban Triple cap and was very toothy with minimal smooth veins. The foot smelt of raisins,thyme, and basil almost like a Kuba Kuba but without the sweetness. The circle cut was very crisp and clean and produced the perfect draw. The cold taste had a good bit of anise and gave off an salty impression aon the lips,if this is what Cuba has to offer so far I'm impressed

FIRST THIRD-I choose to light this cigar with a few long cigar matches for I felt a torch lighter was just too unruly on such a beauty of the cigar. Once the cigar started toasting it produced a most wonderful room note and bellowed out tons of thick white smoke. This ton of smoke was very creamy and smooth on the palate. (For those that never had a Cuban this flavor profile is very similiar to "My Father".) First tastes are of a smooth and rich cedar with nuts with a lovely deep earth flavor behind it. (The well roundness of the smoke and good flavorful mildness reminded me of a Davidoff). The nut flavor almost isolates it self sometimes and produces lovely tones of rich earth with a undertone of anise. The pepper on the cigar is almost nonexistent for me and can only be found on rather harsh retro-hales. The burn though is slightly uneven and the cigar is burning too quick. But again this was a great intro into the world of Habano cigars.

SECOND THIRD-Finally a cigar review into regular thirds! The ash did not hold up very long. Every inch or so it would stray off and need a touch up or it'd fall on my lap. The same flavor profile still remains, except here the earth flavor picks up and a occasionally tastes of chocolate that are sublime add to the true mystery of smoke. The creamy smoothness of the cigar is without a doubt the best aspect of the smoke. The earthiness of the cigar is very present and in this third it never got vulgar. Just a well crafted stick with well crafted flavors.

LAST THIRD-The cigar gets more palate-clinging and puts out very good flavors of smooth and rich leather that I've never experienced before. Along with the new found leather a sweet herbness is introduced and has a good licorice herb flavor to it. The finish is still silky smooth with no harshness and with sips of my Cuba the drink leaves a nice Ale like flavor on the palate the most peculiar taste I've had. As the cigar reaches to the end it becomes very hard to put down. As the cigar got to its last quarter inch, the cigar was cool to the touch and burned but yet still flavor full. Quite an experience.

LAST IMPRESSIONS- I really liked this Cuban, I can see why this is most cigar smokers bread and butter but I feel that a Cuban is more reserved for a special occasions. If I had more of this cigar I'd probably smoke it in the morning with some Cuban Coffee and enjoy my morning. I smoked this cigar after I came home from work and it completely unwound me. I just wish this cigar picked up some extra "bang: towards the end and I also hoped for a stronger wrapper that didn't smoke so quick. Cubans get a lot of hype and if they taste like these I can see why. The smoking experience of a Cuban is a one of a kind expirience that you wish you've had all the time. Again I just want to thank my friend for this great experience that he was able to share with me and without him this review wouldn't be possible. A side note though while smoking this cigar I felt like the biggest oxymoron. I was smoking a Cuban Cigar in a American Made car,and with a Cuban drink served with lots of Americana playing. This oddball of a coincidence also made the cigar great and without a doubt made a good impression that Cubans are very very good.

RATING-96
Buy It Again? If I Could Buy Cuban Cigars in America yea without a doubt.
Recommend It? Yes, whether its a give or you got to "Cuba" to buy one I'm sure this R&J will be magical.