Taboo Connecticut:Churchill:Connecticut

I'm a big fan of smaller no name brands. I truly like how these cigars makers do the things they do. They usually offer a pretty decent smoke for a decent price. I guess this is because they don't have to pay for advertising like big name brands do, I feel also that the smaller people have more control on the cigars that they make. Taboo cigar is relatively unknown at the cigar world,but for those who do know the brand can attest to the lovely cigar ladies that follow Taboo whenever they have a large cigar tasting. But my question is, behind all the mascara and highlights are these cigars hiding their true imperfections?

SPECS-
Size-7x50
Wrapper- Ecuador
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Cost-$4.99
Cut-Punch,Guillotine
Smoke Time-45 mins
Drink-Hot French Vanilla Coffee

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This cigar is rather plain looking. Its the standard Connecticut shade with the expected slight veins and almost dry look. The even wrapper offered a decent amount of compost smell with a ketchup like foot. Not very standard anymore, the cut was crisp and offered a good draw with no particular cold taste. This isn't too bad nor over the top, it seems just about right and a good cigar for this lovely SC sun.

FIRST HALF-The initial taste of this cigar is very decent for the price range. The cigar opens up with a good bit of earth with almost a touch of nuts. The well rounded and mild finish left a good background for the spice to embed it self in your palate. The coffee is complimenting the cigar perfectly, all I wished for when I had this cigar was a nice puff pastry like a nice and warm apple strudel. The small cinnamon undertones shapes this cigar for a good early morning smoke, I didn't find this cigar lacking nor over the top it was just right. Construction is holding up well with just a few occasional touch ups and no flaws on the wrapper, so far so good.

LAST HALF-By this point I've drunk all my coffee and I don't have the perfect companion for this cigar. In this last half I was very fulfilled and choose to smoke the cigar up to the band. So just because you see me reviewing a cigar in halves doesn't mean its a bad smoke,shame on you and your assumptions,ha. But in all seriousness though without the coffee the cigar gets a little darker and not as complex. Along with the darker profile the cinnamon hint is gone and is replaced with a cedar overtone, so overall its not too bad of a trade off in flavors. The cigar did have some small flaws with the wrapper not ashing properly and the burn line did stray off here and there, but for a $5 dollar cigar its great. When the cigar reached the goal line I had planed,the cigar became hard to put down, it almost made me want to go back inside and make another cup of coffee but I felt truly satisfied with this smoke so I can't complain.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-At $5 bucks this cigar can be a perfect everyday smoke in the morning, the flavor profile is mild enough for anyone to enjoy and feel fulfilled. Even though the constructions was slightly iffy at times it didn't take away from the overall experience. I guess this cigar isn't as Taboo as the name implies. It's just a rather comfortable smoke that will surely greet you well in the morning without disappointments. Cigars like these is why I'm always looking for the next and best small house blends of cigars.

RATING-89
Buy It Again? Yes
Recommend It? Yes, without a doubt.

Camacho Triple Maduro:11/18:Maduro

I'm a big fan of Maduro. I'm always looking for the next and best Maduros out there and usually for me the more the Maduro the better. So when I eventually found out that Camacho had a triple Maduro cigar I was more than excited, being slightly disappointed with the MX2 I soon found out that too much of a good thing can be rather bad. But I'm an optimistic and I have high hopes for this stick. So my question of today is rather simple, is too much of a good thing bad?

SPECS-
Size-6x56
Wrapper-Honduras
Binder-Honduras
Filer-Honduras
Cut-Punch and Guillotine
Price-$13.00
Smoke Time-55 mins

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very impressive stick from the dual silver bands to this particular size, it just screams out strenght. The wrapper was very figured and dark black. It felt very much like a solid piece of leather and the visible pores of the leaf add to that impression. The foot had a very pleasant smell of dark earth and hay while the wrapper leaf had a compost smell to it. The leaf was very spicy and salty on the lips and tasted like soy sauce,the cold taste was very Norri. This cigar just presents itself as a very black object and I'm so far impressed.

FIRST HALF-Right off the bat you can tell this is going to be a heavy smoke. The cigar opens up with very thick white smoke with a deep and earthy chocolate behind it. Its very rich in red pepper spice. The cigar so far had a deep and simple deep chocolate taste that in indescribable in words. Overall in this half the burn was respectable, this is a Maduro cigar and it must be really hard to blend a all Maduro cigar and get no imperfections. The burn did stray off here and there but I was impressed it never went out on me. The ash is also super strong and I could probably stood the cigar in its ash but I'm a fan of long ashes so I didn't want to risk it. Construction is superb.As the cigar reaches into its second half the smoke seems to bloom out with more flavors and smoke its very enjoyable experience.

LAST HALF-This is a impressive cigar, the smoke truly opens up on this middle third or the last half for me. The simple chocolate is no longer simple, on the finish the chocolate picks up a earthy nut flavor to chug it along. The nut flavor is very smooth and has a cedar undertone to it, while the chocolate picks up a nice overtone anise. This cigar is packed rich in flavors and they deserve a lot more than just one try. Ash is also superb it gets slightly wavy but it just clings on to the cigar. The downfall of this cigar though is its strenght. As soon as the longest ash fell I was introduced to a super strong and dark tobacco taste infused with earth, the profile was tolerable for maybe 5 minutes but after that it just became too much. The nicotine of this cigar really got to me. It was a delayed effect so it was good, it was only really felt after I put the cigar down and layed in my bed. The room was spinning and my stomach hurt, it took me at least 2 soda cans to get over the nicotine lump. For those that don't know, if you ever feel like nicotine has gotten the best of you the best thing to do is combat it with sugar. This was a good cigar and I can't complain I didn't get to finish the last third it was good while it lasted.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-Overall this is a good cigar but the price range is a little steep. The price though is understandable, it's an all Maduro cigar with excellent construction and it was really big vitola so its a moot point really. Maybe with a smaller cigar the nicotine and darkness of it wouldn't be as present. But this cigar did answer my question, I guess too much of a good thing can turn out to be a bad thing. The thing though this cigar wasn't bad, just too much. Giving this cigar to a person new to cigars would be a very mean and cruel but yet very funny joke.

RATING-86
Buy It Again? Sure,
Recommended it? Yes, as a prank or for your own enjoyment if you like Maduro, others though I say be careful and take a seat this thing will knock you down.

Arturo Fuente:King B:Rosado

Arturo Fuente is a bit tricky with me. They have some alright blends. I feel like they specialize more in rare cigars than everyday smokes. Every cheap cigar I tried by AF has been somewhat lacking. The 8-5-8 is a good example of this, to me they don't make good everyday smokes. Well today I bring you a King B, a somewhat rare smoke that when priced right is just about in the everyday smoke price range but since these are kinda rare they also tend to be overpriced, so how does this semi-rare cigar smoke? Like its rare brother the Opus? Or is this like its other sibling the 8-5-8? Lets find out.

SPECS-
Size-6x55
Wrapper-Ecuador Sun Grown
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Cut-Guilatine at a angle
Price-$9.60
Smoke Time-45 mins

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very pretty cigar. The torpedo is very solid, no mushiness. The wrapper was very veiny but the brown smooth wrapper made them blend in very well. The wrapper had a nice cedar smell to it probably due to the cedar sleeve its packaged in. Foot was slightly coconuty with a bit of earth on the background. The cold taste produced a easy draw with no particular flavor, so far nothing too overwhelming.

FIRST HALF-Yup, another review in halves. It's easy to write a review on a cigar that you like, but when a cigar disappoints its very hard to describe it. So excuse me if you find this review slightly lacking. The cigar opens up very spicy on the back of the throat, after the first initial spice you are left with a very dry finish. If you venture to smoke this cigar make sure you have plenty of water. Once you get used to the harsh smoke hints of vanilla add to the dryness. After the finish small touches of nuts with a hay undertone are introduced adding more to the already sharp flavor profile. The burn was also iffy, the burn line would sometimes stray off and the cigar would put itself out. I think I got a fluke but this cigar tasted too much like the candella.

LAST HALF-The smoke is still disappointing, the cigar turns for the worst. Little by little the smoke gets darker and stingier. The spice is still there and very much dry.Almost all the familiar flavors on the first half are lost except the mocha that is introduced does have a small hint of nuts. After the longest ash fell the cigar just completely got bitter. The smoke tasted stale,very dry,and a nasty bit of tobacco is there. I quickly put the cigar out the flavor gave me a nasty headache and a terrible nicotine buzz. I can handle strong cigars but for some reason this cigar just gave me a huge dollop of nicotine. I was happy I didn't pay for this cigar since this was a gift from my Cousin. (Thanks Paul).

LAST IMPRESSIONS- The King B seems to be either hit or miss. I talked to many people that liked it and other people that hated it. I wanted to like this cigar but I feel that Fuente doesn't make anything good that's available everyday. So far I feel that Fuente should just make their rare stogies and not focus their attention anywhere else. At $9 bucks a pop its a rip-off really and even if it never got harsh and just the same dry flavor profile is not worth $9.

RATING-60
Buy It again?No
Recommend It? Only if you got it as a gift and who ever gave you it assured you that the cigar you just got is one of the better blends.

Man O' War:Double Corona:Habano

I'm not a big fan of online retailers and that's what has me put me off from getting my hands on this Cigar International's exclusive. Another thing that has put me off was that it was an exclusive, I'm not a big fan of Online Retailers "own" blends. I'm fine about house made B&M cigars but I tend to think that O&R make their own blends for their own profit and don't really care for the quality of the smoke. But I got gifted this cigar and I just can't turn down a cigar. But so does this cigar support my assumptions about O&R quality or does it change my views?

SPECS-
Size- 6.5x52
Wrapper-Ecuadorian Habano
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Price-Around $9 dollars
Cut-Punch/Guillotine
Smoke Time-1 hour
Drink-Coke

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-I'm impressed by the quality. The band is a nice paper with a grim and sinister helmet. The wrapper is very smooth to the touch and fragrant. The foot smells like a earthy hay and nicely packed. The cap was cut rather squishy but produced a perfect draw and no particular taste. So far this cigar is proving me wrong and I don't mind.

FIRST THIRD-The cigar opened up quite nicely. The first initial puffs were similar to a Macanudo 1968. Slightly more spicy and hits you more on the back of the throat. Its not as a refined flavor but its overall decent. The first initial tastes are of nuts, the nuts had a interesting cedar undertone and earth overtone. The finish was good and had a cereal grain similar to puffed corn, it reminded me of Hot Fries. The burn was slow and even, it completely contradicts my expectations.

SECOND THIRD-The spice gets very subdued and not as ruff. The smoke gets more even and refined. The earth that was present on the first third gets deeper and produces a almost sweet mocha. The smoke gets milder and the nut flavor comes and goes with no undertones. Not much to speak about this middle spot other than interesting and not to bad for a CI exclusive.

LAST THIRD-The best and most interesting third. The smoke just blooms up here and produced almost sweet flavors. Though there are no pronounced flavor the occasional hints of leather and nuts are welcomed. After this rather average profile the cigar gets darker and very off putting. As I was close to put the cigar out the flavor profile changed. Though the same flavors were there the way they got introduced was better than before. The nut came on earlier with a good sweetness and with a nutmeg finish. This made me smoke and enjoy the cigar a lot longer than I thought. A pretty decent cigar.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-This is a decent cigar albeit it's a CI exclusive it changes the exclusive game for me a lot more. The flavors thought weren't as pronounced as I like but this makes for a decent smoke for doing any other things. The price is a bit high and for the expected shipping it'd but this stick well over $10 dollars a pop not worth that price tag, if it was $5 bucks cheaper it'd be good.

RATING-88
Buy it Again? Not Likely
Recommend It? Yes, its decent CI is usually doing special with this cigar that could make it more affordable and worth it.

Perdomo Habano Maduro:Robusto:Maduro

I liked my recent birthday, I've ate some fine food with my family, got to smoke a beautiful cigar with a good friend, but best of all was all the cigars I was gifted.This Perdomo was one of em'(Thanks Bob!). Though this was somewhat of a belated birthday present I was happy non-the-less but I had plans to age this cigar but those plans fell through. Once I got home from my B&M I found the door locked and I forgot my keys and it would of been a good hour and a half before someone came home to open the door, what better way to kill that time than to smoke a cigar? But is this cigar just that? A time killer? Or do I have something more magical in my hands?

Specs-
Size-5x52
Wrapper-Nicaragua
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Price-$6.00
Cut-Guillotine
Smoke Time-50 mins
Drink-Mr.Pibb

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very gorgeous cigar. The subtle hints of blue,silver and white on the band contrast the dark chocolate brown wrapper well. The toothy leaf was almost vein less and very sweetly fragrant. The foot smelt like earth and a slight touch of hay. The cold draw produce a tea like flavor and it feels slightly too loose for my taste. Overall though the construction seems solid and gorgeous for a $6 dollar stick.

FIRST THIRD-This cigar first blooms up with a good bit of nasal spice that hits you like black pepper, its a subtle spice but enjoyable. Once the spice is subdued a main flavor of nut is introduced with a long and smooth finish that coats your mouth similar to how tea with cream does. Along with the nuts there is a strong overtone of mocha with a undertone of hay. Another flavor that was here was a cedar, it had no complexities but good. My favorite third. The burn is even and for the loose draw the cigar doesn't seem to burn as fast as I thought.

SECOND THIRD-The flavors mellow out here and the with the nut taking a down step as the main flavor and letting the cedar shine through. The cedar gets floral and is slightly sweet. Also the mocha that was present before splits up in flavors. Now you got more of isolated flavors of chocolate and coffee bean. The finish is good but somewhat lacking, the spice also takes a backseat and it feels like there isn't much chugging this cigar to the finish.

LAST THIRD-The cigar definitely looses all its steam here. The enjoyable creamy finish that was present seems to water out and the flavors get milder. All the mocha and nut flavors are gone. The mocha gets replaced leather and the main flavor of cedar is turned to a undertone on the leather. The least favorable third but it still an enjoyable smoke.

LAST IMPRESSIONS- I guess this cigar does answer my question after all. It's more of a cigar that you kill time with and nothing more than that. At the price range its a very good everyday cigar and the flavor profile is good enough to keep you interested. Not to bad of cigar, and a good birthday present and wouldn't you know it I might buy more of these.

RATING-87
Buy It Again?Yes
Recommended It?Yes

La Flor Dominicana:Double Press:Habano

I hate being sick. It has been maybe four days since I smoked a cigar and boy do I miss it. The terrible thing about having cigars and being sick is that you're very tempted to smoke but you know you won't get the cigar true experience, but after my long awaited adieu I was ready to get back on the sattle. So to wake up my taste buds from their dormant state I choose something more stout, more vigorous, I choose more Ligero. If you don't know much about Ligero shame on you. Ligero is the upper most part of the tobacco plant also with the leaf being the most exposed to the sun it produces stronger and spicier flavors. What better way to get off a cold with a nice spice punch right to the chest?

SPECS-
Size- 6x52
Wrapper-Equador
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Cut-Guilattine
Cost-$8.00
Smoke Time-1 hour
Drink-Water

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-The box these cigar come in are very pretty, all the cigars on there are in their own slots with a nice piece of red lace so you can pry em' out of their environment. All the cigars look shiny and this stick was no exception. The wrapper just glistens with oil and the box press is very square with very sharp lines. At closer inspections you can see all the very fine veins on the leaf and its very pretty to look at. The wrapper was slightly sweet smelling and with a foot heavy with earth. The cold draw produced a perfect draw that had a herbal tea flavor to it, very delicate aromas and a delicate cigar.

FIRST THIRD-This vitola is new to LFD (La Flor Dominicana) and I think they need to iron out some kinks on these cigars. The first one I tried did not burn well after an inch or so the wrapper would not ash, just char and the filler would burn, slowly hollowing out the stick. But after another try I was very surprised. The cigar properly opened up with thick smoke that has a good punch of red pepper flakes behind it, its very well rounded and smooth. The burn though is still tricky, the burn line is wavy and sometimes canoes, and this really takes away from the experience. After the red pepper dissipates a subtle but stout flavor of nuts is present, it leaves a thick finish on your palate and its very enjoyable.

SECOND THIRD-I've heard that LFD goes through a very complex process in making these sticks. Since the cigars are pressed so much the oils on the ligero are extracted from the pores and are risen to the surface. I think this might be a problem here. The cigar burn suffers very much from the procedure. Although the flavors are good they are all over the place and never in harmony with each other, a cacophony if you will. For example; The cigar has a very nice clove like bite to it but it has a licorice roundness and after taste to it, after that some grassy tones are introduced and then the nuts as the finish, this somehow is all over the place for me. There is no smooth progression in flavors they are just all over the place with no under or overtones. Apart from the burn issues the cigar is quite tasty in itself.

LAST THIRD-The burn is still iffy but it subdues itself some. The flavors mellow out, now the cigar displays a good bit a leather and mocha with a cedar undertone. A very nice finish to a hectic cigar. After the flavors a herbal tea flavor coats your mouth and its really a flavor to savor. As the cigar slowly works its way to its finish the burn gets more regular and you truly get to enjoy the flavors, it was very hard put down.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-This was a good cigar and the price point is pretty damn perfect. The only big obvious flaw is the construction, maybe in another batch of cigars they'll smoke better but LFD might of released these too early. This cigar would of gotten a great 95 rating but it just lacked the construction in the end. It was a great cigar to brighten up my taste buds again so all in all I can't complain.

RATING-85
Buy It Again? When I hear they changed something in this cigar or pick it up for when I'm no longer sick.
Recommend It? Sure, I mean maybe my B&M got a bad batch and if you do happen to get one that smokes just fine I'm sure you're in for a great smoke.

La Aurora 100 anos:Robusto:Corojo

I have a very fond memory of my first ever La Aurora 100 Anos. Back in the summer I payed a Boston a visit, a city in which I came from before I moved to SC. It was a very long time since I I've been there and couldn't wait to see my old friends. Once there I traveled to a B&M and had a blast, I was taking the subway, the bus, and even walking my old streets. It really was a blast to the past traveling to get this cigar. Once I got it I held on to it and smoked it here in SC and it wasn't that good. I blamed my eagerness to smoke it and me not being patient for not waiting for the cigar to settle in my humidor. So felling a little homesick I bought another one to give it another try. So does this cigar bring back fond memories? Or are those memories better off forgotten?

SPECS-
Wrapper-Dominican
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Price-$13.00
Cut-Guillotine
Smoke Time-45 mins
Drink-Coke

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very pretty cigar from the lion to the cardboard colored leaf, this cigar presents itself well. The almost vein less wrapper was very fragrant with compost. The foot was also had an outstanding smell of graham cracker and raisins similar to the Opus, I felt that I had a little treasure on my hand. Clipping the cigar was effortless and it produced a hay flavor with the same graham cracker on the foot. The wrapper was slightly spicy on the lips and I couldn't wait to spark it up.

FIRST THIRD-The first initial flavors are very woodsy,that bring about a very present oaky finish to it that was very delicate. Along with the oak a slight nut flavor was intermingled but somewhat muted by the strenght of the oak.The oak also brings along a sweeter and woodsy undertone of flavor that is very similar to cedar. The slow and somewhat lopsided burn worries me but so far it's not to bad of a cigar and it brought some memories back from my trip. A great introduction.

SECOND THIRD-The flavors get more delicate and the burn more erratic. During the period of this third I had to touch up the cigar numerous of times which took away from the overall experience. As the flavors mellow out more the cedar brings a sweeter finish that was starting to shape up to be an orange peel taste but I'd loose the taste because of the burn. The burn also gets very hot and I have my focus somewhere else because of this disappointing third. As the flavors get more delicate the cigar does too, after getting hot I left the stick down for maybe two minutes and it went out . After that I had to keep puffing the cigar to keep it lit and with the constant relighting it brought along a harsh tar taste.

LAST THIRD- After a nice purge the cigar is on track again. The cedar is still sweet but any hints of oranges are far gone but a cherry flavor is now the undertone. The nut flavor is still there but its not sweet, it just brings a floral taste almost like honey and it's delectable. But again the cigar doesn't fail to disappoint. After maybe an inch of solid smoking the cigar gets messy again. I had to relight it numerous times and was only greeted with harsh ash flavor and nicotine. After many tries I just gave up on the smoke completely,it was good while it lasted.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-Overall this was a very woodsy cigar with complex undertones, this cigar might of been a fluke but my gripe is at $13 dollars a stick there shouldn't ever be a fluke. This was an interesting cigar to bring back old memories with, but at the price range I know cigars that offer better experiences and better memories. Good thing about this cigar though is that when I was done, the nub made a very good device to wipe off my B&M's ash tray. The flavors were good though, but ultimately the construction overshadowed the experience for the worst.

RATING-77
Buy It Again? No
Recommended It? Maybe yes, if you don't get a fluke and enjoy very woodsy cigars. Overall though no.