Cigar Review: Natural Irish Hops

Football, beer, and cigars! What could possibly be better?!

I was getting ready to watch a pre season NFL game and decided it was time for a cigar and beer pairing. I open up the man cabinet and pulled out the Acid humidor and snatched up a Natural. I have had the original Natural cigars and they have been pretty good, but this time I got the Irish Hops. It was a great choice, definitely a difference between the two varieties.

The cigar was visually the exact same as a normal Natural except the foot label. The fillers were a mixture of unique tobaccos from Brazilian and Nicaraguan leaves. These leaves are then coated by a dark and oily San Andres Negra wrapper from Mexico.Its nice oily wrapper was slightly sweetened. It lit great and man did it taste good. It was a creamy, sweet, toasted taste. It was smooth and full of flavor. Definitely sweeter than the original but in a good way. I was very impressed. So I paired this cigar with a nice German Hefeweizen, and the two were great together! The fruit like wheat ale was a nice accent to the sweet cigar. The game was coming on and I was loving it! What a good life huh?!

The Irish Hops Natural cigar by Drew Estate gets an 8.5 in my book! Maybe a little too sweet but still a very interesting smoke. It is a definite must try at least.

Cigar Essentials: The Hygrometer

I'll say it again and again and again.....a humidor is useless with out the right equipment. I have tried several different hygrometers and have found the most accurate and dependable hygrometers. I thought they would all work the same and that I could just get one and be happy.....yup that didn't happen. At first I thought it was the humidifiers or the humidor itself. After a few experiments I found that it was a poor hygrometer. So I will share some of the hygrometers that I have found to work!!!

The Analog Hgyrometer: These are cheap and most humidors come with some built in. They work great if you never have to adjust them or if they come pre-calibrated! Well most do not, so these actually suck. I have had so many problems with these, and adjusting them requires patience that I am not capable of. If you have them and love them good for you, I just cant stand them.

The Digital Hygrometer: Ya buddy these are my type! They are dependable and require no calibration, usually. I have had a great experience with all of them except one brand called Csonka. For some reason this brand couldn't keep a steady reading and was really messing up. I brought in a another hygrometer and it was fine in the humidor, it was the Csonka. I have included a few that I have and would recommend below! So I guess the only real insight here is to get the items below for they are proven in my book! I hope this helps.

Cigar Review: Cain "F"

What the "F" ?!
 I just got the new Cain cigar- the "F", and after smoking it, I think I understand the rationale behind calling a cigar a single consonant.....

To start it off, the cigar had great construction, nicely wrapped with few visible imperfections. The smooth Habano wrapper looked good enough to eat! (Well not really, I am sure cigars are not a good snack) The smell was quiet strong and reminded me of a peat bog or something along those lines. Don't be scared though, it is refreshing to have a such an honest earthy smell. I was really pumped up for lighting this new cigar.

The cut was made and the head cap definitely helps in determining how much to trim off the top. After lighting it, you can definitely feel the "F", it is very strong with lots of hearty earth and a faint nutty finish. As you smoke the cigar, about an inch in, it becomes noticeably sweeter and smoother. It picks more of that nutty taste and less of the deep peaty flavors. It is a nice little transition and really adds a little to the character of the smoke. It was a bit strong for my liking with its triple ligero leaves. Its bold character was warm and full as it lingered around us as we smoked. It felt a little too strong for the lighter wrapper to handle. The Habano couldn't quite hold in the power of the Ligero leaves. The cigar's perfume was quite strong and could be smelled from some distance and I was glad we were smoking outside. The nub picked up the intensity and held it strong. After we were done smoking, we had the strong but pleasant aftertaste for hours!

 I have always been impressed with the Cain cigars and I go to them when I am in the mood for a rich deep smoke, but that is less often than not. I prefer a medium-strong cigar over a strong one, and that is the only reason why I give this one a 8.5 of 10.

Cigar Review: Acid Satori

I believe in cigar therapy! So I ordered a bunch of cigars for my cousin in Afghanistan hoping they would ease the nerves and remind him what he is fighting for. This new Drew Estate Acid cigar was in his care package. This is called the Satori and it is part of the subculture line of Acids. I was very excited to try it and my cousin loves Acid cigars too. After smoking one I almost didn't want to send him any!

The cigar had a sugared Brazilian Mata Fina Oscuro Wrapper and had a three nation blend for the fillers. It was a very nice wrapper and featured a partially covered foot. It cut and lit easy, and the second it touched your lips you knew it was a sweetened cigar. It was very similar to the sweetness of a Kuba Kuba but had the spice of a Roam or Toast. The best part was the chocolate taste like an Opulence 3, my personal favorite of the Acids. It was excellent! I really liked this cigar and famous smoke shop had a pretty good deal for a 5 pack. I had this cigar with a nice Appleton Estate rum and it was a perfect pairing. The whole smoking/drinking experience was just what I needed, and I hope my cousin will enjoy it as much too! Now I have to figure out how to ship them without too much damage to the cigars....

Cigar Review: Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru

Time for another Graycliff! So I bought the Graycliff Top Ten Sampler from cigarbid.com, and the Chateau Grand Cru was the next in line to get smoked. What can I say, I love Graycliff cigars!

Right away you knew this was another great cigar. The presentations of these cigars are always flawless. I really admire the label on them; the Graycliff "G" has the power of the Nike Swoosh, but in the cigar world. Back to the actual cigar though, the wrapper is a fine Costa Rican leaf and filled with aged Honduras and Nicaragua tobaccos. This combination produces a nice sweet and rich flavor. It is filled with plenty of complex and subtle nuances as well. It was a little espresso, a little toast, and a little almond taste. The cigar was smooth and easy to smoke, but with all those nice flavors it really made for a delightful experience. This cigar was a pure joy to burn; the only problem is that hefty price tag. They are definitely not cheap, and their elegance may not be entirely worthy of that price tag. Other than that, it was a great cigar and worthy of praise. I rate this expensive little jewel a 9 of ten (I am an elastic consumer).

Cigar Review: Graycliff Espresso

I have been waiting for months to have cigarbid.com come up with their Graycliff Top 10 Sampler again. It is the best of all the lines, the Professional, Espresso, 1666, G2, Gran Cru, Original, and the CI Legends. I got 10 amazing Graycliffs for 37 dollars! The espresso alone is 20 bucks. Anyway enough plugging cigarbid.com. To the actual cigar...

The Graycliff Espresso was everything I thought it would be. It had an excellent wrapper and good draw. No burn problems and was easy to smoke down to the very nub. The cigar smelled light and slightly sweet. The smoke was very thick and had a pleasant leathery smell. The taste o the taste! It was a mild sweet espresso and chocolate with lots of nutty flavors. It was complex yet subtle. It had a nice roasted taste to it as well. There was a negibale spice note but not worth highlighting.

All in all, this was a fantastic smoke. Once again Graycliff fails to disappoint, time after time their entire brand just rocks my world. It is definitely one of my favorite cigars. After all these amazing cigars I just might have to make a visit down to their super prestigious and world renown resort. It would be so cool to chill in an atompshere where smoking cigars is ENCOURAGED! Overall I give this great smoke a solid 9.5 of 10.

Cigar Essentials: The Humidifier

A humidor is basically useless without a good humidifier. I have bought many humidifiers to try to find one that keeps perfect humidity, but doesn’t require changing it every week. Through my trials and tribulations, I have found a few good ones that have worked for me. They all work the same way, fluid is added and slowly evaporated into the humidor, simple! The price, operations, and frequency of care are the most important aspects of a humidifier. When you talk about humidifiers you need to address the different kinds of humidifiers….

Traditional Sponge Humidifiers: These are the most common and some of the cheapest. They are basically an antifungal sponge housed in a plastic casing. They can be fitted to the inside of humidors using Velcro or magnets. They require “cigar juice” or polypropylene solution to keep them moist and humidifying your stogies. I have several of these from many different brands, but my favorite are the VG humidifiers. I have found that these are very effective but require some attention to keep the right humidity. I have found that after some time they need a “time out” and need removed from the box temporarily, to dry out. I place new ones in and let the older ones dry out completely before cycling them back in. This works great and seems to help the humidifiers work more efficiently.

Gel Humidifiers: These are great and require very little care. They are a crystalline gel substance that is saturated with the solution. They usually have markings on the container to show when to fill them up and when to replace, making them very simple. The only problem I have seen is that they are very moist and certain containers are basically open and can spill those little jelly crystals into your humidor. They also seem to have a shelf life and are a little pricier (over the long run) compared to the traditional sponges. Some good brands are Dry-Mistat and HUMI-CARE. 

Electric Humidifiers: These are by far the best and also the most expensive. There are many different models and brands but most have a hygrometer built in and release the evaporated solution to keep that perfect humidity. The biggest problem with these is the large size and battery requirements. If you have a humidor with over a 200 cigar capacity you might as well keep them perfect with one of the best and least maintenance oriented humidifiers. When I get my big cabinet humidor, I am definitely getting one of the mini electric humidifiers. Some good brands are Cigar Oasis and Hydra.





Packet or Pillow Humidifiers: I have had limited experience with these but they have been pretty effective. Most of my online orders come with the pillow humidifiers. They have kept the cigars moist but they are wet and have caused swelling because of the cigar being pressed against the actual wet pillow. They now have plastic trays that can be inserted into humidors that house the pillows and separate them from the actual cigars to keep them from touching. I think this would make changing out the pillows every month or so, very easy but my only concern is that your spare pillows will dry out over time and require constant ordering. It is much easier to store a bottle of cigar juice than to store pre-moisten pillows. A good brand is Boveda




So there you have it! That is everything I have learned from taking care of my precious little stogies, I hope this has helped. As for my recommendation, just use the traditional ones till you get a big humidor for all those fancy cigars you will be smoking! At that point the mini electric ones will fit your needs better.