Cigar Review: Graycliff 1666

WOW thats all I have to say...this is probably one of the best cigars I have ever had. When I picked it up and smelled it, I knew right away this was no normal cigar. It was not that usual horse barn, earthy smell that most cigars have (yummy right?!). It is true, most cigars smell very earthy and well not that good, unless you love cigars! This one smelled sweeter, but not like Acids sweet, it was just sweeter. It was noticeably less pungent than the other cigars that I got it with, and that made it seem even better. It had a great draw an average burn but man......the taste was amazing! It was a medium to full taste with its nice oily Jaltepec maduro wrapper. It started off a little spicy like nutmeg or cinnamon! It had a small nuance of chocolate but a great sort of hazelnut taste. All in all it was amazing, it was like a spicy little brownie, but a cigar! I am definitely getting more and I am going to try some other Graycliffs so keep checking back. I give it a 9.5 out of 10!

**Update, I am going to have to knock this one back down to a 9 of 10. Love the cigar, but I have been noticing more pepper than I am used to. My first stick was too magical to be completely fair! I got a bunch more and have been noticing that full body and pepper. It is still GREAT but I personally prefer a little less pepper. Still a 9 though, cant beat that!

Cigar Review: Saint Luis Rey-Reserva Especial

This was actually my buddies "go to cigar" as he calls it. A "go to cigar" is just that cigar you keep stocked at all times because of its lower price and quality. Meaning it is that little bang for your buck that can be stocked easily and smoked anytime for great results! I was really impressed with it! It had a nice little price tag and a full flavor of sweet nuances, toasted oatmeal, and a very small amount of pepper. Great burn and average draw but man....that taste was amazing for such an affordable cigar! You can get a 5 pack for 15 bucks. Here is a little history on this little guy too:

Now rolled in Honduras, this old Cuban brand returns once again.

Re-released...again! This exquisite cigar has been around the block and back again and again. After being manufactured in Cuba, then the Dominican Republic, Honduras may have produced the best Saint Luis Rey yet. Using a hefty blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran filler, this ’re-mastered’ cigar maintains the rich, full-bodied Saint Luis Rey experience that so many have enjoyed in the past. Wrapped in a thick, oily Nicaraguan leaf, this smooth robust smoke is a delight. Be sure to make some room in your humidor for this cool, slow burning, tasty treat.

I give the St. Luis an 8 of 10 for being that all around good cigar with that great price tag!

Cigar Review: Ashton VSG

My colleague and fraternity alumni extraordinary got me this as a nice little gift and O' what a gift it was! I really liked my "normal" Ashtons so I was excited about this VSG. I really enjoy the Rocky Patel SunGrown and couldn't imagine the Ashton not performing as well.

I love Scotch and this is the Scotch of cigars. It had a lite peaty taste but it was a sweet sort of peat. It was neither too sweet nor bitter, bold nor mild, peppery nor bland, spicy nor boring, and well... it was just this great little blend of everything cigars should be! The smoke was a thick chewy smoke and it had excellent burn and draw. It was definitely one of my favorite cigars. I was very pleased to both have this given to me, and to enjoy such a fine cigar.

It was a complex taste too, started off a little mild and then burned a bit, and got a really sweet earthy taste going. I was really impressed, I give this little guy a solid 9 of 10!

Cigar Review: La Unica

This was actually a friend's cigar that I tried. I have never heard of La Unica so I was curious. I can never pass down the opportunity to try a new cigar, so hey why not!? It was everything I expected a lesser known, low priced cigar to taste like. It was very mild and a little sweet. That is about it! There was no complex tastes, hints of anything, or a great build. It was just it...I am sure the price tag was not very hefty so that makes up for it, but ya...just a normal mild cigar. It was not bad but it also wasn't anything else for that matter! I give it a nice boring 6 of 10.

Cigar Review: Ashton

My one friend raves about Ashtons, so I decided to pick one up from the local shop. It had a great construction very smooth wrapper, almost blemish free. Great draw, and literally a perfect burn. It was a perfect circle all the way down to the very very end. The Ashton was a great mild-medium smoke. It was smooth and toasty, with some sweet nutty flavours. It had a lite amount of spice but it was just the right blend of complex flavours. I was really impressed. Everything about this cigar was awesome! I can't even think about what was wrong with it. My only complaint and maybe it is not even a complaint, it didn't really have a long finish. it also didn't leave that smokey ash taste in my mouth so I cant complain there either!

I am really going to give this one a 10 of 10. Cant complain about perfect! As a side note though, others might not like it as much as me, but I usually go for mild smokes, so this is great for a guy like myself!

**Note: one of my readers informed me I had a Montecristo picture up on this post. My bad guys! I got my pics confused in uploading, thanks for informing me though!

A Cigar Cake!

Everybody loves cake, especially cigar guys! So when a true cigar lover needs a cake, this is what happens. I was at a surprise party for the owner of Gibbs Butcher Block in Columbia, Ohio and I was ecstatic at the sight of this culinary creation. The cake was made with modeling chocolate and had the candles at the foot of the cigars. So when you lit the candles it looked like you were lighting up the cigars! How cool is that!? It was a huge hit and everybody loved it. I now have an idea for my wedding! Ha like the fiancée will ever let that happen….

Cigar Review: CAO American

The CAO America…what a good idea! Cigars are great for celebrating and what could be better than celebrating with a good old American Cigar!? This was actually a pretty strong cigar. I was expecting a little less but this was a lot stronger than I anticipated. I would put it right in between medium and full on its taste. The two different wrappers really added a nice touch. It is like when a whisky distillery uses both a sherry and bourbon cask for their dram. It really brings out both flavors and blends them at the same time. You could taste the pepper of the maduro right off the bat, then the creamy nutty Connecticut wrapper to finish and mellow it out. Unfortunately the maduro won every time. I am a Connecticut guy and prefer it to a maduro, but it still made for an interesting smoke. The overall presentation and construction of the cigar was excellent. It had an average draw, great burn, and minimal blemishes. It had a nice cedar smell and tasted of pepper and a little sweet nut. I have always liked CAO and their “country” lines have yet to disappoint! Overall, I give this one an 8 of 10. It could have used a little more complexity with the other wrapper; it felt dominated by the maduro.