hey everyone! sorry haven't had much time to post because i have been smoking great cigars, building fishing rods and fishing my brains out. ok, more on the cigar reviews later, but for now if you are in Florida and want to have the time of you life fishing i HIGHLY recommend Capt. Dino. find him at www.onlyonafly.com.

Montecristo No.5

I tried all day yesterday to smoke a double corona, but could not find the time. I reached deep into my humidor to find something slightly smaller, but at 4:30 pm, I barely had time for a robusto. I opened a box of Monte No. 5's, that i have had for about 8-9 months. When i first received the box, they were very "green," the classic barnyard aroma was there but they just need some rest. Upon re-ppening the box I was presented with a strong cedar and fresh tobacco scent and decided that this would be my smoke for the evening. Measuring 4'' x 42 ring gauge, I figured this would fit into my compressed time frame perfectly.

Even such a small cigar can be so beautiful, with a handsome 3 seam cap and a slight box press, these sticks always rate very high on my list of appearance. I clipped the cap gave it a quick little torch and off we went.

From the very first draw I was pleased with the classic Monte flavors or cedar, rich tobacco and cappuccino. The stick burned impeccably, as rich flavors filled my palate. At times the cedar notes were very strong. At others the cedar became muted and the cappuccino flavors became prominent. However, throughout the entire cigar the rich, fresh tobacco flavors were consistent. In this 4'' stick, I honestly felt as if i smoked a double corona, it was just that satisfying.

Within appx. 35 minutes my little trip to heaven was nearly burning my fingers and I knew it was time to let it go. If you haven't tried one of these little guys, I highly recommend it, especially if you have the will power to let them age for 9 months plus. Over times these cigars turn from excellent to outstanding to classic.

I'm alive!

Well, I have been slammed and haven't had much time to blog lately. So, since I was so busy these last weeks weeks I decided to review some shorter smokes, which are perfect when time is short. Until my next review heres what has been burning around my house.

Partagas short-These thing are amazing. i got my hands on a box of 50 and they are spectacular when time is of the essence. They deliver loads of that typical partagas flavor. for a short smoke they are VERY satisfying.

PSD4-what can i say about this classic stick. It delivers loads of cedar, cherry and rich tobacco flavors. Still my favorite smoke!

Monti #5-nothing fits a harty beer better than this little stick. Delivering that classic monti flavor with cedar, honey and a touch of spice. Another great little smoke.

maduro

However, I was a bit disappointed with the Don Pepin Serie JJ Maduro. I found the smoke boring. Admittedly, it did deliver the classic flavors of raisins with a touch of sweetness, but wasn't nearly as good as the natural.

On a fishy note, i did get my first snook off the beach on a fly rod this week. This sucker measured about 30 inches and was a blast to catch. Of course he was released to fight another day. Busy as I may be, im thankful for a few great days with the fly rod and a few night nights with a good cigar.

What a week!

Its been a hell of a week to say the least! sorry there hasn't been any updates in a few days, however I'm testing some great smokes and will have some reviews up soon! Stay tuned.

Until my next review enjoy this new video from Cigar Aficionado.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1312377041?bclid=1078629812&bctid=31662017001

CAO LX2 & a few other reviews

I was really looking forward to spending some time lying around the poll smoking this little bomb, however within minutes of my first draw, in a typical South Florida style the clouds came rolling in, which was kind of pleasant because the storm created a nice cool breeze, but yet again I was headed for the garage to enjoy this stick while the thunder actually shook the house.

The is a handsome looking cigar with a tattoo style band. The "LX2" means ligero times two. This cigar is covered in a dark brown wrapper with a neat cap. There were some bum vanes over the very firm body. This cigar just reeked of dark coffee and cedar. The cold draw revealed a slightly tight pull with no noticeable flavors.

After a quick roast this cigar was burning nicely however on the first draw I noticed a very firm draw that produced a strong espresso flavor. The cigar started kind of harsh and abrupt with some red pepper zest to it. The Ligero flavors were very prominent once the spice mellowed out. Although, this cigar was not very long nor very thick it did take quite sometime to smoke with the overly tight draw.

During the next third I noticed this cigar packs a punch! The lower band of the cigar says "fortaleza tres"which is an old Cuban classification. The term fortaleza means strength. Seco, visa, and Ligero were classified as uno, dos and tres. So, "fortaleza tres" was the term for Ligero or strong. Simply put strong times three! They are not kidding this cigar really has some backbone to it. I noticed more distinct black coffee flavors again with the aforementioned cedar undertones. Also, around this time the draw did loosen a bit which did help the smoking experience.

The final third and finish revealed more of the same, but slightly more metallic. The cigar was pretty one dimensional but overall an enjoyable 90 minutes. It is my recommendation that this cigar is smoked on a full stomach and matched with a sweet drink like Coke or iced tea unless your a seasoned smoker. For those of you that don't know I recommend a sweet drink because sugar will reduce your nicotine buzz and keep you from getting dizzy or nauseous.

Burn-Razor sharp

Ash-medium grey

Box-no, but only because it was so one dimensional. however, if I want just a simple, solid, strong smoke this is an excellent choice. A few singles around my humi is all I will really need of this cigar.

I have also had some excellent smokes that I didn't do a full review on, but made some notes:

Ashton VSG-I smoked this 4th of July while watching the fireworks with about 2 years of age on it. This cigar delivered all the decadent coffee, leather and vanilla bean flavors one could ever ask for. The wrapper even has a distinct tart sweetness to it.

Rocky Patel Edge Lite Toro-This was a disappointment, this size is exactly the same blend as the robusto, but for some reason this size just adds a metallic, harshness to a normally toasty, warm wheaty smoke. The robusto is a great stick for the morning or for early in the day.

I smoked several more of the La Aroma de Cuba Edition Especial #2's that I reviewed earlier in this blog. I'm finding them to be somewhat inconsistent and semi bland. The testing will continue to determine if my first review was accurate or a fluke fantastic smoke.

Finally, one of my normal "go to" stick is the Tatuaje Havan Angeles VI. I have a box from 2006 and these petit coronas are excellent when time is of the essence. They are a delight that delivers wonderful coffee and rich tobacco flavors. Try one!

That Disappearing Sixth Sense

Finally after a ridiculous week I got out on the water. Me and a friend headed out of Jupiter,Fl on his newly purchased 31' Contender to find the Bonita and attack them with super light weight fly rods. He decided to let me take the wheel as I have a bit more experience on the water than he does and although he handles a boat very well, we wanted to find the fish and thats my speciality! We cleared the inlet with plenty of live bait swimming around the well, with all his new electronics lighting up his dashboard I felt like I was driving an airliner rather than a boat. He had 3 full size Northstar screens, 1 fish-finder/depth finder, 1 -72 miles radar with an open array, and 1 GPS plus 2 VHF radio's (why two I have no idea), a forward looking depth finder and of course a stereo. Well, the radar marked the birds, the fish-finder told me what was below, the forward sonar told me what was ahead, the GPS told me where I was and the VHF's just annoyed me so I turned them way down. For 3 hours with all these fancy electronics that likely cost more than my car I found ZERO fish! So I fiddled with the "toys" increasing beam width, decreasing power etc etc. Needless to say I was getting quite annoyed because in South Florida mid summer Bonita are everywhere, yet even with live glass minnows and greenies as chum I could not find one school to cast to! I than did something that drove my buddy crazy. I throttled the engines way down to a slow head speed, turned the radar, the GPS, the VHF, the fish-finder and everything else OFF and just looked at the water. I watched the water, looked at the way it was moving, looked for slicks and studied the birds. Hey, remember birds those wonderful fish-finding machines. You know what? It worked! The birds let me right to the bait and the fish were not far behind. before we know if we were covered in feeding bonita! Heres the moral of the story, use electronics as an AID in navigation and fish hunting, but don't lose that sixth sense, don't be afraid to listen to your gut feeling and if the entire fleet of fishing boats are headed north, try going south if YOU think thats where the fish are. Don't lose your sixth sense. ~tight lines~

Rocky Patel Decade Robusto

The Decade symbolized RP's 10th anniversary in the business. This is not my first Decade, but really the first time I concentrated on it for a review. I have a few of these on various RP nights and my local shop and at a few cigar "meetings." the one Im reviewing today is from 8/2008, so almost a year old.

This stick was a boxed pressed robust in a silky smooth almost black wrapper with a very sloppy 2 seam cap. At least it appeared to be a 2 seam cap, was very hard to tell. The cold cigar revealed some sweet floral notes that touched upon dark chocolate with a touch of cedar mixed in.

A cold taste delivered a light sweet raisin flavor.

The first third of this elegant stick revealed raisins with excellent cedar notes that were slightly bitter. I noticed immediately that the cigar gave off a distinct strong tobacco aroma hat really filled the room. In fact I liked the aroma so much I think RP need to make a decade candle! I picked up a few acidic metallic notes, but over all the start of this stick was very pleasant.

The next third got a bit harsh and got a bit "dry", it made me feel like i needed to keep taking a drink after each drag. However, the cedar flavors did increase, most likely due to its age followed by a coffee like after taste. The raisin notes remained.

The final third and finish the draw really loosened up, which I found to be disappointing. The draw in the beginning was very nice requiring a little tug to get the smoke out. The flavors continued to get more "dry" and I worked on my second bottle of water. I picked up some ashy notes, but mainly the cigar remained cedary with distinct raisin flavors. The stick really did burn very cool, never really heating up and getting unpleasant even when double puffed on.

Price-$9.50

Burn-razor sharp and neat

Ash-light grey to almost white , very solid and packed

Strength- low side of full bodied.

Box Worthy-i cant answer this yet, I need to smoke the rest of the 5pk to make this decision. at least point I'm saying that it was a bit pricey for the experience.

Rocky Patel Summer Collection 2008 Robusto

Alot of people are saying RP is stretching himself out too thin because he has so many different blends and is constantly coming out with new labels. I tend to agree, I have noticed a moderate decrease in the quality of his cigars. Most are still very good, however the older boxes are certainly rolled better. RP newest labels consist of the company releasing summer, winter, fall and spring blends with the coinciding year.

I bought this Summer 2008 cigar last summer and somehow forgot it was in my humi buried underneath a bunch of La Flor's. So keep in mind that while reading this review the cigar has about a year of age on it. Im actually smoking this stick now as I write-hows that for current reviews?

This robust is covered in a reddish brown wrapper with some bumps and distinct vanes and finished with a very neat clean looking cap. The cigar smelled of wheat, cereal with some toast flavors to it.

A cold draw revealed a light crisp tobacco flavor with some apple undertones. I gave the foot a quick toast and initially noticed the draw was WAY too loose, it was loose to the point where it was distracting. I had to remember on every draw to under-drag it or it tended to burn too hot.

The first third revealed a touch of spiciness, some muted coffee notes but mainly a toasty, metallic flavor with a hint of maple syrup.

The next third revealed more toast flavors but the maple syrup flavors really increased with some cedar undertones.

During the final third and finish the cigar changed alot and got mainly cedary but very metallic, which unfortunately is not a flavor I enjoy. I mean if I want to smoke metal I will!

The burn was straight, even and clean revealing a light grey flakey ash. I like the idea RP has in releasing a blend to change with the seasons however other than the RP '92 all of his blends kind of taste alike.

I do enjoy the RP Edge Lite frequently in the morning with coffee, but would like to see more diversification in his labels. Specifically, what I would like to see is in the summer a crisp cool smoke that is very flavorful that would accompany an iced tea on the patio, in the fall a more spicy aromatic cigar to accompany a glass of warm cider and in the summer a full bodied leathery cigar to match either a Guinness or scotch.

Burn-Excellent

Box Worthy? Nope, at least not for me

Price-$6.95

Padilla 1932 Signature Robusto: A Sweet Escape

This is the frist Padilla I have smoked, but it will certainly not be my last! After I spent a heavenly hour and a half with this robusto it shot to the top of my list and I purchased a full box.

The wrapper is a nice chocolate brown color with some distinct vanes, a rough 3 seam cap and absolutely filled with those wonderful little tobacco "hairs."

A quick sniff revealed strong cedar and fruity flavors. after a quick snip a cold taste revealed light cedar, and some vitamin/mineral flavors.

the first third and I was hooked-i immediately tasted distinct coffee flavors with some underlying sourness. I also noted some lovely nuttiness but very little spice!

The next third our love affair continued with heavenly sweet tangy flavors with cedar and coffee mixed in. A touch of spiciness crept in but quickly vanished. Again there was very distinct creamy tobacco flavors that really kept changing.

The final third and the finish continued to be excellent. Again more cedar, sweet tea and the coffee flavors changed to more of a cappuccino flavor.

I thought this stick was very very nice and excellent company for a hot south florida afternoon, I will admit the cigar was a bit too sweet a points but the ever changing flavor really sold me on this stick.

I bought this cigar on a whim while out one evening, only to find out the establishment I was out allowed cigarette smoking but not cigars, therefore I never got to smoke it. Since it was purchased on a whim I cant exactly say the price, but I believe it was in the $8-$12 range. This brand was originally made in the same factor as Don Pepin, but its not my understanding that they are currently being produced from another location, hopefully the change will not affect the performance.

this cigar produced a medium grey ash and burned slightly wavy but mainly straight.

Price $8-$12

Box worthy? already on order

Strength? medium to full

anyone else enjoying these excellent smokes? maybe someone who can describe the old label vs the new one?

Don Pepin Serie JJ Natural

This is cigar number 4 of this label from Don Pepin that I have had and they are all fantastic. One word of this stick is consistent. The clouds finally subsided enough where I thought I could get out by the pool and review this beautiful stick, well I got half way through than had to retreat to my garage. however, the poor weather did not even slightly change my mood that this cigar is wonderful.

What immediately caught my eye was the wrapper which was a rich brown color, silky as one could ever ask for and finished with a flawless 3 seam cap. Don Pepin really makes beautiful cigars, the pride he takes in his craft is unmistakable. Even holding this little gem in my hand I could smell a very strong honey and tobacco aroma-this is how every cigar should smell.

After a quick clip the cap just popped off and a cold draw revealed honey, with a prominent cedar after taste.

I gave it a quick hit with the torch and I was in heaven. Normally, it takes a cigar 1/2'to 3/4'of an inch to get "running" however this stick delivered smacking flavors from the very first draw. The burn was razor sharp all the way through revealing a medium grey flaky ash. One thing i will recommend on this stick it not to double puff. I found that if this cigar is allowed to be smoked cool the flavors were much richer.

The first third of the cigar revealed a little white peppery spice in the back of the throat and through the nostril, but not enough to distract me from the abundant coffee, leather woody flavors. The cigar has that right touch of sweetness than settled in around the 1 inch mark.

The next third revealed more of the same, except the spicy undertones arose a bit more but with a strong leather core. Every draw was really different some spicy and bold, other sweet, yet others leaving a caramel after taste that just lingered on the palate. I found the stick to be quite complex with no single flavor really being over powering.

The last third and the finish was really the best part. Again ever draw was fresh and I noticed coffee and rich tobacco in a smooth creamy thick smoke.

The price is a bit high for an "everyday" stick, but certainly fair enough to be a weekend smoke. I certainly will buy a box of these and try to age some to see what a few years will do.

Price- $8.30

Box worthy? YES!

Strength-Medium to Full

Perdomo Habano Maduro

I really enjoy these cigars, in fact they are my day to day "go to" stick, mainly because at $5.80 you can go wrong. this is a very hearty stick, covered in a thick oily maduro wrapper that resembles godiva chocolate.

After a quick snip the cold draw revealed some night lite cedar flavors and a hint of cereal on the palette.

I grabbed my torch lighter and took my time bringing the large foot to ignition. This stick really fights a flame, so I recommend taking your time and brining and roasting it nice and slowly so you don't char the foot. Once it got burning there was more cedar, some muted expresso and tobacco flavors. the aroma was that of rich warm tobacco. The burn was wavy at first but around the half way mark corrected itself producing a pure white ash.

I have smoked quite a few of these, and I really think this was a bad stick as the majority of the flavors were muted and not as prominent as the other one I have had.

The finish is really what makes these cigars worth wild-it really picks up in strength and delivers strong coffee and tobacco flavors with a hint of lemon peel.

again, at $5.80 you really cant go wrong. give one a try and let me know your thoughts on it.

Montecristo Petit Edmundo: Whatta Smoke!

Pre-light- As soon as I snipped off the beautifully constructed 3 seam cap and took a cold draw I knew I was in for a special treat. Even cold this stick filled my palette with light cedar, coffee and tobacco flavors.

I gave it a quick light and the fun really began! This is one of the last 8 of these stick I have from a box stamped 2007. AGE REALLY HELPS THESE STICKS! I brought this along with me to a friends "open Burn" night last night to see how it would stand up against some of the other goodies I have been smoking and also to gets some others opinions about it. Well, it below away many of my similar smokes and the crowd agreed this stick is amazing.

As soon as it hit it with flame, int he classic "monti" fashion your palette gets filled with cedar and coffee flavors. Due to the large ring gauge of this cigar it remains very cool and fresh on your palette from beginning to end. The predominate flavors range from the aforementioned cedar and coffee, to rich tobacco and vanilla notes. Its not at all spicy, but it is one of the most satisfying sticks on the market.

When i first tried these back in 2007, they were a bit strong but a few years of ago really mellowed the cigar out and improved the flavors amazingly. I cant wait to see what 5 years or better yet 10 years will do to this stick. I will recommend this if you decide to age one of these boxed for 3-7 years, buy 2 boxes, one to smoke and one to age. Once you have one of these it is VERY hard to stop smoking them and let them age.

The finish is tremendous, even on the ride home at least 30 minutes after i let this stick die out the cedar and Rich tobacco flavors lingered on my tongue. If you can get these BUY 'EM. they are worth every penny!

Price-n/a

Burn-Perfect

Flavors-coffee, cedar, vanilla, rich tobacco, cappuccino

Buy again? ABSOLUTELY!

Romeo y Julietta Reserva Real Petit Robusto

Pre Light-After taking a cold draw, the cigar tasted of very light tobacco flavors with some nutty notes on the palette.

I gave it a quick light (and boy was it quick, this stick lite up like a piece of dry cedar) and off we went....

This is the last stick that was given to me in a 5-pk from 2006. Well, in 3 years this stick tastes exactly the same as it did when it was "young".

This is a good morning stick with coffee or while doing yard work. It very mild, warm and toasty with light cinnamon and bread flavors. Unfortunately, the flavor very one dimensional and really doesn't change at all from start to finish.

The burn was perfect producing a light grey ash that was a bit more "flaky" that I would have liked from a cigar of this ring gauge.

Price-$4.80
Flavors-Toast, cereal
Buy again? most likely not

Don Pepin Cuban Classic Robusto: A Cafe con Leche with too much Leche.

I was excited to have this stick. I have had several of theDon Pepin Cuban Classic Perla (1952) size and though they were excellent, however they unfortunately, have been a little hit and miss over the past few months. 

This stick was very well made.  The wrapper is a beautiful reddish brown color and was firm to the touch. Don Pepin is known for making very well crafted cigars and this line was no different. It was also finished with a very neatly put together 3 seam cap. 

Pre-lite- I took a cold draw and got some light tobacco flavors, maybe a touch of very mild coffee notes and some cereal flavors. 

Upon touching my torch to this stick I was expecting a blast of white pepper, like many of Pepin sticks, but was pleasantly surprised with mild tobacco flavors and some ceder notes. the burn started a little jagged but corrected itself, but than turned jagged again and did this throughout the entire smoke. 

Once it really got going about 3/4 of an inch in I noticed a very pleasant aroma and kept thinking this taste just like a cafe con lech with a bit too much leche in it. the tobacco and coffee notes were there but were very muted and undefined. It seemed like someone just put too much leche in my cigar. The draw started perfect and stayed perfect, requiring a nice little tug to get the smoke though. One of my biggest pet peeves, it a cigar that doesn't draw properly. You could be smoking the best cigar in the world, but it really doesn't matter if it doesn't draw properly because you would never be able to get the smoke to taste it. 

A little bit past the mid point I finally got that Pepin white pepper blast in the back of my throat, which to be honest I'm not very fond of. I don't like spicy cigars, I find spice hurts my review of a cigar more than I would like to admit.  

The ash was very nice, light grey in color and kind of loose but stayed until about 1.5 inches, which is fine in my book.  

The finish was very spicy and had a lemon pepper quality to it with some mixed cedar flavors mixed in. 

Overall it was an ok smoke, I wish that the original flavors would have stayed a bit longer, but i was expecting a typical Pepin spice at some point. (by the way if you are like me and dont like alot of spice in a cigar, try Don Pepin's JJ-its fantastic!). 

I will say that this robusto was a pretty smoke, the stick, the label the ask they all looked good together. This would be a fine stick for a BBQ or a company picnic. 

Price-$7.20

Burn-jagged, than ok, than jagged, etc

Buy again? doubtful. 

New Nub Maduro

Good thing really do come in small packages!

This is a great looking stubby cigar. The wrapper was very smooth and seemed to be very well made. the ring gauge was a bit large compared to what I normally smoke, but wasn't very uncomfortable. I feel compelled to say that most people think these Nub's are quick smokes-they certainly are NOT! This stick took a solid hour to smoke. 

Pre Light-i took a cold draw of this and didn't think it would be anything special. 

Upon toasting the foot with my torch the immediate flavor that came to mind was raisins. It tasted like toasted raisins, slightly sweet and reminded me a La Gloria Cubana Serie R no. 4 Maduro. In fact the two stick are very similar other than they are made with completly different tobacco's. The difference between the Nub Maduro and the LGC4 is that the LCG4 was much more harsh. this was a nice medium bodied smoke. 

Around the half way point this stick let me down, mainly I got bored with it. the flavors didn't change other than more of a cedar flavor it held true to the original raisin flavors. The burn on this lie guy was excellent, no touch ups were needed and it stayed straight and even. 

The finish I found to be a bit metallic, but it did intensify, although no more than the high side of medium. It was a fun smoke mainly because the ash got very long. It smoked well beyond the band holding a nice thick ash with a medium grey color. It was a good smoke, however not great. I would recommend trying it though. 

Price-$6.50

Flavor-Raisens with a hint of cedar

Burn-Excellent

would buy again? maybe

La Aroma de Cuba Edition Especial #2: An aromatic flavorbomb

Review:

I smoked this neat little robusto after work while floating around the pool.

Pre Light-My first taste of this was disappointing. A cold draw revealed nothing more than some light grassy flavors. I incorrectly assumed that this would just be another taste/review. Boy was I wrong!

Upon firing up the foot, I immediately got hit with strong tobacco, coffee and caramel flavors in a creamy smoke. I also noticed that this stick not only tastes wonderful, but the aroma coming off of it was nothing short of heaven. Best part about it-NO spice! (I don't like spicy sticks)

There has been some debate that this edition made by Don Pepin for Ashton was inconsistent and bland, however my experience was quite the opposite. It was extremely flavorful with no poor qualities other than the inconsistent burn. I had to touch up the burn a few times, however the classic taste was never affected.

Simply put, this stick started out tasting excellent and never quitting. i smoked it down to the point where I couldn't hold it anymore and the flavor stayed consistent. I would rate the strength medium bodied. I'm going to pick up a few more of these sticks just to check the consistency but if they all smoke this well, I would rate this a "box worthy" stick.

Price-$6.75

Burn-ok

Flavors-caramel, coffee, rich tobacco

Would buy again? Absolutely!

This is just the beginning!