cigar afficionados

The LFD Ligero & Double Ligero have catapulted themselves onto my "Top 10" list. They hover around the 4 & 5 position. Ligero is the very top leaf on a cigar plant that receives the most sunlight. These are very strong flavored cigars. A novice shouldn't try these as they would probably overpower them & make them sick. I on the other hand, loved them. Very easy to light, very smooth draw, thick smoke & very balanced flavor. I noticed a definitely leather note with perhaps a spice or two in there as well. The double is exactly the same except it has a much stronger flavor & the wrapper leaves a taste on your lips much like chewing tabacco would. One of these with a shot of Jack Daniels Single Barrell or Maker's Mark is one of the simple pleasures of a guy's life. HIGHLY recommended to any experience cigar smoker. My next trip to Cigars International will see me return with a box of these for sure.


The Gloria Cubana was a good smoke, but it must not have been anything noteworthy since the only thing I remember was the particular one I smoke was a bit dry. When I smoked it, it burned slightly hot & harsh. I am going to try another one to make sure this was not an anamoly.


The Oliva Series "O" is a great to superb medium strength smoke. I can definitely taste the coffee & notes of cedar wood. It smokes & draws evenly. Olivia is top, top shelf. All of their cigars are KC-10 FE approved. If you can afford them, smoke them, there are more than worth it.

The two I'm interested in are the Man-O-War & the Padilla Obsidian. Please let me know what you think. For those not familiar, they are the two on the bottom left.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

I've actually had them both before. Padilla Obsidian is pretty good, lots of coffee flavors in that. I'm on my second bundle of Obsidian torpedoes now. You can get them I got them last summer for about $2 a stick. Occasionally they're on Joe Cigar's Daily Deal with a 20 pack bundle for $39.99. Don't know if they'll be that cheap anymore. Check out Cigarbid. They have five and ten packs floating around there every so often too. Can usually get them at about bundle prices (per stick anyways).

Man-o-war I had in a churchill size before I believe. Wasn't my favorite, but it seemed a bit dry when I smoked it too. I'll give this next one a good week or two in the humidor before I smoke it and make sure I have a clean palate when I start as well.


EDIT:

KC-10 FE - Have you tried the Oliva Series "V" ? It's a lot stronger than the "O" and gets :thumbsup: from me.

 

I haven't had an Olivia yet that didn't measure up to my standards of quality & value. The Series "V" is my favorite from Olivia.

The Man-O-War seems to be marketing hype which is why I haven't tried one yet. The Padillia on the other hand looks pretty good.

I had one of these at a cigar bar in Mountain Home, ID. I need to try it again. I remember it being pretty good but it was over a year ago & we were all passing smokes around to try all the different kinds the cigar bar had.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

I smoked another La Gloria Cubana Torpedo today. It was from the same store, same box as the one I smoked previously. The other one must have been a dud. This one was great. The fact I already had a 6 pack in me when I smoked it might have had something to do with it, but it was a great smoke. Very bold, very powerful.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Finally had a chance to smoke the Man-o-war I had received in the Kitchen Sink Sampler last night. It was the robusto size.

As I said before, I smoked a Man-o-war before and it wasn't that great. This time was definitely better. I gave it a solid week in a perfectly conditioned humidor out of the cellophane.

Started off with a great volume of smoke and a very creamy taste/effect. Mellowed out into more of a classic cigar (like 5 Vegas Classic or Cuban Seed blends)taste with medium body IMHO. Slight spices(but not overloaded with peppery notes) and a certain woody taste to it. Taste was pretty darn good overall. Very smooth through out with a good draw. The burn was slightly off, but that is usually due to not enough time in the humidor.(I smoked a Gurkha Black Puro later on that had been in one of my humidors for about 10 months and it burned PERFECTLY even.)

So what's the final verdict? Man-o-war seems to be a good quality cigar. Would I buy these at the normal "sale" price....eh...probably not. They are fairly pricey. Would I turn them down if I received one, heck no. If they had a very good sale on them, I might pick some up. As far as I'm concerned the MSRP Cigars International lists is ridiculously high which is what they base their selling price on(well, every MSRP is ridiculously high, but this seems even more so on this brand IMO)

Worth a look if you're thinking about getting a sampler with some in it. I'd like to try a few more in other sizes just to see if the quality construction holds up over the different sizes and see how consistent the flavors are.

 

Alright so maybe some of you have learned to shop at CigarBid and maybe some of you haven't. For those of you who don't know, Cigars International, CigarBid, and Cigar.com are all one family.


Well here's one reason why you should shop at CigarBid.com. I picked up a Man-o-war Mega Sampler (20 cigars) there for cheap. How cheap? Well, to start off you need to know that the "regular" selling price for the sampler is $99.95 at Cigars International(LINK) This is by no means a sale price which CI does offer sometimes. CI does however offer them on their Joe Cigar daily deal in a TEN pack for $37.50 shipped recently. So the cheapest price is $3.75 a stick.



So how cheap did I get the Man-O-War 20 cigar Mega Sampler for? $48.50 SHIPPED at Cigar Bid (LINK) That's $2.43 a stick!!!

So like I said...if I could find them for a cheaper price, they were worth buying. Patience is a virtue.

 

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne - Cigars International

I just smoked a Perdomo Reserve 10th Aniversary Champagne. It easily gets :thumbsup::thumbsup:.

I highly recommend this cigar to anyone that thinks other Perdomo cigars are too strong.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Like which Perdomo cigars are thought to be "too strong"?


I've only had Perdomo Lot 23 and Perdomo Reserve Golf and both of those aren't strong....definitely mild....medium at best.

 

I didn't say Perdomo's were too strong. They have just kicked CAO out of the #1 spot for my favorite cigar company.

LGN01 said he thought Perdomo Habano's were strong, or he was just commenting on Perdomo in general. So, if one was inclined to try a Perdomo but didn't know which one & wanted to start mild & work their way up, the Champagne Reserve would be my recommendation.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Ok, I'm sold, I'll give them a try. :thumbsup:

 

I just smoked 2 cigars.

1) Padillia Obsidian.
All I can say is that I'm not impressed. It was an OK smoke but definitely nothing to get excited over. If you don't really know anything about cigars, you would probably not have any issues with one of these. I bought 3 in a sampler pack. Who knows, maybe the next 2 are better?
Padilla Obsidian - Cigars International

2) Don Lino Africa.
This one wasn't too bad. I've had better but I've definitely had worse. It is possible my palate was already covered with the previous Padillia so I will hold my verdict until I smoke another one.
Don Lino Africa - Cigars International

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

I've noticed that the consistency of the Obsidian line isn't the greatest. Between my bundle I purchased and the few that I've received in brown bag samplers. Some days they're a great cheap smoke ($2/stick) others it's nothing to write home about. As always it's important to try a few cigars of any particular line when you're sampling like you're doing:thumbsup:. I've found that my palate can differentiate from day to day and especially depending on what food and drink I've consumed relatively close to smoking. Even with some great, highly rated cigars some times they don't seem that great to me some days and some days they are GREAT. Go figure. Your Palate May Vary.



I've smoked a couple cigars this week. Smoked two Acid cigars that were left from my sampler I bought a year ago and a Padilla Habano from the Kitchen Sink Sampler recently purchased.


Acid - Extra Ordinary Larry 6x60 size: This big guy was a little intimidating at first but turned out to be a pretty mild and non-eventful smoke...to me anyways. I wouldn't buy this ever again, but that's just me. However, the aroma given off while lit was very pleasing...I swear it had a hit of toasted marshmallow to it lol. I'm dead serious. Very sweet smelling smoke from this cigar but I didn't really notice anything too tasty or special about it.

Acid- Ming Dynasty -another 6x60 biggin - this cigar started out super mild and slowly built up some strength as it should with such a boat load of tobacco in it. The lit aroma of this cigar was not nearly as exciting as the Extra Ordinary Larry. I wouldn't buy this cigar again as it didn't seem very complex or eventful to me.

Didn't notice much of the infused herbs/spices they're touted to have. In their defense, they have been aging for just under a year in my humidor so the infused flavors could have mellowed out quite a bit.


Padilla Habano - Robusto size- Pretty straightforward medium-full cigar. Lots of earthy and straight tobacco flavors to this guy. Reminds me a lot of Indian Tabac Co - Super Fuerte but not as strong. Similar flavors though. Would I buy a box of these? Probably not. Not super exciting and I already like my ITC super fuerte's better and they regularly have gone on sale for $25-30 bucks a bundle(20).

 

Isn't that funny when a strong cigar creeps up on you? When it occasionally happens to me it reminds me of when I first had it happen (16 years old) and I literally opened the small window in my bedroom to hang my head outside into the cold winter air. I recovered without chundering...
Something like that makes one appreciate a well-balanced cigar. Try a Padron!

 

Hey, Reg, when do you smoke? If you smoke after a full meal it can help you manage(lack of a better word?) stronger cigars. Just trying to help.

I remember the first time a strong cigar snuck up on me. It was a Don Diego Anniversary(something) of all cigars lol. That sucker made me feel like I was drunk.


I would love to try a Padron...they rarely go on sale though...and I'm a bit of a cheapskate :crazy:

 

This weekend's cigars:

1) A Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Maduro.
Very nice & super powerful. I smoke cigars somewhat regularly & this one had my head spinning. The beers I was drinking at the time probably had something to do with it but none the less, this is a great smoke. Very spicy & piquant flavor.
Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ Maduro - Cigars International

2) Olivia Master Blends III
Very smooth & mellow. This is a great after dinner cigar. It pairs better with a distilled spirit as oppossed to beer. I noticed coffee & leather notes.
Oliva Master Blends III - Cigars International

3) Olivia Conecticut Reserve
On the mild side. Smooth & thick smoke, no aftertaste. Great choice for a smoke to enjoy while grilling or socializing with friends or family.
Oliva Connecticut Reserve - Cigars International

4) Black Pearl Natural
Pretty smooth, but no match for the Olivia's. Great lower priced cigar. For some reason, none of the large internet distributors list them so I get these at a local place for $4 a stick. I noticed anise & pepper.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Wow, so I hadn't seen this thread until tonight, and I just read half of it (page 1 & 4), so if I missed this on page 2 or 3 sorry, didn't have the patience to read the whole thing.

So, I started smoking pipes like 23-24 years ago... After breaking my 4th or 5th one in the field, a friend turned me on to cigars; I've never looked back, though I do still stoke my pipe up from time to time...

Now I smoke daily, like 3-6 a day. So my cheap daily smokes are called Miami Suites, I smoke the Amaretto's. But, when I'm feeling the urge, my favorite of all is also from Drew Estate's, as many have recommended, but I actually like their spiced line, cause I like cigars with a little "kick" to them. My favorite is by far the Ambrosia Nectar. The Ambrosia line are all spiced cigars, and are all great, but the Nectar is my fav.

Now, in addition to cigars; I am a confirmed Scotch Snob, just ask any of my friends :wink:. I drink Single Malt, from the 12 remaining true brewers of Scotland. I would recommend Laphroaig, Lagavulin or Talisker's. These three Scotch's are very "smoky" in their flavor (called peaty by us snobs). They are the ultimate companion to a fine cigar, IMNSHO...

I'll also add that Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon is a great red to have with a fine cigar as well; though I'm not a red snob, haven't had the practice (read: years of experience) with them yet... :biggrin: