November 28th, 2016

Wrapper: San Andrés
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country of origin: Dominican Republic
Size of cigar: 5 inches by 50 ring gauge (Robusto)

Coffee and leather aromas are released from the very smooth wrapper and from the foot. The cigar boasts a firm bunch, and a clean clip leads to a smooth cold draw.

November 7th, 2016

Size of cigar: 4½ inches by 52 ring gauge

Knowledgeable cigar enthusiasts know the story of The Crowned Heads. Jon Huber and a few of his fellow employees split from CAO in 2010, and formed their own Nashville-based cigar company. Since then, the fledgling boutique cigar company has enjoyed incredible success.

November 24th, 2016

Manufacturer: Paula Cigars
Size of cigar: 6 inches by 60 ring gauge

I've been enjoying this new blend from Paula Cigars since its pre-release about eight weeks ago. This boutique brand is extremely consistent in quality of construction and flavor. The company employs two rollers in the Dominican Republic, while the owner Paula and her husband roll stateside in New York City.

The silky smooth Habano Maduro wrapper signals the smoker that a top-notch experience lies ahead. This impression of quality continues with a binder comprised of Dominican and Ecuadorian premium leaves, which contribute to a solid feel in the hand.

November 3rd, 2016

This cigar represents another new release from the A.J. Fernandez Company.

Right off the bat, I sense cocoa notes from the wrapper. There’s a perfect cold draw along with some spices from the foot. The smooth box press speaks to the impressive construction.

At first, the flavors are deceptive, being very light on the way in and plentiful on the way out. Light cocoa notes mix with almost pipe tobacco flavors. Very light pepper notes are present in the nose.

The box press makes it very easy to hold and smoke this cigar. Something I failed to notice before is that the band denotes Reserva No. E560FE, so this may be a limited release.

The ash is a mottled grey, notably solid and with no flaking. The draw is very smooth and yields wonderful tobacco notes with very pleasant coffee and cocoa flavors. The burn is a bit slanted, but nothing crucial at this point.

I tap the ash at two inches, as it’s starting to curve. The end of the ash displays a nice conical burn, indicating the ligero is mostly in the center – another sign of excellent construction.

November 21st, 2016

Producer: Black Label Trading Company
Made at: Fabrica Oveja Negra facility in Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper & Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler leaves: Nicaraguan, Dominican & San Andrés

The beautifully smooth dark brown wrapper smells like leather and cocoa, while the foot smells the same with some pepper thrown in. The cold draw is perfect, as is the bunch. I give this cigar top marks for construction.

There is plentiful smoke on the initial draw, which reveals lots of flavor including pepper, leather and just a hint of cocoa. The draw remains perfect, and the burn is true.

These cigars were debuted at my local shop a few weeks ago. I got this one a day before lighting it up, and now am fully regretting not having made the launch event.

A flavor of almonds now develops to overtake the initial cocoa as the pepper notes back off some. The promise of complexity is quite pleasing. The burn remains even approaching the end of the first third.

November 2nd, 2016

This Robusto sports a beautifully rendered brown wrapper and cap, and seems – from the unlit aroma – to promise an ideal medium to full flavor. I pick up more complex notes from the foot.

The cigar clips and lights easily, and proceeds to produce a near perfect draw. The generous initial draw delivers wonderfully toasted tobacco notes with back notes of almonds. The burn is fairly clean, and the ash is a medium to light grey. Plenty of smoke emits from this fine cigar.

There are nice medium flavors of tobacco and nuts, along with a hint of cinnamon, as the cigar develops. However, I do experience a bit of heat early on, indicating that I need to slow down a bit. The Ecuadorian coffee I’ve chosen to pair with the Robusto is proving a good match.

November 17th, 2016

From the Aging Room website:

“The Oliveros Gran Retorno Habano ... features a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan blend filler of Jalapa, Condega & Pueblo Nuevo with a Nicaraguan Habano binder from Estelí.”

October 31st, 2016

Crowned Heads is a boutique brand committed to producing high-quality cigars that combine tradition and innovation. The company’s cigars are highly regarded by the premium cigar industry and smokers alike. Cigar Weekly member Jon Huber is a member of their team. And according to Huber, business is booming for Crowned Heads. New at the 2016 edition of the IPCPR were two lines – Las Mareas and Le Carème.

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The Las Mareas is produced by the Garcia family (of My Father fame) using a Corojo wrapper.

I pick up hints of nutmeg and cocoa from the wrapper and foot. The construction is beautiful, with one vein running at an angle from the first third down. A clean clip with my Palio enables a satisfying medium cold draw. This is one of Jon Huber's Crowned Heads marque, so I am going in with high expectations. The cold draw proceeds to yield notes of leather and cocoa.

November 9th, 2016

Wrapper: High Priming Dominican Havana Vuelta Arriba
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan

The Imperia boasts a smooth dark wrapper with aromas of leather and... peppermint? As confirmed by my wife, the wrapper does indeed smell of peppermint.

The cigar clips perfectly, and I cannot wait to fire this sucker up. I’m pairing it with my usual chocolate stout.

An ideal pre-light draw leads to a perfect lit draw. There is a sweetness to the smoke that draws to mind the flavor of – you guessed it – peppermint. However, there are lots of other flavors going on here as well, so this is no one-trick-pony cigar.

October 27th, 2016

Cigar size: 5½ inches by 52 ring gauge
Provenance: Nicaraguan puro

Initial impressions

Prominently thin veins ran along the front and sides of the cigar. The wrapper was a nearly seamless Connecticut broadleaf Maduro, which surrounded Nicaraguan Habano filler leaves. I trimmed the top with a V-cut in order to provide more air flow than a standard straight cut would have provided.