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Hosted by Robert Kemp, publisher of “The Cigar Monthly”, this unique video introduces you to the exciting variety of cigars, then demonstrates step-by-step: How cigars are Made; How to select cigars with the help of a tobacconist; How to cut, light & smoke a cigar; and How to store your cigars properly.

You’ll learn to develop your own personal approach to the pleasures and rituals of smoking.

Click here to buy from Amazon

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The Superb Multi Flame Cigar Lighter Features:
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Adjustable Flame is powerful and features a dial adjustment for fine tuning.
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Butane gas refillable
Retractable Stainless Steel Cigar Punch
Cigar punches create a perfect hole for an enhanced smoking experience.
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Price: $4.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

When I first sat down with Mel, I smoked one of the naturals they were handing out to try. He asked me what I thought about it, and I proceeded to explain that I liked the construction and burn, but that it was a little milder than I normally smoke. Then he suggested that I try the Canimao Classic Robusto Extra Dark.

I grabbed the cigar and went through my typical pre-light ritual. It had a very nice, dark wrapper, with a nice Cuban twist on the cap. A very well constructed cigar with a very nice aroma. I would have to describe it as earthy. I hit it with the torch and took my first draw and it smoked very well. Full clouds of wonderful smoke, and then it hit me. I have never tasted this before. I mean, when you smoke some cigars, they usually remind you of another cigar that you have had in the past. This one did not, which I really liked a lot, as the flavor profile stood on its own, just as a true boutique brand should.

Smoking the cigar, I never had to touch it up once. It burned even all the way to the end, and left me wanting more. It’s been a long time since I have had a cigar like this. If I had to describe it, it would be like the first time I tried a Tatjuae Unicos when they first came out. I’m not saying it has the spice/pepper, or full body of a Tat, but it did have a great flavor that I found very pleasant.
The flavor profile was noticeable at different stages, making it a nice, complex, cigar. When I said earthy, it’s more of a barn yard aroma. Some wood and chocolate from time to time, but not all at once. I would not hesitate to purchase a box of the extra darks, and it would be something I could smoke daily. It was that good.

While I was talking with Mel as I enjoyed this cigar, a funny thing I noticed was that we both said at the same time… “Passion”. He was discussing his passion for creating a good cigar, rolled in the old Cuban style. I had mentioned how much I enjoy the cigar culture and cigars. We both agreed that we shared the same passion for cigars, which I accept as a compliment.

Another thing we both agreed on was the impact that boutique brands were having on the market. He really has no desire to be a major brand, which I found refreshing. He does love his craft, history and care that goes into blending a well balanced cigar. If you get the opportunity to smoke a Canimao, and the chance to sit and meet with Mel Gonzalez, watch him smile when you tell him you like his cigars and you’ll know what I mean. He gets excited and actually throws his head back laughing while interpreting what we were talking about to his master roller, which didn’t speak English.

I really like the Canimao, and have a great deal of respect for the owner of the company. Seeing his passion about his brand made it all more enjoyable. I highly recommend that you try one of their cigars.

Color: Dark Natural   Size: 6 1/8? x 52

Canimao cigars are made in Miami, Florida in a very small factory. The cigar is wrapped in an Ecuadorian wrapper, with fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder.

This cigar is mild to medium-bodied and has a great flavor. It comes in Double Corona (7 ½” x 50), Legendarios (5” x 50), Robusto (5” x 50), Robusto Extra (6 1/8” x 52) and Torpedo (6 1/8” x 52)

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Cigar – Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series Filler – Dominican, Nicaraguan Binder – Connecticut HabanoWrapper – Cameroon Price – $9.95 Shape – Majestuoso/Corona Gorda (6 x 46)

So I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted any new content and for that I apologize.  Today I’m posting a long overdue review of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series Majestuoso.  When this cigar debuted I was a little hesitant to give it a try based on previous experiences I’d had with other Dominican Partagas cigars.  However, after much persuasion from a fellow BOTL I decided to give in and give them a go, and man am I glad I did.

In 2009 Benji Menendez celebrated his 57th year in the cigar industry.  In the same year he introduced the eponymous, Master Series which he crafted to pay homage to the Cifuentes family.  This is a limited edition offering of only 5,000 boxes of 20 cigars.  For those that aren’t aware, Mr. Menendez has worked with some of the largest names in the cigar business and has blended and/or been responsible for some true gems and this cigar is certainly no exception.

The cigar has a beautiful chocolate brown Cameroon wrapper that sports a few fine veins and a some tooth.  It’s a little rough to the touch which I find a lot with Cameroon wrapper tobacco.  The seams on the wrapper and cap are nearly invisible.  It’s firm to the touch and is very well packed with no soft spots.  Honestly, the four cigars I sampled for this review were near perfect on the construction checklist.

Prelight the cigar offered up a variety of aromas consisting of earth, cocoa, cedar, and a slight spice at the foot.  The prelight draw was effortless and offered up the same peppery spice along with cedar and cocoa.  To be honest the amount of spice caught me a little off guard at first as it was completely unexpected, but it was really nice along side the cocoa notes.

After lighting the cigar produced large amounts of smoke that coated the palate with a wide array of flavors.  The first third offered up a lot of peppery spice, especially on the retrohale.  Following the pepper were notes of cedar mingled with the cocoa and coffee, finishing with a nice woodsy tone.  Even with all of these flavors swirling around the cigar maintained a very nice balance.  The burn was absolutely spot on perfect with a very nice gray ash.  The ash only held for an inch or so before I noticed it leaning ever so slightly, so I quickly tapped it off to avoid a lap full of hot ash.

The peppery spice continued into the second third along with the cedar and cocoa notes.  I did pick up some coffee notes midway into the second third, which melded nicely with the cocoa and cedar.  The cigar did maintain the same nice balance and was still burning perfectly with a nice gray ash that held on for a little longer than it did at first.

Into the final third the cigar was still burning perfectly, it was cool throughout, never once hot.  The peppery spice was there until the final puff along with coffee and slight cocoa notes that took a backseat to the predominant woodsy/cedar notes.  The finish was still very smooth and the flavor maintained the same great balance all the way to the nub.

Overall, I really enjoy this cigar and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation.  I’ve actually purchased close to two boxes of these cigars to date and will continue to do so until they are long gone from my local B&M.  To borrow a quote from Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of the Year edition, “this just might be the best Dominican Partagas I’ve ever smoked.”  Based on the balance of flavors and the box worthiness the cigar earns a whopping 9.5 out of 10.

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This afternoon I finally made my way to Belle Meade Cigars to enjoy a good cigar.  It’s been a very long weekend and has been way too hot in Tennessee to enjoy a cigar outside on the deck.  The short trip gave me some time to reflect on the cigar I wanted to enjoy while watching this afternoon’s World Cup matches.  After some pondering I decided to go for something new that I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of smoking.

When I toured the humidor there was one new cigar that caught my eye; the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial.  I’ve been looking forward to sampling these cigars since first hearing they were being released.  I had also heard several good things about them a few nights before from several trusted sources.  I was a little disappointed that the Toro Gordo was the only size available because it’s not normally my first choice of vitola.  I was really looking forward to sampling the petite robusto which has been a favorite vitola of mine as of late thanks to the My Father Le Bijou 1922 offering of the same size.

The cigar was very well constructed, but I noticed it was a little wet which made it a little difficult to light.  However, once the cigar got going it produced loads of smoke and held a nice ash with very little flaking.  I picked up a nice sweetness right away which I’m sure was due to the wonderful dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.  The predominant flavors were cocoa and cinnamon along with a slight peppery spice.  The cigar almost seemed to flatten out a little toward the start of the final third, almost like it lost it’s oomph.  I still picked up a lot of the same flavors into the last third, but it never quite graduated to that “next level”.  I did purchase a few additional sticks so I could give this offering another try.  The flavors were nice and I think the cigar deserves a second chance, but I think I’ll dry box the next one for a day to prevent the same issue I experienced today.

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I’ve been away from the site for a few days and while I was out enjoying myself I ran across a great new cigar, the E.P. Carrillo Short Run Delirios.  If you follow my Twitter feed you may have noticed me raving about this cigar. 

Let me start by saying that I’ve been a huge fan of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s offerings for many years and was both sad and excited when he left General and his beloved La Gloria Cubana brand to “start over” with a new brand baring his name.  I was really excited to smoke the first offering from E.P. Carrillo (the Edicion Inagural), and have been even more excited to see how the regular production would perform.  So when I was told that a local shop had juest received their first shipment I made haste. 

The Short Run is an absolutely incredible stick, it’s very complex and full of flavor.  This medium-full beauty offers up notes of wood and a nice spice.  In my opinion one of the finest offerings I’ve seen hit shelves at the local B&M in a while.  I’ve made my first purchase of several to enjoy and I am patiently awaiting the next arrival which has a full box with my name on it!  This is definitely a must try, so if you haven’t done so, find them locally and BUY!

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Yesterday afternoon while attending CAO Cigars Lady Liberty event I had the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger Jerry Cruz (aka. Don “Cruz”ado) from Stogie Review.  I mentioned to Jerry how much I enjoyed his video (and the commentary) on the La Palina Launch Event at W. Curtis Draper in Washington, DC.  We discussed the cigar for a few more moments along with some of the recent happenings in the blog world until Jerry had to break away and do some more filming.

Jerry responded to our conversation by meeting me outside and gifting me a La Palina 1896.  I asked him if I should smoke it then or if I should let it rest for a while, to which he responded, “smoke it now and see how it goes.”  The cigar has a nice oily wrapper that sports some veins and rough texture.  The pre-light aroma consisted nice sweet tobacco, a little spice, and cocoa.  The pre-light draw was a little loose and offered up notes of sweet tobacco followed by a lite cocoa note.  At this point I obliged Jerry’s kind gesture and sparked this beauty with my trusty Lamborghini Forza.

When I actually got into the cigar things only got better.  The cigar produced loads of creamy smoke that coated the palate with a wonderful sweetness.  I actually made the comment to several people that the first few draws reminded me of dessert.  I picked up lots of caramel notes, so much so that it reminded me of a bread pudding I ate once in Louisiana.  As the cigar progressed I started to pick up some of the cocoa that was present pre-light and a little black coffee.  The flavors were incredible and progressed nicely from start to finish.  I did have a few burn issues with my only sample, but I tend to place the blame on the terrible Tennessee heat and humidity that plagued us on Saturday.  This little issue is why I smoke multiple cigars for a full review, but in this case I’m excited because I’ll have to smoke a few more samples of a cigar I thoroughly enjoyed to produce a true review.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to pick a few more of these up, but as soon as I do you can count on a full review to be posted.  The La Palina 1896 was really enjoyable and I loved the flavors that it produced.  If I had to give a bad mark at all it would be the price (MSRP of $19.00).  This one happened to be a gift courtesy of a kind BOTL so I can’t complain, but they are a little pricey.  But at the end of the day we all have different budgets so I would not hesitate to recommend this cigar, but for me it would be a special occasion purchase.  Stay tuned for a full review and thanks again to Jerry for sharing this beauty.

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