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Tony Vega on Thursday, October 14th, 2010 |
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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.
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Tony Vega on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 |
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By Allen on Jun 27, 2010 in Cigar Reviews
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.
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Tony Vega on Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 |
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By Allen on Jun 15, 2010 in Cigar Reviews
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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Tony Vega on Friday, October 1st, 2010 |
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By Allen on Jul 19, 2010 in Cigar Reviews
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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