Camacho Corojo Maduro

Camacho Corojo Maduro monarcha
$6, Size: 5", Ring: 50
Honduran Corojo wrapper, binder, and fillers

It's always a pleasant surprise to get a nice cigar in the mail, and it's better yet when the cigars are so appetizingly beautiful. TommyboyMartin, an anchor at Social Cigar, sent me a brace of these maduro lovelies, and they were a great starting point for getting acquainted with Camacho's different lines. The Camacho Corojo is a Honduran puro, stuffed, bound, and wrapped with corojo tobacco, notorious for being a feisty and tasty leaf.

A sumptuous shade of dark chocolate, the maduro corojo wrapper was mildly veined and velvety. Unprompted, my 7 year-old son remarked that it smelled like chocolate. The cigar felt moderately filled, with a draw that's free, without being loose, and the white ash held a bit over an inch beyond the burn line.

The cigar started with sweet leather and toasted nuts, with an initial tease of spice and cocoa. The flavors settled into a robust leather and nuts combo that had a peppery echo. The corojo turned on the afterburners in the last couple inches, pumping some sweet heat into the medium-bodied flavors. The body and flavors of the Corojo Maduro went great with my coffee.

The Corojo Maduro was the first Camacho cigar I've had, and it forebodes made more pleasurable experiences to come.

Rocky Patel Fusion

Rocky Patel Fusion robusto
$5, Size: 5.5", Ring: 50.
Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, with Cameroon, Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers.

As we draw near to Lent, a time of thoughtful meditation and self-sacrifice, I wanted to smoke something of repute before donning the sackcloth and ashes. Rocky Patel has been fairly prolific in recent years, and this is one of many different cigars he's blended to different concepts. The Fusion uses two wrapper tobaccos, with the Connecticut tobacco as a binder, and a Habano wrapper jacketing the entire package.

My cigar's Habano wrapper was smooth, had few veins, and was glossy. A light, almost floral aroma issued from it. The cigar felt moderately packed, with a nicely balanced draw once the cap was punched. I had no problems getting nice volumes of smoke, and a white ash stuck over an inch beyond the chronically wobbly burn line. Still, I only had to do a touch-up to the burn once.

The flavors were fairly mild to start, of lightly toasted nut and a mild wood note. There was a pepper flavor lurking, but really didn't come out to shine until after the second inch. By that time, the wood note had become more pronounced and cedar-like, blending well with the spicy white pepper flavor.

The overall flavors were between mild and medium, and the cigar had a bit of nicotine to it. Not a bad smoke, and I've got three more napping.

Alec Bradley Ovation Maduro

Alec Bradley Ovation maduro baron/robusto
$3.50, Size: 5", Ring: 54
Brazilian maduro wrapper, Mexican binder, Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers.

Under the ownership of Alec Bradley, Ovation seems to be an older sibling of the current Trilogy brand. Being a little fatter than its newer brethren, and not being listed on Alec Bradley's new website, I dare say this cigar won't be available too much longer, and only then on CBid. But, onto the cigar...

The Brazilian maduro wrapper was a medium chocolate color, had a smooth, matte texture with a faint gloss, and had wispery veins. I was impressed with the craftsmanship of the cap, as it was impeccably cut and applied. Getting more physical with it, the cigar felt nicely packed, and had a draw with noticeable resistance, but didn't feel outright tight. Once lit, the cigar burned pretty straight and held a good inch and a half of silvery ash.

After toasting the foot, the first half inch was extremely mild, with only a light tobacco flavor. Getting to an inch in, the flavor came in as a toasty nut, and as the second inch fumed away, a more present, leathery flavor joined in. Halfway through, a mild pepper flavor started lingering on the palate, and then strengthened with the leather . A dark, wood flavor bobbed in and out as well, while the pepper stayed strong to the finish. Not counting the first inch, I'd say the Ovation was close to medium bodied.

Although it is a slow starter, the Ovation maduro has some nice flavor to it, and is a worthy smoke. While supplies last, that is.

Perdomo Reserve Maduro

Perdomo Reserve Series R maduro robusto
$4, Size: 5", Ring:54
Nicaraguan maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers

I like maduro cigers. Okay, if you've seen the list of cigars I've bothered to write about, you could say that I LOVE maduro cigars. I've got a major-league sweet tooth, so a sweet, toothy maduro wrapped cigar usually hits the spot for me. Perdomo's Reserve series uses some of the best fillers that Nicaragua has to offer. Couple that with a velvety Nicaraguan maduro wrapper, and anyone would be in for a treat.

Onward to my experience, my cigar had a medium chocolate maduro wrapper, which was toothy with a slight gloss, and a few pronounced veins. It was also fairly thick, which is good for keeping all that tobacco inside the cigar. Hefting it by hand,it felt like a solidly build cigar, felt very packed, and the draw was restrained enough to prove it.

Burn needed some touch-up here and there, I've found that the thicker wrappers tend to do that to me, and the densely packed filler took its sweet time burning. There was also lots of rich smoke to be found.

Before lighting, the cigar was mildly sweet on the lips, while earth and cocoa flavors were present in the cold draw. After ignition, the smooth, rich flavors were of earth and dark cocoa. As the first inch fumed away, a spicy note joined the flavors, for a predominantly peppery cocoa flavor that stayed fairly constant to the end. A mild nutty flavor occasionally poked it's way in for a puff or two. The flavors never got overpowering, and stayed robust and smooth.

Overall, the Perdomo Reserve maduro is a densely packed cigar with a rich, medium bodied flavor. The price isn't bad either.

Patrick, guest reviewer at Cigar Jack, smoked the honkin' 7x54 Reserve C churchill.

Bum Cigar Day

Sooner or later, it's bound to happen: Each cigar you grab on that rare day will have a problem, leaving you with a tray of ash and no satisfaction. Statistical probabilities are so that even your most reputable cigars will have problems, and those problems will eventually coincide on the same day. I had that day yesterday.

The first was an afternoon cigar, as I strolled to the office to catch up on a couple things. I hadn't smoked this Dominican brand yet, but had smoked others from the same manufacturer, and so was reasonably confident as to it's quality. I even had someone tell me the night before that I would enjoy that cigar.

I toasted it up on the doorstep, got it lit, then started walking. Right away, the flavor was harsh, grating, and reminded me of a gigantic maduro Marlborough. I toughed it out, thinking that maybe the first half inch or so may be unhappy. It didn't stop there. The burn went all over the place, so I dropped ash after an inch, and retorched the foot to even it up.

It STILL tasted nasty, like a biker-bar ashtray. Another torturous inch later, I needed to ash and touch up the burn again. I'm getting closer to the office, and hoping that this cigar will start tasting better. No such luck. With a block left to walk, I let the cigar die, putting it out of my misery.

Work got done, I got some Chinese take-out for the family, and so elapsed the rest of the evening. I'm looking forward to tucking the kids in bed, and then pulling out another cigar, hoping it would make up for the dud of the afternoon.

Finally, the kids are put to bed, and I pulled the Nicaraguan beauty out of the box. Smelled tasty, and the wrapper tasted mildly sweet as I wet the cap a bit. After punching the cap, I noticed that the draw was a little tight, but the cold draw flavors still encouraged some enthusiasm. I gave the cigar a preemptive poke through the filler's center, then hunted up my torch.

I got her toasted, and started herfing away, while reading a Calculus textbook. The flavors were nice, but the draw seemed to tighten, so I massaged the cigar a bit, and kept the smoke flowing. For some reason, the fillers seemed reluctant to burn, or at least less inclined to burn than the wrappers.

I ended up with a Vesuvius-sized cone emerging from the wobbly burn line. No matter how I tried to correct it, the volcano would persist. I say volcano, because there was a shaft/void down the center of the cone, like a volcano.

The flavors were good, when I could get any smoke out of it. After 30 minutes of fighting with it, I pitched it behind the garage.

Two different cigars, two bitter disappointments. I think there were some obvious and not so obvious construction quirks at work against me. 'Tis a shame they had to coincide and ruin an otherwise pleasant day.

AVO no. 2 Maduro

AVO no. 2 maduro
$25/5-pack, Size:6" , Ring:50
USA Connecticut maduro wrapper, Dominican binder and fillers.

At a smoky gathering, just after Christmas, one of the guys was talking up Avo cigars. I had heard that Avo Uvezian had his cigars manufactured by Hendrick Kelner, whose cigars I have previously enjoyed, and figured it was worth pursuing a sample. I went to $25 for a 5 pack on CBid, which is a little beyond my usual ceiling, but I hoped it would be worthwhile.

The wrapper on the cigar I smoked tonight had some serious veins, and was toothier than a piranha. If the AVO label wasn't on the band, the rough appearance would have made it look like a $2 bundle cigar. Aroma from the wrapper was light and nutty, and while wetting the cap, I noticed that it wasn't markedly sweet.

Post-punch, the draw had a moderate amount of resistance, and though at the 3/4 mark, the draw felt constricted, a little massaging around the cap brought it back around. The burn line was mostly straight, with an inch and a half of silvery ash trailing behind it.

All the way through, the flavors were smooth and buttery, with a mild nut flavor at to start. The mild nut got stronger, and a little darker, as I cruised through the third inch, tasting like roasted hazelnuts. A mild, sweet pepper flavor came in at the last third, and finished spicy at the end. While not terribly complex, the flavors were pleasant and meshed nicely. I'd say that overall, the cigar was on the mild side of medium bodied.

If it were a blind taste test, and with my limited experience, I'd say this was a Kelner blend, from the moderate body to the gradually ramping spice near the end. All in all, a good smoke for a decent price, though if I had to pay $7 or $8, for this cigar, I'd feel a bit let down. I look forward to sampling more of Avo's lines, as budget will allow.

Hoyo de Monterrey Rothschild

Hoyo de Monterrey Rothschild
$4.50, Size: 4.5", Ring: 50
Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, USA Connecticut binder, Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan fillers.

Hoyo de Monterrey (HdM) is a huge name in cigars, mainly for Cuban smokes, but also for their fine cigars made in Honduras. Their Honduran cigars are rolled by the General Cigar Co., in the same facility that rolls Punch's non-cuban cigars.

This Hoyo rothschild had a dark tan wrapper, and was toothy with varicose veins. Once punched, I found it had a pretty loose draw, I had to really smoke gently. Usually, I prefer a more moderate resistance in a cigar. Burning was mostly straight, except for a couple forgivable wobbles, and the silvery ash held for over an inch.

I was greeted with strong flavors to start, with wood and roasted nuts. After first inch, a coffee undertone meshed with the wood flavor. Pepper started lingering on the palate after the second inch, then waxed stronger in the foreground. Robust flavors abound from solid start to spicy finish.

Hoyo de Monterrey didn't get their reputation for excellence by accident, and this bold tasting cigar continues the tradition. Being a maduro freak, I can't wait the put my torch to a HdM Dark Sumatra.

Smoke Signals toasted a HdM rothschild back in March 2007