Monday, December 12, 2011

Cigar Sniper

Okay, the Social Cigar thread got contentious, with lots of accusation, invective, and slights against the stereotypical behaviors of a certain race/religion. Let's discuss this on the likely facts, please.

First of all Famous Smoke is a business, and their goal is to make money. As a business, their job is to separate a man from his cash while providing that man with incentive to keep parting with that cash. That's their prerogative. So let's not start throwing the greed label around. Your local B&M is trying just as hard to get into your wallet.

The Cigar Sniper format may let one guy buy a box of cigars for $10 (plus the $20 in bids he used to snag it), but hooks in the other 4-5 guys that dropped $20 in bids to roll that into paying the fuller, more profitable price for the box of cigars. The guys that only put $2-5 in bids on the box will likely just leave that $$ on the table for Famous to collect (pure profit, cha-ching). All in all, a profitable venture.

Just not off me. The success of the Cigar Sniper format will depend on wealthy idiots and guys that can't do the math, and I am neither.

Friday, December 9, 2011

C&C Cigars

The C&C Cigars had finally hit the shelves here, so I bought a pair each of the Corojo and Maduro lines. My first impressions, after smoking one of each, are that these are nice, milder cigars, worth about the $5 shelf price.


The Corojo, as noted by many reviewers so far, is reminiscent of the Cusano Corojo 97' (or 96'). There's a sweet, woody flavor with a hint of the roast red pepper flavor I've come to associate with Corojo tobaccos. But only a hint.

There are Corojo wrapped blends from other makers with bolder flavors and sharper, more pronounced Corojo notes. But for a milder, Corojo-with-training-wheels cigar, the C&C Corojo isn't bad.

The C&C Maduro is fairly mild as well, with a light earthy and sweet flavor. Both bear decent construction, being a little on the light side, but with a decent draw despite the undense feeling.

The Dominican fillers are continuing the tradition from the Cusano venture, just recently acquired by Davidoff. The Chiusano brothers, one being sidelined by a non-compete clause, just can't stay away from the cigar biz. We should be glad.

I'll smoke a few more, and keep a few on hand for the occasional guest with milder cigar leanings.