tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21026259228274687222024-03-05T04:33:03.896-06:00The Humidor of the ApokalypseA blog dedicated to good cigars for the working class, including cigar reviews of mostly sub-$8 cigars. If I can afford to smoke it, you'll read about it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00575998066839845566noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-18982951128740546482012-02-20T19:08:00.010-06:002013-03-15T17:29:21.347-05:00Codex Tenebrae 2011
Fuente Anejo #46$12MedA+Ultimate in savory maduro bliss
Camacho Triple Maduro$13FullA+Ultimate in peppery maduro bliss
Perdomo ESV 1991$9FullAGreat blend and rich maduro flavor
Alec Bradley Black Market$9Solid MediumAGreat maduro flavor, body, with good price
J. Fuego Delirium$9MedAMmmmmaaaadurooohhh
Carlos Toraño Virtuoso$9Med+AGood smoke, attractive
Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970$7FullAHold on Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-91316559925857653562012-02-02T13:57:00.013-06:002013-03-15T17:31:21.326-05:00Getting My Way: Panacea CigarsSometimes, it takes a bit of persuasion to get a shop owner to carry a cigar that is from a smaller, less renowned company. Not that you can blame them, they already have to cater to a number of whims, and inventory that just sits for a loooong time doesn't really help the shop owner. A guy has to be judicious with his humidor space.
After the Christmas cigar bomb I got from my mother, I Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-39850644154471222522011-12-12T16:39:00.000-06:002013-03-15T17:32:42.348-05:00Cigar SniperOkay, 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 Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-62921404360442265902011-12-09T06:50:00.003-06:002013-03-15T17:33:00.583-05:00C&C CigarsThe 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 Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-49143926996616640632011-11-28T07:06:00.000-06:002019-08-18T07:15:58.071-05:00Cigar Scene: Lincoln, NebraskaFor a small city, Lincoln has three respectably cigar shops in town, and all within 10 minutes of the Poor Bastard's Cigar Lounge (my garage).
Ted's Tobacco:
Biggest humidor in town, they carry all the standard Altadis and General Cigar fare, CAO, Drew Estates, Fuente, Ashton, a smattering of Camacho, Oliva, Perdomo, plus some boutique frontmarks like Illusione, and Tatuaje, Plus they have a Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-65479305757953747852011-02-24T13:00:00.004-06:002013-03-15T17:35:40.725-05:00Toraño Single Region - JalapaI'm tickled that some new Toraño cigars have reached my little backwater. Unlike fab places like Chicago or Long Island, Lincoln, Nebraska, doesn't get the newer frontmarks very quickly. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find the new Single Region cigar in my B&M's humidor.
Jalapa, Jalapa, oh Eden of Nicaragua! Out of thy rich soils spring such smoky satisfaction!
I love Nicaraguan Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-44773425832010379472011-02-18T06:18:00.000-06:002013-03-15T17:36:11.877-05:00Panacea Red PerfectoMy mother surprised me with a cigar bomb for Christmas. She's normally a tobacco agnostic, but she researched and picked out cigars she thought I'd like. The Panacea Red perfecto was one of those cigars, and I'd never seen them before.
The Panacea Red sports a Brazilian maduro wrapper, Dominican Habano binder, and mix of dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The Brazilian wrapper on this cigar Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-56225493155682865662010-11-21T12:00:00.006-06:002013-03-15T17:37:06.495-05:00262 Paradigm TorpedoSince I left the red-light district of cigar blogging, I've been busy with other projects, but quietly been enjoying some excellent cigars. Most recently, it has been the 262 Paradigm. These showed up in one of my local haunts, I bought a couple, then threw them in one of my coolers and forgot about them.
Well, I found them again a couple weeks ago, and the first one was pretty tasty. I Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-46687153140388868752010-08-14T07:52:00.007-05:002013-03-15T17:37:31.563-05:00De La Guardia CigarsI love making connections with people, and my involvement with Social Cigar has allowed me many contacts. So, the marketing director for the new brand, De La Guardia Cigars, joined Social Cigar and got my attention, since they're just an hour away in Omaha. Omaha? Cigars? That's right.
So, I referred her to the guys that run two of my three local B&Ms, and a couple weeks later, received Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-81330389066784202242010-08-06T07:20:00.001-05:002013-03-15T17:37:56.680-05:00First Impression: Rocky Patel 15th AnniversaryI unexpectedly stumbled into a Rocky Patel event at one of my local haunts this week, and bought a small handful of the new Fifteenth Anniversary robustos. Go me!
The Fifteeth has an aged Habano wrapper, which was nowhere near the black pepper spice of the Perdomo, Oliva, or Cain Habano wrappers. In fact, instead of the typical Habano tingle on my lips, I tasted a more earthy citrus, which Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-39742132447947171852010-07-20T22:59:00.001-05:002010-07-21T11:01:45.041-05:00Writing Style?There's a web site that analyzes your writing style, and this is the result I got after feeding the preceding cigar review into it:<!-- Begin I Write Like Badge --> I write likeRaymond ChandlerI Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!<!-- End I Write Like Badge -->Great, now I'll actually have to go out and READ some Raymond Chandler.Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-72696938854875092632010-07-11T19:33:00.010-05:002013-03-15T17:38:42.339-05:00Jaime Garcia Reserva EspecialThese are great days to be a cigar lover, as the variety of cigars right now are only matched by their quality, especially if you like Nicaraguan cigars. Oliva, Perdomo, Padron and, lately, Don Pepin Garcia have been rolling stellar cigars the past few years. The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial is a blend from the son of Pepin. 'Son of Pepin' sounds like a horror film, right? But this cigar is Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-61530655115376732922010-07-10T21:33:00.000-05:002013-03-15T17:40:12.876-05:00Cain Nub MaduroIn the history of the world, there have been several meetings of disparate elements that formed something amazing; Barley, hops, and yeast to make beer, tungsten and electricity to make light, and peanut butter and chocolate to make peanut butter cups. Well, Sam Leccia has done it again, this time combining the Nub Maduro with the Cain ligero blend to make the Cain Nub Maduro.
The wrapper on Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-28194446805236236092010-07-08T22:02:00.006-05:002013-03-15T17:48:37.811-05:00Ashton Majesty
I'm basking in the afterglow of an excellent cigar tasting, courtesy of our local cigar bar, Jake's Cigars & Spirits. Tonight's featured guest was Ashton Cigars' Bill Rectenwald, with a great lineup of Ashton cigars and some great pairing options of cheeses, nuts, and vodka. My cigar for the evening was the Ashton Majesty, upon the urging of a great friend, MMK, earlier in the day.
Now, IBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-63941906266525979342010-07-03T21:02:00.002-05:002013-03-15T17:49:05.948-05:00Cain Nub Habano
Well, the Fourth of July weekend found me in possession of some powerful fireworks: Cain Nub, in both Habano and Maduro. Saturday night, while the citizens of my neighborhood were engrossed in some July 3rd premature ecrackulation, I was in the garage with the short powerhouse Cain Nub Habano.
The greyish brown wrapper had some demur veining, and lefts a little peppery tingle on the lips. Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-52616109589837036512010-06-15T22:21:00.005-05:002013-03-15T17:49:37.441-05:005 Vegas Cask StrengthOh, three years ago, I caught a handful of 5 Vegas Cask Strength cigars, smoked one, and then so carefully set aside the rest that I didn't find them again until this past weekend. I was so impressed with the first, that I was sad to see the line disappear, and also a little miffed that I couldn't find the ones I had. Well, three years of unintentional aging later, here I am enjoying another ofBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-6927305269855624382010-04-05T16:11:00.000-05:002013-03-15T17:50:00.899-05:00El Titan de Bronze - Redemption MaduroMaybe I'm a sucker for theology, but the 'Redemption Maduro' practically jumped off the shelf and into my hands as I was browsing the local shop. A chocolate brown wrapper, with demure veining, is the hook for me. It turns out that the Redemption is using a San Andres, Mexican, wrapper to jacket a Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Hey, that combo sounds familiar... oh CAIN MADURO, and I love thatBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-27421630137283508042009-09-22T12:43:00.009-05:002009-09-22T12:59:53.729-05:00Apokalyptic Rating SystemOkay, so I don't really give quantitative ratings to the cigars I smoke. I don't really believe in the numeric ratings system used by the big mags, but I guess I should give some sort of indication of how much I like a given cigar. So, I've developed my own system.Four Horsemen Rating: An excellent cigar in Construction, Flavor, and Value.3.5 Horsemen Rating: A great cigar in all areas.3 Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-51821816347407438752009-09-12T22:13:00.001-05:002013-03-15T17:50:56.149-05:00Esteban Carreras 10 Años robustoWalking through the local cigar shop has become painful. I see the cigar prices on the shelves, and I wince as I continue walking towards the bundle cigar section. I love a good cigar, but the prices are getting unbearable.
So, when I plunked down more than $20 for a pair of the Esteban Carreras 10 Años, I had this queasy feeling that accompanies any lightening of the wallet. But, once I got Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-53616038800137540212009-09-07T08:06:00.006-05:002013-03-15T17:52:09.973-05:00Troya Clasico robustoLadies and gentlemen; sometimes, a recommendation can get you in trouble. My friend and colleague, Uncle Booga, had the good fortune to be a reviewer for the Winter '09 Cigar Magazine, and one of the cigars to smoke was the Troya Clasico. On his recommendation, and against my better judgment, I picked up a pair of them at the shop.
"Holy crap!"
" $9.60!?"
" Plus tax?!"
" EACH!?"
"For a ROBUSTOBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-50200168060667829852009-09-01T21:45:00.003-05:002013-03-15T17:53:48.467-05:00CI Legends Purple - GraycliffWell, the University semester has started, so I've been taking my Calculus III exercises to the garage for some smoky cognition. Tonight, it was Cigars International Legends series, the Purple label, a nice and inexpensive cigar from Graycliff.
I had this cigar in the humidor for almost a year, if not longer, and so it's had plenty of time to chill out. The Habano wrapper was a tawny grey/Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-21895341171177848282009-08-29T18:28:00.001-05:002013-03-15T17:54:11.131-05:00Camacho 10th Anniversary Corojo 11/18Special times call for special cigars, and my 10th wedding anniversary was no exception. Being gifted with a cornball sense of humor, I grabbed a Camacho 10th Anniversary Corojo that's been resting in the humidor for almost a year and a half.
Camacho is renowned for the power of their cigars, with Coyolar and SLR being very muscular blends, and the regular Corojo line having some kick to it as Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-31773681852592852482009-08-22T16:55:00.006-05:002013-03-15T17:59:15.517-05:00Cain Habano torpedo
Woof. The Cain Maduro was quite the mouthful of nicely substantial flavors. I've really come to appreciate Nicaraguan tobaccos, and Oliva Cigar grows some of the best. Along with the great flavors, Oliva has made very reasonably priced cigars, with the Cain line running $7-8 on the B&M shelf. Great flavors + reasonable prices = lots of Oliva boxes in the Humidor of the Apokalypse.
Brother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-60645853914272308672009-08-22T08:03:00.005-05:002013-03-15T18:00:19.927-05:00Perdomo ESV 1991 maduro regenteI can believe that I hadn't written about one of my favorite Nicaraguan cigars yet, the Perdomo ESV '91 maduro. I had first smoked these a couple years ago, got floored by the flavor, and then quickly snapped up a handful off an auction site. Since then, I've only smoked a couple, and the rest have been hiding in the cooler, apparently getting tastier with the time.
It's been at least 6 monthsBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2102625922827468722.post-45730769541879248702009-08-14T22:05:00.004-05:002013-03-15T18:00:59.959-05:00Joya Cubana 2009 CorojoAnother advance sample from my pal Roger at Joya Cubana, the Joya Cubana Corojo is just that, a Corojo-wrapped torpedo and is a sight to behold. The dark brown wrapper is fairly smooth, with a couple moderate veins and faint sheen of oil. The fillers are a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos.
The cigar had a free draw, without being completely loose. While smoking, the burn line wobbledBrother Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05697860817229595126noreply@blogger.com0