CAO Black Bengal

Cigars Direct sent me a load of CAO cigars, and half of them cigars I hadn't tried yet. CAO Black is one of the lines I had yet to try, so this checks off one more from the 'try' list. The 6 x 50 CAO Black Bengal is a cedar-sleeved, majestic looking cigar, akin in color to an Altadis Montecristo. At about $6 per cigar, it's not terribly expensive.

CAO cigar's Ecuadorian shade-grown Connecticut wrapper was light brown, had fine veins and an aroma of light hay and leather. This jacketed a blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran and Mexican fillers. The draw had a nice, smooth resistance to it, and the cigar burned darned near perfect.

The first 3 inches of the cigar featured the same general flavor of toasty, woody leather, with a barely perceptible spice in the finish. just a notch shy of medium bodied. Spice/black pepper flexed a bit near the nub, but not enough to make me consider calling this cigar "spicy" at all. Still, it had a little more gusto than your run of the mill Connecticut shade-grown-wrapped cigar.

Like a well-worn, comfortable pair of shoes,this cigar isn't flashy, but it'll get the job done. CAO Black, and a cup of coffee or couple fingers of a good bourbon, and you're good to go.

CAO MX2 Robusto

CAO's MX2 is a delicious, Western Hemisphere blend of Brazilian, Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican and Peruvian tobaccos. I reviewed the MX2 Dagger cigarillo in my winter short smoke shootout video series, and have smoked a couple of the regular-sized models as well. This sample came via Cigars Direct, so props to the sponsor!

There are certain moments when a cigar becomes a magical experience, and this MX2 got to participate. I was out camping with my son's cub scout pack, and after dinner, I found myself in a quiet stretch of the lakeshore, looking across the water at beautiful sunset. Cigar smoldering at hand, it was a peaceful hour, despite the roving bands of "indians" (aka cub scouts) scouring the lakeshore for rival barbarians (aka other cub scouts).

MX2's dark, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper had a nice, oily gloss to it, the cigar felt firm, and the draw had a nice resistance to it.

Right away, The MX2 fronted a bold, leathery flavor with some cedary spice and black coffee. After the opening notes, I also detected a bitter, dark chocolate flavor, like those spendy 85% cacao chocolate bars. Heading for the nub, a harsh, ashy spice stared building up on the palate, so I let it go. The cigar was a solid medium-bodied smoke, waxing towards full at the nub.

The first 3 inches of the CAO MX2 robusto are the best, and offer a complex and tasty flavor profile for the maduro fan.

CAO Black VR Totem

This dark and tasty toro came to me from Cigars Direct, so hats off to the sponsor!

I admit it; when I'm cruising the cigar store's humidor, I usually look at the prices on the CAO cigars, then keep walking. I'm not cheap, but I am cautious, and when I see a robusto priced at $8-9 I pass. I've smoked the CAO Brazilia Gol! and Amazon, and the Italia Ciao because they're a better price at $5-6. The Black VR can be had online for about $6/each, so it fits better in my budget.

The Black VR shares the Brazilia's deliciously dark maduro Brazilian wrapper, but harbors a blend of Nicaraguan and Mexican tobaccos in the core.

My cigar felt well packed, and drew with noticeable resistance. Before lighting, I caught a musty leather aroma coming from the wrapper, and a light spice on the lips during a cold draw.

Lighting it up, the first inch was a great blend of leather, earth, with some peppery spice in the finish. I would call it solid medium to medium-full, and tasty as well. Getting farther into the cigar, the spice dialed back (as most blends do)and settled into a nice earthy leather with occasional nut flavor.

In the end, I'm left with ashes, and empty coffee cup, and a stupid grin on my face. What more can you ask for?

Nub Habano Torpedo

This cigar is so fat, the band has stretch marks.

Sam Leccia's brainchild, the Nub skips the customary cigar introductions, and gets straight to the sweet spot. Judging from the reviews I've read, and the amount of Nub events I hear about, Oliva Cigars have backed a winner.

Cigars Direct sent me this particular specimen, and I'd been itching to try the Habano line. The Nub Cameroons I had smoked last summer were good, but mild, and didn't wow me.

This cigar is so fat, when I clipped the torpedo's point, the open area looked as big as the foot on a churchill.

The Habano's wrapper is a rich brown hue, with fine veins and an aroma of earthy leather.

First light: Nice, earthy leather tones, with a mild spice on the lips and in the sinuses. Hints of nuts occasionally too.

The earthy leather flavor continued, along with the mild spice for the duration of the smoke. The burn line was a tad wobbly, but I didn't fret about it until the cigar extinguished 1/2" after getting started. I'm glad I filled my lighter before starting out...

This cigar is so fat, it wants Kirstie Alley to be its "skinny friend".

The smoke wasn't particularly thick, and the cigar needed lots of torch touch ups to stay well lit. Maybe with a couple days of drybox time, this stubby cigar would stay lit better.

In the end, as much as I liked the flavors, the high-maintenance factor turned me off. I'll smoke others another time and see if the assessment changes.

More from Cigars Direct

Okay, so, some of you might remember that I had agreed to write reviews for and link to Cigars Direct. I had agreed to it, then thought better of the whole venture, and e-mailed them to cancel the arrangement.

Four weeks after asking them to cancel, I got a box of 5 cigars. Well, two weeks after that, I come home today to find ANOTHER box of 5 cigars. If it didn't come with loaded expectations, I'd be dancing in the aisles.

So, I feel obligated to smoke these fine cigars, and write my unique brand of critic pap about them. Oh woe is me. [In case you didn't catch it, I'm being facetious.] I guess that we'll soon be seeing some reviews for CAO Brazilia, Italia, MX2, which are some long-time favorites of mine, plus CAO Black and Black VR, which are newcomers to my humidor.

Once again, thanks to Cigars Direct for the cigars! Maybe I should send them cancellations more often.

Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles

Pepin Whore (/pɛ,pin hɔr/or /pɛ,pɪn hoʊr/) noun,

1. A cigar smoker that smokes many cigars made by Don Jose "Pepin" Garcia.
2. A cigar smoker that irrationally extols the value and/or quality of said cigars.

Okay, I'm not a complete Pepin Whore, but I'm pretty damn close. It all started with a Tatuaje P-Series, followed by San Cristobal, and then snowballed with Tatujae Havana VI, DPG Serie JJ maduro, 5 Vegas Miami, DPG Black Label, Cigars International Yellow Label, DPG Blue, Benchmade,Vegas Cubana, and La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial. I've smoked all but the most expensive cigars by Don Pepin Garcia, and I've managed to enjoy them all.

The Tatuaje Havana VI (aka Red Label) is a Pepin-blended cigar made for Pete Johnson, and a tasty cigar with a personal parking stall in my humidor. This Nicaraguan puro is a flavorful experience.

The lightly toothy, sun-grown Corojo wrapper shows some mild veining, an has a light oil sheen as well. An aroma of cedar and leather rose from this moderately packed cigar, and a pinch revealed a light spring to the fillers.

On first light, I caught an explosion of dry, crisp pepper and cedar flavors. The finish, at first, was crisp and short, but a leathery flavor lingered on the palate as I smoked farther. After an inch, the flavors settled into a dry cedar with leather lingering on the palate. There was a moderate amount of smoke, but being so dry, I'd hesitate to call it creamy.

Smoking to the nub, a spicy pepper rejoins the cedar and leather for a rewarding finish. All through the cigar, the draw was immaculate, and the dove-gray ash held for over an inch.

At $5-8 each, depending on how you get them, the Havana VI line are a great quality smoke, and well worth the expense.

Thanks to Cigars Direct for providing a familiar friend in the sampler.

Cigars Direct

A few weeks ago, under the delusion of grandeur, I accepted an advertising deal with Cigars Direct. After some soul-searching and ego tamping, I decided that my calling is not to be a bloviating sack of cigar opinions. I e-mailed Cigars Direct, and informed them that I was going to ice the blog and pursue humbler aspirations.

Well, sure enough, 7 weeks after accepting the offer, and 4 weeks after informing them to cancel, a box of five fine cigars shows up on my doorstep. So, being a man of my hastily-given word, I'll be placing copious links to Cigars Direct's website from the reviews of the cigars they've sent me.

I've already reviewed the Rocky Patel Fusion, so I've added appropriate linkage within that review. Some of these other cigars I have not reviewed, so those reviews will be forthcoming as well.

Tatuaje Havana VI is a personal favorite, though I haven't written a review for it. Nub Habano and CAO Gold will be new experiences.

As for the Sherpa toro, I've already reviewed once, but am willing to try another. A man can't be dragged through grassy hell TWICE, can he?

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.