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.

Shout Outs for the Nebraska Cigar Festival 2008

Wow, the Nebraska Cigar Festival was a blast: Good fun, good smokes, and great company. I hope we get to do this again next year.

Shout outs are as so:

1) Our local B&M owners, Cattlemen's Bank, and event planners.

You guys rock! Cattlemen's Bank helping out by literally hosting the event, and our B&M's Cliff's Smoke Shop, Ted's Tobacco, and Capitol Cigar Company. Miles, thanks for bringing out the VSG!

2) Gene Arganese

Gene, you were the star of the evening, and really made the event special. There's a good reason why the word "generous" starts with Gene. Not content with merely bringing a supply of great smokes, including his new CL3 and ML3 smokes for us, and he had several Unos given to several lucky winners.

The highlight of the evening was the raffle, to benefit our lobbying efforts. Gene donated 7 trips to his villa in the Dominican Republic, complete with factory tour, smokes, bar, and being fed by Gene's personal chef. Talk about a vacation in the lap of cigar luxury!

3) Other cigar makers supporting the event

Willy, of Willy Cigars, was rolling smokes through the entire event, and I landed a couple gorgeous looking maduros from his table. Cusano sent a supply of Cuvee and Rare Cameroons for the masses. Palamino Cigars came though, as did Savinelli, Clint's, Conch Republic, and delegations from Filipino and Peruvian cigar makers. Ladies and gentlemen, my hat's off to you.

4) Good friends to share the evening with

Uncle Booga and I were counting the hours until the event, we were that stoked to go. Ditch Digger and Liriel caught up with us later, at the venue. We all smoked and chatted the evening away, and for me, the company really made the evening. After the Festival, DD, Liriel and I had a great breakfast, and while DD diverted my attention, Liriel picked up the tab.

Hats off to you all for a great evening. I didn't take any pictures, but DD did, and so I imagine we'll see those soon enough.

Cusano 18 Paired Maduro

Cusano 18 Paired Maduro robusto
$5.50 (B&M), Size: 5", Ring: 50
Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, Dominican binder, Brazilian and Dominican fillers

I like Cusano cigars, and I like the Hendrick Kelner blends that I've had so far, and so paying a little extra didn't bother me at the time. The 18 Paired Maduro is a hearty blend of tobaccos that include three wrapper-quality tobaccos: the Connecticut Broadleaf maduro jacketing the cigar, Brazilian Mata Fina maduro and Dominican Oro tobaccos in the filler. The results are sufficiently delicious enough to garner an 89 rating from Cigar Aficianado.

The Paired Maduro's firm wrapper has a light chocolate color with a reddish cast, like pin oak leaves. The surface is moderately veined, with a toothy texture, and burned a bit lopsided, needing correction after a couple inches. That may be due to that fact I was smoking the cigar on my afternoon commute from the studios to the house, au pied, 41&deg and a slight breeze.

After punching the irregular triple cap, the draw gave little resistance, to the point of being too loose. Once smoldering had commenced, the draw opened up even more, then closed a little halfway into the cigar, but was always felt loose. So, I tried to smoke it gingerly, trying not to overdraw and get a harsh burn. As for the ash, it was a flakey, tan/grey color, and dropped off after and inch or so.

Ahh, now we get to the flavors: take a Cusano CC, a Cusano MC, and an Occidental Reserve Double Broadleaf, and smoke them all at once.

The 18 Paired Maduro starts boldly with the sharp, woody taste of the Cusano CC and the rounder body of the Cusano MC. A nice spice starts subtly in the second inch and grows bolder and peppery as you smoke towards the band. All the while, you taste a familiar smooth finish on the palate that I've come to associate with these Kelner-blended cigars.

I enjoyed the taste of the cigar very much, though the smoking of it was a bit of work, and the price was a bit steep. If I can get them cheaper, and the construction issues better, I wouldn't mind smoking the 18 Paired Maduro again.

Other, more thorough reviews are at Keepers of the Flame and Stogie Review.

Cusano to Expand

Cusano is gearing up another production facility in the Dominican Republic, to be called DR Global,and primarily for Cusano's newer cigars.

In the first quarter of 2008, brothers Mike and Joe Chiusano will open a global distribution hub in Santiago, Dominican Republic, complete with a rolling gallery for making some of the company's newest lines.

Among the new lines to be rolled at DR Global will be the Cuvée Blanc and Cuvée Rouge. Cusano's cigars had previously been produced at Tabacos Dominicanos, Dominican Republic, by Hendrik Kelner. These include the Cusano Celebrity Series bundle cigars, enjoyed and reviewed here previously; M1, P1, MC, and CC. I seriously doubt I'll get to enjoy the fruits of this new venture, as the Cuvée range are well out of my budget.

h/t Cigar Aficionado

Cusano CC

Cusano CC robusto

$3.50 , Size: 5", Ring: 50
Equadorian Sumatra wrapper, Dominican filler

This is a good, solid example of a cigar: Well made, easy draw, and good flavor. The CC has a smooth, medium wood/cedar taste, with a faintly peppery finish. It never gets overtly spicy, and consistently maintains it's flavor from foot to band. While a shade darker than a Connecticut wrapper, the CC's wrapper has a full-bodied flavor of its own. It reminds me of a Monticristi Cohiba (Dominican).

Cusano, with the assistance of Henke Kelner, is making some nice bundle cigars. They're as good as many in boxes, and are a good smoke for the price. There's a spot in my humidor for these.

Cusano MC

Cusano MC robusto
$3.35, Size: 5", Ring: 50
Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder and filler

This is a good smoke, a cigar that lets you know you're smoking a cigar, but without hitting you over the head with it. Like the rest of Cusano's bundle cigars, the MC is decently constructed, though the wrapper was a bit crispy. The flavor is medium-bodied, smooth, with a lightly woody finish. The MC also has a fair nicotine kick. This is yet another good cigar from Cusano that won't break your wallet.

Cusano P1

Cusano P1 robusto
$3.00, Size: 5", Ring: 50
Broadleaf maduro wrapper, Dominican filler

I've had fairly good luck with Cusano's M1 and CC cigars, so I decided to delve further into their line of bundles. The P1 has a maduro wrapper with a medium, milk chocolate color. The cigar is decently constructed, has an easy draw and holds a nice, silvery ash. The flavor is a mild autumnal earthiness, smooth without being heavy, and has a faint spice to it. This flavor is steady from the first kiss to the last, getting only slightly stronger as I smoke past where the band was.

The P1 is another nice bundle cigar from Cusano, and one I'd make sure to stow a couple of.

Cusano M1

Cusano M1 robusto
$3.50, Size: 5", Ring: 50
Connecticut shade-grown wrapper, Dominican filler

The M1 is the mildest of Cusano's Celebrity Series of bundle cigars, and is supposedly a clone of a more expensive cigar, a Macanudo. Sporting decent construction and an easy draw, this cigar burns fairly straight and had an inch and half of silvery ash. The ash reminds me of a paper birch tree.

As for the flavor, the M1 starts mild, with a nutty undertone. There's a subtle spice flavor that saunters in, but never really establishes itself as a center of attention. In essence, it's a cigar for when you don't want to be too distracted by the cigar. The M1 is a nice, mild smoke at a nice, mild price.