5 Vegas Relic

One of my most excellent brethren at Social Cigar, Joe Ed., bombed my mailbox recently. The bomb was heavy with Manuel Qesada-made cigars, including the 5 Vegas Relic.



Great smoke, and a great gift from a great friend. Thanks, Joe!

Fonseca Signature Series Robusto

The passel of delights I received recently contained a Fonseca cigar that I've never seen before. Now, I've only had one other run-in with Fonseca, and it was terribly boring, so I've really given the brand no attention since. But, the dark, oily wrapper of this cigar just pushed all the right buttons to stir my interest, so I took it to the office for a lunchtime smoke.



The black band below the Fonseca label reads "Signature Series by Manuel Quesada". This cigar must be either pre-release, or a forgotten run from Fonseca, as there's not much info readily available on the web. Nice dark, oily wrapper, 5.25" x 50ish

The wrapper left a nice tingle on the lips on the cold draw, like the wrapper was a sun-grown Habano, or perhaps Corojo. The draw was fairly loose, and had a nice taste of leather.

After getting it lit, the cigar offered a nice blend of peppery spice and leather for the first inch. The medium-bodied flavors were quite a change from the Fonseca 5-50, which was about as exciting as a bowl of Cheerios.

In the second inch, the spice tailed off, leaving a solid, earthy leather flavor for a while. Getting into the last third, the leather flavor was joined with a sweet hay flavor, which would occasionally bury the leather flavors.

Overall, I enjoyed this cigar's array of medium-bodied flavors. The Fonseca Signature Series is another attention-worthy blend from Manuel Quesada.

Esteban Carreras Habano Maduro Rothman

Upon returning from my travels, I dropped into my local shops to see if there was anything new. Sure enough, there were some new sticks in the humidor. 'Esteban Carreras' is a brand I'm unfamiliar with, but remember a cheap brand called 'Esteban Carrera' (no 'S' at the end) that I bought at an unnamed internet cigar auction site. Esteban Carreras Habano and Dias Ano lines are rolled at the facilities of Abdel Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua.

The Habano line are Nicaraguan puros, in either natural or maduro wrappers, and me being a devotee of the Dark Side, I'm smoking the maduro. I bought the 'Rothman' size, a 4 x 54, almost Nubbish looking thing. The shelf price for singles was $6, so I plunked down for a pair.

The wrapper on this cigar was a rich brown color, mildly veined, with a sheen of oil obvious to both eyes and fingers. A cold draw left me with tingly lips, reminding me of some spicy Thai dishes I've enjoyed in the past. The draw was also moderately resistant, indicating a well-packed cigar.

Then, I lit it.

Pepper.
Black pepper.
More pepper.
Black pepper-crusted peppercorns in pepper sauce.

For the first inch, the utterly dominant flavor is pepper. As the first inch wanes, leather and coffee flavors elbow their way into the picture, and by the second inch, the pepper has politely stepped back to allow other flavors to share the stage. All the while, this was a solidly medium to full-bodied cigar.

After the second inch, I did a nub stand on the 2 inches of solid ash, and after picking up the cigar again, the ash dropped off in one piece. Pulling into the nub, and after a couple touch-ups with the torch, the spicy pepper still remained present behind the leather and coffee flavors.

The Esteban Carreras Habano maduro is a powerful smoke, and is the perfect stick for the spice/pepper junkies out there.

Getting Bombed

In the cigar enthusiast community, there's a time-honored tradition of pyrotechnic philanthropy called "Bombing". A bombing usually consists of a mailed package containing cigars and various other implements of enjoyment, i.e. small bottles of Scotch, snack foods, regional tourist trinkets, skid-marked underwear, et cetera. The main focus is the cigars.

Bombings can be pre-announced, holiday or birthday related, though some of the best ones are sneak-attacks on unsuspecting acquaintances.

Well, yours truly got a stealth bomb in the mail today:

This primo bomb, from Social Cigar member Joe Ed., illustrates a great cross section of great cigars, and quality budget cigars. One shouldn't send a bomb of cigars that one wouldn't give to a good friend in person, or of cigars that you, as the sender, wouldn't smoke yourself.

Once one has been bombed, there are some loose protocols about public thanks, aka 'Shout Out' on a social networking or other web site, and retribution to either the sender, or to take out your smoky ire on a third, unsuspecting party.

La Bonita Red Band robusto

There are times when anticipation and expectation are just barely held in check, creating a delightful tension to the moment. I was at that moment while clipping the cap on the La Bonita Red Band cigar. After such pleasurable experiences with La Bonita's Orange and Purple blends, I was eager to taste Paula Pia's vision in Red.

La Bonita cigars feature the oiliest wrappers I've ever felt, and the dark, sumptuous wrapper on the Red was no exception. The website didn't have the tobaccos listed for the Red, but I'd guess Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar itself felt very well-packed, with a fairly resistant draw.

A cold draw brought a forecast of dark earth and coffee, with a mild tingle of spice on the lips from the wrapper. Once lit, rich and earthy flavors of leather and coffee were immediately apparent. After a half inch, the leathery flavor turned woody as a pleasant transition, but kept it's medium-full body.

After a couple inches, a soft, smooth spice eased it's way into the flavor. The earthy leather and coffee stayed fairly constant over the last half of the cigar. This blend is as robust as the Orange or Purple, but I got the feeling there's less ligero in the Red blend.

Once again, another excellent blend from Dulce Vida. Definitely do a couple days of dry box time to minimize burn issues from the fairly stuffed fillers and thick and oily wrapper.

On the Road: Ohio

I'm traveling with the family, taking the wife and kids to see in-laws and grandparents. I took the opportunity to put together a couple herfs with friends from various cigar sites, and while visitng my wife's kin, I herfed at Woodland Cigar Company, in Delaware, Ohio.

A comfortable and well-stocked shop, Woodland is a great place to meet up and spend an afternoon in smoky luxury. My friend, Brian, from Social Cigar, suggested Woodland, and I'm glad he did. It's a great place to smoke and visit.

I lucked out, and showed up at the same time as a sizable shipment of Perdomo cigars, including the new Grand Cru. I bought a pair of the Grand Cru maduros, as well as a pair of the ever-delicious 10th Anniversary Maduro. Scanning the shelves for things I haven't seen in Nebraska, I also scored a pair of Isla de Cuba maduros and Roxor Deluxe maduro robustos.

The lounge areas at Woodland are quite comfortable, and the owner's a hospitable and friendly guy. Next time I'm in this stretch of Ohio, I'm sure to drop in again.

My wife's kin are mostly in Wooster, Ohio, and we spent a majority of the time there. In Wooster, there's a shop called 'The City News', which has a nice assortment of Fuente cigars (including Hemingway), Romeo y Julieta, Rocky Patel, and Montecristo. I picked up pairs of RyJ Habano Reserve and RP's Cameroon Especial to provide some economic stimulus to the local economy.

La Bonita Purple Band robusto

Sometimes, you come across a quiet treasure, something wonderful that few people know about. I'm starting to believe that Dulce Vida's cigars are just that quiet treasure. I smoked their 'La Bonita' orange-banded, maduro cigar last weekend, and it was a pleasant shock.


The purple band is no less tasty:



I still have a couple more blends to sample from Dulce Vida, and I'm looking forward to them with eager anticipation.