On Cigar Smoking...

     So I haven't posted any cigar reviews lately. Simple reason: I haven't smoked any cigars. Couple of reasons for this, the first one is simple, it's too damned cold, even in my workshop with its little heater, and I don't smoke in the house (I cheat occasionally, but not with cigars, they linger too bad).
   The second reason is what got me to thinking...
   In December I made a commitment to myself to smoke a cigar a day for a month, since I'd mainly been buying and expanding my stash, and not smoking. I did pretty decent, missed a few days, but not many, but something else happened... I got burnt out.
     Smoking cigars got to be a "chore" or an obligation... I respect those that post daily reviews of one or more sticks, my hat's off to them. For a professional reviewer who's either employed in the cigar industry or makes money from their reviews as a living, that's all good. For me, working 10-12 hours a day, trying to make up lost time with my son during the week on the weekends, an hour every day for a cigar was a lot.
   
    The solution is simple, we smoke cigars for relaxation right? So relax. Smoke on your time. Don't feel obligated to smoke. If you're buying but not smoking, so be it, you'll have a finely aged stash when you do have time.
     Once my hours get back down, and the weather warms back up and is comfortable, I'm sure a lot more of my stash will die a slow death by fire.

And I'll enjoy it.

Noob Review: DE My Uzi Weighs a Ton +11

Drew Estate My Uzi Weighs a Ton +11, 5.5x52, NIC
Smoked: December 24, 2012. Rested 6 weeks, bombed to me, true age unknown.
Smoke Time: 1:30+

Pre-Light:  Dark mottled chocolate brown, no veins, one seam visible. Slight peeling on the cap, VERY heavy, packed tight and firm. Earthy tobacco and sweet spice smell.
Cold Draw:  Earthy, Black pepper. Firm draw, not too tight.\


First 3rd:  Getting better at my lighting, no bitterness at all. Very faint pepper at the start, with some charred wood and leather. Thick smoke. Some tart fruit flavors come in, kind of a dried berry flavor. I read about the dried berry flavors in a couple reviews but this is the first time I've been able to definitely pick them out, I'm excited! The smoke has a sweet/fruit scent to it as well. Slow straight burn.        Cigar is not nearly as strong as I was expecting... Very light on the pepper, but definite pepper on the retrohale. Ash held over an inch.


Second 3rd:  Not much change yet, but really enjoying this smoke. Burn is slightly wavy, but ok for now. Little bit of bitterness when I'm double puffing, but that's likely my fault for multi-tasking and neglecting my cigar... The pepper is still light, and the dried fruit/berry flavors are still noticeable, along with some sweet wood or cedar flavor perhaps? About halfway down the cigar, the pepper picked up a bit. I also clipped again due to some tar/nicotine buildup. Started with a V-Cut.

 Final 3rd:  Little more charred wood flavors, but mostly the flavors aren't changing much. There's something else faintly in and out that reminds me of a bittersweet cocoa, but more to the bitter than the sweet. So flavors are still mainly some sweet wood, dried fruit, and slight pepper. Burn required one touchup, ash held almost two inches.

8/10 - I've already jumped to the devil site and threw a bid on a bundle of 10. This was the first smoke I've had I could definitely narrow down the fruit flavors to berry (thought no more specific than that. I read a few reviews that said black/dark cherry, and that's probably in there, but just tart berry overall). The pepper was much lighter than I expected, and I really, really enjoyed this smoke. I've got a 7x60 resting, but Churchills really aren't my thing, and this has me really looking forward to trying the Baitfish also!

Noob Review: DE Liga Undercrown Corona Viva

Drew Estate Liga Undercrown Corona Viva, 5 5/8x46, NIC
Smoked December 17, 2012. Rested 6 weeks.
Smoke Time: 1:15

 Pre-Light:  Even medium brown, no soft spots, veins, or seams. Sweet barnyard & tobacco smell.
Cold Draw:  Barnyard, sweet spice. Good draw.

1st Third:  No bitterness (working on my lighting technique), no blast of pepper (nice!). Dry mouth, wood flavors. burn pretty even, no touchups, lots of smoke. Pepper comes in pretty quickly, but not super strong, distinct, not overpowering. Cahrred wood flavors, some leather. Some nutty flavors, but not sweet. Ash held over an inch, pepper faded a bit.

 2nd Third:  Draw a little tighter, but not prohibitive yet. Pepper and roasted nut flavors are in and out back and forth, along with some sweet wood flavors... There's a little sweetness, but not as much as I expected. Burn is still straight, ash is over 1" again, light grey and feathery.

 Last Third:  Pepper on the lips, but more of a roasted pepper, not a black pepper. Clipped again because of tar buildup. Pepper and wood are still off and on, along with some bitter coffee flavor. Towards the end I caught a bit of fruit flavor on my tongue that totally caught me off guard. Just came in a couple times, not enough for me to nail down a specific fruit...

7.5/10 - My first Liga/Undercrown, and not my last by any means. One stick does not a Liga whore make, but if this is an indication, it could be a steep slope. Definitely kept me interested, and trying to narrow down different flavors. Got four more resting, along with a couple Robustos, so I'm curious to see how the Robusto in the "original" blend compares. Not sure if I'd grab by the box (yet), but a 5'er or two on hand is a definite. Another must-have for my humidor.

Noob Review: Drew Estate Natural Ltd. Irish Hops

Drew Estate Natural Ltd. Irish Hops, 6x52, NIC. Rested 3½ months.
Smoked December 16, 2012
Smoke Time: 1:15

Pre-Light:   Sweet creme smell, slight fruit scent also? There's something, but I can't identify it. Dark even brown, one vein, and a visible diagonal seam, which worries with with the DE Java I smoked, so we'll see... Solidly packed, no soft spots.
Cold Draw:   Sweetened tip, sweet tobacco flavor, with a hint of something earthy...

First 3rd:   Nothing stands out right away, just a smooth even flavor, rather mild. The smoke smells very sweet. I start to pick up hints of an unsweetened creme flavor. No spice or pepper at all yet. Good amount of smoke, not huge, and a good draw. No major burn issues yet. Retrohale is very mild, and the flavors are so subtle this stick is almost bland...

Second 3rd:   A couple of very small wrapper splits starting, but the cigar also vibrated off the workbench when I was running a sander, so I can't blame the cigar for that yet. Not much flavor change to me, and a few more cracks are starting as you can see in the last image. Creme flavor is a little stronger, but still not sweet.

Last 3rd:   A very slight bitterness comes in, but the other flavors are steady, and I'm getting hints of very mild spice/pepper every now and then. More subtle sweet flavors are coming and going, but nothing I can pin a solid description to... Ash is holding over 1½". A few cracks in the wrapper still, but they don't seem to be affecting the burn. The last inch and a half or so is getting more bitter.

5.5/10
I just don't see this as a staple in my infusidor. The flavors in this one were so muted it was bland. Any flavor coming through was very weak. I put this as very mild on flavor, maybe medium bodied/nicotine content. Maybe a good smoke for a new puffer or someone who likes really mild sticks. Definitely lacks the punch and flavor of the adorable little Jucy Lucy...

Noob Review: Drew Estate Java Maduro Corona

Drew Estate Java Maduro Corona, 5x42, NIC. Rested 2 weeks.
Smoked December 15, 2012
Smoke Time:   1:00

Pre-Light:   Wow! Very strong chocolate and coffee smell. Dark brown, a couple of veins, very oily, a little lumpy. The box-press makes this a square stick.
Cold-Draw:   Sweetened tip. Sweet barnyard and faint cocoa, not as strong as I expected.

First 3rd:   Good draw. The flavors are sweet, but very subtle. The smoke is very sweet smelling, my girlfriend even commented on how good the smoke smelled. I was seriously expecting to be lighting up a Folger's Hershey bar, it smelled that strong and sweet.

No real changes in flavor during the smoke, so my comments are more with construction now... I had several burn problems around the edges of the seam spiraling up the stick... and in the last third, the wrapper unraveled and came off completely.

You can see the wrapper starting to come off here. The binder held, and I kept smoking until it got too hot for me, but the chocolate aroma in the smoke mostly left with the wrapper.
There was the slightest bit of spice off and on in the second half, but very minor.




7.5/10
I really enjoyed this. I can definitely see a stock of these in my infusidor full time. I'm also definitely going to try the latte and Java Mint...

Noob Review: CAO MX2 Box-Press

CAO MX2 Box-Press, 5.5x55, NIC. Rested about 7 weeks with me, unknown before that (sent in a PIF from Silverstreak)
Smoked December 13, 2012
Smoke Time: 1:30

Pre-Light:   Very dark mottled brown color, quite toothy and oily. A couple of veins, and one wrapper crack just below the upper band, on the back side. Very firm and solid pack, heavy cigar. Sweet earth and chocolate smell.
Cold Draw:   Sweet grass and raisin. Good medium draw.

First 3rd:   Not a huge blast of pepper, but my lips got tingly right away from it. Some slightly sweet raisin-like flavor too. The draw tightened up quick and I wasn't getting much smoke. Clipped the head a second time, thinking part of the problem may be buildup from having to double puff. The pepper and raisin both faded quickly. No real distinct flavors, and the ash fell as I was clipping it the second time.

Second 3rd:   Not much change, the burn is getting wavy, but the draw is much better. The raisin flavor is off and on again, along with a dark tobacco flavor, and some pepper. The ash is dark mottled grey, and a bitter chocolate is mixing in. None of the flavors I'm picking up are sweet, mostly "dark", bettersweet, or earthy flavors. Opened the draw up a little with my handy finishing nail.

Shortly after I opened the draw with my nail, I actually felt the draw become free-er in mid-puff. Must have been a plug of some sort.

Last 3rd:   Not much flavor change yet. Once I got past that little cracked wrapper, the burn improved quite a bit. Rich dark flavors, but nothing really dominating or even standing out... Pepper and dirt on the retrohale. Seriously like having dirt in my nose! Never had that flavor/smell in a cigar before... Ash holding about 2" at a time. Draw is getting tighter towards the head, and it's getting a little hot and bitter, as I'm having to draw harder to get good smoke.

7/10

Not a standout smoke to me yet, but solid. Interesting change in flavors, and the earthiness is different than what I've been smoking.

Noob Review: Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro, 5.5x52, HON. 3½ months rest.
Smoked December 12, 2012
Smoke time: 0:30

Note: I'm really not sure what vitola this is, the Robusto is 5", the Toro is 6", and my stick measures exactly 5.5", so I've got no clue...

Pre-Light:   Very dark even brown, couple of veins, nothing major. Very solid, toothy, and oily. Dark musty sweet smell.
Cold Draw:   Musty/earthy, slightly loose draw.

First 3rd:   Pepper at the start, not much smoke right off the bat, and bitter. There are hints of sweetness, but they're overpowered by the bitterness and pepper. Burn started getting wavy quickly, and had to correct it already. Mouth very dry. Pepper faded after about an inch, but the burn started going crooked again. Getting some wood and cedar notes, but having to double puff just to get good amounts of smoke. Draw getting a little tighter and better, but the burn is getting wavy again already...



Second 3rd:   Still fighting the burn line, but the ash held for 2". The pepper is mostly gone, but my lips are still tingly. The bitterness is fading, still getting the cedar wood notes. There are hints of sweetness, but few and far between, and not enough for my preference.
Gave up due to fighting burn issues...

6.5/10
I'd give this lower marks, but I've read good reviews of them, and maybe I just got a dud. It's the only one I had on hand, so I might try one again, but I won't go out of my way to find one.