Aug 31 2010
August is over folks – now give me some fall weather! We are getting ready to enter my favorite time of year, September-January. Lots of vacation, great weather, and extended time with friends and family. This week provided a few more press releases here and there, with Gran Habano announcing the discontinuation of two of their lines. We finished the month with a great contest from Berger & Argenti, and we’ve got another excellent contest lined up for the middle of September, sponsored by 13th Floor Cigars! Be on the lookout, you’ll not want to miss this one!
There was some great stuff around the web this week, so let’s look around. And, we built a new page that indexes cigar blogs, directories, magazines, and forums. Take a look at it here and leave a comment if you’ve got something you’d like added to the list.
- Casa Fumando has a new contest up, and they are giving away a 5 pack of cigars and 50 count humidor! Toast it here.
- Jerry from Stogie Review smokes the new Master from Carlos Torano. Toast it here.
- Chris from Nice Tight Ash burns the Esteban Carreras Habano. Toast it here.
- Tiki Bar fires the Tatuaje L’esprit de la Verite 2008. Toast it here.
- Charlie from The Cigar Feed reviews the Viaje Fifty Fifty. Toast it here.
Aug 30 2010
Gran Habano to cease production of the highly-rated 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection lines
Miami, Fl., August 30, 2010 – Due to the overwhelming success of our new Azteca cigar we have decided to cease production of the highly-rated 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection lines. This difficult decision will allow Gran Habano to maintain our high level of quality and consistency within our core lines and any special projects that may be in development. Gran Habano’s current inventory of 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection cigars will be depleted by the end of 2010. At the current pace we expect our final shipments to be sent out in September.
About Gran Habano Cigars
Gran Habano Cigars was founded in 1995 by Guillermo Rico and his son George Rico. Using only the best raw materials on earth, Gran Habano begins the growing process with Habano and Corojo seeds which are grown on company-owned farms in Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The process comes to fruition at our boutique factory, which focuses on quality control and high-end productivity making it one of the top cigar companies in the world.
Today we have a guest review from AJ – he operates a great blog over at AJ’s Stogies. He has a great range of cigars on his site, from hard to find smokes, to boutiques, and the occasional Cuban; he also includes some great pictures as the cigar burns. One of my recent favorites is his take on the shaggy footed Viaje Summerfest. Be sure to click on the orange links and pay AJ a visit, and give him so comment love as well! Thanks AJ!
When Matt asked me to do a guest review, I was both honored and excited. My goal was to smoke something a bit different for this review, so I dug around in the humi and decided to light up a Tatuaje Miami FF. This cigar was labeled a Tatuaje “second” version of the Cojonu 2009, though they have the same quality, construction, and tobacco. Pete Johnson apparently decided that the ring gauge on this batch was too small (about 47), so these were sold by New Havana Cigars (and possibly others, though I’m not sure) for cheaper than the labeled and released Cojonu 2009s. I have heard good things about this cigar, some even saying it was just as good or better than the 09s, so I am expecting an enjoyable smoking experience.
I’ll be sitting on the patio with some water this afternoon. The cut is straight with my Xikar, and lights with matches.
Pre-Light:
This cigar is really a beauty. The wrapper is a dark, chocolate brown with a rough leathery feel. The pre-light draw is mildly sweet.
Flavor and Burn:
First third – The first draws open up with thick white smoke. I can taste some wood, raw tobacco, sweetened cocoa, and dark earthy flavors as it begins, and the burn/ash/draw are all spot on. While the body is medium, the flavor is definitely on the fuller side.
Second Third – The burn is absurdly straight, and the ash lasts for almost 2 inches before I drop it. The flavors are similar to the first third, though now with some sweet, raisin-like notes, as well as some cinnamon joining the earthy profile. Damn I wish I had some coffee for this smoke!
Final Third – Moving into the last third, I must say this is just a relaxing, effortless smoke. A rich coffee note has emerged among the continuing earth, and the flavors continue to be dark and full-bodied. B/A/D all remain groovy all the way to the nub (which I gladly burned my fingers on).
Conclusion and Score:
Though this cigar didn’t have the typical “Tat spice” that many of us so love, the dark and full-bodied flavors of earth, coffee, wood, and sweet cocoa made for a tremendous smoke. All aspects of construction were fantastic, and I quite enjoyed myself with this relaxing smoke. If possible, give this smoke (or the Cojonu 2009) a try; it was definitely my favorite of the Cojonu line. I would give this stick a 90-point rating – not surprisingly another winner from Tatuaje!
