I feel it is time to “hang it up” and smoke just for smoking’s sake at this point.  I still enjoy a wide variety of cigars on a regular basis and plan to continue doing so but I seem to have lost my desire to put forth the effort to write about them here on the blog.  I prefer now for my hobby to remain more true to its stated purpose of relaxation and escapism, removing anything that even resembles work from the equation.

I will keep the site up indefinitely and will maintain the domain name at least through 2012 in case I find that retirement from blogging is a mistake and feel the need to take back up the torch and begin writing again. I guess you can call it the “Brett Favre Caveat”.  Plus I still hope the blog can serve as a bit of reference material for folks.  But for now I am done. I suppose I shouldn’t rule out the possibility of an occasional post here and there should the mood strike, but right now it just doesn’t seem likely that it would happen very often if at all.  Running a one man blog can be a bit cumbersome because all the responsibility for content falls on you.  Maybe when I am ready to get back into this I’ll come up with a different idea or different medium/outlet for my reviews.

Thanks again everyone and I will see you at the cigar shop, or on the forums, or on twitter, or perhaps on Google+.

-Matt
twitter: @lorax429
Forum screen name: Lorax429
Gmail:  Lorax429 (use my gmail account to find me on Google+)

Some of my more regular visitors have probably noticed I have slowed down quite a bit on the reviews lately.   I was excited to see my blog turn 5 years old this past June, but in a way it was bitter-sweet.  I have really enjoyed publishing this blog but lately I have felt a little burnt out.  Writing the reviews has started to become more like a chore rather than the fun it once was.  Because of this I want to take a step back for a little while, but I do not want to just go and kill this site that I have loving labored on for over 5 years now.  I have come up with an idea that I hope will allow the blog to survive until I am ready to get back into this again full-bore.  It may be on life support but I won’t let it die out completely.

I plan to continue to publish reviews as regularly as I feel the need to.  The difference is, most of them will be much shorter and without all the background information I usually put into a write-up on a cigar.  It will just be a brief description o the cigar and its flavors, and perhaps my opinion.  I’ll try to include photos with each short review as well.  This will hopefully keep fresh and new content coming up on the site yet not be so labor intensive for me as I research cigar and company to provide the kind of detailed reviews I have in the past.  Who knows, this could even lead to more postings if this turns out to be a fairly easy and fun way for me to post reviews.

I was browsing around my site the other day reading some old reviews and just checking out some of the areas of the blog I don’t look at everyday. While on my click-a-bout I came across my top 5 smokes page and noticed it had been a while since the last update to my list of favorite cigars. I reflected a bit on what was included in the list a decided is was time for an update. It had been long enough since the last up date that I consider this a major revision so now we have Matt’s Top 5 Smokes v3.0. So if you are at all interested in what my current favorites are, go check it out.

As is my custom, I am preparing to take a month long break from cigars during the month of August.  It is wicked hot here in North Carolina in the month of August and it makes for a good time to take a break and reset/refresh the palate.  I have a review or two queued up that I may decide to post in August just to keep things fresh.  I also usually find something else to post about during the month so the blog doesn’t shut completely down while I am on my break.  I am really in need of the break this year as I feel I have gotten a bit worn down in a lot of different ways.  Anyway, be sure to check back at least once in a while during the next month as there is bound to be something new posted and then we will be back int the full swing of things come September.

Country: Cuba

Today my humble little blog turns a whopping 5 years old. In internet years that is old. Sites on the internet come and go like leaves in the wind and it seems to be especially true of cigar related blogs. Considering that, I am rather proud of my little corner of the internet and how long it has managed to hang on, or more accurately perhaps; how long I have managed to hang on and stay committed to keeping this thing going. So today I celebrate 5 years of cigar reviews and mediocre writing with a very special smoke that my readers helped me to pick. During the first half of June I posted a poll asking my readers to help me decide which cigar I should review to mark this special milestone. There were 5 stellar cigars to choose from and in the end the Tatuaje Reserva SW Maduro was just barely edged out by an equally special Cohiba Robusto Reserva from 2003. So here we go, to celebrate Matt’s Cigar Journal’s 5 Year Anniversary, I give you the Cohiba Robusto Reserva…

In 2003 Habanos, SA release a special edition box of Cohiba cigars.  It was the Cohiba Selección Reserva and it contained 30 cigars in an assortment of sizes including six robusto sized cigars.  To see photos and get all the vital statistic of the cigars that came in this box check out the Cuban Cigar Website by clicking here.  I find it a very useful reference for information on Cuban cigars.  My sample was very generously given to me by Brother of the Leaf who happened to own a bar in Denmark.  I had always hoped to make it over there and check out his bar and smoke a cigar with him but as it happens we have lost touch and I am not sure where he is anymore.  I have been saving this very special cigar for a special occasion and I am happy to be finally putting it to flame in celebration of 5 years of blogging about my passion for fine hand made cigars.

This Cohiba has a very classic looking wrapper like light brown leather.  It is adorned with a normal Cohiba band and a second black and gold band displaying the Reserva designation.  The draw is absolutely perfect.  I used Gordon Mott’s  “Three Match Technique” to get the cigar lit.  Right from the very start this cigar is smooth and buttery.  There were creamy notes of vanilla and hint of citrus with a nice floral aroma.  It wasn’t long before it starts to change up.  The flavors became woody and leathery with a bit of spice and I started to get a bit of salt and pepper on the lips.  The aroma is still very floral.  Underneath it all is that classic Cuban earthiness and twang.  Half way through and this is already one of the most amazing cigars I have smoked.  There are flavors I can’t even figure out how to identify.  As I made my way through the smoke the cigar kept changing.  there were flavors of coffee, nuts, vanilla, honey, fruit, leather, and more.   There was lots of that Cuban earthiness mixed in as well and the cigar went from sweet to spicy and back to sweet, the flavors always smooth and creamy on the palate.  The flavors were full and rich but never overpowering and it had only a mild nicotine punch.  The cigar was an absolute joy to smoke from start to finish.  I can’t imagine a better choice of cigar to celebrate my blogs 5 Year Anniversary.

So Matt’s Cigar Journal will have a review of the 2003 Cohiba Robusto Reserva for the blogs 5 year anniversary which is on June 23rd.  Thanks for voting and helping me decide which special smoke to celebrate this milestone with.  Check back on the 23rd to see the review.

I will shut down this poll on June 16th and announce my selection.

It is the year 2010 and if classic cinema is any indicator, we are lucky to still be alive.  Anyway, with a new decade comes yet another change to my ratings system. Click here or the link on the left sidebar to read all about it.

OK.  Not very original, but it conveys the message…

I am teaming up once again with Jamie from Zen and the Art of the Cigar to do another Blind Review Series.  Last year Jamie and I exchanged three cigars each. The criteria for which was price range.  We each selected one bargain cigar, one mid range, and one expensive premium cigar for the other to sample blind.  We each removed the manufacturer’s band and replaced it with a plain white band with a number on it.  Then we each went off, smoked the cigars and wrote our reviews.  After that was all done, we got together and revealed what it was that each one of us actually smoked.  It was a lot of fun, very interesting, and popular among our readers.  We decided we wanted to do it again, but this time we are switching up the format a bit.

Taking a page out of Camacho’s book we are going to run this series of reviews kind of like Camacho’s Black Band Project.  Again we are going to exchange three cigars each, but this time all three cigars are going to be from one manufacturer but they will be three different blends from that cigar maker.

All of this will be happening soon.  The plan is to exchange cigars shortly after the new year begins so be sure to check back and follow the series.  These are always a lot of fun and the results are always interesting.

OK, maybe not BIG news, but it is kind of exciting to me. Matt’s Cigar Journal now has a new URL address. You can now access Matt’s Cigar Journal at http://mattscigar.com. Short, sweet, and to the point. I like it.

Feel free to update your links, bookmarks, etc. But no worries if you don’t. The original wordpress.com URL will still work. You will simply be redirected automatically to the new URL.