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.

So last week was the cigar industry’s big trade show down in New Orleans. All the Manufacturers get together to show off there new wares for the next year. It looks like there is a lot of interesting new stuff that will be coming to market soon. So Items of particular interest to me are:

Tatuaje

Pete Johnson is adding some to the original Brown Label line which he hasn’t done in a while outside of the once every three year new vitola for the Cojonu extension. He is added a new size, the 7th to the standard and Reserva lines which I believe is a corona gorda. The standard will have a corojo wrapper and the Reserva will have a broadleaf wrapper. There will also be a Petite Cazadores Reserva and the Petite Tatuaje Reserva. I look forward to trying all of these.

Drew Estate

The Dirty Rat that we have all heard so much about, and that some have been lucky enough to have tried already should be available soon. I have heard a lot of great things said about this cigar. I am anxious to give one a smoke.

Illusione

Dion has a limited release on the way called the Singulare Phantom.  Production was limited to 1000 boxes of 15 so this will be very limited.

There is a bunch more news and revelations that came out of this years show.  Some of the other blogs actually had feet ont he ground at the show and provided excellent coverage of the events and products.  If you haven’t seen them use these links below to check it out and get up to speed on all the new stuff….

The Stogie Guys had excellent coverage of the event:

Stogie News: IPCPR Trade Show Preview (Part 1)
Stogie News: IPCPR Trade Show Preview (Part 2)
Live Updates from the IPCPR Trade Show (Day 1)
Live Updates from the IPCPR Trade Show (Day 2)
Live Updates from the IPCPR Trade Show (Day 3)
Stogie News: More Tidbits from the IPCPR

The Smoking Hot Cigar Chick Made the trip as well:

Photo Updates From IPCPR 2010 in NOLA
Returning Home from IPCPR 2010
In NOLA for IPCPR 2010

The Stogie Review reports on the part of the show every red-blooded American male wants to know about:

Women of IPCPR (2010)

And there is plenty more to be found out there in the cigar blogsphere if your interested.  Just click around and you’ll find it.

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: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Costa Rican
Size: Lancero 7.0″ x 38 ring
Courtesy of CigarsDirect.com

The fact that this line of cigars was re-blended by Don Pepin Garcia should leave it as no surprise that a Lancero was eventually added to the card.  Pepin has a reputation for being partial the old-school Cuban way of doing things and he seems to have a love of the traditional connoisseur vitolas  like the Lancero.  Not only that, but he seems to have a special talent for masterfully blending for the Lancero as his Lanceros tend to be the best on the market in my opinion.  That said I have been looking forward to trying this cigar given how much I have enjoyed the other larger sizes in the line.

Like a lot of Lanceros it isn’t the prettiest cigar.  It is a bit bumpy and lumpy looking but the draw is excellent and the burn is razor sharp.   It starts off a little peppery before falling into a woody/nutty core complimented with leather and occasional subtly sweet caramel notes.  There weren’t any dramatic changes in flavors but rather shifts in intensity between the present flavors and a build up of black pepper near the end of the smoke.  Watchout for the ash on this one.  It is a little flaky and falls off easily.  If you don’t pay attention you’ll be wearing it.  All in all the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Lancero is an excellent cigar that I will smoke again.

ACigarSmoker.com is doing a wonderful thing.  If you smoke a Series JJ today and take a picture and then submit that picture to their email address they will make a donation of $20 to the American SIDS Institute in honor and support of a fellow BOTL who lost his little boy to SIDS three years ago.  Please click this link to get all the details and find out where to send your photo.

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: Toro 6.0″ x 56 ring
Courtesy of CigarsDirect.com

There isn’t much left that hasn’t been said about the Ashton VSG.  It is an extremely popular line of cigars made for Ashton by the Fuentes.  If you are new to the VSG, then surf on over to my review of the VSG Sorcerer and read the background info on this smoke there.

The Wizard is the largest of the VSG family at least as far as the ring gauge goes. It is also one of the very few vitolas that does not sport a box press.  It uses the same dark and leathery Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper as the rest of the line.  Long time readers of my blog already know that I am not a fan of this large of a ring gauge on a cigar.  I feel that the Wizard is a prime example of why that is.  All the wonderful flavors that you’d expect from a VSG are muted and muddled in this format.  There are still notes of earth and leather and sweet spice but they are not as sharp or intense.  The cigar overall is milder and weaker than the other vitolas in the line.  It is a good cigar in a line of great cigars which makes it a bit of a disappointment for me.  Of course, YMMV.

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Cremas 6.0″ x 49 ring
Courtesy of CigarsDirect.com

So as the story goes, Pepin’s son Jamie had a secret project he was working on.  He was creating a cigar in tribute to his father and he was doing it behind Pepin’s back.  He managed to keep it a secret up until he was nearly finished with it and when Pepin found out about it he told his son to give him three cigars which he promptly smoked and loved.  That is the Birth Story of My Father Cigars.  The cigar is made up up of tobacco from the Garcia’s own farms for the binder and filler, and the wrapper is a lovely and oily Habano leaf grown in Ecuador by the Oliva Tobacco family.

The My Father line of cigars is available in four sizes:

• No.1 Robusto 5.2″ x 52
• No.2 Belicoso 5.2″ x 54
• No.3 Cremas 6.0″ x 49
• No.4 Lancero 7.5″ x 38

In addition to these cigars there have been a couple of line extensions added to the brand including the My Father Cedros Deluxe and Le Bijou 1922.  The original My Father is an beautiful looking cigar with a large ornate band and a smooth and oily colorado claro wrapper.   The No. 3 Cremas is an interesting vitola to be because of the unique style of the head of the cigar.  It comes to a very short taper, almost like it was going to be a belicoso and then someone just stopped the taper and completed the cap.  The result is reminiscent of the fumas style nipple but in truth this is quite different from that.  I found I really like this style from both a look and feel perspective.  The slight taper was comfortable when smoking and it thought it was unique and pleasant looking.

I found the cigar to be very pleasant and more mild than just about any other DPG smoke I’ve tried.  There was lots of coffee bean and dry wood on the palate and the flavors had a creamy texture to them.  The aroma produced by the smoke was elegant, and floral.  The last third of the cigar was more robust with a mild spice and some leather and occasional flashes of black pepper.  The burn was impeccable and the draw perfect.  The ash was a little loose and flaky so I had to ash often, but otherwise I had no complaints for this excellent cigar.

Today a new Federal Tax on Tanning went into effect. The new tax is part of a health care reform bill that put a 10% tax on the use of tanning beds. Tanning beds have now been lumped in with tobacco, alcohol, gambling and the other sin taxes. All you anti-tobacco zealots and all the apathetic people who didn’t see the prohibitive taxation of tobacco as a big deal; for those you that fall into those categories and love to go to the salon to get your “base tan” started for the beach season… WE TOLD YOU SO!

When the latest wave of tax attacks came after tobacco and in particular cigars, lots of cigar enthusiasts including myself railed against the injustice of it and warned everyone that once you open the door for this kind of regulation and taxation it won’t be long before the government starts to come after the luxuries you like to enjoy. Today just proves us right. Now the nanny state has declared your tanning habit as unhealthy and it starts with this 10% tax. Now the door has been opened and the spot light has been shone on the tanning industry. Next the states will join in with the taxes and then it won’t be long before some health care advocacy group starts calling for regulation of the tanning industry and then all the fake bake lovers out there will be singing the same song we cigar smokers have been singing for the past few years.

Come on over and take a seat on the couch with us. There is plenty of room and we will be joined by more groups still. It is easy to see what’s next. All you fitness fanatics who love your dietary supplements. Get ready. You are probably next to get hit by increased taxes and then someone will have the bright idea to expand the FDA to regulate all those supplements. Then all your protein shakes and thermogenic pills will disappear from the shelves under the weight of government regulation.

Welcome to the club….

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.

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Size: Double Corona 7.0″ x 54 ring
Courtesy of CigarsDirect.com

I don’t know about you, but over the past several years it seemed to me that everything CAO did was centered around some kind of gimmick.  Neon lighted humidors, barber pole wrappers, car trunk cigar boxes, etc.  The focus has been all on the marketing and gimmicks to the point it seemed as if they had lost touch with just making cigars.  It showed in the quality of the smokes they were putting out too.  Then the go and release the La Taviata.  No gimmicks, no fancy boxes or over the top elaborate modernized bands.  Just a classic style cigar with a classic looking band and even using an old classic Cuban brand name.  Very un-CAO like really.  I have to say they should concentrate on the cigar itself more often, but more on that soon.

The Intrépido is a BIG cigar.  I called it a double corona in the stats list above, but with a 54 ring gauge it is one big ass DC.  Perhaps calling it a Gigante would be more accurate.  It has a good-looking Colorado wrapper, a little oily and a bit bumpy.  It is finished off with a sloppy looking cap and moderately simple band.  As big as this cigar is, it is packed full of tobacco.  There were no soft spots to be found, the draw excellent and the burn was razor-sharp.

After a bit of a peppery start this cigar is very woodsy with lots of cedar and oak as the dominate flavors and just beneath the covers is a slightly sweet spice the balances it out nicely.  I have to think that is courtesy of the Cameroon binder.  At different times during this very long smoke (I smoked this a little north of two hours) I picked up some leather, coffee,and licorice.  I found it to be a nicely balanced and decently complex smoke.  It is a far better cigar than its very modest price tag would imply.  The Intrépido is the largest size in the line and it only costs around $6.  CAO departed from their glitzy high-priced and gimmicky approach with this cigar and it easily the best cigar they have made in the past decade and it is an inexpensive and economical smoke that far out-performs its price tag.  I found it to be a very good medium bodied cigar.  This size however is a bit too large for me.  It was very hard pressed to finish it. I wouldn’t classify this as a strong cigar, but rather because of it size and the sheer volume of tobacco I had to smoke to get through it, I started to feel a little green towards the end.  I think the shorter vitolas would suit me much better.