“Smoked Up” No.31
Another week is past us in 2013 and another issue of “Smoked Up” is here. Nothing too much to report in my neck of the woods. Finished up a 4day @ 12hours/day work week which left me whooped. I didn’t enjoy too many cigars last week due to the long hours of work. When I got home, I showered, ate dinner, spent time with my daughter and went to sleep. All to do it over again the next day. I am so glad that is over this week.
The cigar news has slowed down to a mere snail’s pace. Like I had mentioned last week, I figured it would do so with the ending of the IPCPR show. Most companies are shipping out product, relaxing, etc…
Cigar Views
JM’s Dominican Corojo Torpedo*: Had a great draw & pretty good burn. A milder smoke than I usually go for. A decent flavored smoke that had light pepper & butter. A woody note peeked in & out periodically that blended nicely. Over all a decent entry level corojo cigar. This would make a great “knock around” cigar. Nothing too fancy or too pricey; they range about $2.75/ea. Or they would make a great entry level cigar for someone who wants to start enjoying cigars. Its no-where near as strong as some Corojo cigars are.
Viaje Exclusivo Robusto: Another hard to find Viaje (imagine that) thats been sitting a while. I was gifted this by a good buddy, Mike P. This Viaje had a slightly thick draw & an off burn. These are good when they were fresh & aged. Unlike most Viaje LEs, which need a good bit of age to peek. This one had great full flavors of an oaky wood flavor with hints of a white pepper. The burn go so far off, I had to touch-up and relight the cigar a few times. The humidity was off the charts that night, so I am sure that was a major reason as to why.
La Aurora 107 Maduro Corona: Started pretty spicy that was borderline too much for me. But soon settled down enough to throw a chocolate note in the smoke. The draw was a bit thicker than I’d like. At the band pull-off, the spicy pepper eased off a good bit & the chocolate migrated towards more of a dark cocoa note. The burn was decent seeing I was dealing with 90%+ humidity outside. Check out the La Aurora 107 Maduro Robusto review I did a few weeks ago for a full look at this blend in a different size.
Gurkha Empire II: Nice, but thick draw with a so-so burn. Had decent flavors of bread, some light carmel & a subtle black pepper spice. About half way, the bread note eased off & the pepper & slight caramel took over, but never got too overpowering. Around the band pull, the bread note was a thing of the past and almost nonexistent. Not my favorite Gurkha by far, nor my favorite from the Empire line. I am still partial to the Empire IV. It wasn’t bad, but just wasn’t my cup of tea I was looking for at that particular time.
Los Blanco Maduro Toro: Continuing with my trip through the now “Blanco” line of cigars comes the Maduro line. I had a good bit of high hoped for this cigar. Yet, they where crushed like no other. The flavors were “ok” at best. The main issue was a severe plug in the cigar that really limited the draw. A few relights, continuous touch-ups and a headache from trying to get some smoke led me to lay this cigar to rest a little bit after a quarter of the way into it. I really hated to do it, but I had to. I will definitely get another one of these to try, and next time give the cigar a better “once over” and make sure there are no major hard spots (like the one this one had).
Cigar News
CLE Plus 11/18 exclusivel​y available at Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium
Stogie 411 -Â Episode 59 and Cigar Federation Announcement
Diamond Crown Maduro Rebranded as Diamond Crown Black Diamond via CigarCoop
Dignity to Release new “Cuban Zirconia” in Fall 2013 via halfwheel
Alliance Cigar to Become Exclusive Distributor for Alec Bradley Maxx Connecticut via CigarCoop
El Cedro Cigars Unveils Initial Offerings via TheCigarNut
Halfwheel posted the lineage of @TatuajeCigars’s T110/Fausto line
Commentary: Five Cigar Facts You May Not Know via StogieGuys
Davidoff Year of the Horse 2014 Limited Edition Showcased at 2013 IPCPR via CigarCoop
Crush & Roll West: Central Coast’s Premiere Cigar and Wine Event via Cigar Obsession
George Rico S.T.K. Miami American Puro to Feature Fire-Cured Tobacco via CigarCoop
Colibri Introduces the V-Cut via halfwheel
Zino Platinum Showcases “The Make of L.A.” at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show via CigarCoop
Sons of Anarchy Cigar Coming from Black Crown via halfwheel
*This cigar was sent to me from the company as a sample. In thus doing so, does dot sway my reactions of this particular cigar. Many thanks to them for the opportunity to try it.
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