“Smoked Up” No.15

Posted by Shawn

April 18, 2013

Another week has crept passed us, which means another issue of “Smoked Up”. This week’s issue is late due to some typical “Spring Cleaning” and unexpected truck mechanical issues… Like usual, I had a variety of cigars when I did get time to sit down for a smoke. From light and mild to bold and powerful. I didn’t get a chance to do a full review this week, but hoping to get two in this weekend.

I also went to a Studio Tobac event at The Cigar Shop in Biloxi, MS this past Saturday. Even though they aren’t giving away a Corvette this year, it still was a good time. Had Matt Schulte rolling some cigars, deals on Oliva cigars and a semi-new MS brewery “Lucky Town” had two beers on tap for us allÂ to try. Overall a fun time and worth a stop if the Studio Tobac tour comes to a shop near you.

Cigar Views:

East India Trading Company (Gurkha) Red Witch Robusto: Another new “oval” pressed cigar hits the shelves. The shape is still something to get used to. Had a great draw, burn & produced a good amount of smoke. Nice leathery earthy flavors filled my pallate. There was a slight hint of a pepper & sweet tone here & there as well. A ways into it, I got some subtle coffee notes as well. Not too my Gurkhas I really care for, but this one is a pretty good smoke and worth a try for sure.

Alec Bradley American Blend Sun Grown Toro: This cigar’s wrapper smelled like total barnyard! Started off with a musty type of wood flavor that wasn’t all that great to be honest. But, it slowly turned into a decent smoke. Had medium strengthed flavors of musty earth then had some sweet flavors (similar to a marshmallow). The last portion had a note of leather as well. Had a decent draw, burn & produced a good amount of smoke. This cigar tasted more like a maduro, to me, than a Sun Grown. It wasn’t my favorite Sun Grown cigar, nor the worst. I will pick the Connecticut in this blend anyday though.

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro: I have only seen these twice in person. When I did the last time, I grabbed all the shop had and that was about a year or soÂ ago. I like the Short StoryÂ , but love the maduro wrapped Short Story. A creamy taste of a cocoa flavor with and underlying hint of a wood note. Once paste the foot “teet” the draw and burn were great. Around 3/4 way into it, the creaminess of the cocoa eased off into a bitter cocoa flavor.Â A great medium bodied cigar for when short on time. A more indepth review: A. Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro

Crowned Heads Headley Grange Eminentes: One of fourÂ new sizes of the Headley Grange line from The Crowned Heads. I don’t know if it was the hype of the first released size (Â Estupendos ), but I liked it a little more than theÂ Eminentes size. I think, maybe the larger ring gauge has something to do with it. I still enjoyed the smoke, it had awesome flavors and draw. If you have smoked a few EPC cigars, you can taste their influences in the blend a touch. A good smoke that has a lot of fanfare with it, and I can see why. ItsÂ a mighty fine smoke! A more indepth review of the Estupendos size: Crowned Heads Headley Grange

2012 Oliva V Maduro Toro: I love Oliva V, and really love the V Maduro under one usual condition: They have to have about 2 years rest on them for them to really shine. Don’t get me wrong, they are good fresh, but way better aged. The 2012 seems to be a little better on the better fresh side than previous years. They have been out a few months, so they are starting to round off. The draw and burn were great and had nice chocolatey flavors. I would really like to see what the 2012s tast like in 2014; but a great smoke today… I think a box purchase is in order..

La Cuna Bin No58: One of your typical $50 bundle cigars. No frills or thrills, just a basic, fairlyÂ simple, one deminsionalÂ smoke. This cigar has been in the humidor for who knows how long “Eh… OneÂ day I’ll smoke it.” It had typical Habano wrapped flavors similar to a RYJ Habano, yet way less in strength & not as good. Some wood, slight pepper flavorsÂ with an added very faint vanilla undertone here & there. The draw was so-so & the burn was pretty sketchy. But not a whole lot can be expected from a $2.50 cigar. Around 1/2 way,Â the flavors got very flat and bitter, so thats where I laid it to rest.

Orlik Golden Sliced: Yes, I know its not a cigar, but occasionally, I will puff on a pipe when the mood strikes me. This tin was a gift from “Secret Santa” last year. I had always eyed this blend up for some reason. I knew it was nothing fantastic, but still wanted it. I have a decent selection of pipe baccy (for a newbie)Â and this is just another tin on the shelf and nothing fancy. It was really mild bodied, but had a cool smoke and no tongue bite at all. A little citrus and sweetness in the smoke. A good morning baccy or anytime baccy for someone looking at getting into pipes. It was also my first chance to smoke a flake tobacco. It took some searching on YouTube to how to load this type of tobacco in my ole ‘cob pipe.