“Smoked Up” No.35

Posted by Shawn

September 3, 2013

As I sit here and type this out, I realize I really didn’t accomplish much of anything this week or weekend! I had planned on doing a few reviews, but that fell off to the wayside when my daughter decided to cling to my side pretty much all weekend. I did our cigar shop’s fantasy football draft this weekend. Its almost sad to say, that was the highlight of my whole week. Work was work. Labor Day was another day at work. The previous week was not much better, just plain out blah.

I am not sure if it was the heat, the humidity, the family life or what. But I didn’t smoke many cigars in the past week. Which is kind of odd, this time last year, I was smoking two or so each day and three or so on my days off… I don’t think I am burned out on cigars, just maybe not having as many each day will help my palate develop more.

Cigar Views

Valeroso Regalo (Robusto Extra): I had did a review of the Animoso a while back and quite frankly, I liked the cigar from this fairly new company. When I tried the Regalo, it seemed to be a bit more to my likings at the time. It was well rounded and smoother than I remember the Animoso being. Regardless, they had along the same flavor profiles, good burn and great draw. Not a WOW smoke, but a good smoke to enjoy when you want a “classic” style cigar. Not too powerful, yet not lacking in body with nice woody notes with ample black pepper.

Quesada Q D’Etat Dagar: Quesada has become more of a cigar company you’d expect to see in my humidor. From the Tribute to the 6×60 Octoberfest; they make some real good cigars, both quality and tastes. Although, a few are a little pricey ($12+), they are still a great smoke for the price paid. The Q’ D’Etat was no different. I figured it to be a more bolder smoke like the Octoberfest, but it was a nice med-full smoke. I did enjoy it with a Rouge Double Chocolate Stout that at 9% abv, it could have mellowed off the body of the cigar. Either way, it was an unexpectedly great pairing that I enjoyed.

GAR Opium STK: This was the first time to try, let alone see one of these cigars. I was quite impressed with it. It wasn’t jaw dropping call you best buddy great. But, it was pretty darn tasty! Some of the Gran Habano lines are ok, some are better and some are not my style. This one seemed to fit me well. A medium bodied smoke with an upper medium level of flavor strength. Had a faint sense of sweetness in the smoke that kept me intrigued with it. Over all, I’m looking forward to grabbing a few more of these soon. At about $7, they are a smoke I’d recommend you to try out. Even if you don’t like many Gran Habano cigars.

CAO Flatead 554 “CamShaft” and La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli: I won’t go into much detail about these cigars, as they are in the list of myÂ review cigars. So, within a few weeks look for a detailed review of them separately. I can say, one I liked so-so. The other I liked a good bit more. Two examples of why General Cigars is still in business. They keep coming up a with solid blends that aren’t too far “out there” that most people could enjoy.