AVO Heritage

Size 4 7/8″ x 50

Drink: Glenlivet Nadurra 16yr w/ 2 ice cubes

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Binder; Dominican

Filler: Dominican Ligero/Seco and Peruvian Seco

Prelight: Earthy and herbal aroma with a similar flavor, the draw is perfect.

Construction: A nice colorado shade wrapper, dull in color that is silky smooth and few veins

First Third:   It starts out with a sweet vegetal flavor with a little  pepper on the back of the throat with some leather through the nose.  The draw is perfect and smoke is plenty.   Immediately the leather flavor is getting stronger.  The burn is a little jagged and required a touch up.  Nearing the end of the first third and this is one of the most impressive cigars I have smoked in a long long time and for $7.50 seems underpriced in my opinion (don’t get any ideas AVO i like the price).

Second Third:  Almost halfway through and all I taste is leather with a caramel.  I’m thinking my drink pairing isn’t the best as its pretty overpowering.  Some Jameson 12 year Reserve would pair really well with this cigar with its caramel sweetness. About halfway some cocoa is sneaking into the flavor profile.

Final Third:  The spice is a little more prominent and the strength is starting to fade a bit.  The end is starting to become a bitter version of its former self.

Overall Thoughts: This was a great cigar.  I definitely had the wrong drink pairing as it overpowered the cigar at times and may have skewed its flavor. Next one I smoke will be paired with some Jameson 12yr Reserve.  This is a “boxworthy” cigar that I will have many more of in the future.  It had a perfect draw throughout and with the exception of the burn at the beginning was near perfect till the end after a touch up.  With a price tag of $7.50 everyone must try this cigar…. thank me later.

Cigar: Joya de Nicaragua cabinetta

Vitola / Wrapper / Binder: lancero; dual wrapper

Drink / Food: Drink pairing experiment with: Home brewed Oatmeal stout, Eagle Rare Bourbon, Pyrat reserve rum

Outside Factors: In shop; smooth jazz and the a/c on

Construction: Cute, nicely done pigtail. Both colors of wrapper well constructed. Very smooth wraps and only small veining. Nice bunching at end. Consistent firmness throughout with some give.

Prelight : Cuts easily with a nice easy prelight draw. Rich heady hay scent to lower wrapper; some cocoa scent to darker top. End has a minty scent of fresh tobacco.

First Third:
Oatmeal Stout: Cigar lights easily. A little oak on the front with a little white pepper on the finish. Regular drinks of the beer knock down the spice on the finish.
Eagle Rare Bourbon: Puffs following a sip of the bourbon have a rich caramelly flavor. Creamy oak moves to the finish. I have to go without drinking to get any pepper back, but the buttery caramel is a much better trade off.
Pyrat Rum: The strong orange notes of the rum ride over the subtle flavors of the cigar. The oak and pepper are present, but subdued.

Draw: Easy, but excellent for a lancero!
Burn: Straight throughout. Only relight needed near end while writing notes.
Ash/Smoke: Holds extremely well for the vitola; 1”+. Smoke is voluminous and thick on palate.

Second Third:
Oatmeal Stout: A rich nuttiness enters. The cocoa of the stout makes it feel like smoking a chocolate covered peanut! As I go to the other drinks through the second half, I keep wanting to go back to this combination. Sadly, this flavor doesn’t return for the finale.
Eagle Rare Bourbon: Pepper is nowhere around, and with the Eagle Rare, cigar morphs to a woodsy, earthiness. Nice, but a let down from the bourbon first third and the stout second.
Pyrat Rum: Flavor is there, but is virtually nondescript hidden behind the rum. If several puffs without drinking, the peppery spice comes back on the finish.

Final third:
Oatmeal Stout: Flavors are deep and earthy into the maduro wrapper. A relight causes cigar to get hot, but not bitter.
Eagle Rare Bourbon: Some nutty and earthy. Cedar makes it’s first appearance and is subtle on the back edge.
Pyrat Rum: Cigar barely a nub and needing pinched to continue to get a chance with the rum. Maduro completely washed out and not pairing well with the Pyrat.

Strength: mild medium Flavor: medium

Overall Impression: I hope they continue this quality of construction, because this was THE BEST lancero I have ever smoked as far as construction, ash, draw, smoke, and burn. I have always steered clear of lanceros due to issues, but this is one I would buy by the box if this is standard.
This has really opened my eyes to how your choice of beverage can draw positively or negatively against the flavors of a cigar. I enjoyed the Pyrat and Cabinetta, but it showed it would be a choice when you want to bring down the flavors of a cigar, not to review and enhance them. Like Ouzo, it would help make a lesser stick more palatable; wWhich this cigar was by no means.
Where the bourbon appeared to shine in the first third, it fell off as the stout benefitted from the fuller body further into the cigar. For round two, I am going to go with less “big flavored” beverage choices to see how the next cigar will fare.

Oatmeal stout pairing score
Construction: 9 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 12 15
Draw: 10 10
Burn: 10 10
Ash / Smoke: 10 10
Second Third: 10 10
Final Third: 7 10
Overall impression: 18 20
Total Score: 91 100

Eagle Rare pairing score
Construction: 9 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 13 15
Draw: 10 10
Burn: 10 10
Ash / Smoke: 10 10
Second Third: 8 10
Final Third: 8 10
Overall impression: 17 20
Total Score: 90 100

Pyrat rum pairing score
Construction: 9 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 11 15
Draw: 10 10
Burn: 10 10
Ash / Smoke: 10 10
Second Third: 7 10
Final Third: 6 10
Overall impression: 15 20
Total Score: 83 100

Cigar: CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger

Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Cameroon

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 4” x 52

Construction: It’s a stout 4” cigar that is obviously a maduro due to its dark color.  The cigar is firm without any soft spots and a few veins.

Prelight draw: The cigar smells vegetal with a hint of cocoa.  The prelight draw tastes similar and has a slight resistance to it, which I enjoy.  I don’t like too loose of a draw.

I was pretty excited to try these from all the chatter on Cigar Mafia as Steve (who is @thecigarmafia on twitter) started talking about these.  I have been looking for a “shorter” smoke as well so I decided to try the Knuckle Draggers.  It started out with dark chocolate and cherries up front with a peppery finish.  I can definitely taste the sweetness of the Cameroon binder as well.  I am having a little trouble getting smoke out of it and seemed a little moist which surprises me.  I am smoking these off the truck since I just received them yesterday so I figured they may be a little dry if anything.  So if you have these in your humi awhile before smoking they will probably benefit from being dry boxed first. As the first third progresses the chocolate flavor has intensified a bit as well as the pepper on the finish.

I’m having to smoke this cigar fast to keep getting smoke out of it.  I REALLY recommend dry boxing it.  At the end of the first third the cigar has went from peppery to spicy, the dark chocolate flavor remains while the initial blast of cherry and oak has faded.  Some leather is starting to creep in.  The ash thus far is pretty solid with a light grey hue.  I am trying not to ash it so I can do an ash stand for the photo for the review.. I’m hoping it holds.  Well I was about halfway in with a solid ash, tried to do the ash stand photo and it didn’t hold because my shakey hands are clutsy.  The good news is the smoke situation has corrected itself and it is giving plenty of smoke with little effort.  The aroma from the smoke is fantastic as well.  Around the same time the leather has really kicked in which I absolutely loving.  The strength is also picking up as the cigar progresses.  The cigar also has am amazing burn.  I had to touch it up in the beginning but since then it has been razor sharp.  Just before entering the last third the leather is dominating and the spiciness has simmered down to being peppery.  The last third is all leather with a tiny hint of pepper.

I really enjoyed this cigar and can’t wait to try more.  I am definitely dry boxing my next one.  Once the smoke was easier to coax out of the cigar this cigar because much more enjoyable.  The burn was consistent and ash was solid.  If you are a fan of peppery strong cigars this is a definite must try.  I recommend picking some up.  I thoroughly enjoyed this one down to the nub.

These can be purchased online from Hava Cigar Shop. http://www.havacigarshop.com/

Cigar: Sencillo made by God of Fire / Camacho

Wrapper: Jamastran Habano

Filler: Jamastran Habano and Piloto

Size: Double Robusto 5.75 x 52

Drink: Jameson 12 year Reserve

Construction: A firm cigar with a Colorado shade wrapper that is slightly veiny and silky smooth.

Prelight Draw: A nice draw that is not too restrictive yet it is not like sucking through a straw (perfect). The flavor is predominantly cocoa with some sweetness.

After the light it is apparent this cigar is slightly dry. This was a gamble I took smoking it straight off the truck today. It is apparent this is made from Honduran tobacco. Sweet cinnamon and white pepper are the initial flavors that are easily recognizable. It is pairing nicely with my Jameson. Transitioning into the second third a leathery flavor becomes predominant which I absolutely love. Sweet leathery cigars are the profile that are one of my favorites. The final third there is some coffee creeps into the profile with the leather and spice.

This was quite an enjoyable cigar. It is clearly a Honduran puro. It has that leathery profile that is present in many of the Camacho cigars that I like to smoke on a regular basis. My only gripe is I did have to touch up the burn a few times. However everything else was perfect. The amount of smoke it produced with the perfect draw just made it an easy cigar to smoke. I typically will throw away a cigar early if I can’t get smoke out of it or if its too tight of a draw. I cannot wait till these reach optimal humidification to revisit this one. It is a definite must try if you like Honduran cigars.