Life Goes On

Wrapper: Natural Filler: Combo Size:   Corona Length: 5.5 Ring Gauge: 42  Price: $.75 Beverage: Diet Coke  Smoking time:35 minutes Humidor time: 15 days + Purchased: Thompson Cigar Construction/ Pre-light:  Well to start with sixty of these came free with my humidor, when they arrived they were so damp the wrapper would not burn at all, it just turned black and shrunk around the ash. Since then I have smoked about ten of these. They are a bit rough looking with heavily veined wrappers about the thickness of linoleum. First third/ Middle/ End:  These things now light right up, burn pretty even, have a consistent flavor from beginning to end of earth, tobacco and pepper and you can relight them without hurting the flavor at all. Overall:  I will probably never buy these since corona's are not my thing, but I will smoke what I have, they make a nice short hop-around-town smoke and the flavor isn't half bad; they are not tongue burners that's for sure.

Read the review here

Like the headline says, it's a busy, but very exciting week ahead. @AKACigars is holding a week long contest and will join #CigarChat this week. You can get all the details about this from RobbyRasReviews.com  Or you can follow @RobbyRasReviews on twitter for all the latest contest information. The there will be more great conversations with @LoganatDell and @CigarInsights. Follow these guys, they are great people and are not afraid to share what they have learned about cigars. I have a fantastic looking cigar to that will be reviewed tomorrow, the Toro y Leon Habano Claro No.2 Torpedo which you can learn more about at  toroyleon.com . I am super excited to smoke this cigar so stop by their site take a look. Then coming up in the reviews are more easy on the budget Victor Sinclair sticks, the mighty 6 x 60 My UZI Weighs a Ton Toro and a Brick House Toro and maybe even something from My Father. So stay tuned and join in on the fun!  Thank you for your continued support! Ci

Wrapper:Connecticut shade grown Filler: Dominican  Size:   Churchill  Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 50  Price: $1.00 Retail: $3.25   Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1Hour 5 min. Humidor time: 15 days  Purchased:  CigarsInternational.com  Po' boys II sampler Construction/ Pre-light:  This was a bit of a rough looking stick, there were a couple small holes in the wrapper and it was heavily veined on one side. The cold aroma from the wrapper had a very slight nuttiness to it as did the foot, only a bit stronger and the cap was nearly tasteless.  First third:  Once it was going the near perfect draw yielded a nice amount of smoke with a nutty tobacco aroma and the flavor mix was nuts and pepper, but a pleasant pepper, not the tongue burning type. The ash is a very firm white, which I knocked at about the one and a half inch mark, but it probably would have held longer. Middle:  Into the second third a bit of nice creaminess developed adding nicely to the already

Wrapper: Nicaraguan maduro Binder: Sumatra  Filler: Four country blend  Size:   Churchill  Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 50  Price: $7.39  Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1 hour 20 min. Humidor time: 7 days  Purchased:  Local Shop Construction:  This was one nice looking stick. The dark maduro wrapper had only one small vein and it had a very rich looking oily sheen. Rolling it between my fingers, it was firm, but not hard. Pre-light: I have wanted to try this cigar for some time now but had not had the chance to pick one up, when I found one at tobacco, beer and more the other day I jumped on it, but wanting to give it a fair shake, I put it in the humidor for a week. I was a bit surprise that it didn't have a stronger cold aroma or taste, but there was a definite nutty chocolate taste and aroma. I clipped the end and found the cold draw just a tad bit tight, but it was acceptable. First third:  As I lit this cigar two things jumped out at me, the va

Wrapper:Connecticut shade grown Filler: Blend of Cuban seed Size:   Churchill  Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 50  Price: $1.00 Retail: $2.00   Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1Hour  Humidor time: 14 days  Purchased:  CigarsInternational.com Po' boys II sampler Construction/ Pre-light:  To begin this was a fairly nice looking stick with a nice solid shade grown wrapper that had only a few smaller veins and no breaks or tears or soft spots. There was not  much of a cold aroma from the body or the foot and the cap had only a hint of sweetness. First third:  The first two or three puffs were loaded with pepper that hit right on the end of the tongue but that flavor quickly went away and was replaced by a nice mild slightly sweet tobacco   taste. The burn was a little off during the first third but by the mid point it had evened out and was dead on. Middle:  At the mid point the flavor had turned to more of a sweet cream flavor that was very nice, the wrapper had

Wrapper:   Brazilian Habano Oscuro  Filler: Nicaraguan  Size:   Reconquista Torpedo  Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 54  Price: $5.83 Retail: $20.00   Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1Hour 45 Min.  Humidor time: 10 days  Purchased: Cigars.com  Heavy Hitters Double Stack sampler Construction:  Ever since this sampler arrived I have been going nuts to smoke this cigar. As I opened the individual cedar box and removed this stick from the cellophane the excitement built at steady pace, I think my heart was actually racing a bit. Once it was open and unwrapped only one word came to mind "perfection". The dark oily wrapper had only two super fine veins, there were no hard or soft spots to be found. Pre-light:  I have been reading about this cigar for quite some time and wondered if it could really live up to all the hype. Putting this cigar to my nose I soon found it all to be true. The cold aroma was chocolate with a hint of earth, spice and oak. The aroma fro

Wrapper:   Brazilian Maduro Binder:  Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan Size: 460 Length: 4 Ring Gauge: 60 Price: $8.79 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1Hour 5 Min. Humidor time: 7 days  Purchased:  Local shop Construction:  There really is not much to say here other than the construction was simply flawless! There was one very small vein running down the side and the cigar was firm, but not too firm the entire length. It was just one great looking stick. Pre-light:  Being wrapped in Brazilian Maduro, I was expecting notes of chocolate and let me tell you this cigar Just screams chocolate. The cold aroma of the wrapper was pure chocolate, the foot was chocolate with a touch of spice thrown in and the cold draw had the same flavor mix as the aroma radiating from the foot. I was a bit  disappointed  that the cap did not have the  flavor that I was expecting, but there was at least a small amount of chocolate. Being a 60 ring cigar I was a bit hesitant to use a

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Cubano Natural Binder:  Nicaraguan Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan Size: VII - Churchill Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 48 Price: $7.39 Construction:  The SIGLO appears to be a well constructed stick with only one medium and one fine vein within the wrapper. The feel was firm but not hard and there were no soft spots. With the bright yellow band it was just one good looking, well presented cigar. Pre-light:  The natural wrapper had a nice strong aroma of earth, oak and leather, the aroma from the foot was nearly the same with a bit peppery spice thrown in. Tasting the cap was a bit disappointing since it was nearly tasteless, but after punching a hole the easy cold draw had the same nice flavors that came from the foot. First third:   After putting a torch to this baby I was impressed with the mild/ medium flavor that just roared out filling my mouth and enveloping my pallet as well as the room-filling cloud of white smoke it produced (which by t

Wrapper: Crossed Cameroon and 59 Cuban Seed Corojo Binder: 4 Year Aged Dominican Ligero Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano and Honduran Size: Corona Length: 6 Ring Gauge: 44 Price: $8.45 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 100 Min. Humidor time: 2 days  Purchased: CigarEarth.com Construction:  As I removed the Hybrid from the cellophane I was immediately struck by how nice this cigar looks. The medium brown wrapper was smooth with only two very fine veins, it was firm but not hard to the touch, I found no spongy spots, no hard spots and no breaks or tears. Pre-light:  Putting this cigar up to my nose was a total surprise; the hybrid has maybe the best cold aroma of any cigar I have smoked with flavor notes of toast, almonds and coffee. The cold draw was easy and had the same flavor mix with just and added bit of pepper. I can't wait to put a match to this baby. First third:  Once the end was clipped and this stick was going, things got interesting. The fla

Construction:  This was a nice looking dark maduro stick. There were a few small veins in the wrapper, but no nicks, tears or breaks and the cigar was nice and firm with the exception of a rock-hard-head. Pre-light:  Both he aroma and taste from this stick were nice; the wrapper and the foot had a very nice nutty chocolate sweetness to it, and the cap had a slighter chocolate note to it. Once there was a hole punched in the end the draw did prove to be a bit on the tight side, however, the cold draw did have the same nutty, chocolate sweetness to it. First third:  Lighting this cigar was very rewarding. Once it was toasted and lit, the first puff provided an unexpected BANG of chocolate and nuts. This stick produced loads of  of nice white smoke with a nutty tobacco aroma, but the nice white ash  surprisingly  fell right about the one inch mark. As the cigar neared the end of the first third there were a few puffs containing a non-overpowering amount of pepper and the wrapper

Wrapper: Sumatra Filler: Dominican  Size: Churchill Length: 7  Ring Gauge: 50 Price: $1.00 Retail price: $1.00 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 60 Min. Humidor time: 10 days  Purchased: Po' Boy II sampler Well it's time to get off this premium cigar kick that I've been on the last couple weeks and do what this blog is supposedly all about. For today I selected another low cost stick from the CI Po' Boy II sampler , a Churchill by Duque. CI describes this stick as; "mild in body and it sure beats a sharp stick in the eye", so let's put a flame to it and see just what we get. Construction: At first glance this cigar is very visually appealing with it's nice shape and medium brown wrapper. After taking a closer look you can see that although the construction looks good, it is a bit off. The Sumatra wrapper looked thick enough to stop a bullet and it had more veins than average. When rolling the cigar between my fingers I discov

Wrapper: San Andres Corojo Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan  Size: Rothchilde Length: 5  Ring Gauge: 54 Price: $5.83 Retail price: $17.00 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 60 Min. Humidor time: 4 days  This was the first stick from the "Heavy Hitters Double Stack" sampler from  Cigars.com , twelve premium cigars coming in under $6.00 per stick. As I unpacked this stick from the cedar lined tube the first thing I noticed was the solid construction and over all nice appearance. Visually examining there cigar was only one small vein ruining down the side and the medium brown wrapper had no tears or nicks, the cigar was  firm, but not hard when rolled between my fingers. Smelling the wrapper was a pleasant experience since the aroma was mainly chocolate and cedar, the cap had a mellow chocolate flavor, the cold draw even though it was a bit stiff, tasted of chocolate with a hint of cedar and pepper. The first few puffs once the cigar was lit were near

Wrapper: Connecticut Filler: Honduran  Size: Robusto 5 x 50 Price: $2.00 Retail cost $3.25 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 50 Min. Humidor time: 3 days  I re reviewed this cigar after some time in the humidor and found them a  much better cigar. You can read the new review here:  http://dangumm.com/2012/02/5-vegas-gold-robusto/ On my last order from Cigars.com during the checkout 5 packs of these 5 Vegas Gold popped up for $9.95. Since I had never smoked and 5 Vegas product, I figured why not give them a spin. When they arrived I popped them out of the 5 pack to put in the humidor I was impressed with the overall appearance and construction and thought to myself that I probably should have ordered more at that price.  However, after smoking the first one, I am pretty happy that I didn't Like I said the construction of this firm feeling cigar was fantastic, however the cold aroma was a pleasant nutty cream, but it was slight and hard to detect, the foot had t

My "The Heavy Hitters Double Stack" sampler arrived tonight and it is way better than I expected it to be.  I ordered it from Cigars.com for $69.95 for 12 sticks (that just $5.84 per stick), Just the two Man O' War Armadas and the two Ave Maria Reconquista retail for more than the sampler price plus the My Uzi Weighs a Ton is a 6x60 Toro. Along with those there are also two Ashton VSG Eclipse, Romeo y Julieta Edición Limitada, and Cohiba Puro Dominicana. If you want a super deal on some premium cigars this is the deal to grab.

Once this stick was free from the cellophane it was quite easy to see the craftsmanship and attention to detail put into the construction this cigar.  The dark, oily, Brazilian wrapper was flawless and I could smell the spicy chocolate aroma radiating from several inches away. The foot also had the same nice aroma and the cigar was very firm with no soft spots. I had also picked up a punch yesterday and was anxious to give it a spin after tasting the cap, which it too tasted like spicy chocolate. I thought since the cigar was so firm that the draw may be impaired, but even with just a punch hole in the cap the cold draw was flawless and again tasted like spicy chocolate. Once a flame was put to the cigar it produce a nice amount of white smoke that had a pleasant woody aroma. The flavor from the first puffs mainly had chocolate undertones mixed with a good tobacco flavor, these flavors remained constant through the first third and didn't change until about the mid poin

Wrapper: Habano 2000 Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran Size: Robusto 4.7 x 52 Price: $7.09 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1 Hr. 5 Min. Humidor time: 0 days - Cigar store purchase Once I removed this cigar from the cellophane I was impressed with the overall appearance of this stick. This was one nice looking cigar that I held in my hand. The dual band was striking in appearance as was the smooth medium brown Habano wrapper. I was however a bit surprised of how light this cigar felt and half expected it to be soft as I rolled it between my fingers, but surprisingly, it wasn't soft at all. Using my other senses to examine this cigar I found the wrapper's aroma to be a mix of oak and leather, but it was faint and I found it difficult to determine exactly. The foot was a bit easier to judge since the aroma was a bolder mix of spice and fruit. As I tasted the end cap it was again a bit of a challenge to come up with a flavor, but there was faint sweetness there and t

Wrapper: Connecticut Filler: Nicaragua Viso, Olor and Criollo 98 Dominican Rep. Size: Churchill 50 x 7 Price: $1.25 Replacement cost $3.00 Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time: 1 Hr. 30 Min. Humidor time: 6 days This was another selection from the "Power House 16" sampler by  Thompson Cigar . The cigar was hefty and well constructed with an nice dark oily wrapper and no soft spots.When smelling the wrapper I was immediately surprised with a nice mild dark chocolate aroma, the same flavor appeared when tasting the end cap, while the cold draw produced the same dark chocolate flavor there was a hint of spice mixed in. The cold draw was a bit firm but still well within the acceptable range to be an enjoyable smoke. Lighting this cigar proved to be an easy and rewarding task as the aroma it produced reminded me of toast, coffee and chocolate, the first draw also rewarded me with a mouth full of nice sweet dark chocolate tasting smoke that sat well on the pallet. These fl

Wrapper: Natural Filler: Dominican; long and short Size: Churchill 50 x 7 Price: $1.00  Beverage: Diet Pepsi  Smoking time 1 hr. Humidor time: 5 days After a few days in the humidor to even out a bit this is the first selection from the Cigars International "Po' Boys II" sampler. This is a nice looking, firm, well constructed stick but it only has trace amounts of oak as the cold aroma, the wrapper had a very slight sweetness to it and the cold draw was even and light as were the flavors. Lighting the cigar was a snap and the initial flavor and aroma was that of toasted oak, in fact the flavor remained fairly constant the entire length of the cigar. Around the final third the burn took off a bit but it soon corrected itself without my intervention. This cigar lacked any flavor complexities but at the same time the nice even flavor never became bitter or harsh.  Over all this was a nice, mild, pleasant smoking cigar that would be good for mowing the lawn, wor

Wrapper: Corojo Filler: Nicaraguan, Brazilian and Dominican Size: Churchill 50 x 7 Price: $1.25  Smoking time 1 hr 35 min Humidor time: 5 days This is the first stick sampled from the "Power House 16" sampler from Thompson Cigar , which was part of a Christmas offering that consisted of 16 Victor Sinclair Churchill cigars, a cutter and a ten stick aluminum travel humidor for $19.95. To start off, this cigar had some construction problems with the wrapper. As you can see in the two pictures there is a wrapper nick just above the band, a split in the foot and a wrapper tear about two inches up from the foot. On the back side is a split that circles nearly half the cigar that almost looks like it has been broken. Upon closer examination the split was only in the wrapper and didn't go into the binder. The cold aroma had hints of toasted nuts and spice and the end cap had a slightly sweet taste to it. As with all the other 55's I have sampled th

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican Size: Robusto 54 x 4.75 Price: $7.60 Beverage: Diet Pepsi w/lemon wedge Smoking time 1hr. 20 min. Humidor time: 24 hours With the release of  Cigar Aficionado Magazine's  top 25  cigars 2011, I decided to break from my normal pattern of buying my cigars as samplers from one of the great online retailers and took a trip to the local cigar store, Spokane Cigar Shop , to find a couple sticks the made this list. Well I achieved success and found the Warlock Robusto, CA's number nine pick. Construction for this stick was spot on, the dark Habano wrapper was flawless, the stick was firm with no soft spots and the cold aroma it gave of was a combination of nuts and mocha and the end cap tasted of the same flavors. Once the end was clipped off the cold draw had slightly stronger hints of the same nutty, mocha flavors and the cigar had a nice easy draw. Once it was toasted and lit the first puff provided a strong

Here's another stick from Thompson Cigar's Five Don's Sampler. The cold aroma at the foot was nearly non existent as was any flavor from the heavy wrapper and the cold and very tight draw tasted a bit like old earth. Upon lighting this cigar, two things struck  me at the same time, the nice sweet and spicy aroma, and a very bitter harshness that felt like it was destroying my tongue. This harshness and bite were so overwhelming that it was nearly impossible to judge any flavors other than bitter, which by the way were prevalent until about the halfway point. By the halfway point the bitterness and bite were both fading away, but boy my tongue had already paid a price on the first half, to be replaced by a smooth earthiness. The draw had also started to ease up and the uneven burn had now corrected itself . Reaching the final third, the bitterness and bite were gone, the draw had improved dramatically and a dark chocolate flavor crept in to complement the smoot

Well I don't have a cigar review yet today, but the good news is; my new humidor is up to humidity and fully stocked. Once it's stabilized again after filling it nearly to the brim, I will post a full review on it too.  Here is the down and dirty on the humidor; it's a beast, it's beautiful, but it's still a beast! I purchased this as a package from Thompson Cigar for $119 which includes the 125 count glass top humidor with a digital external display, 60 green label Corona's and a three count pocket case. The coronas aren't really my cup of tea, but hey, they came with the humidor and the normal price tag for just the humidor is $125. Once they get a chance to stabilize for a while I'll review them and publish what I find out here for everyone. There are a ton of reviews yet to come in the next couple of weeks since I have a ton of cigars to review. I am currently backlogged with CI's Po' boy II sampler, the Victor Sinclair Power House 16 s