Life Goes On

I picked up this Whitetail Glass-top Humidor from Cigars International back in April. It came as a package deal with ten cigars for a measly $29.99. I thought it was a steal since the cigars were worth more than $30 full retail. It has these features: 50 Count Tempered glass lid Spanish cedar lining and divider Humidifier and hygrometer Hidden quadrant hinges  Plus, it passes the dollar bill test. I calibrated the hygrometer with my Boveda kit, through away the round humidifier and slipped in two Boveda 2-way 69% humidity packs and it's been working perfectly ever since.  If you are looking for a small humidor, I think this one is great! Rated 9 out of 10 stars. 

This Sumatra Mandheling Coffee is another sample from  Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters . I've previously done an Italian Roast Espresso and an Earl Grey tea they have provided. Sumatra Mandheling is by far my favorite coffee and I am excited to get going on this one. Once the bag was opened you could smell the deep earthy, chocolate aroma of the roasted beans, plus nearly every bean shows a rich layer of oily caramelization. I used two brewing methods for this review, a pour-over and a french press, along with two grinding methods, my hand grinder and my new electric grinder (which I will review one of these days). The electric grinder, even on the coarsest setting, produced to many fines causing over extraction and a bitter pot of coffee (that's why I'm still hand grinding for reviews). Once ground, the dry aroma had notes of cocoa, rich earth and bread. After hot water was introduced and the grounds were wet, there were nuances of sweet caramel, fresh ba

I've been after an Asylum 13 for some time now and at last week's Cigar Train customer appreciation event , Brian tossed me this beastly stick. This gargantuan 6 x 80 cigar came from the IPCPR show this year, and it shows some real road wear, but like a Timex, it took a licking and kept on ticking . There was some major wrapper damage on this Asylum 13 80, but I didn't deduct any rating points for the wrapper. For such a large cigar, the Colorado Claro colored wrapper would have been a nice since it had fairly small veins. Once I tracked down a cutter that would work on this baby (I had punch in my pocket and forgot I had it), the draw was super easy, almost like sucking air through a straw, and I found it to taste like back tea. Once it was toasted and burning, which wasn't that easy due to the size, it produced a large volume of mild bodied smoke from both ends with initial flavor notes of tea. A bit farther down there were other notes of sweet cream, nuts,

This La Flor Dominicana Ligero L-Granú 6x64 beast came from Cigar Train on my last weekly visit. I've wanted to smoke an LFD cigar for some time now, but this was the first chance I've had grab one. Let's see how it goes. It's a huge cigar, but it has some of the best construction I've seen. The oily maduro colored wrapper is seamless and contains only a few very fine veins. The cigar is firmly packed full length and offers a rich fermented tobacco aroma from the foot. Switching to the other end, the free cold draw has notes of ripe tree fruit mixed with spicy Spanish Cedar. Once the massive foot was toasted and burning, the initial medium bodied flavors were a mix of chai tea and white pepper spice. Delicious! As the cigar burned on there were other flavors of oak, cocoa, leather, charcoal, molasses, caramel, cream and sugar. However, this gargantuan wasn't with out it's problems. As the wrapper developed a deep oily gloss, the burn started to wan

Last night  Waddell's , on Spokane's north side, hosted their first "Whiskey's around the World & Cigar social". Brian from  Cigar Train  was there supplying cigars for the event. Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to sample several quality whiskeys, smoke a top of the line cigar and eat some amazing appetizers.  Whiskey Samples Here is the whiskey line-up each patron had the chance to sample. Nomad S-307 Cigar The cigar of the night provided to everyone was the Nomad S-307. Sliders There were delicious pulled-pork sliders. Kabobs Some great tasting grilled skewers. I didn't get a picture of the amazing clams. The Gold The Cigar Train cigar table for those that wanted more than one cigar.  This was a first time event and the turn out was lower than expected, but everyone there had a great time and I for one can't wait to see what else Wadell's and Cigar Train have planned.   To stay advise

Today I'm trying out the Peruvian cafe Femenino Coffee from the Buna Mobile Roasting Company. If you get time check out the web site for the Peruvian cafe Femenino Project . What they are trying to do is pretty neat. BunaMobile  is a small batch roaster that specializes in roasting for fund raisers. You can find more information about their charities and fundraising on their  website . If you look at the picture you will see the roast level of this sample has beans ranging from the city+ level to Italian. Some beans show a nice amount of caramelization, while others don't. I tried two brewing methods with the coffee, pour-over and French press with equal results. The coffee dry had a nice aroma of toast, while wet it produced room filling aromas of toast and caramel. Hot from the cup the coffee was bold, yet brisk with and edgy tartness right on top. The flavors hot were toasted nuts and caramel with a hint of sweetness. As the coffee cooled some heavier flavor nuance

Here's one of the two cigars I smoked Sunday at the Cigar Train  "Customer Appreciation"  event , the La Sirena Cigars Oceano Arctic Perfecto. This Oceano Arctic Perfecto was a great looking cigar. It was covered with an oily maduro colored wrapper that had only few finer veins and nearly invisible seams. From the foot there were aromas of leather and cocoa, while the firm cold draw had notes of cocoa mixed with wheat straw. Once the cap was clipped and the cigar was burning the cigar produced a large volume of medium bodied smoke from both ends. As the cigar turned to ash there were flavor notes of cocoa, charcoal, earth, sweet cream, molasses and oak. The cigar ended it's forty-five minute burn with a full bodied flavor mix of charcoal and earth. Overall this  La Sirena Cigars  Oceano Arctic Perfecto was a really nice cigar, it had a good flavor mix, great burn, and fantastic construction. This is another cigar that should be on your "to smoke list:&qu

I've been sipping and pondering this Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee from the Doma Coffee Roasting Company for almost a week now trying do decide just what to say. This review will be longer than normal, because I probably have too much to say. First, let me tell you, this Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee is just amazing. I'm not getting to deep into the process, you can read more on their website , but Doma ages green coffee beans in whiskey barrels that come from the Dry Fly Distillery here in Spokane. The results? Wow! When I popped open the vacuum sealed can for the first time, the aroma literately filled the entire house. However, I was stumped. The huge aroma from the coffee didn't really smell like coffee, whiskey or oak, and I couldn't pin it down. After several hours, while sipping my third cup, it hit me. The aroma reminded me of the "hot-toddy's" my dad made when I was a kid. This revelation sent my mind wandering back to times with my

For the second time in as many years, Brian Coerver, the owner of Cigar Train here in Spokane WA, had a "customer appreciation" sampler event. For three hours Cigar Train customers had the chance to try out cigar samples that Brian had picked up over the last year. Brain Stands Guard Brian isn't really standing guard over the cigars, he's helping each person pick a cigar that's right for their palate and smoking style. With over 200 samples to choose from, the choice's can be pretty confusing to new or occasional cigar smokers and Brian did a great job of pairing cigars to patrons.  Greg Greg was on-site enjoying samples just like everyone else plus he was kept pretty busy in the store with customers wanting to pick up something extra from the humidor. Early Crowd With the event starting at 2:00 PM the Cigar Train parking lot soon became a sea of lawn chairs with a boiling cloud of cigar smoke overhead. There were well over 50 people in

I'm in the process of reviewing some tea samples for Tattle Tea . Along with tea samples they sent along a,  FORLIFE Hook Handle Tea Infuser, to try out. In the past all I've ever used were the "ball and chain" type. I used this infuser on my first Tattle Tea review of their Earl Gray Black Tea . After using this infuser once, I'm hooked! The infuser itself is made from stainless steel with extra fine .3 mm holes so you can steep the finest of teas. The infuser's handle is made so that it clips of the edge of your cup and it works like a dream. Along with the infuser, there is a high-fired ceramic dish to set the infuser on when not in use. Overall I thought the  FORLIFE  Hook Handle Tea Infuser is a great product earning a 10 out of 10 star rating. I would like to thank Tattle Tea for providing this product for review!

I've seen these 1950 cigars in the Mike's Cigars catalog for quite a while and wanted to try them out. Mike's Cigars hooked me up with a couple of samples so here we go! You can pick these toro's up in a cool looking tin of 10 for just $45.95 from Mike's Cigars web site. This 1950 Toro is covered with an oily, Colorado Claro colored wrapper. It has a few small veins, nice seams, a triple cap and it's firmly packed full length. From the foot there are light notes of fermented tobacco while the free cold draw tastes like spicy Spanish cedar. Once it's burning, there are mild bodied flavors of sugar and spice and everything nice, up front. These flavors are followed up with nuances of tree fruit, cream, faint oak, earth and toast. The sixty minute burn time finished with medium bodied flavors of brown sugar and earth. Overall this was a pretty darn nice cigar. There were no harsh flavors, it had a clean burn and the wrapper developed an oily sheen

I've wanted to try this My Father Cigars Flor De Las Antillas cigar for quite some time now and it showed up in this months Freight Train COTM package from Cigar Train . This was a nice looking stick. The oily Colorado colored wrapper was seamless and nearly vein free. It was topped off with a triple cap that when cut produced a firm draw flavored like black tea. Being box-pressed I always wonder how the cigar is packed, this Flor De Las Antillas was firmly packed full length and had a nice aroma of sweet tea from the foot. Once flame was introduced to the foot the first medium bodied flavors were sweet tea and mild black pepper. These were soon followed by toast, toasted marshmallows, brown sugar, black tea, molasses and ripe fruit. The cigar finished it's fifty minute burn as full bodied with mix of oak, leather and a hint of cocoa. It was a very tasty cigar! Overall the My Father Cigars Flor De Las Antillas Robusto was a great cigar. It had great flavors, top notch

This Jaxx Old School Toro by La Sirena Cigars came my way as a review sample from Cigar Train . I've never tried the Jaxx so i am pretty excited put some fire to the foot and give it a spin. Don't let the outside appearance of the Jaxx fool you. Sure the oily maduro colored wrapper shows some veins and seams, but inside it's all business. Checking the cold aromas both the foot and the firm draw provide flavor notes of mild pepper and leather. After toasting and lighting the foot, my palate was rewarded with a smooth mix of medium bodied smoke--this cigar was one of the smoothest cigars I've sampled. There were initial flavors of pepper, fermented tobacco and oak, plus the wrapper left behind a sweet aftertaste of cocoa on my lips. As the cigar burned on there were other flavors of brown sugar, oak, cream, charcoal, burnt marshmallows, cocoa and espresso. The cigar ended full bodied and with my favorite burnt mocha finish. Tasty!   When doing my visual cold ins

THE GUAYABERA LADY FOUNDATION AND THE FUENTE FAMILY PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE 3RD ANNUAL “HAVANA NIGHTS” The “Fuente Family Affair” event hits South Florida this October 25, 2014 (Miami, FL) August 21, 2014— Miami is no stranger to amazing events. But few are charged with such a powerful message and such a dynamic group of supporters. The Inaugural Havana Nights – “A Fuente Family Affair” event was held in 2012. The fete was unforgettable to many, as it was also one of the largest fundraising events held for the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. With great pleasure is the announcement of the 3rd Annual Havana Nights – A Fuente Family Affair presented by Hublot, taking place Saturday, October 25th, 2013 from 7PM-1AM at Neo Vertika located at 690 SW 1st Court, Miami, FL 33130. Presented by The Guayabera Lady Foundation, this event is being held to support the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation and promises to be bigger and better than last year; with an outstanding array of entertainm

DALTON, PA. Jordan Alexander III Premium Cigar Company officially announces a rebranding of the company to include a new logo, band, and release. The new logo, which will be incorporated into future releases and marketing materials, can be seen attached to this release. Replacing the original “lions and crest” logo, this design exemplifies the family tradition theme of JA3Cigars. The rebranding logo is based on the Alexander Family Coat of Arms. Partnered with the rebranding of the company, JA3Cigars is proud to officially announce a new blend produced through the Quesada Cigar Factory, expected to be released mid-Fall of 2014. Replacing the current corojo blend, the new release (known as the Jordan Alexander III Corojo) is constructed with a Dominican Corojo wrapper, Dominican binder, with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. The Jordan Alexander III Corojo will be available in four vitolas; robusto (5 ½ x 54), toro (6 x 52), double toro (6x60), and belicoso (6 x 52). Al

This East India Trading Company  (Gurkha Cigars), Red Witch XO came from Cigar Train on my last visit. They can be found at most on-line cigar retailers. I'm not really a fan of box-pressed cigar, but I don't discriminate in my reviews. This Red Witch XO has a hearty Colorado colored wrapper. It does have a few visible veins, but it appears seamless and it has a triple cap. From the cold foot there are mild notes of ripe fruit while the super easy and free draw has notes of caramel and toast. Once burning there were medium bodied flavors of toast, oak, raw sugar, cocoa, earth and leather. The Red Witch XO finished it's sixty minute burn with a nice oil sheen on the wrapper and a full bodied flavor mix of earth, leather and black pepper. Overall this was a very flavorful cigar. The box-press held its shape and the cigar didn't soften up, however the burn did need one correction near the mid point but other than that it was a great cigar. Rated 92

This Macanudo Cru Royale Poco Gordo came as part of this month's Freight Train cigar of the month package from  Cigar Train . You can find these online at  MikesCigars.com in boxes, 4-packs or singles. This tightly packed, stubby little beast comes wrapped in a stout and hearty Colorado Maduro colored wrapper. The wrapper has some light seams, a few small veins and some sandpaper-like tooth. Aromas from the cold cigar are wheat straw with cocoa from the foot and the free cold draw has notes of sweet molasses. Once the Cru Royale was burning the first thing I noticed was the large volume of full bodied, dry finished smoke it produced. As the cigar burned there were flavors of  chocolate, cream, earth, espresso and charcoal. It ended with a nice mix of burnt mocha flavors. While the flavor mix wasn't complex, the flavors were rock solid, plus the wrapper left a nice chocolate aftertaste on my lips. Rated 92

Here's another stick that was provided by Cigar Train for review. For those of you not in Spokane you can find them at famous-smoke.com as singles or by the box. This is my first Villiger cigar and I'm pretty excited to try it out. Like the name says, it covered with an oily, seamless, vein free, Colorado colored wrapper. From the foot the aroma to the nose has floral notes, while the free cold draw is flavored like orange spice tea. There's also a lingering orange aftertaste. This Villiger Colorado Robusto is packed tightly full length and it's topped off with a triple cap. After toasting and lighting the Colorado, the first flavors are a medium bodied mix of currents and black pepper that left my mouth watering for more. As the burn progresses, there are other flavors of oak, peat, brown sugar, caramel and a bit of red pepper in the final third. The fifty minute smoking time ended with a full bodied mix of oak and leather. This was a pretty nice cigar, it

Reviewing tea is something new for me. Although I have sipped a great deal of tea over the last forty-five years, I am mainly a coffee drinker. My past tea favorites over the years have been bagged,  Earl Grey and Constant Comet. Until receiving this Earl Grey Black Tea sample from Tattle Tea , I thought Earl Grey was just slightly different blend than Orange Spice. Well, that's how it tasted. After sampling this Earl Grey I now know they are miles apart in flavor nuances and I also know where the flavor really comes from, the Bergamot orange. Starting with a warmed cup, I steeped 1-1/2 teaspoons for four minutes in 10 ounces of water just off the boil. While it steeped the aroma of oranges floated into the next room.  After the four minutes were up I had a cup of reddish-amber liquid (slightly darker than honey) that had a nice slightly spiced aroma of ripe orange. The first sips were bright, a bit tart and flavored of orange with a hint of spice. There was lingering, mout

I'm always excited to sample a coffee that's new to me, this Uganda Sipi Falls coffee is another sample provided by  BunaMobile  roasting company.  BunaMobile  is a small batch roaster that specializes in roasting for fund raisers. You can find more information about their charities and fundraising on their  website . Using the pour-over method this sample of Sipi Falls coffee was intense and flavorful with a light melt-in-your-mouth-feel and a brisk, mouthwatering palate rinse, plus it produced a clean cup. Dry this city + roast had a bit of oily caramelization on some beans and notes of toast with a hint of plum. Wet, there were aromas of toast and caramel that radiated several feet. From the cup, the coffee was sweet with the main flavor and aroma of caramel. As the Sipi Falls cooled, the briskness increased but and some ripe fruit flavors moved in to keep the coffee well balanced. After sampling five cups I think this would be a great mid-morning or after lunch coff

Here is the second of three  Moscato Cigars , that I won in their  Instagram contest a few weeks back, the Moscato Phatty Natural Torpedo Tubo. It too is an infused cigar with a unique mix of flavors. I'm not much on infused cigars, but this one was quite interesting. Let's see what I found. For starters, these Moscato cigars are so aromatic, that I keep them in double bags and their own humidor with a Boveda pack. When ever I open the lid of the humidor, the aroma from these cigars fills the entire room. Construction wise, this Phatty is impeccable. It's tightly packed full length and covered with a seamless, vein free, silky smooth, claro colored wrapper. The cold aromas are grape. Grape from the foot, grape from the free cold draw, grape from several feet away. Once the foot is toasted and burning it produces large mouthfuls of? You guessed it. Grape flavored, rich tart, medium bodied smoke. But wait, there's some white pepper spice there too just to make t

I believe this CAO America Monument Torpedo came in the Freight Train cigar of the Month package from Cigar Train a couple of months back. You can pick yours up from MikesCigars.com either by the box, 5-packs or as a single. Construction of this CAO America Monument overall was pretty good. The barber-pole wrappers are claro and colorado in color, there are lots of tight seams, not many veins and some light sandpaper tooth, but the cigar is loosely packed. From the foot there's the faint aroma of tobacco and the very free cold draw has notes of hearty, fermented tobacco. The first flavors from the burning cigar were a full bodied mix of oak, molasses and black pepper, with a dry finish to the smoke. At the cigar's mid point the flavor mix finally shifted with notes of earth, leather, coffee, chocolate and a splash of cream. Despite the spongy feel to the cigar, it provided seventy-five minutes of full bodied smoking enjoyment ending with a earth and leather finish.

Today, we look at a sample of Mexico Chiapas roasted by  Royal Mile Coffee Roasters . This Mexico Chiapas is a light roast coffee with both uniform sized beans and color. I used the pour-over method for this review and sampled eight cups. Opening the bag there's a gentle aroma of sweet almonds. Once the beans are ground, the almond aroma intensifies, plus there's an added hint of grapefruit to the nose. From the cup there are aroma notes of almonds, warm bread, and toast. The first sips are light, crisp and smooth across the palate. There are intense flavors of almonds, toast, sweet cream butter and a hint of bright lime. Between sips the Mexico Chiapas leaves behind a sweet buttery aftertaste. As the coffee cools the lime nuances build, but it doesn't over power the almond or distract from the natural sweetness and the flavors remain intense. I found this Mexico Chiapas to produce a bright, crisp and refreshing cup that would really shine as a mid-morning or afte

I feel very lucky to be one of the first to review the Romeo Y Julieta Primer Lote 0770. It's created with "unique and special tobaccos," and is offered exclusively by  MikesCigars.com . I'm  not going to bog you down with the details in this review but you can read all the specs by clicking this direct link to the page at MikesCigars . First, this RyJ Primer Lote 770 is a real beauty. My two sample cigars are an oval, semi-box-pressed shape covered with a silky, seamless, Colorado colored wrapper that's nearly vein free, plus it's topped off with a triple cap. Testing the cold aromas, the foot has a faint black tea aroma, while the free cold draw has notes of spiced tea. Once the cigar is burning there are flavors of white pepper, tea, earth, brown sugar, toast, toasted nuts, toasted marshmallows, cream, sugar, coffee and cocoa. This is definitely a cigar you need to nub. As the burn reached the band area, flavors of coffee and cocoa came out o

Today we take a look at the final blend from Azan , the Maduro Natural Campana by  Roberto Duran Cigars . This Azan Natural Maduro Campana is a 5 1/2" x 52 ring torpedo covered by a seamless maduro colored wrapper that contains just a couple smaller veins. Checking cold aromas the foot yields notes of cocoa and rich tobacco while the free cold draw has a spicy white pepper taste. After toasting the foot, the initial flavors were a medium bodied mix of black pepper and cocoa. The pepper quickly fades as nuances of oak and molasses take control. In the first half there's a sweet aftertaste that remains after each  puff and the smoke has a dry wine type finish. By the second half, the body has moved into the full range and more flavors arrive. There were notes peat, earth, flora, cream, chocolate, lots of chocolate, and charred toast. As the sixty-five minute burn draws to a close the Azan Maduro Natural finishes with a flavorful mix of chocolate and charred toast.

I grabbed this Juan Lopez  Seleccion No. 1 (robusto), off the shelf my last trip to Cigar Train . Since you're probably not in Spokane, you can grab this Nica Puro from Famous-Smoke.com in boxes of 16, 5-packs or as singles. Covered in a seamless Colorado Claro colored wrapper, the No. 1 has some smaller veins, some light sandpaper like tooth and a light oily gloss. From the foot there is a nice aroma of sweet, fermented tobacco and the free cold draw has notes of cloves mixed with caramel. Once the cigar is toasted and burning it has flavors of sweet cream, sugar, white pepper, coffee, chai tea, caramel, oak, toasted marshmallows and brown sugar. After fifty minutes of smoking, the cigar finished with a mix of sweet cream and fairly bold black pepper. Overall it was on the sweet side of the scale, but it was a tasty cigar. As it burnt, this Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 1, produced a huge volume of smoke and the wrapper developed a deep oily sheen. It was a very nice cigar and

This 601 La Bomba Atomic is another sampler cigar I picked up a couple of months back. I've smoke a few La Bomba's in the past but never did a review. You grab one of these from famous-smoke.com as a single for only $8.85 Construction of this cigar it top-notch. It's wrapped in an oily, seamless, nearly vein free Colorado colored wrapper. The wrapper has a bit of fine sandpaper-like tooth, and there's a neat pig-tail/fuse cap. From the foot, the cold aroma has notes of barnyard, while the firm cold draw tastes like oats and ripe fruit. Once the foot is toasted and burning there are medium bodied flavors of fruit, oak, brown sugar, sweet fermented tobacco, caramel, molasses, toasted marshmallows, burning charcoal, cream and espresso. After fifty minutes the Atomic finished with a full bodied blend of charcoal and espresso. Darn good finish if you ask me! Overall these are great cigars. They have top-notch construction, a clean burn line an the wrappers always de

Click here to view mini documentary. A.J. FERNANDEZ CIGARS PROUDLY UNVEILS A.J. FERNANDEZ DOCUMENTARY (Miami, Florida) August 11, 2014— A.J. Fernandez Cigars, recognized for creating some of the most acclaimed cigars in the industry proudly unveils a 13 minute documentary which went live today and can be seen on the home page of their website at: www.ajfernandezcigars.com . A.J. Fernandez, who has blended consistently highly rated cigars, is documented in a way that gives the viewer just a glimpse of the passion and expertise which has led many to consider him a tobacco prodigy. Kris Kachaturian, Managing Partner of A.J. Fernandez Cigars said: “I have always stated that A.J. Fernandez will be known as a legend in the cigar industry in only a few years. I felt it was important to take advantage of the present time to document our journey. For those who are not able to visit our factory, we present them with this documentary which will bring the factory to them.” Public Work

This Italian Roast Espresso Coffee came from Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters . We've teamed up to bring you some exiting reviews on coffee, tea and other products over the next few months. It should be very exciting. As the bag was opened there was an immediate aroma to the nose of rich coffee and a hint of chocolate. This was a dark roast with fantastic caramelization on the beans--each bean looked like it had been hand dipped in oil. Once ground, the beans had the same bold coffee aroma, but there was also a hint of nuts. For brewing methods on the Italian Roast I used two, pour-over and auto-drip, with both methods achieving entirely different results. On the pour-over a dark crusty bloom developed with aroma nuances of fresh baked bread and mellow grapefruit. Once the pour-over was complete there was bit of oil floating on the cup (personally, I like that) and the first sips were bright, crisp and mouthwatering. As the coffee cooled a bit in the cup, the mouth

I picked up the Man O' War Side Project 52-C in a flight sampler back a few months ago. You can find these at Cigars International in a 5-pack for $40.00. The 52-C is unique 5"x52 Chisel-shaped cigar with and oily, seamless, stout maduro colored wrapper that's close to vein free. Cold, this cigar has some great flavor notes. From the foot the aroma reminded me of chai tea and after the chisel tip was clipped with my Xikar cutter, the free draw tasted like spiced ripe fruit. Once it was burning there was an initial medium bodied blast of ripe tree fruit mixed with toast. As the razor sharp burn moved up the cigar there was a sugary aftertaste plus notes of oak, caramel, dry grass, spicy cedar, dark chocolate, earth, charcoal and espresso. The cigar finished it's forty-five minute burn with a nice oil sheen on the nub and full bodied flavors of chocolate with a hint of charcoal. A darn tasty mix! I've been a huge Man O' War fan since sm

Fred Reway, @Godfar of Nomad Cigar Company tells it like it is about the FDA and their proposed regulation of cigars. You can read Fred's  top five concerns here . Cigar Rights of America explains the effects of the proposed FDA regulations and has a  link to submit your comments to the FDA . Marvin R. Shanken of Cigar Aficionado also lets us know his thoughts on the FDA regulations  here . This is a link straight to the  FDA comment  page. This matter is crucial to all of us, do what I've done. Join CRA, they are fighting for us. Comment to the  FDA , they are taking away our freedoms. Please, take a few minutes and do your part!

Since the last Gevalia Kaffe review went so well I picked up another roast to sample. This time it's their Traditional Roast.  Once the bag's seal was broken there were notes of cocoa and caramel to the nose. I still can only find their coffee in pre-ground form. This is a medium roast and I found it a bit lighter in color than most medium roasts I've reviewed. Doing the pour-over a creamy, frothy bloom developed with a sweet, nutty aroma.  Once cupped the first sips were bright, and crisp with a light palate cleaning mouthfeel. Tasting notes: While the flavor profile isn't complex, this Gevalia Kaffe Traditional Roast has well balanced flavors of grapefruit, nuts, semi-sweet caramel and toast, plus a lingering nutty aftertaste. Overall this was another nice roast from Gevalia Kaffe. I give it a 4.6 out of 5 star rating. 

This El Threesome from Blue Mountain Cigars came my way via Cigar Train . They're a bit hard to find, but you buy these cigars at   Planetcigars.com  $146.97 for a box of 24. Covered by three different wrappers this El Threesome is a real eye catcher. It starts on the foot with a claro colored (Connecticut) section then there's the Colorado claro (habano) mid section, while the head is covered by a chunk of very dark oscuro colored (maduro) wrapper. With three sections of wrapper there are lots of seams, but they were all fairly tight. Veins varied by wrapper and the ocsuro section had some nice sandpaper like tooth. From the cold foot there were notes of brown sugar while the firm draw had a barnyard flavor. Once a flame was put to the foot, the very first very mild bodied flavors were a mix of cream with a hint of spice. After a few draws the cream and spice faded to be replaced by what I can only describe as wet straw. Once the burn hit the habano section the flavors

This  Bella Housewares  Electric tea kettle came my way as a birthday gift last week and let me say, it's made boiling water for coffee reviews a breeze. Not only does this tea kettle look good sitting on the counter, it holds 5 1/2 of cups of water that it brings to a boil in less than five minutes. It's completely ceramic, the on-off switch has a bright blue LED  built in that really stands out and the best feature is, once it boils, it shuts itself off. The long spout helps get the water just where I want it, and helps control the pour rate a bit better than my old tea kettle. I give this a 9.5 out of 10 star rating.

A couple of weeks back I reviewed this  Joya  Red cigar in the Short Churchill vitola, today it's the Toro. You can pick these treats up from  famous-smoke.com  by the box, 5-pack, or if you just want to try a single they are $7.05 each. Like it's smaller version, construction of this toro is impeccable. The oily, Colorado colored wrapper is seamless and nearly vein free. It's packed firmly full length and it's topped off with a nice triple cap. Checking the pre-light aromas, the foot gives off nuances of sweet fermented tobacco, while the perfect cold draw has a hint of caramel. From the burning cigar there are flavor notes of toast, oak, ripe tree fruit, peat, sweet cream, raw sugar, black tea and caramel. After seventy minutes of smoking time the cigar finishes with a medium bodied mix of sweet cream and toast. In the second half the wrapper gets such an oily gloss it looks like it might start dripping and the burn line was razor sharp full length. As a not

I plucked this Gurkha Evil Robusto off the shelf during my last visit to Cigar Train , if you're not here in Spokane you can grab your very own single from MikesCigars.com for a mere $7.70 This well packed cigar was covered by an oily, silky smooth, seamless maduro colored wrapper and finished with a triple cap. My nose picked up a pleasant aroma of rich fermented tobacco from the foot and the free cold draw had notes of spicy fruit with a lingering spicy aftertaste. Once it was burning the initial medium bodied flavors were a mix of fruit, cocoa and mild black pepper. After about a half inch, some oak joined in followed by chocolate, fruity dry red wine, earth, cream, and charcoal. The Evil Robusto finished it's sixty minute burn by providing a tasty mix of cream, chocolate and charcoal (burnt mocha). Overall I really enjoyed this cigar. It had a slow sharp burn, a great fruit and chocolate flavor mix (heavy to chocolate full length), and it finished with my favorit

I picked up this little gem from Cigar Train as a low cost, quick smoke for the drive home. You can grab these little 4.7 x 32 gems in bales of 60 for about $35.  Cigars International  has a catalog 2-fer special going right now (August 2014), two bales, 120 cigars, for $59.95. When I pulled the Bandidios Cigar from it's protective cellophane one word came to mind, "ugly". I'll bet you can't find a cigar any uglier than this one. It's covered by a rough maduro colored wrapper with both heavy seams and  stout veins. The cold draw was free and sweet with a heavy taste of sugar with a touch of cocoa. The foot isn't clipped square so the cigar has a shaggy foot that was a breeze to get burning. As it burned, it produced tons of medium bodied smoke with notes of toast, campfire, oak, cocoa, black pepper and lots of sugar.  Overall I though this was a great twenty minute smoke with loads of flavor. I'll be picking up a bale or two

This Rocky Patel Connecticut Toro came as part of a sampler I ordered a while back from Holts.com , currently the only place I can find them in stock is cigarsdirect.com . Looking at this cigar, it's nice. This well packed Toro comes wrapped in an oily, silky smooth claro colored wrapper that's practically vein free and seamless. From the foot there's an aroma of rich fermented tobacco while the firm cold draw has notes of spicy cedar mixed with fruit. Once the Connecticut Toro was burning it produced mild bodied mouthfuls of smooth, sweet cream flavored smoke. Following up the cream there were notes of wheat straw, sugar, toasted cashew, brown sugar, a touch of pepper, and toast. The sixty minute burn finished with a medium body mix of coffee with extra cream and sugar. Overall this Rocky Patel Connecticut Toro was a solid, well constructed, good tasting cigar. I definitely won't pass up a chance to grab a few more! Rated 93

This is the second installment of "Five Questions". This week's guest is  +Fred Rewey (Godfadr)  Owner of the Nomad Cigar Company . 1. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Fred, what led you to create your own line of cigars? I believe if you are going to run your own business, you should love what you do. Consequently, I have almost always turned my hobbies into a business. The creation of a cigar company seemed a natural fit for me. I have been a cigar fan for almost 20 years. I guess it was just my turn to give it a shot. 2. What has been the most enjoyable aspect of creating your own cigars? Aside from meeting new people, I have really enjoyed the blending process. It is more art than science. Sure, there is plenty of science in growing, curing, etc - but the blending…that is where you have to let the tobacco guide you - showcase what it wants to be. The more I blend, the more instilled in the art of cigars I become. 3. What is your typical week like

SPECIAL SIZED RETAIL EXCLUSIVE LA AURORA PREFRIDO TO HIT SHELVES AT MICHAEL’S TOBACCO OF TEXAS Miami, FL, August 1, 2014 – Miami Cigar & Company and La Aurora are pleased to announce their collaboration with Michael’s Tobacco and the release of the LA Aurora Diamond Preferido in a 6x58 double Figurado. After much anticipation, this release will be limited to 100 boxes exclusively distributed to both the Euless and Keller locations in Texas. Along with the usual La Aurora band, this vitola will also sport a secondary band reading “Michael’s” across the front. The Michael’s Tobacco exclusive came to be when Miami Cigar & Company representative, Justin Sandlin held an event displaying La Aurora when approached by Michael’s tobacco owner, Michael Peacock. Michael being a huge fan of La Aurora expressed his passion for the blend. To Michael’s surprise, his conversation reached the Dominican Republic and he was invited to Santiago, D.R. After getting in the trenches with the c