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| The 2019 Marine Toys for Tots drive was another great success. Thanks to all who participated! We raised
a total of $1188.00 for the kids! A special thanks goes out to Emerson (McBryde) for stepping up to run the drive again this year. It was the way to earn the Toys for Tots badge for being a contributor. If you gave a kit for auction, win an auction, or donate at least $25 you were awarded the badge  |  |
| | | The points contest is under way for the month of February. The 26 members with the most points for the month have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Famous Smoke Shop. You can read the details HERE. To view the previous month's contest results see here. |
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| Camacho Liberty 2012 Throwback | September, 2019 | 84
CG Rating |  | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Tuck (tuck0411) | | Pretty nice Sunday morning smoke with the only drawback being the full strength of this stick, which... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2012 Throwback | September, 2019 | 90
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: klamm143 | | Never trying the original 2012 version, I have no way to compare this years stick to a "throwback" m... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2012 Throwback | September, 2019 | 97
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: PETE314 | | If you can't tell...I loved this cigar. It had almost everything I ever look for in a cig... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2012 Throwback | September, 2019 | 85
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Jason (jharrisx5) | | As always I'm excited to pick up the new Liberty releases... I've smoked them all, in every size, an... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2012 Throwback | September, 2019 | 79
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: nirab | | This was the tale of two cigars. The first half was on the bitter side, and was strong on the cedar,... Read More |
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| Don Pepin Garcia (My Father Cigars) El Centurion (2013 Reblend) Toro |  | tuck0411 | 2/27/2020 4:38 PM | Humidor time: 315 days
Appearance and construction: A few veins, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double V-cut and PLD was open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of earth and chocolate. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro and notes of black pepper and coffee and a hint of leather. The spice in the nose backed off a bit after the first few puffs, but this stick remained nice and spicy throughout without much variation in the other flavors. Quite tasty... Strength was about medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn remained even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/2" leaving a nice cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub apart from an occasional bit of self-correcting waviness in the burn line. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout. (24/25)
Overall impression: A very nice, maintenance-free smoke, this one, to accompany my Thursday afternoon Netflix session after getting home early from work. My Father is rapidly becoming my favorite Nicaraguan stick maker and bumping my old favorite, Oliva, into 2nd place. This brand just seems to have more spice in their blends and I like the spice... (32/35)
Burn time: 1:34
Rating: 91 | | Don Pepin Garcia (My Father Cigars) Black Label (Cuban Classic) Robusto 1979 |  | tuck0411 | 2/26/2020 6:35 PM | Humidor time: 320 days
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double V-cut and PLD was moderately open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of rich tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro, a note of coffee, and hints of black pepper and nuts. This stayed consistent for the duration and was quite tasty and enjoyable. Spice, yeah buddy... Strength was medium or a bit better. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light gave an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the somewhat flaky ash falling at 1 1/2" and leaving a cone. Things went slightly south from there with the stick tunneling and trying to go out in the 2nd third, which got it a touch-up, after which the remainder was uneventful down to the nub. (18/25)
Overall impression: Pretty nice smoke, this one, the burn issue in the 2nd third aside. Very flavorful as one might expect from a My Father stick, but I'm left wondering which classic Cuban blend this one's trying to emulate. I've only smoked a few Cubans so far, but none of them tasted like this stick. At any rate, I am looking forward to smoking up the rest of this five pack. (26/35)
Burn time: 1:33
Rating: 79 | | Davidoff Limited Edition 2019 Robusto Real Especiales 7 |  | StogieDad | 2/26/2020 2:04 PM | Interesting cigar. Being a Davidoff, it appeared well constructed from the start. Nice even fill, milk chocolate brown wrapper. There is a fairly prominent vein towards the head, but overall it is a choice looking cigar. The draw is perfect, and the burn is razor sharp through the entire experience. Ash holds firm well over and inch to start, but gets a little flaky towards the band. Smoke production is thick and hangs in the air. Overall, a very well-constructed cigar, as it should be considering the brand and price point.
As for flavor, I have to be honest, the first inch or so left me wondering if this was ever going to pick up. General tobacco and wood, quite bland for the first 15 minutes or so. Luckily, soon enough the flavors started to pop and it became a very enjoyable smoke. Notes of cedar, nuts, pepper start to marry, along with an overall toastiness. There is some nice clean tobacco, white pepper, and creamed coffee that start to play in as well. When the ash starts to get flaky with about two inches left, the pepper gets stronger and it becomes a bit harsher. The retrohale was quite pleasant throughout.
For me this was a very good, not great Davidoff. I think I have a couple more so I will certainly revisit as it was enjoyable, but it was a little rough around the edges for what I was expecting. There was a lot of good stuff going on as well though. 4 star on the nose for me.
| | Rocky Patel American Market Selection Robusto | | ljlemer | 2/25/2020 6:50 PM | | Having looked at other members' mediocre reviews, I wasn't expecting a great cigar. From the very beginning this was a very good cigar, at least flavorwise. I was retrohaling from the first puff. Also from the very beginning there were construction issues. The head was poorly wrapped and began loosening almost immediately. Fortunately the head was also strong, so it stayed together. But what a great flavor for a five dollar cigar! A fresh leaves flavor with a good green taste, not grassy at all. Don't get me wrong, the tobacco is well-aged. How do I rate a cigar with great taste but mediocre construction? A 3 for construction and a high 4 for flavor. 3 1/2 or 4? Since I value flavor over construction, I'm giving it a 4. | | Drew Estate Liga Privada T52 Robusto | | ljlemer | 2/25/2020 5:13 PM | Damn good cigar. Flavor is sensational. Construction is too.
Ash is long and straight, retrohaling is superb, burn is impressive, the head is firm, and the strength feels milder than the full designation, perhaps M-F. It has everything I love about a maduro with none of the things I hate, like licorice flavoring. I'm a "wet" smoker and like to make "tea" in my mouth. Maduros often produce a harsh tea, but this one, surprisingly, produces no tea at all, which is fine, but unusual. The delicious flavor eludes easy description. I'm nubbing this baby. | | Romeo y Julieta Romeo Anejo Toro | | junglepete | 2/25/2020 2:26 PM | Touted as their fullest bodied blend to date did not prove to be true for me. I thought the 505 Nicaraguan had more oomph than this stick. The construction was a little rough and lumpy looking with a fairly tight head that needed and extra 1/2 inch cut off to get a good draw to produce the proper smoke production.
With the rough start aside, I liked the taste of this cigar even though it was not very complex. It was quite smooth and tasted well aged with subtle hints of nuts and leather. I could not detect any spice. There was some sweetness throughout and the wood and earth notes were good as a background flavor. I never felt that this stick reached beyond medium bodied, but that’s not a bad thing in that the balance of flavor and strength seemed dead on. The burn throughout was good and I liked the lingering tastes after each draw. I picked a fiver up of these on a sale somewhere for about $2.50 a stick and am pleased that I have a few more to smoke. | | Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Chateau Fuente Maduro | | tuck0411 | 2/23/2020 6:43 PM | Humidor time: 318 days
Appearance and construction: A few veins, a light sheen, a firm pack with no soft spots, and an attractive presentation with the green foot band over a cedar wrap... Gave it a double V-cut and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave me nothing... The light gave a medium-bodied profile with smooth hints of coffee, chocolate, and leather with a hint of salt appearing in the 2nd third and sticking around for the duration. Quite tasty, overall, but, as is my usual complaint, it could have used more spice... Strength was about medium or a bit less. (22/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn remained even through the first third with the fine, white ash falling at 1 1/2" leaving a nice cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub. (24/25)
Overall impression: Another fine, slow-burning Fuente smoke, this one. Flavor wasn't completely in my wheelhouse, but very nice nonetheless, and construction was impeccable. I am looking forward to smoking up the rest of this five pack... (31/35)
Burn time: 1:22
Rating: 90 | | Diesel Rage Torpedo |  | tuck0411 | 2/23/2020 2:57 PM | Humidor time: 318 days
Appearance and construction: A couple of veins, an oily sheen, a smooth box-press, and a firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it two clips with the guillotine and PLD was moderately open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a faint whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a note of leather and a hint of black pepper. Not particularly spicy on retro especially after the first couple of puffs... The pepper faded in the 2nd third with the leather mellowing almost to the point of blandness before the pepper ramped back up in the last third, which ended up being the most flavorful part of the smoke. Not bad, but it could have used some spice and maybe some sweetness to make it all more interesting. Strength was medium or a bit better. (18/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, decent smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn got wavy in the first third and the stick started tunneling a bit, but then self-corrected before the first ashing at about 1 1/4" which left a small cone. Post-ashing I gave it a third clip with the guillotine which improved draw and smoke volume a small bit but neither ever quite reached optimal. The burn continued somewhat wavy but self-correcting down to the nub without need of a touch-up. (16/25)
Overall impression: This one wasn't a bad smoke, but it definitely wasn't in my wheelhouse, flavor-wise, and the construction wasn't perfect, either. But both were more or less adequate enough to get the job done, and that is, after all, merely to give me something more or less pleasant to puff on while watching Netflix... Re-reading my review of the Toro from this blend it appears I had a very similar experience with that one, so not sure why I bought these torpedos, but I don't think I'll be buying any more Diesel Rages given all the better choices available... (19/35)
Burn time: 1:24
Rating: 65 | | Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Belicoso | | tuck0411 | 2/22/2020 7:23 PM | Humidor time: 317 days
Appearance and construction: A couple of veins, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it two clips with the guillotine and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a faint whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium-bodied profile with hints of wood and spice and a slight hint of sweetness. The wood and sweetness ramped up just a scooch in the 2nd third. Not bad and quite pleasant, but it could have used a touch more spice to put this one close to my wheelhouse for a medium smoke. Strength was medium at best. (22/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and an even burn to start. The burn stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/2" leaving a cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub apart from the occasional bit of self-correcting waviness in the burn line. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout. (23/25)
Overall impression: I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the Toro Gordo version of this stick, which I gave only 2 stars based on it's tight draw and unimpressive flavor profile. Maybe my palate has developed enough to appreciate the sort of subtleties present here, but I did enjoy this vitola considerably more. And construction was much better with this stick, so that helped quite a bit as well. At any rate, I'm happy that I have a few more of these to smoke up on the commute. Very nice slow-burning smoke, this one. (30/35)
Burn time: 1:56
Rating: 88 | | Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso | | ljlemer | 2/22/2020 5:19 PM | | This is a dead-serious cigar with no sense of humor. That's an odd, but honest observation. The flavor is respectable, but not very interesting. The experience is strongly affected by its rock hard torpedo shaped head. It takes a long time for the head to soften and open and release juices that I look forward to. Once that happened it became a flavor sensation. Wood, leather, retrohaling pleasure. It literally jumped one full point. It's a different cigar, like unstuffing a nose. I should've circumsized its belicoso head before I lit it. I'm not a novice, after all. I wouldn't want to smoke another, though. The flavor isn't THAT good. |
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