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|  | The Annual “Cigars for Troops” drive is under way. This is a great opportunity to give back to those who protect our freedoms and earn the coveted "Troop Supporter" badge at the same time. You can find information here: http://www.cigargeeks.com/community/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5385... A special thanks goes out to Nathan (nwb) for running the drive again.
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| | The 2020 The Marine Toys for Tots drive is under way again this year. This is the way to earn the Toys for Tots badge for being a contributor. If you give a kit for auction, win an auction, or donate at least $20 you will be awarded the badge A special thanks goes out to Emerson (McBryde) for stepping up to run the drive again this year.  |  |
| | | The points contest is under way for the month of April. 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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| Chazaro Habana Corona | April, 2021 | 93
CG Rating |  | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Murphy223 | | Thank you to nirab (Brian) for allowing me to participate. I really enjoy doing these reviews becaus... Read More | | Chazaro Habana Corona | April, 2021 | 69
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Brian (ninfiction) | | Fantastic construction, superb performance, burn and smoke. Just not my jam at all flavor wise. I ca... Read More | | Chazaro Habana Corona | April, 2021 | 79
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Byron (Beegerply) | | Overall this cigar really didn't fit me well. I did like the deep earthiness of it but wish I could ... Read More | | Chazaro Habana Corona | April, 2021 | 79
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Nick (nickthafish) | | This cigar was really nice looking and well made. I felt like it was going to be boring due to the s... Read More | | Chazaro Habana Corona | April, 2021 | 88
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Neal (ntanner) | | Pretty good cigar for a Mexican puro, heck, a good cigar no matter where it's origins. Sm... Read More |
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| Camacho Liberty 2020 | September, 2020 | 90
CG Rating |  | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Joe McDowell (MacMac) | | The Camacho 2020 Liberty Cigar was a pleasure to smoke. The cigar presented well with its golden wra... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2020 | September, 2020 | 49
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: nirab | | Well, I am disappointed with my first Liberty 2020. The construction issues took away the brief enjo... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2020 | September, 2020 | 90
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Brian (ninfiction) | Thank you David at egars.com and to Kevin(wescat)for sponsoring this critique again this year.
Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2020 | September, 2020 | 89
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Don Miller (DonM) | | Once again, Camacho put out a good Liberty this year and it was an enjoyable cigar. In sc... Read More | | Camacho Liberty 2020 | September, 2020 | 92
CG Rating | | | Written by Cigar Geeks Member: klamm143 | | I liked this one a great deal - not what I expected, but sure glad I got a full box, because I see m... Read More |
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| Southern Draw Cigars Jacob's Ladder Toro |  | HolySmokes | 4/12/2021 10:39 PM | Stored 103 days at 69%RH. Weighs 13.27g.
Prelight: wrapper has a slight sheen but mostly rustic looking. There wasn’t much of an aroma only slight earth. I used a straight cut to produce an open draw. The mouth feel is a little thin for a 52 ring gauge, almost feels like a 48.
Postlight: cigar lights well with the closed/shaggy foot. It didn’t take long at all to get up and rolling. There is good smoke output to start and a mostly even burn. The aroma has a sweet woodiness, almost baking spice vibe. I am mostly picking up earth tones in the smoke.
2/3: first ash at nearly 2”. Holds strong with no flaking. Left a small crater so I need to slow down a bit. Not getting too much on the flavor other than earth. The aroma still has a nice cedar spice. Retrohale is smooth with a touch of spice and a creaminess. I would put body a medium and strength a mild-medium surprisingly. First band comes off with no issues. Cigar begins to open up at end of 2/3 with body becoming more of a sweet wood and less earthiness. Medium plus for body.
3/3: another strong ash ~1.75”. Cigar burning great. Cigar is hitting Full body and medium to full strength as is typical for the last third. I pick up a BBQ type smoke towards the end. Tasting good and burning great and cool. Final smoke time: 1.5hrs. | | 601 Serie Steel Girder |  | ljlemer | 4/12/2021 12:35 AM | | Nice medium (not full) cigar. Doesn't taste fancy in any way. Pretty ordinary. Flavor is decent. Construction is adequate. it is no way near as good as the many other 601 blends I've tried. Now it's starting to grow on me. I'm starting to enjoy it. I'm at a loss for words about how to describe it. Meaty maybe. Satisfying. Sorry, that's the best I can do. Nubbed it. | | Crowned Heads Headley Grange Black Dog Estupendos | | ljlemer | 4/11/2021 10:50 PM | | From the first puff the flavor is high class, clearly well-aged and blended. Complex flavor even without retrohaling. Wood, cedar, leather and mild black pepper notes. My only regret is that all these flavors are low key. Since these are some of my favorite flavors, I wish they were more intense, more complex, stronger. The maduro wrapper is of the type I prefer, with no licorice taste. The draw is clear, not much tea brewing in my mouth, which is not a plus, since this cigar would make my saliva flavorful yet mild, ie no nicotine blast, if it yielded juices. Rather mild, actually, say mild-medium. Tasty 4 1/4 stars. The head has been soft, but doesn't collapse. The soft head is probably due to my high humidity humidor. | | Padilla Finest Hour Oscuro Robusto |  | tuck0411 | 4/11/2021 7:50 PM | Humidor time: 457 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 64, foot - 58
Appearance and construction: A couple minor veins, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a wide-ring punch and PLD was open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a full-bodied profile with a spicy retro, a note of black pepper, and a hint of something like BBQ'd meat. Probably not the best description, but it's what came to mind. The spice in the nose faded somewhat in the first third with the other flavors remaining consistent throughout although the body did seem to recede towards medium/full by the 2nd third. Very tasty, overall. 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 stayed even through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a small cone. Things were then uneventful down to the nub apart from a small bit of self-correcting waviness in the burn line in the 2nd third. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout. (24/25)
Overall impression: This was a really nice smoke to wrap up my weekend with, especially after the two mediocrities I had earlier today. Possibly the most flavorful, best constructed Padilla I've had so far and the rest of this five pack should make fine commute smokes. (32/35)
Burn time: 1:11
Rating: 92 | | JFR (Just for Retailers) Lunatic El Chiquito |  | tuck0411 | 4/11/2021 3:58 PM | Humidor time: 457 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 64, foot - 62
Appearance and construction: A few veins, an oily sheen, a firm pack with no soft spots, a pig-tail cap, and a fancy foil wrapper over the lower half of the stick... Gave it a wide-ring punch and PLD was moderately open. (13/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of rich tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro and a note of black pepper. The spice in the nose faded quickly with the pepper also fading through the first third into a kind of semi-pleasant tobacco flavor and this stayed consistent through the remainder. Not horrible, but not at all interesting or complex. Strength was about medium. (15/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced a moderately easy draw, OK smoke volume, and an even burn to start. I quickly gave it a double V-cut with my shallow V-cutter to try and improve draw and smoke output but this had no effect. The burn got wavy, then lopsided in the first third and got a touch-up. It was also lopsided on the opposite side so a 2nd touch-up was soon applied. The ash fell at 1 1/2" leaving a cone after which I gave it another V-cut, this time with my deep V-cutter but this still had very little effect on draw and smoke output. The burn line stayed mostly even from this point on but I ended up dumping the nub with about 1 1/2" left as it was just too much struggle with very little reward, flavor-wise, to continue. Draw and smoke output never approached optimal. (10/25)
Overall impression: Probably the widest ring-gauge stick I've yet smoked, but this one was packed just a bit too tight to properly enjoy. Disappointing, too, as the first JFR stick I had recently was a banger in terms of both flavor and construction. This one was a let-down in both areas, though, and I expected more out of it especially given Aganorsa's rep for quality smokes. I have a few more and will update this review should they perform any better... (10/35)
Burn time: Forgot to note the light time, but it was around an hour and 20 minutes...
Rating: 48 | | John Bull The Dark Hour Robusto |  | tuck0411 | 4/11/2021 12:10 PM | Humidor time: 457 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 65, foot - 55
Appearance and construction: A couple minor veins, lots of bumps, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a double V-cut and PLD was open. (11/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with smooth notes of leather and creamy coffee. This stayed consistent throughout the smoke with no variation or complexity. Not bad and pleasant enough for puffing, but there was no spice to speak of so it was kind of boring and a bit bland. Strength was about medium. (18/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and a wavy burn to start. The burn evened out through the first inch, then started tunneling. I knocked the ash off at this point which left a crater and the stick then went out. After the relight, it was more of the same and it went out again and needed a 2nd relight. Things then settled down through the 2nd third but it again tunneled after the 2nd ashing and needed a touch-up to keep it going. The burn got lopsided in the last third and needed another touch-up before reaching the nub. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout except when it was tunneling and going out. This was also a very smoky stick as it gave off a steady plume throughout in between puffs. (12/25)
Overall impression: This one must have been rolled by a newbie given it's lousy construction and high level of maintenance needed to get through it. Flavors were merely OK and typical of average quality Dominican tobacco so this is not a stick I'd be looking to get more of, but I have a few more and will update this review should they manage to perform any better than this one did. (15/35)
Burn time: 1:49
Rating: 56 | | Diesel Hair of the Dog Unholy Cocktail Torpedo | | tuck0411 | 4/10/2021 9:27 PM | Humidor time: 457 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 63, foot - 60
Appearance and construction: A few 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. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of earthy tobacco. The light gave a full-bodied profile with a spicy retro and notes of black pepper, leather, and spice. The spice in the nose faded through the first third with the other flavors remaining consistent until the end of the 2nd third when the black pepper ramped and became predominant. I like pepper and spice so this one was pretty close to my wheelhouse for a fuller bodied smoke. Strength was a bit past medium. (23/25)
Smoking characteristics: The light produced an easy draw, good smoke volume, and a wavy burn to start. The burn evened out quickly and stayed that way through the first third with the ash falling at 1 1/4" leaving a cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout. (24/25)
Overall impression: This was only the 2nd vitola I've had from this blend and the first, the toro, was almost two years ago, but I had a similar experience with that one apart from this one being more of a pepper bomb and the toro giving me lots of leather. Either way, it's a fine flavorful smoke and one I'll be smoking more of. (32/35)
Burn time: 1:22
Rating: 91 | | Montecristo (Cuban) No. 3 | | ljlemer | 4/10/2021 7:01 PM | Familiar cuban flavor from the first puff. Burn began restless but evened out. Taste is woody and retrohaling is woodier and slightly bitter. Draw is adequate. Not much complexity. All the same. Not a bad same. But maybe monotonous. I find it more full than medium-full.
And so it went until the end. | | Punch Gran Puro Rancho | | tuck0411 | 4/10/2021 5:17 PM | Humidor time: 456 days
Humidimeter reading: Head - 59, foot - 52
Appearance and construction: A few veins, an oily sheen, and a moderately firm pack with no soft spots... Gave it a wide-ring punch and PLD was moderately open. (12/15)
Flavor: PLA gave a whiff of tobacco. The light gave a medium/full profile with a spicy retro and notes of wood and spice. The spice in the nose gradually faded through the first third along with the body receding to medium with the other flavors remaining consistent until the last third where the spice on the palate also faded leaving only a mild wood note. Not bad but not as flavorful as other sticks I've had with a similar profile. Strength was about medium. (19/25)
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 1/4" leaving a small cone. Things were then very uneventful down to the nub. Draw and smoke output were optimal throughout. (25/25)
Overall impression: Nice smoke, this one, even if the flavors weren't entirely in my wheelhouse. Pretty much perfect construction, though, so I'd gladly smoke it again and will as I have a few more. (29/35)
Burn time: 1:33
Rating: 85 | | Torano Single Region Serie Jalapa Robusto |  | gitfiddl | 4/10/2021 1:49 PM | | Here's another out of my humidor that doesn't seem to be in production any longer. I'd had this one since January of 2012. Well-made cigar with no construction problems. I initial flavors were sort of sweet and nutty with some light leather notes. I thought the strength was on the lighter side of medium. Towards the end things got a little spicy with some pepper and cedar. The burn and draw were both good, and the ash dropped off at about an inch in solid chunks. A better than average cigar, but a good deal lighter than I was expecting. |
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