Journal

I haven’t done a review in a minute between being busy and having a head cold for a few days around Thanksgiving. I am finally feeling up to tackling the review process again. I have been working on cleaning up my garage and getting a better woodworking setup for the space. This morning I am prepping my workbench for a new wood vise. I have to do some planing, marking, and drilling. I grabbed the new Crowned Heads Cigars Azul Y Oro Limited Edition to review today. This cigar is the first new release from Crowned Heads that is out...

This July Caldwell Cigar Co unveiled a new series of cigars known as “Crafted & Curated”. There are four inaugural releases, with three of them being tied to existing cigars in the Caldwell Cigar Co lineup. The concept behind the Crafted & Curated series is that Robert Caldwell, founder of Caldwell Cigar Co, often experiments with different tobaccos and blends while in the factory and this series allows him to share his experiments. The cigars in the line are limited with various numbers released of each blend.  Today’s review is a spinoff of maybe my favorite regular production cigar in...

When cigars are described there are three terms that are most commonly used - flavor, body, and strength. Some of these were discussed in my Cigar Basics - Part 3: Shop to Smoke article, however I will quickly explain each here. Flavor: This one is obvious. This describes the flavors you get from smoking the cigar, as well as the level of flavor. Body: This describes the smoke delivered by the cigar. This includes the sensation and texture of the smoke as well as how it coats your mouth.  Strength: This describes the nicotine level in the cigar. The more...

One of the most exciting, but at times most aggravating, things about the journey into cigars is finding out what you like. Figuring out your palate can seem like a tall order considering the vast number of cigars available in the market. Not only that, but there are so many different wrapper leaves, binder leaves, filler leaves, country of origins, blenders, factories, and cigar personalities that create or promote brands, that it can be overwhelming to keep up with or decide what to purchase. However, it is also a beautiful thing about the industry because there is literally a cigar...

So far we have discussed tobacco on the farm in the article Cigar Basics - Part 1: Seed to Factory, and tobacco in the factory in the article Cigar Basics - Part 2: Factory to Shop. This article will discuss the consumer experience of cigars. From the packaging and marketing to the smoking experience. As with the previous articles, there could be so much more written with regards to the topics in this article, however, this will provide some basic information and terms.   The Stage: Shop to Smoke The Terms: Box, Bundle, Cab, Jar, Cellophane, Sleeves, Tubo, Band, Company, Brand,...