Smoked in :60 Seconds: A Video Review of Cubao Maduro

Eddie Ortega from EO Brands (601, Cubao, Mi Barrio and Murcielago) will be in Knoxville for a visit at Leaf & Ale on Friday, November 6th from 4-8pm. I thought it would be a great time to give the new Cubao Maduro a :60 review.

Smoked in 60 Seconds: Video Review of Cain F Cigar

Cain Cigars is the newest creation from Sam Leccia and Oliva Cigars. Here's a rundown on Cain from www.caincigars.com:

"Cigar Architecture is crucial in any cigar. It is especially critical in making a Straight Ligero cigar. Not all tobacco burns at the same rate. Ligeros are the fullest body, slowest burning of the tobaccos. Viso is a medium flavored with better burn qualities. Seco is lighter flavored and quickest to burn. It is the careful arrangement of these tobaccos that allows a cigar to burn true.

Flavor Range refers to the low, medium, and high range of flavors in a cigar blend. Typically these ranges are achieved by the three aforementioned tobaccos. In making a Straight Ligero cigar we are delivering our low, medium and high range all from Ligero tobaccos. Still we must carefully arrange these Ligeros with other tobaccos for a true burn. The other tobaccos make no significant contribution to flavor.

Wrapper leaf is typically credit with delivering up to 60% of the flavor of a cigar, depending on the ring gauge. This is mostly true. In a Straight Ligero cigar it plays an important but reduced role as a result of the three powerful Ligeros."

Here's a review of the Limited Cain F cigar. Cain F was made available to retailers who purchased Cain cigars at the recent IPCPR trade show in New Orleans.

You can get the limited Cain F as part of a 5 Cigar Cain Sample Pack at leafandale.com. The Cain F is included free with the purchase of the sampler. As always, I appreciate any comments.
-Mike

CAO "Lady Liberty" Tour Wrap-Up and New CAO La Traviata Coming to Leaf & Ale

CAO Cigars has just kicked off a nationwide promotion to give away a chopper custom built by SuckerPunch Sally's. CAO brought the bike to Leaf & Ale in Knoxville, and we took a few minutes to talk with our sales rep, Jeff Tinnell, about the "Lady Liberty Tour," and what's new with CAO Cigars.





Check out CAOSuckerPunch.com for details on the contest, as well as how you can enter and upcoming cities and smokeshops on the CAO schedule.

Guest Cigar Review: Perdomo Lot 23 Robusto Maduro

by Ed Stanfield, Chatham, Illinois

In the virtual world of cigar forums, Ed goes by Bama46. Ed is a confirmed Son of the South, and that makes him alright with me. Ed loves maduros: Partagas Black, Oliva Serie O, Camacho Triple Maduro, CAO Brazilia and MX2 among others.

Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro Robusto

Pre-light Inspection
1st one of these I have smoked. It is well constructed with a firm wrapper. I can’t identify any scents on the foot, but that is not unusual for me. It is a great looking toothy little cigar and I can’t wait to get started. Cut was with my credo. Beverage was a Michelob Amber Bock. It lit perfectly with one kitchen match.

First 1/3
PEPPER…PEPPER…PEPPER
This cigar could season a dozen eggs! Boy is it good! It produces a light gray, almost white ash and has just a ton of flavor. The burn is perfect. There is plenty of smoke.

Second 1/3
This cigar just keeps getting better. Burn continues to be perfect and I am enjoying the smoke so much, I forget to take notes…

Third 1/3
The flavors keep building and so does the strength. I cannot identify the flavors, but that is a problem with me, not the cigar.. It has plenty. The burn remains perfect and I continue to enjoy the smoke. There is absolutely no heat on the tongue or the fingers, but as I smoke it to the smallest of nubs, there is heat at the tip of my nose…it is the coal and I have no choice but to put it down.

Summary
This medium to full smoke was a delightful experience. I have had the Habanos and find them hit or miss, but this is a stone winner in my book. I can see the future and it contains more of these in my humidor. The only criticism of this cigar is that it was picked from the cigar tree too soon. If it had been left a little while longer, I’ll bet this robusto would have grown into a churchill…ya think?

Guest Cigar Review: Padilla 1932 Robusto

by Paul Montgomery, Norfolk, Virginia

Paul and I first met last May when he made a trip to Knoxville for the 1st Annual Cigar Outcasts Herf at my shop, Leaf & Ale. Although we had "met" through the cigar forums earlier, this was the first opportunity for us to meet in person. Paul usually enjoys anything from Pete Johnson, Illusione, Padron, Cohiba Red Dot, Nestor Miranda Special Selection and Davidoff, among others.

Padilla 1932
Size: 5 X 50 (Robusto)
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: 5 year old Cuban-seed Corojo.
Binder: Cuban Seed
Filler: Cuba-Seed long Filler
Strength: Full

Pre-smoke
Scent of Wrapper:
Tobacco
Scent at Foot:
Tobacco
Appearance:
Very nice looking cigar
Wrapper:
Wrapper very nice, some prominent veins
Feel:
Near the cap it was tight and a little spongy from middle to foot
Tongue:
Spicy
Flavor on Draw:
Earthy, spicy taste

Smoke
Taste:
Cedar and peppery
Flavor Changes:
At the start it was full of pepper and cedar that change pretty quick and picked up its intensity with earthy and slight nutty flavors with a creamy back ground. The half way mark there was taste of coffee—very nice. At the end it was allot of spice with leather tones—this was a great smoke and really would enjoy one with a better burn.
Strength:
Full from the start to finish--
Feeling:
I enjoyed it while the burn stayed in line. Other than that it was a great cigar.
Scent of Smoke:
Tobacco
Heat on Fingers and in Mouth:
Narrry none
Draw:
Draw had a slight tug that was pleasant
Finish:
Lots of pepper and spice

Other Aspects of the Cigar Smoking Experience:
This bums me a little because of the burn. Re-touch many times, distracted me and was not really able to enjoy 100 %. I dry boxed this for a couple days and still had a burn issue. It was still a very great smoke. I just don’t care for the touch ups when purchasing a pricey smoke.

What I would enjoy is to have one of these smokes burn even for me. It seems to start well and then it would go off. So after re-touch it started back it’s coarse only to have a re-light again. This was annoying to me. The flavors, taste and smoke when on track was stellar though. That is what kept my interest.

I would rate this as a “Very Good Cigar”