Country: Honduras
Length/Ring: 6″ x 56
Shape: Toro
Strength: Medium – Full

MSRP: $16.00

My Rating: 2.5 Stars

Camacho has had the annual release of the liberty for some years now.  I had yet to try one until I got my hands on this one.  The cigar comes in a very nice cedar coffin and dressed with tissue paper and numbered out of 40,000.  The cigar smells great with hay and cedar notes.

Initial light up was of some faint caramel and more cedar.  The cigar was smoking nice until the second third and the burn was getting horrible.  I expected a smooth even burn from a cigar in this price range but that’s not what i got.  The flavors started to fade away as i got into the last 3rd of this smoke.  Towards the end I was getting a bitter taste and it was burning hot.

The cigar is fine for an everyday smoke if the price range wasn’t outrageous, but a smoke like this and the presentation offered should have revealed a much better smoking experience.  I would not recommend this smoke for the price.  If it was a $6-$7.00 smoke I would probably buy a couple.

Country: Nicaraguan
Length/Ring: 6.1″ x 56
Shape: Torpedo
Wrapper: Shade Grown Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Colombian, Nicaraguan Corojo
Strength: Medium – Full

MSRP: $6.50

I saw these on a Joe Cigar special and was intrigued by the look vs the price. I thought 10 sticks looking this good for $29.99? I had to pull the trigger. I had already known the Gran Habano line and loved the Corojo #5, so I was looking forward to trying this cigar.

I pulled the stick out of the humidor and admired the excellent construction. A smooth, medium brown wrapper and a perfect roll, size and shape. I clipped the cap at a slight angle, using a double guillotine. I  took a dry draw tasting a grainy flavor. I used my Lotus torch and took my first puff. The smoke was thick and the aroma rich and a taste with a creamy, earthy nuances. The burn was even and staying even. Half way through the first third was a slight hint of white pepper. The ash was holding nicely with a light gray color and several spaced rings. Any uneven burn, self corrected quickly.

I started into the second third and started noticing a slight coffee flavor and a leathery grain coming out. The ash hung on over two inches before falling. A slight uneven burn, but again correcting itself.

I arrived at the last third and it had become a calliope of flavors. Earthy, leathery, grainy, peppery and now it had a slight hint of coffee and chocolate. The second ash was so sturdy, that it held on over three inches, and was able to support an ash stand. The finish was tasty and smooth.

In conclusion: This stick took over an hour and a half to smoke. This was a complex and enjoyable cigar well worth the money. Smooth, well rolled and blended. This cigar is definitely worth trying.

Country: Honduras
Length/Ring: 18 x 66
Shape: Enormous
Wrapper: Maduro
Strength: Med

M.S.R.P: $19.99

My Rating: 4 Stars

My dad and I were having a relaxing Saturday on the boat dock and I have been hanging onto these monsters for 6 months now, trying to find some time to smoke them.  That time was now.  It started out a gloomy cloudy day, around 70 degrees with hardly any sun.  The water is up on the lake and fishing was supposed to be in the schedule but this day I really didn’t feel like getting fish guts on my hands.

This is one cigar you want to have some time to tackle.  What seemed like just a novelty cigar, one that you would show your buddies at a party and get a good laugh… was actually pretty tasty.

Above:  Me on the dock smoking the Puros Indios Chief Maduro Cigar.

The wrapper was very nice with an oily sheen and only a few small normal veins.  There were no protruding veins or blemishes on the entire smoke.  For a cigar this size that would seem unheard of.  The overall feel in the hand was well, heavy, as it is huge!  Initial light up brought on some pepper and earthy flavors with a great tobacco taste.

The biggest issue with this cigar was the 3 or 4 puffs to get any smoke going while it was still in the 12 – 18″ range.  Once the cigar got past this range it was drawing much easier.  The smoke picked up and was wonderful tasting, more earth and just a great overall real tobacco flavor.  The burn was excellent as well, I only had to touch up the cigar twice!

I attempted to nub this thing but all the tar build up was starting to make it real bitter in the last 5 inches or so.  I was totally surprised through this whole cigar, I was not expecting much from it being so big and more of a novelty cigar.

If you have the time and can get your hands on one I recommend them for that kicking back on the deck or boat house Saturday.

Thanks to Frankie Santos of Reyes Family Cigars for the experience.

The progression of a monster cigar!  Notice the size of my fingers getting bigger.

Country: Nicaragua
Length/Ring: 5 1/2 x 52
Shape: Robusto Perejo
Wrapper: Cuban seed Colorado wrapper
Strength: Full

Well, I was all excited about finding this cigar. I read a thread about it becoming the CA cigar of the year, but mostly because it was to replace the JdNA at SAG. The JdNA Belicoso has been my go to smoke for several years, and I was told that it was the same cigar, but at a less expensive price.

So, I found six to try. When I arrived home, I opened the Robusto and noticed how oily and dark it was.

I use a double guillotine for a straight cut. The pre-light draw was sweet as if caramelized. The first puff was thick and smoky, still sweet with a slight spice. The burn was nice and even and the ash was strong, had nice light gray color and as I smoked it, you could see the even rings appear.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the second third which was smooth and creamy with underlined traces of a leathery spice coming out. The caramel was subtle, but still noticeable. The ash was so strong, I had to do an ashstand.

Now about 45 minutes in to it, the spice took over. Not as full bodied as I expected, but very smooth. The burn stayed true and even except for a short moment, but self corrected itself quickly. I finally put it down after about an hour and ten.

I was satisfied and enjoyed this cigar, and will most likely smoke another one, but I was not convinced that this was the cigar of the year. Maybe with some age it will improve, but it was nothing like the Joya de Nicaragua Antono that I have come to love.

Somewhat complex: A pleasant and interesting experience: Worth trying:

Sitting here pondering where the cigar industry is going is enough to rot your brain.  Who knows where we will be in the next few years as it pertains to cigars and the entire tobacco industry.  SCHIP is no help!  Why would anybody think that taxing cigars is going to help children without health insurance?  All we are doing is making the cigar smoker suffer while big tobacco(cigarettes) continue to get tied in with cigars.  I don’t get it.

How are you dealing with the SCHIP tax?  Have you bought less cigars than you did before the tax?  I for one have slowed down my buying habits and stuck with smoking what I have for now.  It’s a shame that when you have 50% of cigar smokers doing the same thing that the cigar companies will suffer.  I’m not sure what the answer to the SCHIP funding is, but they have to stop hitting the premium cigar market.

What are your thoughts on the subject?