What we are going to do here is something we have never done at ITH before.  I am going to review the entire blend line from Urbano cigars.  Matt Urbano has been kind enough to send me some samples to try and review so I will give it my best foot forward and try each one of these out fairly and consistently.

The Urbano cigar line consists of 3 different blends; the Connecticut shade, Corojo, and the Sumatra.  There are also a value line that I will be getting to later when I launch my new value line exclusive reviews.

The first cigar up to bat is the Connecticut shade torpedo.  This cigar looks good, there are a few veins in the wrapper so it isn’t flawless.  The wrapper is the usual light shade you come to expect from a Connecticut.  Initial light up was of faint nuts and a hint of cream although I did notice it wasn’t like a lot of other lighter mild cigars on the market, this one had some depth.  It’s hard to describe exactly what it was that was different, maybe it was the deeper creamy character that started to develop in the 2nd half of the cigar and it had a hint of citrus.  The cigar smoked very well with an even burn all the way through.  For a boutique cigar that needs to stand out in the crowd this one did in the light Connecticut category.  For the price point I would smoke this again (around $5.00/stick).

The next cigar in this line is the Sumatra wrapper blend.  This wrapper is notorious for having a sweet quality to it and it did come through in this cigar.  The samples I was given were very nice looking and in the same build quality as the Connecticut.  The burn was just as good as the previous cigar and the consistency was on par as well.  The sweetness did come through and was not overwhelming.  I really enjoyed this cigar as I think it was my favorite in the line.

The last but not least cigar was the Corojo wrapped beauty.  The wrapper was a bit veiny although it did not hinder the experience.  Lots of spice up front from the 3 year triple fermented stick.  This all Dominican cigar delivered the spice in the beginning then settled down with some nuts and a hint of earth.  All cigars in this line smoked well with plenty of thick white smoke.

I recommend these smokes to beginner and intermediate smokers as they have the perfectly pronounced flavors that all palates could recognize.  I would give this line a 4 star rating and wish Matt Urbano continued success in the business.

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 6.25×61
Shape: Toro Gordo
Wrapper: Corojo 99
Filler: Dominican Repulic
Strength: Full

MSRP: around $9

My Rating: 4 Stars!

Here’s a new cigar that I had never heard of Hisponiola Los Conquistadores.  From the Hispaniola website:

Los Conquistadores is named after the Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought Hispaniola under the control of Spain in the 15th through the 19th centuries.  Most of them avid tobacco consumers, soon after the conquest began to take advantage of the vast Tobacco plantations in the island. 

Sounds intriguing enough right?  Well it is after you taste the spices and depth of this cigar.  Upon initial light up I got tons of pepper and leather which i love.  The wrapper was a bit veiny but did not contribute to an uneven burn.  This cigar was a monster that had a few different changes as i smoked it.  The second half was of some nuts and more leather followed up with a bit of earth.  The burn was even throughout the cigar and i only had to touch it up once.

This was definitely an enjoyable cigar and one to drink water with so you can pinpoint all the different characteristics and flavor changes that made this great.  I would recommend giving this cigar at least a try although it is in the upper price range that i feel comfortable in.

Today we are going to do something a bit different from the norm here at InTheHumidor.com.  I was sent a few different bundle and cheaper cigars for review and I was actually quite impressed with these cigars and how much care and build quality was put into them.  The quality of tobaccos is usually a grade or two lower and the cigars may not all be long filler but some of them still ended up being pretty good bargains.

The first line of cigars that I was introduced to was the 809 brand by Pride cigars.  This is a very good attempt at making a great tasting boutique brand into a bundle cigar to keep the cost down so everybody from all walks of life can enjoy them.  The brand has two variations; the black containing long filler and the red medium filler.

There are however varying wrappers and blends in the 2 lines.  These consist of a Connecticut shade for all the mild smokers, a beautiful red hued corojo, a hint of sweet sumatra, and of course a darker oily maduro.  There are also 7 different vitolas for the black label and 6 for the Red.  From the press release,”809 Black is offered in Robusto (5″ x 50), Corona (5-1/2″ x 43), Churchill (7″ x 48), Torpedo (6″ x 52), Toro (6″ x 52), Corona Gorda (5-1/4″ x 52), and Grand Toro (6″ x 60), which Contreras describes as “suited perfectly to large-cigar fanciers, looking for a lot of cigar for not a lot of money.”  809 Red includes all these shapes, except for the 6″ x 60 Grand Toro.“  So as you can see there are many different combinations and blends going on here, 45 to be exact!  Wow…  now you can see why I had to write a complete expose on this line.  No worries though as I have thoroughly enjoyed the samples.

The first blend I will be discussing is the Red label Sumatra.  I am a fan of most sumatra blends, I do enjoy the subtle sweetness and smooth finish with most of them and this cigar is right up that alley.  The cigar had a nice draw and the burn was excellent.  Considering the price point of this line (Black around $2.50/stick and Red around $1.80/stick)this cigar was wonderful.  I would definitely smoke these again.

The corojo was the next sample I tried in the Red label.  The draw was also good and the burn was there but I think the lack of great flavor and spice from the corojo wrapper is where this one lacked.  The wrapper was rough and it seemed to lack that corojo spice smell on the foot.  It was not a great cigar, just ok.

The next blend I tried was the Black label maduro.  When i picked up this cigar there was something not right about it at first.  The weight in the hand was rather light compared to other cigars.  The wrapper was not as dark as other maduros on the market but still looked like a smokeable cigar.  Upon light up of this cigar I could tell it was going to underwhelm and it did.  I just did not like this one as much as the others.

All in all the black label and the red label seem to be excellent deals.  The red would probably win except for the medium filler and I seemed to get more loose tobacco in my mouth when i smoked them.  I would recommend this line to just about everybody out there, with 45 variations to choose from there is sure to be something for everyone.

Country: Honduras
Length/Ring: 6×52
Shape: Gran Toro
Wrapper: Honduras Criollo ’98
Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua Ligero
Strength:  Mild

MSRP: around $8

My Rating: 4 Stars!

Wow, when I first heard of these cigars they looked very intriguing.  Another boutique brand to hit the market among many others would probably have to really be something special.  Well let me tell you this certainly is.  Ocean State cigars is only a 2 year old company but has produced a great product in a little amount of time.

The Cigar is a nice oily and beautifully crafted specimen.  The weight in my hand is rather nice and feels very well made.  The wrapper was almost flawless with only a couple very small veins.  The 3 year aged tobacco smells of barnyard and earth on the foot.  After cutting and lighting the foot I got some subtle flavors of spice and earth.  It was medium in spice strength although this cigar is said to have no spiciness to it.  As I continued smoking, the second third started to lose some of the spice while nuts and chocolate flavors started coming through.  The draw was excellent throughout the cigar and lots of smoke was a great plus.  This was definitely a cigar worth nubbing.

The price tag is just a bit over what I would pay for a box of this cigar but I think it’s definitely worth a 5er purchase.

Thank you Dale Scott for providing the samples.  I look forward to more in the future.

Let me know what you guys think of the new layout, good and bad… It was overdue for an overhaul. Just remember I’m not done updating and would appreciate your feedback.

Niko

Country: Nicaragua/Honduras
Length/Ring: 6.5×52
Shape: Toro
Wrapper: Shade Grown Criollo – Nicaragua
Filler: Honduras/Nicaragua
Strength:  Med/Full

MSRP: around $8

My Rating: 4 Stars!

Xikar is well known for their cigar accessories within the cigar smoking community.  The lifetime warranty on their products is second to none, I should know… I own many.  When it comes to the cigars, they didn’t disappoint.  Xikar teamed up with famed cigar maker Jesus Fuego to create this wonderful line.

Here we have the criollo version of this cigar with a beautiful oily wrapper and few veins throughout.  Inital light up was of leather and slight hints of tea.  The smoke was plentiful as I smoked it enjoying a malty beverage.  The burn was pretty consistent as I only had to do a few small touch ups.  The last third of the cigar was of nuts and a hint of cream on the back end.  I really enjoyed this cigar, the only downfall was the $8 price tag… I would buy them for around $5 all day long.

Thank you to the Xikar and HC cigar team for giving me the chance to review this cigar.

We are at a crucial point in the cigar industry.

Here are just some of the measures the FDA will likely consider:

Banning walk-in humidors, self serve cigar displays, and mail-order cigar sales
Banning all flavored cigars
Banning cigar events
Mandating that cigar blends be FDA-approved before release
Defacing cigar boxes with grotesque images

Limiting cigar marketing and advertising
Imposing new taxes on cigars to finance regulation
Limiting special release and small-batch cigars
Limiting nicotine levels on cigars to near-zero, severely impacting their flavor
Banning the marketing of cigar merchandise

We cannot stand for this if we want to keep enjoying our cigars.  Visit this link and make your voice heard!  http://www.famous-smoke.com/fda/4/

Related posts:

1. Contest Time!

Last week I was invited to a beta test of the new penny auction site CigarSniper.com created by Famous Smoke Shop. The site has a neat concept in that you purchase bids to win cigar auctions, but this style is not a scam like some other penny auction sites out there. You actually get to put your bid money towards the purchase of the product you bid on if you don’t win it. This was what steered me into curiosity with the site. Come join the live beta this Friday 10-21 at www.cigarsniper.com.

All participants will get 20 ‘free’ bids for registering and 20 more free bids for bidding on at least one item. Three participants who win the most auctions will get respectively 280, 120 and 60 paid bids. You’ll be able to use those bids when the site opens to the public.

Related posts:

1. Contest Time!
2. Introducing – In The Humidor Accessories Shop

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 4.5×50
Shape: Robusto
Wrapper: Honduras
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength:  Mild

MSRP: around $17

My Rating: 4 Stars!

Today we have the rare cigar from Texas Cigar Brothers right here in Bedford, Texas.  This is a series of cigars found in an old Honduran cigar factory and are very limited. The El Sublimado brand launched in 1993 and is very different from other blends because the tobacco used to make the cigar was cured in rooms with 50 years old Noces d’Or Cognac.  So indeed this is a rare treat and I was excited when Texas Cigar Brothers contacted me about giving these cigars a shot.

The cigar is an infused cigar but not in the normal sense everybody is used to.  The cognac is very subtle and only on the pre-light sniff of the foot is it even noticeable.  I’m sure the years of aging has diminished the cognac flavoring but is a plus in my book.  The first light was of mild tobacco and and a very slight hint of the cognac flavoring, enough to actually be enjoyable.  The middle of the cigar had some cedar and more mild very smooth nuances.  I really enjoyed this cigar and even smoked it down until it almost burnt my fingers.  Now one thing I am not fond of is the price, although it is a very high priced cigar… I would not be opposed to somebody buying a least one to give them a shot.

Note:  I do make it a habit to almost never buy a cigar over $10 so that could influence my opinion on the price.

A very interesting cigar hit my mailbox a couple weeks ago.  It was the new cigar from General cigars and the El Credito factory. 

The new El Credito cigar resembles that of a backwoods or a very rough cigar that I generally do not like.  This particular cigar is different though in that it is made with quality tobaccos handcrafted with Nicaraguan and Dominican filler leaves, bound with Connecticut Broadleaf and wrapped with Ecuadoran Habano.  This cigar does not get created using a mold but it is entirely created by hand so it has a rough, almost rustic look and feel.

The smoke from this cigar is very nice and full bodied.  These cigars are not for the mild cigar smokers as they pack a big punch in a little size.  I would recommend these for a quick smoke to those who enjoy full bodied cigars.

Related posts:

1. El Credito Super Habenero – Aged