The Cigar Stop Reviews the CAO America

Name: America

Origin: Honduras

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf, Connecticut Shade (Barber Pole Style)

Filler/Binder: Dominican, Nicaraguan, Italian, American

Shape/Size: Robusto, Torpedo, Gordo

Strength: Medium-Full

Box/Bundle: Box of 20

Flavored: No

Price: between $6.00 and $8.00 per Single – $85.00 - $125.00 per Box

In honor of our Independence Day (July 4^th for those outside of the U.S) I would smoke something that although not American shares the name, felling and taste of America.

 

Who out there is not a fan of CAO cigars raise your hand… You in the back put your hand down you know your full of shit.

CAO is one of the most respected cigars manufactures they have Style, Charisma and the talent to make even your mother in-laws burnt cooking taste like fillet mingnon.

 

 

The America selection will not disappoint with a 92 rating from the Powers that be. The America has a deep earthy although sometimes heavy taste with notes of cedar and oak and with the twin Connecticut wrapper gives you minute hints of chocolate, but very slight.

Despite the fact that it is not 100% American Tobaccos this selection has all the heart and soul of America, and is one of the creamier and smoothest of the CAO brands.

The construction is good, except sometimes you will have an uneven burn due to the “Barber Pole” wrappers. I have enjoyed a dozen or so of these and I will confirm I have had one unravel a bit and 3 burn uneven and at no point did I cuss it out, this is one of my 3 favorite CAO selections. Rich taste and well worth the time and money.

We give this one a rating of 8 out of 10

Happy 4^th of July America, Happy Monday and Tuesday to the rest of the world and to Canada I say Good day Eh! 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog re-construction on the way

 so first let me say sorry for the absence of new stuff on here, the site was giving trouble as well as other issues that I had going on.
 In the next week expect to see some new stuff posted and I shall endevor to stay up to day on a weekly basis, more as time permits. Despite what this site would have you believe it does not make it easy to post from mobile devices and the layout with the hashtags can hinder a blogger for sure.
 I do have a sister site to this under the same title on tumblr that is easier to operate as well a it is updated weekly. I will attempt to link the 2 blogs getting new material to them both at the same time.
 Feel like see my other site here is the link
Www.thecigarstop.tumblr.com
 See you in a few cigars.

The Cigar Stops Review of the Partagas 1845 Extra Oscuro Cigar

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Connecticut, Oscuro

Filler/Binder: Dominican, Nicaraguan

Shape/Size: Double Corona (7.5 x 54), Supremo-Perfecto (7 x 58), Gigante-Gordo (6 x 60), Robusto Gordo (5.5 x 52), Rothchild-Robusto (4.5 x 50)

Strength: Full

Box/Bundle: Box of 18

Flavored: No

Price: Per Single $5.50 - Per Box $100.00 to $150.00 USD

 This one is a Double “D”, no not that Double “D”

I am referring to it being dark and delicious. 

The only thing about this cigar that isn’t appetizing is its price. Although it is on the expensive side of things I have to say it is worth every weeping penny you will spend for them.
 The powers that be say it holds a complex array of flavors; espresso, coca, earth, leather and pepper. I will tell you I did not get all of that I tasted was the earthiness and the leather and a hint pepper, sometime I think they over compensate, but the outcome is the same, try one and I bet you get hooked. This is one of the best full strength cigars I have had, in fact I smoked 4 just for this review 2 Robustos and 2 Double Carona (thanks to Cigar boy for the extra 2).

We rate this one a 8 ½ out of 10

Until next time

It’s the local cigar lounge that the locals can’t afford or frequent.

The 2015 Cigar Tour 1^st Stop
Well the Dead Ringers Cigar Club members recently begin our lazy version of a cigar tour, our jumping off point was the William Perry Cigar Lounge in Bridgton Maine.
 At first glance, the building itself Looks cool; an old Large home built in 1874 and was the home of Maine’s Railroad Commission President, William F. Perry. The home was to become donated Later on by Clara Fogg to be the Original Bridgton Hospital from 1941 to 1964. The building was recently on a cable television show called Ghost Hunters because it is said to be haunted.

So that is the background of the building, but this isn’t “This Old House” so let’s get down to the cigars.
The William Perry Cigar Lounge was quaint and quirky, the selections extremely limited, I saw only 5 or 6 labels/brands and there were no “House Brands” to chose from. I saw a lot of empty boxes on display and the selections they did have, had a markup that was a tad bid out of whack, but not over the top compared to some places I have been. It’s the local cigar lounge that the locals can’t afford and from speaking to its owner no locals frequent.

 

The Lounge was very small, dirty and had practically no ventilation, cloth seats so that when you sit in them you smell like whatever the previous person was smoking, needless to say we did not partake of our cigar selections inside, instead it was a nice fall afternoon so we sat outside in a gazebo, and after a small conversation and a lighter mishap, we left the lounge area completely and continued on to smoke our purchases elsewhere.

  

The 3 of us, Lord Whitey, Dapper Ken and Cigar Ash all selected from the Camacho label and each got a different strength, reviews to follow at a later date.
 We leave with an overall feeling of sadness, the atmosphere was longing and the selection lack luster and the prices not that attractive, not to mention we purchase 3 cigars and all three were dried out and at least one cracked when it was cut, not a very good representation of what you would expect from a cigar lounge. It was as if they had no pride in their business or branding.
Now that being said we were told by the owner that they are in the process of moving a mile down the road to a 2^nd floor of a building near the center of town, So maybe when they relocate we will re-visit the William Perry Cigar Lounge and we can only hope that they have improved in atmosphere and selections and their humidors, But for now this place isn’t even good enough for a thumbs down.

 

Good luck W.P.C.L.
On to our next  stop…

A Cigar Tour of New England

As I write this it is fall in New England which means that the cigar events are far and few between and that evil winter is on its way. It also means that cigar smoking starts to dwindle to an occasional thing for most even myself; however I thought we would finish off the year doing a winter cigar tour.
The thought thus far is to get a couple friends or an entire group and invade a cigar store that allows you to smoke in the store and sample it meet new cigar friendly folk and maybe give it a review. We will also try a few of the Cigar lounges in Maine and New Hampshire and enjoy the atmosphere of being indoors in the fall and winter season. I will look, but due to state laws on smoking it is difficult to find places in my state of Massachusetts but I will endeavor to seek out and explore the area for one, I will boldly go where ever cigar goers go.
So stay tuned for The Dead Ringers Cigar Club New England Winter Tour. I will post on here in advance where I or we will be heading and if anyone would like to join myself or anyone I can drag with me for a cigar you would be more than welcome, when it comes to cigars the more the merrier.
See you on Tour

The Cigar Stop Reviews Puros Indios Maxima Reserve 2003

Name: Puros Indios Maxima Reserve 2003 “Anejado”

Origin: Honduras

Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra

Filler/Binder: Dominican Republic, Brazil and Nicaraguan long-leaf 

Shape/Size: Churchill, Gordo, Toro, DBL Corona, Robusto & Presidente

Strength: Medium

Box/Bundle: Bundle of 20

Flavored: No

Price: $2.00 to $2.0 per Single – $39.99 to $50.00 per Box

 You know how we like a bargain and this is one of them, it falls into 2 categories for me. 1. Top 5 in my Budget Bundles list and 2. It is one of my favorite cigars to smoke.

 Puros Indios cigars have always been a favorite of mine but, this deliciously aged beauty with its Long-leaf Nicaraguan, Dominican and Brazilian fillers tucked in a snug mellow Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper for a minimum of 5 years is the equivalent you sitting next to a wood stove on a cool morning, its warm and inviting, as soon as you light it your cares drift away just like the light smoke from this cigar dances in the air… Now that is some poetic stuff right there and you should try one for no other reason than to satisfy yourself after reading that description.

 Honest Injun folks try one, they are inexpensive they are tasty and they will make you a great friend until you have smoked them all… they are better than a pet … Just Try them.

 I rate this one a 6 out of 10. Good solid construction well worth the money, Rolando Reyes Sr. went out of his way to use his blending genius for you.

Until Next time

Cuban sandwich it’s not just a great meal

So as of late I am sure some of you have seen the trend and term of the “Cuban Sandwich” and it is not referring to that delicious meal.
Cuban sandwich refers to the filler in the cigar that makes up its body. For years long filler has been the term associated with handmade cigars, and short fillers or chop/short fillers were use to produce machine made cigars or very cheap cigars.

Well it would seem as of late more and more cigar factories have been producing cigars coined with  the term “Cuban sandwich” which is the short filler leaves inside and the long filler leafs wrapped around the outside of them.

I myself am not a fan of this particular sandwich and would like to put myself on a diet and stay away from it, but it is becoming common now. A couple reasons I am not a fan of short fillers are that it makes a mess when you smoke them. The ash is flaky and has a tendency to fall all over you and whatever you have near you, your car, desk, chair est. another down side is that it will have hot spots and could canoe on you (canoeing is when the cigar burn up the side and not even to look like a canoe). No matter what they tell you a Cuban sandwich is no different than using chop fillers and short fillers. Just because you wrap long leaves around them, it will not change how they burn (my opinion). You can mask a fart, but it is still a fart!

  I am without proof, but I am sure that most of the factories are producing Cuban sandwich style cigars to save money, but I have to be honest when they start losing momentum as cigar enthusiast realize that their cigars are being made cheaply and the price tag has not gone down near enough to warrant this practice they will need to drop the price, smarten up and change their ways. I hope. 

 With the Cuban embargo in a fragile state and trade beginning to open up I would be maneuvering myself to making a quality product and establish consumer friendly cigars and relationships, because let’s face it when free trade with Cuba starts, Cuban cigars will flood the market and for however brief or long the competition will be fierce.
This entry is all my own opinion and supported by a few decades of smoking cigars, check into things for yourself try a few Cuban sandwich cigars and judge them against the long leaf fillers and come to your own conclusions. Feel different about it or agree with this entry, drop me a line at CigarAsh@yahoo.com or post here on the Cigar Stop blog, I welcome your thoughts.
Until next time …