Cigar Ash's Cigar Review of Alec Bradley's Tempus

Cigar Stats

Cigar: Alec Bradley Tempus
Company: Alec Bradley Cigars
Wrapper(s): Corojo (with a Indonesia binder)
Filler(s) Nicaragua and Honduras
Origin(s): Honduras
Size (Ring Gauge): 5x50
Style (Robusto est..): Terra Novo (robusto)
Price at the Time (box & Single): Box - $130.00 - Single $6.25 -$8.50
Ash (good,Bad, Weak, sold): Solid, Dark ash
Taste: earthy and a bit peppery
Strength: Medium - Full
Construction (good, bad, est..): Good, solid and smooth.
Rating (1-10) 7 1/2

Review Questions

Did you like the Cigar? Yes I enjoyed it very much

Would you smoke it again? Yes

Was the Cigar worth the money? I am on the fence here it is on the pricey side

Would you recommend it to others? yes absolutely

Best time to smoke this particular Cigar? After a meal when you can sit and relax, I think this cigar is too heavy for the morning.

Any particular drink that would go with this Cigar? Coffee would go well or maybe an Ice Cold Beer, nothing heavy this cigar is full of flavor and you do not want to mask it with an Ale or Wine, Scotch maybe

Anything else you would like to say about the cigar? It burns slow tastes great, but way, way over priced. On the down side it has a tendency to go out if you do not pay attention to it.

Johnny V's Cigar Review

Johnny V has picked out for his first Cigar Review a hidden treasure that many Cigar lovers have not discovered yet. One of Drew Estate's Lesser known cigars and very reasonably priced, Isla del Sol. Going with the usual Drew Estate feel it does have a flavor and stands up to the usual scrutiny of Drew Estate quality.

Cigar Stats

_________

Cigar: Isla del Sol
Company: Drew Estates
Wrapper(s): Sumatra
Filler(s): Nicaraguan
Origin(s): Nicaragua
Size: (Ring Gauge): 5x52
Style: (Robusto est..) Robusto
Price at the Time: (box & Single): $30.99 a Box & Singles are around $2.00 - 3.00
Smell: Sweet with a hint of Coffee
Ash: (Good, Bad, Weak, Solid): good solid ash
Taste: Mild smoke with a sweet tip
Strength: Mild - Medium
Construction: (good, bad, est..): good construction
Rating: (1-10) 9

Review Questions

1. Did you like the Cigar? Yes
2. Would you smoke it again? Yes
3. Was the Cigar worth the money? Definitely
4. Would you recommend it to others? Yes
5. Best time to smoke this particular Cigar? Anytime … I think it would be perfect as an after dinner treat
6. Any particular drink that would go with this Cigar? I enjoyed this cigar with a Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier today but a cup of coffee or a whiskey would compliment it beautifully.
7. Anything else you would like to say about the cigar? This cigar has been a consistent favorite for me, I have yet to be let down by this cigar. I plan to make it a regular in my smoking selection.

Canoeing Its not just a boat

A fellow cigar smoker asked me a question about his cigar burning more on one side than the other. I told him it was canoeing. Being a Newbie, he gave me a look like a dog would give you when you ask him a question, he tilted his head to the side and sort of whimpered. He recovered from the puppy look and asked me more about canoeing and this is what I told him.
You can not prevent canoeing 100% due to so many uncontrollable variables such as plant grown, humidity while drying and construction, however there are things you can do to cut down on this issue after you get them into you possession.
If your cigars are over humidified (over 70%) they have a tendency to canoe. If you have a good supply of cigars and they sit for more then 2-3 months on one side in your humidor they can also canoe. If you light your cigar and do not light it in the middle or do not rotate it while lighting it, it can canoe. Lower end cigars have a tendency to canoe as well, due to lower quality of leaves, construction and inexperienced rollers.
As I say anything hand made can canoe it is impossible to account for all the variables like sun-light, construction, humidity, quality of leaves etc. so if you rotate your stock every few months by a half turn or a flip and keep your humidity between 65-70% and rotate your cigar when lighting you should cut down on the percentage of cigars canoeing.
good Luck and Happy smoking.
Cigar Ash

When Size Matters

People today, in my opinion, are far to concerned about what fancy, shmancy, name brand cigar they want to smoke and are not putting enough thought into what size they should be smoking in that particular time frame or situation.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good fancy shmancy cigar just as much as anyone else. What doesn’t make sense to me is when someone picks a 60 ring gauge, Churchill and is only going to the corner store, wasting half the thing to the great cement ashtray in the sky. It can be the greatest cigar in the world but if you throw away 3 dollars of a 7 dollar cigar how good could it really be? If you put so much thought and pride on what great name brand cigar to smoke, why not put some of your time into thinking about what size cigar to smoke in the time given to you?
Now I have found through out the years that it is not so much the ring gauge but rather the length that helps me makes my decision. Now of course a cheaper or less desired cigar always runs the risk of being wasted no matter what size, before a more expensive one, there are still some standards I like to smoke by. For instance, if you’re going out for a short period, like on your lunch break, a 4.5 X 50 Rothschild or a 5 x 50 Robusto is perfect. If I’m traveling in my car and have an hour or so to kill a 6 x 52 Toro, or a 6.5 x 52 torpedo are always good choices. And on the days when I have all the time in the world, sitting around with some friends, drinking coffee or some good whiskey and all I have to worry about is just how many cigars I can smoke before I have to shave my tongue; a 7 x 52 Churchill always hits the spot.
Maybe I’m just an old fashion guy, or maybe I’m just an ass, but don’t come bragging to me about your 12 dollar stoge, waving it around like it’s a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and throw half of the thing away once you had your fill. To me there is nothing more revealing about someone’s actual love or seriousness for smoking cigars then this simple, little gesture of waste. If this is your style, and you know who you are, do your self a favor, think before you smoke. Or you could always just blow it out your smoke ring…

Tommy Wang

A Glossary on Cigar Construction

Because many have asked in the past and will in the future, here is a definitive look at Cigar construction.

Hand Made - Use long tobacco leaves as the filler which runs the length of the cigar. The Filler, binder and wrapper is combined manually.

Machine Made - Uses machinery to combine "short filler" with the binder and wrapper. Often Homogenized tobacco is use because of the tension caused from the machinery.

Hand Rolled - Machine combines the Long filler with the binder and then is hand rolled.

Thinking outside of the Box

Some of on The Cigar Stop team have multiple *humidors and a few have decided to think outside of the box and opt for a *Cigar Jar instead. I also have one of these Cigar Jars and I have to say they work fantastic. They are great for traveling, just about unbreakable and are relatively inexpensive.
Most *Brick and Mortars carry them as well, as well as almost every Cigar Web site and E-Bay sells them. The cost of a Cigar Jar usually ranges between $19.95 to $24.99, which as a buck goes these days is extremely reasonable. The Cigar Jar comes with a *Humidifier attached to the underside of the lid and holds between 20 to 25 *sticks depending on the *Ring Gauge. Most Jars are 91/8" high x 5" in width.
The Jar is a great starter for a new Cigar smoker or anyone who does not have an over abundance of *stock or for those that do not have the room and patients for a regular humidor. Got Flavored Cigars? You don't want those tasty treats to invade your regular premium sticks. The Cigar Jar is a perfect solution. The Cigar Jar is air tight, washable, compact and easy for travel.
We hope this blog has helped some of you out there or at least given you another option for storing your cigars. Remember your questions and comments are always welcome.
Happy Smoking
Cigar Ash

*Stick (s): Cigar or Cigars
*Stock: all your Cigars
*Ring or Ring Gauge: Thickness of your Cigar
*Humidor: A box (usually wood and lined with kiln dried cedar) with a humidifier to store and keep cigars and in climate control area for freshness.
*Humidifier: A device made with either Glycol, foam or a sponge like material to keep Cigars at 65-70 degrees & 70% Humidity.
*Brick and Mortar: Your Local Cigar location
*Cigar Jar: An acrylic jar with a humidifier to store Cigars.

Cigars Storage: What's in a Degree?

We all know by now that our *sticks should be stored at 65-70 Degrees Fahrenheit and 70% Humidity depending on your preference. I prefer my cigars at 70/70, I like mine a bit on the moist side because I think it adds to the flavor and makes them taste richer, rather then the dryer side which makes them taste & smell like burned leaves from your back yard.
So this is what we know the experts say 65 to 70 Degrees and 70% Humidity equals a good result, but the tricky part is you don't want to be too much more humid them 70 that causes a whole different set of problems.
Once the humidity gets up past 71-72% that's when trouble shows up in the form of cigars swelling, splitting ends and if gone on unchecked mold (the Bad kind). When lighting an over humidified cigar they are hard to keep lit and have a soggy feel and smell to them. They also have a tendency to flake off their wrapper or unravel. The high humidity will also cause cigars to *canoe which is never a good thing.
So remember Hygrometers are a must and the rule of thumb is 65-70 degrees & 70% humidity. If you have a Analog Hygrometer you want it to display between 65 and 70. If you have a Digital Hygrometer you want it to read 65-70 in the temperature and 70% in the humidity.
We hope that helps some of you Cigar fans out there and remember you comment and questions are welcome anytime, and if you would like to contribute to The Cigar Stop Blog please let us know.
Good luck and Happy Smoking.
Cigar Ash

*Sticks: A Cigar or Cigars
*Canoeing: When a lit cigar burns more on one side then the other resembling a canoe.

The Cigar Stop Team

The Cigar Stop Team consists of a group or regular guys that got the idea to help out other like minded fans of Cigars. We are not experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we have over 35 years of combined cigar experience and would like to pass that along to others and maybe learn a few more things ourselves.
On this Blog Page we will begin to introduce you to many of our team one blog at a time, at the moment we have 3 on the team and hope to get more of our team involved in one form or another.
Not everything on the site are going to technical stuff, some will reviews, what cigar is best when and there will be some top lists on Cigars and accessories, polls on a regular basis.
What we need from you is input in the form of comments, votes, questions to our team or content of your own if you would like to add your own cigar orientate blog to our site.
Remember be patient with us with us we are not experts, we only know what we like and what we would like to share, so that others do not makes some of the mistakes we have and that way it could save them a bad taste or an empty wallet.
Thank you for your time and enjoy your Cigars

The Cigar Stop Team