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 …


 

Just relax

Sometimes you just need to relax

The Cigar Stop Reviews the Gurkha Widow maker

Name: Widow Maker

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Natural; Connecticut Broadleaf & Ecuador Broadleaf

Filler/Binder: Cameroon,Habano

Shape/Size: Gordo & Churchill

Strength: Medium - Full

Box/Bundle: Bundle of 20

Flavored: No

Price: Per Single Not Available – Per Box $60.00 to 79.00 U.S.D.

This one is an odd one gang, the name Widow Maker gives you the impression that this is a bad ass cigar that will send your taste bud to the morgue and keep you shaving your tongue as if it had more hair on it than a monkeys butt and I have to say the first 5 or 6 draws on this puffed up smolder stick keeps you in that train of thought, but then all of a sudden this cigar punks out like a school yard bully being confronted buy 3 of his victims. 

 

I have not seen this cigar many places and I am thinking the name is all about size and as we are not talking about porn this point is moot!

The cigar boasts that its wrapper is aged 10 years and that its fill is delicately aged for 7 and that it yields a creamy, spicy flavor backed by coffee notes, earthiness and a hint of toast and black pepper to the finish. I would agree with this but add in that you get all those in the first 5 to 6 draws and then you just have a mild shadow of its title widow maker.

I applaud their descriptive fortitude on this one as well as the name and all the tobacco aging that went into this over size thunder stick and I am very happy and appreciative to have smoke a few of these, however this is another case of the “Christmas socks” you are all excited to open up the big gift Christmas morning and when you do it’s a package of socks, you are disappointed, but they are socks and you needed them, same thing here you see the ominous fat cigar and read the name, you light it up and it doesn't live up to its name or description, but it’s a cigar and you still smoke it, because you like cigars and have that glimmer of hope the finish is as good as the first draw.

The cigar itself is well constructed with a very nice solid ash, burned nice and even and it rested well, however even after all that I can only give this cigar a 5 out of 10. Try one and you tell me what you think about it.

Until next time.

Hello B.O.T.L.

Did I mention I like cigars this week? 

The Evil Empire –vs- a mouse that clicks

I know I have focused a lot on online cigar stores as of late and that is not to say Brick & Mortars (stores) are an evil empire that will swallow up your wallet and eat your children, although it does seem like an arm and or a leg have been taken on occasion.

I like the online shops a bit more because of inventory, cigar stores cannot carry the volume or the selections that online sites can because of space and overhead it’s just an awful truth of economics. If I am looking for a single cigar I would head to a store if I am looking for a bundle or a box it is Online shopping all the way for this consumer. The stores can’t compete.

The reason for this entry is I have been asked what online site are better and which ones have I used, well in the interest of being fair I will tell you the online sites I have used and like in NO particular order

• Thompson Cigars
• JR Cigars
• 2 Guys Smoke shop
• Cigars International
• Famous Smoke shops
• Cigar Bid
• Cigars.com
• Mike’s Cigars
• Best Cigar
• Pipes & Cigars

That being said I will add that Famous Smoke Shop has re-tuned its webs site; if you’re new it will be fine for you but we returning customers there will be a learning curve to deal with.

Cigar bid can be intimidating and you really need to pay attention to what you want to purchase read closely

Pipes and cigars are mostly piped and pipe products then cigars.

JR Cigars, 2 Guys and Famous Smoke shops tend to have a price points higher than the rest.

Thompson has a tendency to push their house brand cigars very hard to almost the point of annoying and I have had an occasion to have my selections a tad bit less humidified than needed.

Cigars International, Mike’s, Best-Cigars and Cigar.com tend to have the better deals as well as a bigger selection. Cigars International has been a stand out for me.

All this is only my opinion and is based on my personal experience of using their services for many years however keep in mind everyone has a bad day.

Now if you will excuse me it is about to cigar out and I wish to partake of it. Thanks for stopping in.