Buying cigars online.

So I have been smoking cigars now for a long time, close to ten years, and when you're 27, that's a long time. I have always purchased my cigars through different retailers in my hometown, Edwards and Al's News primarily. However, a few weeks ago, I was lured into an offer from Thompson Cigar Co. to purchase some product from them. I bought a new 25 cigar Humidor to replace my old hand me down one.

The offers for free stuff just kept rolling after that. I was given a 5 cigar sampler including a Rocky Patel, a Indian Tobac, and an Exodus 1959. I also received a butane torch lighter, a golf bag cigar "tote", a travel tube and 25 Don Lugos cigar bundle, all included with my humidor purchase. How much could this package all cost you wonder, a minuscule $45. For $45 dollars a person brand new to smoking cigars could get everything they need minus a cutter, to start storing and smoking those cigars. My recommendation is when you can, try some of these offers because what they throw in makes it more than worth its own value.

Cigar Review Showdown: FDW vs. JFR pt.2

Hi guys! Cigar Czar here and today, we are going to have the second half of our Arganese FDW (First Draw Wrapper) and Tobcalaera Tropical JFR cigar showdown. Yesterday I discussed the FDW from Arganese and talked about what makes these cigars distinctive. A quick recap; both of these cigars have the wrapper overlap the lighting end so that when you first light the cigar and get that first draw, all you are smoking is the wrapper, before it starts to burn the long filler so all the flavor in the beginning is from the wrapper.
Today we have the Tobcalaera Tropical JFR Natural Pyramid cigar which I was able to pick up easily at Edward’s Pipe & Cigar, my local tobacconist, for $6-$7. I took this to the local strip club to help my friend, who works there, stay sane. To smoke I had to stay out front due to lame Colorado smoking ban laws, and keep the girls company while they smoked. Between noticing how gorgeous these girls were and having my friend talking I noticed this cigar had a nice scent and looked well built, with an even light brown and the leaf did not show a lot of vein. Now, I know I talk a lot, especially with these beautiful girls around me, but this was a troublesome cigar to smoke because it kept going out and needed relighting and also had a pretty firm draw. The cigar did burn fairly even and the ash clung pretty well and remained fairly white with a few black pocks along it.
The flavor for me was a bit mingled, mostly because I was also inhaling cigarette smoke from the girls, but I was definitely getting a spiced nutty kind of flavor. Getting a mix of thumps and notes from the music coming through the doors played along nicely with the mix of nut, spice and chocolate coming from the cigar. Overall this was a good cigar, it tasted good, I had fun, but ultimately weighing in all factors including; construction, ash, flavor and overall enjoyment, the winner goes to Arganese with their FDW Pyramid Maduro!

Cigar Review Showdown: FDW vs. JFR pt.1

Hey all, Cigar Czar here, and I’m just trying to get back into the rhythm of things. Today we are beginning a show down between the Arganese FDW (First Draw Wrapper), and the Tobcalaera Tropical JFR Maduro Pyramid cigars. Both of these cigars are distinctive for having the wrapper fold over where you light, so, literally, the first draw on the cigar is all wrapper. Today we focus on the Arganese FDW. This was a cigar that was originally told to me by a reader and fan of my Facebook page. So doing a little research into it, I was told by Tyler at Edward’s Pipe & Cigar, that the FDW was made to compete with the JFR, neither were cigars that I had had. So I thought what better way to review these, than to actually have a showdown!
Now, I had been waiting patiently for the FDW’s to come in to Edward’s and, finally, they hosted a cigar event with Arganese. And low and behold, they brought several boxes of FDW’s. So I got one as part of their offer for the day and started puffing! I was enjoying this cigar while hanging out at the event smoking with the Arganese rep, Edward’s staff and owner and a few regular patrons. Looking at this beauty, it was a nice, dark and rich brown, wrapped very nicely. It was a bit difficult to light at first and get it burning evenly, but once it was going this cigar was beautiful. Between jokes on politics, sex or at one of the patron’s expense, I noticed that this cigar burned very even and with a good draw. While spinning the wheel for my door prize, which I had won an Arganese guillotine cutter, the ash had kept nice, white, and clung very well to the cigar, even with the spinning.
The flavor upon lighting this cigar was amazing! A very wooded, vanilla flavor that once the long filler started to light, melded with a robust nutty flavor. I enjoyed this cigar with many laughs and stories of Armando, Edward’s owner, with a couple of guys and the Arganese cigar rep staying in the Dominican Republic, or their recent trip to Mardi Gras. I shared this cigar with an IBC Root Beer which was a fantastic match. I like using IBC Root Beer as a palette cleanser between pulls on my cigar reviews, but the flavors of vanilla in the cigar, matched wonderfully with the spices in the root beer. Smoking this cigar was an incredible pleasure and I had a lot of fun while smoking it. I would highly recommend at least giving it a try. At a retail of around $5-$6, it’s not too expensive of an investment in a great evening! Tomorrow we will see what kind of rebuttal Tobcalaera Tropical’s JFR has for the FDW.

Try Aging Your Cuban Cigars

When Cuban cigars were first made available, they have exploded on to the scene. Yes their were times when things were a little slow, but they have always been steady. In 2008, we are seeing another era of the new generation discovering Cuban cigars. Why not? It's a good alternative to smoking as you never inhale and with Cuban cigars, you will always enjoy the best kind of tobacco available today. The complexity of the flavors involved and the pure dexterity of the Cuban cigar just can't be matched.

I think this is where they discovered the art of aging a Cuban cigar. No one really knows, but most good things are discovered by accident. So is the case here, especially when it comes to an aged fine Cuban cigar. Cuban cigars taste great fresh from their case, but if you store them for a few years (Just like wine), you will have something incredible on your hands. This is why the Cuban cigar brand Cohiba is considered the top of the line cigar in the world. Before the actual construction of the cigar, the tobacco leaves used are aged for sometime.

The great thing here is once you let them sit for a few years, they get better with age. The complex flavors are truly a treat to anyone's palette. The best way to age your Cuban cigar is by getting a humidor. It is basically a box that controls the temperature within, which is a must if you want to preserve your cigars. You see, Cuban has been blessed with some perfect climate to grow the best tobacco in the world. No other country even comes close. Combine perfect temperature with an art that goes back centuries, and you have something truly worthy on your hands.

However, don't be disheartened because Cuban cigar humidors vary when it comes to prices and today they are very affordable. It all depends on what your needs are and how many Cuban cigars you smoke. If you smoke a few a month, get a portable humidor. This way your cigar travel with you and you can easily carry like 3 - 5 sticks. If you are looking for a humidor and a nice piece of furniture, than why not try a table humidor? Some of them are truly art pieces and will bring your existing living room to life. Plus with a table humidor, your Cuban cigars will always be ready for people who you want to show to like your friends and family.

If I were you, I would invest in a humidor immediately and store those precious stogies in them. Than I would leave that humidor somewhere safe, clean, away from water and in a cool place and let it do it's thing. It is recommended that you check up on it every once in a while just to make sure everything is working fine. I usually do it every two weeks or so. After that, or should I say after a few years, waiting for you will be some amazing Cuban cigars.

By: Trevor Wallace..

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Cigar Review: Montecristo Petit Tubos

Hey all, the Cigar Czar here. It’s been a week I tell you what. So, this review is gonna be done a little differently. There will still be flavor and construction notes as before, but there’s going to be a little more of what was being done while smoking the cigar. I’m also gonna reveal a little more about myself throughout these. For starters my lack of reviews for this week is mostly due to things I’m trying to get situated for my personal and professional life.

Today’s review is the Montecristo Petit Tubos. This was a cigar I’ve held onto for a little over three years. It was given to me by a, now ex, girlfriend. There were questions whether or not this was genuine since it was purchased in Mexico. Although verifying with my Habano Reference ‘Cigar Dave’ over at the Valencia Cigar Lounge (ValenciaCigarLounge.com), and cross referencing with Cigar Aficionado’s Counterfeit Gallery (cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Counterfeits/Counterfeit_Gallery/0,3390,,00.html), it seemed to come to consensus that it was the real deal. I had been saving it for the right occasion, that occasion was Sunday night.

I had joined my neighbors in a nice night of food, wine, music and of course smoking. Now, not all people involved enjoyed cigars, so I made a hookah for them, my buddy Mike though, he opted for the Partagas Black Label, and I enjoyed my Habano.

This cigar is exactly as the Montecristo #4, but instead of being a box press cigar, it’s typically sold in 3 or 5 cigar packs in tubes, hence the Tubos. It is not as dark as the typical Habano, with a natural wrapper that was very well done and showed little vein. Seeing as how this was a triple cap Habano, it was not cut, but bit off, and came clean off perfectly without damaging the cigar. The draw was impeccable and the cigar burned dead even. The only thing I would say was that the ash did not cling for very long.

Smoking this cigar was even more fun! It was enjoyed while occasionally taking a pull from the hookah and drinking a nice Pinot Noir. While listening to acoustic versions of Damien Rice and lighting the cigar, I noticed it also had a spicy punch, but became creamy smooth towards the end. It had a fantastic aroma that was very sweet and clung in a discrete, yet tasty way. Notes of Vanilla, Coffee, Nut and a hint of Chocolate wafted amongst the notes strummed from the acoustic guitar being passed around.

Overall this was a fantastic cigar that went very well with the surroundings, didn’t smoke for a terribly long time, but I got a good 45 minutes out of this, perfect for the wine, burgers and music, but most importantly, the company. I would definitely recommend investing in getting some of these cigars. Until next time!

Reader Request Cigar Review: The Perdomo Lot 23

Hi guys, Cigar Czar here today with the Perdomo Lot 23 Belicoso. This was requested for review from reader Chris McCoy. This cigar was created initially as an experiment from Perdomo, they started a new crop, which they entitled Lot 23, which was grown specifically to be fermented longer. When the crop was harvested, however, they discovered that the leaf did not blend well with foreign wrappers, instead they found that it worked much better with leaf that came from the same plot of land. This became the puro Nicaraguan cigar, Perdomo Lot 23.

Looking at this cigar is what you’d expect from a cigar. The outer wrapper was a standard, even brown with not much vein save for one or two big veins. It was well wrapped, nice and even, after punching with my Cigar Spike™, I found it had a nice draw, not too hard, not too light. Lighting was pretty easy and the burn remained fairly consistent and even. The ash was unremarkable, a mottled light gray, although it did cling for almost half the cigar.

Flavor on the other hand, started out almost as a spiced apple flavor with a hint of cedar and anise. This was the only flavor that remained throughout almost the entire cigar, until about the 2/3 mark, where the flavor became a little more complex with the cedar becoming a bit more pronounced, otherwise not offering much else in flavor.

Overall this was an enjoyable cigar, good construction notes with a good consistent flavor. The only thing I would say about this cigar is that it needed more complexity or maturity in the flavor. What flavor was the there was thoroughly tasty. Thanks to Chris McCoy for recommending this cigar for review!