CigarChoice.net- Cigar Reviews and News

This was taken from http://www.cigarrights.org.  I felt I would post it here for my readers because it hit me close to home.  This is rediculous, just another way for local government to slowly take away our rights as cigar smokers!

Cigar smoke causing stink downtown

MAR 20 – Cigar smoke wafting from the recently opened Tinder Box in downtown Palm Springs is causing some merchants concern.

The Tinder Box, at 200 N. Palm Canyon Drive, has been allowing its customers to sit outside at a table with their cigars.

But after a complaint from merchants, the city stepped in and asked that the table be removed because there is no permit for it.

Now, the cigar smokers have moved across the street to Ignition Coffee Lounge, where the owners have welcomed them.

Meanwhile, merchants next to the Tinder Box are waiting for the city to respond to the Tinder Box’s request for a tabel outside their business.

“You wouldn’t believe the obnoxious odor of six cigars coming in here,” Dick Rogers, owner of the Canyon Rose Boutique next door, said.

The cigar smokers said this morning that they aren’t doing anything wrong and should be allowed to smoke outside.

“In this economy, maybe people should overlook some of the smaller things,” Tony Seirafi of Palm Springs said.

If you haven’t yet joined cigar rights of America, and you are an avid cigar smoker, I urge you to do so, in order to fight for your right to smoke a cigar.

Scott

Here comes another review from the mind of Cigar Choice.  This particular stick happens to be one of my favorite milder Pepin sticks.  I felt it only fair to review it for my readers (as few as they might be )

1/3:  As I started on this stick, I knew what to expect.  I have had about 3/4 of a box already, so I was ready to review this cigar.  I lit it up with my trusty Lotus 21 dual flame lighter, and cut it with the trusty palio.  As I lit up, the first thing I noticed was that the draw was perfect.  Not too tight, but not too loose.  The smoke was light grey in color, and billowing powerfully from the smoke as I puffed on it.  The first flavors I got were some slight spicy notes found in just about every Pepin smoke, but the other flavors I got were some nice earthy tones, with some nutty flavors.  The burn was just about perfect, as I’ve expected out of most Pepin smokes.  So far, I am really enjoying this cigar!

2/3:  As I continued on this smoke, I was enjoying it, just as I had with every one of these that I’ve had.  The peppery spice flavor was still there, but the earthy and nutty undertones were making themselves more pronounced.  The burn was starting to get a little wavy, but I attributed that to the fact that it was a bit breezy on the day that I smoked this one.  The smoke was still billowing, and upon exhaling it through my nostrils, I got lots more spice, that wasn’t present when I just blew the smoke out my nose.  Thus far, this cigar is not dissapointing me at all.  I am really enjoying it.

3/3:  As I finished up this cigar, I was just enjoying it immensly.  So much in fact, that I actually went over the alloted time on my lunch break, just to nub the smoke down to the minimum.  I was still getting a lot of nutty, earthy tones, with some slight spice.  As is the usual, I am loving this cigar, and I am bummed I only have a few more left.

Overall Impression:  Overall, as is the usual with this cigar, I really enjoyed it, and smoked it until my fingers burned.  If you like mild to medium smokes with the typical Pepin spice, with lots of OTHER flavors associated with the stick, don’t hesitate to buy some of these!

Smoke em if you got em, buy em if you don’t,

Scott

I was checking the gauge in my humidor the other morning, as well as looking for a stick to enjoy on my lunch break for the day a few days ago.  I came across this very nice, big, tasty looking Gran Habano #5 corojo, and decided this would be the one for a review and for my lunch on this particular day.

1/3:  As I started in on this cigar, I did as I do with all my cigars… Clipped it with my trusty Palio cutter, and lit it with my faithful Lotus 21 double flame torch lighter.  It lit up with no issues, and the smoke that came from the first few puffs was billowing a whiteish grey color.  The draw was nice and firm, but not so firm that I had to work at it.  The flavor I got from the first portion of this cigar was a lot of peppery spice, with some leathery and cedar flavors in the background.  The thing I enjoy about this, and just about every other corojo wrapped cigar is the fairly strong spice I get out of them.  This cigar was one that was not dissapointing.  I was enjoying it immensely, and the spice was a very nice flavor.

2/3:  As I started on this part of the cigar, I noticed that the spice kinda faded away, but was still there, and all I was really getting was some sweetness, with a little bit of an earthy undertone.   I was a little disspointed, as I enjoy the spiciness of corojo wrappers, and this cigar was leaving me wanting a little more.  The smoke was still billowing, and the ash was firm and straight.  The cigar was burning great, even in the slight breeze I was fighting.  Overall, so far I am still enjoying the cigar very much.

3/3:  As I started to finish up this cigar, the spice that I had been enjoying came back, full force, and the earthy undertones, almost felt to me as if they were trying to compete with the spice flavor.  I was getting lots of both earthy and spicy flavors, and this is where the stick truly started to shine.  I thought I was going to be dissapointed in this stick based on what I’d had so far, as I really wanted something with some kick to it.  I found that the competing flavors of the earth and spice really made for a wonderful smoking experience, and I was enjoying every minute of it!  The ash was still fairly robust, and hung on alright, although I’d ashed once just to keep the ash from getting all over my work clothes…. I am now pleasantly surprised by the ending of this cigar.

Overall Impression:  Overall, this cigar was a good stick for the money.  I believe I got this particular stick from my good friends at The Humidor in Redlands.  The spiciness at the beginning and end were really nice, and the intermingling of earth and spice was a nice touch.  The cigar was well constructed, with a great, solid ash, and good flavors.  If I remember correctly, these cigars are relatively affordable, even by California standards… I want to say my local shop carries these for around $7.00/stick, which is great for CA prices!

Smoke em if you got em, buy em if you don’t!

Scott

Ok, you probably haven’t noticed, but I haven’t included many pictures with reviews lately.  That is about to change.  I have an Iphone and I know how to use it.  Most of the sticks I review will be ones that I smoke on my 1 hour lunch break at work, and this one is no exception.  Lets get to work!

I’ve had the pleasure of smoking a few of these, thanks to the owner of my local shop, The Humidor in Redlands, Ca.  He gave us a couple of these at a cigar dinner we attended a few weeks ago, and after the first one, I was hooked!  I decided the second one I smoked, I just had to share with my readers (if there are any out there)… So here we go!

1/3: As is my usual nowadays, I lit up in the parking lot at work, and took a few short drags.  The first few puffs were heavy with cocoa and spice, with a ton of billowing smoke, and a very smooth draw.  So far things are progressing nicely, but the nicotine kick I’ve come to expect with LFD’s hasn’t hit yet.

2/3:  I took a few swallows of my Monster Java before continuing on this cigar (yes, thats another quirk about me, I drink weird stuff with my cigars, and I like it!)  As I continued, the pepper and spice kicked up full force, and just about knocked me in the teeth.  About that time, the nicotine kick that I have come to expect from LFD has also shown up.  Now, it may be the fact that I had about a gallon of coffee and 2 energy drinks by 12:00pm that day, but at this point I was starting to get a little jittery.  I am going to attribute that to the caffeine, and not the cigar, as I’d like to think I am stronger than that.  As I finished up this portion of the smoke, I got a nice hint of cocoa and wood, along with the spice, that I was enjoying very much.

3/3: As I got into the last third of this cigar, the peppery, knock you in the teeth spice came down a little bit, and the cocoa and woody flavors started to come to the forefront.  At this point, I am really digging this cigar.  Its got a nice oily sheen, and as you can see in the crappy Iphone photos, its holding an ash really well.  I am not wanting my lunch break to be over at this point, as I am really enjoying this smoke.

And this last picture, is the last one I took, simply because I was enjoying the cigar too much to whip out the Iphone and take another picture.  The ash fell off shortly after this picture… Well, I actually knocked it off, because I didn’t need ash all over my shirt and tie!  All in all, this was an excellent smoke, and I am now on the hunt for AT LEAST a box of these.  I would recommend them to anyone looking for a nice nicotine kick, with some great flavor!

Smoke em if you got em, buy em if you don’t!

Scott

Any cigar smoker knows, when you go to Las Vegas, the “holy grail” of cigars is Casa Fuente.  I go to Vegas fairly often, but I have yet to do a review of Casa Fuente.  I did not get any pictures, as I was busy smoking a cigar and drinking a beer to take any pictures.  On to the review…

The Casa Fuente Cigar shop is a shop dedicated to all Fuente products, from Opus, to Ashton, and everything in between that is manufactured by Fuente.  The great thing about this particular store is that they carry every rare Fuente product you can imagine.  From the Opus X Forbidden X and the Opus Chili Pepper, to the seasonal release of Anejo’s, they have it all.  Be prepared to spend some heavy $$ there if you REALLY want to enjoy yourself.  This time around, I bought myself a God Of Fire, and one of their trusty Mojitos to start with.  The cigar was $35.00 and the Mojito was $12.00.  After those were over, I opted to pick up a Casa Fuente house Corona (this is the ONLY place you can get these cigars, with the exception of one other place online, that I don’t think is supposed to sell them) for $18.00 and a Newcastle draft, of which I cannot recall the price.  The cigar and drink choices are excellent, and the staff are friendly, and not to mention, the waitresses are smokin!

Another thing that Casa Fuente is known for is their great collection of cigar paraphernalia. They have some very nice Opus X Dupont lighters, and the famous Cigar in a bottle of liquor.   I don’t recall what the liquor is, but for some reason I want to say its scotch.  Anyone that is a cigar smoker who goes to Vegas needs to visit Casa Fuente at least once during their trip.  Sit out on the patio, smoke a cigar, and have a nice drink.  There is nothing more relaxing, and the smokes and drinks are all top notch.  I am in vegas at least 4-5 times a year, and every time, I hit up Casa Fuente, because it is in fact very enjoyable.

Scott

This is taken directly from the CRA website, regarding the mission of the CRA.  I am a founding member of Cigar Rights Of America, and proud of it.  I am in this to fight for our right to smoke cigars, and I urge all of my fellow cigar smokers to join CRA!

Scott

Being that I just started up this blog, I thought it appropriate to review my home cigar shop for the first post in this blog.

My home cigar lounge is “The Humidor” at 12 E. Vine St, Redlands, Ca.  There is a nice lounge area with 4 huge leather chairs, and 2 flat screen televisions.  The “regulars” there are just like family to me.  The selection of cigars is one of the best I have seen in the inland empire, and the prices are very good in comparison to the rest of california.  We often spend many an hour playing darts, poker, or just shootin the breeze.  The cigars are kept in the highest quality conditions and the variety is outstanding.  You will be able to find a cigar for anyone.  From $2.00-30.00 per stick, no matter your budget, you can find something at “The Humidor” that you will enjoy.  There are also many events and a monthly poker tournament that take place at the shop.  The owners, Tim Hughes and Terry Dickey are two of the coolest people you’ll ever meet, with a real drive to see their shop succeed.  I love every day I spend there, and I hope it doesn’t change.  If you are ever in Southern California, a stop at “The Humidor” should be considered manditory!

Hours Of Operation:

M-Th- 10am-8pm

F-S- 10am-10pm

Sun- 10am-5pm

www.redlandshumidor.com

909-792-4393

Scott

Nub Habano 466
Wrapper: Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Flavor: Rich, Full bodied

I was one of the lucky ones to win a video contest that Sam Leccia was running on www.nublive.com and got my hands on some Nub cigars. I got the Nub Habano 466, which is what I am going to review, a Nub connecticut and a Nub Cameroon. I decided to light up the Habano first, because I have always had a thing for spicy and strong smokes, and this Nub was no exception.

Pre-light: On pre-light, as usual, I ran the cigar across my nose, and got lots of spice, with some leathery notes to it. I clipped it with my ever trusty Palio. This was a bit tough to do, since the ring gauge on this cigar is a 66. It clipped the end nicely though, and I took a pre-light draw. On the draw, I got mostly that familiar spice flavor, and it was predominant through the draw. The original leathery smell wasn’t really present on the draw.

1/3: As I toasted this cigar, I knew I was in for a treat. It took me a little while to actually get it lit, mostly because of the large amount of surface area on the foot that I needed to cover in flame. Right from the start, I got nothing but good flavor. Sam was right to call this the Nub, or the core, the essence. Lots of great spice, and woody flavors were coming at me, headlong. The burn was great, and the ash was holding firm. As I finished the first third of the cigar, I had the cigar resting on the table, ON the ash, with the butt of the cigar up in the air. That should tell you just how well constructed this cigar is. I went to grab the camera off the table, and bumped it, and the cigar came down off the ash, which bummed me out, because I wanted to get a picture of it. That was the first ashing of the cigar, and it would be the last ash until I got down to the end.

2/3: As I continued on with this cigar, the spice seemed to calm down a bit, and the leathery flavors made their presence known. Thus far, its been a very tasty, consistent cigar. I wouldn’t call it complex, but in my opinion, complexity is not necessary. If a cigar tastes good, and the flavors that are there are good flavors, then why mess with it? As I continued on this portion, the burn got just a touch ragged, but seemed to be only mildly off. As I finished this portion of the cigar, I looked at the clock. I had been going at it for about 45 minutes.

3/3: Just like the first portion of this cigar, the spice came back to life in a real way on the last third. The leather and woody flavors seemed to fade into the background at this point, and would not really come back into the fold. The burn also got a little funky on me, but corrected itself before it was all over. Another thing that happened to show up on my palette as I was smoking, was a slight hint of caramel. A little sweetness, which complimented the spice nicely.

Overall Impression: This is a very nice cigar. According to Sam, the price point on these is gonna be anywhere from $4.00-7.00 each. Even at the high end, I find these to be worth it. I will be buying a box or 3 of these when the release hits in April. There were a few burn issues, and the overall awkwardness of smoking something with such a big ring gauge was a bit intimidating, but you can bet I will have some of these in my humidor. Below is a picture of how it ended for me.

Ok, so this has been a cheap go to cigar for a while, but I thought I would dig up a review I did, and make that my first post for the new blog.  I pulled out a CFO #7 reserva from the bottom of the humidor, and smoked it on my lunch break.  I know, there are no pictures, but I will do my best to describe it without them.  This particular stick was a little rough looking, and is short filler, but not too flaky.  On to the review.. This particular stick has been aging in my humidor for about a year.

Pre light- I took the cigar lengthwise across my nose, and got hints of spice and coffee flavors, with a little sweetness. I could tell right then, that this was one I was going to enjoy!

1/3- The first third was just what I smelled, lots of coffee/spice flavors, with a little woodiness mixed in for good measure. Left a nice lingering flavor on the back of my tongue.

2/3- The coffee flavor developed a bit more, and the sweetness came out nicely. It was going along nicely, with an even burn and lots of smoke. Paired up nicely with my Trader Joe’s Bavarian Style Hefewizen.

3/3- This is where it really kicked it up a notch. The spice kicked up dramatically, and the nicotine REALLY kicked in. Having not eaten all day, I was REALLY feeling it, but that was a good thing! The coffee flavor seemed to dim itself down into the background, and the spice took over.

All in all, I nubbed this smoke down till my lips were burning, and I wanted more! I am holding back. I would LOVE to go smoke another one, but there are only two left in my humi from the bomb that Bob sent, so I want to save them, at least until I order a wheel for myself. All in all, a GREAT smoke, and if you haven’t ordered a wheel yet, what the HECK are you waiting for???
Scott

Hello, and welcome to my world.  This is a one man show, for now.  I am an avid cigar smoker, who has been smoking cigars for about 4 years now, with no end in sight.  I have made it my goal to share my cigar experiences with the world through this website.  My goal is to bring you the most informative, photograph rich blog site out there.  I plan on bringing you ALL the cigar related news you can handle, along with cigar reviews, product reviews, and cigar shop reviews.  Stay tuned for more!  I can’t wait to bring my fellow cigar lovers some of the best things of the cigar world!

Scott