CigarChoice.net- Cigar Reviews and News

Ok, so its LATE.. I mean really late, like 2 weeks late, but I have picked a winner for the picture contest.  I didn’t get as many as I’d have liked, but the ones I did get were great!  Thanks to everyone for contributing.  I had my wife draw names out of a hat, and the one that wins is Michael Jackman!  Here is the one of the pictures he contributed:

Congrats brother, and I will be getting a hold of you for your addy, to send you a 5 pack of smokes I enjoy!  Thanks for sending those pictures in, and keep on reading, I appreciate it!

Smoke Em If you Got Em, buy em if you don’t!

Scott

I was gifted this stick by a stellar BOTL, that I get the pleasure of smoking with about once a week (Thanks for the killer smoke, Rob!) My friend Rob has a nasty habit of giving me smokes to review on Cigar Choice, because him and I have similar tastes.  He handed me this Man ‘O War Ruination with the disclaimer that it made him very woozy and he had to down a Pepsi about halfway through to get rid of the spins.  Now, I consider myself a fairly seasoned cigar smoker, so I was a little leary when Rob told me that this was a powerhouse of a smoke.  Needless to say, I was cautious, but in the back of my mind, I didn’t think it would be that strong.  Well… Here comes the review to see if I was right!

Pre-Light:  Upon pre-light, I got a nice sweet smell with a very nice earthy smell as well.  Nothing about this cigar screamed strong.  The wrapper was fairly light to medium colored, with minimal veins, and was very nice to the touch.  Not too firm, yet not a softy either.  I clipped it with my trusty Palio, as I do with just about every cigar, as my readers know.  The pre-light draw brought me more of the slight sweetness, with a hint of floral, along with a that nice earthy flavor that so many cigar smokers love.

1/3:  As I started in on this cigar, the first few puffs, the first thing I noticed was that the burn was perfect, and the ash was very solid.  The draw was just perfect.   Not too firm, but not too soft.  The smoke was billowing.  As I got a few puffs in, I was starting to wonder if Rob was right about this cigar.  I got a lot of nice earthy flavors, with a bit of spice coming through the nose on retrohale.  As I sat in the chair at my local b&m smoking this one, I realized I was starting to get a little dizzy.  At this point, I am starting to think that Rob is right about this being a butt-kicker.  The flavors were outstanding, and the light headed feeling is just starting to bother me.

2/3:  As I started on the first third, I didn’t get very far, before I decided that I needed to go get something to eat, since it had been about 8 hours since I had last eaten.  I put the cigar down, which isn’t usually something I do with a cigar I know I am going to review, walked next door to the coffee shop, and ordered a sandwich to get rid of the woozy feeling. I ate my sandwich and potato salad, and downed another beer.  I was feeling better, so I decided to pick the cigar back up again.  Much to my surprise, the cigar was still lit, and burning nicely.  I would say it was about 20 minutes of rest time for the cigar while I finished the sandwich.  I was amazed it was still lit!  Eating seemed to help calm down the power of this cigar, but it was still a butt-kicker!  The flavors are still outstanding and the construction is still top notch!

3/3:  As I finished up this cigar, the powerhouse kick butt factor is still there, but the flavors are so nice, I just can’t put it down.  The burn is still spectacular and the ash is solid.  It has a tendency to ash at the end of each third of the cigar. If every one of them are this nice, I am going to have to find myself as many of these as I can.  If I gave ratings to cigars in my reviews, this one would be TOP NOTCH.  The only downfall I could find to this cigar, is that for some people, it will just be TOO STRONG.  I thought it was butt-kicking, but the flavors were so nice and complex, that I just couldn’t put it down.

Overall Opinion:  Overall, I would have to say that this is one of the better smokes that I’ve ever had the pleasure of smoking.  The strength was a bit more over the top than it needed to be, in my opinion, but it was still outstanding.  I am going to be on the hunt for lots of these!

Smoke Em If You Got Em, Buy Em If You Don’t!

Scott

The 7-20-4 Corona is a cigar that most people may not remember, or may have never heard of.  The cigar was originally created by R.G. Sullivan, who was rumored to be the largest maker of 10 cent cigars back in the early 1900′s.  The cigar was named after the original R.G. Sullivan factory address; 724 Elm Street.

The original 7-20-4′s were blended from 1875 until the R.G. Sullivan factory closed its door in 1963.  Kurt Kendall, the owner of Twins Smoke Shop, with locations in Londonderry and Hooksett, New Hampshire, has decided to bring this brand back, blending tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras.  I was lucky enough to get in on a box split of some of these cigars, and I thought what better way to honor what Kurt is doing, than to give him a review of this cigar?!

Pre-Light: Upon Pre-Light, the first thing I noticed was that the color of the wrapper was very inticing.  It was a nice reddish brown hue, with no veins.  The cigar itself was very well packed, with no real softness, but it wasn’t too hard either.  As I clipped the cigar with my Palio, and took a pre-light draw, I got lots of earthy flavors, with some sweetness on the tip.  So far so good, time to light up!

1/3: As I started on this cigar, the first thing I noticed was that the draw was just about perfect.  Not too tight, but not loose either.  I was getting a nice amount of smoke and really enjoying that.  The smoke just seemed to coat the mouth with a nice array of flavors.  As I retrohaled, the first thing I got was a lot of earthy flavors with a little sweetness on the tongue.  I got a little bit of spice in the aftertaste with each puff, which was a nice compliment to the earthy flavors.  So far this is a cigar that I need a couple boxes of.  Very smooth, yet complex and flavorful!

2/3: As I started on the second third of this cigar, the earthy flavors were still very apparent, but the sweetness kicked it up a notch, and the spiciness made itself known on retrohale.  The smoke is still abundant, and I am loving the flavors I am getting out of it.  The earthy flavors are one of my favorites, and this cigar does not dissapoint in this department.  In combination with the outstanding burn, great ash, and wonderful smoke, this cigar is so far, one that will ALWAYS be in my humidor.  I guess I need to figure out if Twins smoke shop will ship to California!

3/3: As I finished up this cigar, I found myself wishing I had another.  Total burn time was just under an hour, but I think I was smoking it a little fast, simply because I was enjoying it that much.  I got more of the earthy flavors mixed with the sweetness and a bit of spiciness on the retrohale.  The smoke is still billowing greatly, and coating my mouth nicely.  As I near the end, I am bummed out I have to put this down.  I am really enjoying it.

Overall Impression: Overall, I am going to have to stay in contact with the guy who hooked me up with these (Thanks Mark!).  I will need to keep these stocked in my humidor constantly.  I have a TON of cigars, but when it comes to something I can smoke on my lunch break, and KNOW I am going to love, this is the cigar for me.  I am glad I made this purchase.  I originally bought a 10 pack of these cigars based on what my friend Mark had said about them, and I am VERY glad I did.  These are some great sticks.  If you want em, take a look here:

Twins Smoke Shop

I know I will be ordering more ASAP!  These are a great smoke!

Smoke Em If you Got Em, Buy Em If you Don’t!

Scott

As most of you know, that read this drivel I post, I am a beer fanatic.  Not only do I love cigars, but beer comes in a close second as a passion of mine.  I decided that I needed to put up at least one beer review for my readers, so here it is!

I saw this beer at my local gas station/convinience store, and decided I would pick up a 6 pack and make it my first beer review here on Cigar Choice.

I don’t usually pour my beers into a glass, but I thought I should for this review, just to get an idea of how it looks in a glass, and what the head of the beer looked like.  As you can see in the above picture, there is a little bit of head, but its not a huge amount.  As I started on the first few sips, I got lots of sweetness, with a hint of carmel, along with a touch of bitterness that is apparent in just about every pale ale out there.  This one was a bit different, as the bitterness was not too overpowering.  I have had quite a few beers that had STRONG bitterness associated with them, and I expected it out of this beer, but was suprised to taste little bitterness.    The flavors stayed consistent throughout, and they were delightful.  Nice sweetness, with a light mouth feel along with some carmel flavored undertones.

Overall:  If you are a fan of Pale Ale brews, this is one I would recommend.  I am a big fan of Fat Tire, also made by New Belgium, and the Mighty Arrow does not dissapoint!  Its a little pricey, as most craft brews are, at about $10/ 6er, but it’s well worth the price of admission, just for the taste.  at 6% ABV, don’t expect to get wasted on it, but if you are a connoisseur of beer, then I highly recommend picking up at least a 6 pack.  I have one more left after this one that I am drinking while writing this review, but I think I’ll get some more soon!

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

Pre-Light:  As a preface, I was given these cigars by Paul Bush, the owner of the flatbed cigar company, to try.  Its a long story, but I thought I would put up a review for my readers of Cigar Choice, since its been a while since I’ve had time to put something up.  I want to be upfront with my readers and let them know that this was a stick that was given to me, but I intend to fully and honestly review it, with no qualms about telling you how it is.

As I pulled this one out of the packaging it was in, the first thing I noticed was that it was very nice and dark, but didn’t have a lot of oils coming from the wrapper.  This didn’t bother me, because I have smoked plenty of cigars that were not very oily, but still very tasty.  There was only a couple  small veins running through the cigar, so I could tell it was going to be a good stick.  I clipped it with my ever trusty Palio cutter, and lit it up with my borrowed Ronson Jetlite (Thanks again Rob, I owe ya!)  Before lighting it, however, I did take a few pre-light draws, and got some very nice pepper, something like a white pepper, with some barnyard and a touch of cedar.  Something tells me this is going to be my kind of smoke!

1/3:  As I lit this cigar up, I was immediately hit with a white pepper spice bomb, which then toned down into a hint of barnyard, with a lot of cedary flavors.  I retrohaled on this cigar after the first few puffs, and got a surprise.  I got a bit of sweetness, with the cedar flavor pulling into the lead.  I thought the initial blast of pepper I got was going to burn the sinuses, but alas, it did not.  In fact, through the nose, I didn’t get much pepper at all.  All I got was a nice sweetness, with a semi-strong cedar flavor.  The ash is holding tight, burning straight, and the smoke is abundant!  The smoke filled my mouth nicely, but didn’t overpower in any way.  So far, I am amazed at the complexity of flavors I am getting out of this cigar.

2/3: As I continued on this cigar, right as I started on this portion, the ash fell off.  When it fell to the ground, it fell with a THUD, and stayed in one peice.  That tells me that this is one well contructed cigar!  The spice came back a bit, but the cedar and wood flavors were still dominant.  The sweetness was there, but seemed to be fading.  The burn is still perfect, and the smoke is still abundant.  I am still really enjoying the flavors.  I was enjoying them so much at this point, that I almost forgot to take pictures as the cigar progressed. So far, this cigar has not let me down!

3/3:  As I was finishing up this cigar, sadly, the flavors seemed to flatten out a bit.  I could still get all the same flavors of barnyard, pepper and cedar, but they seemed to be more faint than when I had first lit the cigar.  The smoke was still billowing strong, and the ash was still well constructed, but the flavors seemed to mute themselves a bit.

Overall Impression:  Overall, this is a cigar I would smoke at every opportunity.  I am seriously considering a box purchase, just to always have some on hand as the opportunity arises to smoke one.  I suggest that everyone smoke at least one.  We, as cigar smokers, may not always enjoy the same cigars as one another, but I can almost guarantee that this would be a stick anyone could enjoy!

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