ok ... gunna try and catch up here...

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

8-4-09 been in humi since 4-07

Felipe Gregorio 15th Anniversary Power
Special Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Costa Rican Grown Plo de Oro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican.

The cigar is a chocolate brown. It is fairly dark though it is not a maduro. The band seems a bit over the top and a bit busy for the length of the cigar. The cigar has an oily feel to it.

Near the cap the wrapper isn’t all the way down. I hope this does not turn into a problem. The scent is light.
The lick on the cap is very sweet in nature. The cut brings a large crack in the capand a bit of the wrapper.

An un-lit draw is a bit sweet and a bit licorice.

After lighting the opening flavors are a bit sharp, and a bit earth and sweet. As with many cigars with Nicaraguan tobacco there is a pulpy wood taste to it. fortunately this is not the dominant flavor.

As the cigar settles a nice roundness develops. It is a bit on the nutty side, and a slight spice develops by the first ash.

Approaching the half way point, the body of the cigar does not live up to its namesake. Its more medium. It is smooth with a short finish that is very light and slightly woody.

¾ of the way in and the wrapper starts to pull away from the binder. Shortly thereafter, a bit of harsh introduces itself. The combination of the harsh note and the construction issues tell me its time to end this one.

Burn: 8
Draw: 8
Taste: 9
Aftertaste: 8
Appearance: 8
Balance: 8
Construction: 6
Feel: 8

Overall: 8.0
3 smoke rings -- an average cigar

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

8-7-09 been in humi since 7-17-08

Nicarao Torpedo (6.5x52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

The wrapper is shiny and has a bit of tooth to it. there is an earthy smell to the pre-light. There look to be a few minor construction issues to the cap. None of them will be a problem because they will be clipped right off. .

The lick on the cap has a bit of sour to it. Cut with a double guillotine cutter. The draw is a bit on the tight side even though I cut almost too much off.

The first draws are coco with a bit of wood on the aftertaste. The sour on the lips compliments the flavor profile well. The finish is very thin.

About an inch in when the cigar settles, the coco fades to a bit of a coffee taste.

The first ash finally falls off at almost 2 inches. The flavor at this point is pretty much the same with only a slight intensification of the woody note. The aftertaste is still thin and is very Nicaraguan in nature.

No significant change at the mid point.

The last third has the addition of a slight spice. And the cigar ends with no further changes in the flavor.

This cigar wants to have big flavors. this detracts from the complexity the subtle changes that happen within this cigar don’t make much of an impact on the flavor profile.

Burn: 9
Draw: 8
Taste: 8
Aftertaste: 8
Appearance: 8
Balance: 8
Construction: 9
Feel: 8

Overall: 8.2
3 smoke rings -- an average cigar

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

Heh. Thats an interesting review of the Nicarao. Now I wanna smoke another one.

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i have two more in my catalog that i have yet to put online...

both were a bit strange and got distracted mid review. ill put them up but im sure ill have to review them again at some point to get a real fair review.

those two are:
RP summer collection 2008
and
LFD Double ligero maduro chisel.
i was much more excited about the latter and al was going well with it. i want to smoke one again and review it but i fear that it will be to different. this one had a year on it. had i paid more attention to it and not been so distracted things would have turned out very differently. the first half was focused. if it would have continued down that path it probably would have been one of the highest rated sticks in this catalog. but .... life sometimes happens.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

kuzi16:

i have two more in my catalog that i have yet to put online...

both were a bit strange and got distracted mid review. ill put them up but im sure ill have to review them again at some point to get a real fair review.

those two are:
RP summer collection 2008
and
LFD Double ligero maduro chisel.
i was much more excited about the latter and al was going well with it. i want to smoke one again and review it but i fear that it will be to different. this one had a year on it. had i paid more attention to it and not been so distracted things would have turned out very differently. the first half was focused. if it would have continued down that path it probably would have been one of the highest rated sticks in this catalog. but .... life sometimes happens.

The LFD DL Chisel Maduro is definitely a quality smoke, but it is better with some age on it.

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"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more." - Jules Renard

thats why im hesitant to go out and buy one just to smoke it right away. this last one had a year on it and i could see it getting better after another year.... or two.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

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Work called! They said if you dont come in on Friday, dont bother to come in on Monday! - Whoo hoo four day weekend!

Fourtotheflush:

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

No boos here man, I know what ya mean. I got a 1 year old running around getting into EVERYTHING! lol Sometimes this can be a bit distracting when I'm enjoying a good smoke... But the good thing is, they make tons of cigars... There will always be more.

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Jason
You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

Fourtotheflush:

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

the cigar came with.... the notebook didnt.


while smoking the LFD i went down the street to watch the ceremony taking place to the demolition of an old shopping center. this is the first step in building a new updated and more attractive shopping area. my next door neighbor and i went.
i picked a good spot about 45 min before the building was supposed to come down. ten minutes later the mayor gave a speech. so did the developer, some councilmen, the leader of the demolition team... yadda yadda yadda.....

by they time they shut up i was almost down to a nub on the cigar and this lady with her kids steps in front of me to watch the building demolition. im ok with that. im tall. its all good; she is short. about 5 minutes later she turns around and says "can you not smoke that here? i have a 3 month old"
i retorted: we are outside. there are no laws or statutes in this area that prevent me from smoking here. you are just as capable of moving as i am. if you dont like it, walk away quietly like anyone in this crowd has already done.

she looked at me funny and kept standing there.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

kuzi16:

Fourtotheflush:

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

the cigar came with.... the notebook didnt.


while smoking the LFD i went down the street to watch the ceremony taking place to the demolition of an old shopping center. this is the first step in building a new updated and more attractive shopping area. my next door neighbor and i went.
i picked a good spot about 45 min before the building was supposed to come down. ten minutes later the mayor gave a speech. so did the developer, some councilmen, the leader of the demolition team... yadda yadda yadda.....

by they time they shut up i was almost down to a nub on the cigar and this lady with her kids steps in front of me to watch the building demolition. im ok with that. im tall. its all good; she is short. about 5 minutes later she turns around and says "can you not smoke that here? i have a 3 month old"
i retorted: we are outside. there are no laws or statutes in this area that prevent me from smoking here. you are just as capable of moving as i am. if you dont like it, walk away quietly like anyone in this crowd has already done.

she looked at me funny and kept standing there.

Good for you for standing your ground ...

kuzi16:

Fourtotheflush:

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

the cigar came with.... the notebook didnt.


while smoking the LFD i went down the street to watch the ceremony taking place to the demolition of an old shopping center. this is the first step in building a new updated and more attractive shopping area. my next door neighbor and i went.
i picked a good spot about 45 min before the building was supposed to come down. ten minutes later the mayor gave a speech. so did the developer, some councilmen, the leader of the demolition team... yadda yadda yadda.....

by they time they shut up i was almost down to a nub on the cigar and this lady with her kids steps in front of me to watch the building demolition. im ok with that. im tall. its all good; she is short. about 5 minutes later she turns around and says "can you not smoke that here? i have a 3 month old"
i retorted: we are outside. there are no laws or statutes in this area that prevent me from smoking here. you are just as capable of moving as i am. if you dont like it, walk away quietly like anyone in this crowd has already done.

she looked at me funny and kept standing there.

see...they'll do that up in northern ohio. They'll actaully say it is to protect their children. Down here, in south eastern Ohio...they can't. A lot of them were smoking when they were pregnant!

Last year at this local music/community festival in Marietta, I took a cigar out in public. Not even thinking about it the amount of people, I saved it for after dinner, during a fireworks display. Now at this festival, the fireworks display is everything and it is often wall to wall people standing shoulder to shoulder just staring into the sky. I proceed to light this little cameroon wrapped cigar just before the massive crowd really packed in. During the whole thing, people just stared/glared toward me as I stunk up the near vicinity. While many showed their distaste toward the situation by staring and some would actually move....none of them had enough gusto to say anything. I don't know if it was that I am a big dude, or that they feared that I wasn't wound too tight, or what, but I stood there and enjoyed the fireworks and cigar while I kinda chuckled to myself as people squirmmed and stared.

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"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more." - Jules Renard

kuzi16:

this lady with her kids steps in front of me to watch the building demolition.

about 5 minutes later she turns around and says "can you not smoke that here? i have a 3 month old"

I've extracted the part I found amusing. She stepped in front of you, which I take to mean that she was somewhere else first, and then asks you not to smoke as though you had moved by her. HA! Some people.

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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Thomas Jefferson

i thought about that after the fact too...

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

kuzi16:

Fourtotheflush:

Life does happen and most of the time it is more important than some alone time with a cigar.


I know Im waiting for the boos

the cigar came with.... the notebook didnt.


while smoking the LFD i went down the street to watch the ceremony taking place to the demolition of an old shopping center. this is the first step in building a new updated and more attractive shopping area. my next door neighbor and i went.
i picked a good spot about 45 min before the building was supposed to come down. ten minutes later the mayor gave a speech. so did the developer, some councilmen, the leader of the demolition team... yadda yadda yadda.....

by they time they shut up i was almost down to a nub on the cigar and this lady with her kids steps in front of me to watch the building demolition. im ok with that. im tall. its all good; she is short. about 5 minutes later she turns around and says "can you not smoke that here? i have a 3 month old"
i retorted: we are outside. there are no laws or statutes in this area that prevent me from smoking here. you are just as capable of moving as i am. if you dont like it, walk away quietly like anyone in this crowd has already done.

she looked at me funny and kept standing there.

Awesome

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"Long ashes my friends"