The Expert Review Library
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Dave - Gurkha Black Ops Rubicon07/07/2015
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Dave - Alec Bradley American Classic Blend07/07/2015
Covered in a dark brown Connecticut seed wrapper, this cigar could easily be mistaken as a Habano. The construction is great except for some minor discoloration and a soft spot down by the foot. On the low side of medium-bodied this Connecticut blend was a nice change of pace and impressive for the price. It delivers smooth and creamy flavors. It’s not overly complex but works nicely as an everyday, go-to blend.
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Sean L - CAO Brazilia07/01/2015
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Tim - Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Miami Maduro07/01/2015
After years of providing other cigar manufacturers with the finest leaf for numerous award winning blends, Casa Fernandez is finally making their own outstanding cigars. This medium-bodied American-made maduro has notable cocoa, coffee, and vanilla bean flavors. Aganorsa is the holy grail of growing, the titan of tobacco, the president of pilones, and not to mention one of my new favorites.
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Alex - Rocky Patel The Edge07/01/2015
The Edge came out in 2004, and was hot right out of the gates earning “Best Buy” honors from Cigar Aficionado. Over ten years later, and I am still lighting them up on a regular basis. The maduro variety is my go-to featuring an extra-dark Honduran maduro wrapper. It’s rich, strong, and maintains a perfect balance down to the nub.
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Kirsten - Cohiba Black07/01/2015
Anyone who knows me knows I love my coffee and chocolate so when I had my first Cohiba Black, I was floored. Rolled by Cohiba’s best torcedors, the Black features a potent blend of Dominican and Mexican fillers encased in a beautiful Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. I experienced wonderful cocoa, espresso, and cedar flavors with a nice hint of spice to the palate.
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Andrew - 5 Vegas Series 'A'07/01/2015
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Sean G - Davidoff Winston Churchill06/19/2015
Anytime the boss drops off a pack of 4 cigars that retail at $16.90 per stick, I tend to perk up and put those spreadsheets on hold. Even though I work in this business, I tend to avoid a high priced cigar like this but I’m always happy to give one a go. And since this is being billed as one of Davidoff’s strongest blends, I was excited to say the least. The cigar delivered in the beginning offering a slight hint of spice layered with some notes of cedar and vanilla. But as good as it started, I found the cigar faded rapidly into bland notes of cedar and spice. It wasn’t awful but its lack of complexity was pretty boring to me. I could get into this at an event or special occasion but if I’m sitting on my back porch I’d opt for something with more complexity – and a smaller price point.
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Sean G - Gurkha Black Ops Rubicon05/28/2015
Look, I’ll admit it. I totally got sucked into the packaging of this beauty. An ammo can? A sleek beanie? Shiny foil?! Ok, none of that means anything when it comes down to the cigar itself but I still like to be romanced from time to time.
So what is the blend like? Rubicon is made in Nicaragua with Dominican tobaccos and finished with Pennsylvania Broadleaf maduro. The blend starts off with a wallop of spice that wasn’t very welcome but it settled in quite nicely after that. The smoke is heavy and thick and just hung on palate with an incredibly long finish. Notes of cedar, espresso, and dark chocolate stay with you long after the cigar is finished. I wouldn’t start my day with a Rubicon but it’ll definitely be my go-to cigar after a long summer day.
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Sean L - Daniel Marshall Red Label05/26/2015
When we hear the name Daniel Marshall, we automatically think of the world’s most beautifully crafted humidors. The craftsmanship, dedication, and creativity are endless and reverberate through these works of Art. His humidors have been used in films, rest in the homes of stars such as Al Pacino and Arnold Schwarzenegger and have been given to notable heads of state, such as George W. Bush. Even the late George Burns could contest to the standard of excellence, he stated in personal letter to Daniel Marshall, "Actually, the humidor is so beautiful that I'm going to start smoking better cigars." Finally, these same skill sets have been used to craft one of the finest cigars on the market today, the Daniel Marshall Red Label.
The Daniel Marshall Red Label was created in the Plasencia tabacalera in Esteli Nicaragua, one of the finest tabacaleras in Central America to date. This particular blend is laden with Nicaraguan long leaves, hailing from the Jalapa Valley, one of the most lush growing regions in the country. Next, it is sealed with a Nicaraguan binder from Esteli, then finally cloaked with a five year aged Cuban seed wrapper--once again from the Jalapa Valley. The wrapper itself is toothy and gives sweet cedar notes to the blend along with a consistent lite spice and notes of cream, which echo throughout the cigar from foot to head. The key to this blend is it's consistency; from start to finish it kept me pleased and not for one moment disappointed or bored. The ash was thick and stable and the thick plumes of smoke billowed across my parlor as I took puff after puff. The smoke was so think and creamy you can literally feel it coat your palate, leaving a lite nutty and cherry finish.
The flavor consistency really made this cigar perfect for pairing. I enjoyed this particular one with a single malt Scotch. The beautiful thing about this stick is that it never once over powered my palate, instead it perfectly complimented my drink, leading to one of those awe inspiring, perfect smoking experiences. This is another reason why I have so many of these sticks in my humidor, despite the plethora of other cigars, I always find my self reaching for one of these beauties. Whether I am out back on the deck firing up the grill, or sitting in the parlor with a book and a glass of Scotch, the Daniel Marshall Red Label is always there to perfectly compliment the moment.
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