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The Indian Tabac Super Fuerte is a box-pressed, aged cigar made of leaves from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras.  I'm not sure what size the cigar I reviewed was. It had a torpedo shape with squared sides from being box-pressed.

The Super Fuerte lit easily and gave off an earthy aroma from the start.  The flavor and aroma were consistently earthy.  There was a mild, even peppery note throughout the cigar that picked up slightly near the end.  The age of the cigar was evident in its flavor as well.  These are aged 4 years from the factory, and mine had been sitting in a humidor since 2004, so it was at least 5-6 years old.

The ash was firm, papery, and medium gray in color.

The smoke was a pale gray color and of moderate thickness.

The burn was even right down to the end.  As you can see below, I smoked it right up to the point where my fingers had enough of the heat.  (The bottle cap is there to give some scale.)

An enjoyable cigar all around, but I wouldn't call it spectacular.  It gets a solid 6 out of 10 rating from me.

The Fonseca 5-50 received an 88 rating from Cigar Aficionado and, according to Cigars International, a "Superior" rating from Rudman's guide.

The 5-50 is a 50 ring gauge cigar with a 5 inch length.  The cigars are hand-rolled in the Dominican Republic.  They're made from Dominican long filler, a Dominican/Mexican binder, and a Connecticut shade wrapper.  

The cigar I reviewed lit easily and burned extremely evenly, almost a perfectly straight burn.  It gave off generous amounts of wispy white smoke while lit, even when not being drawn. 

The flavor was very mild but evoked the taste of coffee in my mind, with a light touch of leather to it.  There was a light peppery note that started about half way through the cigar.

The cigar's construction was very firm and sturdy.  The ash was similarly very firm and a light to medium gray color.

It's a very pleasant cigar to smoke.  Nothing spectactular, but I've nothing at all bad to say about it either.  I rate it a 7 out of 10, primarily due to the lack of unpleasant characteristics.  This would make it a "safe" cigar to smoke, or a good one when I'm distracted by something else and can't fully enjoy a more "excellent" and expensive one.

The K. Hansotia Signature 101 cigar reviewed here is described as an "unbelievable new blend" by Cigars International.

The cigar's wrapper is a darker Costa Rican Maduro leaf. The filler blend was supposedly created by Mr. Hansotia himself for his own personal enjoyment. The filler contains Honduran, Dominican, and Jamaican long-leaf tobaccos. It's a fine-looking cigar, made a bit more special looking by the addition of its "signed" silver band.

The Hansotia Signature 101 lit very easily and burned very slowly and evenly to the end. It stayed lit quite well even as I moved about from task to task as I smoked it. If you smoke one of these, I recommend using a punch cutter or a "V" cutter rather than a straight slice across the head. The reason I suggest this is that the wrapper wanted to unravel after I sliced it.   I was able to prevent that from happening by moistening the end, but it did tend to want to still unravel a bit.

The flavor of the cigar to me had a strong chocolate note to it, more like cocoa powder or very dark chocolate than a Hershey bar. Although described as a complex and full-bodied flavor, all I could say that I picked up was the chocolate flavor and a very mild peppery note. The flavor seemed fairly consistent to me throughout.

The smoke coming from the Hansotia Signature 101 was very thin and wispy when exhaled. When drawn into the mouth it was sometimes hard for me to tell the smoke was there. The aroma of the smoke was bitingly sharp and my nose definitely knew it was there when I inhaled some that way.

The Hansotia Signature 101's strength was very mild initially, but picked up significantly during the last third of the burn. I would describe it as a slightly above-average strength.   I definitely felt it by the end of the cigar, but it wasn't quite as potent as the Gurkha Vintage Seriest (also made by Hansotia).

All things considered, I liked the Hansotia Signature 101 but don't feel it was quite as special as some do. Still, it is quite a good cigar and I am not disparaging it here. On a 1-10 rating, the cigar deserves about a 6.5 - perhaps leaning more toward 6 than 7.

Cigars International refers to Gurkha as the "Rolls Royce of cigars". They tell us that Gurkha is "known for offering some of the most prestigious and highly-rated blends in the world". The Gurkha Vintage Series is one of Gurkha's milder cigars.

The wrapper of the Gurkha Vintage Series (as you can see in the image below) is a slightly oily Connecticut shade. It's a very firm cigar.   The Toro size measures 6 inches long with a solid 50 ring gauge. It's firmly rolled and feels quite solid and sturdy in your hand.

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I had the opportunity to purchase 12 Rum Runner Buccaneer cigars from Cigarbid.com in late March. This weekend I lit one of them up to try it out. I'd heard a lot of people really like Rum Runners, perhaps because they were infused with real Caribbean Rum.

The Rum Runner Buccaneer is a hand-made cigar with 100% Dominican filler, an Indonesian binder and Indonesian Wrapper. The cigar is a 42 ring gauge size approximately 4.7 inches long. It'll last the better part of an hour depending on how often and how hard you draw.

The construction of the cigar was solid but it felt a bit "mushy" compared to others like the Macanudo or Cohiba. This didn't detract from my enjoyment of the Rum Runner buccaneer cigar, but I note it here because some folks don't like a cigar that isn't rock-hard firm.

In the shot below, you can compare the Rum Runner Buccaneer to the stubs from the Macanudo Vintage 1997 and the Cohiba Red Dot Pequeno in the ashtray...

This cigar review discusses the Macanudo Vintage 1997 Demi Corona Cigar.  I picked up a (wooden) box of 5 of these little gems at the CigarBid.com auction site. I didn't expect to get as good a deal on them as I got. They normally retail for $49.95 a box on Cigars International's site (the parent/sister of CigarBid).  

They're shipped in a very attractive wooden box:

I've heard of Graycliff cigars for a while now.  They began as a "house brand" for the Graycliff resort in the Bahamas, a special treat for guests of the hotel.  Their reputation grew from there, and soon people who had never been to the resort began looking for the cigars.  Graycliff introduced them to world, and they've become a very well-known, well-respected, treasured brand name.  Selling for $16 and up each and $400+ a box, they're not likely to be the "everyday cigar" of many people.  As part of a sampler on the Cigarbid.com web site, I received a Blue Label PGX and 3 Red Label cigars.  I haven't tried the Red Labels yet, but this review discusses my experience with the Graycliff Professionale Blue Label PGX Cigar.

A while ago I purchased an entire box of Indian Tabac's "Fire" cigars.  I bought them having never had a cigar by Indian Tabac before, and of course never having had the Fire line either.  Based on what I'd been reading in the forums, Indian Tabac makes some good cigars, so I figured it wouldn't be a huge risk.  I just had my first one of them tonight, and I'm pleased to say they were a good choice.

The folks at CigarBid.com periodically offer "Carmen's Sampler", which is a bundle of cigars that they describe as being first-quality stuff but with blemishes, rips, tears, or other problems that prevent them from being sold as top-quality, new cigars. I was a little cautious about bidding on these because you have no idea what you're going to get, but I finally "went for it".  Here's a photo and description of what I received for my bid (which I'd say was worth the price)...

The Pinar 1958 Series B Pre-Embargo Cuban Rothschild cigar is frequently being sold on the CigarBid.com auctions lately.  The forum participants on the site have discussed this cigar a few times, and the general consensus was pretty middle-of-the-road.  Some liked it, some didn't, and some were indifferent.  Having recently purchased a 5-pack at auction, I decided to try one out.  Since none of the reviews I read on the forum covered the smoking experience in detail, I decided to do that here.  In fact, this review is probably going to be more detailed than any of my earlier reviews.

The 2 Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, New Hampshire recently sent me an email offer on the A. R. Robaina line of cigars.  They caught my attention because they contain 40% pre-embargo Cuban tobacco.  I've never been able to bring myself to pay the rather high prices charged for pre-embargo Cuban cigars, so I figured this is about as close as I'm ever going to get.

In addition to the 40% Cuban long filler, the cigar boasts a Cuban-seed Ecuadorian wrapper from the 2000 crop.  The wrapper is a very rich dark brown with fine veins.  Its construction is very firm.  Unlit, the cigar has a wonderful smell.  A draw through the punched but unlit cigar was easy and had a hint of spiciness to it.

Once lit, I found that I was in for quite a treat.  The aroma of the smoke was by far the most pleasant I've ever smelled.  It had what I can only describe as a perfect "classic cigar" smell.  The flavor was a rich medium-bodied one.  The smoke was very creamy white and (if I had the talent to do so) would probably have blown wonderful smoke rings.  Keep it away from your eyes, though.  It burned mine like no other smoke ever has.  It also made my head swim more than any cigar ever has.  Felt like I'd just pounded about a half-dozen beers by the time I was about a half to two-thirds of the way through it.  Wow...

The cigar burned evenly.  The ash was firm and medium gray in color.  It stayed on the cigar until I tapped it off.  I don't think it would have stayed on if allowed to grow to about an inch. 

If this is what a "real" Cuban cigar is like, I understand why people love them.  I enjoyed everything about this one and can't wait to smoke the other one I bought.  I'm even considering picking up a few more.  (BTW, 2 Guys has a really good price on them that puts them in just about everyone's price range. I don't know if I'm allowed to tell what that price is, since they can't, but let's just say that an "Abe Lincoln" and a couple of coins should get you a single, before shipping.)

On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being excellent, this one has to be about an 8.75!  Definitely recommended.

As part of a trade with a member of the CigarBid.com forums, I received a Cohiba Red Dot Pequeno cigar.  Yesterday, while waiting on my step-son to finish playing 9 holes at a nearby public golf course (Wilson Road for those of you who know or care), I lit up the cigar.  (Since then, I purchased a 6-pack tin from CigarBid.com and took some better photos for the article.)  Here is a review of my experiences...

During my recent visit to Fort Lauderdale, I picked up a CAO Brazilia Samba cigar at the Oasis Cigar shop in the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, Florida.  Last night, I had the pleasure of lighting up the cigar and enjoying it, which took a couple of hours.

The CAO Brazilia Samba is a torpedo style cigar made in Nicaragua.  It has a dark brown wrapper with an oily sheen an pleasant texture.  Only the tiniest of veins is visible.  The binder and filler are Nicaraguan. The wrapper is Brazilian, hence the name of the cigar.

The CAO Brazilia Samba cigar is very firmly constructed and has a very solid feel to it.  It's 6.5" long with a 54 ring gauge. 

Unlit, the aroma is pleasing, with a hint of a leathery smell to it.  The draw is very easy.  The cigar lit easily as well.  I found that the one I reviewed did not burn very evenly.  At first, I attributed this to a poor lighting job my part, but after evening it up a bit and ensuring that the entire end was lit properly, it continued to burn unevenly at the bottom, with the wrapper more or less refusing to burn.  Perhaps the bottom got too moist in the humidor, I don't know.  I didn't expect that from a CAO cigar.

The ash from the CAO Brazilia Samba was extremely firm, which I expected given the firm construction.  It was a very light gray, almost white, with trace amounts of other gray colors here and there.

The flavor was a bit intense in the first half inch or so, then mellowed out a bit.  The smoke was very thick and white, visible all the way from my mouth to the ceiling.  My wife found the aroma of the smoke pleasant, as did I.  Nevertheless, she asked me to close the sliding glass door to the house while I sat on the screened-in porch smoking it with a beer (the "Grotten Brown" Belgian Ale that Michael Jackson the beer expert rated the best of 2005).  The flavor to me was very good, with a hint of a pleasing leathery taste and a very light peppery touch to it.  A couple of unintentional breaths of the smoke into my lungs (I normally do not inhale the smoke into my lungs, like - I gather - most of you) were tolerable and didn't make me want to cough like many cigars do.  I got a mild "buzz" off the CAO Brazilia Samba, far less than I did from the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series I had last week in Florida, but noticeable (and no, I'm sure it wasn't the beer).

The cigar lasted at least two hours.  I lit it some time after 8pm and it was going well past 10.  If you plan to smoke one of these and don't plan to be drawing on it constantly, make sure you allot a couple of hours to enjoying it.

All in all, I'd say this was another fine cigar from the good folks at CAO, confirming my evolving opinion that they're one of my favorite manufacturers.

On a 1-10 scale, this is at least a 7.5.  I'd rate it higher, but the uneven burn and the intense initial draws take it down a peg for me.  If I have another in the future and the burn is more even, I'd move it to an 8.

 During my Florida visit I had the good fortune to visit the Oasis Cigar store in the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, Florida.  While at Oasis Cigar, I picked up a Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare cigar.

 

The Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare cigar is 6.5 inches long with a 45 ring gauge. It features a Cuban-seed Dominican and Mexican filler with a Connecticut shade wrapper that Cigars International says is "culled from the first and second primings". The wrapper is a beautiful golden color and remained properly affixed to the filler throughout my experience with it. Clearly it is a well-constructed cigar, which one would expect from Macanudo.

Unlit, the Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare cigar has a very mild but pleasant aroma. A draw through the unlit cigar showed that this mild aroma carried through to the heart of the cigar's filler. Drawing through the cigar was quite easy. Since I was attempting to smoke the cigar while sitting next to the beach, lighting it with matches was challenging but took only a couple of tries.

The burn was far less even than I expected, with about a half-inch of wrapper more or less stubbornly refusing to burn until I was very nearly finished with the cigar. The ash from the Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare was a very light gray as would be expected for a lighter-colored cigar, and stayed attached until I intentionally knocked it off.

The flavor of the Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare cigar was extremely mild, which is what I was looking for at the time. In fact, it was so mild that at times I thought maybe it wasn't lit, because I'd draw a mouthful of smoke and barely taste it at times. As the cigar burned farther down, probably about half way, its flavor picked up a little and gained a bit of a peppery note to it, like an extremely mild jalapeno.

On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being excellent, the Macanudo Gold Label Shakespeare rated about an 8.5. Not quite as good as the Perdomo Reserve Cuban Cafe series (which I rated a 9) but close enough that I'd have no problem having a few more of these in the future.  In fact, I bought several from Cigarbid.com based on my good experience here.

I just returned from a vacation in Florida where I had the opportunity to pick up some cigars at the excellent Oasis Cigar shop in Sunrise, Florida. If you are in (or visiting) the Fort Lauderdale area, I recommend visiting this shop. And if you happen to speak Portuguese, you definitely need to visit to talk to the owners.

I picked up 2 of these cigars during my visit to Cigar Oasis. I had previously smoked and very much enjoyed another Perdomo Reserve cigar, one of the Cuban Cafe Series P's, so I looked forward to reviewing this one.

Unlike the Perdomo Reserve Cuban Cafe series I reviewed earlier, the "La Tradicion Cabinet Series" is a maduro and the series "P" is a perfecto 5 and a half inches long with a 55 ring gauge. The Perdomo web site describes the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series "P" Maduro cigar as featuring "a distinguished and contemplative blend of medium bodied, double-aged Cuban-seed tobaccos. Grown in the rich, dark soil of the Perdomo family plantations nestled in the Nicaraguan regions of Esteli, Condega and the Japama valley".
Cigar Aficionado rated the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series "Red Box" or "Red Label" cigar a 92 and named it one of the top cigars for that year.

The wrapper of the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series "P" Maduro is dark and slightly oily looking, typical for a maduro though lighter in shade than some other maduros in my collection. The wrapper has very fine veins running through it. The cigar has clearly been constructed to the highest quality standards.

Unlit, the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series "P" Maduro has a very pleasing aroma. A draw through the unlit cigar revealed a definite but pleasant "punch" and the fermented flavor you'd expect from a well-aged cigar. Drawing through the cigar was quite easy.

Since I was attempting to smoke the cigar while sitting next to the beach, lighting it with matches proved to be quite a challenge. Still, once lit it burned very evenly, requiring a turn only once to correct a slightly uneven burn. The ash was a medium gray in color, very firm, and stayed on the cigar until forcibly knocked off.

The flavor for the first inch or so of the cigar was pretty strong to my taste, but very quickly mellowed out after that. In the end, the smoke had a very pleasant flavor and a decent body to it. There were some hints of chocolate or earthiness in the last portion of the cigar. It burned pretty warm up to the end, and left my head swimming quite a bit when I was finished with it, which took close to an hour.

On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being excellent, the Perdomo Reserve Cabinet Series "P" Maduro rated about a 7.9 in this review. Not as good as the Cuban Cafe series (which I rated a 9) but certainly one I'd smoke again.