La Aroma de Cuba E.E. Sun Grown

The fine cigar for review here is the all new

La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial

" Sun Grown "

This is the latest offering in the Edicion Especial line of La Aromas and just started hitting the shelves.

I had yet to even become aware of this new stick when it was kindly offered up by a Brother of the Leaf.

Finishing up an excellent Illusione MJ 12, I wasted no time in firing it up for a spin.

These cigars fly under the Ashton flag with the sticks coming from the revered halls of non other than Don Pepin Garcia. Not a bad pedigree here.

I do not normally go for the " Sungrown " varieties. While I most certainly do go for the

stronger, Maduro and even Powerhouse Ligero laden blends such as Joya de Nicaragua and La Flor Domincana's, other typically strong Sun Grown offerings have not faired so well.

This new cigar certainly breaks that mold and offers up full and strong flavors that were just right. It let you know it was there without being harsh or unpleasant in any way. This cigar was very consistent and had no burn or draw problems to mar the experience. It tasted great from start to finish and was very enjoyable.

While not high in complexity it was just plain good and I recommend it highly. Power wise,It won't be invited to play with the big boy's from the "Antano" family down the block, but few cigars will. This is one very solid and good smoke that makes the grade and is one of the better new smokes I have had lately. There is a place for a cigar like this one. Don't hesitate to fire one up.

Wrapper: Ecudorian Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Made In: Nicaragua
Size: Toro 6 X 50
Price: About $6-$8 per single

Rating : A very solid 91

La Fontana -Vintage Da Vinci

Normally I am drawn to cigar with full flavor and body. Mild to medium normally do not please me often but a few weeks ago I was introduced to this "La Fontana" by Camacho cigars.

The wrapper is a Connecticut shade and the binder and filler are of Honduran tobaccos.

This medium bodied cigar is very smooth with a distinctive flavorful and creamy taste. It also has a slightly sweetened tip and leaves a sweet taste to the lips.

I preferred the Da Vinci (a church hill size) of what was available. It had a very nice, easy draw and the burn was even all the way through. It's wrapper was smooth, not veiny and finished well to the end.

Priced at under $5.00 a stick this is a steal in my opinion.

E.P. Carrillo Short Run " Delirios"

The concept behind the Short Run is simple: a one-time blend released once or twice a year made in limited numbers. Only 108,000 sticks of the 2010 version will ever be made.

The Short Run 2010 utilizes an Ecuadorian-grown, Sumatra-seed wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The blend comes in three sizes: Dominantes (6.25 x 60), Populares (4.9 x 50), and Delirios (5.9 x 52). This trend seems to make more sense than having to produce 12 different sizes of each blend.

Appearance and Construction:

The Ernesto Perez Carrillo { of La Gloria Cubano fame } "Short Run" has a nice looking Sumatra wrapper that has some oils visible. The Toro ish sized vitola is well rolled and presented no difficulties in smoking it.

There is a dual band on this cigar with the primary offering the up some wonderful colors with the red and gold EP logo while the secondary band denotes the “Short Run”.

It's a well made and attractive stick that beckons you to light one up and at a $6 to $8 price point, many will do so. Sadly I won't be joining them and this is not the review I was hoping it would be.

I had long been looking forward to the release of this cigar and dashed in to my local purveyor the day they landed. I was very pleased with the cigar that was waiting to meet it's match. I have long been a fan of La Gloria Cubano cigars especially the"Artesanos de Miami", and I heard great things about the E.P. Carrillo "Innaugural "cigar. A $13 Robusto I have yet to try,that seems to have been very well received.

Unfortunately,it may be a long time before I would want to receive another one of these " Short Run's ". Sometimes these much anticipated smokes pan out splendidly, and sometimes they crash and burn like this one.

The flavor profile of the cigar I smoked,{ I can only hope it was just that one } had me worried right from the start. It soon got a little better,but a long way from good. Sadly it then took a huge turn for the worse and became CMF, {cigar most foul}. I should have put it down, but I suffered to the end, {the very bitter end} that could not come soon enough. These things happen and we just reach for the next one.

Rocky Patel Nording

No, it’s not Nordic and you won’t find a Viking jumping out of the box. The name is derived from its creator, famed pipe maker Eric Nording. Crafted in Rocky’s Honduran factory, it’s wrapped in Costa Rican maduro with Mexican binder and Nicaraguan filler for punch. I should point out that the Nording I smoked was a re-blend. The brand has been floating about for some time with a plain white wrapper. The version I smoked is considered the ‘shiny’ wrapper.

The literature claims ‘full’ body, however it falls short of that expectation, which is a good thing. If it did contain that much strength, the cigar would have been horribly unbalanced. As it is, it seems as though they were able to maintain some measure of body, and just a enough hints of something different that you just can’t put your finger on; in the true Rocky Patel tradition.

Construction appears solid, just the right amount of flexibility in the body when given a modicum of pressure. The old Nording possessed a curly-top head; the new espouses a finished cap. The vein in the wrapper is about what one might expect from any of the myriad of Rocky Patel brands. There appears nothing overtly spectacular or significant in the presentation of this cigar to differentiate it from its brethren.
One pleasant surprise; clearly this particular cigar, from this particular box of toros was well cared for. When clipped the edge remained pristine and intact, not even the slightest crack or imperfection. While some of that may be attributed to construction, I place the majority of it in the hands of those who have been responsible for preserving the integrity of said smoke in storage and transit.

The burn was even-ish(a bit rough on the end), with a singular exception when I caught an air pocket and a substantial run began traversing up one side, eventually righting itself sans intervention. The ash was salt and pepper, leaning more towards the sodium side of the house and fairly stable. Aside from that brief interlude of weakened ash due to the blow-hole, the tensile strength remained quite resilient. There was an above average amount of smoke on this one, which I found pleasantly surprising.

I wish I had such similar high praise for the taste. It’s not that it’s a bad cigar, nor does it lack that tell-tale Rocky odd hint of *something*, which makes it enjoyable enough. It’s just nothing to write home about; not on my list of ‘have to have in my humidor’. It may be a bit green though I didn’t get any grassy nature… something was just ‘young’ about this cigar. Perhaps they would improve with a bit of age.

If you are looking for a decent, inexpensive smoke, the sort I have often heard be called a ‘golf course cigar’ I would imagine this would be it. The price point after tax seems to hover around seven bucks, which equates to a fine, every day smoke. For me, it will be a ‘once in a while’, ‘I need a change’ type of choice.

I’ll give it a solid 89 on technical merit.

Casa Magna Oscuro

The Casa Magna starts out rich and bold in taste. Full strength with a dark (almost black)wrapper and produces lots of full thick smoke.
It starts out strong but not bitter. Hints of cocoa and burns well. Constrtuction nice and not too many veins. Ashe is a little flakey but a good smoke to the end.

Joya de Nicaragua “ Antano 1970 “

Allow me to wax poetic here about my favorite " go to " smoke.

This cigar is a full flavored and strong powerhouse jewel of a cigar. This Nicaraguan Puro has a Habano Criollo Colorado wrapper and plenty of Ligero for the kick. It posseses a smoothness and consistency not equaled in other cigars of this strength.

It does not come with training wheels for the novice smoker so I will rate it as best suited for the seasoned smokers who run in my circles.

The Antano 1970 comes in a great size range from an amazing little knockout Lancero to the beautiful beast that is the 6X60 Gran Perfecto.

I have never encountered any burn or draw problems and the consistency of the flavor profile is about the highest I have ever seen. You know your next Antano is going to be right. And just when I thought a cigar could not get much better, an all new Antano, the " Dark Corojo " joins the party for the one, two punch!! of cigar greatness.

I have smoked countless boxes in every size and each one has been enjoyed to the fullest. I could live with it being the only cigar I ever smoked and how many cigars can you say that about...

Partagas " Lusitanias " Cuban

It was a grand evening of good friends and cigars where we unveiled the best of the best for this year.

My Top Cigar of the year comes with 2 new departures for me. It is both a cigar that hails from that little island 90 miles south of Key West and has long been my absolute “ Holy Grail ” of unobtanium.

I never expected to get my hands on this cigar but as I have now come to expect among my fellow brothers of the leaf, seek and ye shall find. If they have a cigar, you have a cigar, and so it was.

And with great pleasure, my best cigar of the year award goes to....

Partagas “ Lusitanias “ Prominente {Double Corona} 2004

The Partagas Lusi is quite simply an outstanding cigar, the King of the Hill of Cuban Prominentes.

The hallmark of this vitola is surely the blending, with distinct and strong flavors which perfectly complement each other. I don’t really have the right words for a nearly 2 hour cigar smoking experience like this one, except it wasn’t long enough.

As a cigar many smokers now including myself, catalogue as the best cigar they have ever smoked. The Partagas Lusitanias certainly deserves its reputation as one of the truly great Cuban cigars.