601 La Bomba Warhead III

Notes: Connecticut broadleaf wrapper is very dark and rough like sand paper. Draw is somewhat tight. Flavors of espresso, earth, dark fruits, black pepper and cocoa. Strained draw creates a bitterness that is distracting but the blend is otherwise delicious and complex.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty one minutes

Rating: Four stars

Matilde Renacer

Notes: Medium brown, oily wrapper and very firm with a cold draw that's just slightly restricted. Flavors of toast, earth, light roast coffee, black pepper and cola sweetness. Very creamy towards the end, great complexity, with excellent overall balance. Medium to full body, medium in flavor and strength. Fantastic construction and combustion.

Smoking time: One hour, forty five minutes

Rating: Five stars

Regius Exclusivo USA Claro

Notes: Gorgeous claro wrapper but measures a quarter inch short. Very nice construction and cold draw. Flavors of cedar and balsa wood at different points, red pepper, clove and sweet graham cracker. Nice complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty eight minutes

Rating: Four stars

Regius Exclusivo USA Oscuro

Notes: Very dark San Andres wrapper, box pressed and somewhat soft. Cold draw has great resistance and earthy flavor. Distinct lack of pepper with other flavors of milk chocolate, graham cracker, and hints of cinnamon and anise. Mild to medium strength and body but full flavored. Great blend but limited by construction problems.

Smoking time: One hour, eleven minutes

Rating: Two stars

Regius Exclusivo USA

Notes: Measured a quarter inch short but otherwise construction seems great. Mild to medium in strength and flavor, medium body. Flavors of cedar, cream, peanut, something vegetal and white pepper. Complexity was mediocre and this one developed a harshness part way through that was very detracting.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty four minutes

Rating: Three stars

D'Crossier Selection 512

Notes: Absolutely stunning light brown wrapper with perfectly even color and texture. Cold draw has perfect resistance with great density and construction. Flavors of oak, cashew, white pepper, cumin and caramel sweetness. Light to medium in body and flavor with excellent complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty four minutes

Rating: Five stars

Oliva Serie V

Notes: Excellent draw and combustion. Flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, black licorice, and a touch of black pepper. Medium body and strength. Some bitterness develops near the end, probably just a bit damp.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty two minutes

Rating: Four stars

Alec Bradley Post Embargo

Notes: Feels a bit soft and draw is tighter than it should be. Flavors of bread, cumin and white pepper. An overall bitterness develops by the midway point. Required two relights. I want to revisit this one and dry box it for a couple months.

Smoking times: One hour, thirty eight minutes

Rating: Two stars

CAO Lx2

Notes: Very odd dimpling on the wrapper and smaller than the 38 rg. Flavors of oak, espresso, red pepper, cumin and honey. Medium body and strength. Draw is somewhat tight and this made the flavors more bitter by the end. Construction and complexity could be better.

Smoking time: One hour, eight minutes

Rating: Three stars

Blanco Nine

Notes: Very dark, oily Corojo wrapper. Flavors of coffee, toast, cashew and something mineral. Complexity could be better, but combustion was great.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty seven minutes

Rating: Four stars

Cubariqueno Protocol

Notes: Cold draw has excellent resistance with a slight wood flavor. Flavors of milk chocolate, white pepper, clove and a caramel sweetness. Excellent construction and balance, delicious and exactly to my taste.

Smoking time: One hour, twelve minutes

Rating: Five stars

Room 101 Master Three Mutante

Notes: Perfect resistance, flavors of dark fruit, caramel, red and black pepper, a faint nutmeg and a graham cracker sweetness. Perfect construction and delicious blend.

Smoking time: One hour, nine minutes

Rating: Five stars

Room 101 Master Two Mutante

Notes: Beautiful, light brown Criollo wrapper, remarkably even in color and texture. Great draw with flavors of bread, cedar, black pepper with touches of clove and vanilla. Lacking somewhat in complexity but great construction and combustion.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty two minutes

Rating: Four stars

Room 101 Daruma

Notes: Resistance on the cold draw is great and has a vegetal flavor. Flavors of red pepper, cedar and a maple sweetness with a bit of cinnamon. Light in body and strength. Perfect combustion with decent complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty four minutes

Rating: Four stars

Kristoff Corojo Limitada

Notes: Very odd looking, unevenly colored Corojo wrapper. Measured a 42 rg instead of 40. Good draw, but several very noticeable soft spots which create a very uneven burn at times. Flavors of walnut, citrus, white pepper and an interesting cola sweetness near the middle. Combustion was hot and erratic at points, resulting in a somewhat distracting bitterness by the end. Overall a very delicious and complex blend.

Smoking time: One hour, forty one minutes

Rating: Four stars

Kristoff Sumatra

Notes: Reddish brown, very unevenly colored Sumatra wrapper. Ring was 44 instead of 40. Cold draw was a bit loose and density feels under packed. Flavors of milk chocolate, graham cracker, clove, tea and white pepper. Medium body and strength. Burn was slightly too quick and too hot which resulted in a harshness that didn't subside till the last third. Nice balance between sweet and spice with excellent complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty two minutes

Rating: Four stars

Kristoff Ligero Maduro

Notes: Wrapper is almost jet black. Also a 42rg instead of 40. Excellent density and draw with flavors of earth, cocoa, dark fruit and coriander, with red and black pepper. Very good construction and combustion but another blend that I found uninteresting.

Smoking time: One hour, fifty eight minutes

Rating: Four stars

Kristoff Ligero

Notes: Gorgeous, oily, Honduran Criollo wrapper. Measures 42 rg instead of 40. Great density and draw with flavors of cumin and clove spice, soda, red and white pepper. Full body, flavor and strength with a perfect, even burn. The last third got somewhat muddy and bitter and this blend didn't work for me.

Smoking time: One hour, fifty six minutes

Rating: Four stars

Kristoff Maduro

Notes: I'm curious about the varietal of this wrapper. Very firm and dense but with perfect draw. Flavors of cocoa, coffee, with black and red pepper. An odd tanginess develops almost immediately and is unwelcome. About one inch in, and again nearing the end, a firm spot bulges and bursts the wrapper and binder. Two times is likely bunching inconsistencies.

Smoking time: One hour, fifty one minutes

Rating: Three stars

Kristoff Criollo

Notes: Oily, oddly colored, yet beautiful wrapper. Closed foot and bun cap. Ring measures at 44 instead of 40. Full body and strength, flavors of maple, milk chocolate, clove, cashew, and red pepper in the retro. Very uneven burn and wavy char line, certain spots of the wrapper seem to be noncombustible. Required two relights. Also a tanginess that became too punchy and distracting by the final third. Some construction problems but very nice complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, forty five minutes

Rating: Three stars

Casa Fernandez Miami

Notes: Another CF cigar with a dull looking wrapper leaf. Construction and cold draw are flawless. Flavors of raisin, dark fruit, cinnamon, bread, cream and a hint of peanut in the final third. Wrapper developed a crack near the middle and again near the end causing flavors to muddle.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty five minutes

Rating: Four stars

Casa Fernandez Miami Aniversario 2015 Voleur

Notes: Wrapper is quite plain and unappealing. Very firm and dense, cold draw is somewhat tight. Flavors of coffee, earth/mineral, toast/bread, a faint vanilla sweetness and a very faint red pepper. Light in body and strength, delicious blend with wonderful balance despite the lack of complexity in the first half.

Smoking time: Two hours, eight minutes

Rating: Five stars

Oliva Cain F

Notes: Cold draw is earth and spice and construction seems perfect. Medium full body, flavors of coffee, generic spice, salt and peanut with both red and black pepper noticeable on the retrohale. Very rich, savory blend with excellent balance.

Smoking time: one hour, thirty four minutes

Rating: Five stars

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Notes: Gorgeous, oily Corojo wrapper and amazing construction for a cigar of this price. Perfect resistance on the draw and full bodied with flavors of cedar, black pepper, cashew and cornmeal. Nicotine strength is quite high by the last third. Complexity and balance are good and the blend becomes darker and earthier over the duration.

Smoking time: one hour, forty three minutes

Rating: Four stars

Gran Habano Private MLG

Notes: I almost forgot to photograph this one, doh! Very cool, comes completely wrapped in gold foil. Slightly larger than the stated 38 ring. Cold draw has perfect resistance with a flavor of sweet hay. Flavors of cedar, cream, salt, a mild red pepper and later peanut and a faint spice. Decent complexity, medium body and great construction, but the blend just wasn't a combination of flavor that worked for me.

Smoking time: one hour, twenty six minutes

Rating: Four stars

Esteban Carreras Chupacabra Maduro

Notes: Draw is way too tight and the head is much more firm than the foot. Flavors of wood, earth and some type of nut are just bitter and damp from the strained draws and excess heat. Construction no Bueno.

Smoking time: one hour, seventeen minutes

Rating: One star

Esteban Carreras Chupacabra Oscuro

Notes: Some of the thickest in the group at 44 rg, and the Habano Oscuro wrapper is surprisingly light in color. Draw is too loose and plagued the combustion for the entire experience. Aside from the harshness from the incorrect density, I got flavors of wood, citrus and white pepper with a faint pistachio.

Smoking time: one hour, thirty four minutes

Rating: Two stars

L'Atelier Selection Speciale

Notes: Another Sancti Spiritus wrapper, but a shade or two darker, covered in a very fine tooth. Ring gauge measures at 40 instead of 38. Cold draw is perfect with espresso bean and a subtle spice. Flavors of caramel, milk chocolate and coriander with medium body and strength. Slight bitterness by the start of the last third and lacking in complexity overall.

Smoking time: one hour, forty five minutes

Rating: Four stars

L'Atelier LAT

Notes: Very evenly colored Sancti Spiritus wrapper. Cold draw is wide open and after lighting I can tell this one was bunched way too loose. Initial flavors are white pepper and green tea, but the developing tunnel is ruining the experience as the flavors quickly become metallic and harsh. Had to give up on it at the beginning of the final third. Need to revisit this.

Smoking time: one hour, ten minutes

Rating: One star

RP Sun Grown Maduro

Notes: Wonderful cold draw flavors of cocoa and earth which persist after ignition. Other flavors of dark chocolate, graham cracker and occasionally cinnamon and black pepper. Canoed twice, both times requiring touch ups and draw was just slightly too tight.

Smoking time: One hour eighteen minutes

Rating: Four stars

RP Super Ligero

Notes: Huge blast of pepper to start, and then a wave of tanginess from the ligero. A sourness developed and increased all through the middle half. Somewhat uninteresting blend, but good construction and combustion.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty four minutes

Rating: Two stars

RP Twentieth Anniversary

Notes: Very firm with perfect draw. Wrapper has lots of very fine tooth, probably some type of Habano varietal. Red pepper on the retrohale with other flavors of caramel sweetness, mineral and some muted spices. Complexity lacked somewhat. Medium body, flavor and strength.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty eight minutes

Rating: Four stars

RP Edge Maduro

Notes: Perfect draw with flavors of cocoa, oak, black and red pepper and an occasional vanilla sweetness. Several occurrences of severe canoeing, but all seemed to self correct. Complexity was moderate.

Smoking time: One hour, sixteen minutes

Rating: Four stars

RP Edge Corojo

Notes: Feels underfilled with a loose draw. Very spicy retrohale with dominant flavors of cedar, red pepper and some clove. Burned a bit hot and quick. Decent complexity but nothing outrageous.

Smoking time: One hour, seven minutes

Rating: Three stars

Mbombay Mora

Notes: Stunning, oily Corojo wrapper and shaggy foot. Also developed a combustion problem at about the halfway point. Flavors of earth, pepper and something tangy. Became a bit soft towards the end, with flavors becoming bitter. Similar trouble as the other MBombay lancero, but not as bad.

Smoking time: One hour, forty eight minutes

Rating: Two stars

Mbombay Vintage Reserve 1973

Notes: Very densely bunched and hefty with a shaggy foot, light in body and flavor. Draw is slightly tighter than I would like and becomes increasingly more difficult through the duration. I am fortunately able to get some delicious flavors of cedar and coffee with cream, but am completely distracted by the combustion trouble.

Smoking time: One hour, forty two minutes

Rating: Two stars

GTO Pain Killer

Notes: The soft and squishy feel of this Dominican cigar was an instant indicator of the problems I would encounter while smoking. It had been kept at 67% RH for over a month from the time I acquired and I managed to catch some savory and sweet flavors, but they were drowned by the wet, hot and bitter smoke from my strained draws. Required ten relights. May revisit eventually.

Smoking time: One hour, four minutes

Rating: One star

Jericho Hill Honest Man

Notes: Another with near perfect construction and combustion and a savory, earthy cold draw. Flavors of unsweetened cocoa, espresso and black pepper build and darken in a very linear fashion.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty eight minutes

Rating: Five stars

La Barba Purple

Notes: Very oily and unique HVA wrapper with excellent construction and draw, medium body and full flavor. Strength was medium and became full in the last third. Flavor notes of bright tangy fruit to start, becoming somewhat darker in the second half, and black licorice throughout. Delicious blend!

Smoking time: One hour, twenty eight minutes

Rating: Five stars

262 Paradigm

Notes: Gorgeous Mata Fina wrapper, but overly firm towards the head and tight draw. Great complexity from flavors of earth, toast, black licorice and a hazelnut sweetness, with red pepper on the retrohale. The combustion trouble contributed to a bitterness dominating the last third. I'd like to revisit this one again.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty eight minutes

Rating: Three stars

262 Allegiance

Notes: Very light in body with less than desirable smoke production and I suspect the bunch is slightly too full. Otherwise very good construction. I had a difficult time picking out any enjoyable flavors.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty four minutes

Rating: Two stars

Edgar Hoill OSOK

Notes: Flavors of earth, black pepper, mineral/soda and barbecue provide excellent complexity. Construction suffered a bit in the second half, but overall extremely enjoyable.

Smoking time: One hour, five minutes

Rating: Four stars

Edgar Hoill Prensado

Notes: Perfect construction with medium body and complexity. Beautiful Habano wrapper and dominant flavors of sweet graham cracker and assorted woods throughout.

Smoking time: One hour, eighteen minutes

Rating: Five stars

Asylum 13 Ogre

Notes: The grassy flavor of the candela is just barely noticeable under the very familiar flavors of the previous Asylum 13, aside from a faint spearmint flavor towards the very end. Also a noticeably lower moisture content than the previous cigar, with better complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, fourteen minutes

Rating: Four stars

Asylum 13 "99 Problems"

Notes: Feels a bit mushy but draw is perfect. Dark Habano wrapper with a good amount of oils. First half has some cocoa and black licorice. Second half gains some earth and more sweet flavors. Decent complexity and very good construction aside from a minor canoe that self corrected.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty two minutes

Rating: Four stars

Foundation El Gueguense

Notes: Beautiful, evenly colored, milk chocolate brown wrapper. Wood and dark chocolate but very little on the retro. Very different from the other sizes of the blend.  Draw is a little tight till the last two inches, where it swells slightly and both the wrapper and binder split.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty four minutes

Rating: Two stars, but I also want to revisit this one too

(That's three goofy smokes in a row, all from very good factories... hmmm..)

Foundation The Tabernacle

Notes: Super dark Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. Tunneled almost immediately and after a few puffs it burned through the side about an inch down. Rich and earthy, but somewhat typical broadleaf maduro blend. Construction problems continue until the last third.

Smoking time: One hour, thirty six minutes

Rating: Two stars, but I feel the need to revisit this one too

Warped El Oso Mama

First attempt: December 21st, 2016

Notes: One eighth inch short and closer to 36 rg. Muted, dark brown wrapper with very fine tooth. Very firm and draw is almost non existent. Very surprising for a cigar made at El Titan de Bronze, one of the last and most reputable factories in Miami. Maybe it's just bad luck, with this being the thirteenth cigar in the shootout. Unsmokeable, but I'll update with a second attempt.

Smoking time: I stuck with it for about forty minutes.

Rating: (sad trombone)

San Lotano Connecticut

Notes: Somewhat sickly looking shade grown wrapper. White pepper, some citrus, and mint on the retro. Black licorice in the last third. Another with perfect construction and combustion. All three San Lotano lanceros were fantastic, but Connecticut shade isn't really my thing.

Smoking time: One hour, sixteen minutes

Rating Five stars

San Lotano Habano

Notes: Cold draw flavors are similar to the Maduro. Same great construction, but not quite as savory or complex.

Smoking time: One hour, eight minutes

Rating: Four stars