Cigar Review: La Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Beso

Hello Cigar smokers,
Today I'm smoking an Aroma De Cuba, not to be confused with the island of Cuba. This is a full bodied Nicaraguan cigar with a San Andres grown Mexican Maduro wrapper. La Aroma de Cuba is an Ashton brand and these cigars are rolled by My Father cigars in their Nicaraguan rolling factory. The Mi Amor Reserva cigars are a similar blend to the popular Mi Amor by Aroma De Cuba, the wrapper leaves are the same, but they are aged longer and rolled in different sizes than the regular Mi Amor line. The Beso, the only size of the Reserva line that we stock, is slightly longer than a Robusto and has a slightly smaller ring gauge, I would classify it as a over sized Corona. It is also pressed less than the other Mi Amor cigars, those are definitely box pressed, but this one is slightly pressed. You can see through the cellophane that this cigar has a thick, rich wrapper leaf. The box has the typical artwork you'll see on Aroma De Cuba cigars, with nice looking borders and a regal portrait of a Cuban woman. The box on the Reserva line is prettier than the regular Mi Amor and has a nice laquer finish. These cigars are constructed well and have no obvious flaws among the box

Now on to the smoke! This cigar from the light up gives a rich Maduro flavor and a draw that is much improved over the other Aroma De Cuba blends. From the initial light up the extra age this wrapper got is evident, it starts with a richer flavor than the other cigars by this brand. The flavor continues down the cigar and develops into a very good full flavored cigar. The richness the first segment of the cigar brings comes back to the end and leaves you with a very satisfying finish, I smoked this cigar until I nearly burned my lips, the ending flavor is too good to put down, in my opinion. This is the type of cigar I recommend to people who enjoy Maduros, want a full bodied cigar, or someone who wants more flavor than a sun grown wrapper or a Habano wrapper has to offer.  This is a great after dinner or late night cigar, as the strong flavors tend to work better on the palate after a meal or a long day. Pair with a full bodied wine or spirit to get the most out of the flavors offered by this cigar.

Featured product: Regius Cigars

Hello cigar smokers,
Today I'm presenting Regius cigars. This company is based in London and all of their cigars are rolled in Nicaragua, with mostly Nicaraguan tobaccos. We stock a few of their different blends, although I wouldn't say they're for all smokers. These cigars I would say are blended for the Nicaraguan cigar enthusiast, and are a good alternative to Tatuaje, Illusione, Atilier and other "boutique" cigar brands.

We stock 3 blends by Regius, the flagship Black Label, the Red Label and the White Label. The Black Label is a medium to full bodied cigar, with a smoothness that is uncommon in Nicaraguan cigars, but it still has that strength that is characteristic of Nicaraguan tobacco.We stock the Black Label in a Robusto and a Churchill size. I prefer the Churchill myself, I think the longer size and smaller ring gauge works better for the blend.

The Red Label definitely brings more strength and flavor than the Black Label. The Red Label cigars have 2 bands on them, reading, "Exclusivo USA" on the bottom band. It has an oily and sweet wrapper, and it gets kind of peppery as it smokes on. We stock this cigar in a Lancero and in a big ring gauge Perfecto. The Lancero gives a more concise, complex flavor while the Fat Perfecto gives a bigger draw and less of a spicy sensation. The Red Label definitely offers a wider range of flavors than the Black Label and is produced in more imaginative sizes that connoisseurs enjoy.

The Regius White Label continues on that path, and adds some more complex flavors into the blend. It is offered in all the sizes that the Red Label is available in, and also has the same "Exclusive USA" band underneath the first band. instead of stocking it in the same sizes we have the Red Label in, we have it in a box pressed Perfecto, which is slightly less wide and a little longer than the Fat Perfecto. The pressed Perfecto is similar in dimensions to the Oliva V Serie Melanio Perfecto that won the Cigar Aficionado Cigar of the year, and I would say the Regius White Label is a high quality Nicaraguan cigar that is worthy of being compared to the highest rated Oliva. 

Cigar Review: Alec Bradley American Robusto Review

Hello cigar smokers,
Today I'm smoking an Alec Bradley American Sungrown blend in the Robusto size. These cigars come in boxes of 20 in two blends, one with a Nicaraguan Sungrown Habano wrapper and the other one, the Classic blend, is a Connecticut Shade wrapper grown in Honduras. These cigars come in boxes of 20 in 6 different sizes; a corona, a robusto, a toro, a torpedo, a churchill and a gordo. The boxes are pretty generic looking and easy to pass up on a full shelf. The box is covered in paper with a wood grain pattern printed on it, the Classic blend is red on the top and the Sungrown blend is a wood color.

Onto what matters, the cigars themselves. They are well constructed and don't have annoying soft spots or mismatched wrappers. Each cigar you get in a box is uniform, which says a lot about Alec Bradley's quality control, the box may be underwhelming, but the cigars deliver. The bunch is tight enough that each cigar lights up with little resistance, but not so tight that they light unevenly. The burn line isn't perfect throughout, but it burns straight enough to not interrupt the quality of the draw. The Sungrown Blend delivers a strong flavor with a peppery quality to it, typical for a Sungrown wrapper leaf . This blend is not very complex, you get pretty much the flavor that starts from the initial light up. For the price this cigar performs very well, to compare it to another Alec Bradley product, it has the strength of the Black Market line but it doesn't have quite the range of flavors that the Black Market offers.

Overall this cigar is great for the regular smoker that doesn't want to break the bank, the Robusto size is a good 30 minute smoke and the Sungrown is more than adequate for a smoker that smokes fuller bodied cigars, I find it comparable to the My Father La Antiguedad or the Rocky Patel Edge Habano. The Classic blend is good for a regular Connecticut smoker, or a smoker looking for an easy going daytime cigar. My overall take on this cigar is it's much better than one would assume from looking at the price tag and worth going for if you don't know what to smoke and see one nearby.

Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Black Market Toro

Hello Cigar smokers,
I'm reviewing an Alec Bradley Black Market today. These cigars have been on the market for a while, and they're consistently good. These come in a wide array of sizes in boxes of 20. At the store we have the Toro, Torpedo and Gordo sizes. The box that these come in are really impressive, the wood is really thick and it has a distressed finish to it that looks good in the humidor. The whole look is reminiscent of a shipping crate, complete with a label on the inside that looks like a shipping invoice. This cigar also has 2 bands, a smaller one that goes around the middle of the cigar as well as a bigger one that covers half the cigar. It's visually pleasing to look at and I think it's one of the better packaged cigars I've seen.

Going past the packaging, this cigar is also well constructed. There are no glaring soft spots in the fillers or blemishes on the wrapper. From the first light up this cigar gives a firm draw, but you don't have to struggle with it. The burn line is acceptably even, it's not perfect, but it doesn't canoe or negatively affect how the cigar smokes. This smoke gives a nice, strong flavor from the start, but it doesn't stick heavily on the palate or have the sweetness that many Maduros have. This cigar is actually pretty easy going for a wrapper this dark. It's not mild by any means, but it won't make you sweat.
I rank this cigar's strength at a 4 out of 5. I recommend this cigar to folks that smoke medium bodied cigars and want to try something stronger. I also recommend this smoke to people who smoke Maduros but want a change of pace. Overall this is a good every situation cigar for less than $10.

Our strength rating system

Hello Cigar smokers,
I've received a lot of questions about this in the store, so I thought I'd clear it up with a blog post. Each box we put on the shelf has a yellow or red sticker on it, that is not the price, numbered 1-5 or with an F on it. This has created mass confusion before so I'm going to concisely run through our strength rating system and give an example of a cigar of that strength.

F: Flavored, infused with natural flavors. Very Aromatic. Drew Estate's ACID line is the most famous and popular example of these.

1: Mild, delicate and mellow. Great for beginner smokers. This includes many cigarillos and most notably the Macanudo cafe line.

2: Mild to Medium, a smooth and balanced smoke. This includes crowd pleasing favorites such as Montecristo classics and the AVO classic line.

3:Medium bodied, stronger in flavor and strength. Oliva O Serie is a good example of a true medium cigar, in my opinion.

4: Medium to full, slightly stronger and complex. This is the ranking where a lot more dark wrappers come into play. Fuente Anejo's and Padron 1964 Anniversario are good examples of a 4 in the store.

5: Full Bodied, rich, powerful and full-flavored. My Father Le Bijou and Ashton Virgin Sun Grown are good examples of the high end of the flavor spectrum.

All this flavor rankings are subjective, we do this to  give the customer a better idea of what to expect from an unfamiliar cigar. The ranking on the box is not gospel, but I've smoked every cigar that has a sticker on it, so you can expect consistency in the flavor rankings. If you don't agree perhaps with the strength I've ranked a cigar at or just have any cigar related questions, come in the store at 801 Woodside Road suite 1 Redwood City, CA and let me know or email me at jtcigarsofwoodside@gmail.com