Last weekend Mr. Porch and I sat at the campfire, poured an ice cold Samuel Smiths brew and decided to endulge in a Don Carlos. (5 pack sampler at Cigars Direct) I selected the #2, and Mr. Porch decided to go with a Don Carlos Robusto.
It was rather dark outside, so my pre-light inspection wasn’t as thorough as normal but it didn’t matter; I’ve had Arturo Fuente cigars before and I know these are top notch.
When I made the cut, it felt a bit dry. I’ve been battling humidity for the last couple of weeks with the cool fall air but when I pulled them out, we were right at 62%rH.
After lighting, I came to the conclusion that the cigar wasn’t as dry as I had thought. The cigar had a relatively easy draw to it. As with other Arturo Fuente cigars I’ve smoked, this was a very smooth cigar. Mr. Porch made a comment that it had a bit of a grassy taste to it, and that he kinda likes that flavor. Other than the so-called grassy flavor, no other tastes jumped out at me. I was an overall great tasting medium flavor cigar.
While smoking at the campfire, my son made a s’mores for me. I was afraid I would contaminate my palate with it, but in trying to be a good father I ate it anyway. The chocolate and marshmallow complimented the cigar quite nicely!
After about an hour and a half, I was finished. This cigar is top shelf and I highly recommend it. There will always be a place for Arturo Fuente cigars in my humidor. As for the score, I’ll give it an A-.
As with other High Quality cigars, you can conveniently pick these up from our friends at cigarsdirect.com.
Another slow night at work that allowed me to sneak out for a much deserved cigar break. This stick I received as part of the Powerhouse 16 sampler. Complimenting this cigar was a fresh pot of Folgers - decaf.
My pre-light inspection revealed few veins, and even no hard spots as far as I could tell. As I lit the cigar, I felt the draw was a bit tough but not enough to warrant any kind of corrective action, such as re-cutting. As I smoked the cigar, the draw remained the same as did the plain flavor. The taste of the cigar wasn’t bad per se, but nothing to draw me back to this cigar in the future.
After nearly ten minutes, part of the wrapper started pulling away. As I smoked through it, it burned and fell off without causing any any more issues with the smoke.
After an hour and change, i was finished with it. The beautiful natural wrapper of this cigar could not overcome the average taste enough to justify scoring this cigar over a B-. If you decide to try a Black Pearl, be sure to bring something to drink with you. The two cups of coffee I had with it were barely enough to stave off the cottonmouth.
This cigar was gifted to me a couple of months ago, and I’ve been holding on to it until the right occassion. As it turns out, I needed a cigar like this last night.
I’ve been a bit concerned about the humidity in my humidor, we’ve been keeping the windows open and the humidity has been all over the place.
I Headed out to the tasting booth, and for the occasion I poured a tall Amber Bock. The pre light inspection had me a bit excited, as the construction and look of this cigar was nearly perfect. The wrapper was maduro and there weren’t too many veins. Once I removed the celophane wrapper, I caught whiff of an aroma that was appealing, and was a bit more pronounced than other cigars.
The rigidity of the cigar was a bit firmer than other cigars, but wasn’t “solid”. After cutting it took me a bit longer than normal to get the cigar lit, and once I had it going I was smoking a very good cigar.
The air was still and so the smoke hung around, and there was a lot of it.
As I smoked the cigar, I became bored. It was getting late and I needed to head in and give baths to my boys before they headed up to bed. About an hour after lighting, I had to leave it and it wasn’t even halfway done yet. What a waste.
This was an excellent cigar that shouldn’t be rushed. Don’t get it out unless you’ve got a couple of hours to sit and enjoy it. This would be a perfect cigar for the Porch. I’m giving it an A-.
A quiet night at work allowed for a non-yard gar experience. This time, I chose an Aurora 1495 series, one that I got with my powerhouse 16 sampler.
I settled in with a cup of fresh coffee, and performed my pre-light inspection. The natural wrapper beared a fair amount of veins, but not too much. The hardness of the cigar was consistent throughout and I could find no visual defects of any kind. After cutting and lighting, I noticed the draw was rather loose.
As for the taste, I decided that this cigar was decent and nothing jumped out at me as for flavor and early on, it seemed as though it lacked smoothness. The burn was even and the ash was very uniform. I had no trouble at all. This is a very well constructed cigar.
After an hour, I was finished with it. This cigar, in my opinion is better than a cheap-o yard gar, but not one I would run out and buy a box of. If the price was right, I might buy again. I’m scoring the Aurora 1945 series a B-
The remnants of Hurricane Ike made it to my home Sunday, and the winds destroyed the neighborhood and left us without power for five days. I had nothing more than yard gars and warm beer during a week of cleanup. Tonight, after I put the canopy back on the Tasting Booth I settled down with a mug of Folgers coffee and a Man O War Cigar.
The natural wrapper appeared to be very well crafted with no obvious defects. I gave this beauty my typical pre-light squeeze test, and revealed that the cigar was not consistent in density. It felt a bit lumpy in areas. This lumpiness did not translate to problems as I found out.
After lighting and I began to enjoy this cigar, the flavor seemed a bit stronger than I was expecting (Not that it was a bad thing). The flavor was good, and I even made note that the aftertaste was pleasant. It didn’t carry a stale aftertaste at all.
The burn was even and required no touch ups or relights during the whole session, and I dumped it after about an hour. It was truly a good smoke. I must have inhaled too much because I felt a bit nauseated afterward, even while composing this review.
I’m giving this cigar a solid B+. It was a great cigar, but didn’t impress me enough to warrant an A.
Last weekend Mr. Porch and I sat at the campfire, poured an ice cold Samuel Smiths brew and decided to endulge in a Don Carlos. (5 pack sampler at Cigars Direct) I selected the #2, and Mr. Porch decided to go with a Don Carlos Robusto.
