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.

Posted by Sam

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This review begins back in the early 1970’s, so grab your favorite brew and light up a good stogie and try to follow along.

When I was a young boy, I remember walking to Toms Cigar store in Hamilton, Ohio with my dad. We would go once a week so dad could buy his lottery tickets. I would always run straight to the fishing section hoping there would be a long line at the lottery counter so I could spend more time looking at every lure and pole they carried. I would also page through the many outdoor magazines and check out all the camping gear. Dad always knew where to find me, and when he was done, we would walk home and talk about our next camping trip.

Skip ahead now about 30 years. While at work the other day I was just chatting with Shaggy, a longtime friend and co-worker, and the subject of cigars came up. Turns out Shaggy is a cigar smoker. I told him about this site and the next day he brought me in a couple of Flor Extra Fina stogies to review. As fate would have it, he told me that he gets these all the time at……you guessed it, Toms Cigar store. Man you talk about a blast from the past.

These Flor Extra Fina’s come pre-punched, so there is no cutter needed. (I know, I know, most cigar snobs NEVER buy cigars unless they are hand rolled somewhere in Central America and a cutter is required. But I’m not above smoking a freebie, whether it needs a cutter or not.)  It’s dimensions are 7 X 36 with a dark brown wrapper. Upon lighting, it gave a sweet aroma and my first impression was that this was going to be a sweet cigar that leaves a bad feel on the palate. But it quickly gave way to a nice peppery taste that left my nose tingling. It had a medium flavor and it burned even throughout. The only negative I could find was, the ashes didn’t hold very tight, but that is a very small issue hardly worth mentioning due to it’s otherwise quality characteristics. The thing I liked best is, it smelled sweet but tasted peppery. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a cigar that tasted that much different than it smelled. In total, it lasted about 40 minutes and was a very enjoyable cigar.

Another twist of fate with this story, Shaggy and I grew up a half a block away from each other and didn’t know it until we started working together about 6 years ago. Man you just never know who you’re going to meet next. We seemed to have so much in common, I’m surprised we’re not related. But we can’t be, I’m much better looking.

Posted by Mr. Porch

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Brother Dave came into town a few weeks ago and we had the great fortune to get together for a round of golf and a few beers. From time to time we will call each other late at night and smoke a long distance cigar together. (we live 3 time zones apart) It’s always good to get together with family and friends, but there was something special about this day. The sun was up early and the clouds were hiding somewhere else. We hit the course around 9:00am and by 10, we were on our second beer. (special thanks to our beer cart girl, Kendra)

I was put in charge of bringing the cigars and I chose a couple of Graycliff 1666’s. I chose this one because special times deserve  a special cigar. Wrapped in a handsome madura wrapper with very little veins  and no hard spots, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this one. We lit and toasted each others health and began enjoying one of my personal favorites. Lots of puffy blue-white smoke with a medium flavor. It seemed to get better as we smoked it, and somewhere in the middle it formed a very slight peppery taste, but not noticeable unless you were looking for it. I think this is what kept the flavor alive.

We didn’t want to dump them but we finally put them down seven holes later but only because they were too short to hold onto. They had a good even burn all the way down and was a very enjoyable smoking experience. Even though I got beat on the course, Dave allotted me a handicap equal to the difference in our scores because of these cigars. So we tied, we had an equally good time. But next time I’ll beat him on the course and he can keep his handicap.

If I had a rating system, this one would be close to the best. So let’s do a generic rating. Scale of 1 - 10, I would give this one a 9.

Posted by Mr. Porch

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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.

Posted by Sam

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I went on a camping trip this past weekend with Sam and he brought along a few Arturo Fuente cigars that we recieved from our friends at cigarsdirect.com. They were shipped in a zip-lock style bag with a humidification pillow to reduce “shipping shock”. Nice touch. Sam gave me first choice and I picked the Don Carlos Double Robusto. (5 3/4″ X 52)

It was a very good looking cigar with a nice grassy aroma and a light brown wrapper. It didn’t have many visable veins but it was a little hard when I squeezed it. The cut was a bit brittle and it lit pretty fast. It had a somewhat bland flavor at first but matured into a nice mild peppery finish, but still tasted a little “grassy”. A good even burn all the way down and it lasted about 35 minutes. It was an ejoyable smoke with no problems or issues and had a medium flavor.

I realize that this time of year (autumn) in the midwest can wreak havoc on humidor conditions and this is probably a better cigar than I’m giving credit for. I have had Arturo Fuente cigars in the past and have been very happy with them. This one however was not their best. Maybe I’ll try it again in the spring.

You can purchase Don Carlos and other high quality cigars online at www.cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Mr. Porch

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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-.

Posted by Sam

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