Considering I’ve smoked over a box of the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Years Short Churchills it was time to write the review. I meant to write it about a month ago, but the holidays and the kids bringing home colds to share forced me to cut back on how much I’ve been smoking.

The Exodus 1959 50 Years commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Torano Family’s exodus from Cuba and is the third cigar to join the Exodus line. It is available in three sizes Robusto (5 X 50), Torpedo (5 1/2 X 52) and Short Churchill (6 X 48). The Wrapper is Brazilian Arapiraca Sun-Grown, the Binder is Honduran and the Filler is a blend of Nicaraguan tobacco from Esteli and Pueblo Nuevo.

Already a fan of Brazilian tobacco and the Exodus line it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with this full bodied, full flavored cigar. I’ve smoked all three sizes and haven’t had any issues with the construction. I’m impressed when I can go through 30+ cigars of the same blend and not have any issues. The cigar has a spicy bite that is mellowed some by the sweet dark chocolate flavor and the finish had a leather quality to it. Occasionally I picked up something that reminded me a bit of coffee with cream and sugar.

Verdict: For the past couple of months this has been my go to cigar. This is my favorite cigar of 2009. A fantastic full flavored cigar that is reasonably priced at under $7.00 in my local shop. If you find them don’t get one or two, get a box. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR)

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• Cigar Review: Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Double Corona
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• Carlos Torano Cigar Review Round Up.
• Carlos Torano Signature Collection Perfecto Cigar Review
• Camacho Diploma Cigar Review

Here are your Twitter reviews from tonight’s #cigarchat event:

1. shiru54: The Vintage Especial form @TesaCigars is a mild smoke w/hints of leather and stronger cedar. mild throughout. # (Link)

2. shiru54: Didn’t heat up till nubby. ash was consistant, but feathery. prob due to me movin round too much. great for new smokers #cigarchat (Link)

3. noellechun: Vintage especial from tesa is lovely. Mild with just a little spice. Perfect with scotch #Cigarchat (Link)

4. vusumuzi: My Vintage Especial was perfectly accompanied by some Johnny Walker. Smoky, meaty flavor. Smooth, with a good draw. (Link)

5. thotful: This Vintage Especial from Tesa is a smooth flavorful smoke. Lush on the palate. Nice leather n cedar notes, not overpowering #cigarchat (Link)

6. DanielHonigman: My take on the @TesaCigarCo Vintage Especial: Leathery, toasty. Lighter than I usually smoke, but very pleasant. #cigarchat (Link)

7. YourFriendEvan: I loved the spice & cedar, but it burnt a bit funny. I blame no matches. (Link)

8. mcangeli: There’s a bit of a woody flavor on this Tesa. Not bad. Nice draw #cigarchat (Link)

9. mcangeli: Also has a nice even burn on it… #cigarchat (Link)

10. mcangeli: Not bad ash either… http://twitpic.com/xqucm #cigarchat (Link)

11. mcangeli: Wrapper is coming undone. Blaming it on the weather here in GA http://twitpic.com/xqutn #cigarchat (Link)

…and my favorite of the night:

12. LenKendall: Interesting tasting note: The Vintage Especial tastes like a good omelet #cigarchat (Link)

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CAO’s latest cigar has a more traditional feel than some of the releases they’ve done in the past few years. La Traviata is an old Cuban brand back from the turn of the 20th Century that began its life in Tabacalera Cubana, Agramonte no. 106. CAO resurrected the brand and tried to stay true to its traditional roots in taste and presentation. It boasts a Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper, Cameroon Binder along with Nicaraguan and Dominican Filler.

The Intrepido is 7 X 54, a larger cigar than what I typically smoke, but this is what I reach for on Monday afternoon when I’m finishing up work from home. I usually finish it up just in time to sit down for dinner around 2 1/2 to 3 hours to smoke.

One of the big things I’m looking for in a cigar is consistency I’ve smoked close to 20 of these and everyone has been dead on. The last one gave me a little trouble with the draw at the start, but quickly corrected by cutting a bit more of the cap off.

The cigar doesn’t go through any big flavor changes as you smoke it, a constant medium-full cigar. Cedar, Leather and pepper are the dominate flavors with a hint of black licorice rounding it out. The La Traviata has a creamy finish that lingers on the palate for a bit especially in the first 2/3’s of the cigar.

Verdict: The suggest price of this cigar is $4.95 to $5.75 and very good cigar for the price. I’m usually not one to call watch how others rate a cigar, but I wanted to mention that Cigar Insider gave this a 93 Rating making it CAO’s highest rated cigar in over 10 years. The CAO La Traviata is one of two cigars that I think are the best bang for the buck. Inexpensive, good flavor and consistent.

Disclosure: All cigars for this review were purchased by me, no freebies this time.

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None Found

Brand: TESA Cigars
Line: Cabinet 312
Vitola: Torpedo; 6 x 54
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Criollo ‘98 Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium-to-full
Strength: Medium
Price: About $10-$13

As I said in my recent review of the Liga Privada T-52, I’ve recently been hanging out more at TESA Cigars over on Chicago’s Near West Side.

After only a few visits, it’s already one of my new favorite shops.

When I first went to TESA, I knew the place carried its own boutique line of cigars. Little did I know how good they were. All of TESA’s cigars are blended by store owner Chris Kelly, and the sticks are made at TESA’s factory in Nicaragua.

The TESA Cabinet 312, which is named after the original 312 Chicago area code, has an oily, slightly veiny wrapper. It has a pre-light scent that’s cedary and woody, but also a touch spicy and sweet, and with a good draw.

Once lit, a couple of the sticks I tried, including one at the shop, started to canoe up the side for about 1/2 an inch, but the burn corrected itself quickly. The burn line on the 312 was very dark, and for the most part, it was quite even.

The draw on the cigar, which was quite firm and with no soft spots, tightened up a bit, and as a result, the 312 produced very stringy smoke. (Note: This didn’t happen with all of the Cabinet 312 cigars I tried.)

The 312’s woodiness continued as I smoked the cigar down, and it picked up a bit more spice and tanginess, with a hint of mocha, along the way.

Verdict: The TESA Cabinet 312 is an enjoyable, not overly complex stick. There were a couple of small issues I didn’t experience with TESA’s other cigar lines, and I experienced them with a few of the 312s. Of the TESA cigars I’ve tried so far, this is my least favorite, not because I dislike the 312, but because I like the others so much more.

TESA makes good cigars, and seems to be well on its way to single-handedly restoring Chicago to its proper place as the cigar capital of the midwest, smoking ban and all.

I’ll get some of the other TESA cigars reviewed soon. Promise.

NOTE: This TESA Cabinet 312 cigar review was originally published on DanielHonigman.com

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• Cigarchat #4 announcement, along with sponsor: Tesa Cigars
• Cigar Review: Liga Privada T-52
• Cigar Review: Sol Cubano Cuban Classic
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• Chicago Cigar Tweetup #1

Brand: Drew Estate
Line: Liga Privada
Vitola: Toro; 6 x 52
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: American Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: About $10-$13

I’ve recently been hanging out more at TESA Cigars in Chicago, and the folks there carry their own sticks and Drew Estate exclusively. So, after some prodding from #cigarchat participant Ron Hollatz at a recent Drew Estate event at the store, I picked up a couple of the new Drew Estate Liga Privada T-52 sticks to try.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Liga Privada T-52 is its smooth, shiny wrapper. It’s quite dark and has an oily sheen on it. The T-52’s pre-light flavor has hints of hay, pepper and a touch of sweetness reminiscent of cocoa, and it has a good pre-light draw. The T-52 is definitely a well-made stick.

Once lit, the T-52 produced a mostly peppery flavor, with hints of cocoa, a sweet scent and a thick plume of smoke. As the cigar progressed through the middle third, it got leathery, and towards the end, it became a bit spicier. It burned evenly, and had solid, mostly white ash.

Verdict: I wasn’t sure what to expect after I tried the Liga Privada T-9 not too long ago. (A review for that will come soon.) The Drew Estate Liga Privada T-52 is an enjoyable, full-bodied cigar with a lot of flavor that won’t smack you in the face. It’s a bit pricier than other Drew Estate offerings, at $10+, but it’s definitely worth a try; you may even end up making it a regular part of your cigar rotation.

NOTE: This Liga Privada T-52 cigar review was originally published on DanielHonigman.com

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• Cigar Review: Gurkha Micro Batch VH-7
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I was kind of skeptical when I first started hearing about this cigar. Probably one of the first cigar promotions that I’ve seen make heavy use of the Internet as they have. My local shop got them in a few weeks ago so I finally had a chance to give it a try.

The Room101 Cigar is made by Camacho Cigars for Matt Booth. The cigar is a blend of Honduran and Dominican tobacco featuring a Semilla 101 Wrapper grown exclusively for this project. I’m smoking the 305 (Robusto) the size I typically reach for in most cigars.

The cigar is considered medium bodied according to the the Room101 web site, and I’d put it somewhere between medium to full. Camacho cigars have a distinct flavor to them and this one has a touch of that, I’m not sure how to describe it but something about them that I can pick out that is different from other cigars. The cigar starts off with some nice sweet dark chocolate, and leather and a peppery spice picks up through out the first half. Through the 2nd half the pepper hung on even feeling it on my lips a bit, while the sweetness died away. The last third reminded me heavily of a cappuccino, heavy coffee flavors, but still creamy.

Verdict: Typically most hyped up cigars seem to be a bust. This cigar for me lived up to the hype. I’ll be picking up a few more when I get a chance. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR)

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• Camacho SLR Maduro Rothschild Cigar Review
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Cigar Specs:

• Company: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: San Andres, Mexico
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Body: Medium-Full
• Sizes: Toro 6X52, Robusto 5X50, Coronita 5.5X44

Willy from El Titan de Bronze sent me these cigars this week and being rather impatient I lit one of them up right away and just finished the second one this evening. I originally smoked the Titan Redemption Sun Grown back in April 2008 and enjoyed the cigar so I was definitely interested in trying these.

As far as construction goes these cigars are well made. The cigars had a good draw and held the ash reasonably well.

The flavor profile starts with some dominant cocoa and a slight sweetness to it along with some pepper that picked up as the cigar progressed. Around the half way point I noticed some hints of creamy coffee and some earth notes. The final third some of the sweetness went away reminding me more of black coffee.

Verdict: Mexican Tobacco has gotten a bad rap in the past, some of it justified. Though right now there are some fantastic cigars out there sporting San Andres wrappers that are definitely worth trying. This one is at the top of my list.

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• El Titan de Bronze Redemption Cigar Review
• Cigar Review: Cabaiguan Guapos 46
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• Cigar Review: J. Fuego Delirium Robusto
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I reviewed the Cubao No. 1 and Jeff reviewed the Cubao No. 4. We were both really impressed with this smoke. Well this year they added the Cubao Maduro to the line.

The difference between the Cubao and the Cubao maduro is the wrapper. The maduro has a Ecuadorian Broadleaf Maduro instead of a Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro wrapper. The filler and the binder remain the same.

As far as construction goes the cigar is very well made. Consistently firm and I got a good burn throughout the smoke. Flavorwise the cigar packed a punch, different than the Cubao’s though. This cigar had some sweet notes, but not as sweet as the Cubao. The maduro has an intense spice with some earth and leather undertones also picked up some bitter cocoa notes.

Verdict: I enjoyed this cigar and recommend it to anyone who likes a full flavored spicy cigar. It holds its own against a couple of the other maduros I’ve been smoking like the Cain Maduro. Available at The Party Source

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• Cigar Review: Cubao No. 4
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I haven’t had a chance to try all the sizes of this cigar yet as I typically tend to pick this one up while on my lunch break so I typically choose the 46 X 5.5 Corona.

The cigar features a Brazilian Corojo Wrapper, a Nicaraguan Corojo Binder and Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo for the filler. Brian at Stogie Review has a ton of detail on it.

Since SCHIP kicked we are all looking to watch our budget a bit, I’m happy to find a good cigar for under $5. The 777 Corojo’s all fall between $4 to $5 making it a much easier cigar to pick up off the shelf at least where I buy. Insane state taxes might inflate that for some of you.

I was a bit disappointed with the first two I tried finding the draw just a bit too tight, but the next few I let sit at a lower Relative Humidity for a week or two and it made a huge difference. Most tobacconists tend to keep their humidor at a higher RH because of people walking in and out of it and I find I prefer to keep my own at 65%. Letting these cigars sit for a week at 65% definitely helped or forget them on the kitchen counter for a day before smoking them like I did with the first one I took notes on for this review. :)

The 777 Corojo is a straight forward medium to medium-full smoke. It doesn’t have any huge changes in flavor throughout the smoke. The base comes off as earth, wood and a bit leathery. As Brian mentioned there is some definite citrus and peppery notes in the cigar that progress as it burns.

Verdict: While a bit concerned at first because of the tight draw, after dryboxing a few I’m now convinced. Though I’m a huge fan of J. Fuego’s cigars already. It has some distinct corojo flavors, but won’t over power you or your wallet. I can easily recommend a box buy on these. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR).

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• Cigar Review: Perdomo Habano Corojo Torpedo
• Camacho Havana Monarca Cigar Review
• Cigar Review: J. Fuego 777 Corona
• Cigar Review: Perdomo Habano Maduro Torpedo
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I’ve smoke quite a few of the Cain Maduro over the past month, trying the three different sizes and determining which I liked best and nailing down the flavors. With work finally caught up and taking a week of vacation time to get busy with the site again.

Cain Cigars are made from a blend of straight ligero tobacco from different regions of Nicaragua. The prices range from $5 to $7 a stick at my typical haunt.

The first few minutes on this cigar start out fairly smooth taking a bit for the spice to really kick up. The spiciness is mellowed a bit by the background of leather and some dominant cocoa flavors.

These cigars burn forever, probably one of the slowest burning cigars I’ve smoked in awhile. The 654 I smoked yesterday lasted me over two hours. Granted I was busy and let it go out a couple of times, but even then I was surprised to look down and see how much of the cigar was left to smoke.

The 550 and the 654 are my two favorites of the line. I found the 660’s ring gauge just a bit much and it seemed to have a bit less intensity than the other two sizes I tried.

Right now this is probably my go to maduro/full bodied cigar. A satisfying smoke that I’m hooked on. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR).

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