San Lotano Habano Churchill

Size: 7 X 52

Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper:  Brazilian Habano

Binder: Honduras

Filler: Dominican Republic/Honduras/Nicaragua

Today was a great friend’s birthday and he wanted to spend it at the cigar shop we love to hang at called, Old Oaks Cigar Company. So four of us committed to the hang, met up and drove over to Old Oaks. Tonight, I purchased a few cigars and decided I would review the San Lotano Habano Churchill.

 

Out of the cellophane the cigar is milk chocolate in color with minimal veins. The construction on the Habano is phenomenal and feels great in your hand. The presentation is very good. It has two bands one that is gold and light brown with gold letters spelling Habano and the other is a bigger band of the company logo with many colors.

 

 

The sniff encompasses scents of barnyard and cinnamon stick. For my friend’s birthday we got him a Xikar cutter to replace the one he recently lost so I used it to cut the cap and what a fine clean cut. The draw was smooth and effortless. Using a piece of cedar lit with a wooden match I’m able to light the cigar instantly without any trouble.

 

 

The first flavors I tasted were cacao and coffee. This Habano was already a joy to smoke. Hints of toasted nuts was now the dominate flavor with full velvet smoke filling my mouth.

 

 

The second third and sweetness appears for a few puffs and the toasted nutty flavor returns soon after.

 

 

 

The light grey ash with minor streaks of black, falls as the burn passes the one third point of this stick. This cigar is very well constructed and the burn stays even up to this point.

 

 

 

The last third and the cacao returns with walnuts ending off the last of the cigar.  The ash only fell twice and the burn stayed even throughout the whole smoking experience.

 

 

 

I enjoyed this cigar from the first puff to the last puff. I recommend this cigar to people who love a full flavored well-constructed cigar without a bite.

I purchased a box about 6 months ago and never experienced a bad stick in the batch. The cigar I smoked for this review was purchased tonight from the store we were hanging out at. - March 1, 2012

 

 Robert Anthony Meyers
  robert@cigarassessor.com
 

 

San Lotano Connecticut Toro

Size 6 X 52

Wrapper: Ecuadorian grown Connecticut

Binder: Honduran

Filler: Dominican/Honduran/Nicaraguan

The weekend came early on this first day of March. The kids were released early from school and it was 77 degrees on this clear sunny day in Los Angeles. What better than to sit by the pool with a San Lotano Connecticut Toro while the kids splashed around in the pool? Too early to break out the single malt so a Virgil’s Micro Brewed Cream Soda will be a nice accompaniment to this light cigar. Some jazz trumpet playing in the background on jazzradio.com and all is right in the world.

Examining this stick fresh out of the wrapper reminded me of a spring roll from my favorite Thai restaurant. Light brown with medium veins. Placing the cigar under my nose and barnyard hay scents filled my nostrils.

Clipping the cap with my Xikar cutter and a crack appeared close to the cap. Nothing major. I take a draw and it draws very smooth with no leakage from the crack.

Lighting the foot with a single match, my mouth immediately filled with an earthy flavor of smoke. A few more draws of thick creamy smoke and I taste hints of leather and hay.

Beautifully mingled colors of grey ash falls around the 1/3 mark. The draw and burn continues to be flawless as the flavors of roasted almonds and coffee dominate this cigar. The creamy smoke continues to flow thick throughout.

 

I didn't want this cigar to end as I pinched what I could hold onto but feeling the heat on my lips I knew it was time to place this cigar down and call it a day.

The smooth flavors of this cigar never became overpowering on this beautiful afternoon and the burn never needed a touch up.

I never was a fan of Connecticut wrappers until I smoked this cigar over a year and half ago. I have never been disappointed with San Lotano’s Connecticut cigar. - March 1, 2013

                           Robert Anthony Meyers
                         robert@cigarassessor.com

Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Robusto Maduro

Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Robusto Maduro

Rocky Patel Old World Reserve Robusto

Size: 5 1/2 x 54

Wrappers: Corojo Maduro

Binders: Nicaraguan

Fillers: Nicaraguan

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The weather in Los Angeles has been warming up and a night time temperature of 65 degrees was calling my name. I sat poolside with a nice glass of Laphroaig 10 year single malt scotch that a friend supplied and a new cigar, a Rocky Patel Old World Reserve. The palm trees danced and SiriusXM’s, Seriously Sinatra, played in the background.

This cigar gives a beautiful presentation in both appearance and construction. A lightly veined dark brown wrapper with a cream colored band with gold lettering. It looked like dark chocolate candy.

 

 

The smell was reminiscent of a barnyard, which I happen to like. I clipped the cap and took a drag. It presented a very open draw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rocky Patel fired up nicely with a wood match.  It instantly created a full velvet smoke. The first two flavor notes were roasted coffee bean and cocoa.

 

 

Unfortunately, the burn became uneven and lopsided. The top was stuck at the quarter mark of the cigar while the bottom was already passing one third. At that point the ash fell.

It required significant touch-ups. I had to use the sides of the ash tray to even out the burn. I found that this stick needed constant puffing to the keep the smoke going.

 

It became nutty in flavor before reaching the halfway point at which point it faded and actually burned out. I needed to relight the cigar and the smoke became full again. 

 

The taste during the final two thirds of the smoke consisted of hints of leather and wood. When the cigar was burning, the smoke was creamy. However, this stick continued to burn unevenly and needed several touch ups including a full relighting at one point.

Overall, based on construction, taste and smoke, this was a good cigar but I had to give it constant attention to keep it going.

If you like to keep a cigar dangling from your mouth, this is the cigar for you. If you like to smoke and put it down once in a while it’s hard for me to recommend this stick, especially if you don’t want the hassle of relighting your cigar.

To be fair, I will give another a try to see if I have the same problems and report back my findings.  - February 27, 2013

                               Robert Anthony Meyers

                                robert@cigarassessor.com

 

 

Torano Signature Collection Robusto

Size: 5 X 52

Wrapper: Sun Grown Brazilian Maduro

Binder: Broadleaf

Filler: Dominican Cubano Ligero/Nicaraguan Habano Ligero

Photo by John Maldonado

While in Puerto Rico, a good friend enjoyed a Torano cigar and felt so strongly about it that he called me as he was smoking it to recommend it. That conversation paired with a well-timed email from my friends over at tampahumidor.com announcing a deal on Toranos was all it took for me to take the plunge and order a box of Signature Robustos.

 

It was a loooong day; an early doctor’s appointment, two school science fair visits, and after school activities with all three. The wife was having a girls’ night, so I got the privilege of trying to get them all to bed. Eventually, I got to sit down to relax. I noticed Sopranos was playing on HBO. Awesome! Watching some of my favorite Hollywood gangsters smoking nice fat cigars, I knew when this episode was over it would be time to break out one of my newly delivered Torano Signature 5 X 52 cigars.

I opened my humidor and grabbed a cigar, poured myself a glass of Glenmorangie Artein Private Selection, neat, and went outside to sit on my stoop to enjoy the mild weather with my old standby, jazzradio.com.

I took the cigar from the cellophane wrapper, placed it under my nose and took a nice long sniff. Ahh, it was a nice earthy smell.

The cigar has a nice chocolate color with minimal veins. I clipped the cap and took my usual pre-lighting draw. It had a very smooth open draw (and no sawdust in my mouth).

I used a long wooden match to light the end and that’s all it took. The first few draws contained hints of cacao and then a nutty flavor became prevalent. The smoke was medium. I tasted champagne as the smoke left my mouth. The first third was a flavor jamboree. 

 

The ash, with its brown, grey and streaks of black held strong almost to the halfway point before it fell. That was when the smoke kicked up a notch and the cigar became sweet and spicy. The burn got a little uneven, but not enough for a touch up.

 

The final third had a finish of roasted coffee and leather as the smoke mellowed. Magically, the burn evened out and I was able to smoke my cigar until my fingers began to feel the heat.

1. This was a great smoke full of flavor from beginning to end. Put aside at least and hour yourself to enjoy this smoke. I’m glad that these were recommended to me and I’m looking forward to smoking and sharing these with my cigar smoking buddies. -February 26, 2013
2. robert@cigarassessor.com

The comments section has been opened up, and I’m wondering what your favorite cigar recommendations are, so feel free to chime in.

Kristoff Original Criollo Matador

Shape: Toro

Lenght: 6 1/2 X 56

Strenght: Medium

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper Type: Cuban Seed Honduran Criollo

Wrapper Color: Colorado Maduro

Binder:  Cuban Seed Dominican

Filler: Cuban Seed Nicaragua, Cuban Seed Dominican

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After a long day with the kids and their limitless energy, I decided to enter my favorite smoking room and enjoy a newly purchased bottle of Glenmorangie Artein Private Edition and a Kristoff Original Criollo Matador cigar.

This night the music of choice was the Classic Vinyl channel on SiriusXM radio. After pouring some of my newly acquired single malt scotch into my glass, neat, I pinched the cigar until its shaggy foot popped out of the wrapper and then pulled it out completely. This was another well-constructed cigar from Kristoff; milk chocolate color, light sheen and lightly veined wrapper. I put it under my nose and gave it a light sniff. It had a very nice aroma. I grabbed my Xikar Xi1 and cut off the pig tail, giving it an unlit draw. The draw was easy. Using two wooden matches I lit the shaggy foot and it ignited instantly. The first taste of toasted nuts entered my palate with an easy draw. The smoke released from the stick was light. I sat back and enjoyed it.

A splash of the sweet caramel flavor of Glenmorangie went down smoothly with very little heat. Nice accompaniment to this cigar.

 

The smooth nutty flavor mellowed as the cigar’s even burn reached the first third and an earthy, leathery note appeared. The smoke kicked up a notch, medium and creamy in the mouth.  It was at this point that the grey, brown ash fell after holding strong for the first third of the smoke.

 

The rest of this cigar remained mellow and smooth throughout with an occasional reminder of the toasted nut flavor reminiscent of walnuts and almonds.

 

 

My only complaint which is very minor, was that during the last third, after the ash fell, it began to burn unevenly. But a touch up to the wrapper with a match easily resolved that problem.

Overall, this is a great cigar for those looking for a not too spicy, full flavored, medium bodied smoke. -February 22, 2013

                                      Robert Anthony Meyers
                                      robert@cigarassessor.com

 

Kristoff Corojo Limitada Matador

Kristoff Corojo Limitada Matador

 

Shape: Gordo

Size: 6 1/2 x 56

Strength: Medium - Full

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper Type: Nicaraguan Corojo Habano

Color: Colorado Maduro

Binder / Filler: Nicaragua / Nicaragua, Dominican Republic

Grade: Hand Rolled / Long Filler

Blender: Glen Case

 

After a handful of unsalted dry roasted almonds and fresh pineapple, I decided to go and lounge by the pool with a nice cigar and a glass single malt scotch. I opened my humidor and picked out a Kristoff Corojo Limitada Matador and poured a glass Glenlivit 18 neat. I sat by the pool and listen to jazzradio.com in the sunny 70 degree weather.

This is an attractive cigar with a brown and orange tint. It has a nice oily sheen and few discernible veins. The orange band and lettering, pigtail and shaggy foot produce and excellent presentation.

         

  

I cut the pigtail off with my Xikar Xi1 cutter and took a drag before lighting; an excellent easy draw. I lit the shaggy foot with wooden matches and it only took two matches, it lit very easily. The first smooth draws embraced an earthy, woody note.  The cigar exuded a medium volume of smoke with hints of leather engulfing my palate. Around the quarter way mark I detected a nutty note with a touch of sweet vanilla.

 

 

 

 

Shortly after, the even burn passed the first third into the second, the smoke became creamy and thick as the quad colored ash of white, grey, brown and black held strong. This is when the spice of pepper kicked in and I began to taste salt toward the back of my throat.                                                                                   

The ash held on passed the first third and fell soon after I jerked my arm suddenly.

 

As I passed the halfway point, the leather note returned as the spiciness of pepper got stronger. The draw stayed consistent and the burn even.

When I crossed over to the last third of the cigar the spiciness started to mellow out and the earthy, woody note returned. Once in a while the salty taste in the back of my throat returned. The smoke mellowed a bit and never returned to the robust kick it was had delivered earlier and that was alright.

 

This cigar smoked for about an hour and forty minutes. I am considered a fast smoker so I’m guessing, most might want to put aside two hours for this treat. I never had to relight this cigar and the burn stayed even throughout the whole experience. The Kristoff Corojo Limitada Matador was a pleasant smoking experience on every level.

 

The Glenlivit 18 was nice, smooth and mildly spicy choice to pair with this cigar.
-February 17, 2013

Robert Anthony Meyers

 robert@cigarassessor.com

 

2012 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial

Shape: Toro

 

Size: 6 x 50

 

Strength: Medium - Full

 

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

 

Wrapper Type: Nicaraguan Maduro

 

Color Maduro

 

Binder / Filler: Nicaragua / Nicaragua

 

Grade: Hand Rolled / Long Filler

 

Blender: Oliva Cigar Co.

 

 

On a nice sunny day after picking the kids up from school, I decided to get the kids bike helmets and let them ride in the back of my apartment building while I sat and smoke one of my recently acquired 2012 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. I opened the trunk of my car, pulled out a chair, put on jazz and prepared for the event.

 

Having purchased a box of last year's edition (2011) on the advice of a respected cigar shop owner and finding them delicious, I was looking forward to smoking the 2012.

 

The appearance of this cigar was a nice chocolate brown with a light sheen to it. I had to look closely to notice the very few veins running through it. The Oliva band and it's colors reminded me of the outside packaging of an expensive box of chocolates.

 

 I cut the rounded end of my cigar with my Xikar Xi1 cutter and took a few drags to test the draw. The draw was good but not great. I used the Lotus torch I purchased many years ago to light it.

 

 

 

The first draws on this stick were open and peppery to the palate and back of the throat. This continued throughout the first quarter and the smoke was thick. I paired this cigar up with a nice single malt scotch, Glenlivet 18, a smooth single malt with a slight spice. As the burn was entering the first third the smoke got creamy as the peppery spice started to mellow and a slight coffee flavor entered my palate.

 

 

 

 

The ash was light grey, brownish and black and held on for a third and then fell off. It continued to smoke full of flavor with a nutty note mixed with the spiciness coming back ever so slightly. At the halfway point the smoke continues to be full and robust as it flowed out of the cracks of the ash which dropped for the second time.

 

 

As I got closer to the band, I could taste a woody note for the first time in the flavor.  After taking the band off, I could savor the spicy pepper flavor returning but it did not become overpowering. As the cigar was coming to an end, the spice mellowed. I never had to relight this cigar and the burn stayed even throughout the whole smoke and it never got hot. The draw stayed consistent and even from beginning to end. 

 

 

 

The Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial is a strong smoke so don't get up too fast while smoking it or you might have to sit right back down. This is a limited edition cigar, only 5000 made according to the information on the box. If you get a chance to grab a box or few do it.  -February 16, 2013

Robert Anthony Meyers

 robert@cigarassessor.com