"I would have rated the cigar higher if not for the last third. I feel like it ran out of steam. The flavor profile of the first two thirds was great with the dark rich notes but soon turned to just another run of the mill smoke. It is a shame really, the end was clearly not what the blender intended this cigar to be. I would give it another shot down the road." -Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Smokin Tabacco has announced the third annual Smokin Tabacco Cigar Family Charitable Foundation fundraiser raffle. In the previous two years, Smokin Tabacco raised a total of $57,000 for Cigar Family Charitable Foundation that is run and operated by the Newman and Fuente families of J.C. Newman and Arturo Fuente, respectively.
"As I sit and ponder the cigar I just finished I am reminded why I smoke cigars. It is for experiences like this…wonderful flavors, excellent performance, and a perfectly relaxing 90 minutes where the troubles of the day disappear and I feel like the richest man in the world. Cigars like this remind me of how this is a luxury for everyone and I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who has a liking for full flavor and just enough power to keep them humble. I could smoke this daily, and would be proud to have boxes of this on the top shelf of my display humidor. I can say with a certainty I will be buying a box after this is revealed." -Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
"In the end, this was quite enjoyable. They were great flavor transitions and it was a cohesive mix. There are plenty of flavors to be found, and I appreciated how the body progressed throughout the cigar. I can see some people smoking this too fast and missing some of that but otherwise, it's a good cigar." -Isaac M. (The Nothing)
"I would reach for this one again. The cigar was a nice mild-medium profile that did not stray at any point. The bitterness I experienced at the beginning had me worried but the cigar got past that quickly and was very enjoyable. Bonus points for being a box pressed lonsdale. " -Quinn (quinnpins269)
Santana Cigars Co. is a brand new cigar company and has announced their first line of cigars, Santana San Andres. The President of Santana cigars is Andy Santana and he comes with years of passion, experience, and love of tobacco that was instilled in him by his grandfather in Cuba. The Santana San Andres blend was a collaboration between Andy and Master Blender William Ventura.
"A surprisingly good cigar. With notes of grassy flavor, I imagined the sunshine on my face and the carefree days of my youth. The hints of red pepper added a layer of excitement to the smoke and prevented a monotonous flavor experience." -Jai P. (Jai)
J.C. Newman has announced a new accessory for sale, the Vintage Ashtray, handcrafted and inspired by the legendary Stork Club in New York. The new ceramic, hand-painted ashtrays have already begin shipping to their account across the nation.
Les Fines Lames is adding two new colors to their line of Concrete Ashtrays: Yellow and Olive. The Concrete ashtrays are made in France, with ultra high-performance mortar, a designer material that allows them to play with shapes, sensations and colors. The Monad is a single cigar ashtray that measures 1.2" heigh, 5.9" wide, and deep and weights 1.9 lbs. The DYAD has the same characteristics buy with a double ashtray and weighing slightly heavier at 2.1 lbs.
"The creamy sweet milk chocolate notes that slowly evolved into a more bitter dark chocolate by the end along with the classic leather and earth background notes made a very old-school quality Maduro. There was some great complexity and interest with the nuttiness, molasses, baking spices, and hint of cinnamon that upped this blend to another level. I'd be interested to try this in a larger size to see if more time allowed for even more transitions." -Lauren S.