I mentioned the problematic Gran Habano 3SLS last time around. I'm sorry to say the rest of the pack hasn't gotten any better. Two more with the same, spongy feel, awful draw, and no flavor. The two remaining also have that spongy feel. Not much hope left for those.
November Herf featured the El Mejor Emerald from the Samourai. I've been wanting to try one of these for awhile. A smooth and mild flavor with a hint of spice and wood to it. It won't knock your socks off, but it was a nice change of pace from the full-bodied maduros and corojos I've been smoking lately.
Speaking of full-bodied, I tried another of the My Uzi Weighs a Ton by Jonathon Drew. Still not impressed. Heavy, full-bodied with copious amounts of leather, earth, and pepper. I can see why some might like it, but it isn't for me.
I also got around to trying Genesis the Project finally. I've been hearing so much about this one and had to give it a try. It looks gorgeous with a super-dark wrapper that glistens with oils. A bit nutty and highly earthy with a slight sweetness to it. That said, I wasn't all that impressed with it. I'll reserve final opinion until I've had a couple more, but my hopes aren't as high as they were.
Alec Bradley Fine and Rare is a yearly release that differs year to year and sells out fairly quickly when it comes out. All I can tell you about this one was that it was very good. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to note specific flavors (actually, I didn't write them down). All I clearly remember about this cigar is that I wish the one I grabbed hadn't been the last.
Rocky Patel Sun Grown and the Rocky Patel Decade were two I tried out as a possible Commie Herf cigars. Neither was bad but neither really impressed me all that much. Due to time and lack of notes on them, I don't have much else I can say about either.
Finally, the Commie Herf! The pic above is one of the tables we took up and included some smokes for guests that we brought as well. I brought the Black Crown I mentioned last time. In fact, I still like it enough that I bought a box and kept the leftovers for myself. Flappin brough AKA- American Kick Ass - Solace (which I haven't smoked yet). Bakerware brought the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and while I liked the '03 a bit more, this was a good medium smoke with a smooth flavor (as expected from RP). Jared brought the Rocky Patel Edge, a good, heavy smoke with a bit more of a woody and spicy bite than the Vintage line. The Green Monster brought Casa Magna, another I've been wanting to try for a while. It was CA's top cigar for 2008 and I can see why. Full bodied with a slight earthy sweetness, it looks and tastes like my vision of what a traditional cigar should be. It also gets my nod as the top cigar of the Commie Herf this year.
Then of course, there's the Arturo Fuente Anejo. I've talked about this one before, but since it's been a year since I last had one, I found myself wondering if I'd enjoy them as much as I remember. I'm sorry to say I did not. I enjoyed them about ten times as much as I remember! In fact, I bought five on my first trip the day they came in and haven't smoked one. Because each time I go back to Elite, I end up buying more and smoking those rather than the ones I've got already. I will definitely be spacing those out over the course of the year.
