Four Months of Herfs

Liga Privada Undercrown is the star of this post.  I haven't been too thrilled with the few sticks I've tried from Drew Estate, but the Undercrown is one of the best cigars I've had in a while.  Dark and oily maduro wrapper with a slightly spicy and somewhat earthy flavor. Bonus: Got a 10-pack and the hat for only half a Benjamin.  These usually run twice that in the shops.

Gran Habano 3SLS was Jape's contribution to the May Herf.  I missed it, but have talked about this one before. I'm sad to say that while the recipients of these from the Herf haven't had any issues, EVERY SINGLE ONE from the five pack I bought has sucked.

I supplied the original Man O' War for the June Herf.  If it weren't for the Undercrown, this would be this post's star.  It starts out medium and builds up to full with a somewhat complex flavor.  They're priced pretty well at just over $5 a stick.

The Warpig is yet another new cigar from Gurkha.  It wasn't bad but I get the impression that it will get a lot better with some again.

Camacho 10th Anniversary was outstanding.  Full bodied but very smooth.  I loved it.

I'm just going to speed through the rest...

Bahia Trinidad - A lighter smoke similar to the Puros Indios in both flavor and price.

Diamond Crown (Connecticut) - Wasn't too impressed with this one.  Pricey but no more flavorful than the Puros Indios or Bahia above.  I've got a Maduro in the humi, so we'll see if that's any better.

Camacho Diploma - One word.  Harsh!  It started out full bodied and raspy and ended that way.  It also kept going out on me if I didn't puff on it every 30 seconds.  First Camacho I didn't enjoy.

Padilla Limitada 2006 - Didn't get more than a quarter into this one.  Terrible draw, "green" taste in what little smoke I got, and kept going out.

Gurkha Beauty - Another lighter smoke that was disappointing.  I expected more out of this one given its reputation.

And we're caught up...

March Herf

Gurkha Assassin seemed a lot closer to medium to me than others have described, but it was still a great smoke that had a smooth and creamy taste all the way to the nub.

The March Herf featured the Alec Bradley Maxx Brazil.  I've had the Maxx before and wasn't impressed.  The addition of a Brazillian binder didn't improve it at all.  

For the April Herf, Green brought out the Puros Indios.  I've been wanting to try this one for a while.  It was a good, mild to medium smoke.  The flavor won't bowl you over, but it was still good.  

Another I've been wanting to try lately is the Padilla Dominus.  I've been hearing a lot about this one for while.  It isn't as good as the '68 or '32 (and pales against the Miami).  But it's still a decent smoke.

Drew Estate's Liga Privada's No. 9 started off pretty heavy but mellowed out to a medium to full flavor.  Not a complex cigar.  Just a good, meaty smoke with just a little shove behind it.

Catching Up

I've neglected to post for a while.  No excuse.  Just haven't done it.

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.

Elite Cigar - My Second Home

I've found my new home.  Elite Cigar in Addison is more like a bar with a cigar shop attached to it than a cigar shop with a small bar.  Lots of tables, booths, and a decent size bar.  Plenty of TVs for watching the game (whatever that game happens to be) and one of the best-stocked humidors I've seen in the area.  They had a bunch of brands and blends not often found in shops.  I expect I'll be spending a lot of my smoking time there.

During our first gathering at Elite, I started the night off with My Uzi Weighs a Ton by Drew Estate.  It had a heavy, full-bodied flavor but I couldn't pick up any of the individual elements of it.  CI says it has elements of earth, leather, pepper, sweetness, and cocoa.  I got some of the earthiness, but the other elements sort of eluded me.  I may have to try another before I decide whether I like it or not (and they ain't cheap).  I'm going to give this one a Meh but with the condition that I try another before it becomes official.

After emptying the clip of my Uzi, I lit up an Alec Bradley Prensado.  This little gem was great.  It reminded me of the Black Market but ramped up a notch.  The full-bodied flavor with hints of chocolaty sweetness, mild leather, and just a hair of spice made it easy to see how it earned a 96 rating and the 2011 Cigar of the Year  from CA.  Alec Bradley gets another finger-burner honor.

I finished the night with another Gurkha Black Dragon Fury.  Another 3 months in the humidor has only made this beauty even more of a beast.  The same goes for a 2-month aged Gurkha Doble Maduro I smoked on a solo return trip to Elite.  So much so that I've already ordered another 5 of the Doble and will be ordering another stack of the Fury as soon as I see it pop up on sale.

I also finally got around to trying the Gran Habano Corojo #5 that the old man sent a month or so back.  I can see why he likes those so much.  It had a good, earthy taste with some spice to it.  If I'd written this before smoking the Prensado and Fury last night, it might have gotten a finger-burner.  But for now, I'll just call it good.  Mighty good.

November Herf & More

The smoke I took to the November Herf was the Gurkha Micro-Batch C-10.  It was great.  The 7" 48-gauge Churchill took three-quarters of a football game to finish.  It had a great, smooth flavor and the aroma is sure to either make you extremely popular or get you kicked out of the bar.

A few other smokes I've had leading up to the herf included a superb Tatuaje El Triunfador that was pricey, but a great medium-bodied treat.  Then there was the 5 Vegas Gold with its mild but flavorful smoke.  Although it isn't new to me, I've also had a few Macanudo Cafes.  A friend described these are "Golf Cigars" because they aren't as flashy or special.  That's one of the things I liked about them.  They had a good, simple taste that is great for every day smoking.  Finally there was the Oliva Connecticut Reserve, another mild offering but without the flavor of the 5 Vegas or Macanudo.

Oh, and on a whim, I decided to try one of Drew Estate's infused ACID cigars, specifically the Kuba Kuba variety.  Not my cup of tea.  It had a very strong smell that seemed more like an effeminate mens' cologne than a cigar and the taste wasn't much better.  Frankly, it was a waste of money.