Blackbird, Sobremesa, Cohiba and Brickhouse Cigars

First off, I’m really looking forward to going to the Smokonos event at Best Cigar Prices in Drums, PA next Saturday. There’s going to be a lot of the A-list cigar celebrities there, and a bunch of friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Unfortunately it’s sold out, but I hope to see some of you there! It’s a shame that it’s the same day as the Atlantic City Cigar Social, we had a nice time at that event last year. If you happen to be attending that event, say hello to my friend Dan at Bucksco Barrels! Wednesday evening we went to Parings Cigar Bar in Media, PA to visit with Jonas Santana of Blackbird Cigars, and his area broker Mark Weissenburger. We didn’t stay around for it, but he was hosting a tasting session with puritos and rum. I picked up some of my favorite Blackbird cigars, the Crow, and some of the new Superb in toro. I smoked a Supurb there, and had one Thursday night at home. This is a 6″ x 52 toro, where most of their toros are 54 ring gauge. It has a Habano wrapper and undisclosed binder and fillers. Jonas is very tight lipped about the blend, claiming he forgets, which I don’t buy for a minute. I speculated that it had Dominican Olor, and got nothing…I find it has a dryness that I associate with that tobacco. It also has some sweet spice, and was a very nice cigar. I generally don’t smoke the same cigar twice in a row unless it’s really good. It’s always nice to see Jonas and Mark, and the staff at Pairings is top notch. It’s one of the few cigar bars around the area, so if having a drink with your cigar is something you enjoy, check this place out if you’re in the Philadelphia area.

Friday evening came around and I decided it was the right time to smoke the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée Wagashi that was a generous Secret Santa gift from a fellow Craig. This is from the original CigarDojo release, not the new regular production. If I have to smoke a shade wrapped cigar, there are a short list of ones I’m attracted to, and the Brulee blend is one of them. I’ve had the Brulee and Brulee Blue, and I’d heard this was milder. Maybe so, but it was packed with sweet, nutty tobacco flavor right off the start. This is a box pressed, 6″ x 50 with a bun type pigtail cap. I think I liked this better than the previous two iterations of Brulee, and I like them a lot. Highly recommended.

I noticed that my friends at CigarMojo’s The Grove location (the one close to me) decided to use one of my pictures in an Instagram reel. I don’t mind, but a photo credit would be nice. Remember people, when you use someone’s intellectual property, it’s the right thing to do to give them credit. I left a snarky comment, but I might have to stop in and have a talk with them! Anyway, yesterday afternoon I watched some TV on the porch with a Cohiba Riviera Lancero, which, admittedly, had just arrived the day before. I let it rest overnight, it seemed fine, and I gave it the old Humidimeter test, but the prongs on the meter are ever so slightly narrower than the cigar, so it was really only reading from between the binder and wrapper. This is a box pressed 7″ x 38 with a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran grown Connecticut shade binder, and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua, made at STG’s factory in Esteli. The box press makes it seems slimmer than 38 ring gauge. I really liked the Robusto size in this line, so I felt compelled to smoke this lancero. I really liked it. It has dark chocolate and espresso, and since I figured out that dark chocolate gives me migraines, I seek it out in cigars. The Lancero is actually the most affordable in the Riviera line at $15, the rest of them are in the $20 range, which means I won’t be smoking them. $15 I can handle and it’s a very nice smoke. It surprises me that it took this long for General to make a Cohiba in the Lancero size, considering how iconic the Cuban Cohiba Lancero. is.

I wanted to include a fourth cigar today, and I was hunting around the humidors for something I hadn’t written about yet, and it occured to me that I hadn’t talked about the Brickhouse Crystal Churchill from J.C.Newman. I’ve had a box in the humidor for a year or so and have smoked half a dozen. This is the 7¼” x 50 Habano wrapped Brickhouse in a glass tube. They come ten per box and run just under $10 each. I quite enjoy the Brickhouse line, they are Nicaraguan cigars that aren’t terribly expensive, but provide a good smoking experience. It’s on the leathery side, but I like it anyway! The tube doesn’t do much for me, although it’s a nice presentation, I worry about carrying glass around in my pocket, so would prefer aluminum tubes for portability. I like Churchills, and this is a good one (although it’s a couple rings oversized!).