I started the week off with a cigar I had picked up at my local shop because I was looking for something new and interesting, I had seen this booth at the IPCPR show and it was very busy, and the cigar wasn’t priced outrageously. I grabbed a pair of Jesus Fuego 777 maduro coronas. I enjoyed this cigar on my deck on a beautiful Labor Day afternoon. For it’s size, 5 ½” x 46, it smoked for nearly an hour and a half, and it was a nice, full flavored cigar. I liked the way it burned and drew, and it had nice, dark flavors. This is a nice cigar that I look forward to smoking again. While $4.50 a stick is right on the edge of my comfort zone for a corona, I think this one worth is as it burned a long time and delivered a nice smoking experience.
Later in the day I took my first Geocaching trek with a Maria Mancini Magic Mountain. I was successful in finding my fist cache, and left the cigar band in the container. It would have been easier if I had followed my GPS to the cache instead of listening to my sons, who thought they knew where they were going and led me on a bit of a wild goose chase. The cigar was good as usual, but since we were out longer than I had anticipated, I had some walking to do without a cigar in my hand.
I figured I’d dig into some samples from the show and opened up a 3 pack from Dona Flor, which from Menendez Amerino out of Brazil. I had met the US Representative for this line at the show and he was kind enough to send me home with a selection of their cigars. The first cigar I chose was the Dona Flor Robusto, a really ugly and rustic cigar. While I have enjoyed many a cigar with Brazilian Mata Fina and Arapiraca in the blend, I have to say that this cigar didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t distasteful really, but it wasn’t really any different from any of a hundred different oddball singles I’ve smoked over the years. I had a very similar experience with the Selecao, which had an equally ugly wrapper. I smoked the Selecao on another geocaching expedition, which was as disappointing as the cigar as we knew we were in the right area, but the cache eluded us. Like the regular robusto, this was just an OK cigar, nothing really bad, but not really exciting either. The final cigar in this sampler is a Puro Mata Fina. Like the others, it’s a 5″ x 52 which feels more like a 50 ring gauge, but that may go back to my perception being thrown off by the ever 
increasing large ring cigars. This cigar was the best of the three in my opinion. It wasn’t quite as ugly, although it had some prominent veins under a matte brown wrapper. The triple cap was nicely applied. While still not exactly my cuppa tea, it was a nice hour long smoke that had a reasonably good flavor.
I really wanted to like these Brazilian puros, and the Puro Mata Fina came the closest to being a satisfying cigar. I did enjoy meeting Wesley from CigarFromBrazil.com and always appreciate the opportunity to try some new cigars. My tastes and preferences aren’t always in sync with everyone else, so if you come across the Dona Flor line and they are priced reasonably, give them a shot.
That’s about it for now! Congrats to J.A.S., he won some cool Drew Estate stuff last week, he should be receiving his prize sometime in the next few days. Keep an eye out for the next contest. Also, thanks to any who’ve helped out my wife in her AIDS Walk LA drive (see the thermometer on the right). I’ll be walking along with her on October 18, cigar in hand.
Have a great weekend!
CigarCraig
