This time of year gets a bit frustrating for me because of the weird weather. I get times when the weather isn’t very good and I really don’t want to waste a really good cigar, or smoke something new that I want to pay attention to. I usually end up smoking something I’m familiar with, and that’s not a whole lot of fun for you guys! So far, this has been one of those times.
Sunday wasn’t too bad. I decided to take a nice afternoon walk and selected an IPCPR sample from Crossfire Cigars. As I’ve mentioned before, I somehow lost the interview I did with the Crossfire guys at the show. This is another cigar with altruistic goals. All the profits go toward helping people in the Dominican Republic do little things like eat and wear clothes and learn stuff. All in all, a very good plan, and the cigars I’ve smoked have been well worth it for the good that they do. I smoked a Habano Torpedo on my walk, and it was a good tasting smoke. It was a pretty cigar too, however it gave me some trouble. With only one sample, I’m certainly not going to pass judgement. I had trouble keeping this cigar lit, and the cold and breezy weather may not have helped, although I smoke a fair number of cigars outdoors in the winter without these problems. So it was a tasty, yet unfulfilling cigar. I’ll seek more of these out because I liked what I tasted and want to give this another try. Please keep in mind, I’m just relating my experience with this single cigar, not disparaging the brand in any way.
Monday evening, after the less than satisfying cigar experience Sunday, I decided on a sure thing. Again, boring for you, but the key to continued sanity for me. I opened the Drew Estate humidor and had an Undercrown Corona Viva in one hand and a Nica Rustica El Brujito in the other hand and the El Brujito won. Either of these cigars are on my “sure thing” list, but with an impending snowstorm on the horizon I wanted a nice, long smoke. I can’t tell you anything more about the Nica Rustica that you haven’t heard. It’s a great dark and dirty cigar. Big flavor, great construction, very satisfying. I love the uncut foot with that big blast of Connecticut Broadleaf right off the bat. I can take or leave the little pigtail cap, it’s a nice touch but I just cut it off anyway. I loved the original blend with the Nicotiana Rustica tobacco in it, it was something special, but the blend they sent to production is really yummy too. I always want to have some of these on hand, and for $6 and change it’s not hard to do.
Tuesday we got our promised snow, and my place of work closed at noon. I felt it would be prudent to take the dog (and a cigar) for a walk before it got too bad. It’s a tricky thing picking out a snowstorm cigar. It’s almost like selecting a good pool cigar, but you really have to consider flavor more in the winter. It has to be sturdy enough that a little moisture isn’t going to hurt anything, because there’s no doubt an errant snowflake or a hundred are going to find their way on the wrapper. I decided on a LegendArio Bertha (links to retailer site). The Bertha is a 6″ x 60 maduro, which is a Honduran puro, but it’s really loaded with dark, earthy cocoa flavors. The wrapper is nice and rugged, it’s easy to handle with gloves on, and it burned quite nicely. This cigar really hits the spot for me, and it gave me a good two hours of dog walking, snow shoveling, watching the snow fall goodness. I had bought a couple of these a year or so ago and will need to get a couple more to have around. It wasn’t expensive, another cigar in the $6 range that’s pretty darned good in my opinion. I’d probably lean toward the toro though, but I don’t mind a 6″ x 60 as long as it delivers in the flavor department. These are from the makers of Camacho, and if I have one complaint, it’s that they have devoted their website to the Camacho line, and it’s next to impossible to find information about this or the Room 101 brands except for retailers sites. It annoys me a little when I have to work too hard to find information!
That’s all I have for now. It’s hovering in single digits tonight, so I’m not even feeling like taking a walk tonight. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
Sunday afternoon I grabbed an 
Monday evening was getting a little warmer so I pulled a 
Tuesday I grabbed another large cigar, a 
