I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about monthly subscription services, and they seem like a great idea for the right consumer. Heck, they might even be good for someone like me who gets preconceived notions about what I might like or not like based on the blend, appearance, or even the bands or packaging. I know, it’s wrong, but it’s a reality isn’t it? You do smoke with your eyes first, after all, it’s part of the overall experience. That being said, I’ve never committed to a monthly subscription service, I know there are good ones out there, but I’ve always had a large enough stockpile of cigars here in the past and always seemed to have a steady flow of new cigars to try. That is until recently. I don’t know that I want to commit monthly, but I don’t mind putting up a given dollar amount now and then and having someone send me some cigars of their choosing, this model would appealed 
to me. Anyway, the folks at Humidity Cigars contacted me and sent me one of their monthly kits, and I’ve subsequently placed an order for another one. The one they sent included the Finch and Jackdaw Robustos from Blackbird Cigars, a Medrano Toro Maduro and an Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente King B. It was a year ago this week that I posted about the Blackbird Cigars along with a video, which apparently you now have to go to YouTube to watch because YouTube won’t allow me to embed videos here anymore due to age restrictions. Nice. They also included one of their can cozies and masks, along with a nice pocket tasting notebook from tastejournal.co.uk. Now, I can’t guarantee that every months subscription comes with all the goodies, but the presentation was very nice. The cigars came in a sealed bag with Humi-smart packs in it and were in good condition as checked with my Humidimeter.
Of course, I smoked the Finch first, I’ve smoked this one before and enjoyed it, I like Sumatra a lot and this didn’t disappoint. It’s nice and sweet like I expect. Oddly, the Jackdaw Connecticut is one I hadn’t smoked, and still have one from the TPE show last year! This is a case like I mentioned above, 
Connecticuts are low on my “try” list. I like them enough, there’s just a select few I really like, and it’s not a genre that I get stoked about sampling. This one, however, it a very nice representation of the genre. It’s a flavorful Ecuador shade wrapped cigar. As with all of the Blackbird Cigars I’ve smoked, the construction is very good. In my area, this line is being distributed by Mark Weissenberger (formerly of Rocky Patel), who is also handling Danli Honduras Tobacco, who makes my favorites, the Don Juan Calaveras, Marchettis, and Clowns. I should be able to find them in my local shops.
I hadn’t heard of the Medrano cigar in the pack before. This was a dark Maduro with a foot band that had Five-Four on it. The website for the company gives little info apart from that it has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It was a 6” x 54 (maybe that’s what the Five-Four means?) toro and was well made. It smoked well, had a nice flavor, very much what I expected a San Andrés wrapped cigar should taste like, and gave me a good smoking experience. Looking at the website, I’m not sure if they are a cigar company or an apparel company, as they have more clothes than cigars for sale, but perhaps they are just getting started. They need some background info about themselves on the site! Best of luck to them, they seem to be headed in the right direction.
The ringer in this pack was the Chateau Fuente King B. I don’t know if it’s my age, or the time I got started smoking cigars, or what, but for me, a Fuente with a Black or White band is always a special thing. When I want to smoke a great cigar, I reach for a Hemingway, Don Carlos, or Añejo, and I’m never disappointed. This King B seems to fit into that family somehow. It’s still in the Gran Reserva line, but has the black band. It’s a 6” x 55 Belicoso with a cedar sleeve, and has a Sungrown Ecuador wrapper. While this isn’t quite on the level of the aforementioned three cigars, it‘ s still quite a good cigar, and while I haven’t smoke a green banded Fuente in a while, my recollection is that it appeals to me more than most of those. It was a nice, coffee and woody flavored cigar. It’s one I wouldn’t mind having in my humidor.
Humidity Cigars seems to have a good model, two cigars for $20, four for $35, and they are in PA, not far from me, which is good for a small percentage of my readers :-). I appreciate their consideration, and I’ll let you know how the subsequent order ends up (I should have used and assumed name and address…but I’m not that sneaky…). Maybe I’ll get to Camphill one of these days and meet up with the owners (I have lots of maybes in a post-pandemic future).
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
