Tag Archives: Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | June 1, 2011 · 6:22 pm

Guest Take a Cigar for a Walk Review: DB Takes a Bolivar for a “Mow”!

Here’s a great twist on “Take a Cigar For A Walk” by our favorite serviceman, DB Dronnoff. I always love when I read about, or see, someone enjoying a high end cigar while doing something so mundane as mowing the lawn! We have our “yard ‘gars”, but why not enjoy a killer smoke while doing something that may be considered boring or routine! So, without further ado, here’s DB:

After reading many of Craig’s Cigar Walk reviews I thought it was time to get off my @$& and submit a review myself. This time I decided instead of just a walk I would also do something constructive (Honey-do’s) like mowing the grass. So here goes my “Take a cigar on a mow” submital.

It was a unusually sunny day here in the Suffolk region of the UK, and my grass had started to get out of control. Before I cranked up my trusty mower, I reached into my humidor and pulled out a cigar I have been dying to sample. A Bolivar Libertadores Exclusivo Francia that was gifted to me by a fellow BOTL from France. The Bolivar Petit Libertador is a 2008 France regional edition and comes in at 4” (102mm) by 50, making it a petit robusto.

After several pulls on the mover cord and a a test run, I lite up this little powerhouse for what I was assured would be a great experience. This cigar has the classic Bolivar band, with a second band which reads Exclusivo Francia. Immediately at the start I detected a creamy taste that ended up extending about halfway through this 4″ cigar. Midway through my mow and about halfway into the cigar a light citrus zestiness started and ended up continuing until the end of the cigar. This surprising flavor makes it a wonderful summer smoke when you don’t want anything too heavy…Like mowing your yard.

The burn of this cigar was quite even despite smoking it outside walking around. I have found that in these cases the shifting winds tend to force the cigar to burn uneven. That didn’t happen to the Bolivar, maybe it was just luck. The ash was a light solid texture mixed with peppery flakes. It never really had a chance to grow longer than 1.5″ due to my marching up and down the yard pushing the mower.

I soon finished my mowing task and retired to a chair out back to finish enjoying this fine cigar…without working up a sweat. Bottom line: Apart from being a gorgeous looking cigar, the Bolivar Libertadores is an amazing smoke, with a light citrus zestiness throughout.

Another day in beautiful England is now comming to an end. If your looking for a cigar to enjoy during your next mowing experience, enjoy it with the Bolivar Exclusivo Francia.

Aim High,

USAFCigar

Thanks again to DB for the excellent report on what most of us consider a very special cigar! As for myself, I had a fine Memorial day at the Delaware Park racetrack watching the ponies and enjoying a Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Robusto. This line extension is one of my favorite cigars lately. No matter what size, they always deliver a nice smoking experience all the way around. I do need to get my hands on more of the Lanceros though. It was awfully fun watching them being rolled in the factory!

After we got home, I decided on a short smoke, an El Titan de Bronze Hemingway. This little Cameroon wrapped perfecto had been sitting in the humidor since August of 2008 when I got it at the IPCPR show. I’ve had a few of them many years ago and was never really impressed, but this one was a gem! If they changed something over the years, it was for the better in my opinion. Great little cigar. Sadly, as I research this a little, I don’t see this size listed on the webpage. It was a 4″ x 46ish perfecto, not unlike a Fuente Short Story.

That’s about it for now. Watch for a another TACFAW report from Tommy Berry, Jr. coming soon!

Until the next time

CigarCraig

Watch for a new discount code from StogieBoys.com coming soon.

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Filed under Guest Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as bolivar, Bolivar Libertadores Exclusivo Francia, cabinetta, Cameroon, cigar, cigars, el titan de bronze, habana, joya de nicaragua, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | May 29, 2011 · 5:04 pm

Gee, I Smoked Some More Cigars This Week! La Aurora, My Joya de Nicaragua Blend, and a Dirty Rat

It’s the Memorial Day weekend, and time to remember all those who gave their lives in service to the country so that we have a shot at enjoying a fine cigar once in a while! Thank You! Now, on to some cigar nonsense!

I caught an article this week via Twitter that Guillermo Leon had completed his purchase of the La Aurora cigar division from the parent company, Grupo Leon. I couldn’t think of a better cigar to celebrate this event than a La Aurora 107 Lancero that I had picked up when I met up with him last month at The Wooden Indian (the day my grand-daughter was born. Hard to believe she’s 4 weeks old already!). I took this cigar for a walk with my wife to the local convenience store, about a mile round trip. It certainly was a very nice cigar. There was a time in the recent past that you could almost expect a lancero to be plugged, but I haven’t had one that wasn’t perfectly made in some time. As a side note, I’ve been finding that a lot of the cigars I’ve been smoking have been well made. Either my selections have improved or there is an over-all trend in higher quality standards in the industry. Not complaining! It used t really annoy me when I’d invest my valuable cigar time and have a difficult stick. Back to the 107, I’ve now smoked this in the corona and lancero and enjoy the blend. I think the lancero is more of a good thing. I should try some of the other sizes. While these aren’t exactly what I look for taste wise in a cigar, they do give me a lot of pleasure, and I strive to keep an open mind.

I selected one of the cigar that I brought back from Cigar Safari in Nicaragua for my Friday night cigar. This was one of the ones that were made for us as a result of our blending session at Joya de Nicaragua. I chose the the Corojo wrapper, and a Sumatra binder as well as Seco from Condega. I focused on Esteli for the Viso and Ligero, with a little Condega Ligero thrown in for good measure. What I ended up with was a fairly strong cigar, both in flavor and body. I loved it, make no mistake, but it rivaled the Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo in sheer power, as a matter of fact, I commented to my son that I thought I had blended an Antaño Dark Corojo! He had smoked the first of his batch, and he had used much more ligero in his, and it wasn’t bad, his shade wrapper may have toned it down a bit. I smoked this cigar down to finger burning size, while it was one dimensional, it was a good dimension! I wouldn’t smoke these often, and I have four more resting to see how they develop over time. I continue to be amazed that a cigar that was rolled a mere 8 weeks ago is so perfectly smokable! Thanks to Mario Perez at Joya de Nicaragua and Jonathan Drew for this exercise. I’m reminded that I need to find some Cabinetta Lanceros sometime soon…great cigar! I actually think the Cabinetta Serie is my favorite blend from JdN for overall balance.

Saturday was a beautiful day, so for my evening walk I went with a Liga Privada Dirty Rat pre-release version that Steve Saka had sent me in January of 2010. This cigar has since been released as a Liga Privada Serie Unico as of last years IPCPR show. I’ve had several of these between the pre-release samples and the production line and they have all been exceptional. Deep and dark, these are well made and seriously satisfying. The stalk cut, Connecticut Habano wrapper is a thing of beauty and just tasty as all get out. I lamented to my wife at the time that I should have grabbed one of the longer prototype Rats I brought back from Cigar Safari, as this cigar was finished too soon. I could have easily spent another hour enjoying the deliciousness of the Dirty Rat. Truly a spectacular cigar.

Today is another day, not sure what I’ll pull out of the humidor yet, and tomorrow could present more opportunities still. Tuesday we head to NYC for a private cigar event, which we’ve been looking forward to. Everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday, and remember all those who paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy what we enjoy!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Watch for a new discount code from StogieBoys.com coming soon.

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, dirty rat, drew estate, Guillermo Leon, joya de nicaragua, La Aurora, Memorial Day, Serie Unico, Take A Cigar For A Walk, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | May 25, 2011 · 9:43 pm

The Week So Far, A Romeo y Julieta, a Hoyo de Monterrey, and an El Credito

My mother-in-law passed away last week, so in deference to the family, I concentrated on doing my best to be a comfort and a help to my wife and her family. Cigars took a back seat to common sense and courtesy, so I don’t have a lot to report on this time. She lived a long and active life, but the last year was hard, with a diagnosis of mesothelioma and a stroke. When I smoked cigarettes she would bum one off me once a year, probably did that for almost 20 years. It was just one of those funny little things…never could get her to switch to a cigar, although she used to say that she once used cigars to break her cigarette habit, since she hated cigars!

I did manage to take a cigar for a walk Sunday morning, and I chose a Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve that I bought last year when they had an offer for a sampler for something like $8 delivered. I like these cigars, but they sometimes aren’t the fist cigar I gravitate to if I’m cigar shopping. I opted for this cigar since I figured it was one of the better selections I had on hand for an early in the day smoke. It was quite a nice, mild and flavorful cigar that fit the bill nicely. It was a robusto that measured 5” x 54. If I were buying a RyJ, and it wasn’t one from an island we aren’t supposed to buy cigars from, I’d choose this line again.

Just a quick note about cigar smokers doing nice things for the community, a store local to me, although I don’t visit there nearly enough for whatever reason, recently held a golf outing and sent me the following in an e-mail:

Golf Outing Raises $13,240 for Fox Chase Cancer Center

G&G Cigar Company‘s 2nd Annual Golf Outing raised $13,240 for Fox Chase Cancer center for funding cancer research. The event was held at Downingtown Country Club. This check brings G&G’s total donations to over $43,000 to various charities.

We’d like to thank all of you for your support of this important event.

G&G Cigar Company Thanks you for your business.

I think it’s pretty cool when folks who are looked down upon by the more prudish in society do something nice, and it deserves recognition.

Last night I lit up a Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros that I received at the IPCPR show last July when General Cigar announced the release. It should come as no surprise that the predominant flavor of the cigar is wood. Sweet wood. Lots of wood. Obviously (or not) this was to be expected given the cedar sleeve and the special “Immersion” process in which they age the cigars in cedar. Don’t misunderstand, I really enjoyed the cigar, it was very enjoyable and different from what I usually select. I’ve always enjoyed the Hoyo de Monterrey line and most of it’s extensions, and this one is pleasantly different.

Tonight I grabbed one of General Cigars new El Credito El Perrito War of Flavors, a cheroot-like cigar that’s made without a mold. These are rustic little cigars that was created by two supervisors in the El Credito factory in the DR. There’s lots of information out there on these, so I won’t regurgitate it here. It was a good cigar for a mile walk. It wasn’t particularly elegant, but it had a good flavor that will benefit from some age. If these are priced right they will be a nice shorter smoke, although it burned roughly the same amount of time as a robusto for me. Don’t wear a good shirt either as the ash was prone to dropping without notice! Thanks to General Cigars for providing me with samples to smoke!

That’s it for now, hopefully this weekend being Memorial Day weekend will give me an opportunity to have a couple cigars.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Watch for a new discount code from StogieBoys.com coming soon.

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Tagged as altadis, cigar, cigars, El Credito, G & G, general, general cigars, habana, hoyo de monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | May 22, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Take A Cigar For A Walk: Tommy Berry and the Punch Gran Puro

Tommy’s filling in for me this weekend while family comes first.

I have yet to start my boot camp…but looking forward to it beginning soon! We’ve had some snags in the way of our home purchase and are in the process of moving to another lender…so be in prayer for that!

As far as walking goes, I was able to snag some time to take a cigar for a walk a few days ago. I took with me a Punch Gran Puro. For me, it was a bit on the mild side however it was full of flavor! This one was recently gifted to me by a BOTL on Cigarworld.com and I could tell that it had been around for a long time before sending it to me. It had a beautiful, very yellow = well aged cellophane wrapper. After opening it, it appeared to me that I was going to love this cigar! And love it, yes I did! I walked for exactly one hour and was only a good 3/4 ‘s of the way through it before landing on my front porch to finish it off. It burned evenly, held a great ash and the smoke was very “colorful” to say the least. The smoke was thick and yellow…that’s when I know I am smoking one that’s aged well. Durring the walk I only had to flick the ash a few times when it grew long…as it held tightly to the cigar during the walk. I would highly recommend that you try yourself a Punch Gran Puro any chance you get! One last thing to add is that the weather here in East Texas has been unseasonably cool for this time of the year, but it has been extremely nice!

I hope that I can make it out there tonight for another one…as I need to be doing this 5 days a week…not once or twice a week. However, I will say this. If you too have been taking a cigar for a walk…and if only once or twice a week…then be proud of yourself…as at least you are doing something good for yourself…instead of just sitting in the chair!

Long ashes to ya! -Tommy

Thanks Tommy, keep up the good work and everything will work out with the home purchase.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Don’t forget to visit Stogieboys.com ! New Discount Code coming soon!

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by CigarCraig | May 11, 2011 · 10:43 pm

Take A Cigar For A Walk: The Return of Tommy!

I recently dropped Tommy a line to see how he was doing and he responded with this Take A Cigar For A Walk review:

Well, I have been so busy getting ready to close on a new home for my family that I had put the walking to the back burner…but boy do I need to be walking! So, last night I did just that! I set out on my walk with a very simple cigar, a Don Elias. I had picked up a bunch of these awhile back for little to nothing. These cigars don’t look like much and their bands make them look even less. But, myself and a few other friends have fallen in love with these cigars. They are quiet mild, but burn perfectly, as this one did on my walk…and the flavor is great! My walk went really well. The weather was nice, especially since it has been very windy around here lately. However, I had absolutely no issues with the burn, it burned evenly throughout the entire 60 minute walk. I would highly recommend that you try at least one of these cigars. You will want to get your hands on one…then let it rest in a good humidor for many months…and then I think you will be pleased. Again, this is a mild cigar, but even for me…a more full body smoker…I really enjoy this stick on occasion.

On my health, I have not been walking as I should and I am paying for it! I cannot wait until this move is out of my way so I can stop making excuses and move on with the walks. I did do one thing for myself this weekend…I signed up for a former Marine ran Boot Camp that I will be joining in a few weeks! Now, a lot of folks think that these “exercise” Boot Camps are just for girls…no, they are for us all! I am looking forward to being able to get started…and hopefully be whipped back into shape soon. I am looking forward to the military aspect of it, as I know that I need someone in my face making me go further and pushing me to places that currently, I don’t think I can go to. This will be a good eye opener for me. Health is important, and I have put this on the back burner for way too long. With this, this should give me more time with taking a cigar for a walk as I will be required to exercise daily and give feedback to my sergeant. I will keep you all posted as I get closer to the starting date.

So, get out there…enjoy the warm air and light up a good cigar for yourself.

Long ashes to ya! –Tommy

As for me, I took a special cigar for a walk last night, a God of Fire from Prometheus, generously gifted to me by my favorite USAF Lt. Colonel, DB. This was a torpedo with the secondary band identifying it as a Carlito 2006, which isn’t listed on the webpage. The webpage doesn’t list too much information about these, but it does indicate that they are pricey as all get out. I usually don’t pay too much attention to cold draws, but this one tasted just like milk chocolate! It lit and burned very nicely, and had a nice flavor. I’d call this medium myself, but others may lean more toward full. Overall it was a very nice cigar on a very nice spring evening and it was a great accompaniment for my walk, a special treat I never would have otherwise had the chance to smoke. Thank you very much DB, you sent me some extremely nice cigars for the very small favor I did for you. Totally over the top! I think I’ve mentioned before that DB sent a few cigars in a very nice Casa Magna box which I’ve since pressed into service in the coolerdor holding the prized cigars I brought back from Cigar Safari! I hope to one day have the pleasure of meeting you and sharing a cigar. Tonight I grabbed an old standby as I had limited time, a Partagas Petit Coronas Especiales. I broke into the bottom layer of the box and these just keep getting better and better. Another fine way to get a little exercise on a beautiful evening.