Page 5 - Cigars Released News Today

Release Date: Dec. 11, 2020 Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 I’ve mentioned this before, but I try not to read anything about the cigars I’m reviewing until after I’m done smoking the cigars. Given that Patrick wrote the news story about this cigar and Brooks went to Blue Smoke to buy them, I hadn’t seen one until I pulled it out of my review box. The first thing I noticed was that this is close, but not the proper 7 7/16 (192mm) x 38 l...

Release Date: January 2021 Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 Given the extensive design work that Padilla has put into his previous releases, I’m almost more intrigued by the bands on the Padilla 88 Anniversario than the cigar, at least from a visual perspective. The band is a bit subdued but still clean and classy, and you might want to have your reading glasses or a magnifying glass to see the incredibly small details in the band. The cigar is rolled and pressed quite nicely, albeit a ...

Release Date: Feb. 17, 2021 Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 I didn’t write the news story or photograph the cigar for the pictures above, so I was a bit surprised to see the actual size of the Bauhaus. Also something I wasn’t expecting is that these cigars come in cellophane. While some Liga Privadas have come in cellophane, Liga Privada is a brand that I do not think of as doing that. While it’s not to say there aren’t small Liga Privadas, f...

Release Date: Dec. 28, 2020 Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 Visually, the D’Crossier Golden Blend Reserva is covered in a milk chocolate brown wrapper that is smooth to the touch, despite the lack of any appreciable oil. In addition, the cigar features a number of protruding veins and is extremely hard—I would place it just short of rock hard—when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong cloves, sweet almonds, earth, c...

Release Date: Nov. 2020 Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 The Epic Ten sports a darker, earthier, almost chocolatey brown wrapper, one that I would have never guessed was a Cameroon leaf. Regardless, it is a good-looking cigar with a fairly matte finish and just a bit of oil to be found by the fingers. One thing that stands out on the first cigar is its head; the wraps of tobacco as well as the cap don’t lay quite flat, leading me to wonder if it wasn’t a byproduct of the box pressing....

Release Date: Dec. 2020 Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 The Fratello Pennsylvania wears a very dark wrapper, a rich and earthy shade of brown that has me thinking of the soil in a well-tended garden. Between the three samples there is the occasional big vein—one of which caught my attention enough to warrant taking a picture of it—but otherwise the rest are fairly normal. There is some slight texture to the leaf, as well as a bit of oiliness. It’s rolled to a fairly firm density, a...

Release Date: Nov. 14, 2020 Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars) Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 I smoke far fewer lanceros these days than I used to, but it’s still pretty clear that this isn’t a proper lancero. It’s close to a lancero—and certainly not a Churchill—but I feel some sort of obligation to point out that 42 ring gauge is not a lancero, but rather a Lonsdale, though this is on the longer end of that designation. One cigar has a c...

Release Date: Dec. 19, 2020 Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 Visually, the Southern Draw Manzanita is covered in a reddish mocha brown wrapper that exhibits not only plenty of oil, but also a number of protruding veins. In addition, the cigar is slick smooth to the touch and extremely firm when squeezed. The aroma from the dark wrapper is a combination of strong cedar, raisins, leather, sweet manure, earth, barnyard and hay, while the cold draw...

Release Date: December 2020 Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 A very attractive milk chocolate brown wrapper covers the VegaFina Year of the Ox, which also happens to be fairly smooth to the touch and features a noticeable amount of oil. There are a few overtly obvious veins present and the cigar is firm when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong barnyard, almonds, earth, leather, hay and raisins while the cold draw brings flavors of peanut shells, earth, leather, cre...

Release Date: December 2020 Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 While the triple cap is nicely applied, this isn’t the prettiest looking shade-grown wrapper I’ve ever seen. Two of my samples also have noticeable water spots—the green discoloration you can see in the picture below. It lacks the golden hue that you’ll see a lot on the Ecuadorian-grown versions and instead has more of a mustard color that I associate with the leaves grown in Connecticut. The aroma from the wrapper—whic...