As I stated in my best cigar books post, proceeds from sale of books would be given back to one lucky reader in the form of a gift certificate. Here is another one. It is a gift card for $12 that can be redeemed on Amazon.com (doesn't work on .co.uk or .fr).

Just leave a comment on this post to be entered in the draw. The winner will be announced on Sunday.

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Origin : Honduras
Format : Grand Corona
Size : 6 x 45
Wrapper : Ecuador (Sumatra)
Binder : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : $100-120 for a box of 20
More info about purchasing Punch Uppercut cigars...

The Punch Uppercut line is the latest release from the General Cigar Company. This cigar features an Ecuadorian grown Sumatra wrapper and filler tobacco from Nicaragua. The binder is grown on the island of Ometepe which is located off the coast of Nicaragua. The volcanic soil of the island produces very rich tobacco. The Uppercut comes in three vitolas; today’s featured cigar is the Grand Corona (6.0 in. X 45 ring gauge).

Appearance : 4.5 out of 5 stars
The Ecuadorian grown Sumatra wrapper is very dark brown with many veins running along the length of the cigar. It features a dual cap with the top cap lighter in color than the second one.
The wrapper is not too shiny, but it is smooth to the touch. It also has two bands with the second one located at the foot of the cigar.

Construction : 4 out of 5 stars
The Uppercut is a very solid cigar with no soft spots. Both bands were easily removed. The pre-light draw and the draw during the smoke were a bit restricted.
No smoke was visible while the cigar was resting during the first half of the smoke; the second half was more smoky.
It produced a good white and packed ash and no burn issues were encountered during the smoke.

Flavor : 4 out of 5 stars
The wrapper had a floral, sweet scent while the foot had a more pronounced sweet almost like a candy bar smell to it. The aromas from the wrapper were not as strong as the foot.
The pre-light draw was very chocolaty; it really felt like one was enjoying a candy bar. Other baking spices like cinnamon were perceived during the pre-light ritual. The initial flavors upon lighting it were leather with a hint of pepper. It seemed though that during the first half of the cigar, it had a light astringency to it; my mouth became slightly dry. It was not unbearable, but it was unexpected. The retrohale felt peppery just like white pepper.
About an inch into it, nutty flavors became more dominant while the pepper disappeared. The rest of the cigar featured nuts as the predominant flavor.

Value : 3 out of 5 stars
I am not sure if paying around $6.00/stick for this size is such a good value. Maybe for a once in a while cigar, but not for a daily cigar.

Overall Rating : 4 out of 5 stars
The Uppercut had a great beginning in terms of flavors; however, it seemed to become flat in its profile after the first third of the cigar. I have no issues with that, but the astringency was the main problem I found with this cigar. Although this may be a good quality for certain wines, I am not a big fan of it in cigars. The price was another negative issue as I am not sure it merits a $6.00/cigar tag. General Cigar produces good cigars of excellent quality, but personally, the Uppercut was not my favorite. As a matter of fact, one of my “go to” cigars is their Excalibur 1066 Dark Knight line. I would recommend that one over the Uppercut.

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• Michael loved the CAO Gold Vintage Cremant and gave it 4 stars.
• Rob from PuffingCigars.com states that this is a cigar that one should buy and have in his/her humidor.
• Finally, Barry AKA A Cigar Smoker gives the Bouchon an impressive 91 rating.

Where to get it?

CAO Gold Vintage retail in $7-9 range, which is a rather nice value.
Click here to compare the prices.

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Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 5.25 x 50
Wrapper : Cameroon
Filler : Nicaragua/Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : $3-4 each
More info about purchasing Vegas de Fonseca Sobrino cigars...

This cigar was a hit 6 years ago when it got a 92 rating from Cigar Insider and was featured as one of the top cigars of 2004 in CA. There is no agreement on the body of the Vegas de Fonseca Sobrino, medium-bodied according to Thompson, mild according to JR Cigars and rather full-bodied if you trust Cigar Aficionado - I guess I'll have to find out for myself. Cameroon-wrapped, this stick looks rather rough with several prominent veins and a couple of visible imperfections. It didn't take me more than 15 seconds to cut & light the cigar and very soon I was enjoying ample clouds of white smoke. No specific complaints on the construction. As for the flavor, it packs quite a rich bouquet. With a peppery beginning, it develops sweet, roasted notes as well as some woody flavors. As for the body, I say mild to medium, with some noticeable evolution. Overall, an excellent cigar for the price. You can even find them at $1-2 each you know where.

CigarStash.com - the ultimate cigar price comparison tool!

One week ago I posted a review of an excellent book called "The Cigar Maker". Courtesy of Mark McGinty, the author, we had two copies of the book to give away and the winners are:
Sjester
Alter Egon

Congrats! Check your mailbox for an e-mail.

If you didn't win, I highly suggest you pick up this book if you are interested in the cigar culture. "The Cigar Maker" is a great read. Here is the Amazon page where you can order it (either paperback or Kindle).

Stay tuned for more giveaways in future!

CigarStash.com - the ultimate cigar price comparison tool!

Who owns 'Cohiba'?

...in the US, of course. It seems like General Cigar will be able to rightfully use the brand name Cohiba in the United States, after a decade of legal action initiated by Cubatabaco.
Check out the press release here.

Changes at Toraño

Toraño will change its name to Toraño Family Cigars, take back distribution from CAO and introduce three new lines (the Master by Carlos Toraño, Single Region and a new value line known as the Brigade). You can expect reviews of the new lines on this blog as soon as they are released.
Full press-release is published here.

These were the most interesting news. Stay tuned for more!

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La Reloba Sumatra

Reviewed by Barry at   A Cigar Smoker's Journal

Many manufacturers are releasing 'cheaper' cigars and this is My Father's take. Quite successful, according to Barry.
Read the full review here...

Kauai Island Prince Momona

Reviewed by Rob at  Puffing Cigars

A cigar from Hawaii? 'Not a gimmick!' as Rob says.
Read the full review here...

CigarStash.com - the ultimate cigar price comparison tool!

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Torpedo
Size : 6 x 42
Wrapper : USA (Pennsylvania)
Filler : Nicaragua/Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : $123.99 for a box of 20
More info about purchasing Panacea cigars...

As we just celebrated the 4th of July holiday in the US, I wanted to review something that had an American flare to it. I came across the Panacea Green label which has a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper. I have never smoked a cigar with this type of wrapper, so I decided to give it a try. The Panacea Green is manufactured by the Flatbed Cigar Company in the Dominican Republic. The filler is a triple ligero, so this one should pack some punch. They ferment their wrapper leaves in Bucks County, PA; the company’s website offers a nice write-up on the cigar tradition of this region. Since I have never smoked a Pennsylvania Broadleaf-wrapped cigar, I did some research on the wrapper. I came across a very nice and detailed description of it at Mike's blog called “Some Guy Named Mike”. The featured cigar is the Panacea Green Label Torpedo.

Appearance : 4.5 out of 5 stars
The wrapper is a milk chocolate brown with a reddish tint. There are some veins running the length of the cigar. The cigar is soft to the touch, but it does not exhibit much of an oily sheen.

Construction : 3.5 out of 5 stars
There was a soft spot near the top of the band, but I did not think it would be an issue since it was so high up. This torpedo had a good draw; however, it burned unevenly initially. The ash that it produced was tight although flaky in some spots. The cigar also developed a tunnel which caused a flame-out after the ash was tapped.

Flavor : 5 out of 5 stars
The initial aroma of the wrapper was that of mint with hints of barnyard and earthy notes. The foot had more of roasted coffee and chocolate aromas. The pre-light draw had a definite chocolate taste; the cigar was very spicy and peppery to the tongue.

One gets good flavors like nutmeg, vanilla, and coffee immediately after lighting the stick. The second third of the cigar was more leathery while the vanilla disappeared; a fruity taste seemed to accompany the leather flavor. The last third featured all leather flavor.

The finish was long with notes of leather throughout the smoke.

Value : 4 out of 5 stars
At about $6.00/stick, I would not consider this a bad price for these cigars. However, you may be disappointed if you are looking for a strong smoke; I found the Green Label to be more of a medium-strength cigar.

Overall Rating : 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed the flavor profile of the Panacea Green Label Torpedo; it complemented the cup of coffee I had as a beverage during the smoke. I did have burn issues with the cigar, so it was not a perfect smoking experience. I would encourage all smokers to try a Pennsylvania Broadleaf-wrapped cigar. Maybe a fun exercise would be to take a one of these and compare it to a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped-cigar (grown in the US). This will make us appreciate wrappers truly “Made in the USA.”

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Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Torpedo
Size : 5.625 x 54
Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder : Dominican Republic
Filler : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : up to $30 each
More info about purchasing: Arturo Fuente Anejo cigars

Throughout each of our smoking lives, many of us set aside cigars that we label as special to be smoked on rare occasions. One such cigar that repeatedly tops many lists is the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 77. Resembling a tooth because of its uniquely box pressed torpedo shape, this cigar is more commonly known as the Anejo “Shark”. Sought after by both lovers and collectors with fervor similar to the search for Fuente’s Opus X line, this is one cigar that I have been looking forward to trying for some time.

As mentioned above, the Shark has a unique obelisk shape that is a result of box pressing the original torpedo. Carrying a solid heft, the construction of the cigar is excellent. As this particular smoke was aged since 2006, the oils present on the wrapper’s surface were noticeably transferable to my fingers. A faint texture of tooth and minor veins gives this smoke a natural appearance without being rugged. Even the wrapper and foot emit the faint scent of sweet cocoa.

Moving into the prelight, my Palio guillotine made a beautiful angled cut and the cigar held up beautifully. The prelight draw is perfect and the sweetness noted before comes through with a faint tongue tingle of pepper. A buttery nuttiness comes through as well. Torching this smoke proves to be a bit of a challenge because of its dense construction. Once lit, the burn was slightly uneven but that could be because of the issues getting it lit.

After a few initial puffs the creamy smoke builds and the nut and sweet flavors develop into more defined almond and perhaps vanilla. The overall balance is wonderfully deep and substantial but not powerful. Exhaling through the nose produces a slight tartness that is not unpleasant when accompanied by the sweetness. It actually reminds me of fresh, uncooked, rhubarb.

As the session progresses, the burn remains wavy but controllable. Additionally, a more prominent Cedar flavor develops. The overall strength of this cigar builds and eventually tips more towards a spiced profile, although the almond remains. This lasts for about an inch until the spice tones down and allows the almond, vanilla and Cedar to come back through. Over the last inch and a half the spice continually builds itself but does not become overbearing.

Overall this is a fantastic smoke. While spicy, every flavor present gets a turn to show its stuff and the overall result is perfect balance and harmony. On top of that, the construction of the cigar along with its appearance gives it a certain presence. This is not a cigar that you will forget about when smoking. One unfortunate drawback of this smoke is its rarity. Released in limited quantities only around Father’s Day and Christmas a buyer can expect to spend anywhere from 10 to 30 dollars per cigar. At MSRP I would buy as many as I could find and would be willing to spend a few bucks per stick over that just to ensure I had several on hand. To date, there are only three cigars that I would want to guarantee there was a full box of in my humidor, those being the Fuente Hemingway Short Story, Tatuaje J21 Reserva and now the Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 77 “Shark”.

Appearance : 5 out of 5 stars
Construction : 5 out of 5 stars
Flavor : 5 out of 5 stars
Value : 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating : 5 out of 5 stars

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About one month ago I received an e-mail from Mark Carlos McGinty who asked me to check out his book called "The Cigar Maker". Sure, I said, and very soon it hit my mailbox. One week later, as I devoured the last pages, I was glad I had accepted the offer.

This book is not exactly about cigars. It won't teach you how to light, cut or store cigars. There are plenty of cigar books out there who do that. However, the cigars are very present throughout the book, it definitely deserves to have this word in its title.

Instead, "The Cigar Maker" is about one industry, two countries and several families at a crossroads of two centuries. The book realistically describes the living conditions of poor native Cubans under Spanish occupation, of rich Spaniards, of cigar makers in Ybor City, of factory owners... Mark, a descendant of Cuban cigar makers, clearly did thorough research prior to writing it; the story is not only based on historical facts but also tales he heard from his family and this turns "The Cigar Maker" into a very charming read. That's probably what I like the most about this book - it carries you to Tampa and allows you to watch these people live their lives, full of adventures and struggles. I don't want to give away the storyline, but rest assured that there's a lot of action, I was having a hard time putting it down past midnight.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. While writing this review, I realized that it was quite a difficult exercise, after years of cigar reviews. I hope you enjoyed it - and many thanks to Mark for giving me an opportunity to tell you about "The Cigar Maker". Here is the link to the Amazon page where you can purchase the book and read some more thorough reviews. You can also check the official website.

Obviously, you didn't miss the word "giveaway" from the title of this post (you are quite used to it now, aren't you?). Just leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the draw - we've got 2 copies of "The Cigar Maker" to give away, courtesy of the author. This contest is open internationally. Good luck - we'll announce the winners in one week!

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