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 the first one, for the month of December. It is a gift card for $12.00 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 Friday, along with the winner of the 10-pack sampler (you still have time to enter that contest, too)!

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Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Churchill
Size : 7 x 48
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$7 each, $129 for a box of 20
More info about purchasing Cuban Crafters Cubano Claro cigars...

Today I am reviewing a Nicaraguan puro from Cuban Crafters, the Cubano Claro. It is made from Cuban-seed long-filler from the Cupido tobacco field, all enveloped in a Connecticut Desflorado wrapper. Desflorado tobacco is apparently very expensive and difficult to roll. I have had them resting in my humidor for about 3 months now. Here is how the smoke went.

Appearance : 3.5 out of 5 stars
The cigar has a somewhat rustic and coarse looking wrapper. It is pretty bumpy with several large veins. The label is understated but that is okay, you do not smoke the label.

Construction : 4.5 out of 5 stars
The cigar was well packed with tobacco and exhibited no soft spots as well. I clipped the cigar and took my prelight draw which was pretty loose. This was surprising given how tightly packed it felt.
The burn was excellent with zero corrections needed. The burn line was razor sharp although somewhat wavy. The ash was dark gray and flaky. The ash fell off easily however after less than an inch or when just setting it into the ash tray.

Flavor : 4 out of 5 stars
I did my prelight sniff of the cigar and it smelled of sweet tobacco. It lit very easily. The initial taste was of just tobacco and pepper. The retrohale was very spicy and burned my nose a little… Just tobacco and cedar tastes with a peppery note. It produced lots of thick white smoke. The flavor stayed long on the pallet. In the second third the spiciness dropped off and it became just woody and cedar flavored. It was still spicy on retro. It could use a little more depth but it was enjoyable. Final third is woody and it became somewhat harsh near the end.

Value : 4 out of 5 stars
For $7 a stick I think these are an okay cigar. I do see them on sale from time to time and I find them to be a better value then. It smoked for a good 90-100 minutes easily.

Overall Rating : 4 out of 5 stars
I did enjoy this cigar and it had a nice pepper note. As I stated above it was not overly complex but it was interesting enough that I did not find myself bored. The construction was excellent although not the prettiest stick at the dance. I say give them a shot, I do not think you would be disappointed.

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• I very much enjoyed the Avo Domaine Perfecto that I smoked last year. Although it’s not an example of complexity, this cigar is a quality smoke.
• Jamie from Zen Cigar recommends aging the Domaine a little; the robusto is one of his go-to cigars, providing lovely flavor and consistency.
• ER Doc at Cigar Outcast also recommends the perfecto to those who prefer medium to full-bodied cigars.

Where to get it?

Although these cigars are created by Davidoff, Avo Domaine do not command an outrageous price tag. Depending on the vitola, they are available at $6 and higher per stick. Compare the prices here.

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We’ve got a couple of minor updates for the site – first of all, the cigar reviews page now includes a search engine that lets you find reviews of a particular stick on several blogs. It’s better than Google as it excludes all the retailers and junk pages. If you don’t see your blog in the results, let us know.

Furthermore, CigarStash.com now has a newsletter, which will be released several times a month (4 times max) and will contain latest cigar news, sweet deals, site updates, etc.

Now the part you are most interested in, the giveaway. I recently won a contest run by Drew Estate. The prize is a sweet 10-pack that contains cigars from Davidoff, Avo and La Aurora, among others. Unfortunately for me and luckily for you, they can’t ship it outside the United States, so now you also have a chance to win it. Just subscribe to the CigarStash.com newsletter and leave a comment on this post to be entered in the draw. Obviously, you must be of legal smoking age and based in the United States to qualify.

Good luck! The winner will be announced next Friday. By the way, we’ve got another giveaway lined up for the next week, so make sure you are following our updates!

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Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Toro
Size : 6 x 52
Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf Ligero Oscuro
Filler : Honduran/Dominican
Binder : Brazil
Hand-Made
Price : $222.99 for a box of 25
More info about purchasing Liga Privada cigars...

La Liga Privada line is a very different type of approach to cigars from Drew Estates. Most everyone knows Drew Estates from their flavored line of cigars; however, the Liga Privada No. 9 is a true masterpiece. The brand was introduced back in 2007 in only one size (Parejo). The cigar comes in five shapes: Robusto (5 X 52); Torpedo (6 x 52); Double Corona (7 x 52); a very limited release Perfecto known as the Flying Pig (4.13 x 60); and today’s featured cigar the Toro. All cigars come in an oscuro wrapper.

Appearance : 5 out of 5 stars
The cigar’s color is a very dark chocolate. It has a very nice oily sheen, and the cigar feels oily in the hands. There are some visible veins but nothing to be concerned about.

The band looks very simple; it has “Liga Privada No. 9” written in a black cursive font. The background is offwhite, and on the top of the band, the phrase “Hecho Exclusivamente Para El Jefe” (Made Exclusively for the Boss) and “Parejo Oscuro.” The bottom of the band features the phrase “La Gran Fabrica Drew Estates S.A.” (The Great Drew Estates Factory). The trademarked lion seal is seen on the side of the band.

Construction : 4.5 out of 5 stars
The cigar looks like it just has two caps at the head. The cigar felt very firm to the touch. Halfway through the cigar, the cigar shows a bit of a soft touch, but it would not be considered a soft spot.

The ash was white and nicely packed. Throughout the smoke, the burn was very even. The cigar itself was not too smokey, and it rose and dissipated quickly. About an inch of ash was obtained before tapping it off in the ashtray.

The band was loose during the pre-light, so it was very easy to remove.

Flavor : 5 out of 5 stars
The wrapper had a subtle sweet smell with a hint of grass. I would have expected more pronounced scents coming off an oscuro wrapper. The foot also had a subtle sweet smell to it. The scent of the wrapper was definitely more noticeable than the foot of the cigar.

Because of the large ring gauge, a Palio guillotine cutter was used to cut the cigar. The pre-light draw had a very nice chocolate/coffee taste. The cigar also featured a very easy draw even for a 52 ring gauge and a fairly packed cigar. The taste to the tongue was salty and slightly spicy.

After lighting the cigar, and letting it come to a nice temperature, a whole slew of flavors just were noticeable. Leather, cacao, and a variety of spices coated the mouth. A smoke had a very nice and creamy feel to it.

After lighting the cigar, the first draw was spicy and peppery. This was the feeling through the first half although leathery notes were picked up towards the middle of the cigar. About an inch into the cigar, a touch of a sweet taste similar to a sweet dinner roll became apparent.

The second half of the cigar featured roasted nuts and outstanding tobacco notes. I was expecting to get a nice nicotine kick out of this cigar, but I never did. The flavors were very enjoyable.

Towards the end of the smoke, a slight bitterness started to overcome all of the great flavors, but it was still a great smoking experience.

Value : 5 out of 5 stars
The $9.00/stick cost is absolutely well worth the investment. This cigar gives you everything you want out of this price range: great looks, good construction, and unbelievable flavors.

Overall Rating : 5 out of 5 stars
This cigar can be summarized in one word: outstanding! I am not a big fan of flavored cigars, so I have not really pursued other Drew Estate cigars prior to this one. Jonathan Drew has a winner here, and another pleased cigar smoker. I will definitely pursue these cigar and try the other vitolas – I highly recommend everyone enjoy a La Liga Privada No. 9.

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Origin : United States
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 50
Wrapper : Nicaraguan Corojo Oscuro
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$6-7 each
More info about purchasing: Don Pepin Garcia JJ cigars

Today was yet another beautiful day in my tundra paradise. Not feeling like a particularly long smoke I reached for the Don Pepin Garcia JJ White Label that has been resting in my desktop for just over a month. I had been looking forward to this one for a while because I cannot seem to find enough smokes in the shorter vitolas.

First inspection shows a wrapper that is a bit more vein laden than I would like. Some of them are quite pronounced begging to affect razor edged burns. Despite this, the seams are unpronounced and the cap is nice and secure. Moving to the foot I notice two fairly pronounced dents that can only be described as pencil eraser sized divots. This leads me to believe that this one is under filled. Pinching from the head to the foot reveals a solid cigar with slight give. Unfortunately, there are two very significant soft spots. One is 2 inches from the foot and the other is right about where the larger band is located.

Moving onto the olfactory inspection reveals a fairly neutral smell at the foot. A slight note of grass or hay is present. Using my punch to pierce the cap produced two 1/16th inch cracks in the head. One on each side of the punch. Taking a prelgiht draw I find it to be quite loose. In fact there is no resistance at all on this one, almost like sucking through an empty straw. The neutral flavors from the front come across during the prelight draw as well. There is nothing very eventful. I notice a slight hint of cherrywood but other than that not much.

Pulling out my single torch I toast the foot and get a few puffs in. A very light leather flavor comes across. I enjoy the density of the smoke that this stick is producing at this point. After several more puffs a tasteful white pepper flavor shows itself but only briefly. It is at this point that the burn decides to take off on a horrible sprint. It begins to become quite wavy and visibly skewed on one side. After much turning and angling I manage to help it correct itself some but it still maintains its jagged appearance. Shortly after I managed to get this under control a subtle sweet flavor shows up akin to brown sugar. This smoke is very dry and I find myself reaching for water more than usual. Grassy tones join the party just under an inch in.

At the one inch mark I find myself puffing on a stick that had somehow managed to go out despite my having nothing else to distract me and giving it plenty of attention. Tapping off the ash I torch the foot again and begin anew. Despite relighting, the uneven burn remains quite prominent. Most flavors have subsided at this point except that of the cherry wood, which is still faint. At about 2 inches in, the smoke again went out; much to my frustration. We have all been guilty of leaving a smoke unattended or allowing it to go out because of distractions but this smoke does not fall into that category.

Repeating the ritual, I get this one going again in the hopes that making it past the halfway mark will solve these problems and somehow redeem the stick. After half an inch more, I observe smoke coming from areas other than the head and foot. It turns out that the stick has developed three ¼ to ½ inch cracks in various places along the shaft, thus venting smoke out the sides. I wrestle with the burn and failing wrapper for a few more minutes and decide this one is no longer worth the effort. Disposing of it I reflect on what went wrong.

Overall, the construction of this stick appears to be its downfall. The channels, soft spots, and loose draw are all evidence that this stick was under filled. The lack of flavor may be attributed to that as well but overall it was fairly uneventful and bland. I really wanted to like this stick, especially after enjoying its larger blue label brother, but found it extremely lacking. What surprises me the most about this is that although hand rolled cigars are prone to defects, this one seemed to have several blatantly and outwardly visible indications that this one should never have passed inspection…

Appearance : 3 out of 5 stars
Construction : 1 out of 5 stars
Flavor : 2 out of 5 stars
Value : 1 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating : 2 out of 5 stars

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• Trinidad Robusto T – $150 for a box of 12
• Partagas Shorts – $106 for a box of 25
• San Cristobal de la Habana Oficios – $181 for a box of 25
• Bolivar Gold Medal – $87 for a box of 10

If you want to take advantage of these rates, go to the BestSwissCigars.com website to order and mention CigarInspector on checkout. The offer is valid until the end of March.

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Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta “Dos Capas”

Reviewed by Smoking Hot Cigar Chick

Here’s one of the first reviews of the newly released Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta.
Read (&watch!) the full review here…

Room 101 by Camacho

Reviewed by Barry at  A Cigar Smoker’s Journal

“Enjoyable to say the least”. Barry gives it a solid 90.
Read the full review here…

Canadian Girls celebrate in style

After winning a gold medal in hockey on ice, girls from Team Canada smoke cigars and drink bubbly in the empty (!) arena. What a great way to celebrate, right? But nowadays there’s no smoke without some idiots complaining.

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Aside from cigars, I also love to enjoy a fine wine. Almost weekly, I participate in various tastings and have also visited some of the most famous wine regions, including Bordeaux and Alsace. If I were to write about all those tastings, the blog would become a wine blog. However, from time to time I find it refreshing to share my thoughts about different wines, especially when they are as good as in this case.

Last week-end, with a couple of friends, we decided to open a bottle that I got for my birthday, it was a rather reputed Burgundy. We needed to find some more bottles to match that one and the idea of a triptych was born. We selected a fine Bordeaux and a Côte Rotie, a growth that I am less familiar with from Rhône. Here’s how the wines fared.

Côte Rotie Brune et Blonde de Guigal

I didn’t know what to expect here. The color was surprisingly light for a 96% syrah. The nose was rather inexpressive. The wine, however, tasted good with very soft tannins and flavors of black fruits (blackberry) and vanilla. I was disappointed with the finish as it was short and brought a strong acidity. One hour in the decanter managed to tackle this issue though. I would agree with the 88 rating by Robert Parker on this one.
Price: $40-70.

Bouchard Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus 2001

Bouchard is the only owner of this 4-hectares parcel in the Beaune region. The quality of this wine is not exactly consistant and may significantly change depending on the vintage. Luckily, the 2001 lived up to our expectations. It was everything you look for in a good Burgundy/pinot noir, a ruby color, an elegant and rich nose with distinct cedary and nutty notes and a taste explosion on the palate with fresh flavors of red fruits and pleasant tannins.
Price: approximately 60 €. Not sure if this can be easily found in the United States. You can try searching here.

Château Sociando-Mallet 2004

We left this one for the end and we were right. Sociando-Mallet is very often at the same level as some Classified Growths at half the price and one of my long-time favorites. This is absolutely true for 2004, quite a difficult year for Bordeaux. Very structured and ripe, it’s dark as ink and has a wonderful nose of wild cherry. It is vigourous yet not aggressive, just what you expect from a grand Bordeaux. Great value.
Price: ~$55.

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Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Belicoso
Size : 6.25 x 54
Wrapper : Corojo
Filler : Peru, Nicaragua
Binder : Indonesia
Hand-Made
Price : ~$8 each
More info about purchasing Garo cigars...

Today we have a dual review of a Garo Aniversario X Belicoso, done by Stephen and Jason. Thanks to Garo Cigars for providing us with a sampler!

Stephen: Garo’s new Aniversario X cigars offer four Cubanesque shapes (Salomon, “A”, Belicoso and Toro Gordo). Aniversario X is listed as a full bodied cigar. I have had these resting in my humidor about a month. I smoked two for this review.

Jason: Garo Habano is a small boutique cigar company headquartered in California that started in 1996. The Anniversario X is one of the company’s more expensive lines. There aren’t many reviews out there on this cigar so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

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