Cigars

The Palomino Santa Ana Maduro

image-4If you haven’t heard of Palomino Cigars then you are missing out. The Palomino family has been making cigars in the Cibao Valley of the Santiago De Los Caballeros Province of the Dominican Republic since 1965. What makes them different from the rest of the companies is not only that they make a wide selection of quality sticks but they only sell factory direct. What this means for you is that not only do you get a great cigar but, instead of paying the $9 – $13 a piece you can pick theirs up for around $2 – $3.

Now I know what your thinking already, “how can a $3 stick be good?” The answer…most of what you smoke could probably be sold for around $3 a stick if they sold factory direct as well. For the other brands you are paying for their advertising cost, their sells reps pay, retail mark ups, and so on. So that being said on to the cigars.

Since I like a fuller flavored cigar I decided I would try the Santa Ana Maduro. Inspection shows a well-constructed stick covered in a nice oily wrapper with minimal veins and is in the dark chocolate color realm. It is firm to the touch but just pliable enough that it will not crack if you like to bite the end of yours like I do when you smoke. The odor from the body is of chocolate and old leather with a hint of cedar and fruit. The odor from the foot is the same just more intense.

It lit easily and the draw was even and smooth. The flavor was earthy with a bit of spice with coffee on the back end. The flavor held consistent throughout the cigar. The burn was even all the way through and did not have to be restarted at any point. The ash held well and was near white. The cigar created ample, thick smoke that looked heavy but felt light on the tongue.

When you first get these cigars you might be skeptical but after this smoke I bet you will have no qualms recommending these to anybody. In my opinion for the cost of these cigars they are a great value and could easily fetch between $9-$13 a stick at a brick and mortar store.

Brand: Silvo Palomino 

Web Address: www.palomino-cigars.com

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

MoyaRuiz’s La Jugada Nunchuck

IMG_0639The La Jugada Nunchuck cigar from MoyaRuiz is their limited edition run to celebrate Cigar Dojo’s Birthday Herf. Although it was not released until later this year it was highly anticipated. Made in the La Zona factory in Nicaragua, like their other two cigars, it is a cigar that is troublesome to compare to anything else.

I got these sticks over a month ago and they felt quite firm to the touch so I decided to give them a little time in my humidor before smoking them. Like I’ve mentioned before, I like my cigars at a slightly higher humidity level (I prefer a constant 74% RH) since I have a tendency to chew the ends of mine and like a softer feel to my tobacco. When I took these out I noticed the feel had remained the same but rather then let it sit any longer I decided to go ahead and light it up.

The feel was firm to the touch and did not give when pressure was applied which worried me at first. I was concerned that the cigar was over filled and would not only be hard to smoke but would also crack and break under the stress of smoking it. I played around with the cigar and was happy to see that, unlike other people have stated, I found no dead spots. The roll was consistent and full through the whole body.

The overall look of the cigar was superb, clearly time had been taking in the production. The Habano wrapper had the color of well-aged leather and had very minimal veining, which was nice given the size of this cigar. The smell from the body was light and had notes of cedar, fruit, well used leather, and tobacco, loads and loads of tobacco. The foot shared the same odor with a slightly heavier fig smell.

It lit easily with a moderate draw. This was surprising given how full this cigar is I expected a much harder pull. Immediately a nice amount of smoke is given off that fills the pallet and rests heavily on the tongue. The taste of black coffee, pepper and tobacco are noticed with a hint of nuttiness. This continued through almost the first third of the cigar. Nearing the midway point the taste begins to mellow, but only for a short time. Once I reached the middle of the stick a large amount of spice could be tasted and everything else takes a back seat, except for the tobacco did I mention the tobacco.

As the cigar heats up the stick becomes more pliable and is easily manipulated between the fingers. With the exception of the moderate midpoint change the flavor holds consistent to the end with only a slight increase in spiciness as what’s left begins to heat up.

La Jugada Nunchuck Comes in one size. A hefty 7×54 and are being released in a limited amounts of 1,000 boxes. Each box has five nunchucks tethered together or a total of ten cigars each. If your looking for a nice full bodied cigar to smoke that will last you around two hours this is your cigar.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Brand: MoyaRuiz

Website: MoyaRuizcigars.com

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 pints

MoyaRuiz’s La Jugada Prieto

IMG_0363It’s no secret that the founders of MoyaRuiz, Danny Moya and Nelson Ruiz, love to play dominos. From that love a cigar line was born. La Jugada “The Play.” MoyaRuiz has put great attention to detail in manufacturing these cigars and has produced an amazing product. The MoyaRuiz cigar line is something that cannot be ignored.

The La Jugada line has two cigar types that are readily available, the Habano and Prieto. While both are outstanding cigars I prefer a darker, fuller flavored cigar so I prefer to smoke the Prieto (meaning “dark” in Spanish) and this review will be on their Robusto 5 X 52.

The construction of The Prieto is wonderful. A dark Mexican San Andre’s wrapper covers the cigar giving it a dark roasted almond to coffee bean color with rich oils. While pressing along the stick I noticed few veins in the wrapper and there appears to be no noticeable imperfections in the body. It feels firm but still pliable to the touch and is clearly well rolled with the perfect amount of tobacco.

The hand selected Nicaraguan long fillers and binders of this cigar have some wonderful aromas. A sniff around the body brings a smell of wet hay, dark chocolate, and a hint of leather. Spending some time around the foot began to show this cigar’s complexity. The smell of licorice, pine, and dried apricot were noticeable making this an appetizing cigar.IMG_0365

It cut easy with no cracking and lit even easier. Because of this cigars excellent construction the draw is smooth and effortless. A fair amount of smoke is created by this cigar and feels light and billowy on the tongue. The initial flavor is of pepper and spice that finishes with a hint of dark chocolate. As the cigar reaches it’s mid-point the spiciness begins to lessen while the chocolate flavor becomes a little more apparent. It also begins having slight coffee and cream notes. The last quarter of the stick is a full of coffee and chocolate with the spices hiding quietly in the background. The cigar burned evenly and was enjoyable the whole way through.

If you are trying to find a new everyday maduro this is the cigar for you. It’s well-constructed body and excellent choices in wrapper, filler, and binder combination makes it a fantastic smoke for anyone with a discerning palate. Next time you’re in your local smoke shop and are wondering what to try… look for a MoyaRuiz.

 

Wrapper – San Andres

Origin – Nicaragua

Shapes – Robusto, Toro, Belicoso, Double Corona, Ancho

Brand: MoyaRuiz

Website: moyaruizcigars.com

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints