Boutique Cigars

AK-47 Cigar Punch From Hollow Point Gear

Hollow Point Gear Cigar PunchWhen it comes to cigar accessories everybody needs a good reliable cutter. Now I know we all have our favorite one that stay with all of our usual cigar accoutrements, whether it’s a guillotine, scissors or a maybe a V notch. However how many times have you ended up somewhere with your travel kit, pulled out the cigar you’ve been looking forward to smoking all day and your lighter then had that “Where the hell is my cutter moment”? So what do you do then? Well you could break out your knife and hope you remembered to sharpen it recently so it’s sharp enough to cut the cap properly without damaging the whole thing (No comments Fran we all know you sharpen your knives religiously) or you could have the convenient AK47 cigar punch from HollowPointGear.com that slips right onto your keys with the attached grenade ring so you always have a solid back up plan.

I’ve had this little guy now for about two months or so now and have used it on at least 30 cigars and AK47 Cigar Puncheach time I’ve had no problems getting a solid, clean punch. It makes for a good draw on the cigar and most importantly doesn’t cause any damage to the wrapper. My only complaint with this thing is that there is no opening on the back of the shell to clear it so the cut caps do build up inside but this in only a minor issue. The bullet cigar punch is handcrafted with a real once-fired AK47 (7.62 x 39mm) bullet casing, and a real once-used (not sure what they did with the grenade after pulling the pin) grenade pin.

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of these AK47 cigar punches from Hollowpointgear.com. At a cost of $11.99 the first time you need it because you don’t have anything with you to cut that $12.00 stick this guy has already paid for itself. While your on the site be sure to check out their other items as well.

Cost: $11.99

Website: Hollowpointgear.com

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints

Southern Draw’s Jacobs Ladder

Souther Draw Jacobs LadderAfter having The Rose of Sharon at Cats Fest in Texas this year I was very excited to try Southern Draw’s Jacobs Ladder and being a fan of full-bodied cigars my anticipation level was very high. The cigar boasts a dark, full flavored maduro broadleaf wrapper from Pennsylvania. Inside is Nicaraguan long filler including Estelí Ligero and an Ecuadorian binder. Like the rest of their cigars the name comes from a flowering plant, Jacobs Ladder was used in ancient Greece for medicinal purposes, of course there’s also the biblical reference as well as the founders son’s middle name also happens to be Jacob.

The wrapper of the cigar is fairly smooth but has some large veining through portions of it. The roll feels tight and solid all the way along the stick but, as it should, gives when pressed between the fingers. The pre-light draw is not as difficult as I would have expected from how tight the roll felt. (Note: This cigar has a covered foot that I removed to inspect the bunching and aroma. If the foot were left covered the draw would feel more difficult.) The smell has a sweetness to it that reminds me of dried fruit and licorice and the pre-light draw is reminiscent of fresh brewed un-sweet tea.

Lighting was easy and the draw was smooth. With the first few pulls there is a large wave of spice and pepper, it’s the kind of flavor you’d expect from a blend like this. It burns evenly, the ash hangs on for easily an inch or so before I decide to knock it off vs. seeing how far I can go then getting upset when it falls in my lap. It produces plenty of nice heavy smoke that you can almost chew on. This flavor profile carries on for about the first half of the cigar.

Entering the second half the pepper and spices take a back seat to a nice punch of rich sweet tobacco and leather flavor. It’s the kind of flavor you would imagine WWII tank drivers must have gotten from their cigars. The burn remains even throughout the last half of this cigar with the pepper coming back in a bit more again towards the last third and continues to produce plenty of rich smoke.

This cigar was an absolute joy to smoke; in fact I took this guy down to a nub, which I rarely do. While it’s being said that it is a complex flavored cigar I think people are over thinking it, to me this is a great straightforward full flavored and full-bodied cigar. It is clearly on the heavier side so I wouldn’t recommend it for the novice smoker but any seasoned smoker that wants to remember what it’s like to taste what you are smoking should pick this guy up.

 

Wrapper: Pennsylvania broad leaf maduro

Filler: Nicaraguan long filler including Estelí Ligero

Binder: Ecuador

Sizes: Gordo (6 1/2 x 60), Robusto (5 1/2 x 54), Toro (6 x 52)

Price: $9.50 – $10.50

Website: Southerdrawcigars.com

HERRERA ESTELI TORO ESPECIAL

IMG_7955Knowing that Willy Herrera was making this cigar and it was being made in a more traditional Cuban style I was excited to try it. I did a little bit of investigating before the package arrived to know what I would be getting into. All of the Herrera Estelis are rolled in the entubado style with a triple cap. This is the bunching technique, which rolls each filler leaf into itself, almost like a small scroll. Each individually “scrolled” leaf is then placed together to form the bunch. This skillful rolling technique creates a more firmly packed cigar, which allows air to travel between all of the leaves, carrying more aromatics/flavors to the palate. Entubado rolling is the most difficult and complex bunching method and is therefore rarely employed in large-scale manufacturing. (Thank you T.U. for providing a well-explained definition). After having several of these this is what I found.

The cigar is covered in an Ecuadorian wrapper that is light milk chocolate in color. The veining is minimal and the seams are tight and is toped off with a classic Cuban style simple band. The over all feel of the body is giving to the touch but obviously well constructed with no noticeable dead spots. The smell from the body is mild and is bread like with notes of coffee. From the foot it is a bit stringer and has the smells of licorice, aged leather and sugared ginger.

The cap cut easily and with no distress to the construction. Lighting was easily done with two matches and the initial draws provided good amounts of medium weighted smoke. The first third of the cigar burned evenly with the ash holding tight for up to almost an inch before asking to be knocked off. The flavor is a little sweet with a bit of pepper as well as the ginger on the back end.

The second third becomes a bit heavier with the flavor getting stronger. The sweetness begins to dissipate while the pepper and spice remains. The burn continues to be even and construction appears flawless at this point.

The last third stays close to the second third in flavor with just a bit more of the spice notes. The sweetness makes a small reappearance but is quickly gone again and covered by the spice along with a small amount of coffee flavor. The burn stayed consistent throughout the whole smoke as well as no faults in construction could be found.

Along with most items from Drew Estate I would recommend this cigar to anyone looking for a fuller bodied smoke. The build of this cigar is solid and hard to find in any other cigar available to the American market right now and the effort is clearly recognizable when smoking. Go grab a couple a let me know what you think.

On a side note Famous Smoke Shop has started a new cigar and spirits online pairing guide. Go check it out at https://www.famous-smoke.com/cigar-pairing/

 

Strength: Full

Shape: Toro

Size: 6 x 52

Country: Nicaragua

Wrapper Color: Natural

Wrapper Origin: Ecuadorian

Wrapper Leaf: Habano

Website: Famous-smoke.com

Price: $37.99 for a 5 pack or $185.99 for a box of 25

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 pints