Cigars

Legendary Saxon Cigar Carrier

Legendary Saxon 1For a while I’ve been seeing these great looking leather cigar carriers from Legendary Saxon and was considering picking one up. They were kind enough to contact me and I chose their Premium Oil Tanned Leather 3 Finger Carrier in a tan color. (In addition to the cigar carrier they make loads of other great leather products.) From there the creation progress began. Total production time was only a couple of days and then was shipped.

The packaged was shipped USPS Priority and arrived quickly. I opened the package and was immediately met by the smell of rich leather. I think I stood there just smelling it for about ten minuets, it was… amazing. After getting over that I decided to take it for a spin since I was headed out that evening anyway. I quickly loaded the carrier with three sticks in the main pouch and tossed a lighter and cutter into the small front pocket. The leather feels heavy but soft in the hands but the way it is stitched together I felt confident that my cigars would be protected well. I wrapped the ties around it and off I went. When I reached my destination I opened it up and as expected my cigars were in perfect condition. As I sat there smoking I began wondering where the idea for it came from. I’ve seen leather carriers before but nothing like the looks of this one. So to find out I asked. I had the pleasure of speaking with Scott and this is what he had to say:IMG_1347

“I got into leather working in fall of 2013 as an art therapy for combat stress from Afghanistan and Iraq. I was hand sewing everything and just giving stuff away to my friends and family. Someone suggested I try to sell it, and I very skeptically put something online and it sold. As it started to grow I invested in an industrial sewing machine. I’ve since expanded and have my college friend Philip as a business partner. I do all the leather selection, ordering, designing, cutting and tooling. I also do all of our digital brand management. Philip does all the sewing, finances, packing and shipping. Our shop is very small and is his garage. I can’t tell you how many leather samples I have ordered from different wholesalers and tanneries in order to find just the right leather I like. My design philosophy is simple. I design the types of things that I would like to have myself. The rustic and rugged nature of my cuts, incorporating the asymmetric edges and natural flows of the hide, the original cattle brands and barbed wire scars, comes from how I see myself as a combat veteran. Scarred yet resilient. I look for the absolute best quality leather, combined with a IMG_1352unique rugged luxury look, in order to tell my story.  My satisfaction comes from customers loving their cuts, and from knowing that my cuts support the customer’s lifestyle aesthetic.”

I’ve had this carrier no for about two months and it has taken over as my everyday carrier this thing goes everywhere with me and has started many conversations due to its uniqueness. The leather continues to hold up well and any bumps or bruises that it acquires only gives it more character. If anybody is in need of a one of a kind custom made cigar carrier I highly recommend making the small investment in one from Legendary Saxon. At $55.00 it’s truly a steal.

 

Website: www.legendarysaxon.com

Cost: $55.00

Rating: 5 out of 5 pints.

Ventura Cigar’s PSyKo Seven

IMG_8394I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a two pack of the PSyKo Seven cigars from Ventura Instagram a week or so ago and had been anxious to try them. From what I had been hearing about them through other people and between what I had heard and the packaging (I’m a sucker for clever packaging) I wanted to see what they were all about.

The two pack arrived to me in the small wooden box with a Boveda pack in the bottom, which kept the humidity level in an excellent range. The cigar was still firm but easily pliable between the fingers. The cigars could easily be squeezed without the fear of cracking the wrapper yet, there were no noticeable dead or empty spots throughout the body of the stick.

The Maduro wrapper of this cigar is a nice rich brown nearly matching the color of coffee beans. The veining is minimal and the seam is almost invisible. The smell of the body is a bit of hay, earth, nuts, fruit and of course cedar. The foot reveals the same notes only stronger.

The light is easy and the draw was firm but not difficult and the cigar produced plenty of smoke from each pull. The smoke was not what I would call heavy on the tongue but still dense and full. From lighting it burned evenly and held a good solid ash. The flavor from the parade of tobacco used to make this cigar was excellent. While it shared a lot of the same flavors as it did in odor the nuttiness and fruit/citrus notes were more noticeable along with a spiciness. As I work my way through the cigar the flavor stays fairly even with little change. However, the flavor does become fuller putting this well into what I would consider to be a good medium to nearly full body cigar.

I thoroughly enjoyed smoking these cigars and can’t wait to pick up some more. If you are looking for something that has complex flavors and isn’t going to kill your budget look no further than the PSyKo Seven from Ventura Cigars. At $7.00 a stick it is really a cigar to beat in both price and quality.

Wrapper: Dominican Hybrid

Binder: Mexican Sumatra

Filler: Multiple Country Blend – Nicaraguan Ligero, Peruvian Pelo de Oro, Honduran Seco, Dominican Hybrid, Pennsylvanian Ligero.

Shapes: ROBUTSTO: 5.50” X 50 – TORO: 6.25” x 48 – GORDITO: 4.00” X 58 – GORDO: 6.00” X 60

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Taste: Mild-Medium with Distinct Transitions

 

Website: http://venturacigar.com/brands/psyko-seven

Cost: Around $7.00 a stick.

Rating 4.6 pints out of 5.

CigarFly.Com

IMG_7623Howdy folks! I know, I know… its been a while since you’ve heard from me, and for that I apologize, but let me tell y’all about an awesome new (at least to me) website that the fellas at ruffian HQ stumbled upon. The site is cigarfly.com and let me tell ya, to me, the concept is absolutely magnificent. What they do is find out your personal taste profile by asking you about different notes that you enjoy in your cigar. The categories are fruit, sweet, spice, floral flavor, earthy tones, and strength. Once you’ve established that, you then decide which package you would like to receive, your choices are standard (35.00 USD), deluxe (45.00 USD), and premium (55.00 USD), with you receiving a pack of five cigars in any pack you choose. From there, all you do is place your order and watch the mailbox like a kid come Christmas time. For those of you that are really unsure, they also give you a cigar advisor whom is there to answer any questions or concerns you may have. I personally am thoroughly impressed with the simplicity and accuracy of this small business, you get what you want, when you want it, and the cigars are randomly selected so it broadens your horizons in the overwhelmingly vast cigar realm. The random selection kind of made me have an epiphany about the stigma of having to buy a big name brand to get a quality, enjoyable smoke. Now don’t get me wrong, they still do supply some of the big names, as well as some excellent boutique cigars.

 

IMG_7624They are located in Arizona, but don’t let that scare you. They must keep a really excellent humidor because my cigars came in well seasoned and ready to go. The package is shipped with a humidification pack as to keep them with the quality they look to put out during the shipping process. As far as the wait goes, your package will generally get there within 3-5 days depending on the day of the week that you order. Upon opening my package, I was surprised and impressed by personal hand written card thanking me for being a valued customer, and to me, it’s those little things that really push my satisfaction meter through the roof. I gotta tell ya, I have to give this company a 5 pint out of 5 rating based on my personal experience. You will be hard pressed to find the value, personalization, and quality that I received anywhere else. Don’t believe me? Head on over to cigarfly.com and check them out, also stay tuned to our Instagram feed for my next review of the cigars themselves coming very soon. This is Turk signing off, and as always… be a ruffian, and stay distinguished. Peace

 

Website: CigarFly.com

 

Price Range: $35.00 – $55.00 (Distinguished Ruffian members get 20% off all orders.)

 

Rating: 5 pints out of 5