Staff Reviews

Being in the CI retail stores for many years now, I noticed that I get a lot of requests for specific styles of cigars & one of the most popular requests in general is for “Good, BIG, mellow, cheap cigars that are reasonably priced.”  Some of these guys don’t want to pay much more than a Buck-a-Stick for anything 8” or bigger, but then again they’re probably not smoking for the taste …

In 2010, Rocky Patel cut the ribbon on his very first factory. Wait, I can hear some of you saying....hasn’t Rocky Patel been selling cigars for years? Indeed. But until this point his production had been contracted out. Rocky would work to create new blends, and then farm out the work to various well-established factories across Central America. Now he’s begun shifting to his own …

After spending more than a decade in the cigar industry I’ve seen tons of cigar brands (and “Cigar Super-Stars” come & go. Don Juan, Don Smith, Don This & Don That…the list just never seemed to end. Now, long after the dust has settled from the Cigar Boom of the 90’s we’re well past the end of the Don’s & only the strong are left …

I’ve long been a fan of Alec Bradley Tempus. This 94-rated stud is damn tasty and always well-made. Especially the Quadrum size, which sits heavy in the hand and comes jam-packed with delicious tobaccos. I just received a Tempus Maduro in this very same size: 5.5”x55 Quadrum. It looks and smells amazing, offering a sweet tobacco pre-light aroma and a bready pre-light flavor …

Just to prove that I actually do read the ol’ e-mails that people send, I’m going to do this review based on a request from Jack W. who hails from Marysville, MI. Jack e-mailed me saying that he enjoyed the La Flor Dominicana Air Bender and wanted to know my thoughts, specifically on the Maestro Size. So I moseyed on out to the humidor and picked up a 5’er of these 5.5”x52 …