The Devil's In the Details November 5th, 2018 Joe 91 Today, we live in the world of small batch. From the thousands of coffees and bourbons on the market to the bizarrely hipster artisanal water bars and toast houses (thanks, Portland!) it seems all you need to do to make a mark in this day and age is tell people something’s rare. Off-breed, exclusive, the forbidden fruit… I’m not even sure what artisanal means, really, but it’s damn provocative … Read More
I'm Nubbin' It! October 3rd, 2018 Joe 92 I love cigars. If you’re surprised by that, you may be reading the wrong website… but bear with me a moment, because I want to lodge a little complaint against our handmade industry. Quite simply – there’s a lot of “noise” out there. Every cigar brand likes to hearken back to their century old history, their great-great-grandad’s original vision of “proper, Cuban” fermentation methods, the magic … Read More
Pour Me A Cup of that New Devil's Brew! July 6th, 2018 Joe 90 For today’s review, I’ll be performing two cardinal sins of the uppity-up cigar snobs... that’s right, not only is this cigar a bundled option (gasp!) but it’s also flavored (oh no!). If you pop into your local cigar lounge and listen to the “experts” you’ll come away thinking that everyone only lights up Padrons, OpusX, and ultra-rare small-batch creations… but guess what? They’re lying. You … Read More
A Safari of Complexity May 22nd, 2018 Joe 93 2003 — a momentous year for cigars. You see, fifteen short years ago is when the Five Hour Energy shot was first introduced to the market, and after becoming incredibly wired and going on a two week buying bender, the team at Cigars International began mutating into the deal-driven, price-slashing monsters we are today. Wait, wait, my editors tell me that’s not quite right. Ah, yes, in addition … Read More
Bahia's Rio de Flavor May 7th, 2018 Joe 90 Let me start this review off with an apology. For the last year, I’ve been diligently reviewing cigars here, and to my surprise this morning I noticed only one of the cigars I reviewed (Oliva 2nds) has been an affordable option. My bad! Before you get the wrong idea, I don’t take down Padrons and Alma Fuertes everyday. No, in fact, my cigar rotation leans much more towards the “budget” side of … Read More