Staff Reviews

Cigar brands come and go. Whether it’s due to a lack of quality tobaccos, changes in production requirements, a necessary re-branding, or a blend just being underappreciated, there’s an ebb and flow to the availability of many premium cigars. And typically in this tale as old as time, you’ll hear the same marketing refrain – new look, same blend! Or: “the classic you love with a new, …

Ladies and gentlemen, AJ’s done it again.Today, I’m going to be diving into the Man O’ War Valkyrie. This cigar from AJ Fernandez has been one at the top of my mind lately, and I want to explain to each of you just why that is. Get your credit cards at the ready, though, folks – without spoiling the punchline, this one’s a huge BUY from me. There’s a lot to talk about here, but I want to …

(Wake up & Smell the Roses!)Most people don’t start their day with a powerhouse cigar. But it’s February in Pennsylvania, and while the weather has been all over the place lately precipitation-wise, there’s one thing it’s been steadily, and that’s cold. Sure, it might not be below freezing every day, but cold is cold, right? And when I’m shivering on my way to the office, I generally lean …

Sadistic satisfaction for the serious stogie chomper.Look, I’ll be honest. I love tobacco. I smoke pretty much constantly from when I wake up to when I go to bed, and I like to follow the great Mark Twain’s advice when it comes to cigars: “Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar”. If it’s waking hours in Pennsylvania, you can …

I don’t have a very specific taste in cigars. My mantra is ‘smoke what you like, like what you smoke’, and I have very rarely met a cigar I couldn’t enjoy. The only cigars I’ll pass up if there’s nothing else available are sticks that are too heavily sweetened, with a sugary cap. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these sticks, and I’m definitely not the kind of guy to say they’re not real …