Staff Reviews

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 …

There’s a few types of people you run into when you work in a cigar shop. Guys that only like maduros, that only like big-rings, that swear by Connecticuts, that won’t touch anything unless AJ’s name is on it — the list goes on. But there’s one type of cigar enthusiast I’d like to shine the spotlight on today. The guy who hates popular brands. Maybe you’ve met this guy before: the resident …

There’s two things I love in this world: real nice cigars, and scoring them on the cheap. So naturally, a product line like Oliva 2nds immediately gets my heart pumping. For those that aren’t familiar – Oliva 2nds are the cigars from the same award-winning cigars from the Oliva factory that fail to meet their aesthetic perfection standard. Typically this is just from a slight cosmetic mark, …

Let me be frank — I haven’t been excited about an H. Upmann cigar in… well, ever, honestly. I don’t have anything against the brand, but when I go through my humidor or browsing through the shelfs, it’s not something I seek out. All that being said, I’m a sucker for AJ. Light up an AJ stick in the office, and I’ll immediately float over to your desk like a cartoon character seeking out a hot pie …

Five generations is one helluva long lineage. And that’s exactly what the Plasencia family brings to the table. If you’re not familiar with the name, I’m almost positive you’ve enjoyed some of their cigars. Check out this résumé — Nestor Plasencia currently makes 5 Vegas Gold, Alec Bradley Black Market Esteli, Romeo 505 Nicaragua, and many, many more. So, back in 2017, Nestor decided it was …