Reviews by Brock

There’s a lovely young lady that stops by the CI Super-Store from time to time and, for the sake of anonymity, let us refer to her as “Lola”.

Lola is an avid Gurkha fan and has a way of pushing the brand on me (keep in mind, I’M the cigar salesperson and she’s the customer!) Days ago, she graced us with her presence at the shop and, while it’s tough to get my male co-workers to focus on other customers, it’s always a joy to have her in, no matter how much she busts our stones!

I'm enjoying a cigar that remains unnamed when that zealous Gurkha fanatic asks me, “Brock, what are you smoking?”

I briefly reply to her question, then as fast as I could take another puff, she scathingly states, “When you’re ready to smoke premium quality cigars, I will show you some Gurkhas.”

A Gurkha fan myself, I pay no mind to her contemptuous banter and continue with my daily routine.

Several days after my encounter with Ms. Lola, I'm in the squeaky clean stadium parking lot in Philadelphia tailgating with one of my best friends and his family. “Herby” and I are enjoying some fine tailgating cuisine, cocktails and people-watching as we're wearing our favorite jersey, #20, which is being retired at halftime.

As the smoke from the grill flourished into the air like the burgeoning smog in the Philadelphia city skyline, it's about that time to put some smoke of my own into the air.

Before I could pull out a cigar from my Diesel 2-Finger brown leather carrying case, Herby busts out his 15-count herf-a-dor and offers me a puro of his own.

There were some tasty morsels in there…5 Vegas Cask-Strength, Man O’ War Ruination, Punch Bareknuckle and so-on-and-so-forth. However, I recall my encounter with the Gurkha faithful days prior and spot a beautiful Connecticut Shade cigar known as the “Gurkha Beauty.”

Not wanting an extremely full-bodied cigar, I pass up on the aforementioned offerings and divulge my interest into that eye-catching Gurka Beauty. A corona guy, I tend to stick with thinner vitolas but there’s something about that rotund 6.5” X 58 size that has me dribbling all over my green football jersey.

After I toast the foot, I fire up this Nicaraguan gem with my double flame butane lighter. On a side note, I will never touch the flame of a butane torch directly onto the foot of the cigar as this can detrimentally char a significant portion of your wrapper leaf, thus, inhibiting the desired flavor. Plus, the wrapper is damn gorgeous!

The stunning, chestnut Connecticut-seed wrapper is grown in Ecuador, and then aged 7 years before being applied. It encompasses a rich blend of unidentified 5-year aged fillers.

The first half inch of this tasty treat features a bready flavor accompanied by an effortless draw. Into the middle third of this cigar, the flavor changes into a creaminess which is complemented by a nice, natural sweetness in the smoke. As I pass about 25% of the smoke through my nostrils, it is smooth and painless. 

Between puffs, I take sips…well, take a drink…ok, a better word, quaff…ok, let’s be honest…I guzzle my rum and cokes while heckling the opposing fans in “blue” that walk by our tailgate party. It’s the kind of treatment one should expect if they come into Philadelphia wearing colors other than green. 

As my jeers persist, so does the ever-increasing flavor and enjoyment I receive from the Gurkha Beauty. As I make my way into the final third of this well-aged masterpiece, I get a clean, slightly zesty finish which builds to the very last puff. Upon finishing the elegant Gurkha Beauty, I forcefully spike the remainder of my cigar on the withered, cracked pavement of the parking lot as if I just scored a touchdown. However, this smoking experience was worth much more than just six points.

If you like mellow, Connecticut Shade cigars such as Montecristo White, Ashton and Davidoff, this blend is for you. My smart shopper advice to you is this…never, I mean, NEVER purchase the Gurkha Beauty on its own. It’s fairly high-end and expensive but is available in numerous Gurkha variety samplers as affordable as $3.00 a piece!

In conclusion, I saw my Gurkha-smoking friend Lola a few weeks after enjoying that Gurkha Beauty.

I tell her, “Hey. I had a Gurkha Beauty the other day.”

Elated, she responds, “Awesome! How was it?”

My answer, “Meh. It was alright.”

Brock’s Rating: “90”

Expert Philosophical Insightful Inspirational Thought for the Day for your Personal Edification and Enlightenment: Before kickoff of this divisional football contest, the “normal” referees who had “locked out” for more money and a bigger pension ran out of the tunnel and took the field. Disgusted with the incompetent “replacement” officials who botched calls and altered game outcomes in weeks prior, the Philly faithful cheered the men in stripes. However, I, for one, did not cheer them and, as a matter of fact, I booed them. I yelled, “Why are you people cheering for these imbeciles!?!? Boo!” Collectively, I received the question back, “Why are you booing them?” My response was, “You will see.” Literally, after two minutes into regulation, the zebras made a call in favor of the visiting team and, ironically, the enlightened folks in Section 101, Row 9 said, “Hey this kid was right! Bring back the replacements!”

“Pequeno” in size, “Grande” in flavor…

For those who pay attention to detail, I whipped up this review the day after CIGARfest 2012, still jacked up from the weekend’s festivities.

As we wrapped up the CIGARfest 2012 aftermath, I was embarrassed, humiliated, and appalled at the fact that I didn’t smoke many cigars. Between drawing raffles, running between the band stage and the main stage, chatting with cigar customers and vendors, striking out with the lovely CI models, and performing my alter-ego “Cornelius Quincy Corne” for 3,000 people, there just wasn’t much time for me to enjoy a fine puro.

The life-saver for me was a tiny little morsel I like to call “CI Knock-Offs Cohiba” (Note: Cohiba is a registered trademark of General Cigar Corporation.) The size I prefer in this blend is called “Pequeno” which literally translates into English as “small” or “little”. These small 4.2 X 34 pequenos provided a nice, quick burn while I was on the fly. These little guys are a great value as they come in small bundles of 30 sticks for a little under a buck a cigar. 

The Cohiba Knock-Off uses a chestnut Cameroon wrapper which exudes a hint of spice with ample sweetness. [Insert educational portion of cigar review here, Brock.] Ok folks, I’m being informed that I must “learn” you on tobacco in this portion of my analysis. The Cameroon wrapper is a rare wrapper leaf literally cultivated in small growing regions in the country of Cameroon, Africa. It is quite difficult for tobacco buyers and brokers to purchase this tobacco and, furthermore, requires a high level of carefulness during production. Due to its delicateness, only the most skillful “torcedores” (rollers) in a cigar factory are permitted to roll cigars utilizing Cameroon tobacco.

In many cases, Cameroon tobacco is used as binder due to its ugly appearance and lackluster vein structure. When used as a wrapper, numerous manufacturers use cedar or tissue paper to cover up the ugly vein structure and spottiness. However, the Cohiba Knock-off Pequeno uses no cigar band.

This Dominican treat is mellow in body but very flavorful. My only problem is the majority of these are rolled fairly loose which produces an easy, yet quite hot draw. 

Let’s cut to the chase, I like this brand because it’s cheap, flavorful and has a true Cameroon taste. The flavor presents a hint of spice with an ample natural sweetness and just a small fraction of nuttiness. No bones about it, this is a good every day, coffee break cigar.

If you’re a fan of Cohiba, Rocky Patel Cameroon, or any kind of cigarillo that comes in a tin, this value is for you.

Brock’s Flavor Rating: “80”

Brock’s Value Rating: “92”

Expert Philosophical Insightful Thought for the Day: “Guy walks into a bar. Ouch!”

One of my favorite people to visit when I travel down south to cigar country is Nestor Plasencia, Jr. I don’t know whether it’s the greeting of a cigar and Cuban coffee when arriving to his Esteli factory, the bales-upon-bales (properly called “pilones”) of tobacco at his fabrica in Ocotal, or possibly the delicious feast his family puts on at his home outside of his Danli, Honduras facility. Either way, when meeting with Nestor, you will be well-nourished with cigars, Cuban coffee and tasty traditional cuisine.

I was told at one time, “If you ever want to get into the cigar industry, contact the Plasencia’s.” Well, if you’ve ever seen the amount of tobacco this generational tobacco growing family possesses, you would be flabbergasted. 

For us here at CI, Nestor Plasencia, Jr. has somewhat become the face of the 5 Vegas brand. Though 5 Vegas has a fairly diverse group of cigar-makers which comprise the brand as a whole, it is the Plasencia-made gems that have been the real heavy-hitters in recent years.

One of the newer Plasencia-comprised 5 Vegas blends that really impressed me is the 5 Vegas Gold Maduro. The Gold Maduro, a rich blend of perfectly aged tobaccos, has maduro fans grinning from ear-to-ear…full on Ross Perot size ears.  The 5 Vegas Gold Maduro is rich in taste, mellow to medium in body and skillfully produced by Plasencia.

What makes this puro stand out is the gorgeous maduro wrapper that is grown, not in the tropical fields of Central America, but, in the horse-and-buggy-laden landscape of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The Pennsylvania broadleaf maduro wrapper, which is grown only corn fields away from a shoe-fly pie bakery, blends perfectly with the Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan and Honduran long filler tobaccos.  Plasencia has done it once again; this time captivating the lovers of dark, oily maduros.

Jason Brown, an enthusiast of the Gold Maduro and employee at the CI Super-Store, once told me, “The 5 Vegas Gold Maduro is leaving stores as fast as it’s being brought in. On a lighter note, did you know Amish buggies have turn signals?

Plasencia, the creator of the 5 Vegas Gold Maduro, hails from numerous generations of tobacco farmers and operates out of Nicaraguan and Honduran rolling factories.  Cigars International is the first company to release his latest creation. Pick up plenty of these. I like the robusto.

Expert thought for the day: Just because you’re on a steady diet doesn’t mean you can’t look at the menu.