Reviews by Chase M.

The CI Smart Sensor is a new product here at CI that we’re super excited about. I’ve been testing the device for a few months now, and here’s what I’ve learned. 

The good:

1.  Pairing the device to the mobile app is about as easy as it gets. Once you have the app downloaded, you simply place the device on top of your phone, and it connects in no time. 
2.  My device's humidity readings were both spot on out of the box. I salt-tested both and they were right on the money. I’d still recommend checking yours, but for me, no recalibration was needed. 
3.  The smart sensor is great for monitoring multiple humidors. Personally, I have two. A smaller desktop that I frequent, and a big cooler to store boxes for longer term. From the App, I can see both in one place without lifting a lid. In the past, I’d often let the humidor I don’t use as much hover on the dry side out of laziness. Now my phone won’t let me forget when to rip open a new Boveda.
4.  The app is super simple. It reads humidity and temperature and tracks it over time on a chart for you. You can also set your preferred humidity levels, and only get notifications when the humidor ventures outside. I personally keep a range between 65% and 71%.
5.  You can pick your preferred Boveda Packets and reorder them with the click of a button. 
6.  There’s also a shop section within the app to browse the full CI website, if you’re into that sorta thing 😊.

The not-so-good:

1.  When I first got pitched on this device, I assumed I would be able to monitor my humidor from work or when traveling. That’s not the case. Since it works via Bluetooth, you only get updated data when you are within range (in your house). Theoretically, you could buy an iPad to keep next to the humidor to get the readings and check them from your phone, but that turns a $40 hygrometer into a much bigger investment.  
2.  That’s it. 

All in all, it's an awesome device and I think well worth the $40 price. Before I got them, I didn’t know I needed a mobile app to monitor my cigars. Now that I do, I’ve become a humidification nerd and my cigars have never been in better shape. 

The La Perla Habana brand has been around for a long time, I believe first getting into the game during the cigar boom of the 90s. Initially, they got a lot of love, with some high ratings from the critics, but it’s been a while since they’ve been in any cigar industry headlines. To be honest with you, my experiences with this brand have been few and far in between. But on a rainy day sifting through my humidor a La Perla Habana Classic Robusto caught my eye.

I couldn’t tell you where it came from, or how long it’s been sitting in my humidor, but the cellophane is not yet yellowed. Looks can always be deceiving when it comes to cigars. Ugly-looking cigars sometimes perform great, and beautiful-looking cigars can easily go south. Considering the price point these come at, it’s a gorgous stick. The wrapper is leathery to the touch and even in color, with a tightly applied cap.

In the first third, the profile is easygoing and inviting. It draws smooth with mellower notes of earth and cedar. An inch in, and the burn line is razor sharp. The ash falls off after about an inch and a half.

Moving into the second third, the flavors are a little more present. It still has an earthy, cedary base, but turns leathery, and a subtle peppery note is introduced on the retro-hale.

Transitioning from the second to the last third of the cigar, some new flavors enter the fray. I can’t quite put my finger on what to call it, but I want to say it reminds me of black licorice as I draw it in, and as I wash the smoke over my palate and exhale, there’s a really pleasant creaminess to it.

As I wrap it up, I’m pleasantly surprised by what this cigar has to offer. It looked good to the eye and burned great the entire time. The flavors are mellow and approachable to any level cigar smoker, but kept me entertained with some subtle transitions throughout.

It’s always fun to stumble on an random cigar that really delivers an experience you weren’t quite expecting. Especially when it’s a brand that’s priced as well as La Perla Habana Classic. I’ll be grabbing a box and adding this blend into my normal rotation without a doubt.

Nestor Reserve Maduro is a true undercover gem. These things showed up on our docks a couple months back and the boss man said they used to sell like hot cakes, and they’re now back in production. I took a risk and fired off an email to the lovely CI Nation…crickets. I guess you all forgot. So here I am putting my name behind them. 

There are definitely some solid contenders out there for best budget Maduro bundle brand. Brick House Fumas, Bahia Maduro, Perdomo Slow-aged, and HC Series Black all come to mind. But this one offers a combination the rest don’t. And that’s the money-making trio of an all long-filler blend, an awesome box-pressed shape, and a price point that won’t alert the wife on your next bank statement. 

The exterior wrapper is a deep brown Connecticut Broadleaf that sometimes has a nice oily sheen. This particular one I’m burning lacks the oily presence, but flavor is not affected. Initially I get some sweet chocolaty and bready flavors. The chocolate stays with you, but in the back half it offers some more earthy and peppery notes. I find it to be right in the middle of the spectrum at a solid medium body. 

The construction and draw are top-quality for a relatively inexpensive bundle brand, and the 6”x54 box-pressed torpedo shape is truly a pleasure to burn. If any of you moochers ever raided my humidor, you’ll surely find some Nestor Reserve Maduro in there. 

Here’s the story of the best ashtray I’ve ever owned. 

The HERF Signature astray. What is it? A place to ash your cigars. A hunk of metal. A small weapon. All of these apply. I got a sample about six months ago and have been using it ever since. Here’s how it’s going.

Initially I was a little skeptical. The pitch I received was sort of like this: “Here’s a new ashtray we are going to carry. It's overbuilt, it's heavy, and the price point is around $50. Go test it out and tell us what you think.” It looked pretty nice, so I took the job, but all along I was thinking $50 for an ashtray? Half the time I use the seashells my wife collects at the beach, who wants a hunk of metal for that price! Fast forward six months, and now I get it. 

I left this ashtray outside, full of cigar butts, through a rainstorm for about a week. Instead of scrubbing it by hand, I tossed it in the yard and hit it with a power washer. Clean as a whistle with no cracks, dents, chipped paint, nothing. 

Last winter we had a lot of snow up north. A coworker left this ashtray outside and it got buried in snow. A couple weeks later that same ashtray was brought back into the office to shoot a video. Our photographer dropped it on a tile floor, and it took a chip out of the tile with no harm done to the HERF Ashtray.  

These are true stories. This ashtray is seriously tough and would take quite an effort to damage it. Durability aside, it has all the features an ashtray could have. A deep bowl that can handle all the cigars burned on poker night. It has four large cigar rests that can easily accommodate any size cigar (within reason) and even has raised grooves to make sure those cigars don’t slide off on a windy day. The ash knocker in the middle is a nice bonus, easy to roll those ashes off so they don’t end up in your lap. On the bottom are four rubber feet, so you can place it on a glass or wood table and not worry about scratching them up.

For me, this ashtray sits on my back porch at all times and even through a tough winter it’s still in great shape. The black and silver design is pretty sleek and would look great in a garage or smoking lounge if you’re so fortunate. 

My suggestion? Fork up the $50 and get one. It’s the best ashtray I’ve ever had by a longshot, and I don’t think I’ll need to replace it any time soon. 

All day, Every day, Ave

Everyone knows AJ by now, but most people associate him with his full-bodied Nicaraguan blends. Immaculata shows he’s just as capable at crafting a gentler cigar. Before I divulge into the cigar, let me tell you why I chose to review this cigar – Every year, CI sends a group of its “greener” employees (guilty) to Nicaragua to tour the farms, the factories, do some taste tests, meet the makers, do some blending and roll our own, drink some Flor de Cana, and overall just get more acquainted with this lovely product we work with every day. A few months ago I got the invite and we went to stay at the AJ Fernandez guest house which is attached to his factory. And as you might expect, cigars were plentiful. Anytime you wanted one, you just walk up to the bar in the pool house and take your pick. And to my surprise it wasn’t just the core AJ brands, you know the Enclaves, New Worlds, San Lotanos, no sir. Every day there was a good variety of cigars they make in the factory. But without fail, every day there was a batch of Ave Maria Immaculatas fresh off the rolling tables. I came to find out that this is a cigar they are quite fond of in the factory. So I started each day with one. I couldn’t get enough of them. I was smoking 4-5 cigars a day down there and two of them were these Immaculatas. Upon my return to the states, the boss man greeted me with “I hope you learned something, go write about it.” 

And here we are. Back in sunny Bethlehem, PA sitting in my cubicle with an Ave Maria Immaculata. I’m paring it with a cup of coffee (Dunkin K-Cup, ‘cause I’m fancy like that). The wrapper is a nice golden brown, silky smooth Ecuador Connecticut. The blend is aged, Cuban-seed and Nicaraguan grown. I gotta admit - I’ve been told smoking a cigar in its home county is a different experience, and while I can’t remember who said it, they were right. The air here is dryer and the tobacco has clearly dried a bit more than the ones I was having down in Nicaragua. Now that these tobaccos have had more time to rest and “marry” in the cigar as they call it, I find it to be a little mellower than I remember, but still has enough pepper on the retro to keep it at a mellow to medium bodied cigar. The flavors are little less pronounced than I remember but it makes for a smoother blend. Less pronounced, yes, but it still has a deep stable of pleasant notes. Cedar, white pepper, toasty tobaccos, maybe some nuttiness, and an undeniable creaminess that I always look for in a morning cigar. I puffed on a toro for this review and it took me about an hour and 10 minutes (some call me a binge herfer). It wasn’t the same experience I had when burning them in their homeland, but I still enjoyed it and it’s still a cigar I’ll continue to reach for in the mornings. 

I’m younger that most guys that work here, so I have a lot of young friends who are just starting to get into cigars. I always feel bad unloading subpar cigars to people who don’t usually burn them. So when I want one of these noobs to actually enjoy it, this is the cigar I now hand them. I recommend it to anyone who is new to the scene or anyone who just enjoys a good Connecticut. But if you’re a seasoned vet and just looking for a new morning cigar, this is a good choice for you as well.