Staff Reviews

Just over 3 years ago, I wrote a review on the Arturo Fuente Double Chateau. If you haven’t read it, or would like to reference back, you can find it here. Despite being 2+ years old, this single review still (to this day) results in a constant stream of hate mail from diehard Fuente fans, in addition to in-depth debates with retail store customers. “How can you not like Fuente?” “You're insane, 'hater'!” “Your palate sucks!” “You’re an embarrassment to the cigar community!” I hear it all the time.

As a gesture of good faith, I am conducting a follow-up review of Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva (the standard Arturo Fuente) in the same size, Double Chateau. It’s a popular cigar and worth another shot. After all, my palate has evolved over the past 3 years, so things might be different. So...once and for all, let’s settle this.

The Double Chateau is a lighter, rustic looking cigar. The blonde Connecticut shade wrapper contains very little oils and a series of tiny veins running throughout the leaf. As expected, the Spanish cedar sleeve has created a sweet, cedary influence on the pre-light aroma. The barrel contains no soft spots, portraying a solid roll from head to toe.

Upon lighting, my palate is coated by a smooth creaminess that instantly begins to dissipate with each pull on the cigar. Shortly thereafter, the true nature of the blend begins to surface. Tobacco, toast and cedar. The aftertaste has a quick, metallic component, as if I bit into a piece of aluminum foil stuck on my food - sans the low-voltage electric shock. An inch and a half in and it’s clear this is a medium-bodied cigar, on the lighter side of the medium scale. The draw is nice and the flaky ash is still intact, but the cigar begins to burn a little crooked. Midway through, I notice a slightly grassy flavor is beginning to develop. Normally I would say this cigar could be young, but I am not picking up the bitterness of green tobacco. Hints of this flavor remain throughout the remainder of the burn, and often overpowers the faint notes of toast and cedar well. With an inch left, I put the cigar down and cut another.

The second cigar looked and smoked about the same. There was no metallic aftertaste, but the grassyness was definitely there. Like the aroma of fresh lawn clippings working its way through my sinuses and down the back of the palate. Not very appealing.

I don’t get it. Arturo Fuente is just not for me.

Lately I've been humbled by some very kind words from my readers - wink wink - please keep them coming so I can continue to forward them directly to my boss with the hope that I'll get a little more cha-ching so I can buy me some bling-bling.  Let me share a couple with you before getting into my latest masterpiece of literary contribution:

MC of Sioux City, IA writes "Gonz, you call yourself a connoisseur, are you serious with these picks, your palate blows, I just wasted 5 minutes reading your reviews that I'll never get back." - wait, not that one.  How about this one:

AP of Anchorage, AK writes "Gonz, your reviews blow colder than the wind drafting across the Alaskan bay in January." - wait, I'm sure I have a good one in here somewhere.  OK, here it is:

IK of Jarrettsville, MD writes "I haven’t disliked a cigar that you have recommended and I hope you keep up the great reviews."  Ahh, thankfully there's a shill in every crowd.  Thank you Irvin, you made my day, my week, and my year.

Outside of the emails that continue to build my confidence that I'm indeed doing something worthwhile here, the rest of you guys are crazy, nutso, looney, headed for the room with wall-bumpers.  I've gotten some crazy suggestions in the past, but the most frequently suggested cigar of late is....and you're really not going to believe this....Isla del Sol.  Yes, no sh*t, yeah, you read that right.  Isla del Sol, Island of the Sun, more like Desert Frozen Over before Gonz, connoisseur extraordinaire, smoker with a moral obligation to the heritage of a traditional cigar, shall put forth a little hard-earned cha-ching for an imbued "mocha-infused" thinga-ma-bob that happens to look like a cigar.  That's right, I'm not a follower, I 'm a leader dammit, and I won't sacrifice my morals (or is it my ethics, or is it my....or never mind, you know what I mean).

Well....on Valentine's Day I got a little gift from the boss-man....a 5-pack of Isla del Sol with a love note attached "Gonz, review this cigar...NOW."  Yessir, whatever you say sir, you lead, I follow.  So much for my moral integrity.

Alrighty then, have I wasted enough space yet on this review.  Let's see, snip, draw (very easy and effortless by the way), torch...torch....torch....damn, I'm outta fuel, oh well, can't review it today.  Crap, boss-man gave me a case of butane in December, guess I can't use that excuse.  Alright, torch it up.

Calling this a sweet cap is probably the understatement of the year 'cause I gave up sweets for lent and I must now go to confession.  The first inch or so, a mouthful of coffee-flavored creamsicle is all that penetrates your tastebuds.  The next inch, hmm, now we're getting something a little interesting.  Have you ever had one of those mocha java capa-frappa-ccino-latte-with-extra-whip at your corner Starbucks (are they on every corner or what?), well, this is the cigar version of it.  Uh, huh, would I kid?  I'm not sure how the fellow lunatics at Drew Estate come up with this sh*t (damn, that's like the 4th time I've cursed in this review, like I said, off to confession) but this is a concoction that I never would've thought possible in a cigar.  What I want next is a fruity margarita cigar that plays Buffett's Margaritaville as you smoke it, topped with one of those umbrellas for good measure.  Mr. Jon Drew, I want royalties on that suggestion, you know it, it's a good one!

OK, enough of the joking for just a second.  I'm blown away by how much this cigar sells and I'm blown away by how much people love it.  I can't say it's completely my cup of coffee (get it?), but I have never had a request to review a cigar more than this one.  And while I've done a horrific job reviewing it, it's a very well-made handmade mixed-filler cigar with a delicious Sumatra wrapper (my favorite of course since it's the same wrapper that hugs my beloved 5 Vegas Classic) and an infused mocha flavor that is one of the most flavorful things I've ever smoked.  Better yet is that it's an easy draw and smokes even and flavorful from start to finish.  My favorite part starts about 2 inches in, the extreme sweetness of the cap is gone, and you get a richer tobacco flavor yet it's still masked by the coffee notes.  So, if you're looking for a traditional cigar, don't buy this.  But, if you're looking for something different, sweet, and inexpensive for those in-between times, go nuts.  You'll love it.

Light'em up,

The Graycliff Resort in Nassau, Bahamas is a wonderful old place. I've stayed there a couple of times when visiting Enrico and Paolo Garzaroli - the father/son duo that runs the resort and the cigar-making operation. This place is full of charm. The hotel is historic and old, featuring huge rooms, peaceful scenery, numerous cigar-smoking spots. Also, its guest list is utterly remarkable....it's not just celebrities and athletes like Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey who frequent the resort. Past guests have included heavyweights such as Winston Churchill, Colin Powell and numerous heads of state. As far as food, the cuisine is positively unmatched - even for a six-pack and burger guy like me, the menu, wine list, and execution is remarkable. 

Of course all this luxury ain't cheap, but if you've seen prices on Graycliff cigars that should come as no surprise. Like the resort itself, its cigars embody the same spirit: high quality, little regard for price.

Graycliff's cigar making operation is attached to the resort featuring about a dozen rollers. Over the past 10-15 years, this small little factory has built a reputation as a fine boutique maker. Originally blended by Cuban expatriate Avelino Lara, the "original" red label was Graycliff's first commercial blend, followed by the blue label "Profesionale" series, and furthered by the advent of the full-bodied white label Crystal and even more potent black label "Espresso" series.

That brings me to the subject of the review: a new spin on the Graycliff Espresso called 'Double Espresso'. Made in just one size, Double Espresso differs from the regular Espresso in that additional Ligero tobaccos have been added to amp up the blend's body and flavor. To the eye the Double Espresso is totally enticing. Its wrapper is dark and mottled, very compelling. Like the sacred cheese, slide the unlit cigar lustily under your nostrils and inhale....oh yes. Let's see what happens. 

Indeed, its stout, dark 4.5"x54 frame braces you for a potent smoke packed with flavor, and does not disappoint. Upon lighting, a toasty, cedary aroma fills the nose. Despite its strength, it remains smooth and well balanced, booming out lavish volumes of smoke....thick gray clouds aplenty! Full but far from overpowering in body, Double Espresso is complex, including notes of leather, coffee bean and mocha. Its finish is long and lingering. Despite the 10 bucks per stick price tag - remember that is cheap by Graycliff standards - these gems are a recommended addition to your humidor. Pick up a mazo or two and stash them away.

Keep your eye out for a new Graycliff blend coming soon: Graycliff 1666, a blend to commemmorate the year the historic Graycliff hotel was built.

When I received the samples of Cuba Libre, I admit to having experienced a little "approach-avoidance" at first. See, the "approach" part was that it looked fantastic, with a lovely, deep, medium-brown Cuban-seed Corojo wrapper that’s almost leathery in texture, and adorned with a simple, elegant, embossed band. Yet the "avoidance" part stems from the fact that this is yet another premium blend from Nestor Plasencia. I’ve been burning through tons of Nestor-made cigars recently and frankly, I feared a let-down….a perceived chink in the Nestor armor if you will. So the samples sat in my office for about a week staring at me before I finally pulled the trigger and lit it up.

I smoked 5 of them very cautiously before confidently declaring to myself: "Self: this is the best new cigar I've smoked in months!" Indeed, Cuba Libre starts out with a tremendous depth of flavor, including rich spiciness, plus complex notes of wood, spice and earth….delivered in spades. The thick gray clouds of smoke settle over the palate like a coat of fresh, light snow. From there, a veritable roller coaster ride ensues: initially it burns slow and true, developing a slight sweetness and very subtle vanilla taste, then evolves into a round, mature and mellow smoke, before offering a thick, chewy profile and slow, ultra-smooth, lingering finish that is very appealing. Cuba Libre is medium to full-bodied in strength but extraordinarily well-balanced. In short, this is a blend I could smoke all day long... one of the finest smokes, dollar for dollar, I’ve had in a while.

The first few months leading up to each RTDA include a massive influx of hype, whispers, ratings, reviews, and of course excitement. Each year, several cigars remain the focal point throughout the show. Whether they’re from CAO, Felipe Gregorio, Perdomo, or Rocky Patel...these are the cigars we’re all waiting to try. And so we hit the show floors with burned-out palates, ready to purchase all the cigars you, as an enthusiast, open our catalog hoping to find.

During this time, it’s easy for a cigar to fall short of our clouded, manipulated expectations. Today’s cigar makers are doing amazing things with tobacco, and we expect a lot out of them. This does not mean the cigar is ‘bad’ or undeserving of praise, but we often need to re-evaluate a cigar with an open mind in order to truly appreciate what it has to offer. On the other hand, some cigars are winners out of the gates. Such is the case with San Cristobal.

San Cristobal is a collaboration between Ashton and Jose ‘Don Pepin’ Garcia. It hails from Pepin’s Nicaraguan factory, and is comprised entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos, including a dark Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper. Each cigar is fitted with a triple-cap in true Cuban fashion, and sports traditional sizes with a few extras betwixt.

The cigar is crafted well. Heavy in the hand, no soft spots, top-notch wrappers, and perfectly applied caps. Throughout the burn, I pick up a mixed bag of complex flavors. It opens with a robust, spiceness and morphs into a rich smoke with various notes of cedar, nuts, cocoa, and coffee. There’s even a little saltiness to the cigar that somehow fits. The flavors are smooth and balanced, hitting different parts of my palate as I roll the smoke around the inside of my mouth, and each puff finishes with a long aftertaste that hits the back of my palate in a bold, yet crisp manner. The flavors are pronounced, yet far from overwhelming, and manage to keep my mind off the full-bodied nature of the tobaccos at play. The aroma is that of sweet wood. The ash burns white and firm.

Try it.