Staff Reviews

As I write this, we do not have the Natural Dirt Torpedo in stock. However, it will be arriving shortly, and the more I think about the cigar, the more I am looking forward to its arrival. Drew Estate sent us samples a few months ago, and I burned through them quite quickly. They were good, but nothing too exciting. I thought, “It’s the same as the Dirt, why do I need a torpedo?” I’ll tell you why...

I was given the final product at this year’s RTDA in New Orleans. Sitting in the cafeteria with Marvin Samel of Drew Estate, the boys from CI burned through this stout, aromatic torpedo. It sports a dark, espresso-like maduro wrapper leaf from Nicaragua that’s rough, yet vein-free. The pre-light aroma will not go unnoticed – it’s slightly sweet and hints at a rich, chocolatey smoke waiting. Now picture this, 3 Drew Estate guys and 3 CI guys, sitting at a table, burning Natural Dirt Torpedos. The aroma was incredible, and the flavor hardly played second fiddle. The flavors are deep, rich and enjoyable. Dark hints of mocha swarm my palate with each puff, while a sweet, coffee-like flavor is left behind, lingering, but never overwhelming. From start to finish, I don’t remember sitting this cigar down, and I can honestly say I was drawing on it about 75% of the time. With any other cigar, the flavor would have gone as sour as month-old milk. Not once did the flavor turn sour or harsh, rather it remained buttery smooth. (Side note: When you smoke this cigar, I highly recommend you snip the cap on an angle. Just tilt your guillotine when cutting the cigar and then smoke it with the opening pointing down towards your tongue. This enhances the flavor to something special – you’ll thank me later.) The strength was perfect for a cigar of this nature, slightly above soft but never really hitting the medium-bodied level. As you probably know, this is not my traditional cup of tea, but it’s always nice to stir things up a bit. I’ve enjoyed the Dirt in the past, because of it’s similarity to the Root, but it just wasn’t big enough for me. The Dirt Torpedo solves this “problem”, an amped up version of the popular Dirt. And that is why you need a Dirt Torpedo. Get dirtier.

It’ll be in shortly. Until then, the original Dirt should tide you over. Or, give the Root a go. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

I decided to pick up the game of golf this summer. I call it a game simply because it’s always playing with my mind. One day I’ll do well, the next day I’ll go through $25 in balls. Although I can’t always control how I play on the course, I can control what cigars I’ll be burning while looking for my ball. I’ve always been told never to have ‘good’ or expensive cigars while golfing, since I won’t be able to appreciate them. Look, when I have a cigar, I know I am having a cigar. Regardless of what I am doing, I’ll be able to appreciate it, considering it’s worth appreciating. But, this does make sense on another level, since I find myself dropping or stepping on my cigars quite frequently. And as you probably know, witnessing a pricey stick fall victim to the ground or shoe can be quite painful. The idea: go cheap but keep it enjoyable. The answer: Perdomo² Milenario ‘Mistakes’.

If you haven’t tried the Perdomo² line, I suggest you do so. Nick is a damn good cigar maker, and is responsible for some of today’s most flavorful blends. Perdomo² is one of his veteran brands; a staple in boutique cigar shops from coast to coast that only seems to be getting better with age. Box-pressed and available in either natural (Cameroon) or maduro, the ‘Squared’ is robust and complex, thanks to a man-sized portion of Piloto Cubano Nicaraguan tobaccos that have been aged in cedar casks for a minimum of 5 years. So what are these Mistakes I speak of? A long time ago, in a kingdom not so far from here, the Perdomo factory accidentally shipped unbanded, unbox-pressed Milenarios, a size within the Squared line, to the US. Nick couldn’t watch these quality smokes go to waste, so he sold them to us at a ridiculously low price as a one-time deal. Well, that one-time deal did so well it turned into an ongoing project, called Perdomo² Milenario ‘Mistakes’: same blend, same aging process, same Perdomo² goodness, but well under half the price. A fortunate mistake on Nick Perdomo’s part and a gem of a golf cigar for me. Now I can enjoy the rich, robust spiciness of Perdomo² without babying the cigar for fear of it falling off my cart or crawling underneath my shoe. The cigar part is gravy. Now if I could just fix my horrific slice I’d be all set.

I decided to pick up the game of golf this summer. I call it a game simply because it’s always playing with my mind. One day I’ll do well, the next day I’ll go through $25 in balls. Although I can’t always control how I play on the course, I can control what cigars I’ll be burning while looking for my ball. I’ve always been told never to have ‘good’ or expensive cigars while golfing, since I won’t be able to appreciate them. Look, when I have a cigar, I know I am having a cigar. Regardless of what I am doing, I’ll be able to appreciate it, considering it’s worth appreciating. But, this does make sense on another level, since I find myself dropping or stepping on my cigars quite frequently. And as you probably know, witnessing a pricey stick fall victim to the ground or shoe can be quite painful. The idea: go cheap but keep it enjoyable. The answer: Perdomo² Milenario ‘Mistakes’.

If you haven’t tried the Perdomo² line, I suggest you do so. Nick is a damn good cigar maker, and is responsible for some of today’s most flavorful blends. Perdomo² is one of his veteran brands; a staple in boutique cigar shops from coast to coast that only seems to be getting better with age. Box-pressed and available in either natural (Cameroon) or maduro, the ‘Squared’ is robust and complex, thanks to a man-sized portion of Piloto Cubano Nicaraguan tobaccos that have been aged in cedar casks for a minimum of 5 years. So what are these Mistakes I speak of? A long time ago, in a kingdom not so far from here, the Perdomo factory accidentally shipped unbanded, unbox-pressed Milenarios, a size within the Squared line, to the US. Nick couldn’t watch these quality smokes go to waste, so he sold them to us at a ridiculously low price as a one-time deal. Well, that one-time deal did so well it turned into an ongoing project, called Perdomo² Milenario ‘Mistakes’: same blend, same aging process, same Perdomo² goodness, but well under half the price. A fortunate mistake on Nick Perdomo’s part and a gem of a golf cigar for me. Now I can enjoy the rich, robust spiciness of Perdomo² without babying the cigar for fear of it falling off my cart or crawling underneath my shoe. The cigar part is gravy. Now if I could just fix my horrific slice I’d be all set.

Smooooooooooooooth! That's pretty much all this review needs. Soooooo Smoooooth!!!!

Spark'em up. This is a great summer smoke. This gar is the complete opposite of last month's pick. Let me start by saying I'm not a huge fan of anything imbued with anything. I used to think flavored cigars were for sissies. Well, things sure have changed around here. I've got two in the rotation now, Cuban Honeys (Vanilla) and Acid Def Sea. I haven't smoked too many Acids and my first one about a year ago smelled like potpourri (it was the Nasty size and boy did I think it was nasty.) It took me a full year to pick up another one.

When you open the box, you get a serious whiff of that aromatic smell, it seems a little less so than some of the others. Or, maybe I'm just getting used to it now. Either way, it's become less bothersome. And, you simply don't get that potpourri smell in your mouth. The flavor is awesome. It's a beautiful perfecto shape and I know most people clip both ends, but I'm not like most people. I only snipped the head and not the foot and it sparks up as quickly as can be. The fill seems a little loosely packed, but the burn is impeccable. In fact I smoked one tonight on the way home. Just when you think it's going to fall on your lap, it doesn't. It holds for another 10 drags. I'm not kidding.

Don't expect to be blown over with power. It's smooth, gentle, fresh, and gives just a little hint of spiciness. You'll enjoy this. The smoke is abundant, but so gentle, your wife won't kick you out to the yard. It leaves such a pleasant smell, no after-taste, and you really can't lose.

The burn is even and fairly quick. It'll last 40 minutes and is truly a nice refreshing summertime smoke. Oh, CI is throwing in a free cap just for grins. Enjoy.

You might recall a short time ago when the Robb Report labeled this bad-boy as being “nearly hallucinogenic”. I suppose that might be an applicable description by some, but in my humble opinion it’s merely a buzz word designed to attract attention to Graycliff’s original Espresso line. Certainly the blend is enticing enough with a combination of long-fillers consisting of Cuban-seed Corojo, Ecuadorian Ligero and Nicaraguan tobacco all wrapped up inside an oily and dark Costa-Rican wrapper. A pedigree that would have most of us literally wiping the drool from our chins!

I’ve honestly tried to give this cigar every opportunity to “blow my skirt up” (use your imagination) by smoking each of the Churchill, Torpedo and Robusto sizes on various occasions, with and without food and with a variety of my favorite spirits. Each and every time I found myself disappointed by the lack of flavor and complexity that this cigar delivers. Add to this a price tag of $18-$22 per stick and now we might be gaining some insight as to where the “nearly hallucinogenic” description came from! A 5-pack of these babies will lighten your wallet real quick leaving you feeling woozy just before your lights go out when you hit the floor like a ton of bricks. I know, I know, it’s a Graycliff and after masterfully crafting the Emerald, Crystal, Professionale and original lines you are probably thinking that it is a given that Espresso would deliver everything it promises and then some. Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say that’s not the case here. Maybe I’m being too harsh and if you truly do enjoy the Espresso then I digress. However, if you were contemplating a purchase or if you have oogled these cigars from afar uttering to yourself, “one day…one day you will be mine”, well then, my advice to you is to think it through before you pull the trigger on these. $100 can buy you one helluva of a sampling of some very tasty treats, or it can get you just one…single…5-pack.