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Everything you say sounds delightful. Too bad I didn't taste anything but burning hot leather.

BBF OPG MAY ‘15 Humid and buggy outside. Might rain, and once again I feel so blessed to have a covered porch. Today I’m reviewing a stick that I have reviewed many times. The beauty of reviewing a cigar, though, is that it can certainly be a different experience each time… especially when it comes to Habanos. Depending on the age of the cigar, of course, but also other factors such as food, drink pairing, stress level, hell… percentage of sinus congestion, you name it. Excited to sit down with an old friend, Mr BBF. This stick is bumpy, per usual, with some significant veins… little tunnels of flavor … and a slightly uneven pack, softer near the middle. Might be a relight in my future. Nice shade of medium brown, and a great barnyard aroma. After a Dickemann cut (ouch!) this has a cold draw of hay and just some fine, sweet tobacco. I dry-boxed this and the draw is nice. Almost too open, but not quite. The light-up brings me, in addition to many memories of BBF’s long ago, some toasted sourdough with almond paste, and a little funky damp earth. It’s always at this moment that I say to myself, often out loud, “There is nothing like a Bolivar.” As the first part gets rolling, almond and stout are prevalent, as if one mixed a milk stout with some almond butter. Delightful. There’s a faint hint of heated raisins, and that remarkable Habanos “twang” that cannot be labeled. Some mineral, too, playing on the wide sides of my tongue. Not harsh, just a nice presence in the mix. The smoke output is mostly good, but starts to get a little wispy before I realize that the burn line is already wonky. Just a quick touch up and we’re back in action, with plumes of smoke. Very creamy mouthfeel, and I’m starting to get the faint sense of apricot brandy. Strength is a touch over medium, body is full. A lot of cigars taste good. Others go beyond that, doing a tango across the different regions of the tongue. I’m experiencing the latter right about now. Second third is a remarkable blend of woodsy aroma and leather, taking over for the mineral quality from before. Stout is still powerful on the front half of the tongue. The apricot brandy has been turned up to 11, and some more toast comes into the mix. Not sourdough, probably more of a rye bread. Dark and nutty, heavy and hearty. Medium espresso poured all over everything. Bread pudding or panettone affogato, with a shot of Disarrono on top… served with a Guinness in a leather-walled room. Yes, please! Near the middle I have to relight… right at the soft patch that I felt earlier. No detriment to the flavor whatsoever. Going into the final act, the coffee and leather become dominant. Faint traces of citrus here and there, as well as some dark but floral honey. Almost seems to be some extremely dark chocolate, nearly 100% cocoa, but very far away. Getting near the end, some heated clove, not enough to be offensive, and the citrus turns into stone fruit. Again, some apricot but without the brandy. As I get to the band, there is no fruit left, and honey morphs into a dark, almost burnt caramel, but not at all unpleasant. A little red pepper, too, but not overpowering. Coffee and leather still dominate, all the way to the nub, which turns just minimally bitter. An hour and twenty minute smoke, and I’m still convinced… There is nothing like a Bolivar. Gets a 94 from me.

Couple of recents: JLS2 from 2018: looked fugly, tasted good. Fairly strong still. The JL citrus was there. Should I buy another box? I don’t want one often, but they are usually very satisfying when I do. MdO4 from 2017: tight draw but workable. Jeez these have such a complex, savoury profile. This was great to the last third but then tightened up too much in cool outdoor conditions. A super, old-school cigar. Monte Esp.2 2019: tight draw, needed a poke. Cuban quality control is a joke. Pretty classic concentrated Monte cocoa here. I love this size, but there are only two left in the catalogue. Nudies Queen Corona. I didn’t love this I’m afraid, it was a bit peppery for me. Lovely appearance and construction though. I’ll just rest the others and try again later.

Today's game is open for registration, folks... who's in?

In the same boat with Bolivar, tried periodically over 20 years, just can’t connect with the blends (RC, BBF, even CG). All taste dirty to me. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well everyone has their own systems. For me “complexity” is: 1. How much the flavour of a cigar develops and changes over the course of the smoke. 2. How many different and distinct flavours there are. For me often PCs are more “two dimensional” but the notes that are there come through more strongly. Monty 3 pure chocolate and coffee. PLPC pure salted caramel Party Aristocrats consistently start sweetish with a honey nut cornflake note and then some paprika later etc etc I find Robustos more variable from stick to stick and both more subtle on palette and “more going on” in terms of specific tastes. I may be alone in this though, I dunno

I hope to visit some day.

And a Lancero!

There's a couple of marcas I just don't get, Bolivar being one of them. That being said, I saw some value in picking up a box in a trade when they wanted more of my stash and I had taken the cherries I knew I'd like that they had to offer. I was exceptionally pleased to find the hallowed 'dot' sticker implying this may have come from our Host. The 1st puff is great. Toasted tobacco, hint of creme, Guinness foam. It's straight downhill from there. Hot leather predominates, but I can taste traces of gingerbread, sweet coffee, Guniness, cacao. I purposefully set it down between puffs to ensure I'm not just burning too hot. It doesn't help, the leather is powerful and unrelenting. I struggle thru til about the band and am rewarded with savory richness, toasted marshmellows, light roast coffee. I get about an inch of satisfaction before the nub is too hot to physically deal with and bitterness sets in. I'm sure people love this. I do not. I'll give this a 4/10. A great cigar that I just don't care for. @Capn_Jackson

Not sure what you mean

There is a before and an after your first visit @ HOG, beware. Collection is beyong impressive, subastas, jars, pre-embargo, pre-castro, you name it. Mourade Hendor, their Habanos Master is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what he does. I'd live there, I would have a membership for sure... Enjoy.

I've been a member of FOH for years but am not proficient in discerning various nuances of cigar tobacco. However, I know a couple 3 things about CA. cabernets. The Pahlmeyer cabernet is top tier although a little early for drinking as the 2018 vintage needs time. I'm sure it was decanted for a couple of hours. Pahlmeyer is not a big production wine so the winery's attention to production is top-notch. It must have been quite enjoyable juice.

Another excellent episode. My wife and I both enjoy listening as we relax after a long work day. Keep up the good work boyz.

Habanos seems to have no concept on the long dollar. Or Habanos crystal ball is that cigars will be eventually outlawed. Make hay while the sun shines.

You HAVE to visit the House of Grauer (although i don't know your cigar budget) when going to Geneva, i never went to Gérard but it seems worth your time too. I'm fairly new here but tbh i'm a bit surprised HoG has nearly never been talked about on FOH.

Ninfa. These are excellent cigars .

My first visit to Gesto in late 2014 reflected this. Meeting the owner Jean-Charles and talking for hours about the "old days" of Cuban cigars smoking and sales in Geneva (meaning the 80s/early 90s), marveling at the wonders on the shelves (ERDM Gran Coronas, French/Swiss REs from the late 2000s, etc), gratitude for the reasonable prices as I purchased those ERDM's and several other boxes I'm still smoking through today......it was an incredible place to visit for the cigar enthusiast. Then I visited again in October 2022 on our way back to Canada from Portugal on a layover to Geneva. Couldn't be more different. The shelves were bereft of all but the basic CCs. Prices had skyrocketed. J-C was not there that day, but his staff were perfunctory and generally passionless for conversation. It was just another cigar shop. I don't think I'll ever return. Disappointing to read this news, if indeed accurate. HSA's new direction appears to be to skim profit at every level possible. Understandable from a pure cold business perspective, but unwelcome news to most consumers, particularly those outside of AP and those specific European markets mentioned. As if we needed any more efforts to further push Cuban cigars out of reach from all but the privileged few.....

Family in Biel? It's where I live. Feel free to pm me if you are in town.

I am going to be near Geneva next month any recommendations?

They have nearly everything you could ask for, a good friend of mine who's been collecting for decades knows Mourade Hendor (their cigar sommelier) very well told me about HOG and basically if they don't have what you're looking for, you might as well stop looking for it. There are other great places of course but it's one of the top shops in the World for sure. It's not cheap to say the least 😅😅 Not only americans' 😉

The legit Swiss grey market vendors were a dream to deal with for years. Great prices and service, guaranteed delivery. No customs hassles. Made American's lives soooo easy.

Are saying that their current inventory of Cubans is good?

RJ DIANAS...