RDB

Hmm. Doesn’t ‘feel’ like Caravaggio somehow. Doesn’t have the amazing immediacy and intimacy that, for example, the Boy Peeling Fruit has. There is huge financial interest in it being real though!

Nice review as always, thanks. These certainly don’t have a reputation as strong cigars with lots of nicotine, but I have a box (LGR NOV 17, HQ) that hits me pretty hard every time!

Love these comps...

Rare two-cigar day for me, although I went for an afternoon run to balance it out... ERDM CX from 2015, and a young Monte 2 from SMA NOV 18. The first was a nice morning smoke, not too strong. The Monte was a lovely late evening number. Started to split, but a bit of cauterisation seemed to save it. Whether luck or judgement, it was delicious for well over an hour.

Thanks, interesting review. Also a nice example of how lighting affects apparent wrapper shade! Can I ask: did these come individually wrapped in tissue?

Wow that cigar looks good. Smooth and glossy and vibrant at 11 years old!

Cohiba... always a touch of apprehension when I light one up. Will it be good enough? The answer this time was yes. Smoked by the Nile, after a long journey, with a rusty orange crescent moon, descending into the smog and dust of midnight Cairo. Milk coffee. Blanched almonds. A smooth creaminess. Then the touch of sweetness, but not prominent: nougat. Then the gentle spiciness, like chewing green grassy stalks. Wheatgrass juice. As this smokes down the coffee darkens, the spiciness builds. A few touch ups, a pause for some food, but then relit and smoked down to the nub. Never harsh, always interesting. On my scoring system (1,0,-1) a clear 1. Faith restored.

That's a good shout. East Indies spices.

Thems look amazin.

I think they are quite different. Monte has such a distinctive creamy chocolate profile. RG is darker and spicier to me, and the sweetness is less cocoa than honey and burnt sugar. Having said that, a really oily dark Monte in narrow ring gauge is more like an RG than a lighter larger Monte is.

In the recent weekend review comp, a couple of people had not-so-good experiences with the Vigia. Then those amazing looking boxes turned up on 24:24, and I ummed and ahhed and bought one. So this morning I sparked up a BMP ABR 17 example for a look-see. It was truly excellent. Unusual appearance: a sort of golden mottling, with a touch of green but lustrous rather than sickly. Draw was perfect, and construction was faultless. Didn’t ash it a single time, it just burnt into a long steady column. But the thing that makes Trinidad great for me is its unique, complex flavour profile. It’s the kinky marca. It has that burnt cake, caramelised aroma, like opening the oven after leaving the baking a little too long. It has an exotic, far eastern spiciness that is almost like Szechuan pepper: a slightly numbing tingly heat. And it has a fatty, savoury element like fried bacon rinds. Wahoolazuma! Funny brand though. Expensive, but not Cohiba expensive. One five-star classic in the standard range: the Fundadores. Then two useful vitolas, the little Reyes and the slightly awkward ‘is it a corona gorda?’ Coloniales. Then the ‘can’t make up our minds’ fatty, currently the Vigia. I don’t love the ring gauge but it’s not completely daft. And finally the glamour-puss La Trova, which is just too big for me. Consistency though... Quite a few of us are too often underwhelmed, or frustrated by construction issues. Whadaya think? Are you a believer?

I would have loved to come, but it’s my little boy’s birthday party... next time!

Ha! This is the most useless advice thread ever, my own comments included. Is the Prez himself eligible for the Flip Flops award?

One kind of obvious point: age does make a big difference, especially to recovery time and risk of injury, and it’s non-linear. At some point, often in late 30s / early 40s, lots of fit people see a step change in their physical capacity, usually signalled by an injury. A moderate approach is a good long-term investment. My role model is my 81 year old mum, who boxes, does yoga, is slim as a film star and can still drink the thick end of a good bottle of wine with dinner.

I tried to take a photo like that this morning. Dropped the damn cigar in my coffee! Thankfully the cap end first... no noticeable ill effects...