Fumadoro

I think Illusione has wonderful balance as compared to most of the NC world and the Epernay line is one of my favorite, especially the Corona Gorda. Another brand that I think CC preference smokers would enjoy is MBombay. Very elegant, well balanced, with a lot of complex spice (not over the top black pepper) and floral notes. Warped cigars is another go to for me.

I forgot about a 24/25th full box of Sir Winnies I got in 2014. I am happy now that I have something very nice to smoke!

If you don't mind me asking, what airport was this from? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is pretty much it exactly for me. Love the Heartfelt beads. Never used the hygrometers listed but if they work, they work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am interested to see the more experienced smokers' inputs! My guess is over time they age differently due to different levels of available oxygen. Tubes age slower due to lower O2 contact, then cabinets, then dress boxes as O2 contact increases. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is just my quick reaction, but I don't think you could have gone wrong buying the following for investment purposes (though I hate the idea of using cigars for monetary gains in the secondary market). Diplomaticos Bushidos Montecristo 80 Aniversario All Behikes, especially OR Quai d'Orsay Imperiales (stocks sold out almost immediately and I imagine in 4-5 years when the last of the production has reached "vintage" status we will start seeing them for premiums Bolivar Gold Medals

In high school my group of friends would all hangout, smoke cigars, and drink our parent's booze after jazz band performances. We were naughty, but we developed a deep appreciation for good cigars and alcohol. We were also Spanish language students so we thought it would be funny to name our motley crew "Los Fumadoros"; a mis-translation for "the smokers". I just kept the mistake and made it improperly singular. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you or anyone else on the forum gone through the OFAC compliance process? I'd love to go with my wife! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LGC MdO No. 2 ERDM Tainos HdM Des Dieux Monte Esp. No. 1 Party 898

Wow, that is a tall order! I have only smoked a single Cuban Davidoff Tubos, which is a Laguito No. 2. I'm going to assume that it has the same blend as the true Davidoff No. 2 (please correct me if I am wrong), and I'm not sure in the slightest how it compares to the 1000 series blend. Here are my loosely organized notes on it: "Construction is really great, even pack, minimal veins, extremely tight seams. Smell off the foot and wrapper is mostly sweet musk, cedar, and surprisingly, a touch of spearmint. The cold draw mirrors this experience. First third opens super creamy and mild, but this quickly changes. More sweet musk, a fair amount of cinnamon on the palate and room aroma, fruity Cuban retrohale. Surprisingly awesome first third. Second third is very similar to the first, just with slightly increased body. The final third is starting to get a little bitter. I'll see what a purge can do. Purge definitely helps and brought it back to its happier form in the first two thirds still with increasing body and more cinnamon spice. Nubbed it!" From that experience and for my palate, the Por Larrañaga Montecarlos I have from OEB FEB 2007 match the Davidoff most notably in regards to the creamy mouthfeel, spicy cinnamon character, and herbal components (though not spearmint specifically). I think that the Montecarlos are fuller bodied overall and don't have that super mild beginning which allows for the amazing transition through the first third and the gradual crescendo that continues to the end. Additionally, I think the Montecarlos can be plagued by some construction issues that would make me hold back on this recommendation. The Montecarlos has some of the DNA of the Davidoff, but lacks the height of refinement even after 9 years of rest. Maybe even more time will allow the similarities to grow. On another marca, I have heard rumors that the Cohiba Linea 1492 was meant to replace the void left by Davidoff with them being a slightly milder addition to Cuba's ultra premium echelon. The timeline fits well in any case with Davidoff officially cutting ties in 1991 and the first run of Siglos coming out in 1994. Hope that all helps and wasn't too rambling!

For me, this one was more about knowing what it wasn't and also guessing solely by the first third since it took a hard downward turn after that. I've smoked the final cigar, but haven't put pen to paper. I'll post what I remember in the near future. Also, a huge congratulations is in order for our two forerunners DrunkenMonkey and RickHendeson!

Huge congratulations to DrunkenMonkey! I was surprised with this cigar's identity. Mine was completely without RyJ flavors besides maybe some dry woodiness. I thought the profile was closser to the BCG, albeit a poorly performing one. I got a lot of hot smoke and a very misshapen burn.

I didn't write a formal review while smoking, but this is my takeaway for what it's worth. Construction was on par, some soft spots and the burn was a little wonky throughout; needed a relight at some point, but nothing serious. Flavors were on the "bassy" side. Leather, sweet moist earth, some cocoa, medium spice on the retrohale. No ammonia or off-putting signs of youth, but I think this cigar would show better after a few more years of rest to let the flavors become more distinct and shine more. I think this cigar is kind of in its adolescence, trying to decide where it's going in life. Would I buy this cigar? Too early to tell in my opinion. Maybe I would pick up a box of these to let rest for 2-5 more years to see how they mature, but I don't think I'd be smoking these in the first year after receiving them. In any case this continues to be a fun challenge and experiment!

Since I was remiss in posting the breakdown for blind cigar #1, I will do that here with cigar #2. Blind Cigar #1 – Saint Luis Rey Serie A Punch Punch ……………... 20 (27.78%) Saint Luis Rey Serie A…… 19 (26.39%) No Response …………….. 10 (13.89%) Romeo y Julieta Ex. No. 3 .. 7 (9.27%) Juan Lopez Sel. No. 1 ……. 6 (8.33%) HdM Epi. No. 1 ……………. 3 (4.17%) H. Upmann Mag. 46 …….... 3 (4.17%) QdO Coronas …………….... 2 (2.78%) VR Familiar ……………….... 1 (1.39%) Partagas Super Partagas .... 1 (1.39%) As you can see, the correct answer was not our most guessed, but not by much. I’m also impressed that over ¼ of us were able to guess this cigar with relatively many possible selections in the coronas gordas vitola. Blind Cigar #2 – Romeo y Julieta Belicosos Sancho Panza Belicosos ... 22 (30.56%) Romeo y Julieta Belicosos .18 (25.00%) No Response ……………... 11 (15.28%) San Cristobal La Punta ….. 10 (13.89%) Bolivar BF …………………... 9 (12.50%) Montecristo No.2 …………... 1 (1.39%) H. Upmann No. 2 …………... 1 (1.39%) Again, the correct answer was not the top choice, and with only 4 options in the Campanas vitola and ¼ of us guessing the correct cigar, we could have done just as well throwing darts blindfolded. Haha!

I can absolutely send you the raw data that I have compiled so far. I just want to compile last year's and this year's data on one sheet for a composite score before I send it off to you. I'll post breakdowns for each blind cigar shortly.

Last year I posted some extra stats including the number of participants choosing each cigar in the comments. Would anyone like to see that again this year? I could also post a composite score for participants that have participated in both this year's and last year's blind tastings at the end of the series. If anyone has any interesting statistics they would like to see, let me know and I can work them out!

I actually got a lot of RyJ flavors from this cigar, albeit a fuller body, but that's what made me pick them. I'm happy to say that I am no longer batting a career .000 and am now a scorching .125! Haha

I certainly hope to see more from him as well. I love the depth he goes into in his videos and I've reached out to him a few times about cigar topics which he responded to and answered all my questions. He is a genuine guy with his own style.

I'm hoping that there will be a resurgence soon. I haven't been a fan of the Hoyos I've had from the epicure line, but I'm holding out hope that the des Dieux will bring me around on the marca.

There must be a code in there. Do we have anyone who can decipher it?

I too am surprised by the lower (appearing) quality of the wrapper. Hopefully this is just a very unflattering photo, though I will most likely not be smoking any of these! Haha!

I really like my Xikar cutters; scissors and double guillotine. Lifetime warranties, lots of styles to choose from, and not too expensive.

I had a Estupendos somewhat recently, and thankfully I can say that the construction was spot on. The flavors of stewed fruit and biscuits really was wonderful for me.

I'm starting to worry seeing all these huge rings. Don't take away my skinnies Cuba!

Thank you for the well put together reply. I have never handled cigars of that age before. The oldest I have ever smoked was a custom roll from 2000. Also, and unfortunately, I would not be able to handle them personally unless I took a long plane trip! Haha! Also, your point about box dating, I would have expected that last box with the Tabacuba leaf to be box stamped since that was changed in 85 as stamps were introduced. With all that said, I think I'm going to stay away. I don't think my associate is trying to pull the wool over my eyes purposefully, I just think they could be very good fakes and I don't want to risk the money.