Note: No “good cigars” were harmed for the above pictured stunt. I used an old Consuerga Sultan that had been sitting naked in my garage through the cold winter and hot summer…I probably should have used one of the horrible JRCIGAR Halloween special gars in protest.  JRCIGAR Halloween 2006 = Worst ‘Special’ Ever.

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What an amazing value gar.  The Cinco Vegas Gold line is probably as good as a CAO gold, but at half the price (and with generally better draw and burn).  Ultra-mild and silky smooth, I will definitely be ordering a few boxes of these.  The maduro “A” series is fantastic, too (though the limitada and red lines are nothing special).  These gars could easily sell for far more than the current $2.50 a stick (right now they’re on special at cigar.com, so you get a free 6-pack sampler to go with them).

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I agree with Brother Dicksbain on this one: JR really let us down this year. While I did not get quite as bad a group of sticks as he did, my stack was far more mediocre than last year’s bundles. I ordered two of these deals. They were mirror images of each other - almost no variety. I suspect most people got what I got, which included:

JR “Ultimate” Toros (maduro and natural)
La Especial Robustos
One La Gloria Cubana
A few Flor De Allones
La Primadora Toro
Berring Tubo
Flor de Copan Maduro Rothchild

Quality on these mediocre cigars was far below average, even for JR. And the filler crap, a Montecristo Windbreaker fit for a 10-year-old and a La Gloria Cubana hat (yawn), was useless. I wish I had purchased one of the Halloween specials over at cigar.com. Now THAT is an amazing deal:

5 Gurhka TITANS (amazing value in their own right–the box of 16 sells for $400.00);
5 Cinco Vegas Maduros (one of the best maduros I’ve ever had)
5 C10 Aniversario Cusano Robustos (great smoke)
5 Cigar.com Maduras (ok ,so these are the filler gars)
1 Humidor jar with humidification unit.

All for $79.95 + 5.95 shipping.
That said, you have to keep in mind the JR deal only costs $40.00, so it’s not a horrible deal. I just didn’t get anything that great this time around. There should have been at least one “great” or two “very good” gars (by way of contrast, last year I got 4 TTT trinidads, a Macaudo, and a Montecristo platnium in EACH of my deals–and the average gar was a Romeo y Julieta!)
Maybe this was just a bad year. I will probably give JR another chance, but I’m getting close to giving all my business to someone else. Famous-smoke is far better as to everyday prices, and cigar.com is this year’s “master of the deals.” If anyone from JR cigar is reading this, I ask you: what happened?

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JR Cigar has had a 6 yr traditional Halloween event called “Trick or Treat”. It’s a $40 grab bag of cigars and a few chotsky promotional items like hats and shirts. This year I was definitely tricked…

My haul is almost a waste of time to post, but I do so to warn folks into being tricked next year:

1. Tabotillo Churchhill
2. Rosa Cuba Robusto
3. Savoy Toro
4. Nestor Maduro Toro
5. JR Cigar Toro
6. La Vieja Habana Churchhill
7. JR Ultimate El Giante - 9 Inches?!
8. Quorum Toro
9. Henry Clay Bellicaso
10. Villar y Villar Toro
11. Nat Sherman Bellicaso
12. Mystery “No Label” Crap Gar
13. Bering Casino Tubo Churchhill
14. El Rey del Mundo El Giante 9 incher
15. (2) De Nobili crap gars
16. Montecristo Buena Fortuna Robusto
17. CAO Honey petite corona
18. (2) Al Capone Cognac Cigarillos
19. (5) JR Humicardoards
20. Montecristo 2004 Cup Windbreaker (Size M)
21. Martin Mayorga Maduro Toro
22. $0.30 single guillotine cutter

The quality on all of these is sub par. They’re dry, cracked, and seemed to be just “laying around the ole warehouse”. I was tricked…

LT Rating: 1 / 10

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1. Work Woes
2. Dicksbain New Work Woe?
3. JR Ultimate Double Robustos - 13 inches of mediocrity
4. Time Change
5. Fighting about the Weather
6. Cardinals Win World Series / Eckstein earns MVP
7. Opus X - Forbiden “sex”
8. Birthday Filings
9. California on Fire
10. Arsonist tried for murder?
11. Ohio - 42°F / California - 88°F
12. Ritz Carlton Anniversary Extravaganza
13. Battlestar Galactica - Getting back on track
14. Video Games - Need4Speed Carbon
15. Moneybag$ “Mo’ Money Mega Machine” - 5MsCigars Smoked:Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Fuente Maduro
    JR Ultimate Double Robusto

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This is an amazing smoke, well worth the $13.00 I paid for it back in August (this gar was originally slated for HudGar 2006 1.5, but it got put on hold because I wanted it to age a bit). Classic Dominican taste, with a slow and even burn and thick white ash. Draw could have been better, though. Was it as good as an Opus X? No. But it was almost as good, and at 1/3 the price, I’d much rather have three of these beauties. Smoked this particular one with my brother in Temecula before our mom’s wedding. By far the best La Aurora I’ve had to date.

LT Rating: 8.5 / 10

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What a horrible smoke.  Picked up a box of these on special from cigar.com last week, expecting something at least as good as a Cinco Vegas.  I was utterly disappointed.  Not only are these gars funny smelling and unattractive, they have terrible draw and brittle wrappers.  I expect “weekly special” cigars from JRCigars to come in this shape, but not cigars from cigar.com, which usually has far superior quality.  I suspect it had been so long since someone ordered these crap gars that they just sat in cigar.com’s warehouse for years and years until they finally decided to dust them off.  I sincerely wish I didn’t have 23 more of these to smoke.  Avoid these at all costs.

[rate: 3.5]

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For just $39.95 (plus an exorbinante shipping and handling charge) you get:

20 ‘5 Vegas’ Cigars:
(5) 5 Vegas A Archetype (6 x 50)
(5) 5 Vegas Gold Churchill (7 x 50)
(5) 5 Vegas Classic Robusto (5 x 50)
(5) 5 Vegas Limitada 2006 Belicoso (6.25 x 52)

At just over $2 per stick (including shipping), this is a great deal.  The Cinco Vegas line has definitely grown on me.  I particularly like the Gold line.  In fact, when I found out that JR is running a special on the Golds, I almost wished I had ordered a box of them instead.  These are above-average everyday gars.  They’re not going to win any awards, but at this price you could be holding something far worse.

[Rate 8.0]
PPG: ~$2.30
Brothers Purchased: Uncle Moneybags = Yes; Brother Dicksbain = No

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For just $39.95 you get to “spin the wheel” with JR at the helm and see what you get. They guaranteed 20 cigars last year, and they did not disappoint. At least 4 TTT trinidads, one Davidoff, one Montecristo Platnium, one Macanudo, a few Romeo y Julietas, a white owl or two and some other mediocre sticks. But for just under $40.00, you can’t go wrong with this deal–assuming history repeats itself. I suppose I should also mention it comes with JR’s assortment of unsold chotsky items: cheap cutters, jackets that are extra small, hats that don’t fit and t-shirts you won’t even use to wash your car. Maybe this year they’ll throw in a crappy ashtray or two.

But I’m a big believer in this deal. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. I ordered two last year, and I did so again this year. Brother Dicksbain ordered just one again. Perhaps he’s waiting for the xmas deals?

Rate [9.0]
PPG: ??? (around 2 bucks a stick, from white owl to Davidoff)
Brothers purchased? YES!

REVIEWS:

• Uncle Moneybag$ Halloween Horror
• JRCIGAR Halloween Horror

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A great cup of coffee compliments a great cigar, especially as the temperature begins to fall. I came across this fine blend from Caribou Coffee and had to share it with the world.

From the Caribou:

Obsidian Dark Roast Blend is hand-blended mix of African and Indonesian coffees. We’ve roasted this blend to the darker end of our spectrum, fully developing the body and deep, fruit notes that abound in these coffees.

Finishing in a decadent bittersweet chocolate finish, we believe you’ll find this a wonderful coffee for entertaining or enjoying as the weather begins to cool.

It’s simply put, the best coffee I’ve ever had and I highly recommend it with a fine oscuro or maduro cigar such as the Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Fuente Maduro. Very dark, but finishes smooth and without the bitter aftertaste the usually follows a dark roast such as a French roast. It’s only available for a short time, which is the only reason I can’t give this a perfect 10 score. Stock up now!
Leafy Coffee Rating: 9/10
Purchase Online Here - $12.99 lb

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For some reason this past weekend simply flew by.  I can’t recall a weekend that felt so short since Day Light Savings time kicked in.  Oh well….I guess it’s Tuesday now and the next weekend is almost in sight.
None the less, we had a fine set of Dominican Mornings over the past weekend.
Topics

1. Battlefield 2 - Moneybag$ tiring of the game.
2. Darkstar One purchase by Moneybag$, although it’s “not that great”.
3. Question: Cigar you think you’ll never smoke that’s in your humidor?
1. Dicksbain: Medal of Honor
2. Moneybag$: I’ll smoke em all!
4. NFL football and all the glory that surrounds the game.
5. MLB - Angles out.  Indians out since Memorial day.  I’d like to see the A’s take it.
6. SLO “Speeches and Beaches”
7. Fall colors in Ohio - Nice.  Rain and cold…not so nice.
8. Asterisk PBX installation at the Dickbain house.  Clean!
9. Work Woes, although both of us have plans at least now…
10. Pat wedding:  Moneybag$ plans to give a rousing speech.  Dickbain respectfully declines the inventation.
11. Fonseca Cigars - Absolutely hideous.

Cigars Smoked

1. Maria Mancini De Gaulle Maduro (several)
2. Maria Mancini Magic Mountain
3. Arturo Fuente Double Chatue Fuente
4. Greycliff Vintage 1999s
5. La Plata [die hard smoke]
6. Others…

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