Buy any box of MONTECRUZ NEGRA CUBANAS at regular price and get 30 Montecruz Chicos.

With deals like this, I might just stop checking JR every Wednesday.  A free box of “chicos”?  And what’s a Chico you ask?  It’s a 4.5×36 tiny filler cigar.  Every Montecruz I’ve ever had is overrated and to simply offer a free pack of “Chicorettes” is insulting…keep trying JR!
Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $1.12
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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Heralded by J.R. as a super-premium for tycoon-types, this gar doesn’t quite live up to its hype.  But it is an excellent value at less than $100.00 for a box of 25 (I got mine for $60 on a JR weekly special).  Too skinny to be a Churchill, but too fat and long to be a lancero, this gar starts off bland and finishes bitter.  But the middle is sweet, with complicated flavor that is long on the palate.  It’s best to smoke this gar as a robusto, leaving the last two inches to burn out in your ashtray.  In its prime, this light-to-medium bodied stick is papery with hints of cinnamon and spice.
S.T. Dupont recently moved its production to Nicaragua.  Let’s hope the DR’s spicy southern brother adds a little punch and consistency to this otherwise impressive smoke.

Regardless, the box and packaging alone are among the finest of any gar.

1 Comment »

1. Cutting back to Saturday only gars after Hudgar 2006?
2. Cigar Aficionado Subscriptions
1. Delonne “NO!”
2. Dickbain “Yes…”
3. CONSUEGRA
1. PASS
4. Weather
1. Hudson, OH - 80’s all weekend
2. Hermosa Beach, CA - Gloomy 80’s
5. Hudgar 2006
1. What are you looking forward to most?
1. Fuente Work of Art
2. Padron 1964
3. Little Gomez - Big Disaster?
4. Food - Leffes. Diet Coke. Pizza Roles
6. Montecristo Whites - Great Breakfast Cigar / Too pricey
7. Should MLB have instant replay review - No
8. Interest Rates Creeping - 6.62% 30yr fixed
9. Milan Panic - Money, pride drive ousted ICN founder
10. Sister L’s MBA Graduation
11. Memorial Day Weekend
1. Delonne - Working all Monday - SUCKS
2. New BBQ for Dicksbain
3. God Bless America

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25 Cigars:

5 x CAO Cameroon Robusto (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Brazilia Gol (5 x 56)
5 x CAO Black Storm (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Gold Robusto (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Criollo Pato (4.75 x 50)

One Day Price $74.95

About three months ago, Brother Delonne picked up the first CAO sampler from cigar.com–the same as this one without the Blacks or Criollos, at $59.95. The quality of the cigars was amazing, and, as a result, Brother Delonne began purchasing gars from cigar.com again, despite the site’s generally steep prices. This deal adds five Black Storms and 5 Criollo Patos for just 15 bucks more.  Not a bad increase for an extra 10 CAOs. Needless to say, 25 CAOs for just $75 is a great value, anytime, anywhere. In fact, this package is the foundation for Hudgar 2006 (see below).

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $2.99
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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Nicaraguan/Dominican S.T. Dupont cigars
The Tubo: Size: 6.75 x 44 Weekly Special price: $49.95
The Lonsdale: Size: 6.50 x 43 Weekly Special price: $49.95
The Churchill: Size: 7.00 x 47 Weekly Special price: $59.95

Brother Delonne seized this opportunity immediately, scoring a box of the Dominican variety of these gars before they sold out—never to be heard of again. A great value at just $59.95, I will definitely be saving at least 5 of these for long-term storage.

Brother Dicksbain elected to wait for the cigar.com special, which was even better this week. But it’s nice to see JR with a REAL special again. Lately, they’ve been utter crap.

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $2.28 [Average]
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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1. La Aurora Preferido, 5 X 50, Robusto, Dominican
2. Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art, 4.88 X 60, Perfecto, Dominican
3. Litto Gomez Diez, 5.5 X 54, Chisel Puro, Dominican
4. Perdomo Estate Vintage 1991, 5 X 54, Regente, Nicaraguan
5. Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo, 5.5 X 50, Exclusivo, Nicaraguan
6. Punch Rare Corojo 2006, 5 x 54, Regente, Nicaraguan
7. CAO Cameroon Robusto (5 x 50)
8. CAO Brazilia Gol (5 x 56)
9. CAO Black Storm (5 x 50)
10. CAO Gold Robusto (5 x 50)
11. CAO Criollo Pato (4.75 x 50)
12. Mystery Purchase from Port Royal Tobacconist

5 Comments »

About a year ago, JRCigar had a weekly special for ISOMs by Perdomo. Two things I noticed immediately about the name.

1. ISOM = Island South of Miami = Cuba
2. Most cigars that are “By” a major manufactures suck.

Being relatively new to cigars and figuring at $39 for 24 “How could I go wrong?”, I ordered a box of the Torpedoes 6.25X54. These arrived with a perfect plume and I was blown away with what a wonderful cigar this was! By far the best Perdomo I had ever had…it was and still is one of the best cigars I’ve ever smoked. After about 3 or 4 of these, I was convinced I had to have more. Visiting JRCigar, I purchased 4 boxes…which they promptly canceled due to lack of inventory. And since June of 2005 they have had nothing but the wussy lancero size in stock. Well, I finally resolved myself to the fact that there may never be anything but the Lancero size of these again and I should just buy them.

I purchased a box of ISOM Lanceros for $35 of a JRAuction. They arrived with all the great aroma I remembered, but without the plume. Sadly, after smoking one of these I was disappointed. It lacked the perfect balance between sweet and spicy that the torpedos had. It was missing any true power of the original. It tasted like the dollar cigar I had thought the torpedos would have been a year ago.

Maybe my pallet has matured/changed over the past year, but I’ve heard other’s on the cigar boards talking about the once great ISOM from Perdomo that JR had on special in June 05. Interestingly, early accounts of the ISOM talk about it being an awful cigar. I think the lot from a year ago had been perfectly aged and stored to produce the perfect plume and unfortunately no more are to be found any where…

I’ll try to enjoy my remaining 22 ISOM Lanceros and recall the faint hints of a once great gar.

LT Rating 2006 Lancero:
LT Rating 2005 Torpedo:

1 Comment »

Like most cigar lovers, there are about 20 different cigars I’d love to try but can’t quite bring myself to pony up the dough. Well no more, I say. That’s what Gar Fest 2006 is all about.

This year’s event is in Hudson, Ohio, and we’re pulling out all the stops (well, half of them): 10 ultra-primos with an average price per gar of just over $10.00. With prices like these, you can be sure we’ll savor every last draw. Be sure to check out the real-time reviews for each and every gar.

And so, without further ado, here’s the recommended gar list (with prices from www.cigar.com):

1. Opus X Perfecxion X (encedro) (6.25 x 48) = $32.95
2. La Aurora Preferido, Robusto (5×50) = $8.95
3. Fuente Hemmingway Work of Art (4.88 x60) = $11.50
4. La Aroma de Cuba Monarch (6 x 50) = $4.70
5. CAO Criollo Conquistador (6.13 x 52) = $7.25
6. CAO Cx2 Toro (6 x 54) = $10.11
7. Oliva “O” Classic Oasio (6.5 x 52) = $5.76
8. Padron 6000 Torpedo (5.5 x 52) = $7.95
9. Punch Rare Corojo 2006 Magnum (5 x 54) = $5.75
10. La Flor Dominicana Double Ligerio Chiselito (5 x 44) = $6.00

    Price = $100.92 + $5.95 S&H = $106.87

God Bless America.

2 Comments »

Topics Discussed:
Disappointment with ISOM Lanceros
Superior quality of Sol Cubano Toros
Merits and shortcomings of Eve: Online
Cruises to Hawaii vs. Carribean
Upcoming Gar Fest 2006 (June 1-4, 2006)
Leafytimes.com (Posts and creation of top 10 list)
Cleveland Technology Group (upstart)
Purchase of John Deer ride-along mower
Purchase of Lotus Elise/Exige (black)
9/11 Conspiracy Theories
New Bluetooth Headset from Motorola
Simpson quotes
Guild Wars (trek to Hell’s Precipus)
Baseball (Angels/Indians)
Jazz Music (Cannonball Adderly)
LED Rims for Bling Bling Mobiles
Graduation gifts for Sister-L
Problems with combat system in Eve; insurance system
Worst thing about our jobs
Problems with ducks in the garage

Total Gars Smoked:
CAO Criollio Bomba (x2)
Rocky Patel Vintage Toro 1990 (x2)
Cusano 1997 Vintage Robusto (x3)
Fatty Natty (Bankers 5×66) (x1)
Connecticut Shade by Rocky Patel Belicoso (x2)
Arturo Fuente Cheteau Fuente (x2)
Sol Cubano (x2)
ISOM Lancero (x2)
Montecristo White Robusto (x2)
Rocky Patel Vintage Toro 1992 (x2)
Double Cheteau Fuente (x1)
CAO Italia Caio (x1)

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This week’s cigar.com special features a cigar I’m not familar with. They’re offering 2 boxes of 10 Pueblo Dominicanos. The reviews over at Top25cigar.com look pretty good…I’m just too stocked right now to make a mystery purchase. I’ve been burned too many times taking that gamble.

10 Pueblo Dominicano Ambassador (7.5 x 50)
10 Pueblo Dominicano Torpedo (6.25 x 52)

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $4.50
Deal Rating: ???
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

No Comments »

With a price-per-gar (ppg) of just over $2.25, this deal should be a no brainer. But I’ve ordered La Gloria Cubanas from JR before, and they frequently taste bittery and the wrappers always crack. This deal screams “buy me, buy me.” The memories I have of JR’s quality do not. In my book, experience always trumps advertising.

5 x La Gloria Cubana Corona Gorda 6.00 x 52 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Churchills 7.00 x 50 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Glorias Extra 6.25 x 46 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Wavell 5.00 x 50 MADURO
5 x El Rico Habano Rico Club 5.25 x 54 MADURO

In the end, this is not a bad deal, even with these shortcomings. I guess what is holding me back is that I know these gars are better than they are when I receive them from JR. And I just can’t bring myself to pay for gars that are worse than the manufacturer intended them to be.

Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here
Brother’s Purchased?:

1 Comment »

This gar is billed as Montecristo’s best regular-production cigar. It is described as creamy, golden and light with flavor worth savoring. In reality, it is a perfect example how the Montecristo name is synonymous with overhyped marketing.

To be fair, the gar does have a silky-smooth Connecticut Shade wrapper. Indeed, it is one of the better looking cigars I’ve ever seen. And it definitely is creamy, in that it’s anything but harsh on the palate. After smoking one, you feel like you could smoke ten more. The trouble is you’d probably have to before you could figure out what its supposed to taste like. It’s a hallow as smoking warm air. The only words that come to mind are “ashy” and “smoky”–hardly words that conjure up any passion or memories.

In the end, at just under $8 a gar, no one I know can afford to get to know this smoke. We’re left to trust the manufacturer that we’re smoking something good. But I don’t buy it. If it were really good, I’d know it for myself.

3 Comments »