Back in March 2005, I ordered my first box of cigars: the Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Barcelonas. Sure, the box smelled of paint thinner, but this was an entire box of cigars: think of the money I’d save. At the time, I thought they were great. I remember smoking these in Brother Dicksbain’s garage at the Spruce Place. Good times. While my palate has since moved on, they still hold a special place in my heart. Grassy in tone, with average burn, and decent draw, they are perfect “filler” gars (aka drinking gars).

No Comments »

Back in June, Brother Dicksbain and I lawfully purchased God of Fire Robustos at Casa Fuente during the Uncle Moneybags Mo-Money Bachelor Party/Gar Festival.  Good times.  We didn’t get a chance to smoke them during the wedding festivities, so we’ve hung onto them for a special occasion. While there’s nothing particularly “special” about this weekend, we’ve decided to smoke them on Saturday morning anyway–if only to “celebrate” that you don’t need a reason to have a super-premium smoke. We’ll be doing a review, for sure. Brother Dicksbain went with Don Carlos’ God of Fire creation, whereas I went with the Carlito (which has a toothy Cameroon wrapper instead of a Sumatran wrapper).  This will be the first of either kind for the brothers.

1 Comment »

Tinderbox has a great special on the La Flor Dominicana Mysterio Sampler. I’m a huge fan of everything La Flor. If you liked the “chisel”, you’ll love these.

The Mysterio Sampler represents the impeccable quality and experienced craftsmanship of La Flor Dominicana. The unique shape and construction of the Mysterio has broken new ground in the industry. Dominican fillers and a Sumatra binder blend to create a flavorful smoke that is only enriched by its unique wrappers. A Connecticut Broad Leaf maduro wrapper caps both ends, and a spicy natural Nicaraguan wrapper encases the rest of the medium to full bodied Mysterio.

Purchase Here

2 Comments »

It’s been all over the news and on every blog with the exception of ours…till now. If you’ve been out enjoying the summer with some fine stogies, there’s a chance (slim) that you haven’t heard; Under nearly identical bills making their way through the U.S. House and Senate, the federal tax on the highest-priced premium cigars could jump as much as 20,000 percent.

The federal government currently taxes cigars at 4.5 cents each. Under the new bills, the tax rate will jump to 53 percent of the manufacturer’s price, up to a cap of $10 — a jump of 20,000 percent from 4.5 cents.

To put this in real terms, a box of 25 Perdomo ESVs at $11 a stick would take on a $5.83 tax, making them almost $17.  The box which would have cost you $287 will now cost $420.  That does not include state, county, and city taxes which could easily bring the total close to $500.

This is a cause worth fighting:

Contact your house representatives or state senators.

You have 3 options.  1) Take action. 2) Quit smoking. 3) Get a 2nd Job to pay the tax.

6 Comments »