La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami

Hey, remember this site? Me either. Anyhow, here is a cigar review from a while back that I never typed up. So now I am typing. Wheeeeee!

I got this cigar from fellow Joe Cigar writer Curtis, and since it was an LGC I hadn't had before, I was looking forward to it. But that all changed once the Fire Nation attacked. Oh wait, that didn't happen.

This was a stout little robusto that looked nice, and it lit up easily. (Editor: Nick has also used this phrase to refer to women - yeah they love it if you were wondering) I paired it with a Dogfish Head 90 min IPA, which is my favorite beer. (Editor: I bet fish would be more beloved if they had dog heads. Basically, if were fish were dogs we would probably eat less fish) I usually don't mix it with cigars because I like to enjoy the taste of the beer by itself, but it felt like a beer kinda evening. It probably wasn't the best pairing, but both the cigar and drink were very good separately.

This cigar started off with a spicy wheat flavor, that had a sort of tannic dryness to it. My god that sounds pretentious. But that is what I wrote down and I am sticking to it! About a third of the way through, it started mellowing out, and got sweeter and lost some spice. As it neared the end, it got a lot stronger and added some earthy flavors to the mix. Unfortunately, as it got into that last third it got pretty bitter, and the end was not very enjoyable. (Editor: Just like Nick's one night stand with Mr. Belvedere)

Overall, a decent cigar, and I will never look a gift 'gar in the mouth. Or foot. Or whatever. It was a nice change of pace from both the normal LGC Serie R and the LGC Reserve, but it won't become one of my go-to sticks.

I am going to give it a 6, because it had some nice potential in the front half before it reached the bitter end. So for now, Mr. Belvedere is off to Miami!


La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami
Size: Campana Chica Torpedo (5.5" x 58 ring)
Taste: Medium-Mild
Draw: Good
Burn: Even and consistent
Flavors: Slight nut with a strong pepper near the end.
Overall Rating:

Fuente Hemingway Best Seller

I have heard a lot of good things about the Hemingway line, but I have never tried one. Until now! Well, until a few days ago.

I actually picked this little guy up in Arizona, where their tobacco taxes are apparently much cheaper. I got a collection of nice sticks there for a much lower price than I could find here in the east.

Anyhow, the Best Seller is a slightly larger version of the popular Short Story, which I had not had before either (I also bought one of those, but I found it very similar to this cigar, so I won't review that separately).

It has a nice perfecto shape which I find creates an even burn, but some people have trouble with it. It is deceptive in its size, since it burns as long as a much bigger cigar. I enjoyed a nice long book-reading evening on the porch with this little guy.

I paired it with a nice Eagle Rare SB bourbon that had a nice bite to it, and they went together pretty well. The cigar tended towards a nice clean tobacco flavor, with some nuts and cedar. It kinda tasted the way a humidor smells. And since I like that smell, it was all good with me.

I didn't notice any distinct taste changes, and the flavor was a bit low-key for me. But it was definitely a solid cigar. So for having a decent flavor, good burn and nice construction, I give it points. The slightly too-high price, the one-note flavor profile, and slightly bland taste knock it down a couple pegs.

In general, I give it a Belvedere.

Fuente Hemingway Best Seller
Size: Perfecto (5" x 55 ring)
Taste: Medium-Mild
Draw: Good
Burn: Even and consistent
Flavors: Cedar and nut, tasty tobacco flavor
Overall Rating:
Fat in the middle like Mr. Belvedere.

Felipe Dominicana Serie Especial T

I've had this review sitting around for a while so I thought I'd post it. Novel idea, huh?

So, I am reaching the end of my CI sampler that I bought a while back. I have let this Felipe Dominicana sit for a while because, frankly, it looked like crap. The bland band art and the middle-of-the-road wrapper color didn't excite me. It looked like filler, and the last filler stick I had was pretty poor.

But this one surprised me. It had a really pleasant mild sweet flavor, and the burn and construction were top-notch. The flavors tended towards a tangy nut flavor, with a lot of vanilla sweetness. Overall, very pleasant.

This was a nice cigar and paired well with the smoother Woodford Reserve bourbon I was drinking. It wasn't the greatest stick I've ever had, but it was a pleasant surprise and I would not hesitate to have another one if it came as filler in another sampler.

In summary, I give it a solid Belvedere.

Felipe Dominicana Serie Especial T
Size: Torpedo (6" x 54 ring)
Taste: Mild
Draw: Great
Burn: Even and consistent
Flavors: Sweet and tangy
Overall Rating:

Streaks on the china
Never mattered before
Who cared?
When you drop kicked your jacket
As you came through the door
No one glared

5 Vegas Gold churchill

Well here is the first official review since the institution of our formalized cigar rating system. Are you excited?
Well, let's check. Have you urinated in your pants yet? Then you're not excited enough! Get to it!

Anyhow, on to the review. Recently I bought an 8-cigar sampler from Cigars International, and it contained some cool stuff. One of the things I had wanted to try for a while was a 5 Vegas Gold, since they are usually pretty cheap and I had heard some good things about this as a budget cigar.

This is probably a good time to explain my thoughts on price. I don't smoke a ton of cigars, maybe one or two a week, max. So I don't feel like I need to be stingy on my cigars. I would rather buy a good, more expensive cigar, than 10 cheap ones. On the other hand, I feel that after a certain point, there is no amount of delicious flavor that can justify a giant price tag. So I fall into a medium category where I am willing to pay more for a good cigar, but once the price goes too high, I don't feel it could be worth it.

OK, Back to the 5 Vegas Gold. In appearance, it looks a lot like that Castle Hall I reviewed a few times back. Churchill-sized, light wrapper tending towards yellowish gold.

It cut cleanly, which is a miracle considering the 100% crap cutter I use, and lit up evenly. I just bought a torch lighter from a local department store, and it is totally worth the money. At first I wasn't feeling this cigar, it felt bland. However, once it hit the sweet spot I definitely enjoyed it. It is stronger than it looks, with a much spicier taste than the light wrapper would indicate. It falls into the Medium category for me, just over the line from Mild. It had a nice but not overpowering tang to it, which hit me on the sides of the tongue.

It had a slight nut taste, but didn't have the strong nutty flavor that I like in the Castle Halls. However, it did have a very pleasant peppery taste to it that I liked. The draw was very respectable, plenty of smoke without a lot of effort. I didn't smoke this one down to the nub because it was just too long, but if I had been in a group hanging out and chatting I don't think I would have tired of it. I paired it with a small glass of Evan Williams Single Barrel, which I find to be a good cigar bourbon.

Overall, I think this was a solid smoke, especially for the price of around $3 a stick. Here's the roundup:

5 Vegas Gold
Size: Churchill (7" x 50 ring)
Taste: Medium-Mild
Draw: Good
Burn: Even and consistent
Flavors: Slight nut with a strong pepper near the end.
Overall Rating: A strong Belvedere.