The Griffins – An Interesting Surprise
It’s been years since I’ve had a cigar by The Griffins. Usually, I consider them to be to mild for my taste. This particular cigar was given to me at a show, and with an early morning drive, it seemed like a good choice for a ‘breakfast’ cigar. Upon first inspection this cigar really looks nice. It has a great natural Connecticut wrapper and just looks like what a...
Las Ramblas, Maduro
This is the third and last toro size offering in Ventura’s Las Ramblas line. This 6 1/2 X 50 cigar was quite firm (as in tightly wrapped) and slightly veiny in its construction, suggesting that the draw could be tough, but that was not the case. However, the firmness called for a closer look at the construction. As can be seen in the photo, some “twigs” appear in the center...
Avo Maduro – No Stranger This Night
It’s not often that you write about Frank Sinatra when post a cigar review. But, tonight’s review is of a cigar made by the composer of one of Sinatra’s classics, Stranger in the Night. That song was beautifully composed by jazz musician and cigar maker extraordinaire Avo Uvezian. Playing in the jazz clubs Avo was always smoking a cigar and would often give cigars...
Casa Torano
A few weeks ago I visited Jack Torano at his warehouse in Miami. We shared stories and cigars. While he was talking about being able to smoke in the office, he mentioned that for most of the staff the Casa Torano was their preferred stick to smoke during the day. So I was not surprised to find that originally this cigar was only available at rolling events and was somewhat rare....
Gurkha Cellar Reserve — A Vintage Cigar
The Gurkha Cellar Reserve is a new release from the recently renamed Gurkha Cigar Group. As soon as I received this stick I was curious both because of the interesting shape of the cigar as well as the complex label. The label is large with lots of information. It tells you that the cigar is a Dominican puro, and the tobacco has aged 15 years. I was also looking forward to a nice long...
Las Ramblas, Toro
Las Ramblas, aside from being the main boulevard in Barcelona and a must visit location for tourists, is a purveyor of cigars from the Ventura Company. This cigar, Habano Coriollo from Las Ramblas, is another toro, a 6 1/2 X 50 cigar with an attractive color, slightly darker than the connecticut wrapper toro and stronger in flavor. The Habano is a firm, well made cigar and the quality...
