Review
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The H99 gets its name from its wrapper leaf, a hybrid between Habano and Corojo seeds grown in the Connecticut River Valley exclusively for Drew Estate. The H99 Robusto has a reddish-brown wrapper and is tightly packed. It gives off a light hay aroma from the foot. The cold draw is pleasant with notes of…
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One of the long-running themes on NJBS since we started in 2019 has been an interest in exploring how aging cigars and tobaccos impacts the experience of the blend. Whenever I can, I love to compare aged tobaccos side by side, and I recently had an opportunity to do just that with one of my…
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The Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo from Joya de Nicaragua is a Nicaraguan purp that is described at their website as ” the embodiment of the Nicaraguan “power” cigar.” The Corojo Oscuro wrapper is a deeper brown hue with a smooth texture and a light oily sheen to it. The draw is excellent. There are…
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The E.P. Carrillo Endure Toro is the first in a new line called the Perez-Carrillo Premier Collection from EPC. This cigar is a tribute to the Meerapfel family and their work with Cameroon tobacco, which is known for being difficult to grow due to the many challenges of working in the remote areas of the…
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Haddo’s Delight is a blend of Virginia, Perique, Burley, and Black Cavendish from Greg Pease. The tin description informs you that it undergoes an “exclusive process [that] darkens and marries the mixture.” I am thinking that refers to the flavor profile, because the tobaccos themselves (other than the Perique) do not look darker that I…
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The Padrón Black PB-97 is the latest release in the Black series, with the numbers referencing the birthday of Padron’s late founder, José Padrón. Initially introduced as the “José O Padrón 89 Birthday Blend” for Smoke Inn in Florida, the cigar was later released to TAA member stores as the Padrón Black 89. The matte…
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Gawith Hoggarth’s Rum Twist is a rope spun with stoved Virginia and flavored with rum. To properly prepare this tobacco, I recommend slicing shavings from it—as thin as you can make them. The twist was originally intended to be a convenient means of transporting tobacco on long voyages in a compact format that would hold…
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The Circle of Life Robusto is a new regular production line produced by Casa Carrillo in Santiago, Dominican Republic. West Tampa’s founder, Rick Rodriguez trained under Ernesto Perez-Carrillo during his time at General Cigar Co. and often cited him as one of his key mentors and teachers. “Reuniting with Ernesto on Circle of Life was…
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The Ashton VSG line is renowned for being one of the strongest blends available on the market after its launch in 1999. As the cigar band suggests, VSG stands for Virgin Sun Grown, indicating that the wrapper leaf of this cigar is grown in the sun without any covering built over the plants to reduce…
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The Rocky Patel Dark Star blend was introduced at PCA in 2023 and includes some tobacco grown from seeds from Paraguay at Plasencia’s Honduran farm in the filler. The Rocky Patel Dark Star Robusto presents a smooth, medium-brown wrapper. Upon lighting, the draw is excellent, and I immediately notice notes of nuts, mineral, and leather.…
Not Just Blowing Smoke with Pastor Padron 