Review
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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.…
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G.L. Pease Penny Farthing is a very fine cut shag blend of Bright and Red Virginia, Perique, and Dark Fired Kentucky. The tin note offers aromas of figs, along with the notes and sweetness of stone fruit. Upon lighting, I pick up flavors of fig, cocoa, sweet hay, and lightly smoked nuts. The blend is…
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G.L. Pease’s Charing Cross, released in 2003, is a Balkan blend featuring Virginia, Latakia, and Orientals. This particular tin, dated April 2022, has been in my collection for a while. The aroma from the tin is smoky, earthy, and musty, with hints of dark unsweetened chocolate. Upon lighting, I get flavors of smoked mesquite, dark…
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The Tatuaje La Riqueza SE 2024 comes in two different wrappers: a Connecticut Broadleaf and a Mexican San Andres. This review focuses on the Connecticut Broadleaf version, which is limited to 1500 boxes of 10, much fewer than the 4500 box run of the SE 2022. The mottled medium brown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper has a…
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When Pete Johnson released the La Riqueza SE in 2022, it was listed as one of the best cigars of the year on NJBS. Only 4,500 boxes of 10 were produced. In this review, I wanted to see how it performed after more than two years of aging in the humidor. The cigar features a…
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Samuel Gawith Navy Flake is a blend of Virginia and Latakia tobaccos, pressed with a hint of rum. The tin note was slightly musty and smoky with hints of raisins and spice. The initial flavors are reminiscent of mesquite, steak sauce, stewed fruit, citrus, and rye bread. After the first few minutes however, the profile…
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Firebird Flake is a new addition to Cornell & Diehl’s Small Batch series. This pressed flake is crafted from a blend of sun-cured Orientals, dark-fired Kentucky, and Virginia tobaccos, some of which are aged up to 20 years. The production is limited to 5,000 tins. The aroma from the tin is reminiscent of bread, figs,…
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The Casa Fuente brand by Arturo Fuente is primarily crafted for their Casa Fuente store in Las Vegas. However, it is occasionally available in limited quantities to select Fuente accounts across the US. Fortunately, Twins Smoke Shop is one of those accounts. The medium brown wrapper is slightly toothy, and the cold draw offers notes…
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Toscano’s Puccini is a flake made from Italian and North American Dark Fired Kentucky. The tin note is a delightful blend of smoky, woody, dried fruits, and spice aromas. Upon lighting, I picked up notes of smoked wood, nuts, and pepper. The retrohale was very spicy, featuring black and red peppercorn. This tobacco is definitely…
Not Just Blowing Smoke with Pastor Padron 