Review
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Not Just Blowing Smoke with Pastor Padron 