Posts Tagged cuba

Cohiba Siglo VI

Oct 4

Posted by admin in Cohiba Siglo VI | 8 Comments

- click on photographs (slideshow / EXIF)-

It is time for another ‘forbidden fruit.’ This time we are smoking Cohiba Siglo VI. Many will call this specimen ‘The Cuban’ cigar that every smoker should enjoy at least once in his/her life. High expectation, right ?

Visually, nothing spectacular. Decent construction with clearly visible seams & veins. Cohiba Siglo VI’s noticeably toothy wrapper was relatively thin and one could easily feel bumps and soft spots underneath. After clipping the cap, noticeably tight draw to the point where I kept rolling the cigar in my fingers to manually introduce a better air flow. I have struggled with this for at least 25min and if it wasn’t for the review, I would have pitched it. I’m glad my patience runs high when I smoke cigars. Second third opened up and flavors started pouring in one after another. Grassy sweetness, delicate spice, coffee, earth, paired up with thick and rich smoke. Definitely an eye opener. Construction wise, same as above. Average wavy beginning and then major u-turn. Almost perfect burn with ~2″ dark grey ash with tons of smoke.

This was definitely a roller-coaster, similar to Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008. I hate to make general statements but I’m faced with the same issue when it comes to cuban cigars – inconsistency. When you get a good one, it is one special smoke but unfortunately that percentage within a box is low. When I pick a cuban sample out of a box, I hope for good burn and good draw. With non-cubans, those two most of the time are given and I hope for enjoyable flavors. In the end, Cohiba Siglo VI’s beginning was forgettable but the middle and end put this cigar on the map and back in my rotation. Try it for yourself.

Country of Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 6″
Ring: 52

Construction > OK
Burn > Good
Enjoy > Mixed
Recommend > Yes
Buy > 5pack

Please consider the following post:
* Cohiba Behike 54
* Cohiba Genios

Tags: cigar, cigar construction, cigar flavor, cigar images, cigar photographs, cigar photography, cigar photos, cigar pictures, cigar review, cigar smoking photos, cigars, cohiba, cohiba cigars, cohiba siglo VI, cuba, cuban cigars, photography, siglo cigars, stogie, stogie review, tobacco

Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008

Jul 21

Posted by admin in Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008 | 3 Comments

- click on photographs (slideshow / EXIF)-

It is time for another ‘forbidden fruit.’ This time we are smoking highly recommended and highly rated by other cigar aficionados – Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008. Format of the cigar was not necessarily my favorite but positive feedback brought this box to the front of the humidor. The cigar itself had a slightly toothy wrapper with visible veins and visible seams. Not the prettiest kid on the block. After clipping the cigar, I was introduced to a fairly snug draw. I kept rolling the cigar in my fingers throughout the entire experience to improve the air flow but unfortunately I had to tough it out in both samples. In flavor department, delicious sweetness and ‘creamy’ texture right out of the gate. Your typical Montecristo woody notes followed right after and coated the palette. Toward the middle of the cigar, a bit of spice and nutty / caramel flavors stepped to the front. The burn was mediocre. It would begin to burn evenly and then progress toward that ‘wonky’ burn with accumulation of ash. Speaking of ash, dark grey, tight, falling off in 1″+ chunks.

Overall, decent experience but not what I read nor heard about the ‘classic’ Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008. I have few left and I will continue to age them in lower humidity humidor to see if that will have a positive impact on the tight draw.

Country of Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 6.5″
Ring: 54

Construction > Good
Burn > Average
Enjoy > OK
Recommend > Yes
Buy > 5pack (* N/A in USA *)

Please consider the following post:
* Cohiba Behike 54
* Cohiba Genios

Tags: 2008 cuban cigars, cigar, cigar construction, cigar flavor, cigar images, cigar photographs, cigar photography, cigar photos, cigar pictures, cigar review, cigar smoking photos, cigars, cuba, cuban cigars, cuban montecristo, edicion limitada cigar, limited edition cigar, montecristo, montecristo sublimes le 2008, photography, stogie, stogie review, tobacco

Cohiba Behike 54

Jun 16

Posted by admin in Cohiba Behike | 11 Comments

- click on photographs -

Back at the beginning of FEB2011, I kicked off the Cigar Photography blog with few Cohiba Behike 54 photographs and I promised to come back to this cigar in June. The time has come ! I wanted this 5 pack to sit for at least 6 months to get recommended rest. Box Date is JUN2010, it was added to my collection back in DEC2010 and it was pulled out in JUN2011. In addition, my son turned 1 at the beginning of June and I wanted to celebrate his birthday with something different. Cohiba Behike was selected to be that lucky specimen. Enough of the history !

In visual appearance department, Cohiba Behike is definitely an attractive cigar. A very unique band and carefully applied pigtail add that extra umph to the overall package. Although there were some visible seams and veins, I was laser focused on the band and overall presentation. The cigar was rolled very well without any noticeable soft / hard spots. Draw was slightly snug for my preference but I did notice improvement with time. As for as burn goes, I was not impressed. I can appreciate the fact that we are smoking hand-made products but I have smoked many cigars at fraction of the cost which were razor-sharp. Cohiba Behike was far from it. It had its ups and downs, burned straight, then went wavy, then corrected itself, then back to wavy, etc. In flavor department, definitely spice from the beginning to finish with a peak in the middle. I was able to extract woody, earthy, and slightly chocolaty notes throughout the experience. Creamy in texture smoke was very limited up front but increased in volume with time.

Now, one will probably ask the obvious – Is it worth the price tag of $40 ?. In my personal and humble opinion, no ! I pulled the cigar out of the box with extremely high expectation and at the end, I was left disappointed. Did it burn ok ? Tasted ok ? Looked ok ? Absolutely Yes ! Did it delivery 4 times the experience of $10 cigar ? Absolutely Not ! I have split the box with a friend and unfortunately his experience was the same. I poked around the net and found mixed feedback. Some swear by it, some are aligned with my thoughts. Clearly I’m not the only one. I’m glad I still have 4 left and I plan on smoking them to recognize my son’s birthdays. I would recommend trying at least 1-2 Cohiba Behikes but I would certainly not chase a box.

Country of Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 5 3/5″
Ring: 54

Construction > Great
Burn > Decent
Enjoy > Yes
Recommend > Yes
Buy > Couple singles (* N/A in USA *)

Please consider the following post:
* Cohiba Behike 54
* Cohiba Genios

Tags: behike cigar, cigar, cigar construction, cigar flavor, cigar images, cigar photographs, cigar photography, cigar photos, cigar pictures, cigar review, cigars, cohiba, cohiba behike 54, cuba, cuban cigars, photography, pigtail, stogie review, tobacco

Cohiba Genios

May 3

Posted by admin in Cohiba Genios | 6 Comments

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It is time for another ‘forbidden fruit.’ This time we are smoking Cohiba Genios, a maduro version of widely recognized Cohiba brand. Some refer to Genios as aesthetically pleasant, vein & seam free, silky smooth cigar. My visual experience was quite the opposite. Although overall presentation, including dark wrapper and classy looking Cohiba band, was extremely appealing, the wrapper itself looked fairly rough & grainy with noticeable seams. In addition, not as oily as described by fellow cigar smokers. I’m not picky when it comes to the appeal but I did have high expectation for Cohiba Genios in flavor department. Fortunately, the cigar didn’t disappoint.

First third didn’t deliver much. A touch of spice and coffee came on and off every few puffs. Right around second third, just when I was about to check out, Cohiba Genios’ flavors ramped up to the point where my mouth was salivating and lusting more complexity. Insane amount of chocolate, sweetness, nuttiness, with refined spicy notes, came through almost each puff. Total bliss ! Entire second and large portion of last third continued in the same fashion. Draw was excellent and burn, although not razor sharp, was close to perfection. Cigar burned without any touch-ups throughout entire experience.

This is my third Cohiba Genios and all three delivered fairly equal experience. If you are questioning Cohiba brand and enjoy rich maduros, this is the specimen to seek out. Absolute pleasure !

Country of Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuban Maduro
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 5.5″
Ring: 52

Construction > OK
Burn > Great
Enjoy > Absolutely !
Recommend > Absolutely !
Buy > Absolutely ! (* N/A in USA *)

Tags: cigar, cigar construction, cigar flavor, cigar photography, cigars, cohiba, cohiba genios, cuba, cuban cigars, genios cigar, maduro, maduro cigar, photography, stogie, stogie review, tobacco

CigarPhoto in Jamaica

Apr 19

Posted by admin in CigarPhoto in Jamaica | 10 Comments

- click on photographs -

Ya Mon ! …

CigarPhoto is coming back from a well deserved vacation in exotic and pleasantly warm – Jamaica. There is nothing more relaxing than laying on the beach, listening to the ocean, sipping on delicious caribbean rum and puffing on nutritious cigars. Simply … bliss. My trusty travel humidor was once again recharged with quality ‘ammunition’ ranging from classic Partagas, Montecristos, Padrons, Davidoffs, to latest releases from Tatuaje & Viaje. Although the hotel had some indoor smoking restrictions, I was able to freely enjoy few stogies on the ocean-front-view 4th floor balcony (*pix below). For those who had enough of water and/or sun, hotel had a cigar lounge with a decent cuban humidor and a bar. One was able to find your standard Cohibas, Montes, RyJs, H. Upmanns, etc. All bases covered !

Below you find continuation of my ‘The Cigar Smoker’ project and few extra photographs taken on the balcony and by the inifinity pool. Hopefully you will enjoy this Cigar/Jamaican recap as much as I did the actual trip. As they say in Jamaica … “No problem, Mon.“