The Stanford’s 90th was released in 2006 to commemorate Stanford Newman’s 90th birthday. It is said to be a tweaked blend of the Dominican tobaccos in the original DC Max with an eighteen year old Cameroon wrapper. Production was limited to one thousand boxes of 20 cigars each in only one size, a 7×48 Churchill, which happens to be Stanford’s favorite vitola.

I was fortunate enough to be gifted this rare stick some time during the summer of 2007 by a good friend. So let’s see how it smokes with five additional years of age on it.

Once I removed the cello, I noticed the wrapper was almost flawlessly smooth. It had an aroma of cedar and hay. It was also slightly sweet. Once cut, the cold draw brought a more pronounced sweetness to the palate with hints of wood as well as cocoa. When lit, the first few puffs were full of leather, wood, a hint of spice and the sweetness again.

As the first third progressed, cedar became the most noticeable flavor on the palate, finishing sweetly with leather. The muted spice remains as well. The smoke in the retrohale is very smooth and creamy but it also has a very slight aroma of spice. As the final third is about to end, the spice starts to increase adding a very pleasant dynamic to the balance of the cigar.

As I burn into the middle of the cigar, I would say the combination of leather, cedar, spice and now a sweet cocoa create a near perfect balance of notes. Again the spice in the retrohale intensifies, but I would say it picks up an aroma of cinnamon as opposed to something more peppery. At this point, the wrapper did also crack, but that was not a result of poor construction or humidity. It was 95 degrees out so the split of the tobacco was not unexpected.

The finale of the Stanford’s 90th takes the cigar from a medium bodied to full bodied smoke. This progression has been subtle throughout the experience. Again, there is a harmony between the cinnamon, cocoa, leather, cedar and spice that has made this such a wonderful smoking experience and absolutely worth waiting for. Thankfully, once I smoked through the heat induced split, I had no other issues and the construction remained what I would expect from any super premium stick.

I am very glad that I did not let this cigar take up permanent residence in my humidor and  given the chance, I would smoke another. It truly added a little something extra to an ordinary day.

Personally, I thought the cigar looked pretty cool. It had a nice weight to it and the band is very understated. The wrapper had a nice rich cocoa aroma with hints of earth. The foot held the same notes with a bit of grassiness. Now, I have to admit I was a bit puzzled as to how to actually cut this cigar. At a ring gauge of 72, it definitely wasn’t going to fit in my cutter and a single V cut didn’t seem like it would be enough so this is what I did:

The cold draw had notes of cocoa, earth and raisins, very rich and flavorful. I immediately picked up leather, cocoa, cayenne and anise that remained through the first third. Molasses lingered in the finish. There was plenty of smoke that held hints of pepper and a sweet, floral note.

In the second third, cocoa, molasses, coffee and subtle spices are present through to the midway point. Then raisins and rich earth become noticeable with a creamy finish. The burn has been surprisingly good and the draw is perfect considering the ring gauge.

In the final third, there is spice on the front of the palate followed by coffee, leather and raisins with anise on the finish. A blend of spice remains in the retrohale.

This cigar was tasty although it wasn’t very complex. I’d consider it medium to medium-full in strength. The shape was interesting but not uncomfortable to smoke. I would definitely recommend using a double v cut as the draw was perfect. If you get the chance, I would recommend giving it a shot. I really enjoyed it.

Now I need a Toblerone!

The wrapper is a rich chocolate brown. It is smooth, velvety with a slight sheen of natural oils. The aroma off the wrapper and foot is of earth, cocoa and hickory. The cold draw tastes of earth, cocoa, hay and natural tobacco. Immediate upon lighting, my tongue is met with the heat of pepper with a woody aftertaste. Pepper is the most powerful note as I continue to smoke with hints of cocoa and wood. Cinnamon remains to warming the palate mixed with an almost bready note. The smoke is very rich and warm.

Into the middle third, the spice balances out nicely. I notice a salty note amongst the pepper, leather and cocoa which adds to the heartiness. Cocoa and leather lingers in the aftertaste. The retrohale still spicy and rich. The smoke smells incredible.

In the remainder of the Imp, spice returns from start to finish of the draw mingling with cocoa and wood. The wood and leather notes evolve into a robust and savory flavor of hickory. It has a hint of sweetness too. The hickory begins to dominate the palate with pepper a very close second. These notes switch back and forth until the finish.

From the first Dante Canto I Imp that I smoked, my palate was wowed. The quality of leaf, construction and draw are impressive. This cigar nailed my palate perfectly. It’s very rich and hearty. It made me want to reach for the beef jerky and a nice smoky porter. This cigar is definitely full of flavor. I love how the pepper hits the palate in the beginning but balances to the savory smoky hickory in the finish. This cigar retails for 8-12 depending on size and in my opinion is worth every penny. For more information on Dante visit dantecigars.com

Yes, you read that correctly. The name of the cigar is Pink for Men and yes, it has a pink band. To some that may be a deterrent to purchase, but out here at Chesapeake they haven’t been able to keep them on the shelves. Real mean wear pink? No, real men SMOKE Pink for Men. It’s the new cigar from Dominican based company, Arsen. It has a Dominican Habano wrapper, binder from San Vicente and Dominican filler. Today I’m reviewing the robusto.

The Pink for Men has a nice, even medium brown wrapper. The cap is a bit rough looking, but I’m cutting it off anyway. There is a nice aroma of hay, wood and a sweet maple syrup. The cold draw has sweet hay, cedar and coffee. The cigar starts with a nice smooth wood with coffee and leather mid palate. There is warm medium spice in the finish that lingers in the aftertaste. The retrohale has a nice medium spice. The spice begins to pick up until about 3/4 inch in and the leather takes over on finish. It is very smooth leaving spice mid palate. At an inch in the coffee starts to pick up and the spice starts to wash over my whole palate, mingling with wood and a creamy finish.

To begin the middle third, the main notes transition from coffee to wood to leather with a pleasant spice throughout. It has a dry spice finish that is very pleasant. The spice in the retrohale remains a nice medium strength. At the halfway point, the spice picks up again warming front and mid palate. The finish is a nice leather and coffee as the second third ends.

In the final third, the spice becomes very subtle almost immediately. Wood, leather and coffee are the foundation notes but are very balanced throughout each draw. There is plenty of smoke with medium spice. It finishes without any more changes, very smooth and balanced.

Even though I’m a woman, the pink band wouldn’t have convinced me to give this cigar a shot, but Rev Mike’s recommendation did me in and I’m very glad I tried it. From start to finish it was an incredibly pleasant experience. It was complex, flavorful and balanced. I did have a few burn issues that were fixed almost immediately without the help of my lighter. They didn’t effect my smoking experience in a negative way at all. Plus I wound up with a flowering ash. The Pink for Men had a rose for the Lady of the Stick!

And of course the nail polish had to match!!

Wrapper: Habano

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Dominican/Nicaragua

Size: Intrepidus (6 by 52)

Strength: Medium

Price: Sample from Cremo Cigars

Initial Observations: The wrapper is a very smooth light brown leaf of good quality. It has no tears, sunspots or wrinkles. The wrapper and foot of the cigar bring notes of cedar, hay and a slight sweetness to the nostrils. The cold draw has the same light and creamy notes.

First Third: Wood and leather hit my palate in the first few puffs with a smooth sweet finish. I also notice a hint of cinnamon. The retrohale has a warm and wonderful cinnamon spice in the smoke. After about an inch, the spice becomes more noticeable on the palate as it intensifies, still finishing smooth with hints of wood, cream and leather.

Second Third: Cinnamon is noticeable on the front of the palate followed by wood and leather. The spice remains on the finish with a sweet and creamy finish. The smoke is warm and spicy but also creamy. The middle portion of this cigar is very well balanced.

Final Third: The cinnamon remains on the front of the palate, followed by leather and the notes of wood become more discernible as cedar. Coffee mingles on the finish with cream as well as a hint of cinnamon. The retrohale remains consistent with the cinnamon spice. These notes stay through the finish.

Conclusion: From start to finish, the Cremo Intrepidus was a wonderful smoke with its smooth, balanced complexities and wonderful tasting notes. It is a solid medium body cigar, smooth enough for a newbie but complex enough for a seasoned smoker. I look forward to getting my hands on more of these.

I will not be doing one.

Now, I know a lot of you really enjoy reading the cigars other aficionados enjoyed the most and comparing them to your own favorites. I did attempt to compile a list, but I ran into a bit of a dilemma and decided to do something different. As I considered all the good cigars I smoked this last year, I realized that they were just good. There were very few that stood out as great, and definitely not enough for a top ten or even a top five. I am by no means trying to dog on any manufacturer for  any cigar released this year. Keep in mind this is just my opinion. Like I said, there were a lot of good cigars but not many were incredibly memorable above anything else.

So you may be wondering what exactly made my 2012 memorable. I can very easily come up with a dozen examples and they all revolve around cigars. They are events I attended, new friends I made and old friends I reconnected with, not to mention the countless miles I put on my car traveling from coast to coast. Now, in chronological order, here’s a summary of the highlights of my year.

DC Tweetup 2012

The First Annual DC Tweetup was held on St. Patricks day weekend over the course of a few days. The first night was a tasting event at Cigar Connection in Arlington, VA with Sentidos Cigars, followed by an event at Bailey’s Pub and Grille with RoMaCraft Tobac. The following day started with attendees boarding a party bus and heading to Chesapeake Cigars for a Room 101 event also joined by CRA. Later, the bus took everyone to W Curtis Draper’s in Bethesda, MD for a CAO event. Since this day was St. Patrick’s day, there absolutely was shenanigans and we were joined by the craziest of leprechaun’s, Matt Booth, in festive gear.

Needless to say, the weekend was an absolute blast full of food, drinks and of course great cigars and definitely worth the trek from Oklahoma. This years tweetup is scheduled for March 15-16, 2013. I will be posting more information as soon as I have it, but it promises to be bigger and crazier.

Texas Cigar Fest 2013

This year marked the third annual Texas Cigar Festival, hosted by Serious Cigars out of Houston. It was held April 14, 2012 in a tent in the store parking lot. Tickets were $125 a piece and each ticket holder received a goodie bag of 29 cigars as well as other swag. Food, wine, scotch and bourbon were also included in the price of the ticket. This is one event I look forward to every year. It is so wonderfully executed and always a wonderful time. It’s a great opportunity to have a cigar and chat with some of the great people that make up our industry. For photos from Serious Cigars Texas Cigar Fest, check out their album here. And I hope to see you there in 2013.

Butthead’s Tobacco Virtual Cigar Workshop with Jose Blanco

The Virtual Cigar Workshop was held at Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium in Danbury, CT on June 21,2012. I was very fortunate to not only attend this event but also to participate and share a bit about my hybrids during the live feed portion of the show. After that, Jose Blanco shared his expertise and experience with all of us there in the shop and those viewing the live feed. We each had a cigar with five different wrappers on it. He walked us through each one, asking us all to share our thoughts, including taking a stab at the country of origin.  I learned so much during this event and it will always remain a highlight of my cigar experience.

IPCPR 2012, Orlando

photo courtesy of rtda.org

This year IPCPR was done a little differently and was held in Orlando, FL at the beginning of August. It was ver unique from previous experience but still a lot of fun. From sun up to the wee hours of the morning the week was filled with one cigar after another (73 total for me), learning about the new cigars this year, manufacturers parties and not a whole hell of a lot of sleep. I always look forward to IPCPR because it is such a wonderful time to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. The 14 hour drive there and back was a blast as well, long but fun with my copilot, Lawrence.

#CHATweetup2012

photo courtesy of tikibaronline.com

The 2nd annual #CHATweetup was held August 24-25, 2012 n Chattanooga, TN between both Burns locations. We had the opportunity to check out both shops, herf with fellow cigar lovers from all over the country and even go see a local baseball game. The staff at Burns were wonderful hosts and made sure we all had a great time. Each attendee received a goodie bag with cigars and a Tshirt. They also hosted raffles throughout the weekend as well as arranging a DJ and a band to make the weekend even more enjoyable. It was an absolute blast!!! Here’s a little video of one of the highlights, some of the guys took over the stage and had a little freestyle session for us.

After this, we also had the chance to watch an improv dance to *N SYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”. Classic. Attendees this year included Jon Huber of Crowned Heads, Christian Eiroa and Tom Lazuka from CLE, Matt Booth from Room 101, Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars, Kurt Kendall and Rick Ardito of 7-20-4, Clint Aaron of 262 Cigars, Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo and many more!!

Delaware Cigar Festival

Santa Dan and our host Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars

The Delaware Cigar Festival has been going on for 6 years and is a charity event. This year was held out at Delaware Park, in perfect view of the horse races. it was the perfect day to mingle under the pavilions, smoke cigars, eat, drink and get some deals on some of our favorite cigars, all for a good cause. There were goodie bags, door prizes, raffles, a buffet and plenty of drinks to go round. This years attendees included reps and personalities from General Cigars, Rocky Patel, Illusione, EP Carillo, 1502 Cigars, Tarazona Cigars, Altadis, RoMaCraft Tobac, Oliva Cigars, Alec Bradley Cigars, My Father Cigars, Miami Cigars, 262 Cigars, El Primer Mundo, JC Newmann/Fuente, El Tiante, Drew Estates, Ortega, AJ Fernandez and our host Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars. This is one event I look forward to attending next year.

W Curtis Draper’s Little Puff

The view from our venue, the rooftop of 101 Constitution Avenue, courtesy of wcurtisdraper.com

Little Puff is another great event benefitting not one, but three great causes in academic scholarships. The thirteenth annual event was held September 28th on the rooftop of 101 Constitution Avenue, which boasts a fabulous view of DC. This was not just an occasion to get dressed to the nines and smoke and drink, it was an opportunity to give back. The proceeds from the event and auction benefitted the Erik Kristensen Memorial Scholarship in honor of a Navy SEAL killed in action; the Pat Krimm Scholarship & the Anne Berman Memorial Scholarship. View the official W. Curtis Draper’s Little Puff 2012 Gallery here.

River City Cigar Circus at The Humidor Westside

October 6, 2012 marked the first annual Cigar Circus hosted by the Humidor Westside of Wichita, KS. They had over 14 manufacturers represented and in attendance. I loved the setup. They took the Circus outside of the shop and into tents. There was a lounge tent complete with a bar as well as the main cigar tent. They had raffles and door prizes, food and the incredible DJ Carbon, playing music pretty much until the sun came up. It was a long but epic night. This years River City Cigar Circus is scheduled for May, check back for more details.

Chesapeake Cigars Hosts #Oktweeterfest2012

Oktoberfest + Cigars + Twitter = #Oktweeterfest at Chesapeake Cigars in Edgewater, MD. In attendance we had Fred from Nomad Cigars, Jeannie from Sassy Ash Cigar Accessories, Lawrence from Tarazona Cigars and Matt Booth from Room 101 Cigars. Throw in a heck of a lot of beer, brats and even some fairy dust and you’ll be sure to have a great time. I had the pleasure of being the shop “beer wench” for the day and had an absolute blast. Hopefully this will be repeated next year. But at Chesapeake we are always looking for reasons to celebrate our freedom to drink and smoke amongst friends!!

A Week at Smoke Cigar Shop and Lounge

Several weeks ago, my dear friends Eddie and Lawrence from Tarazona Cigars invited me to meet up with them up in Pennsylvania. Now, being a sucker for a nice long drive and checking out new cigar shops, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Especially when I found out they were having an event at Smoke Cigar Shop and Lounge in Bridgeville, PA. I had been wanting to visit this shop for quite awhile. It is run by a bad as chick, Mame Kendall. It is an absolutely beautiful shop with a fantastic selection. I met some great people and had such a great time that I wound up staying for almost a week. Mame was a wonderful hostess and this experience will always stand out for me. I’m making plans to visit again soon.

Looking back, 2012 was such an incredible year. I put countless miles on my car, lost many, many hours of sleep and smoked a ridiculous amount of cigars. But out of all that, what matters to me the most are the people that crossed my path. This industry is full of such incredible people. So instead of a top ten list, I want to thank every one of you that crossed my path this last year, whether is be on twitter or an event, for making it fun, exciting and an amazing learning experience. Cheers to another wonderful 12 months!

And no, I couldn’t wait to see what Santa might bring me this year.

After drilling Adam and Greg from GRAMMworks with questions about their product, I was so impressed with the thought and effort that went into creating such a unique piece of cigar swag. Best part: Made in the USA by fellow Brothers of the Leaf.

Each piece is made from aircraft grade aluminum in various colors. There is a cap with a built in hygrometer and another cap where you can add a humidification packet. The tubes currently come in 6 and 7 inch sizes and are anodized to ward off effects of corrosion. They are also lined with Spanish cedar to provide the best conditions for your temporary cigar storage.

For those that travel as much as I do, the design may concern you. Yes, it looks like a pipe bomb, which is part of what drew me to the GRAMMworks travel humidor. So what about flying with it? Believe it or not, I did ask Adam and Greg about this and they informed me they had actually tested this out in checked and carry on luggage on flights in and out of the states with no issues. They will be customizable with your name or logo soon!

I love it.

I’ve had my GRAMMworks humidor for about a week now on the road and the humidity has held fast. It holds about 5-6 cigars and keeps them well protected even if I have the tube rumbling around in my purse. While traveling in my Silver Bullet, I actually keep it standing up in my spare cupholder for easy access.

As if their weren’t enough good things about it, you can use it for self defense and then open it up and celebrate your victory with a cigar!

But seriously, these guys have talent and have put in a lot of thought and effort into bringing fellow aficionados a quality product to store their favorite cigars on the go. Thank you guys at GRAMMworks for the great humidor and I look forward to having a cigar with you soon!

Check them out here.