Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Tempus

Alec Bradley Tempus

I have been spending a lot of time on twitter lately and today’s suggestion comes from a regular reader of acigarsmoker.com via suggestion from the social networking platform. I was surprised to see that I had not done a review of this very hyped smoke that has scored big in magazines around the globe. The word Tempus means time which is important when creating a fine cigar.

Cigar: Alec Bradley Tempus
Origin: Honduras
Size: Nova Terra 5×50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Honduras Criollo 98
Binder: Honduras Criollo 98
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction (20/20): For me this is where a band on a cigar is important. I have been smoking these cigars before I was aware of the reviews because I was attracted to the band. It is a little big, but the gold and purple is eye catching. When we get down to the wrapper of cigar you can tell this is a high end premium cigar. The triple cap and flawless roll draw your eye to this chocolate colored wrapper that has a touch of reddish hues.  The cigar has plenty of oils and upon close inspection there is a silkiness about the wrapper. The wrapper is nearly flawless with only a minimal amount of veins.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The criollo wrapper for me has a very distinct richness about it, and most of the time that is enjoyable. This is one of those cigars where it is enjoyable. The 1st third of the smoke features a very rich earth note with some wood and nuts in the background.  As we get to the 2nd third of the smoke I beginning to pick up some cocoa with faint spices as wood becomes the dominant note. We finish the smoke with notes of earth, spices and some nuts. I am not a huge fan of cigars that have so much earth in the flavor, but with this cigar it really works for me.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): When I smoke a cigar for review I tend to smoke 2 cigars unless it is so rare I try to get away with smoking just one. In the past I never had a draw issue with the Tempus, but both smokes were a little tight on the draw. It was annoying, but I was able to get through it. The ash was a medium gray that held on tightly and I only lost the ash when I made the decision to loose it. The first third of the cigar I had a little bit of a burn issue, but a quick touch up corrected it and I was fine til the nub of this smoke.

Overall (23/25): When I geared up for this review I was asked if I felt the cigar was over-hyped. I feel it was, and the 94 that Aficionado was a little bit crazy. But when I sat down and crunched the numbers I guess they weren’t that far off after all. Despite all the hype and industry buzz this cigar is very good and it is worth keeping a few on hand

Rating: 93
Price: $9.00

Cigar Review: Partagas 160

I do not condone gambling but let’s face it. Boston and New York is such a rivalry between sports fans it is very rare you find two people that can get along cheering at opposite ends of the spectrum. As a die hard Yankee fan, when I was first contacted by the tea lover from Boston it took all my might to hold my tongue. But Stew from The World According to Stew! turned out to be a nice guy and we joked back and forth about our teams. This is our second joint review, with the last one being posted on his site about 6 weeks ago.

This time our review was brought forth by a bet over a 3 game set between the Boston Red Sox (boo!!) and the New York Yankees (yay!). The bet was the loser had to send the person a cigar of $15.00 or greater in value to the winner. Well, I got this cigar which retails for about 18.00 for around 10.00 so I sent it up to him with a San Cristobal and a Montecristo baseball cap. As you can tell I lost the bet.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Partagas 160
Origin: Dominican Republic
Size: 4.5 x 48
Wrapper: 1977 Cameroon Wrapper
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dominican Republic & Mexico

Prelight:

Stew!

Barry

First and foremost the wrapper is listed as being from 1977 so let’s keep that in mind. On my observation of this baby, I found the wrapper to be a bit too dry for my taste. Why was it so dry, I really don’t know? I would have to think that it might have to do with the age of the wrapper. I can tell you honestly that I received it in the mail approximately a week ago and placed it directly in my humidor which runs 68/70 so it’s not an operator error in the storage department.The wrapper itself was a nice sight to look at with its beautiful dark color. I was disappointed that it had large noticeable veins because let’s face it this is an expensive cigar and one does not expect this type of feature from a cigar priced so high. The wrapper itself was kind of hard but I’m quite sure that it will not affect the smoke. Other than that, it looks good and I am excited about getting into this smoke.I used a Fonseca guillotine cutter for this task which has a nice sharp blade. Once I cut into the cap, I noticed that the wrapper began to unravel a bit “BUMMER!” Not sure why this happen but again I have to say I personally think it was caused due to the dryness of the wrapper.  The pre-draw was excellent and I immediately tasted a nice caramel flavor on my pallet. I was very excited at this point because the wrapper on this baby has really no smell to it and I never expected to find a strong dry run taste “Bonus!”  The Toasting phase was excellent with the use of my single torch lighter and now we are underway!

The one drawback about the Partagas 160 to the naked eye is the wrapper of the cigar. Being that it has been aged for so long, it has a frail appearance. I keep two humidors at home one that I keep cellophane cigars and one that I keep cigars without. I tend to keep my non cellophane cigars in higher humidity to protect the leaf. My Partagas 160 was stored at 72 humidity. I do this to protect the wrapper and prevent it from flaking or tearing. But even at the higher humidity the cigar appeared dry.The wrapper of the cigar has a little bit of a brindle look to it. There are some darker streaks mixed into the brown wrapper. It had some veins, but they were mostly thin and weren’t so much in your face. The cigar had a slight spongy feel to it from the higher humidity, but I did not squeeze as firm as I normally would to protect the wrapper.I used my idiot proof Hippotech cutter on the cap of this cigar and it reminded me I need to take a photo of the cutter to show everyone how great a 4.00 plastic cutter can be. While I am a fan of the Xikar cutters, I am most comfortable using my Hippotech.The wrapper of this smoke was without any scent/notes which I guess is to be expected in a cigar so old. The foot of the cigar offered notes of cedar and spices.  Upon taking a few draws from the unlit cigar I detected notes of caramel and some barnyard like notes. Like dry grass and hay.

Smoke:

Stew!

Barry

The 1st third of this cigar consisted of a rich dark chocolaty flavor paired up with hints of caramel and a wood. The 2nd third brought flavors of caramel, some slight coffee notes, and again that great woodsy flavor. The last third brought hints of pepper, wood, and small hints of vanilla. The draw was perfect throughout my smoke and I can’t really say that I didn’t expect it to be. The burn line had its issues throughout the smoke but corrected itself and I never had to touch it up. The ash was a white grayish color but flaky so keep an ashtray around or you will be wearing it. The smoke was excellent and pleasant to be around. I would have to think that even a non cigar smoker would enjoy the rich scents it gives off.

For me the cigar had 1 consistent note from start to finish and that was a strong wood.  In the first third the notes of wood were joined by caramel. As I approached the 2nd third of the smoke the caramel faded and the wood was joined by a subtle cinnamon note with a touch of coffee. Upon entered the final third of this smoke I caught a quick hit of vanilla bean that disappeared in the blink of an eye. The wood in this last section was joined by leather which made the cigar slightly bitter.The cigar was medium bodied with a nice ash, although a bit flaky.

Overall:

Stew!	Barry
Drink of choice? Dr. Pepper Smoke Time? About an hour and half! Liked it? Yes, I really did enjoy this one. Recommend it? Yes, but let’s face it “If you’re not a Kennedy” the price will prevent most of the regular guys from smoking this one.  Hey we only live once so go out and buy one and try it. But make sure you bring your wallet, you’re going to need it (LOL)	I have smoked about a dozen of these cigars, and I wait for them to go on sale before I buy them. This last batch I got from atlanticcigar.com on a weekend special where they had a 4 pack for 40.00. I tend to grab them when on sale as they are a really good smoke. The overall value aspect of the cigar knocks about 3 points off the rating. As always my cigar was/is paired with poland spring water.

Rating: 90 (We both gave it the same rating)
Price: $18.00

A special thank you goes out to Stew! a fine sports fan and a terrific brother of the leaf. Thank you for coming up with this wonderful idea. Let us know if you like the joint review and if the feedback deems it so, the next one will be when the Jets play the Patriots on November 13th and the review will follow somewhere near thanksgiving

Cigar Review: Oliva Serie G Tubos

Barry recently got a few cigars from a user group he is a member of and being that I am huge fan of Oliva cigars I confiscated them for my own personal use. My name is Sonny and I used to own a cigar lounge in Brooklyn, NY for many years, I am the person who is responsible for Barry first picking up a cigar. While I taught him how to smoke a cigar, he has taught me how to enjoy a cigar. Even though I won’t be a regular contributor here at acigarsmoker.com I joined Barry at his favorite spot to smoke on a comfortable September morning and offered to review this cigar.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Oliva Series G
Size: 6 x 50 (Toro)
Wrapper: African Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano

Pre-Smoke: When I took the Oliva cigars off of Barry I agreed to do a review and on this fine morning it was something I was looking forward to. The cigar had fine notes of cherry on the wrapper, while the foot offered notes of Cherry with some cocoa added to it. The cigar was firm to the touch, and the wrapped showed some veins and white dots, almost like tiny white heads. I was informed this was little pockets of magnesium that should add to the quality of smoke. I clipped the cigar with Barry’s idiot proof cutter from hippotech and the pre-smoke draw was easy with notes of cherry and cedar.

Smoke: As you can see from the picture this is a cigar that held on to its ash for a long time. I was impressed with how tight it was and the light to medium color in gray it was. The strength of the cigar was medium, however it was full flavor. The cigar offered notes of chocolate that got bitterer as the cigar went on. Accompanying the chocolate was notes of coffee in the final two thirds, and some cedar was mixed in throughout the cigar as well. The finish of the cigar was very nutty and it remained with me for quite sometime which was very welcomed.

Overall: I was very impressed with the Oliva Series G cigar and it was without a doubt the best Oliva I ever smoked. The cigar seems to have been well aged, and it was stored in proper conditions as well. The cigar was a great way to start the day.

Rating: 92
Price: $37.00 a box of 10

Cigar Review: Carlos Torano Tribute 2008

I have been blessed with having the local CAO International Rep as a fan of my website. I shall leave him without a name at his request, but when I first started the blog, he was very supportive of my endeavor. Recently, I reviewed the Carlos Torano Noventa which was a stick I obtained from friends. When the local CAO International rep saw the review, he let his bosses know over at Carlos Torano and they contacted me offering to send me today’s cigar for review.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Carlos Torano Tribute 2008
Size: 5 x 48
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina Triple Fermented
Binder: Nicaragua (Pueblo Nuevo)
Filler: Nicaragua (Esteli & Jalapa)

The Tribute is not due to hit shelves for about a month, so I consider myself very lucky to have obtained one to smoke. The cigar is limited to 72,000 sticks and will be available in 3 sizes in which 1,200 boxes of 20 cigars each will be released. Each box of this release is individually numbered.

Pre-Smoke: The wrapper on this cigar looked like chocolate candy which was visually pleasing to me since I am on a diet. The cigar had some veins but none of them were more than surface veins so they did not detract from the beauty. The roll was seamless, and I cut the cap with my idiot proof hippotech cutter. The wrapper offered very faint notes of mocha, while the foot was a strong mocha note with some pepper. The cigar itself was very firm to the touch, with the exception of one soft spot/pocket about 1/4 inch from the foot.  The pre-light draw was great with notes of mocha and some spices.

Smoke: It was a beautiful morning to light this cigar up. There was a gentle breeze coming in off the water which was looking very rough with white caps as far as the eye can see. The sky was sprinkled with clouds, and visibility was endless. I found myself thinking, that I could realize how they thought the world was flat at one time. As I lit the cigar I took my first pull I verbally said out loud, “Wow!” The strength of flavors that came off this cigar was incredible. In the initial third I picked up notes of mocha, with some nuttiness and coffee that was occasionally joined with some raspberries. As the middle third arrived the raspberries were gone and I had strong coffee notes with some mocha and nuts. The final third of the cigar became a little bitter for me; however this bitterness was an enjoyable mix of coffee, nuts and leather.

Overall: This is yet another great Torano cigar which I am enjoying more and more as a company. The burn line was great, the ash was tight and light while the draw was perfection defined. I look forward to smoking some more Torano cigars as the year winds down including the new sizes they offered at the trade show for existing lines. The Exodus 1959 has added an Exodus Churchill (6.75 x 47). The regular Carlos Torano line has added the Virtuoso Baton (7.5 x 38) and finally the Exodus 1959 Silver Edition has added a Toro Elegante (5.5 x 55).

Rating: 91
Price: $Unknown

Cigar Review: Cabaiguan Guapos

Over the next week or so the updates to this website will be sparse as my schedule will not allow me to update. It is the primary reason updates have been slow over the last 2 weeks. For this I apologize.

Today’s review is yet another Pete Johnson cigar. The Cabaiguan cigar is created in Miami in the tradition of Cuban cigars, the label of the cigar has the word Cuba to the left of the logo and Miami to the right of the logo. Cabaiguan is named for a city in the northern Sancti Spintus province that is home to some of the most knowledgeable cigar men in Cuba.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Cabaiguan
Origin: Miami
Size: 5.58 x 54 (Guapos)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Pre-Smoke: As with all Pete Johnson creations the cigar appears to be perfect. From the pigtail to the foot the cigar is flawless. It is firm to the touch being very well packed with tobacco. The scent of the cigar is spices with slight wood notes on the wrapper and the foot. The pre-light draw is perfect and offers notes of tobacco and wood.

Smoke: I lit this baby up at 8:30am or a dismal cloudy day. The beach had red warning flags up warning people of the dangerous surf as Tropical Storm Hanna approached. Despite this as I smoked my cigar people kept making their way on to the beach this morning. The cigar had a great draw and was mild despite an initial burst of pepper on the light. The cigar required some serious concentration to pick up the notes. Perhaps this is a sign of fall allergies setting in on my part. The notes of the cigar consisted of subtle spices, coffee and wood with each taking turns in the limelight so to speak.

Overall: This well packed, well blended cigar smoked nice and slow, taking me just under two hours to smoke. It is the 4th cigar I had of this line and each cigar was identical which was a nice. As with all Pete Johnson cigars it is hard to find, but you can order them from silocigars.com

Rating: 90
Price: $10.00