Monday 26 May 2008

Review - Cumpay Robusto - 84/100


The Cumpay cigar line comes from Maya Selva Cigares, and is the Nigaraguan pride and joy of the company. The Cumpay Churchill was selected as the best nigaraguan cigar in the 2000 Cigar Throphy awards, and the whole Cumpay line was voted "best value" in 2007 Cigar Trophy by the European Cigar Cult Journal.

The now reviewed Robusto sized Nigaraguan puro has a beautiful maple coloured wrapper (Habano 2000 seed) with a golden shine to it. The cigar feels right to the hand and looks great over all.

The smell of the unlit cigar is sweet and inviting, as first puffs give away a strong tobacco flavor companioned with some roasted sugar. Definitely a full bodied smoke. The flavours do not develop much along the way though. The cigar remains a balanced mix of strong tobacco, leathery flavor and coffee notes from the beginning to the end. The cigar opens up a little at the very end, creating a tasty and creamy finish to it.

The draw is excellent, but the burn is off, which can be a sign of problems in the construction. The ash has its problems too. It seems to fall apart and to shrink in size, which could also refer to constructional problems. I'll have to return to this cigar to make some better judgement on the construction. The smoke is plenty in white and of pleasant full tobacco aroma.

All in all, the Cumpay Robusto offers good value to your money with its affordable price and great full bodied experience. I see why the ECCJ voted this the Best Value brand in 2007. This falls under the category of "average smokes" in my books. I hope returning to this smoke gives me a better view on the constructional shortcomings and corrects my opinion.

Origin: Nigaragua

Construction 14/20
Appearance 19/20
Smoke/Ash 8/10
Burn 16/20
Draw 19/20
Aroma 8/10 (7,8,8)

TOTAL POINTS 84/100

Sunday 25 May 2008

1st Annual WOC Cards & Cigars Night - WOC-CCN 2008


Well, Here is something i put together as the official poster for the WOC-CCN 2008. Feel free to give comments. This is going to be a fun night!


Saturday 17 May 2008

Review - Montecristo 4 Reserva - 94/100


Celebrating the Best Selling Cuban Cigar ever, the Habanos S.A. has released a 5000 boxes limited supply of the Montecristo 4 Reserva. I happen to be the lucky owner of the box 3069. The Monte 4 Reserva is a continuance to the Partagas Serie D 4 Reservas released a few years back.

As the Montecristo 4 is one of my favourite cigars, i had high expectations from this Reserva version. It is somewhat unjust to compare this to the regular Monte 4, as it should be reviewed as a separate release. That is what i am trying to do here, but fail miserably...

The golden brown wrapper with the perfect cap and impecable feel to the hand give you lot to look forward to. The two bands sit on this cigar in peace with each other, as does the whole bundle of packaging and boxes, that you have to go through to get to these beauties.

The aroma rising from the cigar is intoxicating and (no surprise here) resembles the fragrance profile of the regular Monte 4s.

When lighting the cigar, all the similarities and differences between the Reserva and the regular 4 become quite obvious. As the over all flavor profile is somewhat similar with its tasty tobacco, leather and some spicy notes, it is lacking that obvious charecteristic of roasted coffee beans in it. What makes the Montecristo 4 Reserva a different and a somewhat better cigar compared to the regular 4, is the fact, that all the flavours in it are much more profound and complex. The tobacco, leather and what not are if raised to the second power. Much more intense but still extremely well balanced and smooth.

The Montecristo No. 4 Reserva can be defined still as a young cigar, and as such it is already a great smoke. I wouldn't probably entirely justify the hefty price on these cigars, but i believe aging and time will do that for us. If you are a true aficionado, a collector or a purveyor of quality cigars, The Montecristo 4 Reservas are a must buy. But if you just enjoy a fine cigar now and then, it is probably enough for you to stick to the regular Monte 4s for the price.


Origin: Cuba

Construction 18/20
Appearance 19/20
Smoke/Ash 9/10
Burn 19/20
Draw 19/20
Aroma 10/10 (9,10,10)

TOTAL POINTS 94/100

The Cigar Experience

Smoking a cigar is not funnily enough all about the cigar. Smoking a cigar is a holistic experience of the pause in your life, the surroundings, a good beverage, perhaps a few good friends, and all that is related to the quality cigar you are holding in your hand.

That experience can be taken one step further with a little help from a company called Cigar Experience.

In all its simplicity, their main service is providing live cigar rolling demonstrations at parties, including weddings, bachelor parties, birthdays, promotional events, grand openings, or any other event where their services are requested. The Cigar Rollers are available only in certain areas of the USA (LA, NY, San Diego, SF, New Jersey, Sacramento and Conneticut), but as far as i can see, there are no limits in expanding their business.

They also provide cigar bar services with cigar experts to provide a full vip cigar experience and custom cigar bands for example weddings and company promotional events.


The business is run by one man, Jeffrey Henderson, who got into smoking cigars parallel to his involvement in marketing. His main job is managing the business developement in a company concentrating in Search Engine Optimization, and while buiding his first site CigarExperience.com Jeffrey started smoking cigars, which he quickly found that he really enjoyed.

While the website started out simple in November 2005, Jeffrey soon found himself getting inquires on the website for cigar event related services. He went on to build a network of vendors around the US to provide the cigar rollers or cigar bars for the events.

When asked about the Philosophy of his company, Jeffrey stated it as such:

"Our philosophy is that enjoying a cigar is a special experience, thus the name Cigar Experience. We focus on helping our clients enhance the enjoyment of their Cigar Experience in any way we can, or any way our client would like."

In my humble opinion, that is some genuine Value Added to the experience of smoking a quality cigar.

Thursday 15 May 2008

Cooler-Humidor Deal From C.Gars Ltd * 10% OFF * Only on World of Cigars

C.Gars Ltd is offering 10% off their Fully automated electronic cooler-humidor cabinet "Cooledor"

All you have to do is mention World of Cigars when ordering it on their pages.



Offer available while stocks lasts - Only a few left!

Expertise in the manufacture of wine cabinets applied to the manufacture of Cigar Humidors. The result is a set and forget fully automated electronic humidor that is great value for money and for your cigars.

Four pieces of beech wood shelves
Compressor and direct cooling
Power cord and plug to national requirements .

Temperature range 5--22°C Range of inside cabinet humidity>65%RH

Size of inside cabinet 48.5 X 44 X 59 cm
Body size : 59.5 X 59 X 84
Packing size: 68 X 65 X 92
Net weight 50 kg
Gross weight 55 kg



Available for collection from C.Gars Ltd London office Price is inclusive VAT for a limited period only (normal RRP £850)

This offer is strictly whilst stocks last!

Delivery service available, please email sales@cgarsltd.co.uk or
telephone C.Gars Ltd London office on 0207 372 1865

£650.00 (-10%) + Delivery (FREE DELIVERY MAINLAND UK)

So claim your discount of 10% by mentioning World of Cigars while ordering!

Please see links for further details or contact me.

cheers!

Sunday 11 May 2008

EO Brands Launches 601 Rewards Program and a New Size

Sunrise, FL – EO Brands., distributor of 601 cigars has created a Rewards Program (http://www.601rewards.com/ ), fashioned after the loyalty programs used by airlines, hotels, restaurants.

By saving the bands of any 601 cigar (Connecticut, Habano, Maduro, Oscuro), the smoker can obtain rewards ranging from tee shirts, humidors to plasma TVs, etc. According to EO Brands’, Eddie Ortega, the available rewards will be expanded. Half in jest, he said “A truly constant smoker of our cigars could probably get himself a nice Mercedes Benz!”

At the same time, EO announced that spring ’08 would see the introduction of a 58 x 6-1/8” Trabuco which originated in the Oscuro.

Sunday 4 May 2008

Review - Montecristo 4 - 93/100


The Petit Corona sized Montecristo No4. is the best selling cuban cigar of all time. And no wonder. Despite the small size, it is well balanced and one of the more complex ones of the Habanos out there. The only downside to its huge success is the inconcistency: When you get a perfect Monte 4, it is worth 99 points, and when you miss, you miss big time.

This individual reviewed is amongst the good ones.

The Cigar has a beautiful wrapper with a golden shine to it. It feels perfect to your hand and the fragrance unlit is amazing. The Cuban triple cap seems flawless and the draw is just perfect.
The complex character starts to built right from the first draws.

The intro is a mixture of medium bodied tobacco with an almondy backround. The main flavor profile consists of some leathery and spicy notes built around a theme of roasted coffee beans. The finale is a beautiful descent from a complex symphony of flavours to a gentle fade to a spicy finish. All round and well balanced.

No wonder, the Montecristo No4. is the top selling cigar. I would score this one a point or two higher, but with past experience with the inconcistency, i am forced to give it only 93 points out of 100.

I truly, highly, deeply recommend.


Origin: Cuba

Construction 18/20
Appearance 19/20
Smoke/Ash 9/10
Burn 19/20
Draw 19/20
Aroma 9/10 (9,9,9)

TOTAL POINTS 93/100