Room 101 Daruma Roxxo

I don't think I've had a bad Room 101 stick yet. Some I've liked better than others, but they've all been flavorful and constructed to Camacho's fine standards. On the heels of the curveball San Andres line comes Daruma, a more spendy cigar and smoother blend.

Room 101 Daruma Roxxo

While the San Andres' band sports the Fu face on the outside, the Daruma hides it's eccentricity on the inside of the band. Kind of like a fortune cookie where you make up the fortune, you use the Daruma doll face as a milestone to your goals. My goal, tonight, is to smoke this wee cigar, then blather about how much I enjoyed it.

The Daruma Roxxo is a Honduran and Dominican filled bullet, jacketed with a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The Corojo and Crillolo fillers echo the composition of earlier Room 101 marcas, but the blend, Brazilian binder and new wrapper set this round apart.

Once lit, the Daruma pours forth earthy floral tones with some Corojo red pepper notes. The red pepper yields to a hearty wood tone to go with the earthy floral for the duration, with the red pepper Corojo spice wafting back in for a curtain call. While incredibly smooth and creamy, Daruma is a medium-bodied smoke all the way. The floral woody flavors are not unlike some of my favorite cigars from the Forbidden Island.

Room 101 has added a dash of West Coast personality and swagger to cigar culture, and has the great blends to back that swagger up. Though listed, and priced, at the ultra-premium level, Daruma is yet another fine blend to swagger with.

Rocky Patel Burn 'Special Reserve' Robusto

Rocky Patel is the Johnnie Walker of cigar brands: Sure, there are some pedestrian blends, all fairly serviceable, but there are also some spectacular blends to be had. The Burn 'Special Reserve' would be the Green Label blend.

Rocky Patel Burn 'Special Reserve'

Rocky's 'Burn' is as much a command as it is a name. Like the treats of 'Alice in Wonderland', just the appearance of the cigar says 'Burn Me'. The chocolate-brown Ecuador Sumatra wrapper is toothy enough to take the remaining paint off that picnic table. I'd  guess it to be a PA or CT broadleaf rather than Sumatra. It's pretty, but there's a loose, loose draw through the Nicaraguan fillers, inspiring comparison to the working girls of Tijuana.

The party really starts when I follow the one-word instruction on the band. Tart, fruity leather and wood flavors with a spice that starts strong, ends strong, and is pretty present through the whole smoke. I also get occasional hay and coffee notes, but through all the subtle variations the spice really puts this cigar over the top. This is a solid medium-bodied cigar that doesn't quit.

Special Reserve is no lie; this is a special blend, but I'm not going to reserve any of these for very long. Smoke if you got 'em!

Archer Farms Colombia Rio Magdalena

Archer Farms Colombian Rio Magdalena

Another medium-roast Colombian coffee, this time from the Magdalena region in the Northern tip of the country.

Not that long ago, I was able to get bags of the "Direct Trade" in whole bean, but lately seem scarce. It's a shame, because these coffees in whole bean are really good.

Though this batch is pre-ground, there are still some nice aromas of tangy fruit and sweet wood from the bag. Once brewed it still has glimmers of the flavors found in the aromas, but really becomes nondescript fairly fast.

 I wish this was whole bean, and much fresher, but when it's on sale for less than $6 for the 11 oz bag, I'm not complaining too loudly. It beats the more expensive Charbucks product just down the aisle, and is lightyears better than what's usually in the office coffee pot.

Alec Bradley Nica Puro Bajito

The casual observer might miss it, but an earnest glance over the cigars I've reviewed thus far might betray my obvious preference for Nicaraguan tobaccos. So, when Snappy started touting the 'Nica Puro' release, I was instantly interested.

These Bajitos were on the shelf at the shop for just a few hours before I swooped in and bought a handful. For a 4.5" x 52-ish cigar, this Bajito is a hefty little guy, feeling as heavy in the hand as someone else' toro or torpedo. Bajito must be a Spanish term for "Li'l Badass".

Alec Bradley Nica Puro Bajito.

I get a spice on the lips for the first kiss, and once lit, earthy, dark flavors of coffee, leather and bitter cocoa are booming right from the first puff. The earthy spice is fairly subdued, only obvious at the first and last parts of the smoke. This is definitely a medium to full bodied cigar, but the nicotine content doesn't give me the sweats and rumbles.

The amount of smoke coming off this stick is amazingly thick and creamy, like a smokey milkshake. This dense little firecracker takes about an hour to enjoy, from foot to nub, so the $7 price is not unreasonable.

The Bajito has all the flavors of the hallmark Nicaraguan tobaccos; earth, coffee, bitter cocoa, spice, and more earth. If you like Oliva, Padron, or Perdomo sticks, you'll find something to love in this Alec Bradley Nica Puro. But, you'd better get down to the shop and get some before I go back, because I'm not settling for just a handful.

Casa Fuente robusto

What goes on in Vegas WILL make its way out of Vegas. Whether it's a hushed trip to the doctor when you get home, or a nasty credit card bill in the mail; don't fool yourself, the truth will out.

Not all lingering repercussions are bad, though. In this instance, I carried back a handful of the really exspendy, and really excellent, Casa Fuente cigars.

Fair warning (as if you won't notice this in other blogs about Casa Fuente), even this meager 5x52 robusto will run you about $20.

Loads of other bloggers, with more refined taste than mine, will tell you all the florid nuances of this cigar. I'll just do so in a few bold strokes; Sweet grass overtone, with a savory spice body that's incredible. Think of a Fuente Hemingway wrapper on an Opus X. It's a great combo, and unfortunately exclusive to this pricey line of cigars.

If you're going to make the trip to Casa Fuente, might as well bring home a couple flammable souvenirs to remind you of the experience, right? Be it smoking at the Forum Shops location, or your own garage, this is one mighty fine smoke.

Cultiva Colombia Huila

Cultiva Colombia Huila

I love a local roaster than knows his beans from his bollocks and first crack from his ass crack. Cultiva is a fine roaster from Lincoln Nebraska, and this Colombia Huila is a sweet coffee. The Huila region of Colombia is on the southeastern slopes of the Andes mountain range, and is as rich a coffee-growing situation as any other.

Just opening the bag of medium-roast beans unleashes a delightful aroma of butterscotch and sweet fruit with an Amaretto-like note. Freshly ground, the coffee is a soft brown with blonde flecks and has an even more delightful aroma then the whole beans. Forget sniffing glue, boys; run some of these beans through your burr grinder and huff away.

Don't rush, don't burn your tongue, but it's hard to resist with the aromas coming off this coffee. Sipping brings bright, sweet flavors of coffee, fruit and wood. Not bitter at all, this is good stuff. I wouldn't waste this coffee by pairing it with anything too bold, like a heavy Nicaraguan cigar. Perhaps a Fuente Hemingway or Diplomaticos no. 4.

Illusione Cruzado Dantes

I reached into my favorites box and came up with a cigar that had an unfortunately short run. I hate when that happens. I find something, I dig the way it works, fits, smells, or tastes and then WHAM; discontinued. New Coke, the Reggie Bar, BJ and the Bear, .. the list is endless.

Cruzado Dantes

This particular Cruzado Dantes (robusto) has been chilling for 3 years, since I bought a box on closeout.Time to see if I need to smoke up the remaining stash in short order, or string them out longer.

The Cruzado issued forth from Dion Giolito after the original Illusione line. It is a softer smoke than the heavy, dark Illusione, using a Criollo wrapper and a milder blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran Corojo and Criollo tobaccos. The overall effect is a cigar that is a little milder and brighter than the flagship Illusione line.

Mmm, on the cold draw, I get a mild red pepper note of the Corojo, and look forward to finding my torch.. now where it it?  Ahh, there it is.  Wow, the first inch is great; woody flavor with a little red pepper Corojo heat, not mild at all, The Corojo heat drops off a little to leave a solid woody flavor with a little earth and leather flavors. I'm reminded of the latest Flor de las Antillas line. The last inch features a soft spice and the wood tone gets a little tart.

Still medium-bodied after 3 years, these things are aging nicely. I'm in no hurry to smoke down the half dozen I have left. Cruzado is a great smoke, shame they aren't in general circulation any more. You might ask "why write a review on a cigar that isn't available anymore." My answer is this: I like it, this is my blog, and I'll write about whatever the heck I want. If Dion ever reads this; I really liked Cruzado, and you can roll these again and I'd buy them again.

Tatuaje Reserva J21

I'm tripping out to the garage for a night of expensive blockbusters, with a Tatuaje Reserva J21 and a DVD of 'Transformers 3: dark of the Moon'. The former, an orgy of delicious Nicaraguan tobaccos and the latter, an orgy of spectacular CGI robots. I'm hopeful for lots of action on both fronts.

First kiss of the toothy wrapper, even before ignition, brings spice to my lips. Once flame commences, the explosions of peppery spice and bold, earthy wood light up my palate like a Tatuaje Miami on steroids. The spicy intro gives way to a bold melange of earthy wood, coffee, and bitter coca notes; signature Nicaraguan flavors. The spicy notes lurk in the background, and come closer to the fore near the nub.

 I think I'll just shut this horrific movie off so I can enjoy the exquisite nub in a semblance of peace. The blonde actress with the Angelina Jolie too-puffy lips is annoying, and I can't believe they scripted Nimoy's CGI robot to spew the line about the "needs of the many.."

For the occasional treat, Tatuaje Reserva is worth the extra couple bucks over the standard, brown-band Miami line. I'd buy another Reserva, but I don't know about any more dreadful Michael Bay films. Not unless he brings back Megan Fox.

Hugh Jass Tweets

  Like anyone up on the times, I've joined Twitter, and in it found it to be mostly like watching press releases rolling in on a newsroom fax machine. While I have attempted some engagement and conversation via tweets, it just doesn't seem to be the generally accepted reality at all.

  While it's commonly called 'social media' I'm more inclined to call it 'cult media'. In a social setting, there is dialog, give and take, listening, asking, and responding. In a cult setting, there's the self-anointed guru making statements to his/her/its 'followers'. He who gets the most followers wins, right? And everyone on Twitter is their own guru, collecting followers, and attempting the occasional suck-up to someone more popular.

Call me an old man, but I prefer hanging out with the locals at a real cigar shop, actually communicating with real, physically present people. Even the old-fashioned bulletin boards/discussion forums seem preferable to the "one-off statement" that passes for dialog on Twitter.  But, enough about the existential complaining, and get to some Twitter-centric annoyances.

Hugh Jass Tweeting Hand

@HughJassCynic Twitter Annoyances:

a) The only person that's glad to know you're at the baggage terminal at Reagan is the contract killer who's following your Twitter feed to get your exact location. The rest of us aren't quite so interested.

b) Please, no play-by-play of whatever you're doing at the time. Yes, you're having a blast at Fenway; I already saw that 5 tweets ago. And, yes, I know the Yankees STILL suck.

c)  #Please #Don't #Hashtag #Every #Single #Frigging #Word #In #Your #Tweets; Leave some # for the rest of us, eh?

d) Enough with the foul language, please. I've already hidden you from my Facebook feed for your continual F*bombs, I'm also ignoring you for your linguistic deficiencies on Twitter as well.

I'm sure that if I spend enough time on Twitter, I will uncover a host of other annoyances. But these are sufficient for now. And, by all means, if my attempts to converse around your tweets offends, let me know.


Follow @HughJassCynic 
And don't just follow me; challenge me, engage me. 

Nub Maduro

Ode to a Nub Maduro

How long you waited, three years or four,

since the day I brought you home.

Now rescued from my humidor,

out to garage we both shall roam

to watch TV or XBOX game.

Wrapped in a mantle dark as loam,

short of stature, stout of frame,

cap clipped with blades of brightest chrome,

foot set ablaze with hottest flame.

Smoke rises up heralding pleasure.

Not too bold, yet never tame;

you present slightly earthy leather,

wood and mild spice I cannot name.

Medium body altogether,

a freely drawing, rotund delight.

The years, you seem to deftly weather,

holding vibrant flavors bright.

Before you've burned to ashy nether

in every sense you are just right.

T'was good I bought a whole box.

Nub Maduro

La Sirena Prince Robusto

La Sirena is the winner of the Hugh Jass Cigar Band award for Most Ridiculously Large Cigar Band. Hands down. Gurkha comes in a distant second. That's not to say that there isn't a load of gorgeous and thought-provoking details in this beautiful 3" tall strap. But, it's entirely too large, especially on this 5.25" robusto.

I won't go into cowboy belt buckles and overcompensation issues..

La Sirena is a Nicaraguan gem, rolled by Pepin Garcia for Miami Cigar. The blend of Corojo and Criollo tobaccos bound with Habano and wrapped in Connecticut broadleaf is a recipe for delight.

La Sirena Prince Robusto

The wrapper, who's cap and foot can be glimpsed around the edges of the obscenely oversized cigar band, is toothy and gnarled with some serious veins. Despite any aesthetic challenge, the wrapper reeks of earth and spice. No faint whiff of this or that, just an unmistakeable warning of powerful, spicy delight ahead.

The wrapper is no lie, as soon as I get this lit; BANG.. peppery spice and heady wood notes. Welcome to Pepin-Pepperland. Watch out for your sinuses, gang, the retrohale is a stunner.

 After the first half-inch, the spice subsides to allow earthy wood and coffee notes to take over La Sirena's song. The spice re-enters as a harmony towards the end of this medium-bodied cigar.

Tasty cigar, beautiful, if not slightly overdone, band. By the way, once I take off the super-duper large band, there's a skinny, cheesey-looking band underneath. Talk about overcompensation. The cigar needs neither extreme to be deemed a great smoke. Nice work, Miami Cigar and Pepin.

Trader Joe's Medium Roast

There are times when a medium roast coffee hits the spot, especially as a change-up to a dark-roasted coffee rut. Trader Joe's coffees come in generously-sized 14 oz cannisters, and at moderate prices.

Trader Joe's Medium Roast is arabica beans toasted to a soft brown City or City+ roast, and not oily at all. A little dryish to look at, really. Once through the burr grinder, you get some little blonde flecks here and there, and the aroma is a bright, woody smell.

After an appointment with Mr. Coffee (auto-drip), some smooth wood, just on the border of grassy, and coffee flavors abound. Just as it looks and sounds, a medium roast. A nice complement to a mild Dominican cigar with a shade-grown Connecticut wrapper, or dovetailing nicely with the floral twang of a Juan Lopez or Bolivar petit corona.

Room 101 Namakubi Tiburon

Despite the ominous sound of Room 101 (ominous to the literary-experienced, anyway), I find myself going back to their offerings time and again. This time, it's the Namakubi line.

If the grim imagery invoked by the company name isn't enough, Namakubi is a traditional Japanese gift of the severed head of an enemy samurai to the victorious warlord. Personally, considering the continual morbid references, I think Matt Booth probably needs therapy. But, at least his palate for choosing cigar blends is spot on.

Room 101 Namakubi Tiburon

The Namakubi's medium-brown Criollo wrapper is fairly smooth with moderate veins. The fillers are again a Dominican and Honduran blend by Camacho. The cigar draws like a dream and holds ash over and inch or so.

Right off the bat, I get wicked earthy wood and leather notes. After the first inch, there's a great interplay of earthy floral and coffee flavors. Near the end, the floral tones are joined with a mild spice. Throughout the cigar are medium-bodied flavors that don't take my head off.

I've smoked a handful of these, and the wrappers frequently flake and split. Might be a bad batch or the humi at the B&M isn't peak, but I don't have this problem with most other sticks from that place. I won't demand Matt Booth perform seppuku over the minor flaws of the Namakubi Tiburon.