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.