CAO l'anniversaire MADURO

 

Band from the CAO l'anniversaire MADURO

The planned Larry Holmes / Gerry Cooney event that was scheduled for Tuesday November 24th, 2009 was postponed due to the untimely illness of Larry Holmes.  No date has been scheduled for this event and I will keep you updated with any news if and when the event is re-scheduled.  In the meantime this reviewer was able to smoke the CAO 30th Anniversary Maduro cigar.  I haven't smoked CAO cigars in quite a while so I figured I give this one a try.

From my research this cigar has been hailed as one of the best maduros made, the CAO l'anniversaire Maduro is a box pressed cigar with a rich full-flavored aroma .  The CAO l'anniversaire series is world famous for being one of the first box pressed cigars ever made. More than a pioneer in appearance and construction, this cigar was also one of the first extremely high rated maduros. Several sizes in this line have earned ratings of 90 or better by Cigar Aficionado and Cigar Insider, a rare accomplishment for any cigar blend.  This cigar is rolled at CAO's factory in Nicaragua with uncompromising detail.

PRE-SMOKE

The maduro I smoked was the Torpedo size.  A wonderful maduro wrapper greeted me and the nose provided me with an earthiness with a hint of leather.  The initial draw, once cut, provided more of the earthiness and leather that was present on the nose.

THE BURN

Once lit the cigar presented, in addition to the earthiness and hints of leather, a mild spiciness that was present through all thirds of the cigar.  The ash was a nice grayish-black and hung on for a full inch and the burn was even.  The spiciness became prominent on the last third and was a welcome enjoyment over the last cigar I smoked.  

Overall the cigar didn't disappoint from the initial draw till I was down to the nub.  I was wishing that the cigar could go on forever, which is a testament to CAO's attention to the quality that goes into their cigars.  This is one full bodied cigar I would recommend to anyone who has at least one hour to devote to enjoying this wonderful cigar that surprisingly comes at an affordable price.

Well I could go on about this cigar but I will let those reading this try the CAO l'anniversaire Maduro and see what I have been raving about.  The next event upcoming is the Monjure pipe event which takes place on Tuesday December 2nd, 2009 from 11am - 6pm at Barclay Rex 75 Broad Street, New York.

GRAYCLIFF 1666

Band from the Graycliff 1666 Cigar

Had an opportunity to smoke the Graycliff 1666 maduro cigar. Since this is the first Graycliff ever smoked by this reviewer I thought I'd share my insight into this boutique cigar. This cigar is the first cigar from Graycliff to be manufactured outside of the Bahamas.  The Graycliff 1666 cigar line was made in honor of the first buildings built on the site that the restaurant and resort now inhabit, a church that was one of Nassau's first buildings.  


PRE-SMOKE


The 1666 features a dark, toothy Jaltepec maduro wrapper was carefully selected, combined with an extensively aged recipe of Peruvian, Columbian, Brazilian, and Mexican long fillers, a multi-country mixture secured by an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder.  The nose of the cigar reveals an earthiness.  


THE BURN


Once lit the 1666 for the first third the cigar had the same earthiness that was present in the nose also with a hint of spiciness.  The ash was a grayish-black and held on for a full inch and the burn was fairly even.  I expected the spiciness to last through the entire cigar but was disappointed when the middle third  turned rather mild and almost flavorless.  There was a 'hint' of spiciness in the middle third and you really had to work hard to notice the spiciness.  The final third came back with a flourish presenting me with the spiciness that was lacking in the middle third.  


Overall the cigar is a medium body smoke that didn't develop the fullness expected for the price.  This reviewer wouldn't recommend this cigar to anyone who's looking for a full bodied smoke.

LA AURORA 1495 CIGAR EVENT

On Wednesday November 18th, 2009 from 12pm - 5pm Barclay Rex hosted a cigar event featuring the La Aurora 1495 cigar distributed by Miami Cigar.  On hand was the cigar make Jose Blanco creator of the 1495 cigar.  La Aurora is one of the oldest cigar companies in the Dominican Republic.  Founded in 1903 the company makes cigarettes, beer (such as Presidente), and, naturally, hand made cigars. I was able to smoke both the 1495 and the Escogido. The event featured the La Aurora Escogido and the 1495 cigar.  The Esgido cigar is not sold in any cigar shop but is given out at cigar events and when people take a tour of the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic.

PRE-SMOKE

The Escogido cigar measures in at 5" with a 50 ring gauge, and is comprised of  Dominican filler, Dominican binder tobacco and wrapped in a Cameroon wrapper.   The cigar when held under the nose eluded a pleasant sweetness with a hint of chocolate.

The 1495 series cigar is comprised of  tobacco from five different countries to create this classic size five inch 50 ring gauge.  The tobacco comes from Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic (which is the source for the binder and one of the filler tobaccos).  This blend is what makes the 1495 cigar a complex yet well balanced smoke and shows the skill that goes into the blending process.  The cigar when held under the nose eluded a hint of chocolate.

THE BURN

Once lit the Escogido cigar had a hint of dark chocolate and a nice spiciness on the tongue. It had a nice even burn and maintained a nice grey ash that hung on for approximately an inch and a half.  The cigar maintained the spiciness all the way through.

Smoked the 1495 and like the Escogido also had a hint of chocolate and a nice spiciness on the tongue.  It too has a nice even burn throughout and also maintained a nice grey ash.  The spiciness was present throughout.

Overall I would recommend the 1495 cigar for the experienced smoker that's looking for a change from their regular smoke.  It is a good value for the price.

The next upcoming event is the Larry Homes, Gerry Cooney meet and greet event on Tuesday November 24th, 2009 from 7pm - 9pm taking place at Barclay Rex located at 75 Broad Street, New York.

PETERSON PIPE SHOW

Hey folks, welcome to my pipe and cigar musings blog.  Today I am going review the Peterson Pipe show that took place recently at Barclay Rex Cigar Shop at 75 Broad Street in New York City.  The pipes are handcrafted and made in their facilities in Dublin Ireland,  The show was held on Thursday November 12th, 2009 and Friday November 13th, 2009 from 12pm - 5pm.  The store ran a promotion, in conjunction with the pipe show, that every pipe bought came with a 50g tin, smoker's choice, of Peterson's pipe tobacco and the buyer received an additional 20% discount.


The show featured pipes of all sizes, price ranges, different bowl shapes and a multitude of colors and textures.  The pipes I saw ranged from pipes with a rusticated texture to smooth briars.  The majority of the pipes came in the standard reddish-brown, brown, black and there were a couple in a wonderful forest green color.  The stems are made either of lucite or acrylic and came in a variety of colors ranging from black for the lucite to multiple colors (gold and a reddish-brown).  One of the unique features of the show was a pipe duo. One of the pipes was a rarely seen Peterson meerschaum, with a black lucite stem, paired with a briar pipe, with a straight lucite stem, done in all black.  It was a wonderful combination but a bit out of this reviewer's price range.  There was a pipe with a metal band around the top edge of the bowl, a rarely seen feature on pipes.  The only other one I saw was at the last meeting of the New York Pipe Club, held on Tuesday November 10th, 2009.  Peterson also displayed a pipe where the bowl was of a shape typically associated with corn cob pipes.


This reviewer purchased a clear flat bottom pipe with a black lucite stem which, standard for Peterson, does not come with the inside of the bowl pre-charred. Flat bottom pipes are a rarity.  I had an opportunity to smoke the pipe and smoked wonderful from the beginning to the very end of the first bowl.  This is the second Peterson pipe that this reviewer own which speaks to the quality and craftsmanship that goes into these wonderful pipes.  Another pipe aficionado bought a Peterson pipe, and like this reviewer, enjoyed the first smoke in this pipe.  They also found this pipe to be a great value for the money and had the same enjoyment in smoking the first bowl of tobacco in the pipe.


Well that's it from the Peterson Pipe Show.  Anyone wishing to see pictures from the show can click  on the follow: Pipe Pictures.


The next event that will be reviewed will be the Aurora Cigar event  on Wednesday November 18th, 2009 from 12pm - 5pm also taking place at Barclay Rex Cigar located at 75 Broad Street.