MY 10 BEST CIGARS OF 2009

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Merry belated Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, a belated happy Hanukkah and just plain ol' Happy Holidays to all the followers of this blog site.  Figured since everyone is doing a top ten list of some sort, I might as well follow suit.

I am going to give you my ten best cigars that I smoked in 2009 and found worth mentioning.  They run the gambit of sizes, prices and countries of origin.  Without further beating around the bush here's my TOP 10 CIGARS OF 2009.

10 - LegendArio Camacho Legendario Bertha.  A great full bodied cigar at a moderate price. Well worth a try in these hard economic times.

9 - Nestor Miranda Murcielago short robusto.  A newly released short robusto cigar (4 x 40) with a gorgeous maduro wrapper.  See the Murcielago review for more details on this wonderful smoke.

8 - Davidoff Millennium Blend Robusto.  Smoked this cigar at a Barclay Rex event and finally saw what the Davidoff smokers rave about.  It's a great smoke, a bit pricey, but it's worth a try.

7 - CAO Maduro (Torpedo).  A great smoke, hadn't smoked one in a while and revisited this brand and was pleasantly surprised.  See the CAO Maduro review for more details on this wonderful cigar.

6 - NUB (the entire line).  This is a small, 4 x 60, cigar but don't let the size fool you.  This cigar packs a full bodied flavor and requires 45 minutes to enjoy the flavors in this wonderful Oliva creation.

5 - OLIVA Series G and Series V.  Another great smoke that comes in all sizes and shapes.  My favorite is the figurado shape.  A wonderful smoke that comes at a price that won't break the bank.

4 - San Cristobal.  A great new line from the folks that brought you the Ashton cigar line.  Yet another wonderful smoke that shows the care that Don Pepin Garcia puts into creating this wonderful Honduran cigar.  Worth a trip to your local cigar merchant to give this a try. If you like the Ashton cigars you won't be disappointed with the San Cristobal.

3 -  Camacho Room 101.  A great new cigar which was a collaborative effort with legendary jewelry designer Matt Booth.  This cigar comes in 6 sizes and is named with a number, which translates to an area code for different parts of the country.  I have smoked the torpedo shape which is a wonderful medium bodied smoke.  I'd highly recommend this to those medium and full body smokers.

2- La Flor Dominica Double Ligero.   My favorites are the DL-700, a 6 1/2 x 60, and the Chisel Maduro.  Both are very full bodied smokes, as a big fan of this line, I'd highly recommend that one smokes these cigars after having a meal otherwise you'll be in for a big head rush.  Worth the price and if you're a full bodied smoker as I am you'll fall in love with these cigars.

Finally we get to my #1 smoke of 2009 which is the LG Diez Chisel Puro.  This cigar like the Fuente OPUS OPUS X is a rare breed.  This cigar is comprised of Dominican grown tobacco which gives it a wonder flavor.  It's an unusual figurado shaped cigar where the head of the cigar comes to a chisel shape hence the name.  Lito tells a wonderful story as to how the Chisel shape came into being.  As he states it came about from him chomping on a cigar during the day until the end became flattened like the point of a carpenter's chisel.   It's a wonderful smoke, if you can find them, and as a fan I'd highly recommend this cigar if you can procure one.  You won't be disappointed.

There you go folks, my top 10 best cigars that I had the pleasure to smoke in 2009.  Hope you'll give one or all of them a try and see if they become one of your top 10 smokes.  Hope your New Year is the best it can be, whatever you do.  Enjoy your booze and cigars responsibly.  I will continue adding to this blog in 2010 so keep your eyes open for the next event in 2010.

DECEMBER PIPE CLUB MEETING

Hi all, since there's no events at Barclay Rex upcoming I figured I should give you a peek into the NY Pipe Club's monthly meeting.  The meeting is held the second Tuesday of every month at Florio's Restaurant, in Little Italy, 192 Grand Street, NYC. The members generally get together around 6pm and have dinner at the restaurant then go upstairs, thanks to the NYC No Smoking Law, and relax and smoke their pipes.  This month's, December 8th, 2009, meeting was a special one.  Over the last couple of months the pipe industry has lost two very well know gentlemen.  One was a pipe maker who worked for Ashton pipes and the other gentleman worked for Dunhill. At this meeting we were going to be enjoying some rare Dunhill tobaccos that have been seen in the US.  Also some of the members brought their special Dunhill pipes to smoke this wonderful tobacco.

The evening started with dinner at the restaurant, consisting of great Italian food and drink.  People were filtering in to the restaurant starting at 6pm and the majority of the crowd was done with dinner by 7:15pm.  At this time we all ascend the stairs and go up to Three Little Indians cigar lounge to begin smoking our pipes, Dunhills if we have them, and some wonderful Dunhill tobacco.  This tobacco used to be seen in the US years ago but due to licensing agreement conflicts they stopped exporting the tobacco to the US.  The only country that still sells Dunhill tobacco is Germany and if you wanted to purchase it over the Internet it would cost you $20 US.

Peter, the website manager, produced a leaflet with information about the Dunhill tobacco maker who passed away and handed it to those who wanted to learn more about this person.  He said that he had a Dunhill catalog from 1928 that he'd be raffling off to those who attended this month's Pipe Club meeting.  Some of the Dunhill tobacco we smoked were the Durbar blend, which contains a high proportion of Oriental, Virginia and Latakia in the mixture.  People also smoked the 965, which has small Latakia, Macedonia Bright and Brown Cavendish.  I had the opportunity to try the Durbar blend and, as stated in reviews I have seen, it is a tobacco that takes a good while to smoke.  This is not for those who don't like smoking a non-aromatic.

Pictures were taken by Peter and myself.  Peter's pictures will be posted on the NY Pipe Club website while anyone wishing to see my pictures can get them at the following link: New York Pipe Club

Our thanks to Larry owner of Florio's and Three Little Indians Cigar Lounge for allowing the New York Pipe Club to hold their monthly meetings at this wonderful establishment.  Still no word on any new events at Barclay Rex.  Will keep my ear to the cigar in case any news surfaces in the cigar ash.

NESTOR MIRANDA CIGARS

Bands from the Nestor Miranda Cigars

Hey folks, finally got the time to review the two Nestor Miranda cigars that were handed out at last week's Fifty Best Scotch tasting event.  As I said in my review of the event the two cigars that we smoked were the Special Selection and the newly released Murcielago cigars.  Both cigars are a short robusto measuring in at 4" x 40 ring gauge.  I had a chance to smoke both at the event and was able to snag another Murcielago so I could enjoy it outside the event so I could give it a proper smoke.

PRE-BURN

The Murcielago is made in Nicaragua.  It consists of a Nicaraguan and Mexican filler, Nicaraguan binder and a Mexican Maduro wrapper.  This cigar is medium to full bodied in strength.  The nose of the cigar reveals creamy notes and hints at the luscious flavor yet to come.  Upon cutting the cigar and giving it a pre-smoke draw reveals more of the creaminess.

The Special Selection is also a short robusto measuring 4" x 40 ring gauge.  Could not find any information on the tobacco makeup of this cigar, but will update this review once the information has been obtained.  The nose of the cigar does reveal a bit of creaminess but not as much as the Murcielago since this cigar had a lighter colored wrapper.  Upon cutting the cigar and giving it a pre-smoke draw revealed the hint of creaminess that was present in the nose.

BURN

Upon lighting this cigar, the Murcielago, I could tell I was in for a treat, if the pre-burn was correct.  The burn was even and the ash hung on for a good inch given this was a rather short cigar.  The creaminess that was present in the pre-burn draw was present throughout the entire cigar.  The Maduro wrapper enhanced the creaminess and give the cigar the nice medium to full bodied flavor that I like in a good cigar.  This cigar burned consistently from initial lighting to the very end and was worth every minute.  This cigar has not yet hit the cigar shops as it was only released three weeks ago.  I highly recommend this cigar to anyone looking for a medium to full bodied smoke that doesn't require a long time to smoke it.

Upon lighting the Special Selection I could tell that this was a good smoke and could taste the hints of creaminess.  The burn was even and the ash, a nice grayish black color, hung on for a good inch even though this was a short cigar.  The only problem, that I and others who smoked this cigar, was that the cigar needed to be relighted a number of times.  Not sure what the issue was related to and will have to smoke another one to see if was isolated to the batch that we smoked at the Fifty Best Scotch tasting event.  Other wise this was a good cigar and again I would recommend this cigar to someone who's looking for a short smoke and doesn't want to smoke a full bodied smoke.

From talking to folks a Barclay Rex in NYC I don't think there'll be any events between now and the end of the year.  If anything does come up I will be sure to inform the readers.

BREBIA PIPE REVIEW

Author's Brebia Pipe

 As promised in my review of the Monjure Pipe show here's my review of my second Brebia Pipe.  As I stated I purchased a gray lacquered pipe, with a tomato shaped bowl (9mm) with a black lucite stem.

This past Saturday, it was a snowy / rainy but not so cold day, here in NYC I decided it was time for me to roam the city with all the tourists and locals alike to smoke this pipe to contemplate the notes that I'd be putting into this review.

As with my other Brebia Pipe, an all black rusticated pipe with a black lucite stem, this new addition smoked wonderful from the first smoke.  My initial smoke with this pipe occurred at the Barclay Rex Cigar Lounge, 75 Broad Street NYC, smoking an English Latakia blend.  For this review I was smoking an Aromatic Flake from Samuel Gwaith called Samuel Gwaith's Best Brown Flake from England.

The pipe has an unusually large stem which takes a bit of time to find the sweet spot to comfortably hold the pope in your mouth without the fear that you may drop and damage the pipe.  By the time I was contemplating this review I had found the 'sweet spot' on this pipe and I am able to hold this pipe in my mouth without the risk of damaging to this pipe.

The draw on this pipe is as good as my other Brebia, a testament to the wonderful workmanship of Brebia pipes.  For a pipe of this size the bowl is very deceptive holding more tobacco than you would think on initial inspection.

The pipe, when smoked, shows the detail that the pipe maker puts into all of the pipes that are created.  The pipe is easy to maintain with most of the pipe cleaners.  I prefer to use the ones that are bristled, similar to the shape of a bottle brush, that way I am able to get the stem and the area the stem slips into clean with minimal effort.

All in all the pipe is a dream to smoke and is also a great conversation piece.  The pipe is one design I hadn't seen done before.  The pipe maker incorporates a unique X pattern in the bowl after the bowl was lacquered.

Well I could go on forever, but all things have to end.  My next posting will be my review of the two Nestor Miranda cigars I got at The Fifty Best Scotch tasting event.  Heard rumors that Barclay Rex maybe planning an event for December 21st but as stated that is only a rumor at this stage.  More to come on any future events.

The Fifty Best Scotch Tasting featuring Nestor Miranda Cigars

Event Flyer 

Hello folks, we are coming to you from the Fifty Best Scotch tasting event which also featured two cigars from famed cigar maker Nestor Miranda.  The two cigars featured were the Special Selection and the newly released Murcielago cigars.  (Review of these to follow in a separate post).  The event was held at Barclay Rex Cigars, 75 Broad Street NYC from 7pm - 9pm on Thursday December 3rd, 2009.  On hand were Vincent Nastri, owner of Barclay Rex, Joe Guzman, Director of Marketing Barclay Rex, Patrick Grant, blogger and technical consultant to Joe Guzman, Mike from The Fifty Best and a representative from Scott's Selection.  Vincent and Mike were the co-hosts of this wonderful event.

Joe Guzman and Vincent Nastri

Mike from The Fifty Best and his wife

Representative from Scott's Selection

Author Patrick Grant

The event featured tastings of some great Single Malts and one Blended Scotch (comprised of two Single Malts blended).  There were nine Single Malts, from all regions (Highlands (Speyside), Lowlands and Islay) and the sole Blended Scotch was from the Speyside region.

Cover of Scott's Selection brochure

Box from King's Crest 25yr Blended Scotch

The tasting began promptly at 7pm and we were tasting all the Scotches in order of proof, from the ones that were at 86.4 proof up to ones that were 110 proof or higher.  Scott's Selection provided the scotches for this event and the ones we tasted are known, in the industry, as Natural Cask Strength.  This provides the taster with Single Malts that are bottled with the greatest of care to ensure the malts are kept as close as possible to the natural state in the cask.  Every barrel of Scott's Selection is bottled at cask strength, undiluted by water.  The bottles are also non-chillfiltered, that is the scotches are not chilled during the filtering process prior to bottling.  Chill filtering is a process where the whisky is separated from the fats and oils rendering a clearer Scotch.

The Scotches that we tasted were the following:

Auchentoshan 1983 Lowland 104.8 proof
Bunnahabhain 1988 Islay 107.6 proof
Caol Ila 1984 Islay 109.4 proof
Glenlivet 1977 Highlands (Speyside) 106.2 proof
Glen Elgin 1980 Highlands (Speyside) 88.2 proof
Glen Rothes 1980 Highlands (Speyside) 111.6 proof
Highland Park 1986 Highlands (Orkney Island) 108.2 proof (This was the most northern Scotch present in the tasting)
Longmorn-Glenlivet 1971 Highlands (Speyside) 107 proof
Macallan 1989 Highlands (Speyside) 105.4 proof
Kings Crest blended Scotch whisky aged 25 years Highlands (Speyside)

We were instructed to taste the Scotches first as poured from each bottle to get the initial flavor profile.  Then the representative then added a few drops of water, which was to open up the flavor profile. We  tasted the Scotches with the water added which opened up the flavor profile. The only Scotch, the King's Crest, did not need the water as it was a blended scotch.

Bands from the Nestor Miranda Cigars

The two cigars featured were two from the line of Nestor Miranda.  The first one was the Special Selection and the newly released Murcielago.  Both of these cigars are a short robusto measuring 4" x 40 ring gauge. (Review of these cigars to follow).  Each attendee was given one of each to enjoy along with the fine spread of delicious Italian cold cuts, prosciutto, capicola ham,  mini mozzarella cheese balls,mortadella, black italian olives and great slices of semolina bread.

Once all attendees had completed the Scotch tasting they were then able to go back and get an additional tasting of the Scotchrs that they found to their liking.  A good time was had by this reviewer and all the attendees.

No events are scheduled at Barclay Rex for the immediate future but, as always, this reviewer will keep you up to date when events are schedule.  The reviewer will be attending the last, for 2009, monthly meeting of the NY Pipe Club and at this event we will be enjoying pipe tobacco blends that are produced by Dunhill of London and also some blends from Dunhill of London that are no longer produced.  This event will be held at Florio's Italian Restaurant located at 75 Grand Street NYC on Tuesday December 8th, 2009.

That is it, I could go on forever, from The Fifty Best event.  Anyone wishing to see additional picture can, as always, click on the following link FiftyBest to see what you missed.

MONJURE PIPE SHOW

Author's Gray Lacquer Brebia Pipe w/Tomato Shaped Bowl

Hello folks, your friendly cigar and pipe blogger coming to you live and in person from the Monjure Pipe show.  This show featured pipes from Brebia,  Rinadlo and Ardour.  Steve, the Monjure representative, was on hand to answer any questions that the customers may have had concerning the pipes.  The event took place at Barclay Rex Cigar and Pipe Shop located at 75 Broad Street, NYC.   The event was from 11am - 6pm.  I saw many intricate pipes from the three pipe manufacturers with prices ranging from $85 - over $300.  The event also featured a handmade pipe, from Rinaldo, that was to be raffled off at the end of the show.  Pipes featured were of varying sizes and styles w/lucite stems in standard black to yellow and one in blue.   The bowl shapes were varied from tomato shaped bowls in clear lacquer and varying colors  to the rusticated bowls.  Also featured were the rarely seen flat bottom bowls and a few featuring a mix of clear lacquer sections  mixed with the rusticated look.

Ardor Rusticated Pipe w/Bamboo

The most unusual pipe on display was one that (see picture above), a first for this reviewer, incorporated bamboo in the stem section. That was an unusual pipe and hope that more pipe makers include such interesting details.  Seen again was a few pipes that had a metal ring on the top of the bowl which appears to be a detail that pipe manufacturers are incorporating in their designs.

As seen in the picture at the opening of this posting I purchased yet another pipe (#7 to be exact) which is a /clear lacquered pipe in a nice gray color with a tomato shaped bowl which is, as listed on the tag, a 9mm.  This pipe featured a black lucite stem.  This pipe retailed for $95 less 20% which is a show special and came with a 50g tin of pipe tobacco.  I chose an English blend which was composed mainly of Latakia tobacco.  (Review of the pipe to follow).  Here are pictures of the  Pipes on display at the Monjure Pipe Show. Well that's it from the Monjure Pipe show.

The next event to be reviewed is the Fifty Best Cigar and Scotch event taking place on Thursday December 3rd, 2009 from 7pm - 9pm at Barclay Rex located at 75 Broad Street NYC.  This event will feature 6 great Single Malt Scotches, the oldest one dates back to 1967.  The event will also feature cigars from Nestor Miranda cigars including the new Murcielago brand cigar that will be unveiled at this event.  Hope to see some of the followers of this blog at, which will be, an event that will be talked about for days to come.

Barclay Rex is also hosting the Monjure Pipe  event at their 42nd Street store on Thurday December 3rd from 11am - 6pm.