12 hours ago
Friday, May 15, 2009
Moving Day
So as I sit here with +4Pro, we decided to start blogging again. However, we have decided to leave Blogger behind for the greener pastures of Wordpress. So, find our new blog at nextgenerationcigars.wordpress.com. Please update your feedreaders/links accordingly!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Congress looking to lift travel ban
Long ashes to y'all,
NOW is the time to call your representatives. Congress is looking at a bill that would ease the travel restrictions with Cuba. This is hopefully the first step of many that will lead to the trade ban being lifted, which would help out both the US and Cuba in many ways. If you don't know who your congresspeople are, velvetcigar.net has a great little widget that helps you figure it out.
NOW is the time to call your representatives. Congress is looking at a bill that would ease the travel restrictions with Cuba. This is hopefully the first step of many that will lead to the trade ban being lifted, which would help out both the US and Cuba in many ways. If you don't know who your congresspeople are, velvetcigar.net has a great little widget that helps you figure it out.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Absent but still here.
So for the last few months media man and myself have found ourselves very wrapped up in life outside our love of cigars. That's not to say that it has diminished in any way, we love the industry with a passion still and especially the cigar smoker. I have a few tasty treats waiting to review that will hit the blog soon. To survive the golfless winter I am doing sales for a marketing company just to get by which cuts into my six cigar days allot and the cold weather leaves allot of time not smoking but more to come I promise, expect several great reviews from media man and myself very soon.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
S-CHIP gets announced today [UPDATED: $.40 tax]
Smokers, today or tomorrow the US House will bring forward a bill, whose number has not been released yet, titled the "Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization 2009". Yes, fellow herfers, S-CHIP gets released today. There will be a tobacco tax involved, but we do not know what the cap will be. President Bush vetoed S-CHIP with a $3 cap. Rumors put the cap somewhere between $.39 and $1. I have a call into a friend in DC, and he is looking into it.
Smokers, please contact your Senator and Representive TODAY and tell them to vote against S-CHIP. Also, keep checking back here to get an update, as soon as I know.
Smokers, please contact your Senator and Representive TODAY and tell them to vote against S-CHIP. Also, keep checking back here to get an update, as soon as I know.
UPDATE: According to the IPCPR, the tax will be capped at $.40/cigar. This will be in addition to the 70% wholesale tax that MN has.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Review: Cuban Imports Exile
Sorry for the delay in postings. With it being winter, my cigar smoking and willingness to drive to a new shop have both decreased. Fear not, next generation, we are still active in the MN cigar world:
That is Joseph R. Gannascoli, who played Vito on the Sopranos, and I at a Cugine event at Vino and Stogies. He then came to the January meeting of the Havana Nights Cigar Club, where everyone had a great time.
I went to Vino and Stogies on Saturday to relax after a day at work, and to watch some NFL playoff action. I spent a good while with Bob, one of the owners, trying to find a cigar that I had not tried a vitola of. We settled on the Exile, a cigar by Cuban Imports.
The cigar is packaged in white tissue paper, which is printed to look like newspaper. It is a reprint of the day that JFK signed the embargo with Cuba. Interesting fact-the night before that, he had his cheif of staff go out and buy all the H. Upmann Petit Corona's that he could find. JFK was a big cigar guy. Remember all the pictures with one of his hands in his suitpocket? Usually it was holding a cigar-even then, politicians hated getting their pictures taken smoking.
Upon unwrapping, you find a dark cigar with thick veins.
Vital Stats:
That is Joseph R. Gannascoli, who played Vito on the Sopranos, and I at a Cugine event at Vino and Stogies. He then came to the January meeting of the Havana Nights Cigar Club, where everyone had a great time.I went to Vino and Stogies on Saturday to relax after a day at work, and to watch some NFL playoff action. I spent a good while with Bob, one of the owners, trying to find a cigar that I had not tried a vitola of. We settled on the Exile, a cigar by Cuban Imports.
The cigar is packaged in white tissue paper, which is printed to look like newspaper. It is a reprint of the day that JFK signed the embargo with Cuba. Interesting fact-the night before that, he had his cheif of staff go out and buy all the H. Upmann Petit Corona's that he could find. JFK was a big cigar guy. Remember all the pictures with one of his hands in his suitpocket? Usually it was holding a cigar-even then, politicians hated getting their pictures taken smoking.
Upon unwrapping, you find a dark cigar with thick veins.
Vital Stats:
WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Sumatra
BINDER & FILLER: Nicaraguan / Nicaraguan
Length/Ring: 5 1/2 X 52
Shape: Robusto
Strength: Medium
Prelight, this cigar was tight, with some very sweet notes. It reminded me of a RP Summer Series, which is not a bad thing. Lighting it released even more sweetness, along with some peppery flavors. I knew this was going to be a good smoke. It was very tight, nearly too tight to smoke, but I elected to give it a chance to open up-it had been aging for about a year.
The first third yielded berries, nuts, and some pepper. No one flavor was too extreme, and they all balanced. This cigar was smoking super slow-looking back at my tasting notes I underlined that phrase more than once.
As it opened up into the second third, about 30 minutes after lighting it, I got some mocha flavors. I was drinking water during this test, so I know that it wasnt an after effect of the drink. There was no real big change in the other flavors, other then detecting a bit more pepper toward the end of the third.
The final third saw a perfect draw and perfect flavors. The flavor profile did not change too much. If I smoked it too fast, which I did once, I got a ton of pepper, but a minute in the ashtray brought everything back into alignment.
The Exile runs $10 MN, if you can find it. I strongly reccomend this cigar for someone who loves medium bodied cigars, or someone looking for something a bit bolder than the milds that they are smoking.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Exclusive review: Arganese Cugine Maduro
I saw a post on this cigar come through from The Velvet Cigar, and I knew that I had to get my hands on one of the maduro ones to review. It took every trick in my arsenal, but I was able to secure one to review. This cigar is a beauty:
This is the Arganese Cugine. That picture should be recognizable to Sopranos fans-that's Joe Gannascoli! He helped create the cigar with Gene Arganese. The band is one of the coolest that I have seen-it is a double band; the top half has Joe's picture and name, along with "Members Only" and "Social Club" on the sides. The bottom band has Joe's autograph.
I cut it with my Palio, and hit the tip with my Colibri lighter.
The first two draws were full of fresh ground coffee. Not fake coffee, like the Drew Estate Java, but like real coffee. It is delicious. The smoke is nice and thick, the burn is great, and I really love this cigar.
The rest of the first third was predominitally coffee, with some toasted nutty flavors coming through. This is a really complex cigar.
The second third of this cigar had more pronouced flavors, but did not gain too many more. I detected a bit of pepper, which I expect will come through more in the final third. I am still blown away by this cigar.
The final third was marked with the emergance of the peppery spices. This is where the maduro flavor comes through.
I have had every cigar that Arganese makes, and I can say that, without a doubt, this is my favorite. I would say that this is an 11 out of 10. Words cannot describe the complex flavors and tastes that this cigar exhibits, or the perfection of the construction and the burn.
P.S. My local shop, Vino and Stogies, just got a new TV! Here is a picture of +4pro and I enjoying it:
This is the Arganese Cugine. That picture should be recognizable to Sopranos fans-that's Joe Gannascoli! He helped create the cigar with Gene Arganese. The band is one of the coolest that I have seen-it is a double band; the top half has Joe's picture and name, along with "Members Only" and "Social Club" on the sides. The bottom band has Joe's autograph.
I cut it with my Palio, and hit the tip with my Colibri lighter.
The first two draws were full of fresh ground coffee. Not fake coffee, like the Drew Estate Java, but like real coffee. It is delicious. The smoke is nice and thick, the burn is great, and I really love this cigar.
The rest of the first third was predominitally coffee, with some toasted nutty flavors coming through. This is a really complex cigar.
The second third of this cigar had more pronouced flavors, but did not gain too many more. I detected a bit of pepper, which I expect will come through more in the final third. I am still blown away by this cigar.
The final third was marked with the emergance of the peppery spices. This is where the maduro flavor comes through.
I have had every cigar that Arganese makes, and I can say that, without a doubt, this is my favorite. I would say that this is an 11 out of 10. Words cannot describe the complex flavors and tastes that this cigar exhibits, or the perfection of the construction and the burn.
P.S. My local shop, Vino and Stogies, just got a new TV! Here is a picture of +4pro and I enjoying it:
Monday, November 24, 2008
REVIEW: Perdomo Reserve 10th Annv Maduro
It has been a while since I have had a chance to review a cigar, so I wanted to make sure that this one is a good one. I am at Vino and Stogies-in Mounds View, MN-watching the Vikings. I spent a good 10 minutes deciding on a cigar, and I eventually found the perfect one: the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro. This cigar is DARK, and prelight it has a really fruity tone. The wrapper has some light veining, but this cigar looks great.
I lit it with my Colibri lighter, and cracked open the Coke that I was going to review it with. The initial draws were very nutty-it caught me by surprise. I let it mellow for a minute, and it remained nutty, with some hints of fruit. It is a really heavy smoke, yet is not too complex.
The second third of the cigar did not change too much. It remained very nutty, with hints of oak and berries coming through. Nothing too earth-shattering, but it is still a great smoke. It paired really well with the Coke, which helped balance the nuttyness.
This cigar has a flawless burn, with no problems with the wrapper. It was a great, even burn.
The final third of this stick got really peppery-the maduro came through. I really enjoyed this cigar. At $10.65 MN per stick, it is a great cigar at a mid-level price. I give it a 8.5/10.
I lit it with my Colibri lighter, and cracked open the Coke that I was going to review it with. The initial draws were very nutty-it caught me by surprise. I let it mellow for a minute, and it remained nutty, with some hints of fruit. It is a really heavy smoke, yet is not too complex.The second third of the cigar did not change too much. It remained very nutty, with hints of oak and berries coming through. Nothing too earth-shattering, but it is still a great smoke. It paired really well with the Coke, which helped balance the nuttyness.
This cigar has a flawless burn, with no problems with the wrapper. It was a great, even burn.
The final third of this stick got really peppery-the maduro came through. I really enjoyed this cigar. At $10.65 MN per stick, it is a great cigar at a mid-level price. I give it a 8.5/10.
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