Life Less Common

Alec Bradley Tempus Magistri Review

jlordi1 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:26:50 +0000

I like the Tempus, I like perfectos. What’s not to like here? This cigar is a real ass kicker to be frank. It’s loaded with super strong bittersweet cocoa notes, leather, black pepper, hints of black licorice, and loads of espresso. Wow, plus a good draw and a great burn. No unevenness, however keep a draw poker and a lighter handy… Like all Tempus vitolas, it tends to go out, and like many perfectos, the draw tends to close up every once in a while.

Gurkha Cellar Reserve Perfecto Review

jlordi1 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:37:50 +0000

This cigar (perhaps purposefully) is evocative of the infamous Drew Estate Liga Privada Flying Pig. It’s got similar color, same size, similar band, similar flavor profile, and the pigtail cap. How does it taste? Amazing. Gurkha is hit and miss for me and seemingly quite gimmicky when it comes to presentation… They are famously commercial. Beside that, the flavor is very buttery and quite chocolatey… Like cocoa powder and a croissant. The draw is super generous and the burn is quite uneven. Even still, like the pig, I like to smoke it until the stick is an unraveling heap of ash.

Casa Magna Colorado Diadema

jlordi1 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:16:22 +0000

Okay, we all remember the Colorado Robusto…. Very tasty. What if you’re in the mood for a stick to last a little longer? Say you have your friends over for a night of wine and political punditry… This gorgeous cigar, beautiful in appearance and magnificent to behold with its silky wrapper, would be the one to puff while your friends attempt to sway you to liking Ron Paul hahaha. Anyway, after you snip off the cap, or even just do it old school and pull off the pigtail, the lighting is a bit slow, I suggest using a soft flame lighter… Hell, even a BIC does the job, so you don’t scorch the wrapper, and so that you may hold it there long enough to get the stubborn foot toasted. The smoke at first is weak as the foot spits out jets of flame between the initial few puffs, but after it’s fully lit, the smoke is rich and full, bearing sweet woodiness and rich leather (thanks to the Colorado wrapper) and even a few surprise hints of vanilla.

Camacho… The big one

jlordi1 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:15:20 +0000

The cigar store in which I find myself is the place for finding a thick stick, and lighting it with a quad flame torch. Guys swear and talk freely about women, politics, money, all of the vulgarities of the modern man… Caught between an older pragmatic generation, and a starry eyed crop of twenty somethings. This isn’t the fare of cigar shops I usually haunt…the shops where the cigar is together ultimate end. Here, the cigar is a complement and impetus for comeraderie. Anyway, camacho is a popular brand. The Camacho Coyolar Puro 6X60 is profoundly woody, slightly buttery, and smacks of smoky campfire woodiness.

San Lotano Oval review

jlordi1 — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:12:47 +0000

Aside from the taste of a cigar (arguably the most important factor), a smoker must consider the aesthetics of a cigar. The San Lotano Oval possesses both. The taste is great (lots of smoked wood, leather, wheat, and subtle nut flavor) but the draw loads the palate with full plumes of smoke. The oval shape (essentially a two sided box press) is a great shape that feels great between the teeth. 88 points unblind.

La Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor Review/ on Cigar Aficionado

jlordi1 — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:39:59 +0000

Okay, here’s the skinny, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Cigar Aficionado. Props to them. Props to their professionalism, props to their efforts to further the cause of ever increasingly-disenfranchised cigar lovers. But, to hell with their weird politics and questionable promotion and rating system… And their unnecessarily heavy coverage of golf and other stupid superfluous topics. Anyway i might be a tad biased since my colleagues and I write for Cigars In Review Magazine. Nonetheless, when they release their 25 Cigars of the Year there is always a buzz… You won’t find me among the arm-crossed skeptics – its my duty to keep an interested eye on the established competition. Beyond that, their No.2 cigar was the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Belicoso. If I had read that six months ago I would have shat my pants. I didn’t like belicosos then (still not TOO crazy bout em… Except for Partagas Serie P No.2 or La Riqueza, or Bolivar Belicoso, or Berger and Argenti Classico belicosos…. Never mind I have actually come to appreciate the Belicoso ) and I had not yet had a good La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor. When I decide I don’t like a cigar, I never smoke it once and make up my mind. There are always two or three sticks that make me say “that’s it! I will not smoke another” this was the case with the Mi Amor and the La Sirena. Neither were bad cigars, just both were uninpressive, had a hard draw, and we’re too expensive. When I lit the Mi Amor I am currently puffing, it was in the running to change my mind, but the tasty espresso and pleasantly balanced earthiness soon faded to the same old burnt plastic and horse barn poo flavors that the terrible Mexican wrapper contributes. Further, here I am just over half finished with the stick and I only taste burnt coffee, manure, black licorice, and sadness – that’s from the smoke I’m getting which is very little since the draw had closed up like a bank vault – I taste bitter scalding-hot oils that are saltily accosting my sensitive palate. Smoke one for yourself if you don’t believe me. Or just roll up eight dollars which you would have spent on the cigar and smoke them… It would taste better.

Jan 6 sunny and sixty in Northeast Ohio

jlordi1 — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:42:31 +0000

Yup… Thats right. Sunny and beautiful in Ohio …in January. Perfect day for a smoke.

Cigars in Review Magazine’s winter issue available now!

jlordi1 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:05:31 +0000

Finally, the new issue of Cigars In Review Magazine is available in fine tobacconists and at newsstands near you. Visit the Davidoff of Geneva on Madison Ave to browse through a copy or visit www.cigarsinreviewmagazine.com for more info. Lots of great articles and cigar reviews from some great writers: Tony Bellatto, Joe Baker, Tony Katz, Bryan Infante, and yours truly. Our entire staff takes great pride in our tireless work and deliver awesome cigar and lifestyle content with true passion. Check us out on twitter @cigarsinreview @tonykatz @tonybellatto @bryaninfiniti @joelordi. We’re the new kids on the block, but we are coming out, guns blazing.

Amigos, comida buena, y puros finos

jlordi1 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:49:35 +0000

A few days before Christmas my friends and I paid a rare visit to a cigar shop we used to frequent just to have a day of Davidoff! My friends and I have a soft spot for Davidoff… So we stuck to long forgotten tradition and ate at the Amen Corner, great Italian food, and then proceeded to smoke ourself silly on Davidoffs…. I chose the Robusto sized Davidoff puro d’oro.

Beautiful Hoyos for a friend

jlordi1 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:10:54 +0000

Here are some gorgeous pics of Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especiales I ordered for a friend to give to his father. It’ll be hard not to smoke them