It’s time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. What’s the deal with all the Week in Smokes lately, you ask? Good question. The answer is as simple as this: the collection of interesting one-offs I’ve been saving for The Week In Smoke has gotten a little out of control. It’s time to cull the herd, before it culls me. Bear with me, it might take a few weeks. And now back to your regularly scheduled disclaimer.

In case this is your first Week in Smoke, be advised that it covers many (though not necessarily all) of the cigars I’ve smoked in the past week (or the past month, or however long it has been since the last issue), along with a couple of quick thoughts that came to me at the time. These are not full reviews, but quick blurbs based on a single smoking experience. As such, they may be influenced by the natural variations that occur from one cigar to another. Your mileage may vary. (If I know the cigar well enough to comment, I may mention if an experience strays from what understand to be the norm.)

An appearance in The Week in Smoke does not preclude nor guarantee a future in-depth review. Whenever possible, I’ve linked to more a thoughtful and thorough review of the cigar in question. (Or maybe I’ve linked to a photo of Jerry The ‘Stache. You won’t know until you click.) Enjoy!

AVO 25th Anniversary Edition
Before springing for the decorative piano humidor box of smokes, I thought it wise to sample the merchandise. This special edition had a creamy, earthy and grassy profile with sweet notes of caramel and butterscotch and white pepper appearing further in. A good smoke, but I’m not sold on the box.

Draig K by Emilio Cigars Toro
This week I took a ride on the pink dragon. That isn’t a drug reference, I’m talking about the Draig K which features a decidedly pink dragon in front of a distant castle on its band. In all, it was a pleasant experience. I picked up syrupy, meaty, earthy and chocolaty flavors with some leather, syrup, pepper and cinnamon mixed in. It wasn’t the most cooperative of smokes, it had an uneven burn and I did have to touch it up a few times, but nothing that would discourage me from smoking it again at some point.

El Baton Robusto **
As old as this El Baton is (in the neighborhood of three years), it’s actually a recent acquisition. The conventional wisdom is that the worse a cigar smells, the better it tastes. And this particular smoke had a wrapper aroma that fit somewhere between rotten milk and cow patties. The potent aroma turned out to be a pretty good indicator in this case. The cigar oozed with tasty nuts, leather, pepper and delicate chocolate. I enjoyed it so much I went back and bought the rest of the neglected box.

Foyle (IPCPR Sample) *
I don’t know much about the Foyle brand, I was given one in the Drew Estate booth at the trade show while I was waiting for Jonathan Drew to break away from the crowd. This cigar doesn’t match any of the sizes I found online, it appears to be a box-pressed 5 ½ x 58 or 60. (Possibly a special sample edition intended for the trade show.) But more importantly, it had no shortage of rich flavor. I picked up vanilla, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon and pepper from the hefty slow burning smoke. I really enjoyed it, and hope to come across more of them at some point in the future.

La Hermandad by El Primer Mundo
These new sticks made by Pinar Del Rio for El Primer Mundo have been spotted in the wild, but like the sample I smoked at the trade show, they’re still unbanded. (We have an idea of what the band and/or box art will look like.) I took a quick sniff of the wrapper, and surprised by the aroma. It reminded me of rich tobacco compost and earl grey tea, which made me do a double take. The flavors were as heavy as the wrapper was dark. Rich chewy, cinnamon spice and pepper, earth and meat with a touch of tart vanilla and sweetness throughout.This is one smoky cigar, it’ll give a Liga Privada a run for it’s money in that department. I dig it, this won’t be my last.

Montecristo Epic 2007 Toro *
The Montecristo Epic is another cigar we got the early scoop on, and I’ve been looking forward to trying it out. And what I found was a touch of sour cream and light fruity sweetness with touches of earth, wood and pepper. Not a potent or very exciting cigar, but not bad if you’re looking for an easy going smoke. And it did have an immaculate burn.

Tatuaje Little Boris
So far Jerry’s been the one using all the ink on the Little Boris, but he’s not the only one who has been smoking them. Though admittedly it was his glowing pre-release review that convinced me to spring for a box. As goofy and as tired as he seemed in that video, he didn’t steer me wrong. After an introductory spice the flavor settles into a delicious combination of wood, caramel, a Boston Baked Bean candy-like sweetness and a touch of pepper. I love this cigar, I only wish I hadn’t burned through them all so quickly.

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* Big Brother would have you know these cigars were gifts or free samples, and that my opinions on them is suspect. My opinions are my own, your response to them is your own. The creepy banjo music and screaming you hear is coming from Ben’s trailer. It’s best if we all just ignore it.

** I have too many smokes, and this denotes that the smoke in question has been sitting in one of my humidors for at least a year, and thus qualifies as “aged”. If my collection continues to grow, the chances are good I’ll be on that Discovery Channel show about people who hoard stuff and face eviction.

Some of the pictures in Brian’s The Week In Smoke first appeared on twitter. If you’d like to see these lists constructed in real time, follow Brian on twitter. If you don’t, you’ll make the Fail Whale cry.