This week, where I live, its been incredibly rainy and humid.  This limits me, in this Week in Smoke, as to what I can smoke as my beloved smaller ring gauge cigar can’t handle the excessive moisture.  IPCPR has been over for about a month so I have a mix of new cigars and some old favorites.  Without further ado, here is what I’ve been smoking lately.

Padron Anniversary 1926 No. 9

 

Not a cheap cigar by any means, but well worth the price.  Padron always knocks it out of the park with their Anniversary series, no matter which size or version you choose.  Made to celebrate Jose Padron’s birthday, the No. 9 is 5 1/4″ x 56 make it one of the larger cigars in the line.  Cigar Aficionado named this their cigar of the year in 2007 and I can see why.  The cigar has flavors of coffee, cashews and nutmeg which makes a very rich cigar.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

La Palina Mr. Sam

Named in honor of Samuel Paley, the founder of La Palina, this robusto is limited to 850 10 count boxes.  I was lucky enough to find this at Cigar Lounge of Starkville in Starkville, MS and I was glad I did.  The cigar has nice notes of wood, spice, buttery sweetness and spice.  La Palina has been producing some very well made and flavor cigars and this one is no exception.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CAO Flathead 554

 

This is another IPCPR release from CAO that takes it theme from car engines.  Its a boxed press robusto with an extremely flat head.  I couldn’t even figure out how I could cut it probably without ruining the cigar so I punched it.  The cigar started off super rich and flavorful with nice cocoa, coffee and spice notes.  After the midway point though, the cigar got pretty bitter to me, but it was really humid outside and after a thunderstorm so the extra moist air could have hampered it.  I will revisit it soon on a drier day.  TRY IT OUT

Ortega Mini Cigars Maduro

 

Eddie Ortega graciously sent me three packs of these in maduro, natural and full.  These little cigar are packed with flavor.  Imagine the Serie D maduro in a mini size. The richness seemed to be toned down, but the flavor was still excellent.  These little cigars are a great idea and I was excited when Eddie added these to his line.  Great idea.  If  you don’t have a lot of time to smoke a cigar, these are for you.  Great flavor in a short time.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

La Palina Goldie Laguito No. 5

 

One of the best cigars I’ve ever had. How is that for an opening?  Its the truth.  I got this at Cigar Lounge of Starkville as well.  Made at the El Titan de Bronze factory like the Goldie Laguito No. 2, this cigar has great notes of wood, honey, cinnamon, sweet cream with hints of light roast coffee.  Expect to see this soon in a full review.  EPIC

Joya De Nicaragua Rosalones Toro

 

This is one that Brian and I discovered while in Nicaragua for the Drew Estates Cigar Safari for the cigar bloggers.  No one had heard of this cigar before so Brian and I quizzed Jose Blanco of Joya De Nicaragua about the cigar.  At the time, it was a Europe only release to my complete disappointment.  Brian and I quickly smoked through several of these there and, after hearing us rave about them, soon the other bloggers followed suit.  The cigar has really great notes of coffee, wood, spice, sweet cocoa and, for me, grilled meat-like flavors.  They are available now in the US for less than $70 a box!  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A. Fuente Don Carlos No. 2

 

The Don Carlos line is one of the legendary lines from Fuente.  Its always rates high in CA and is a huge seller.  Sometimes you just need to go back and revisit the classics which is what I did with this cigar.  It didn’t disappoint.  Great flavors of leather, nutmeg, nuts, coffee and sweetness this cigar hit on all cylinders.  This is one cigar that I revisit more often.  LEGEND