It’s once time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. 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!

Camacho Corojo Robusto *
Before I lit up the new Camacho Corojo, I noted how potent the wrapper aroma was. It was that dark aroma of honey and prunes, a scent I usually pick up at the foot of a cigar. Once cut, there was a huge contrast in color between the wrapper leaf and the dark filler tobacco. The cold draw was also a pronounced flavor of raisins. Spoiler, the new Camacho Corojo is a bold smoke, as advertised. I tasted raisiny tobacco and pepper right from the start. From there it was more big flavor: sweet pepper, cinnamon, charred wood and plenty of mouth-warming pepper. I’ve had a lot of cigars blended for power, few of them deliver an equivalent quality of flavor. The new Camacho Corojo does. This cigar laid a pepper trail down the middle of my tongue, and I liked it.

Cohiba Behike BHK 52 *
I’ve kept this Behike waiting for the right time, and that right time was Tuesday. There was nothing special about Tuesday, but there was something special about this cigar. It had a beautiful reddish wrapper with fine veins and none of the green splotches common to Cuban cigars. The flavors were subtle and complex, including cocoa, creamy coffee, vanilla, chocolate, raisins, cedar, cinnamon and an intriguing candied citrus flavor the popped up here and there. I don’t smoke many Cubans, but this is a cigar that could change that.

Daniel Marshall Red Label Churchill (IPCPR Sample) *
Though known for his humidors and the cigar coated in actual gold, Daniel Marshall also produces less exotic lines of premium cigars. This Red Line Churchill is one of those lines. It started off woody, with hints of sweetness and mild earthy spices. A lingering sour cream flavor developed and as it burned, pepper stole the show. The Red Line was a good looking smoke as it burned, producing an immaculate even white ash. A solid smoke.

El Primer Mundo La Hermandad Costa Fuerte Caballito*
This isn’t my first experience with the new La Hermandad Costa Fuerte, but it is the first with the full name and official band. Much like my initial pre-release impression, it’s full of rich earthy, deep woodiness and pepper, with a touch of sweetness mixed in for good measure. Though this time I also noted espresso and some variety to the aforementioned sweetness as the cigar burns. (It had a distinct cherry quality to it, particularly toward the end.) It’s hefty smoke that won’t disappoint.

Nomad Cigars Esteli Lot 1386 *
Fred Rewey handed me one of these the recent tweetup, noting that it was both a limited release, and that it was evolving and improving rapidly. (You can see him talk about the 1386 here.) I can’t speak to changes in flavor as it ages, as I only have this one, but I can tell you it was an impressive smoke. It started off creamy and rich and as it progressed it developed leather, rich tobacco, graham, cinnamon, cedar, coffee and syrup. As the laundry list of flavor implies it was a pretty complex smoke, and but more far more subtle than this quick description. I dug it, if you can find some, buy them.

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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 (and this bottle of bourbon) are my own, your response to them is your own. And I’m convinced there’s a private military corp that belongs to Walt.

** 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.