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!

Davidoff Nicaragua Toro
The Davidoff Nicaragua is a cigar I find myself returning to fairly often as of late. It’s a nice change of pace to the monster Nicaraguans that are popular now, with it’s subtle creamy profile of coffee, nuts, chocolate, mild spices and honey. It’s a gateway Davidoff that could just hook you if you’re not careful. I think it’s already too late for me.

Ezra Zion Eminence Exquisito *
This Mexican San Andres Maduro-wrapped, box-pressed smoke marks Ezra Zion’s first use of non-Nicaraguan tobacco, though there is still plenty of it in the blend. Taste-wise, there’s plenty of full flavor to be had: leather, rich mocha, woody pepper with a touch of vanilla and some raisin-like zing. On a hunch, about halfway into the smoke I poured a couple of fingers of Stagg Jr. bourbon. It was a very good call, one I look forward to making again in the future.

Joya De Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco *
This 6 x 54 limited edition was created to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Joya De Nicaragua. What I found when I lit it up was a cigar that was very much a Joya De Nicaragua smoke, full of rich peppery tobacco flavor, as well as caramel, aromatic cedar, earth and touches of cinnamon and a raisin-like sweetness. It’s a smoke I think Joya fans will love.

Nestor Miranda Special Edition Exclusivo Regional *
I haven’t come across too many regional releases outside of Cuba, and to be honest, I’m not sure I see the point to them. Cigars are naturally regional in much the same way food is regional. Just visit two different shops in your city, they won’t carry all the same smokes. Because often times what sells well in one area doesn’t in another, even if the shops aren’t all that far apart. Regardless, the important question is, is it a good cigar? It had an enjoyable profile of earth, with a touch of spice, woodiness, caramel and cherry sweetness. It’s a solid smoke.

Tatuaje JV13 (aka Tatuaje Jason)
To get back at everyone for advertising Christmas stuff in October, I’m celebrating Halloween through the end of the year. That means eating lots of candy and smoking Tatuaje Monsters. My dentist and his college-bound kid love me. But about the cigar- it was a very toothy and oily stick with an enticing wrapper aroma. Once lit, there was the customary welcoming spice with leather and dark chocolate. But as the spice faded a little way in, the cigar had a creamy intermission, before return to the heavier flavors of smoky leather, dark chocolate, black coffee, pepper and a prune-ish sweetness. I enjoyed it, but it’s not my favorite of the monster releases.

Tatuaje Little Boris
As good as the Little Boris is, it’s hard to believe I still have any left. But since I did, and since it was Halloween, I couldn’t not light one up. And it lived up to expectation with rich caramel, roasted nuts, wood and chocolate, a little Nicaraguan zing and nice hint of vanilla. The scariest thing about the Little Boris is running out of 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 rye) are my own, your response to them is your own. I call dibs on that last slice of pizza.

** 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. And he’s ugly when he cries.