It has been a long time since I’ve done a Week In Smoke. I try to avoid doing them because they usually take me longer to do than a video. Since I don’t have my camera handy, and I’m feeling a little guilty about having three videos that need editing, I sat down to whip one up.
I tried to follow Jerry’s lead and do something light. There isn’t a whole lot of variety but that is the way I’m smoking these days. A tight cigar budget means that I smoke 5-Pack to 5-Pack. This issue of Week In Smoke goes back about two weeks.
Asylum 13 – Sixty is what I think of as a blue collar cigar. You get solid flavor and construction at a good price point. You won’t be left memorized by the smoke but you will set it down feeling satisfied. Vitolas go from big to bigger, so set aside a big chunk of time before lighting up an Asylum 13.
601 Maduro (Blue Label) was all the rage a few years back. EO Brands was tearing it up and anything that Don Pepin Garcia was involved in turned into an instant hit. The years went by and the 601 line fell into obscurity. After a messy transition from EO Brands to Rocky to Espinosa, I was happy to see the Blue Label pop up on the radar again. In its day it was a very good cigar at $8 per single. These days, it is an amazing cigar at under $4 (on sale, of course).
Tatuaje 10th Anniversary was something that I picked up on Jerry’s recommendation. Famous was running a special on 10 Pack Samplers and the price was right, so I put in an order. The first one out of the batch (the only one I happened to take a photo of) was pretty ugly. I’ve been running into lots of wrapper problems (fragile – cracks if you look at it wrong). If you can get past the horrible cosmetics, these things taste great. They have a hearty sort of woodsy flavor that has me on the verge of chain smoking.
Camacho Corojo Diploma, the flagship cigar in the Camacho lineup. Full bodied, big flavors, this cigar was something special. ‘Was’ is the keyword here. I don’t know what happened to the Diploma but the 5-Pack I’m currently smoking through is downright awful. Flavors are hash and acrid but, on the bright side, construction was excellent, so there is that…
Joya De Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco is a limited edition release that was sent to me by our friends over at Drew Estate. My first impression was mixed. On one hand it looked like a beautiful cigar with impeccable construction. On the other hand, we’ve got Leet Speak on the band and being the traditional sort of cigar guy that I am, that bothered me a bit. Spelling aside, the Cuatro Cinco is a cigar that I enjoyed a great deal. It has bold flavors while being soft and creamy on the palate.
Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro – The latest traditional release from Oliva, building on the ever-popular Serie V lineup. When I smoked my first Melanio I was shocked. Here was a cigar that I didn’t want to like and it wowwed me. In true Oliva fashion, here comes the Maduro release and it can only get better, right?
The Serie V Melanio Maduro is a little sweeter, a little creamier, and a little richer. It really is a wonderful cigar but if I was pressed to choose between the Naural and Maduro, I think the Natural might win out (just barely). Regardless of which path you take, Natural or Maduro, you are going to enjoy your time with the Melanio.
Nice write up, and you’ve got me interested in some of these sticks if the weather ever warms here enough for me to smoke again! (North Dakota passed law after lawsuit until they closed the only cigar lounge in the state.) You mentioned price point on the Asylum 13, but never said what it was- dollar figures were only mentioned on the 601 Maduro. What kind of sticker price are most of these carrying?
As for Leet Speak on the label…? Yeah… There’s a reason I pretty much avoid anything from Drew Estate like the plague. They cater too strongly to the brainless college kid for my tastes. (ACID are among the worst cigars I’ve ever had.) But they bring new smokers into the fold, so god bless ’em for that.
Eric,
I’ve been doing the vast majority of my buying from CigarMonster.com (I go on between 11am and 12pm to catch the mash up of the previous 12 hours). I picked up the Asylum for something like $22 for 5 Cigars (with free shipping). Tatuaje ($60 for 10 cigars), Camacho (less than $20 for 5 cigars), and 601 Blue were all purchased from Cigar Monster as well.
Every once in a while I slip out onto the front porch, while my daughter is napping or watching TV, to have a cigar. I don’t know how you cold-weather guys do it. I get cold and am ready to come in after 20 minutes in anything under 40 degrees.
I think the wife is okay with me setting up a portable heater in the garage for winter time stogie enjoyment. I KNOW she’s okay with me requesting another transfer and getting the hell out of here. lol.