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 cigar reviews. (Or maybe I’ve linked to a photo of Jerry The ‘Stache. You won’t know until you click.) Enjoy!

Aging Room Quattro F55 Stretto
The Aging Room has gotten some good press recently, so when they appeared in my local shop, I thought I’d take one for a spin. And it was a pretty impressive little smoke. It started off creamy, woody and spicy, but as it warmed up sweeter flavors of coffee, honey and vanilla appeared. Toward the end it returned once again to a less sweet profile of coffee, wood and spices. This won’t be my last.

EP Carrillo Inch Short Run 2014 *
This stout little limited edition from the man who popularized large ring gauges back in the day has no shortage of flavor. One of my beefs with large ring gauges is that blends often don’t hold up when compared to smaller vitolas, but that isn’t an issue here. The profile was a very enjoyable combination of wood, cedar, cinnamon, earth and a lot of syrupy, and sometimes fruity syrup. At times there was also a little floral quality to the smoke, particularly through the nose. EP Carrillo fans will not be disappointed.

J. Fuego Gran Reserva No. 1 Corona **
I was looking through a humidor and I spotted this very well aged favorite. The cello was orange, so I figured that meant it was ready to go. The profile was a very enjoyable combination of cedar, subtle spices, earth and pepper. Here and there I picked up faint notes of coffee and chocolate, which I don’t recall in previous, younger Gran Reservas. I enjoyed it immensely.

J. Fuego Origen Maduro Robusto
One of the things that stands out in the profile of the Origen Maduro is a distinct black tea flavor. Tea is one of those flavors that’s hit or miss with me when I pick it up in a cigar. This time around, it was more of a miss. Fortunately there was more to the profile than that. I noted earth, chocolate, coffee and pepper. A solid smoke, but I enjoyed the other J. Fuegos I’ve had recently more.

L’Atelier Extension de la Racine ER13
My stash of Extension de la Racines didn’t last long, I think this is my last one. As noted before, if was a great flavorful experience. I didn’t take as many notes this time, I just got caught up in smoking the cigar. But if you succeed in finding any, you’re in for a treat, one that’s creamy and earthy, but also with enjoyable notes of aromatic cedar, vanilla, graham and spices.

VegaFina Sumum Edicion Especial 2010 Toro *
I remember enjoying the original Sumum, so I was looking forward trying the latest edition. I tasted a combination of cedar, general tobacco, earth, coffee and touch of mustiness and sour cream. It didn’t seem to be quite as good this time around, though it definitely wasn’t bad. I have a few more samples, so I’ll be trying it again in a while after they have a little more humidor time.

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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. The Partagas Black picture used to belong to Jerry until I stole it. That missing airplane probably belongs to Davy Jones now.

** 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.