Back in October, I met up with Pete Johnson at a Tatuaje Cigars event hosted by Holt’s in Philadelphia. As one of the promotions at the event, customers received a three-pack pre-release sampler of the Cojonu 2012 with each box purchase. I jumped at the opportunity to try some cigars that won’t be released until […]
La Aurora Cameroon Robusto
I found it interesting when I heard La Aurora was reblending their Cameroon line. For years now, when asked for an example of a great Cameroon cigar, La Aurora one of the names that passed my lips. Why change a good thing, I wondered. But when I thought about about it a little more, how […]
Padilla Artemis Torpedo
It looks like it’s Padilla week here on Stogie Review. In case you missed it, Jerry took a look at the Black Bear on Monday. (Feel free to watch his shenanigans once you’re done here. And no, you’re not done yet.) Charlie didn’t get the memo, so he gets no link love. And today I’m […]
Cabaiguan Guapos (First Impressions)
By now, most of you have probably seen the top ten portion of the annual Top 25 list published by a major cigar “lifestyle” magazine that shall remain nameless. As usual, there are a few surprises. Coming in at number 7 was the Cabaiguan Guapos, made by Pete Johnson from Tatuaje. This was a bit […]
The Box-Worthies: Brian’s Top 10 Cigars of 2011
‘Tis the season for cigar lists, and here’s mine. I like to think of what follows as my real top 10 list. Meaning that, when I lift the humidor lid, the following cigars are the ones I really hope to find waiting for me front and center. New or old, complex or straightforward, these are […]
El Primer Mundo Epifania
It’s the time of year for festive gatherings, and I’ve been to a few recently. And so has local cigar maker, Sean Williams, owner of El Primer Mundo. At one of the parties we were talking about future cigar releases when I realized I completely forgot to review his new one for 2011, the Epifania. […]
Perdomo Exhibicion Sun Grown Churchill
One thing you can count on every year is a bunch of new releases from the folks at Tabacalera Perdomo. Which is good thing for cigar reviewers looking to cover new ground. According to our very concise interview with Nick Perdomo at IPCPR earlier this year, they brought a mind-boggling 30 new SKU’s to market […]
Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve
In the chaotic weeks that lead up to this review, I’ve been smoking Nestor Miranda’s Grand Reserve with intention of putting up a review. Unfortunately, life and schedules haven’t been cooperating lately, and this already limited release has become even more limited in availability. Fortunately the 10,000 sticks that were produced haven’t vanished from the […]
1143 Seconds with Pete Johnson
Last week, the night before I left for an overseas business trip, I sat down with Pete Johnson at a Tatuaje Cigars event hosted by Holt’s Cigar Company in Northeast Philadelphia. We talked about a lot of things going on in the Tatuaje universe, including the upcoming Cojonu 2012s, future installments of the Monster series, […]
La Flor Dominicana Colorado Oscuro No 4
It’s been a couple weeks, have you missed me? It killed me to leave my review slot vacant last week, but there just something about living out of a suitcase in a guest bedroom while your floorboards are torn up that make it hard to review a cigar. (Or even smoke one, for that matter.) […]