Chapter 2: Cigar notes

Someone at the LOV blog recently said "I can't believe it took Rev this long to have a blog entirely devoted to food."


How wrong you are. This blog is devoted to so much more than food.


What, you think my life is one eating fest after another? That I live my life longing for the next opportunity I get to take a bite out of something else?


OK... bad choice of words. My life is actually pretty close to that. But in between bites, I tend to enjoy other pleasures of life.


I'm learning more and more about cigars every week. It's becoming quite the passion.


Now don't get me wrong. I am far from an expert. I'm not really good enough to tell you little intricacies about cigars such as "the cigar had a predominately creamy almond and coffee flavor" unless it's an actual almond and coffee flavored cigar. Basically, either a cigar is good or it ain't good to me.


So what makes a good cigar in my world?


Know one thing about me. I'm not a rich man. I'm not going out and smuggling $40 Cuban cigars into the country on a regualr basis. I need a pretty inexpensive smoke. My budget in life pretty much demands that.



But know another thing about me. I'm not smoking cheap cigars. I'm not going around with an ElProducto in my mouth.


What I've found is that it is really possible to get a really good cigar between $2 and $5 that smokes just as good as one that is $15. We're talking real imported handmade cigars, not the cheap machine made ones like the Phillies blunts. And some of these particular inexpensive cigars have earned high ratings in well respected cigar publications right up there with the high end smokes.


Now, every now and then, I will splurge for one of the higher end smokes. I've never gone wrong with a good Cohiba, which you can't get one for less than $12 anymore. But most of the time, I pick out a nice smoke in that $2 to $5 range.


For the first cigar post, I'll throw out my top 5 cigars at the moment. And in future cigar postings, I'll review something new. If you're looking for something to try, you can't go wrong with one of these 5 choices in my world.


1. Padron 1964 Anniversary Series

I'm a big Padron fan. Often I go for a Padron Londres for $2.50 a smoke, or a Padron Palmas for $3.50. These are higher end. You can get a decent size 1964 series cigar for 9 dollars. Some of the bigger ones are more. Padron also makes a 1926 Anniversary Series cigar that is even higher end, but I haven't partaken one yet. Judging on how smooth the 1964 series are, I can only imagine the 1926 must be heaven.



2. Partagas Black Label

The previous Padron's are medium bodied. This particular Partagas series is definitely on the stronger side and more full bodied. This may be the strongest cigar I smoke. The first time I had one though, I was so impressed. Problem was, later on the cigar actually caught up to me and I felt a little ill. A strong cigar doesn't usually affect me like that, but this one kicked my ass a bit. The cigar was so good though, it was worth getting a little sick over. I've had more since then, and I'm happy to report I'm much better now.



3. Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage Series


Rocky has put out many different lines of cigars. This one is by far his best. There's a 1990 series, and a 1992 series. The 1990 is a little smoother than the 1992 in my opinion. There are different sizes, but you can actually get a tin of 5 mini cigars of this line for $12. That to me is the best deal. Those mini smokes last you a good 20 minutes or so.




4. Onyx Reserve


When you can grab a cigar that the experts are rating in the 90's up there with the good stuff, and get one for $4-$6 a smoke, you gotta try at least one. I've tried more than one, and they definitely smoke as well as anything more expensive.


5. Perdomo Reserve Champagne

This is probably the mildest cigar on my list. I bought a few as part of a package deal with about 8 other brands one time. I knew nothing about them. Decided to smoke one on a whim. And I loved every damn minute of it. I'm glad I have two more in the humidor waiting for me.


I'm sure the next blog posting will be about food. Maybe.