Right off the bat had strong, dark flavors that I really enjoyed and a great level of consistency throughout. Any recommendations on other Crowned Heads to try?

New Jason redux 7 1/2 x 52.

Absolutely stellar. In the same vein as last year’s pork tenderloin. Very rich but not too heavy. Coffee, chocolate, black pepper and natural sweetness. A monster in name, size and flavor. If you’re a fan of broadleaf over Nicaraguan you should definitely try and secure one. They seem to be going fast.

Curious how everyone here does it. Do you log what you smoke, with notes, ratings or pairings, or do you mostly go from memory?

I’d love to hear if you use a notebook, a spreadsheet, a notes app or a dedicated app (and if it’s any good). And if you tried tracking and gave up, what made you stop?

Is this that good oily celle I've read about?

Little haul from my local B&M. Considering lighting one of the Aganorsa up, but they measuring a little high so will rest and be patient. Been loving their blends lately, and the Viaje Anniversary Silver which I just realized uses Aganorsa tobacco.

Did not realize how big these Sophisticated Hoes are, it wont fit lol.

Is it better to keep old oily ones like the Aganorsa here in the cellophane till you smoke it?

Hey folks!

Yesterday I revisited the LADC Mi Amor Belicoso, a cigar I first tried a bit too early in my cigar journey to fully appreciate. I'm really glad I gave it another go!

Here's how the flavours developed throughout the smoke:

1st third: Some light pepper, which quickly faded, followed by lots of cream, milk chocolate and, this was crazy, blackberries! I was genuinely impressed by how distinct that last note was. It's the first time I've picked up blackberries in a cigar, and it was such a pleasant surprise.

2nd third: Milk chocolate remained prominent, with blackberries still making an appearance from time to time, alongside cream and some light woody notes, particularly cedar.

3rd third: Things took a darker turn here, with dark chocolate, some earthy notes, heavier wood, a touch of cream and bitter almonds. Towards the very end, I also picked up some salted nuts.

Overall, the cigar was super toothy, sweet and just crazy good! The standout notes for me were definitely milk chocolate and blackberries. I'd put the body at medium-full and the strength at medium. Burn and construction were top-notch. The draw was a little tight, but never really an issue.

I'll definitely be exploring more from LADC, as I already have a few waiting in my humidor. I'm especially curious to see how this blend performs in a different vitola, since I also have a Mi Amor Valentino waiting to be smoked

It’s a pleasant, sunny fall day.

Strength: Full
Body: Medium–Full
Flavor Intensity: Medium+
Flavor Quality: Enjoyable, diverse flavors that never become overpowering. If these flavors were more intense, this could easily be a 10/10 cigar.
Complexity: A layered, evolving profile with distinct flavor transitions throughout the thirds.
Balance & Texture: Exceptionally smooth and creamy, with absolutely no harshness.
Construction: Perfect draw and good combustion with ample smoke production. The burn was slightly wavy, possibly because I only gave it three weeks to reach 65% RH instead of the six weeks I should have allowed. The ash wasn’t particularly attractive but remained solid.

A beautiful, softly box-pressed Toro, nearly Churchill-sized, featuring a Mexican San Andrés Maduro wrapper with Colorado hues. Three bands with holographic details give it an elegant presentation. Tight seams and except for one prominent vein virtually no visible veins. Honestly, one of the best-looking AJ Fernandez cigars I’ve smoked so far, having tried seven other lines, excluding those produced for other brands.

Pre-light: Subtle barnyard, hay, and wood aromas, with floral and honey notes at the foot. Perfect cold draw with fruity notes.

1/3: Opens with cocoa, cinnamon, cream, and black pepper, although without much pepper kick. I’m drinking a mocha, and the cigar tastes remarkably similar, complemented by leather and a very subtle hint of nutmeg. Cedar and leather become more prominent as the third progresses. Natural sweetness throughout.

2/3: The sweetness becomes more subdued, while mild yeasty, baked-bread, graham cracker notes emerge early on. Creamy, satisfying smoke with hints of clove, mint, and chocolate, followed by pleasant toasted cedar, tannins, and coffee. Despite being exceptionally smooth, this is a nicotine-rich cigar that sneaks up on you. I’m definitely feeling the buzz.

3/3: Definitely full full strength by this point, usually not all advertised full strength cigars make me feel like this. Predominantly oak, baking spices, mint, leather, and earthy notes. The smoke becomes slightly chalky, with white pepper on the retrohale. This is a cigar best enjoyed after a heavy meal.

Overall: Possibly the best AJ Fernandez cigar I’ve smoked so far. Excellent smoothness, enjoyable complexity, and impressive flavor balance. It would be 10/10 cigar if flavors were a little more intense which were intense enough.

I bought a couple of these on sale months back and have smoked two. Heavy, well constructed, oily wrapper, creamy smoke, perfect burn and draw. I got dark fruit, earth, chocolate, salt, minerals. A very nice cigar for about $5 on sale. I don’t see this discussed much, anyone smoke them? What do you think?

Drew Estate Nica Rustica - 88
medium bodied
Cold aromas: oats, leather, pepper, cereal
First half: earth, leather, pepper, cereal
Second half: leather, earth, pepper, floral
Final third: earth, pepper

Intro
Nica Rustica was originally launched in 2013 and I tried it for the first time in 2016, when I gave it a whopping 97 points. Yet, I'm the type who regularly revisits my old reviews, and especially those to which I gave a very high score, and try them again. My best experience with the Nica Rustica was in the El Brujito (6 x 52) vitola, and every time I've smoked that size, it's been a stellar experience. But it has also amazed me how little I thought of it in Short Robusto (4½ x 50) and, the now discontinued, Belly Torpedo (7½ x 54). In 2022 they launched a Habano wrapper version called Adobe, and in 2025 the Connecticut version.

The Nica Rústica features an Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a Mexican San Andres binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Visually, it looks, well, rustic thanks to the extremely rugged, uneven wrapper, but it has a certain sheen, and the covered foot releases aromas of leather, oats, and fruity notes; meanwhile, the cold draw reveals hints of sweetness, oats, pepper, and a cereal-like quality.

1/3
Some cigars deliver pepper explosion from the very first puffs, but the Nica Rustica offers smoke bomb even before you take a single draw. Once I do take a puff, I’m met with earthy flavors, notes of leather, and a semi-salty hint that evolves into a more savory, meaty quality within that leather. The pepper is quite active and almost aggressive, and toward the end of the first third, a note of cooked grains emerges. The El Brujito burns perfectly, while the other two vitolas have burn issues even here, where the Belly tends to almost go out and the Short Robusto burns horribly. The strength is medium-to-high, with medium intensity, a terrible burn line, and an ash that tends to flake off. Retrohale is just burning pepper.

2/3
Retrohale in the second third gives more recognizable notes of earth and a hint of chocolate, while the intense (but not burning) pepper remains. On the palate, there is an irregular floral note, but also some aggressive notes of pepper and some nicotine, while maintaining more or less the same notes of leather and cereal. The construction improves in terms of the burn line in general, but the ash still flakes in the Short Robusto and the Belly, and somewhat in the El Brujito. The strength doesn’t quite reach medium, though it sits just below medium-high, while the intensity remains at a medium level.

3/3
In the final third, the note of damp earth remains intense, while the retrohale is far less harsh, allowing me to sample it several times during this stage in all three sizes; this brings the strength to a medium level, while the intensity also remains medium. The nicotine level seems to rise in all three vitolas, but in the Belly is almost becomes unbearable, especially as it takes almost 2 and a half hours to smoke it, while it took me around 45 minutes to smoke the Short Robusto and an hour and 50 minutes for the El Brujito.

Conclusion
And that's the thing about the Nica Rustica. The El Brujito felt like the perfect balance of smoke, intensity, strength and overall experience. The Short Robusto leaves me wishing for a longer smoke, although a bit less intense, while the "Belly" does the exact opposite: for one thing, I got bored with the same flavors and lack of transitions, plus I grew tired of having to constantly baby them throughout the entire smoke, as they usually burned bad, had flaky ashes and tended to need corrections.

Made by: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Brand: Drew Estate
Line: Nica Rustica
Size: 6 x 52; 4½ x 50; 7½ x 54
Vitola: El Brujito; Short Robusto; Belly
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: USA (Connecticut Broadleaf)
Binder: México (San Andres)
Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí, Jalapa)
MSRP: $8.50; $7.50; $8.00
Score: 88

I don’t have the best immune system and the moment I feel something come on, I get really down because I know I won’t be able to smoke for 7-10 days. How many days do you guys go without cigars when you’re fighting a cold?

Figured I give a try to this Ozgener Family Cigars piece that I received in a sampler.

The construction on it was pristine, both wrapper and draw were excellent.

On the pre light I got a ton of leather notes. The cigar almost smelled like nice leather bag.

First third: it opened up with some sweet woody notes, like a cedar but sweet. On the retrohale it only amplified the same notes. I didn’t find it complex in this initial stage, pretty straight forward woody and sweet with a little bit of pepper on the back end.

Second third: As it transitioned into the second third I found that the pepper took a big step back, completely disappearing from flavor profile at this point. It was actually pretty pleasant and it turned into a dessert style smoke with notes of cocoa, sweet hay, and cedar. Near the end of this third is when I got that complexity that I was looking forward too. I started getting some earthiness with some mineral notes that had me going “hmm what is this that I’m tasting?”.

Final third: The transition between the second and last third is where I feel this cigar shines. Every puff I felt like I was noticing different flavors and characteristics. It was excellent being able to enjoy a dark wrapper without any pepper or spice to it. Still getting the sweet hay, cocoa, leather, and cedar notes.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

This is definitely a high scorer for me and I will be buying more to see if they remain consistent.

Sometimes you just want a guarantee. So far from padron, I've had the 2000, 3000, 4000, and 1964 exclusivo, all maduro (eventually I'll get around to trying the naturals).

This was a nice luxurious smoke. Easy draw, perfect burn, delightful flavor. Similar profile to the 1964, I was getting mostly chocolate walnut in the first two thirds. The last third was more wood/leather and espresso.

Overall this is a bit more pricey than the 1964 but I enjoyed it about the same. Any recommendations on the next padron to try?

So I've tried many ways to keep it at the right humidity. But the devices always break and leak. And I'm at my wits end. So this is my temp solution holder. It's doing the trick atm. But I'm tired of wasting money. Can someone help me? Also what do you guys think?

I'll keep flavors notes short as u/ItsGloveGuy recently made a fantastic review on this blend, but boy was it spicy and bready and delicious. I can taste the cinnamon! Got really creamy and oily as the flavor developed without any bitterness. Excited to try more from Aganorsa Leaf.

It paired wonderfully with a pumpkin ale from Dogfish Head on a crisp autumn night.

Cheers! 💨

Anyone know what this is at the tip of the cigar? Cigar looks a bit aged. It was at the bottom of a cigar shops humidor and bought it for science lol. I’ve never smoked one of these, but I have one in my humidor that’s been there for a few weeks, I will smoke that one first.

Spotted a few of these at a local cigar shop and had to grab them, especially since they’re no longer in production. Glad I did. Beautifully rolled and an absolute pleasure to smoke. Very nuanced, with great transitions from sweetness to dry, tannic notes and a touch of pepper lingering in the background.

I feel like this gets talked about with Cubans but not so much with non-Cubans. What, in your opinion are some iconic releases of non-Cuban cigars.

For example:
Davidoff Dominicana (2021) with tobacco from 2014
Davidoff chef’s edition 2016
CAO Amazon Basin (2014)
Room 101 Chief Cool Arrow
Several of the other original release Room 101 cigars
La Palina Goldie early releases (when Goldie was still involved) 2012-2016
OG releases of Opus and Liga
Padron Millenium (2000)
Illusione ECCJ. 15th (2008)

More recent one
Kelner 80th

I’m talking about specific releases, release years, blends, limiteds, that are still talked about years later or in the Kelner 80th example the hype surrounding that cigar has greatly surpassed most other modern releases IMO. Yes maybe a little too early to determine if it will be an iconic historic release but from what I see on the secondary
It’s on its way.

Thoughts? What are some grails in the new world space

Aye Yo! I priced 5 robustos and the "rare" leaf isn't the expensive one
Body:
I'm a sales associate at a shop in Kansas, and I'm researching Connecticut shade for a project. Real Connecticut River Valley shade costs a fortune to grow ($30–40K an acre), so I expected it to cost more on the shelf. Nope. The Macanudo Café runs about $12, right in line with Ecuador Connecticut sticks like the Undercrown Shade and the RyJ Vintage. The Cohiba Connecticut, at $22–27, is the outlier, and that's the name on the band, not the leaf.
Can you taste the difference between Valley-grown and Ecuador Connecticut? Or is it all in the blend?

I have a cabinet humidor with open space on the bottom

Should I put bovedas on each shelf or is it OK to put them all at the bottom? Which way will make my humidity stay more stable?

Need some quick advice on upgrading my humidors. I currently own a 16L and a 26L King Chii humidor - 350 total "max" cigar capacity. I've outgrown them so trying to decide if I should:

A) buy a third - eg a 35L - for about $250

B) replace the 2 I have with an 80L ($570+, 600) or possibly 103L ($750, 900max)

I know the general answer is always "bigger is better", but I'm trying to factor in whether there is much resale value to the two I already own. I also was wondering if opening one large humidor daily cause more humidity swings (and affect cigars) more than opening only 1 of the smaller units each day?

If better to bite the bullet and shell out the cash for a bigger unit, I will probably also look at Afidano units (B2/$1200/850 or B4/$1600/1200) as I like the drawers that come with those better.

(ps - I have been trying to solve this with a large Harbor Freight Apache case for my overruns . But in CO, temp swings get up to 75 no matter where I put it in the house and I don't want to risk beetles)

I recently picked up an inoperable wine fridge to turn it into a wineador and am in the process of cleaning it and deodorizing it with charcoal.

The shelves in it are mystery meat wooden shelves. How big of an impact would these shelves have on seasoning the humidor, given they're not Spanish Cedar? Would getting Spanish Cedar trays help alleviate any issues or would it be best to try and build or find Spanish Cedar shelves to replace them?

looking to get into more boutique cigars for my retail vape shop. I started with some padron maduro 1926 family reserve 45 yr / padron 1926 natural no 6 did very well realized not many shops can get them so im deciding to get more into these vs the regular gas station shit.

heres what i got together so far to grab

Padrón

Padrón 1964 Principe Maduro: 1
Padrón 1964 No. 4 Maduro: 1
Padron Natural 1964 No. 4 - 1.
Padrón Family Reserve No. 50 Maduro: 1
Padrón Family Reserve No. 44 Maduro: 1
Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Natural: 1
Dámaso No. 12: 1 @
Dámaso No. 17: 1 @

Foundation

Olmec Maduro, robusto: 1 box
The Tabernacle Havana Seed CT #142, robusto or toro: 1 box
Wise Man Maduro, robusto: 1 box
Highclere Castle Victorian: 1 box
Charter Oak Broadleaf, toro: 1 box

Dunbarton

Sobremesa Brûlée, robusto or toro: 1 box
Sobremesa Brûlée Blue, robusto: 1 box
Mi Querida, robusto size: 1 box
Stillwell Star Aromatic No. 1: 1 box
10th Anniversary Jubilee: 1 box

Curivari

Buenaventura BV 500 (5×50): one box
Selección Privada Maduro: 1 box
Reserva Limitada Café Noir: one box

Crowned Heads
Le Carême
Moonflower

Anything else i should look out for?