Don Fernando's cigarblog

Some of the cigars reviewed on this blog were kindly send to me by the manufacturers or shopowners and I would like to thank them here, Rudy from Vegas de Santiago, Jose from Don Rigo, Richard from Manila cigars, Don Ursulo from Don Ursulo cigars,Robert from Bucanero cigars, Eric from Kioki cigars and Henny from havanacigar. You can find links to their website’s at the link section of my blog.

If you are a cigar manufacturer or a cigar shop owner and you would like me to review your cigars, you can send me a sampler and I will write a review and put a link to your website on my blog. Feel free to contact me at fp128@reageert.nl

This dark, smooth oily cigar spreads an aroma of hay and the wrapper is a little veined. The predraw is fine and contains a little pepper. 

When I lit the cigar I was surprised, for a moment I thought I lit up a Cuban cigar because of the typical Cuban leather flavor. After 2 centimeters a peppery chocolate appeared and the further the cigar progressed the stronger the flavors became. The leather returns to be replaced later with a light cacao. The aftertaste is pepper.

Lots of thick white smoke, the ash is dark and firm

Would I buy this cigar again? Yeah, on occasion

The cigar has a light wrapper with stains and veins and the light aroma of a stable. The smoke and draw are ok and I could only taste wood. Not a lot of flavor in this cigar.

Would I buy this cigar again?  Nope.

Construction: 17 / 20
Draw: 14 / 20
Appearance: 12 / 20
Smoke && ash: 7 / 10
Burn: 14 / 20
Aroma (foot) 6 / 10
Aroma (body) 6 / 10
Aroma (head) 6 / 10

This cigar got a high rating at Cigar Aficionado so I was very curious about it and the looks made my curiosity grow. The wrapper is very dark with some veins and a dark natural drawing in the leaf. The aroma was a very heavy manure aroma. The predraw tasted like raisin and was a little too easy. 

When I light the cigar I can taste nuts with a light sour and herbs but the sour flavor disappears soon. Halfway some leather appears with some cacao on the background soon to be replaced with the nuts I could taste earlier.

The smoke is amazing, very thick & white and the ash is firm. The draw is a little too easy and the burn was a bit crooked. 

Would I buy this cigar again?  Yes, if possible, it’s hard to find.

This double perfecto from Panama looks fantastic, a dark oily wrapper and it’s strange shape with 2 closed ends. You light the fire-end without cutting it. That makes the draw hard to start with, but as soon as the cigar burst open at the fire end the draw is getting much better. 

The flavor is very much a flavor which I haven’t tasted in any other cigar, maybe because it’s my first cigar from Panama. I can taste cedar wood with a little sweetness but some pepper on the tongue. After about one and a half centimeter a distinct vanilla appears and soon disappears again. Halfway the cigar I tasted some citrus  and later on some hay. At the end there is chocolate and the final blow is a combined chocolate with hay.

Would I buy this cigar again? I liked it, but with a price of  43,50 euro, don’t think so.

Construction: 18 / 20
Draw: 18 / 20
Appearance: 20 / 20
Smoke && ash: 8 / 10
Burn: 18 / 20
Aroma (foot) 8 / 10
Aroma (body) 9 / 10
Aroma (head) 7 / 10

The Culebras is a special kind of cigar, 3 curved cigars bound together by 2 pieces of red rope and one cigar band. A great smoke for a special occasion with 2 friends, like the time I smoked it with Smokey and Foster. The cigar looks rough with the strange shape and wrapper with veins even though it isn’t a big cigar in neither size nor ring.

The palate starts with leather and pepper and soon the pepper gets a bit stronger. Later on I could taste something like chocolate and also some herbs. The cigar is full flavored but medium bodied and offers enough differences in flavor to keep you interested throughout the cigar.

The smoke is very thick, the draw is perfect, the burn is great. Only the ash, that isn’t firm and breaks easily probably due to the shape.

Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, I will order a couple more boxes next month

The ring 60 cigars were delivered in a special box, a sort of airtight Tupperware box and all the cigars were packed individually in a seal bag with a small sponge. Just smelling the sponge almost made me faint, what a terrible smell, a mix of eau de Cologne and toilet cleaner. The cigar is made of tobacco & herbs, and poured with Courvoisier cognac afterwards.

The cigars are pre cut and look terrible with their big veins and nasty black wrapper. The wrapper is also frayed. This cigar scares me, the looks, and the smell; do I really want to smoke this? Will I live to tell about it?

The flavors of the cigar are herbs with a fresh sweetness and something bitter. I could taste the cognac, which I like to drink with my cigar, not taste in my cigar. I could also taste tobacco, ash and at times some harsh bitter cacao.

The smoke is thick and white, the ash isn’t very firm.

Would I buy this cigar again? Not if it was the last cigar in the world.

A nice light belicoso, some nice light veins on the wrapper. The predraw is easy and the aroma reminds me of hay. 

The flavors are soft and mellow, it starts with wood and nuts but after an inch the nuts are the dominant flavor until, approximately halfway, chocolate kicks in. Later on the nuts are back and they stay until the end.

The burn was ok, expect for a small problem right at the start, the smoke could be thicker and the draw becomes a bit heavy. The ash is quite dark. 

Would I buy this cigar again?  Yes, I liked it a lot.

This Diamond Crown maximus 2 I got from a friend who brought it with him from the States, as Diamond Crown isn’t for sale in The Netherlands. The aroma is deep and heavy while the cigar looks good with its oily wrapper. And the band, damn, it can compete with the Opus X band, colorful with loads of details. This may be one of the better looking cigars I’ve ever seen. The predraw is light and releases some sweetness.

The cigar stars off with leather and soon some citrus which progresses to a wood flavor approximately an inch from the top. Halfway I can taste coffee and later on some chocolate. 

The smoke is quite thick, the ash white and firm. The draw is fine, and I had no problems with the burn.

Would I buy this cigar again?  Yes.

This cigar is not available on the Dutch market but yesterday my cigar buddy Smokey and me were in Antwerp, Belgium at a nice cigar & liquor shop called Huis Verloo and they sold some Quai D’Orsay cigars.

The aroma is manure, but it is not a heavy smell, just a light aroma. The wrapper is light and pretty with just some light veins. The predraw and draw are a bit hard though. 

The first flavor that comes to mind is some nutmeg with a little vanilla. It’s all soft and pleasant even the leather that comes by after a while is not pronounced or heavy. Halfway the cigar it gets creamy, which I like and beyond the creaminess I could taste nuts.

Would I buy this cigar again?  Yeah, they are not too expensive and a very good smoke.