2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 Winner

The Stogie Review Second Annual 12 Days of Christmas has kicked off and we have our very first winner. To enter into this contest for a chance to win a Prometheus Cutter Y, generously provided by Lighters Direct, we asked that you simply place your Cigar Related Christmas List in the comment section of the appropriate post.

With a solid number of entries into the contest, we randomly selected our winner this morning. The lucky winner of a …

Diesel – Unholy Cocktail

The latest release from AJ Fernandez, maker of the Man O’War Series, has been the focus of my eye for awhile. Between the juicy images and mouth watering description in the CI/Cigar.com catalog and the buzz on Twitter, I couldn’t wait any longer to weigh in on the Unholy Cocktail aka the Diesel.

Video runs about 14:30 minutes and along with giving my take on the Diesel, I also spend a few minutes to answer a question from Lou about …

Cigar Shop Review: Saratoga Springs, NY – James and Sons Tobacconists

This review comes courtesy of Stephen (empeg9000)
If you would like to submit a review of one of your local shops,
please take a look at our guidelines

Name of Shop: James and Sons Tobacconists
Date Visited: 09/21/2009
Street Address: 360 Broadway
City: Saratoga Springs
State: NY
Zip: 12866
Phone Number: (518) 581-7274
Hours of Operation: M-T 10:00am – 9:00pm, F-S 10:00am-10:00pm, Sun 10:00am-6:00pm
Website: http://www.jamesandsonstobacco.com/

Location: Exceptional
Right on main strip in Saratoga Springs. In the summer during the …

Cuchillos Cubanos ~40~ (Short Ashes)

A little ways back, our very own Jerry Cruz reviewed a value line cigar produced by Dion Giolito of Illusione Cigars. That cigar was the Cuchillos Cubanos ~40~, and ever since I’ve been interested in giving it a try.

Due to lack of availability locally, and my very limited online purchasing history as of late, the Cuchillos Cubanos line has eluded me. That is, until Mike (KnightRid) was kind enough to pick me up an assortment …

Illusione ~hl~ (Short Ashes)

I was talking with Jerry via Twitter the other day and it seems he has run into a bit of a problem. His super fast Verizon FIOS service has been interrupted by a faulty router and he was unable to upload his video. Rather than dig through the Fan Forums to get a Cigar Shop Review or Guest Cigar Review, I decided to post a video that I recorded previously.

I was intending to post this video on Friday …

The Conspiracy Invasion

The Conspiracy invaded the DC/VA/MD area this week with three events. First stop was an event with W.Curtis Drapers at Shelly’s Backroom in Washington DC. Second stop was Havana Connections (Short Pump) in Richmond VA and ending the week of events was the third event at Bethesda Tobacco in Bethesda MD. Due to my day job obligations, I missed the W.Curtis Drapers/Shelly’s Backroom event but luckily I was able to spend most of the day at Bethesda Tobacco.

It was …

Punch Upper Cut Robusto

This week’s contender is a new addition to General Cigar’s popular Punch line, the Upper Cut. Or perhaps I should call it The Champ, as the Upper Cut made it to production by knocking out lesser cigars a special “Election” promotion that took place last year, according to General’s promotional information. Here’s the word from the official Punch Upper Cut website:

An offspring of the Punch “Election” promotion, the blend created for Upper Cut by Punch is the direct

…

CAO Six One Five (Guest Review)

This review comes courtesy of Chris (beaverc32)
from the Stogie Review Fan Forums

Cigar Facts

Vitola: Churchill
Price: $51 for 5-pack
Wrapper: Criollo-seed Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

The CAO Six One Five was gifted to me by fellow SRFF member, Ray_I, and apparently is only available at UPtown’s Smoke Shop. Fortunately they are available for purchase both online and via phone order.

The cigar I was so generously gifted has a slight oily sheen on the fairly dark …

Cigar Shop Review: Lawrence, KS – Centro Cigars

This review comes courtesy of Kevin (kmk108)
If you would like to submit a review of one of your local shops,
please take a look at our guidelines

Name of Shop: Centro Cigars
Date Visited: September 15, 2009
Street Address: 4811 Bob Billings Parkway, Suite C
City: Lawrence
State: Kansas
Zip: 66049
Phone Number: 785.856.7773
Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Website: http://centrocigars.com

Location: Above Average
Centro Cigars is the only …

Illusione MJ12 (Joint Guest Review)

This collaborative review comes courtesy of Mike and Tony (Casas Fumando).

Pre-Light:

Mike: Tony, would you like to start your pre-light inspection?

Tony: Will do, I’ll be taking the foil off now. Let me just state for the record that it’s great presentation. I can’t imagine how enticing it is to open up a full box of these.

Mike: I agree on the presentation – One of a kind!

After removing the foil, the cigar is just …