Part Four, the final chapter. Lots of great discussion here about tasting cigars off the bench and envisioning how they will taste as they age, too many 90 plus ratings? Joya de Nicaragua in the 1970′s, more advice for bloggers and the benefits for manufacturers. Cigar technology, dying of cigars, consumer education, sorting tobacco, seed variety, the decline of Cuban cigars, aging cigars and props to Rolando Reyes Sr. and Dion Giolito.

I hope you all have enjoyed the interview. This one is probably my favorite so far and not because of Pete Johnson but because of the expertise of George Brightman. Funny story, one day I called W.Curtis Draper-Bethesda expecting to talk to Paul Spence. George answered the phone and asked for Paul but he was away. George asked if he could help me and I said I’d just call back. I immediately sent John Anderson a text that said “who the fuck is George at Bethesda?” Little did I know of George’s background in the industry. Online retailers may have better pricing on cigars but it is the local retailers who offer something that is priceless.

This is Part Three focusing on questions from the audience. Is Pete still having fun? Times of crisis? Experience working with The Garcia Family. Second guessing blends, more info on Little Monsters, and blogger’s responsibility in the industry? Note to self, gotta invest in a third microphone for audience use.

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and Bethesda MD celebrating the start of W.Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary year with the release of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 Redux. Towards the end of the afternoon, Pete and George Brightman (W.Curtis Draper-Bethesda) sat down and talked about Tatuaje Cigars and the cigar industry in general.

This is Part Two of Four and has a lot of great content. The story of La Verite, the “romance” in the cigar business, a Tatuaje farm, who is to blame for current pricing, could the cigar industry self regulate itself, the golden age of cigars and an explanation on fermentation.

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and Bethesda MD celebrating the start of W.Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary year with the release of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 Redux. Towards the end of the afternoon, Pete and George Brightman (W.Curtis Draper-Bethesda) sat down and talked about Tatuaje Cigars and the cigar industry in general.

The discussion between Pete and George totals about two hours. To make the experience manageable and thus, enjoyable, I will be breaking the footage into four, thirty minute clips.

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and Bethesda MD celebrating the start of W.Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary year with the release of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 Redux. Towards the end of the afternoon, Pete and George Brightman (W.Curtis Draper-Bethesda) sat down and talked about Tatuaje Cigars and the cigar industry in general.

The discussion between Pete and George totals about two hours. To make the experience manageable and thus, enjoyable, I will be breaking the footage into four, thirty minute clips. This is Part One focusing on the start of Tatuaje Cigars, meeting Pepin at the Grand Havana Room in LA, what cigars inspired Pete and the story of the Cojonu series.

It’s pretty interesting to note that this celebrates five years of the 20 Minutes with Pete Johnson series of videos here on Stogie Review. So first I want to thank Pete for always being giving with his time. Secondly I want to thank W.Curtis Draper for giving me a home to record for the past five years. This series of videos has turned into a tradition that I hope continues for many more years to come.

In this interview Pete talks about the special release he does for W.Curtis Draper called the WCD 120 Redux. The WCD 120 Redux celebrates Draper’s 125th Anniversary and is based off a Cabaiguan cigar Pete did for W.Curtis Draper 120th Anniversary. Pete also talks about some of the projects we can look forward to in 2012. Most notably the addition of a Little Monster Series as well as an update on the next two releases of the Moster Series and the status of the next La Verité. Pete also takes some time to talk about the La Dueña, a cigar he blended for Janny Garcia, as well as many other things like his most underrated line, Saints and Sinners, Para Ti and FT114…

If the above video isn’t enough for you, stay tuned the rest of the week as I post footage from a two hour discussion between Pete Johnson and George Brightman (Cigar Aficinado fame). It’s a must watch especially for any of my fellow bloggers as they take time to discuss our role in the industry.

The Padilla Black Bear seems to be one of those Cigars International and Cigar.com exclusives based on the popular Padilla Series 1968 blend. While I can’t confirm its the same binder and filler as the Series 1968, the Padilla Black Bear does have the popular Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper in the ever popular 6×60 size. Typically not a size I enjoy but lately I’ve been coming across blends where the 6×60 format actually works. At $7 a single you definitely appear to be getting a bargain. Highly rated 1968 blend in a 6×60 format with a killer Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper. On the surface you have all the ingredients for a great cigar.

Video runs a little under 11 minutes and I found the Padilla Black Bear to be less than the sum of it’s parts. Like I said above, on the surface everything sounds great but the devil is in the details. There wasn’t anything that really brings the flavor profile together. Sure the slight pepperiness, sweet coffee and nutty flavors were delightful and until the end, nice and smooth. But I found myself tasting a spattering of flavors that didn’t really taste like it was a blend of flavors working together. Add to that the constant relighting and constant touch ups made for a less than enjoyable and definitely not a relaxing experience. Cigar smoking is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable and not meant to feel like a chore. Smoking the Padilla Black Bear felt more like a chore. I spent more time babysitting the cigar than I did actually enjoying it. $7 sounds like a great bargain but it really felt like I spent $14. $7 for the cigar and $7 on butane to keep it lit. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose…in this instance, the Padilla Black Bear was lost on me.