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Cigar & Tobacco Reviews

December 13th, 2024
7:34pm

Pipe Tobacco

Today, after work, I went down to a local cigar shop to see if they had any pipe tobacco for sale. I recently helped a coworker clean up her new house she'd inherited so she let me keep some of the things we found, one of them being her grandfather's pipe, which I gladly accepted. Down at the cigar shop, I had no idea what I was looking for, so I just said yes to whatever the first thing he asked was and I ended up with five ounces of cherry flavored pipe tobacco (which is a LOT). I just smoked it when I got home and got settled, and I can't tell if it's the pipe or the tobacco, but all I taste is plastic. I read that if your pipe doesn't have a layer of soot covering the walls of the bowl, you might get a strange flavor from the wood, which might be it, but I also think that it might be the cherry flavor, which is very strong and tastes like what you would imagine a cherry syrup to taste like, minus the sweetness. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to pipe smoking, but I think my first priority is getting an unflavored tobacco and comparing the two to see if the strange flavor is still there. If so, I just need to "break it in," as they say (smoke it until the bowl is caked in soot).

December 13th, 2024
7:34pm

Broadleaf by Rocky Patel

The most recent cigar I've purchased as of now, I was excited to try it because it smelled so good. Unfortunately though, it smelled much better than it tasted. With a drink, I couldn't taste anything at all, so I clipped the end and saved it for when I had a clean palate, and eventually that time came. The most apparent flavor is a burning sensation, which I found that afficionados call "peppery," and which I don't like at all. I've found that I like my cigars to be flavorful and sweet, with none of the "pepper," that comes with some varieties. I've read that a lot of Honduran tobaccoes have this flavor, so it could be that I just don't like Honduran tobacco, though I would have to try more to be sure. Overall though, it would be a nice flavor without the burning, and it smells amazing regardless, but it isn't something I would smoke again.

December 13th, 2024
7:13pm

What's This All About?

If you were to ask me exactly one month ago if I thought I would ever in my life smoke tobacco, I would've confidently said no. If you had asked me a year ago, I would've said hell no. But here I am, with a newfound interest and hobby. When I turned 21 just last month, my girlfriend took me to a speakeasy (a prohibition themed bar with a secret entrance). I can't remember if I've already told this somewhere on the website, but I suppose I'll tell it again. It was a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and the smell of fresh cigar smoke hung thick in the air. I ordered a drink, which I can't remember the name of or what exactly was in it, not because I'd drank too much later on but simply because I wasn't paying much attention and just asked for whatever the bartender recommended. Another drink, this time a Green Fairy, my favorite drink so far, made of Absinthe diluted with cold water poured over a sugar cube. About halfway through this one I began to loosen up considerably, not anywhere near "drunk," but very much relaxed and open, and this was all I needed to entertain the idea of getting a cigar myself, which I eventually did. I got myself a Drew Estate Java; Mocha, a cigar rolled from tobacco leaves that had been soaked in mocha/espresso for a sweet coffee flavor, and my girlfriend got an Eileen's Dream by CAO Flavours. It being my first time ever lighting a cigar, I didn't really do it right, so I eventually admitted defeat and put it out and saved it for later.

Anyway, I really liked the experience, and having a good cigar with the right drink has become something that I've learned to greatly appreciate. That being said, I'm still in the learning and exploration process, figuring out what I like that is, so here is a page dedicated to recording what I like.

Thank you for reading,
- Nolin