I tried two new (to me) cigars over the past few days, and I was impressed with both.
First up a few days ago was a Cuban Stock Royal Selection Toro. It caught my eye in a head shop/smoke shop hybrid I had never visited, For a head shop-heavy establishment they actually had a decent number of quality cigars and they all looked to be in good shape. They were kept in cabinet humidors, which can be a big dicey I find. Still, these dark, box pressed beauties struck my eye. The cigars they had with which I am familiar seemed a bit overpriced and I was cash-strapped. I'm glad this set of circumstances led me to try these cigars. Really nice smoke with a pretty complex flavor profile. I think each third of the stick had it's own profile, and it smoked cool and perfectly all the way until I was burning my fingers. I went back and bought a few more (and passed a couple to my cigar smoking buddies.). I think this will be something I will revisit more than occasionally.
Then, while at my regular shop, I noticed a few sticks on the counter and know this typically means these are samples from the distributor/manufacturer. I had just helped the owners out with a cell phone issue and cleaned up and updated their computer and they typically spot me a couple of good smokes for my trouble (I don't charge them for the PC work). So in addition to my Padrons he gave me the new La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli #54. He knows I like em full and dark and that I will give him an honest evaluation after trying any free sample. The Esteli is a Nicaraguan puro with plenty of pop. Another relatively complex smoke with a changing profile as I smoked it down. I like the regular Serie R well enough (though it is far from one of my favorites) but this is in a higher class, IMO.
I picked up one more new-to-me stick, East India Trading Company Red Witch MMXII toro. It is from Gurkha---a company whose cigars I typically do not really care for. But what the heck? Sometimes you have to put your preconceptions behind you and experiment a bit. I will report on this sometime in the next day or two. (I'm working from home tomorrow morning and perhaps I'll smoke it on the porch with a nice dark roast coffee while I tend to the weekend email.)
First up a few days ago was a Cuban Stock Royal Selection Toro. It caught my eye in a head shop/smoke shop hybrid I had never visited, For a head shop-heavy establishment they actually had a decent number of quality cigars and they all looked to be in good shape. They were kept in cabinet humidors, which can be a big dicey I find. Still, these dark, box pressed beauties struck my eye. The cigars they had with which I am familiar seemed a bit overpriced and I was cash-strapped. I'm glad this set of circumstances led me to try these cigars. Really nice smoke with a pretty complex flavor profile. I think each third of the stick had it's own profile, and it smoked cool and perfectly all the way until I was burning my fingers. I went back and bought a few more (and passed a couple to my cigar smoking buddies.). I think this will be something I will revisit more than occasionally.
Then, while at my regular shop, I noticed a few sticks on the counter and know this typically means these are samples from the distributor/manufacturer. I had just helped the owners out with a cell phone issue and cleaned up and updated their computer and they typically spot me a couple of good smokes for my trouble (I don't charge them for the PC work). So in addition to my Padrons he gave me the new La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli #54. He knows I like em full and dark and that I will give him an honest evaluation after trying any free sample. The Esteli is a Nicaraguan puro with plenty of pop. Another relatively complex smoke with a changing profile as I smoked it down. I like the regular Serie R well enough (though it is far from one of my favorites) but this is in a higher class, IMO.
I picked up one more new-to-me stick, East India Trading Company Red Witch MMXII toro. It is from Gurkha---a company whose cigars I typically do not really care for. But what the heck? Sometimes you have to put your preconceptions behind you and experiment a bit. I will report on this sometime in the next day or two. (I'm working from home tomorrow morning and perhaps I'll smoke it on the porch with a nice dark roast coffee while I tend to the weekend email.)