Here it is, ready for 2011, the Cigar of the Month!

This is how it will work, below is the posted schedule for the year, I'm going to hold the next 12 posts for whichever monthly review is the best so people who come to this thread can get a quick idea of how it works, but otherwise this will be a running thread, I won't update the OP every month.  I haven't made any particular emphasis on sizes below, I leave whatever size cigar you choose to smoke to be personal preference.

What I think would be particularly helpful for everyone reviewing cigars to write down:
Cigar Construction
Burn
Taste
What you drank and/or ate with the cigar
On a scale of 1-10 want did you think of the cigar overall

Please feel free to offer additional thoughts and please post pictures if you can.

COTM Schedule:

January: Ashton VSG
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

February: Arturo Fuente Hemingway
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

March: Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

April: Murcielago
Famous Smoke

May: El Triunfado by Tatuaje
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

June: Oliva Serie V
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

July: La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros
Cigar.com (singles(
CI (5 packs)

August: Man O War
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

September: Padron 1964 Anniversary
Cigar.com (singles)

October: Casa Magna Oscuro
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

November: Don Pepin My Father Le Bijou
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

December: Tatuaje Miami
Cigar.com (singles)
CI (5 packs)

January - Ashton VSG - Submitted by 5D15

February - Arturo Fuente Hemingway - Submitted by EchoAngel17

March submitted by 5D15:

April - Murcielago - Submitted by EchoAngel17

May Submitted by Ratters:

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

So I was downtown shopping today and came across a new cigar shop.......

Nice place, small, but nice.....

Owner is real nice guy, has leather couches and a smoke room.  Picked up a NUB Habano while I was there.  Looks like despite the cold weather, I will have somewhere to partake in the COTM festivities.....

I will have to copy down the selections, but I know for sure he has the Jan and Feb selections....

You want to know the best part???   I told him I enjoy a nice bite with my cigars and asked what his take was on it, his words "If its in a cup, I'm not going to ask what it is "  I think I made a new friend

Well it was that or a Ghurka

Hmm, well I can play in January and June without going to the cigar shop so far

NO GHURKA!!!!!

Well, I went shopping and I'm set to play for the year... happy to say I already had a couple on hand.

For what it's worth, the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros are out of stock at both links in the original post.  I found 'em for about the same price at Neptune Cigar (absolutely superb customer service from these folks, in my experience).

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros at Neptune Cigar Co.

I can hardly believe I'm first... am I posting too early, or in the wrong place?

COTM January 11

Ashton VSG - Torpedo

Purchased from Cigar.com at the end of December '10 and stored in a medium large frigidor maintained at 66 F, with a shitload of Heartfelt 65% beads, a Cigar Oasis set at 65%, and two battery powered "Oust" fans... my two digital hygrometers stay right around 68, give or take.



Construction:  Solid.  No soft spots.  Beautiful wrapper, nice sheen and smooth to the touch.  Draw a little tight to start but opened up nicely once it warmed a bit.

Burn:  Toasted it up, burn started horribly uneven and started to run on either side.  Amazingly, self corrected within 1/2 inch and remained even, but not razor sharp throughout the smoke.  Remained lit no problemo, even when allowed to rest for a while.

Taste:  Cold draw (and aroma) was sweet coffee.  Once lit I got dark coffee and burnt chocolate, which quickly faded to a sweet woody/nutty.  I could swear I taste walnuts.  Ever smell a raw walnut gunstock blank?  That's what the woodiness tasted like to me.  Towards the end the nuttiness faded and I got some sweet leather, then the sweetness dropped off and the leather became strong, but not unpleasant as the cigar heated up.  I let it rest a while and got walnuts again... this time with a pleasantly bitter undertone.  If you've ever shelled a walnut and eaten the nutmeat with the brownish skin still on it, and gotten an astringent bite before experiencing the rich taste of the nut, you know exactly what I mean.  I found the parallel uncanny.

Something else that struck me was the aroma... the smoke smelled nutty, just like it tasted.

Maybe starting on a full stomach helped, but no heavy nicotine blast from this one.  Smooth and nice.



Enjoyed with 3 oz. of The Balvenie Doublewood 12 year.  In my haste I started with the Scotch neat.  I later added a small splash of filtered water... and regretted it.  The more concentrated flavors of the undiluted Scotch better complimented this cigar in my opinion, although I do usually find a wee bit of water "opens up" a single malt nicely and allows me to appreciate the complexity more... in this case, not so much.  If I had it to do over again, I would strongly consider some Doorley's XO rum or another "rich" tasting spirit with this stick.

I was quite favorably impressed.  I'll go 7.5 out of 10 on this one, just because I don't have a huge knowledge base to compare with.

Very curious to see how my impressions compare with those of the knowledgable folks here in The Humidor.

I get to join in!

Ashton VSG Torpedo - Purchased from my local B&M for $15...but I just bought 3 on Cbid for $8 each.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I met friends at a bar and didn't have a camera other than my iPhone, and my friends thought it was a little weird I kept wanting to take pictures of my cigar



I enjoyed this beauty with a couple pints of a local amber ale called Firestone Double Barrel Ale, it was an excellent pairing for this cigar.



The construction of the cigar was good, it had a lot of prominent veins in the wrapper but nothing to complain about and they caused no issues.  The draw was nice and even throughout the entire smoke and was about as close to the perfect amount of draw that I like.

I toasted the foot of the cigar and it was over.  I never had to touch is up, it burned evenly all the way to the last inch and it stayed lit even when I neglected it for a couple minutes.  The ash held on for a little under 2" before it fell away.

I found the cigar to be enjoyable, but a little one dimensional.  While the initial taste was good and reminding me of coffee and dark chocolate, it never changed, and I never encountered the creamy taste that I usually encounter once more than half the cigar was gone.  Again, that isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, just that the favor remained constant and never changing.

I would say that the cigar was excellently made but could have had just a little more personality.  I plan to try the others that are inbound with different foods and drinks to see if that changes anything.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a solid 7.5 as well.

Now...which Hemingway should I smoke for February...

Great job on the reviews fellows.  Waiting on it to get above freezing so I can enjoy the one I got.

My choice was a Ashton VSG Eclipse

Enjoyed with Guinness

Very well constructed, presented in a tubo.
Wrapper was flawless and the cap was easily readied for enjoyment.

Light was easy and well rounded.

First 1/3 was sweet tobacco and a hint of dark chocolate.
Burn was ringed and held a tight ash...no real tooth to speak of.

Second 1/3 turned to more woodsy but butter smooth.
Smoke seemed to lighten as it progressed.

Last 1/3 revealed a little toothy burn and it started to get a little uneven.
Taste offered a nutty remnant but nothing that shouted pecan or walnut...but a little salty.

Cooked it to the nub!
Enjoyed every minute.
Would do again!

Giving it a 9 out of 10 due to slight burn issues and flaky ash as it went on.

I'll head over to the cigar shop today and pick up a few, hopefully get a review up soon.

30 Jan, 2011
Ashton VSG Robusto
Cost: $10.49 @ the local B&M
Drink: Yuengling ale
Construction: Excellent, nice and firm, small veins, slight separation at the wrapper, but nothing out of the ordinary
Pre-light: Nice draw, not too loose, nice nutty flavor with a hint of cocoa
Initial Draw: Creamy with a hint of nuttyness and the cocoa starting to come to the front
First 3rd: Excellent, Continued nuttyness with the cocoa fighting for dominance



             **Small crack in the wrapper about half way down, not too concerned, slight uneven burn, minor correction required...
Second 3rd: Continued flavor with the cocoa being replaced by something I have never experienced ( <–– Amateur)  kind of an earthy tone, (leather maybe?)



                  **Crack in the wrapper got a little larger, then smoked through, no problems, developed another uneven burn, had to correct it again
Final 3rd: My favorite by far.  Everything came together in a finale of nuts, cocoa, spice, and earth.  Burn evened out and never got too hot/harsh.  Probably one of the most dynamic cigars                  I have ever had the luxury of enjoying.  
Conclusion: Excellent smoke, possibly the best stick I've ever smoked.  That being said, I'm a rookie and cannot believe this is the end all be all for me.  
Wrapper cracking, uneven burn, excellent flavor............
9.2/10
 

Date 01-31-2011

Cigar: Ashton VSG__ Corona Gorda

Cost: $14.87 (date of purchase 01-31-2011)

Drink: Blend Scotch brand unknown


So today is my birthday, and my name is Ashton.  So what is a better way to celebrate than with a Ashton. ( also my 223 post)  What am I had to drink with it, I don’t really remember. I went to my local strip club with some friends and just ordered the most expensive scotch they had. And I could tell you how the taste of stripper, and drunk shenanigans effect my review of this cigar.
But yall did not come here to read about that; yall came here to read my review of this cigar. And let me just start off by saying this was one tastey cigar.

Cigar Construction, and Pre_Light: The construction seemed well wrapped and solid; had afew light veins, I was unable to get a nice pre_light aroma, because the place had such a overhanging smell of shattered dreams. I choose to cut instead of punch.

It lit up well, and had a nice strong earthy flavor threw out. There was a hint of nut, which I do not like. This was a medium body cigar, and it smoked like a good one. Unfortunately before I could a good ash going, I got lets, just say a tad distracted and it when out.  I cut and relit, but I could never get it going strong and well again. This was a serious let down, as I was really starting to enjoy it.

SO over all I will give it a 7.5 / 10  I will be having another of these in the future. And I am looking forward to enjoying this cigar again, under more sober, and less distracting conditions.

Well, it's February now and time for a COTM review... Arturo Fuente Hemingway, any size.  My first exposure to this line was the smallest of the series, the "Short Story."  Well, I liked it so much when I discovered they made bigger ones I had to have a box.  This series is a favorite in my small knowledge base, and the one I'm reviewing here today is the Classic (7x48).  I bought the box about a year and a half to two years ago, if memory serves.  Just got back from a cleaning at the dentist (no cavities ma) and since white teeth are for wimmens and men with soft hands, I figured I'd fire one up for a review along with a French press of Starbuck's Christmas blend.  I like elephant ivory on blued 1911s and SAAs, might as well have teeth to match.    Oh... and did I mention it was a crisp 76 degrees here today?  Bahahahahahahha.


AF Hemingway Classics with P210-2


Appearance:  I selected one at random off the remaining sticks in the top layer of the box.  A couple pronounced but very thin veins, almost not worth mentioning.  The wrapper was starting to pull up a little bit in one section, but didn't cause any problems.  What struck me was what appeared to be large smudges of the vegetable gum adhesive the cigar rollers use... a couple unattractive milky looking smears of it on the cigar.  At first I wondered if it might be bloom, definitely not mold... but no, I think someone at the factory just got a little sloppy.  No biggie, still smoked fine, but a tad disappointing.

Cut cleanly with my new Xikar spring loaded cutter (this is my new favorite, knocks my Palio's dick in the dirt, gonna buy a more expensive fancy one if I ever find it on sale).  Unlit aroma was very sweet, with fermented tobacco undertones (go figure that one out).  Cold draw gave similar flavors, sort of sweet hay like.  I know "barnyard" is cliche but just I keep coming back to it... if the shoe fits, wear it.  Due to the vitola (Perfecto?) with the little rebated nose, the cold draw was somewhat tight.  That changed shortly after lighting, the draw was absolutely perfect thereafter.  Not too tight, not too loose.  Perfect.


Notice the blotches of vegetable glue below the ash and the partially lifted wrapper


First impression was a kick in the ass spicy blast followed by a distinct peppery flavor.  Not black pepper, but fresh green hot pepper.  When I say green, I mean a peppery/vegetal flavor.  Not quite bell pepper, not quite raw Jalapeno just before the heat hits you, but an interesting planty sharp/sweet/green flavor.  That disappeared within the first 1/4" of the cigar, and was replaced by a flavor I can absolutely describe as wood.  Cedary, in fact, like the inside of a new humidor.

The cedar flavor grew sweeter into the middle part of the stick, with nothing else jumping out at me.  I then got nuttiness that gave way to sweet leather, and made brief re-appearances, none as pronounced as the initial burst.  The smoke finished less sweet, but most definitely leathery.  By that time I had added a pour of Jameson's to my coffee, hey I'm off today after all.  


My attempt at turning a Classic into a Short Story with fire


Burn was excellent and cool throughout.  It started a bit uneven but I put the cigar down to answer the front door, and when I returned it had gone perfectly straight.  The cigar didn't even get hot until the very end.  Very impressive construction, felt supple but not soft.

Although one of my cigar smoking friends complains that the Hemingway series is too strong flavor and nicotine wise, I would rate this stick as medium mild.  I did have a snack before and after the smoke, but no "pit of the stomach" nicotine smackdown (of course, I've been hitting the Dunhill Nightcap pipe tobacco lately and that may have calloused my nicotine receptors).  No lingering unpleasant cigar taste.

I give this lovely cigar a solid 90+ on my scale of admittedly limited cigar knowledge. Just a plain old damn good cigar with no unpleasant characteristics, IMHO.  I suspect an ISOM expert or someone with a more refined palate than mine might find these not quite complex enough, but I was pleased.  Since I like maduros, I'm going to track down some of the maduro Hemingways one of these days, I bet they're awesome.

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller Maduro (that's a mouthful!)  Purchased from CBid for $8.

I enjoyed this little one with a large bottle of Porter from a local brewery called Firestone, it worked well, but was probably not sweet enough for this cigar.



The cigar was B-E-A-utiful, but when I cut the cigar the wrapper fell apart a bit.  This is the third time in a row this has happened to me with the Hemingway, doesn't occur with other cigars .

The pre-light draw was nice and not effected by the wrapper, a nice nutty flavor.   The lit draw was nice and even throughout the entire smoke all the way down to the nub.

I toasted the foot of the cigar and never had to touch it up, it burned evenly all the way down.  The ash held for about a 1.5".  The smoke was delicious and thick, probably my favorite part of the cigar.

The taste was dominated by the beer, my palate was overloaded with the beer and once I got half way through the cigar I put the beer down and just smoked the cigar by itself.  Once it was just the cigar I tasted a great deal of leather and something I can only describe as a heavy wood flavor.  I think the cigar would go better with a coke or something with some sugar to it, that way the wood flavor would mix with the sugar and give it a toasted/burnt carmel flavor.

I have a short story sitting in the humidor waiting for a free day this week, so I'll be adding to this later in the week with the second installment

On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a solid 8.

Interesting... if our reviews are spot on (and I'm inclined to think they might be) it sounds like the flavor profile for the maduros is similar to the regular line?  That's telling... the maduro Hemingways are like rocking horse droppings from what I've seen, expensive, and seemingly rather sought after.  Perhaps it's because of the rarity, and not because of a major difference in flavor.

Firestone, been there and enjoyed it when we visited wine country up in your neck of the woods.  We were at The Bruery down here just this evening, rather a different experience.  Be on the lookout for a box from SoCal, the Churchill pass approaches!

February COTM Entry....

AF Hemingway Short Story.



And please forgive the....Vaseline on my camera lens...still holding out on the hat pass to buy me a camera...

OK...the cedar and slight coffee on the palate lend itself to a nice morning drive to work...much like I did today and of course with...
At the midway point I like how the earthy flavor intensifies.
Just past that, the leather and spice really pick up.
I really love the bite on the tongue that the Hemingway finishes off with...and dare I say a cinnamon or nutmeg on the roof of the mouth especially after a sip of rather strong coffee (is there any other way to have it???).
This is my morning "go-to" cigar so it is hard for me to be objective and find faults but to be fair, the last few I have had seemed to show some construction issues not characteristic of AF.
This one burned even but I have had a few turn ragged on me.
The ash holds until you decide to either hang it out the window and give it a firm tap or let it hang on till done...either way it will not end up in your lap.

This one is as close to perfect as you can get...flavor, finish and fun!......9 out of 10 on my meter.

I think the vaseline on your lens has ruined the color balance settings on your phone's camera... the ground looks WHITE!  

Welcome to the snow belt!
That there is northern Pennsylvania blonde grass.
Moves in around October and leave sometimes as late as April.
I would be happy to transplant some for ya!!!!

Echo, Great reveiw.

I just ordered one of the Hemmingway Short Stories.

can't wait to smoke it.

AF short story is one of my favorites.  I got a box of the romeo y julieta love story, thinking they'd be similar, but they aren't.  Stick with the hemingways.

Now I really like the Nub cameroons.  Devil site, here I come.   :)

ETA - just lit up a love story.  This one's not bad.  I dry boxed a bunch, and they're much better

HE HAS YOU NOW....

I am a cigar noob, but i will give this a try, I am a little late to the game

Ashton VSG

Cigar Construction: Seemed pretty good, wraped nicely, it also cut easily

Burn: burned a little uneven toward the middle and then even out a bit toward the end
Taste: i am kind of new to this and had a had time distinguishing any taste, but the taste of the cigar was fair
What you drank and/or ate with the cigar: nothing during smoking, but before the smoke I had a locally red rye ale
On a scale of 1-10 want did you think of the cigar overall: 4/10, I dont think i will be smoking one of these again for a while, I also have a churchill VSG on hand

I hope to soon smoke the A.F. Hemmingway short story I bought While its still february.  I also have a Don Pepin Garcia C.C. on hand for march.

I'll tell you, having your cigar with some food and especially something to drink really adds to the flavor.  Get out your favorite alcohol or coke beverage and enjoy it with your cigar, it really makes a difference.

And thanks for adding to the thread!

I agree on the beverage, even a bottle of water will enhance the smoking experience.

As far as taste, I am always interested in others' experiences and to compare them to my own perceptions, as I'm hardly an old cigar salt myself.  Think about it as you enjoy that Fuente Hemingway... reading online reviews when you're pretty fresh to the whole cigar game can give you an idea about what to look for, and what others are tasting, but in the end it's a unique personal experience.

Looking forward to your next review!

Thanks for the support.

I completely agree on the beverage. I kind of feel that towards the beginning to use water, I just didn't have any on hand when I decided to smoke the VSG.  I will remember to bring a bottle of water next time.  Maybe I will take another crack at the VSG with some bourbon

See....that ruins some cigars for me...I read "a slight taste of cedar with a light fruit on the roof of the mouth..." and I start looking for that.
Nine time out of ten, I don't get that....and I think I taste fruit (of one kind or another) in lots of cigars that others say...."heavy leather and wood".

Everyone has their own spin on taste.

What I am saying is that reading a review may help you look for a cigar you MIGHT like but on in tasting them will you know for sure....like above....4/10 for a VSG...that was a bad experience for him.
But not giving up is the key....
I always sit down with a large glass of ice water....AND a Guiness, Coke, Rootbeer or single malt....but always an ice water...for me, that is the first drink I take with the first puff of a cigar.
It helps clean up the taste so I can really see what is in there.
From there I will grab the beverage that I think will go best....or if I'm lazy....single malt...it really does go with everything.    

Agreed, one can read too much into another person's review... but I found it a nice affirmation when my tastebuds confirmed I was on the right track by identifying the primary flavor characteristics identified by multiple, seasoned reviewers, if that makes any sense.  Now I've learned to fuggedaboutit and just enjoy.

Scotch is always nice with a stick, but the trauma of figuring out whether I want a Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Islay... I guess it's a good problem to have.    Let's not even talk about Bourbon pairings...

Highland is first grab....Islay with a dark Maduro....

Started off pretty well with some mild nutty-ness.  About a half an inch from the wrapper change the draw got a bit tight.  Come to find that this was due to some tar buildup at the cut...by the time I realized there were little beads of tar exiting the head.  I dabbed the tar off and pinched the head and the draw was fixed.  The rest of the smoke was great, but couldn't nub it due to the tar buildup.  If I had corrected the draw earlier it would have made the whole experience a lot better.  Overall I wasn't into the mild beginning, but as usual the medium-full body at the change was right on track for me.

Construction was great, No major flaws or cracking.
Burn was perfect, and held a 1.5" ash easily.
Taste started off mild and nutty(not my fave), then progressed into a leathery sweet with a hint off mocha.
I was drinking a bottle of "old speckled hen".
Overall I rate this a conservative 8.

Nice review, but March's COTM is the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic...





That one doesnt look like the one I picked up the other day at the B&M.....



ETA: That appears to be July's choice La Gloria Cubana Artesanos





 

There are no mistakes in COTM... only happy accidents!  

Well i have the cigar of the month today.

March: Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic


Overall a good smoke. Not as tasty as let's say a Cain F but close.

Had two of them, one for me and my bud. Both has irregular burns, his wast worse than mine. Towards the end his ended up being about and inch burn in one side compare to mine which was pretty even by then.

The best cig i have had and would grade a 10 is a Arturo Fuente Reserva xtra viejo.

A Cain F compare to the AF would get 9 to 9.5.

I say the Don Pepin being around a 7 maybe a bit less.

Drink was black coffee strait.

I would recommend a punch/V type of cut for this cigar the wrapper is a bit delicate.

Again I am a little late to the party with this one, but I had a chance to smoke a few cigars this weekend.

AF Hemingway Short Story

Cigar Construction: Seemed pretty good, wraped nicely, it also cut easily only one large vein

Burn: burned kind of uneven
Taste: I detected a sweet barn yard flavor toward the beginning, slightly leathery towards the middle and end
What you drank and/or ate with the cigar: water
On a scale of 1-10 want did you think of the cigar overall: 6/10, It was not a bad cigar, It was better than the Ashton VSG, but not as good as the Cain Maduro I had this weekend also.

I hope to have the Don Pepin soon.

Ran by the local B&M this afternoon and gave March's COTM a try... Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Habanos Belicoso

Initial impressions: Well rolled, no soft spots, slight crack in the wrapper, nothing serious though
Pre-lite draw: Kinda bland, slight nuttyness, nothing spectacular
Initial lite: Nice draw, hints of nuts with a little spice on the back end
1st Third: Smooth, would have liked the smoke to be a bit thicker. Taste was consistent with the initial draw, continued nuttyness with tiny hints of cocoa
2nd Third: More spice on the finish, continued the consistent flavor of nuttyness
Final Third: Here's where the flavor kicked in.  A lot more spice with a thick oily smoke that hung on the back of the tongue.  I wish the entire smoke would have been like this.
Burn: Had a couple uneven burn issues that required some small corrections.  I spent enough time monitoring it to ensure it didnt run too far down one side that it distracted me from the enjoyment of the smoke.
Overall: Not terrible.  Well constructed, consistent smoke with minor burn issues.  It's consistency was ultimately its downfall.  Far too simple a smoke for me.  I lost interest about half way through to the point that had it not cost me $8, I would have let it go out so I could have burned the RyJ No 3 I had with me.
Final Score: 5.5/10  This one was very middle of the road for me. I won't be recommending this one to anyone in the near future, but if someone brought one to the golf course or a herf, I wouldn't turn them away either.