Thursday, March 11, 2010

Gah! Why was this entry so hard to type up?!? I'm sorry for neglecting the blog but for some reason it was impossible for me to put my opinions in to words, which is rare for me. Bah. Let's get to it.

Thursday was our first time trying an off-hours review. We wanted to see if we could better focus on the cigar without having others around to avoid (gang of European men in suits) or engage (lovely friends and their girlfriends). It was a success. We went in after lunch and it was just us, the bartenders, and a few groups of guys trying to impress their coworkers.

I had the Acid Atom and loved it. It had a very light citrusy flavor and was rich. It had the usual Acid problems, such as not burning evenly and having some cutting problems but it was worth it. The dark oily wrapper, the slight berry tones, the fact it never got bitter, it's my new favorite.

Size: Petit Belicoso
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.50

Dal had the Perdomo 10th Anniversary Reserve, Champagne. This was the one that fell apart at first, but the second one was perfect. It had a tight pack and an ultra smooth flavor.
Size: Robusto
Wrapper: Connecticut shade
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00

For a midday beer (hey, we're students, sometimes our days end before noon) Dal tried Het Anker's Lucifer. Actually, I picked it for him at random based on its low alcohol content and cool name. It's a bottle aged special blonde with 8% alcohol by volume and has quite the history. It was originally brewed by Liefmans Breweries which went bankrupt but had all of their brews picked up by Duvel Moortgat who decided to focus only on the fruitbeers of Liefmans' leaving poor Lucifer out in the cold. Luckily though, Het Anker picked it up and so we still get to enjoy it today.

Dal says that it was lighter than he normally likes but lacked the yeasty-ness that he dislikes in light beers and, in fact, had a nice citrusy flavor.

Day One, Friday, January 22, 2010

Dal and I went out to eat first for my birthday. We went to Dish and I had a SoCo and Coke that was mixed way too strong for a before meal drink. I had the daily special of the Coq au Vin, which was so good. I highly recommend getting it if you have the chance.

After dinner we went to Jake's Cigars and Spirits. Dal and I forgot what we had first. Whoops. I'll have to double check when I go again this friday but I'm 90% sure that we had Cuestra-Rey Centro Finas of some sort.


With it I tried my very first scotch ever, Johnnie Walker Green on the rocks.

From the Johnnie Walker website: Johnnie Walker Green Label is uniquely different. It's fresh and distinctive flavor is created by blending only the finest single malt whiskies, rather than grains. Each of these mature malts has been specifically selected for the intensity of it's flavors and aromas.

I thought it was too bitter at first and had too much of that "rotten" flavor I find, and hate, in beer and wine. Remember, though, that I have a rather untrained palate. In fact, after the ice melted a bit I enjoyed it quite a bit. I definitely agree with the "fresh" description. It went very well with my cigar, whatever cigar that was.

Overall: It was on the expensive side, at least for me, although I definitely want to revisit this after I've developed my palate more.


After about an hour or so after finishing our mystery cigars we decided that it was time for a second, this was a celebration after all.

Dal picked an Acid Blondie, which he had tried a little bit before.

Size: Short Panatela
Wrapper: Cameroon, Honduras, Indonesia
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua
Price: $4.00

Dal's Thoughts:
-was good the whole way
-smooth
-good flavor
He's a man of few words, ladies and gentlemen.

Ej's Thoughts:
I couldn't stop stealing this from him. It's so wonderful. I want to be best friends with this cigar. It's been described as the "clove smoker's cigar" which is pretty apt. Cloves were the only cigarettes I ever really liked. It had a honey and vanilla taste, with the honey staying as a nice aftertaste.

Overall: Dal: Liked it. Will buy again.
Ej: Loved it. Will buy it again.


My second choice was the Flavours by CAO, Cherrybomb.

Size: Cigarillo
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Price: $20 for box of ten

I'll be honest, I kind just wanted that tin. But I found that the cigars inside were excellent. They are flavored but it's not an overpowering taste, something I fear from trying flavored cigarettes and liquors. The namesake cherry flavor is very bright and it has a nice, mellow vanilla aftertaste. It's an easy to smoke cigar, but not something I'd pick if I wanted a more serious smoke. I would definitely recommend this, especially the cigarillos, for getting a girl into cigars due to it's mild and fruity flavor.

Overall: I'd buy again and am glad I got a box.


With it had some whiskey sours with Jack Daniels. They made an excellent pair. Some of the best whiskey sours I've had. My only problem with them is that they were so drinkable that I could see myself losing track of how many I had.

Dal tried a few new beers this evening, but unfortunately doesn't remember them since this was a while ago. However, he would like to note that they were all very good. I would like to note that they all tasted like rotten bread.