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 Four: Friday, February 5, 2010

I smoked quite a bit last night and Dal drank quite a bit. I had three petit coronas, a petit cigarillo, and a cigarillo and Dal had a shot at work and then a scotch and then a beer with 13% Alcohol by volume. We made quite the pair by the end of the night, Dal being very loose and overly complementary towards everyone and I being completely wired and fidgety.

Dal chose a El Baton, Double Toro. They're a newer line and made from the same house as Centro Finas.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.00
Time: An hour and a half

From ElBaton.com:
Complex, nutty cigar with a bold spicy flavor. Touches of oak wood and black pepper have been noted, as well as nice leathery transitions with mocha and pepper. Consistent full-bodied cigar, with pleasent surprises throughout.

Dal like it a lot. He said it had a mild-medium flavor, a good pack, he really enjoyed the size too.


With it he had a Glenfiddich 12 that I sipped off of. It's a single malt scotch from the Highlands of Scotland that's been aged for, you guessed it, twelve years. The official site states that it is sweet with notes of pear, oak, butterscotch, and cream.

Dal liked it but isn't a big scotch drinker to begin with. I found the same "rotten" taste at the beginning, but after it watered I definitely found the sweet notes.


Afterwards, he had the Goose Island Bourbon County. It's a Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial stout. It has a staggering 13% alcohol per volume amount and is served in a sniffer instead of your typical mug or glass.

The Goose Island describes it as:
an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. A great cigar beer.

Dal said it had a very strong coffee flavor and was very chocolatey. He said that it didn't taste like it's alcohol content and was actually very, very drinkable. He definitely plans on getting it again soon.


I went on a bit of a flavored rampage. I still want to get all of the Flavours by CAO out of the way and I've finally finished off all of the ones offered at Jake's, but there's still two more out there, lurking.

For the first of my many I tried the Flavours by CAO, Moontrance

Size: Petit Corona
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Prize: $5.00
Time: 30 mins

It's always described as having this incredible flavor, filled with exotic fruit and vanilla and being the centerpiece of the Flavours line. I thought it was pretty good. The vanilla was nice, but it lacked the pizazz that I was expecting. And worst of all, it was sticky. When I went to light it I felt it and opened my mouth only to have the cigar stick to my lip and hang there. I don't know if moisture got in the bag or what, but it was not fun.


I finished up all of my available Flavours with Gold Honey

Size: Petit Corona
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Price: $5.00
Time: 30 mins

I wanted to try this after a friend's girlfriend had one and liked it. I enjoyed it as well. The honey notes stay through for the aftertaste and retrohale. I liked a lot. My two favorites from the line are still Cherrybomb and Eileen's Dream, but this is a solid third place in my mind. And my friend's girlfriend only proves my theory that these are excellent "girly" or starter cigars.


Lastly, after having one of my Cherrybomb petit cigarillos, I tried the Cojimar Mango, mainly I was just intrugued by the promise of a mango flavor and the price.

Size: Cigarillo
Wrapper: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: $3.00
Time: ~15 mins


From CojimarCigar.com:
Cojimar captures the pure essence of one of natures most distinctive fruits and combines it with premium tobaccos. The end result is a wonderfully sweet cigar loaded with delicious mango flavor.

It was sweet, but I don't know about a mango flavor. Or really any fruit flavor at all. I didn't care for it at all. The pack was too loose and it burned too hot and it was just not nice. I might try some of their other flavors though, just to try them. Chocolate, Cinnamon, Sambuca, Rum, Cognac, Coffee, Banana. They're just so crazy that I have to try them.

Learning Curve: Beginner's Tips from About.com

Sorry for the lack of a post last week. I did go out, but I forgot my little notepad at home and so I didn't take any notes. The only thing I learned was to remember to eat before trying to jump right to a very strong cigar.

But I did go out last night and while researching my cigars for a post I stumbled on The Stogie Guys, which is an excellent guide if you're a little more experienced with your cigars. But in their Recommended Reading links I found the about.com page on cigars.

10 Basic Dos and Don'ts of Cigars
Pretty basic stuff, but definitely helpful to anyone who's starting off on square zero.

5 Cigars for Beginners
A list of some of the better mild to mild-medium cigars for someone to help build their palatte with. I'm definitely trying the CAO Criollo next time I go out.

7 Alcoholic Drinks to Accompany Cigars
Of course, the thing everyone wants to know. No point and going to a bar and not drinking. I definitely want to try a Stinger, a Brandy and creme de menthe cocktail.

So, a little bit of easy reading before going out tonight.

About: My Bar

In a lot of my posts, actually probably all of them, I'll be mentioning Jake's Cigars and Spirits. Instead of having to have the same paragraph at the beginning of every single post, I'm just throwing this up here.

Jake's is one of the very few smoking bars in Lincoln and is the only one downtown, however they only allow cigars and pipes, no cigarettes. The staff in the cigar half are very helpful and are always willing to answer questions and never give off an elitist vibe. They have a nice broad cigar selection, but isn't overwhelming. It does have a bit of a hipster clientele on Friday and Saturday nights, but has a more quiet, mature crowd on weekdays.

It's not the only cigar and tobacco shop downtown, there's also Cliff's Cigars and Tobacco which I'm told leans more towards the the pipe side of the equation. It is strictly a shop though, no smoking allowed. Since I've never been I don't really have an opinion on them. Someday I'll browse around there, though.