Two in Two Days - I'm on a roll.

I’ll get right to it.

Liga Privada T52

Belicoso

Cost: $13.90

Wrapper: Stalk Cut Habano Wrapper

Binder and Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran

After various pictures of fellow cigars smokers papered the e-wall of Twitter, I knew I had to see what all the rage was about. The T52 is a nice looking cigar with a simple, yet elegant band. I enjoy the color of the cigar when paired with the band which is an off-white band with both camel brown and black writing. The cigar is smooth, but not very oily (unfortunately). The veins of the cigar are small and the wrapper in good condition with no obvious blemishes. The pre-light aroma is barnyard like. It is strong and instills an outdoorsy sense. It cut very well leaving no cigar particles and lit with easy. Both the pre-light draw and draw (while smoking) were good with the appropriate amount of resistance offered from the cigar. I feel that unlike a lot of cigars, the leaves were not over packed, which allowed for a nice firm cigar, but with no soft spots.

The flavor of the cigar offered a great amount of texture as it appealed to various spots within the mouth. The tip and outer portions of my tongue tingled with hints of pepper, while the center portion and roof of my mouth detected honey. Also, the back of my throat also experienced a great amount of peppery flavor – which was long lasting, and frankly shadowed other flavors that might have been presented.

The T52 is overall an OK smoke. I feel that this cigar should be more in the $7-9 price range as opposed to $10+. I won’t be keeping many of these around, especially at that price point.

Fulfilling a New Year’s Resolution: Step 1

I know it’s been a really long while (a really, really long while), since I’ve blogged, but I assure you I will be blogging more this year. There have been many changes in our lives since my last blog. Changes like: I finished my M.S., I got a new job, we got a new steam cleaner, and etc. Although I am finished with school (for now), I haven’t really felt like I’ve had much time to do anything I’ve wanted (like blog) because of the holidays. However, I’m back at it and plan to blog consistently starting…now.

Andrew and I were off work for the last two weeks, which gave us the opportunity to smoke a few cigars. I’ll share two of them with you today.

1^st: San Cristobal Selección Del Sol

Toro

Purchased: Buckhead Cigar: Atlanta, GA

Cost: $7.50 (I think, can’t quite remember)

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown

Filler: Nicaraguan Filler

Upon first glance of this cigar’s band, I thought it to be overly whimsical and didn’t really take it seriously. Once I discovered this cigar was developed by master blender and roller Don Pepin Garcia of El Rey de los Habanos, Inc of Miami, FL, my initial assumptions about the cigar changed quite a bit.

The pre-light aroma of the cigar is quite mild and offers undertones of Jasmine flowers (a sweet smell) along with a creamy heavy cream like fragrance. The cigar cut perfectly with Andrew’s Xikar cutter (which he received from me at Christmas), and no evidence of loose tobacco was seen. The cigar offered a pre-light draw that was perfect and offered just the right amount of resistance. In addition, the cigar burned evenly when lit, and maintained a fairly sturdy, white ash throughout the smoking process. Throughout smoking, the cigar presented flavors of cocoa, honey, and a mild woodsy like taste. The cigar is most definitely one I would consider mild to medium.

Although I often find myself smoking more medium to full bodied cigars, I truly enjoyed the flavor nuances, billows of smoke, and effortless smoking process this cigar offered. I can most certainly say that our humidor will always have room for this cigar.

2^nd: Avo Uvezian LE 10

Super Robusto

Purchased: Buckhead Cigar: Atlanta, GA

Cost: Around $15

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Binder: Mexican Grown

Filler: Dominican Ligero

According to a press release from Davidoff of Geneva, the AVO LE10 was introduced to celebrate Avo Uvezian’s 84^th birthday. Uvezian, a “legendary cigar composer,” was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a family of musicians. After smoking this cigar, it is apparently that Uvezian is indeed a master cigar “composer.”

Truth be told: this is my first AVO ever (and I’m quite ashamed of this)! However, there is a good reason. Unfortunately no retail tobacconists carry AVO cigars in my area, which is why this cigar was purchased in Atlanta, GA.

The condition of the cigar is pristine with a very oily texture and only small veins throughout the wrapper. The pre-light of the aroma was very mild, but quite pleasant. The LE10 cut perfectly, with only one loose piece of tobacco presenting itself. It was very easy to light and the draw was extremely easy. Typically I enjoy extremely easy draws, but this draw presented no resistance, and that was a bit hard to get used to at first. The cigar burned OK with minimal “canoeing,” though I did expect better from a Davidoff product. To my surprise, the cigar was extremely mild and very sweet and oaky. I felt that the first portion (typically 1/3) of this cigar was very sweet, which was then followed by a more oaky/woodsy flavor (although still very mild). The last portion of the cigar returned to a mild sweet flavor, which probably was enhanced by the chocolate I was eating.

Overall I felt this cigar was good. I can’t promise that I’ll purchase the LE10 regularly, as I do like medium to full bodied cigar, but the sensation this cigar provided due to the high nicotine content, invoked a pleasurable cigar smoking experience.

Cheers to the New Year! Have a great 2011!