Big Al's Cigar Blog

Alec Bradley Maxx Culture cigar review - Revisit 11/21/2022 Got a lot of these because I like them so, I'm smoking one right now.    This one starts off pretty strong with peppery earth on top of caramel.    Definitely a Nicaraguan taste and profile.    Leaves a sweet taste in your mouth.  I think I drank tequila last time.    This time, I started off with the awesome    Herradura Silver and then, because I'm cheap, switched to 2Fingers Silver, which with fresh squeezed lime ain't bad.   Can't always drink the best and the same for smoking.    The Maxx is definitely not a cheap one like 2Fingers, but you can buy this cigar for a low price if you wait and find a deal.    The Maxx ain't the best but it can hang with them and it is very satisfying.    That's what matters to me.  I'm mean, come on.    Look at the awesome burn.    I think it has 5 months age.    Probably will keep getting better.    Only got about a box and half more to find out.   I'm 45 mi

Oliva Serie V Churchill cigar review 11/19/2022   This is like the flagship cigar for Oliva.    You should know all about its high rating, blah blah blah.    I know it's good and that's why I picked it to smoke on my Saturday night.    Oliva has been recently one of my favorite brands.    Everything they make is great.   It's about a $10 smoke, but I think I got a few of these through some sampler deals about a year ago.    I like to age the good cigars for a long time before I smoke them to make sure I'm getting an optimized cigar.   This one has a Nicaraguan puro with sun grown wrapper and Jalapa Valley Ligero fillers.    Sounds good to me.   Starts off mild to medium with some creamy earthy notes.    Very smooth Nicaraguan flavors for sure.    Graham cracker taste with a tad spiceness.   Not too cold tonight, maybe 42 with little wind.    Chopped some more year old wood, so it is dry and aged for my fire.    Had a decent one inch ash that dropped revealing a slight c

Southern Draw 300 Hands Habano cigar review 11/18/2022 A charitable cigar meant to not only recognize the 300 hands that touch a cigar from seed to store, this one gives 25% of proceeds to the struggling Nicaraguan community that keep the industry running.   Yes, another AJ Fernandez cigar with owner Robert Holt.    It's a Equadorian wrapper, Cameroon binder, and Nicaraguan and Dominican filled cigar. Priced about $7.    Measuring it, it's about a 6.1 x 52.    Researching the web, I can't find a match.    I'm going to call it their Toro.  Starts off pretty smooth with some slight sweetness and cedar and then quickly develops into a drier, pepper taste.    Draw is good and burning good. I might touch up the slightest uneven burn.    Picking up more red pepper tastes. It's a cold night, about 38 now, but no wind and I've got a nice fire.    My eyes are watering from the dry heat and air.    But I'm not cold.   Cigar has a good draw.    It's a bit dry and i

Fonseca Arana Belicoso Cigar Review 11/16/2022 I used to be a huge Fonseca and Dominican cigar fan, I guess about 15 years ago.    It seems Dominican cigars have changed to mild, but harsh to me or my tastes have changed to like Nicaraguan cigars.    I still have a bunch of Fonseca cigars that I build for less than $3 that I'm still smoking.    Most are mild to medium.    This one here is like a bundle cigar that was like $2 to $3 a piece and we'll worth it.   Let's not waste time talking about it.    It's long discontinued so no need to describe it.    It's mostly Dominican so it is mild, but this one has some good flavors.    Let's like it up on this cold ass night.  Wow, this one starts off awesome.    Some spice, cedar, and some toffee is all I taste.    Very smooth    and refined.   This one has at least 10 years aging in my humidor.    This is why I buy a lot of cigars and hold them for a long time.    Most reviewers only review new smokes.    They might g

Alec Bradley Nica Puro Robusto Cigar Review   11/12/2022 Im a big Alec Bradley fan.    Consistent qualityand decent prices.    He runs a good brand all around. This one, I think is now phased out.    I've had this one for like a year or two from a sampler.    Easy to explain the construction.    It's all Nicaraguan as the name suggests.    Let's light her up.  First tastes are different than what I was expecting from a Nicaraguan puro.    This one is sweet and creamy.    It does have some earthiness and nutty flavors.    Burning pretty decent on this really cold and windy night.    It does require minor touch up.   So far it's smooth, creamy with a bit of spice.   Did I mention it's cold.    Yep, it was 62 last night.    Now it 42 and dropping to below freezing tonight with a 12mph wind.    But, I just chopped some year old wood and it is maximum heat after 5 minutes of my torch.  Got to back up now, knees heating up.  Dropped the over one inch ash.    Slight cone,

AJ Fernandez Rosa de Guadalupe Exclusivo Gordo Cigar Review 11/11/2022 Yep, that's right another AJ Fernandez cigar.    He's like Steve Harvey is for TV.    He can make anything better and more entertaining.    I haven't yet watched a dud TV show with him and a haven't yet smoked a bad cigar from AJ.   Another all Nicaraguan with a Mexican San Andres wrapper.    Got a 5 pack of these over a month ago.    Read that they need aged, but I couldn't wait any longer to try one.    I paid less, but prices for this large cigar around around $7 or less.  This is a big cigar.    I used to mostly buy robustos, but now I buy mostly Toros and Gordos. I want at least an hour of relaxation.   This one has good draw.    Supposed to be medium throughout.    First few minutes are mild to medium.    Smooth with slight earthy flavors.    Already picking up caramel and creamy nutty, sweet flavors.   I promise not to exaggerate the flavors, like most internet reviews.    If it has subtle

Oliva Serie O Torpedo Cigar Review 11/9/2022 If you haven't tried the Oliva O line, then you are living under a rock in the cigar industry.    Reviewing this is like reviewing a $500 Schwinn bicycle.    You know it's a good product.    You know it's not the best because the price is low, but for the price it is hard to beat.    They must be doing something right, right?   Well, I'm a fan.    It ain't cheap, but compared to some of the $200+ a box brands, this line is consistently a great buy.    Shop around and these can be had for $5 or a little more.     It's all Nicaraguan and mostly medium all around in flavor and body.  I don't normally comment on the pre-light spell, but damn it smells great.    This cigar has been aging for 1 to 2 years with me so it's got to be good.    Enough writing crap, light it up.  First inch is all mild, some cedar. Very smooth.    Can puff very hard and no bite or harshness.    But I do make it run.    I do have to touch