Big Al's Cigar Blog

Alec Bradley Family Blend The Lineage Robusto Cigar review 1/16/2023 First time trying The Lineage line.    Honduran wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras.    Lately, I've seen many cigars with the pigtail cap, as this one does.    Not sure if I'm partial to it or not.    Makes it have 2 cuts to cut it.    I guess it looks fancy.   These ain't cheap, going for $8 per stick when buying a box.    I didn't pay it as I got these from a sampler.    To be honest, I pay about $4 a smoke when averaging all of my smoking, including shipping and tax.    And I smoke mainly the cigars that I review here, so I don't ever smoke cheap ones.  Starts off very smooth and mild.    Kind of nutty with a slight bite of spice.    A little caramel sweetness is starting to come through.    First inch has been pretty typical of a fine Nicaraguan, which seems is what all the top cigars are lately.    And I agree with the concensious.    If you go out today and bu

Fratello The Texan Toro cigar review 1/14/2023 This is, I think, the 2nd Fratello cigar I have ever smoked.    The Navetta Inverso I reviewed I gave a 94, which I think is the highest rating I've given.    That's a lot to live up to.    This cigar, I bought a 10 pack sampler of different blends for $25.    I bought 2 as my hopes are up that all of these Fratello cigars are great, even the cheaper camouflage banded ones.    This one is a Toro, which is not the huge Texan that it originally came out as.    This one is 6 x 50.  So this is supposed to be med / full with equadorian wrapper, Sumatra binder, and Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero, Dominican Andullo, Nicaraguan Estelï, Pennsylvanian Ligero fillers.    Sounds good and strong so I'm a gonna light her up.   Nice nutty, cedary, peppery flavor upon first puffs.    Wind picked up and it's 34 out tonight.    Too cold and windy last night to smoke one.    Tonight is just as cold but not quite as windy.    Built a big fire.

Gran Habano #5 Corojo Rothschild cigar review  1/6/2023 This one is a full bodied Honduran made cigar with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with fillers from Nicaragua, Mexico, and Costa Rica. It's a father and son creation of Guillermo and George Rico. To me, it's a small smoke. Maybe can call it a Robusto. Right away it has a smooth creamy flavor, with cedar, oak and caramel sweetness. I'd say it is medium bodied and flavored. Not mild, but strong clean flavors of cedar, Christmas spice, and caramel.    Definitely refined and we'll blended.    Smoking pretty slow at first with easy draws of smoke.    Not the cloudiest of smoke, but good draw and plenty of flavor.   Building more oak and wood flavors.    Leaves a good sweet flavor on your palate.    Very smooth for a medium to full smoke.   Supposed to be cheap smoke, but    it's about    $5 a smoke most places. It's definitely not a cheap smoke. It is smooth and well blended.    Not too complex, but definitely wort

Gran Habano #5 Corojo Rothschild cigar review   1/6/2023 This one is a full bodied Honduran made cigar with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with fillers from Nicaragua, Mexico, and Costa Rica. It's a father and son creation of Guillermo and George Rico. To me, it's a small smoke. Maybe can call it a Robusto. Right away it has a smooth creamy flavor, with cedar, oak and caramel sweetness. I'd say it is medium bodied and flavored. Not mild, but strong clean flavors of cedar, Christmas spice, and caramel.    Definitely refined and we'll blended.    Smoking pretty slow at first with easy draws of smoke.    Not the cloudiest of smoke, but good draw and plenty of flavor.  Building more oak and wood flavors.    Leaves a good sweet flavor on your palate.    Very smooth for a medium to full smoke.   Supposed to be cheap smoke, but    it's about    $5 a smoke most places.  It's definitely not a cheap smoke. It is smooth and well blended.    Not too complex, but definitely wor

Fratello Navetta Inverso Toro Grand cigar review    1/4/2023 Yay, first smoke and first review for 2023.    Also, first review for Fratello cigar brand.    This is the one and only smoke I've had from them.   Something about Navetta means shuttle for something about the founder, Omar de Friars, who used to work for NASA.    What does that have do with cigar making? I don't know and I would care if it makes it better, but I don't know, so let's just smoke it.  Nicaraguan wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. Right off it is smooth, creamy, and super easy draw.    Taste caramel and some sweet chocolate tastes.    It is a medium smoke for sure and great flavors with strong draws.    Great start.    Definitely a well aged and blended cigar.    I've had it in my humidor for maybe 4 months.   Great night for smoking.    About 55 degrees out.    A little fire going.    Just finished some Old Forester Bourbon, which really brings out the caramel

La Aurora 1495 Churchill cigar review 12/21/2022   First, I guess I need to call this a "vintage" cigar review.    These smokes may be close to 10 years old.    Nobody reviews old cigars. It's a real shame because,if you are a true cigar smoker, you should charish for a really old smoke that's aged to perfection.    That's what I do.    My average cigar is over 5 years old.    It's like wine.  But, it's the digital age and you don't review something obsolete or not available.    Who's going to advertise on that webpage? People want the Justin Bieber of cigars.    We'll, f that.    F you, if that's what you want to read.    I like great smokes that are perfectly aged and I don't care what anyone else thinks.    It's my Stash and I'll smoke what I think is best.   So, these are not expensive and age quite well.    You can still buy them cheap and they are great.   It's a more Dominican flavored profile, more mild to medium. Af

H. Upmann 1844 Vintage Cameroon cigar review  12/19/2022 This is the 2nd of a box I bought a few months ago. The first one was was smoked almost 2 months ago and was plugged. It tasted great but wasn't satisfying due to the plugged issue. Let's give it a redo with some more aging time. By the way, I always, when first receiving new cigars, I take them out of the cellophane to start aging.  After a few minutes it is smoking, still seems plugged. I hop it can open up a bit or I will be sticking a pin down it to open it up. All my years of smoking I've only had a few plugged cigars. The few that had were from a low cost unknown brand that were just inconsistent in the rolling. To have a whole box of plugged smokes from one of the largest brands is ridiculous. It'd be like Toyota selling a car with sticky brakes, which just doesn't happen.  Shit, I've already cracked the wrapper trying to massage it. I guess tomorrow I'll be contacting the selling and

Montecristo Platinum Series Toro cigar review   12/19/2022 Ive had this one aging a good year or so.    First lighting, it is tasting pretty strong.    Most of the Platinum line have been pretty mild to medium, but this one seems different.    Most that I've smoked have been from 5 to 10 years ago, although smoked recently.    I think I got this one a year ago.    Maybe they spiced it up, as I definitely taste some strong pepper and earthy flavors.    It's like a full flavored Nicaraguan, which I think is what this really is.   It's pretty good.    If you want to know about my previous H. Upmann Cameroon experience, you can read about me throwing that one away into my backyard as it was unsmokable.    But I'm not omparing this to a crap smoke.    This is a top notch smoke and it is really good so far.   It's another cold night here in Georgia, 35 to 40 now.    No wind, big fire, so I'm enjoying myself with my tequila and music playing outside.    No work tomorro

Oliva Serie V Diadema cigar review   12/17/2022 I've had this one sitting in my humidor for over a year just waiting for me to smoke it.    This one is 7 inches long and has a beautiful Habana sun grown wrapper.    The cigar smells great.    I got this one from a sampler, which I have 2 of, so I can try it again.    It seems the Diadema has a 7 inch and a 6 inch.    This is the larger one.  I guess I should mention it is cold here in Georgia tonight. About 34 now.    I chopped a bunch of wood this afternoon just to make sure my fire was super hot.    No wind though, so won't be that bad.   I like a figuardo as it is easy to light.    Right away I'm enjoying some caramel and woodsy flavors.    As my jaw chatters and my arms shake.    Damn it's cold.    Thank God for my torch to get the fire roaring.  With the torch, only need 5 minutes and I'm feeling some heat.   Cigar tasting great.    Only 7 minutes in and I'm tasting some spice, a little cedar, and some toast

 12/12/2022 Looking back, I reviewed this one a month or so ago and gave it a 94.  Damn that's high.  It must have been really good or I was really drunk.  We'll, that's why I bought  a box.  Let's find out.   Let me say first, I just rehydrated all my humidors today and some were a bit dry.  This one may be dry, but I'd rather have a slightly dry one than a overhumified one that is hard to smoke.  If it was still somewhat green, it may be aged just right.  If was already aged enough it could just be dry.  Let's find out.  So far, the first few minutes are pretty mild and tasty.  A tad dry, but pretty good roasted nut flavors with a hint of cedary spice.  I'm not going to reread my previous review so that I get a true review of this one after a month or two sitting in my humidor.  A good cigar should sit and get better.   Taste many nut flavors.  Pretty good so far. Not really sweet, but taste cashews and walnut tones without any bitterness or harshness.  An