Cigars 2011

It is around this time of year when all the cigar blogs light up with annual reviews.  The lists range from the top ten, to rankings of all the stogies smoked in the year past.  I don’t have anything that exhaustive, but I do have some new and interesting smokes I encountered this year.  Here are five of the cigars that come to mind, with a little description of why I chose them, or what I thought was unique about them.  Should you encounter them in the wild, they are all worth your time and money.

Drew Estates Dirty Rat

Among my all time favorite cigars is the Drew Estates Liga Privada No. 9.  It is a line that they continue to expand – the T-52 is also very good, if a bit more spicy.  With the Connecticut sun-grown wrapper from the T-52, the Dirty Rat takes that spiciness one step further.  At 5 inches by 44 ring gauge, the Dirty Rat is a smallish stick, but burns slowly lasting a solid hour.  I had no burn or construction problems.  Like all the of the cigars on this list, the Dirty Rat is a full-bodied stick that is not for the beginner.

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros

This is an unusual cigar, whose first third is a Connecticut shade-grown wrapper, and whose remainder is Sumatra wrapper.  It’s that split that really hooked me.  After lighting, most full-bodied cigars exhibit some harshness on the palette.  This stick tones that down with that Connecticut shade-grown up front.  From there, the flavor matures throughout the whole cigar, and the Sumatra really shows itself.  These guys come in a variety of size, but I like the 6 inch by 54 ring gauge.

Zino Z-Series (654T)

Davidoff cigars always have flawless construction.  I enjoy a Special T when I’m in the mood for something more on the mild side, that has a lot of flavor.  When I was introduced to the Zino Z-Series, in a beautiful maduro Dominican wrapper, I couldn’t pass it up.  At 6 inches by 54 ring gauge, the rest of the build is a mix of Peruvian binder and Nicaraguan filler.  This is a full-bodied cigar that produces ample creamy smoke.

Macanudo Vintage Maduro 1997

Macanudo is a brand that I don’t generally smoke in the United States.  I find them sub-par in construction and flavor to their Cuban counterparts.  At 6 inches by 54 ring, this one however comes in a fancy metal band that shines against the maduro Connecticut wrapper.  And it’s a good thing that it comes in a metal band, because you will want to smoke it to the point of burning your finger.  While I have still had problems with construction from time to time, the full-bodied characteristics and creamy smoke produced by the cigar simply shouldn’t be missed.

Montecristo Sublimes Edicion Limitada 2008 (Cuban)

Should you make your way out of the United States, have access to Cuban cigars, and can find this limited edition cigar from Montecristo, it is worth the price-tag (between $17 USD and $24 USD).  A formidable stick at 6.5 inch by 54 ring gauge, it will take you some time to get through – and will leave even the most experience smoker with a considerable buzz.  I found this at Boisdale of Belgravia where there is a “comfortable outdoor smoking area” (COSA) on the top floor (download).