Bradley Unversity Herf is going down!

Well its official! My girl friend and I are going down to BU for the weekend. I can't wait, its going to be an awesome weekend. I've got my bags packed and I'm bringing along at least 6 cigars with me to share with my buddy and his friends. I really hope they enjoy the cigars, hopefully we have some good conversations, good smokes and good....sodas. Hope all of your weekend's are awesome! I'll be sure to report back on how it all went.

-AJ

PS: This is my 20th post! woohoo!!!!

Letter to CigarBid

In response to being banned from CigarBid, I wrote them a letter explaining my position on the events taht took place. Here's a sampling of the letter that I sent to them. I am hoping I will help open their eyes, realzing taht their 21 year old and older policy is wrong and they should change it. I have yet to hear back from their customer service.

"I have been smoking cigars for about a year now and I truly enjoy every aspectof our great hobby. I am currently a member of the CigarWeekly.com forum aswell as a member of the CigarPass.com forum. With this being said, I mustinform you that I am 19 years old.As I understand it, your website has a 21 year old and older policy. I waswondering what the reasoning for this is. If I am not mistaken, the law statesthat you must be 18 years or older to purchase tobacco and tobacco relatedproducts, and in some states you must be 19. I also know that some of yourbiggest competitors have their age restriction set at 18 years old."

I guess we'll see what happens here, but right now...I will be taking my business else where. So much for customer service!

-AJ

Bradley University Herf?

On Friday night I think my girl firend and I are goign to be stopping by BU to visit a friend of ours. He gave me the go-ahead to pack some cigars so that we could smoke them, man I'm excited! i plan on bringing plenty of extras (yard gars) to toss around to our friend's frat brothers. It should be a great time. I'm sure my girl friend will partake in the herfing as well :) I cant wait!!! Is it friday yet?!

-AJ

That was short lived...

I seem to have gotten myself banned from the cigarbid forums because of my age. I forgot about their age restriction and admited that I was 19, however, I'm still angry about it. I dont see what the big deal is that I'm 19 and not 21...I can legally purchase tobacco and that is all that should matter, but what they're really telling me is that I can go fight in a war and die, but I cannot purchase their products. Hrmmm....brain scratcher.


-AJ

Cigar Bid Forums

I just joined the cigar bid forums. It seems like there are a lot of interesting people over there, some funny, some weird. I think it'll be a nice change of pace when Cigarweekly's forums are slow. I did mention that I was 19 without even thinking bout their age restriction on bidding. I really hope that doesnt turn out to bite me in the ***! I guess we'll see in the next few days!

Anyone else a member there?

-AJ

Snow day!

Snow day in college? HELL YES! Classes were canceled for the entire day because of almost a foot of snow. No cigars today...but man, this couldn't be sweeter!!! Off to go play some video games....


Later-

Punch Rare Corojo Magnum

I only have a short time to review this cigar, but I figure a quick review is better then no review at all!

I would like to start out this review by thanking Jacob (JCole311) for hooking me up with a number of Premo smokes so that we could do a side by side review!

Setting: Outside my dorm. around 2:20pm (after lunch)
Beverage: None
Smoke time: 45-50 minutes

The wrapper on this box pressed cigar looked terrific. There were a few veins, but nothing a little box pressing didn't smooth out! The cigar produced a lot of thick smoke, which I really enjoyed. The burn on the cigar was suprisingly off. I did not have to relight the cigar at anytime which was nice, but I expected more of an even burn with a cigar made by Punch. Although it never fully evened out, the burn did correct itself somewhat about halfway into the cigar. The construction of the cigar was quite good, the ash finally fell off on its own after I smoked more then 1/4th of it!

At first, I thought that this was going to be a mild cigar, but shortly after it was lit, it turned into a medium bodied cigar. I couldn't exactly put my finger on a certain "taste", but it tasted somewhat peppery to me. Towards the last quarter of the cigar, the taste got somewhat bitter, but not overwhelmingly.

Although I am VERY greatful for the opportunity to review this cigar, I would have to say that I enjoyed the Punch Pita EMS a lot more then I enjoyed the Rare Corojo Magnum. With the prices being around $4 for the Pita compared to a $7 price tag on the Corojo, I will stick with the Pita. With that being said, I did enjoy the cigar and I would smoke another one if it was gifted to me, I just dont think I will be purchasing any of these in the near future.

Punch Rare Corojo Magnum Score: 29.5/50.

Local B&M at school...

I think I might check out the local B&M down here at school. My first impressions of this place wasn't too wonderful back when I purchased my first smokes from there, but man, if its a warm place to smoke...I may just go back! Their humidor was just a small cabinet humidor, so I might toss them a few bux for lighter fluid or purchase a few diet cokes just so I can sit there smoking a cigar I want to smoke, rather then a Baccaratt or Helix. Hopefully I can report back some good news!

-AJ

Punch Pita EMS

I had heard great things about this cigar, so I had to give it a shot. It definitely did not let me down!

Setting: B&M while watching the OSU vs Texas Tech BB game
Drink: Diet Coke w/ Lime
Total Smoke time: (roughly) 65 minutes.

PRE-SMOKE (16/20 total)

Appearance and Construction -7, Classic punch look. Great looking wrapper with a few veins. It felt like it would be a bit plugged, but it wasn't!
Burn-5, flawless burn. Great white ash, held on for a good inch. I knocked it off though, I didnt want to be rude and have it ash on the store's carpet!
Draw- 4, it was a bit tight, but produced great smoke and eventually opened up about an inch in.

SMOKE (16/20 total)

Flavor-8, Great taste, medium-full body. It had strong tobacco taste with a bit of a spicey taste as well. I hate to put it this way, but "classic punch taste"
Taste/Aftertaste-8

SUMMARY(9/10 total)

Overall Quality-9, I really enjoyed this cigar. It ran me about $4.35 and it was well worth it! The cigar had some age on it (yellowing cello!). I really should have picked up the rest of the box (3) but I didnt have a way to transport them from my house back to school.

TOTAL-41/50

H311oLHD's Ranking System: 40-50points: This cigar would make Fidel proud!

No meeting

Ah well. Keith and I weren't able to link up for a cigar this time. Hopefully next month we'll be able to smoke together.

I was able to go to the B&M though today! I smoked a Punch Pita EMS. Man was it good! It was nice to be able to smoke and still be able to feel my hands afterwords! I was watching the OSU vs Texas Tech basketball game while I smoked. Wow what a crazy game that was, double OT. OSU ended up winning the game. I've gotta go do some homework. Work at 5am.

Later!

Meeting a BOTL.

On Saturday I might be given the opportunity to smoke with a long time online bud, Keith. Lookin forward to it, although still pretty nervous about the entire thing, about being the youngest kid there. I hope everything goes well and I want to continue to seek out other brothers, maybe i'll learn some new things or maybe i'll start to make connections that will help me when I'm out of college, who knows?! I guess we'll see if this goes down or not.

Off to study some Cold War stuff. Later -

Smoking in a B&M

I definitely have a phobia of smoking in B&Ms. I'm not sure if its because I usually get looks like "Betcha he picks up a vanilla flavored turd" or if its because I'm just generally a shy person...but I want to get over this fear...but i'm not sure how. I'm going home for the weekend to work, but I have all of Saturday off and I want to smoke in a warm place...but that leaves only B&Ms. I was thinking of bringing a book and just reading, keep to myself and if someone talks to me then talk to them. I hope this'll get me to feel more comfortable!

Website finished!

I was able to finish my website today...so check it out! It was a pretty cool experience and I'm extremely glad I was able to learn how to use front page. I thought it would be a lot harder than it actually was!

I've gotta go study for my accounting exam that I have tomorrow, but I wanted to give myself another plug :). Leave me a comment!

-AJ

Perdomo Lot 23 Robusto

Time for a quick review!

Last Saturday I was able to smoke one of these beauties. The construction was flawless, a few veins, but nothing to shake a stick at. I tried a pre-light draw..but I cant ever make out any flavors, just tobacco. Once I lit this puppy up, almost immediately I thought I was smoking a Cool Ranch Dorito! This may sound gross to you, but I thought it was awesome. I thought I was dreaming, so I had my girl friend try a drag. At first she thought I was nuts, and then she took another drag. Sure enough, she tasted the same great taste I did! The ash was nice and strong, held for over an inch before I had to help it off so I didn't ash on my buddy's carpet.

I would definitely give this a 4 out of 5. If you have the chance to smoke one of these...don't hesitate!

JR Ultimate Robusto

Whats up guys!? I hope your friday's are going well. Last night I managed to smoke a JR Ultimate Robusto in the freezing cold weather! By the end of the smoke I was shaking, but no worries! This was my first Ultimate experience. It was pretty interesting I would say. It definitely was no "one-dimensional cigar" thats for sure. During the first half it had a spicey flavoring to it (I couldn't pick out the exact flavorings...I'm not that cool ;). During the second half of the smoke, the cigar had a creamy taste. I enjoyed the cigar, as it was my first one in almost a week, but it wasn't one that I would go out of my way to purchase. I received it in the Trick or Treat package, so no biggy. The cigar lasted about thirty minutes. I'm not sure how much they get for this cigar, but I hope it's not more than $3.00! Sorry this isn't an official review, I'm running short on time, as always. Feel free to send me some of your guys' opinions!

Have a great weekend fellas. Don't drink too much, but certainly smoke too much!

-AJ

No Review here.

No review, but I wanted to give myself a plug for my new website I'm creating!

Check it out @: http://students.cob.ilstu.edu/ajhande

It'll cover CAO, AVO, Perdomo, and Romeo y Julieta.

That's all folks!

Short on time!

I'm a bit short on time for this post, but I wanted to get it out there! Yesterday I smoked a Carlos Torano Casa Torano Torpedo, as well as a Torano Virtuoso Robusto.

The Torpedo wasn't what I was expecting. I expected a smooth finish, but what I got was a bitter, nasty ending to just an "okay" cigar. I would definitely buy these again, but I may let them rest for a long while. They'd be perfect if you were on a golf course and didn't really care how long you smoked the cigar for.

The Virtuoso on the other hand.....quite possibly one of the best cigars I've smoked in a long time! It was about 20* outside last night, but I decided to smoke it anyways. After about 40ish minutes of freezing my butt off, I decided it might be a good idea to go inside....but i continued to smoke it LOL! It smoked for a good 45 minz, impeccable burn..the ash stayed on for more then half the way down the cigar and gently fell off on its own. They're not the cheapest cigars in the world..but I would highly recommend picking up a 5er if you have the opportunity...I'm bidding on some right now on the devil! (cigarbid.com).

I gotta go. Thanks for reading!

-H311oLHD

First Review

Hey guys, just finished my first cigar that I wanted to review. I know that most of you will frown upon the fact that I chose to review an ACID cigar, but these still are cigars and they are not White Owls or Swisher Sweets!

Cigar: ACID Blondie

Cigars International.com description:
"Blondie: small powerhouse cigar; slightly sweet"


PRE-SMOKE (16 out of 20): At first, I wasn't too sure what to think of this cigar to be honest. One of my friends smoked this cigar at a local B&M over break, and it's aroma was intriguing, to say the least.

Appearance and Construction - 8 out of 10. The cigar didn't have any noticeable defects by sight alone, but did have a small soft spot towards the foot. I was quite impressed with the blue and black metallic label, it looked pretty cool up against the Connecticut wrapper. The wrapper had no flaws and contained no veins what so ever.

Burn- 4 out of 5. I didn't have any touch ups during the smoke, but it burned a little bit unevenly. The ash was a nice white color, but didn't hold on for more then 3/4Th's an inch. It is possible that my walking played a role though.

Draw- 4 out of five. The cigar was neither tight nor loose, but it didn't produce very much smoke either. This is getting a 4 out of 5, simply because I've had better draws from cigars this size.

SMOKE (13 out of 20)

Flavor- (6 out of 10). The flavor of the cigar was......interesting, but with that being said, I think I could get used to it. It basically tasted exactly how it smelled, which is extremely hard to describe. It tasted like it was infused with some exotic herbs and tea, probably some form of green tea. With each draw I was able to taste some sweetness given off by the tip of the cigar. In my opinion, ACID Blondies are a mild smoke.
Taste/Aftertaste- (7 out of 10). I really appreciated the aftertaste of this cigar. The aftertaste gave off a little bit of the herb and tea taste, but after a second you got hit with a sweet tobacco taste. I was stunned when I could taste this change after every draw. The cigar never got harsh or bitter.

SUMMARY(7 out of 10).

Overall Quality- (7 out of 10). This was my first ACID experience, but it wont be my last! If you are in the mood for something out of the ordinary, and aren't afraid to smoke an infused cigar, I would definitely give a Blondie a try. They are a perfect 20 minute smoke, and they don't leave you smelling like you need to brush your teeth or shower..in other words...a wife's dream!

TOTAL- (36 out of 50). I would purchase this cigar again.

Template for reviewing each cigar

For each cigar I review, I will be using the following template. I would like to thank the moderators over at Cigarweekly.com for allowing me to "borrow" their rating system and for letting me to change it as I saw fit. I'm not too sure when I will be able to post my first review, so keep checking back here!


PRE-SMOKE (20 total)
Appearance and Construction -10
Burn-5
Draw- 5
SMOKE (20 total)
Flavor-10
Taste/Aftertaste-10
SUMMARY(10 total)
Overall Quality-10
TOTAL-50

H311oLHD's Ranking System:

0-10 points: Did I just smoke a turd?
10-20 points: Can you really call this a cigar?
20-30points: We're getting there!
30-40points: I would purchase this cigar again.
40-50points: This cigar would make Fidel proud!

First post...

This blog will be used to review all of the cigars that I smoke within the next 5 weeks. They will also be published on CigarWeekly.com. My next post will display how I will be reviewing each of these cigars...

-H311oLHD