Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Toro

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Zen Cigar

Size: 6 1/2″ x 52

Vitola: Toro

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Origin: RP factory in Nicaragua

Age: Pre-Release – super fresh!

I received an e-mail from the folks at Rocky Patel asking if I would be interested in trying a pre-release of Rocky’s 15th Anniversary cigar.  I said sure, and the cigars were at my doorsteps faster than you can say Ecuadorian Habano-seed wrapper.

I received two, this review is for the first one I smoked.  Taking in to consideration that this is a pre-release you sometimes have to over look any youthful characteristics in the smoke.

The cigar has a very dark wrapper for being an Ecuadorian Habano-seed, and looks like it might have a kick to it.  Considering this nice looking box-pressed cigar has all Nicaraguan filler in it, I thought it may be a welcome departure from the usual RP Honduran flavor profile.

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El Picador is here!

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Zen Cigar

Just letting everyone know, the El Picador, Don Pepin’s version of the Cheroot is available at Empire Cigars.

This cigar is smooth and spicy.  If you are a fan of the My Father line of cigars, this is a must try!  Hal & Co. at Empire will ship!

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The Year of the Ecuadorian Wrapper

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Zen Cigar

Q: How do you make a cigar wrapper taste better?

A: Grow it in Ecuador!


OK, call it in – it’s over.  I can guarantee one of the hottest cigars of the year will feature a Ecuadorian wrapper.  Why?  Because it seems that EVERY new cigar has a Ecuadorian wrapper on it!

So what’s so magical about this little country and it’s wrapper leaf?

Map of Ecuador (Source Worldtravels.com)

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The White Band Project Wrap-Up

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Zen Cigar

So how did we fare?  Matt and I met last Thursday for the big reveal.

Did Matt pull the wool over my eyes?  Did I dupe Matt into going against his gut?  Find out now!

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The White Band Project Review #5

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Zen Cigar

Again, sorry for the tardiness on this post…

This is the fifth of six blind reviews, 3 from me and 3 from Matt from Matt’s Cigar Journal.  Click here for the rules to the contest.  Note that all cigars Matt gave me to smoke were from the same manufacturer, so hopefully after smoking all three I can put it together, although I am thoroughly confused at the moment…

Cigar #5 has an odd box press-ish shape to it.  It is similar to an Oliva Master Blend III, with it’s rounded edges, but not as severely box-pressed at the MBIIIs.  So was the just a result of being in Matt’s humidor for a while, or is it the actual shape?  This doesn’t help me in identifying the cigar that’s for sure.

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The White Band Project Review #3

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Zen Cigar

Sorry for the tardiness on this post…

This is the third of six blind reviews, 3 from me and 3 from Matt from Matt’s Cigar Journal.  Click here for the rules to the contest.  Note that all cigars Matt gave me to smoke were from the same manufacturer, so hopefully after smoking all three I can put it together…

Cigar #3 is equally as rustic looking to me as the first cigar from the Project.  Looking at the foot i see lots of black tobacco coursing through the filler – this one may be a doozy!

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The White Band Project Review #1

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Zen Cigar

This is the first of six blind reviews, 3 from me and 3 from Matt from Matt’s Cigar Journal.  Click here for the rules to the contest.  Note that all cigars Matt gave me to smoke were from the same manufacturer, so hopefully after smoking all three I can put it together…

Cigar #1 is a very rustic looking cigar.  The wrapper is wrinkly and muddy brown but finished with a nice cap.

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2009 Zen Limited Edition Cigar of the Year

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Zen Cigar

The Zennie

Last but not least!  Time to put 2009 to rest with the Zen Limited Edition Cigar of the Year!

This is a new category and just like the Zen Cigar of the year; this time I asked for readers to vote for their favorite Limited Edition Cigar of the Year as well.  I received a lot of responses and only one vote separates the top two candidates for the Zen Readers LE COY!!  So without further ado here are the results from yours truly and you the readers:

Zen Readers’ Limited Edition Cigar of the Year

5.   Punch CRA Edition Toro – probably the most limited of the smokes listed, no surprise this got last place with 1% of the vote.

4.  Davidoff Seleccione 702 Toro – this full-bodied LE from the great Henke Kelner tied for fourth place with 4% of the vote.

4.  La Flor Dominicana El Museo – this expensive LE from Litto received 4% of the vote.

3.  Padron Family Reserve No. 44 (Natural) – this gem from the Padrons received 14% of the vote.

2.  Tatuaje Boris – this Halloween edition from Pete Johnson received 33% of the vote.

And the Zen Readers’ Limited Edition Cigar of the Year is…

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The White Band Project

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Zen Cigar

So last year, Matt (of Matt’s Cigar Journal) got together and conducted a little blind review contest.  It was a lot of fun for us (here are the results) and we wanted to do it again this year.

But we decided to change it up and instead of blindly reviewing three random cigars; we thought it would be fun to review three different cigars from the manufacturer of our choosing.  Camacho Cigars did something similar a while ago with their own cigars, called the Black Band Project, and we thought it’s be fun to do a take on that ourselves, and since Matt and I date and label our cigars with white bands we call it the White Band Project.

So over the next few weeks Matt and I, who will have exchanged cigars today, will review one of three sticks given by the other and at the end we will try to guess the cigars or at least the manufacturer.  There are a few agreed-on rules for the contest.

  1. Pick three different cigars from the same manufacturer.
  2. Altadis and General are excluded due to the breadth of their lines.
  3. Matt can’t pick Pepin and I can’t pick Kelner.  Those are too obvious.  :)

This should be a lot of fun, so stay tuned (or RSS’d)!  Also here’s Matt’s announcement.

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2009 Zen Cigar of the Year

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Zen Cigar

The Zennie

Alright!  Time to close out 2009 with the Zen Cigar of the Year!

This time I asked for readers to vote for their Cigar of the Year as well.  I received a lot of responses and votes were very close!  So without further ado here are the results from yours truly and you the readers:

Zen Readers’ Cigar of the Year

5.  My Father Le Bijou – a write-in tied for fifth place with 4% of the vote!

5.   Uppercut by Punch – one of the newest smokes out there, received 4% of the vote.

4.  Room 101 Cigars – this Camacho-made gem received 6% of the votes.

3.  Alec Bradley SCR – this Honduran beauty received 8% of the votes.

2.  Oliva Connecticut Reserve – this affordable priced, mild but flavorful cigar received 14% of the votes.

And the Zen Readers’ Cigar of the Year is…

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