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Lost & Found - 15 Minutes of Fame Lancero
I am not a fan
I bought three of these lanceros. The two I have smoked lasted for twenty minutes. They burn evenly, slowly, and provide enough rolling smoke to make my own laser light show out of my led star light lamp. Only two things make me critical of these cigars. First is the taste; it is flat. Of course it does taste like tobacco and there is no problem with that, but there is nothing else to speak of that hits my palate and makes me want to purchase more. Second; is the butt end seems to be soft. The butt becomes too moist and starts to break apart, the moistness travels into the filler and the draw becomes increasingly difficult to the point that has to be re-lit at least twice before discarding the remaining portion of the butt. Of note more of the butt is left than is common for other cigars I have provided review for. Thanks for your time if you read this review Jame

La Aroma de Cuba - Original El Jefe
Cemented Friendship in a Tube
El Jefe es mi amigo de por vida! This cigar reminded me of an old Navy Chief that used to tease me unmercifully for being a Dictator at work and a regular guy outside of the building. Foot to cap: Lights easily and stays lit to the end. Only flavor for me was a light orange spice with sweet tobacco throughout. [That old salt had an orange everyday with lunch too.] The draw was easy, the smoke was wispy, and the taste was better with black coffee. I like it when a cigar brings back really good memories. To all the sailors that read this: Fair winds and following seas!

Aganorsa Leaf - JFR Maduro Robusto
It certainly is Robust
Going foot to cap, it lights well, smokes great, and is a tough finish. By tough finish I mean that I had to relight the cigar several times because the cap was so densely packed that the draw became harder to pull in. Overall, the cigar had a really good flavor that did not leave much of an after action coat in my mouth. A little Jim Beam and it was all good. The smoke was dense and floated beautifully in to the night sky matching the clouds that were over head and it had a sweet tobacco smell without anything extra added. It was a nice end to my 19th wedding anniversary celebration even though my wife was out of town on an emergency visit to relatives. We will do something nice together when she gets back home.

Dan Tobacco - Devil's Holiday 50g
Berry, Berry, German
Nicely fruity and and smokes just the same every time. It took me a while to get through the tin as I usually had to wait for my taste buds to tell me it was time to open the Devil's Den of Iniquity and slide into a smoke filled lounge with legends like Sade, Blake, Coltrane, Fitzgerald and Armstrong, and the ever amazing Cab Calloway. Sometimes a smooth and elegant smoke and the finish is often hot and boisterous like a beloved Boy Scout camp in Maryland on a cold night with a hot fire using logs from fragrant fruit trees and pine that grow on the grounds.

Davidoff - Winston Churchill Petit Panatela (5 Pack)
I was so content with this cigar that I almost decided to finish all 5 in one sitting.....
When initially lit it looks a bit charred but then the edges change into an even red-yellow glow. As the tobacco is burned the wrapping stays tight around the filler, holding to it like a commando holding a beach head alone. The smoke rolls out in like cirrus clouds and provides a nose hit of oak and a surprising sweetness that is not in the mouth draw. The cigar burns evenly and persistently, right down to the end. And even when the butt is set down in the tray, it feels less like an object and more like a presence, quietly insisting that you ought to sit up straighter and regret that you finished it so fast.

CAO - Eileen's Dream Corona
A mild and sweet smoke while watching Orion rising on New Year's Eve
A lovely cigar with which I had a double of whiskey to keep warm while waiting for 2025 to leave. Enjoying myself listening to firecrackers and watching Roman Candles being set off. I missed my wife and that made me think the fool-o-wing thoughts: Eileen sits as the evening leans into a starry night, Porch boards creak warmly from the sun's last light. Her husband with cigar alight puffs out a cloudy white dream, Each breath giving a hint of chocolate, whiskey, and vanilla cream. The scent settles like an old story they both know by heart, No need to speak, their dream wanders back to them on smiles and rosy cheeks, Crickets stitch the hush together, a little song timed to the rocker's creaks.

Gran Habano - Black Dahlia Corona Gorda
This cigar is one of my favorites and my Chihuahua-mixes love it too
First it burns well and evenly. Second it does not leave a bad after taste. Third I like the coffee smell as it burns. Fourth if the butt end is lightly dipped in Tequila the draw flavor improves and I get brown sugar and coffee and the hint of Tequila stays lightly on the tip of the tongue. Finally, both my Rose (a Min-Pin) and Anna (a Beagle-Chihuahua) mix love to sniff the smoke and it is the only cigar I have tried where they will stay on my lap while I am enjoying this relaxing time. Anna steals the butts out of my ash tray and smashes them and then rolls in the remains. [I have crazy dogs, right?]

Tatiana - Classic Night Cap
Goes together with a liquid nightcap of whisky, vodka, and Dr. Pepper
Sorry, I went with average because I have given Tatiana in several different types to wow me. Sadly, I love the taste of all the cigars I have tried from this brand, but I really, really dislike the way the wrapper falls apart and the inner tobacco becomes exposed as the sticks burn down. The sticks also burns more rapidly and hotter as the char reaches the butt end and that leaves an after taste which as to be rinsed away.

RoMa Craft - Neanderthal HoxD
3% Neanderthal, so I'm a bit biased
Nice smoke output, low level of sweet something, as noted this cigar goes very well with coffee anytime of day. If drinking a light roast there is a bit of chocolate flavor that sits on the tongue between puffs. I don't get the chocolate without having the coffee. Without the coffee I get toffee and cream at low levels. I gave two to a friend from out of state (SC) and now I have to keep extras around for when he visits.

Drucquer & Sons - Loch Ness 100g
What to say -- Glenfiddich and Loch Ness
I usually save my Glenfiddich for celebrating important meaningful life highlights for my Sons and my Daughter. I ran out of another whiskey and pulled out the Glenfiddich poured a double and went out to my porch for an evening of reading, piping, and imbibing. This sitting out took me back to late evening camping with Boy Scout Leaders in North Yorkshire when I was on a three-year government job in the 1980's. So here I am in South Carolina, reading, piping, drinking, looking at the stars, and watching a campfire burn out -- and missing my children, family, and friends. The smoke from this tobacco is heavy and shimmers like a dragon tail when contrasted against a small wood fire. The aroma reminds me of peat bogs and a warm dark brew beer, as does the flavor that is left on the tongue when the smoke is done. Jame

Balkan Sasieni - Balkan Sasieni 50g
My first tin of any type of tobacco
I really like Balkan Sasieni. This was the first tin of tobacco that I chose to go with my first pipe purchase. Now I can't remember which pipe I bought, but I certainly have gone back to this tobacco many times. I can't put a particular set of flavors to it, but for some reason I get the light taste of oranges on the back of my tongue when I finish my smoke for the evening -- if I don't intake a lot of liquid and just let the feeling settle.

Curivari - Socrates 550
A dry challenge
I ordered two sticks. I fired the first one on the same day I ordered it and the second three days later. Both times they started well, but by the 3/4 mark the wrapper started to burn faster than the filler. By the last quarter tiny lit pieces of the wrapper were peeling away and it looked like a flutter of bright little fairies stealing my cigar. Notes of earth and oak were predominant on the tongue and the smoke itself did smell of cinnamon, but to me there was definitely no sweetness. I have to agree with the advertised statement "the cigar is unpredictable." Jame

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2025 In Review
  • ► I started smoking a pipe in 2023. Never smoked before, except at my first job where I breathed in the mess produced in a Ford Foundry.One evening I was sitting in my backyard looking up at the moon as it was rising and I was watering my watermelon patch and thinking about where I wanted to plant roses and mint, as grown in my Grandmother's garden and a forsythia bush which grew in the courtyard at my old job site. I got really lonesome for my Grand Parents and found my self thinking 'bout what I missed most about them. The first was iced tea with mint leaves from the garden and the second was a pipe with Velvet loaded. I could remember sitting on a glider while my Grandmother worked on tatting little lace somethings and the smoke from my Grandfather's pipe billowing a sweet smell that had hid in my memory until I thought hard about it. I am a small batch smoker because I want to try everything, my Grandfather bought three pound tins because it was the only thing he could find on a regular basis in Cleveland (about $4 in 1965, I used to have one of his old cans and still remember the price). [Yes I can tat, no I let my wife do it now. And if you want my take on the scene described above check my review of Eileen's Dream and substitute Rose and John for the two dreamers.]