Twitter name change

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have changed my twitter handle from @DAficianado to @shaggyfeetz. Not only is it easier to remember but more easily identified with the blog. Sorry for any confusion this may cause and I hope for a smooth transition.

Rafaeli's Cigars Giveaway Round 2

Sorry for the delay on getting the second round of the giveaway sponsored by Rafaeli's Cigars online. Life has been catching up to me lately and trying to eat every minute of spare time I have. Now that the Thanksgiving festivities are over, let's get round 2 started. Simply use the Rafflecopter widget to get your entries in. The Giveaway is open to U.S. Residents and by entering you are stating that your are of legal smoking age in you're local state/city. Thanks again to Yeron and Rafaeli's Cigars for providing the prizes for both giveaways! I am running through some ideas for giveaways after the first of the year and so far have a few ideas I really like. Good luck to those who enter!

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Cusano P1 Maduro 606 (6x60) and Churchill (7.5x50)

I was sent some more sticks to review by the fine people at StogieBoys.com. They sent me a sampling of the Cusano P1 in the 606 and Churchill size. From the makers of the Cusano 18 comes a budget friendly stick call the P1. The P1 is a mixed filler cigar, but if you're like me it doesn't matter as long as it performs. how does it perform you ask? Well that is why you are here, isn't it. At first glance the P1 has a rustic look, with a oily sheen on the milk-chocolate brown Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. The veins are, for the most part, small and smooth. Inside the wrapper lies a mix of long and short filler Dominican tobaccos. The body offers the aroma of hay and barnyard and the foot smells of rich tobacco and some good sweetness. Despite the mixed filler the cigar was firm and well packed with no soft spots to be found. I used my handy StogieBoys V cutter to cut the double cap and found a perfect draw with notes of hay and sweet field grass. I used a single flame torch to toast the foot and get things going with no problems.
The first third of the 606 opens with some rich coffee notes accented by notes of cocoa. There is a very pleasant sweetness from the maduro wrapper and just enough spice to balance it out. The finish is long and nutty and the sweetness lingers on the palate as well. At about an inch in the spice kicks it up a notch and really works well with the sweet component. As I go into the second third there are some nutty pecan notes starting to emerge. The sweetness sees a boost in the second third to round the spice out even further. The coffee notes faded just a bit in the second third giving the pecan nuttiness the spotlight. Until the mid-point the cigar has been on the medium side, but at the mid-point body kicks up to a med-full. Going into the final third there are some woody oak notes that come to my attention, as well as some leather. The nutty pecan notes fade giving the oak and leather the spotlight for awhile. There was an occasional honey-like note that jumped in in the final third, but it was fleeting and infrequent. The ash was a bit flaky but held tight for about an inch and a half at a time. There were only a couple of minor burn corrections and ample amounts of tasty smoke were produced. The final verdict from me is that this is a winner. I'm not one to turn my nose up to a budget stick, especially one that can perform where it counts. The review really applies to both sizes, as there were no major flavor differences between the two. I, personally, enjoyed the 606 just a bit more than the churchill. StogieBoys offers the P1 in three sizes: Robusto, Churchill, and the 606. Prices range from 2.65 for the Robusto to 3.25 for the 606, making this a budget friendly stick that is tasty to boot. You can find more info on Cusano Cigars at www.cusanocigars.com . You can find the P1 on www.stogieboys.com in singles and bundles of 20. The direct link to the 606 bundle is HERE and the Churchill is HERE. If you like a cigar with a good maduro sweetness with just enough spice to round it out, I recommend giving the P1 a go. Grab a single and i bet you'll wish you had ordered a bundle. Thank you again to Sheryl and the fine folks at StogieBoys for providing the sticks for this review, they were great!

Xikar HC Habano Colorado Robusto (5x50)

I'm a big fan of the Xikar accessories, especially the cutters. I have a Xikar MTX multi-tool that I consider to be one of the best cigar accessory purchases I have ever purchased. My friend ,and fellow BOTL, Brad sent me a few of the Xikar sticks to try out. With the pride and craftsmanship that Xikar puts into their accessories I was very excited to get my hands on some of their cigars. It was a hard decision on which to try first but in the end the Habano Colorado drew the shortest straw and was sentenced to die by fire. The Xikar HC Habano Colorado is a collaboration between Xikar and Jesus Fuego. The Dark Habano wrapper is from Jalapa in Nicaragua with a binder from Estil and a filler blend Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The wrapper is dark and oily with only small veins and offers the scent of rich tobacco and cocoa. The body is rock solid and well packed with no soft spots or flaws that I can find. The foot offered up an aroma of rich cocoa with a mild hint of sweetness. I, of course, used my trusty Xikar MTX to clip the triple cap and found draw to be just a tad firm with notes of molasses and cocoa. Unfortunately at the time of this review I found myself without a Xikar lighter to toast the foot. I did use a single flame torch to toast the foot and get things started with no problems.

The initial third opens with some notes of rich coffee and a mild peppery spice, especially noted on the retrohale. There is a very pleasant sweetness to the retrohale that lingers on the palate for the finish. As I go into the second third some molasses notes emerge as the coffee takes on more of an espresso flavor. The peppery spice has calmed a touch as a few notes of black licorice pop in and out. The smoke took on a creaminess in the second third as the spice faded. The final third brought some graham notes and nutty peanut flavors. The espresso notes have faded into the background and a earthy spice joins the profile. The earthy spice just seems to hang out in the background, but really adds a lot to what's going on. The aroma of the resting smoke is pleasant with a woody, nutty aroma. Being my first Xikar cigar, I am well pleased. I can't wait to try the other offerings in the HC series. The construction on this stick was excellent and held ash to over an inch at a time. The price point on these is around 7-8 bucks per stick and well worth that. You an find more information on Xikar at www.xikar.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/XikarInc. Thanks again to my friend Brad Bortz at Cigarstix.com for sending me these sticks.

Ortega Serie D Natural No. 6 (4.5x48)

I reviewed the Ortega Serie D Maduro back in June and of the ones I have smoked the No. 6 was my favorite in that line. I found the same to be true of the natural, as it seems to be the perfect size for me. I was really looking forward to the natural after trying the maduro. I won a sampler pack of these by using the Cigar Dojo mobile app. The milk chocolate brown Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper had minimal veins and near invisible seams. The binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli. The wrapper offers the aroma of barnyard and hay, while the foot offers notes of barnyard and a mild molasses sweetness. It is firm with very little give and there were no soft spots or imperfections that I could find. I went with a V cut on the triple cap and found a perfect draw with notes of sweet field grass. It was an easy task for the single flame torch to get the foot toasted and smoke flowing.
The initial third opens with notes of cedar and an almond nuttiness. There are a few occasional notes of cocoa and a very light natural sweetness in the first third. There is a fair amount of peppery spice on the retrohale but not quite as much as I remember from the maduro version. The finish is long and nutty, with a flavors resembling amaretto. The peppery spice on the retrohale is calming down a bit. There are notes of graham and some light coffee notes that emerge in the second third. Going into the final third the coffee notes gain more depth as the cocoa notes seem to come in more often. The almond and cedary notes are still present and the flavors are really working well together. Most of the graham notes faded away shortly after starting the final third. The final verdict is... This is another awesome stick from Eddie Ortega! I cannot pick a favorite between the natural and maduro, both are excellent. The construction was superb with the ash holding to just over an inch at a time with a nice salt and pepper color. If you are a fan of the maduro and haven't tried the natural, you are cheating yourself. The price point on these is around 6.50 per stick in the No.6 size and are available at cigarstix.com. They are available in boxes of 10 and boxes of 20 and the link to this size on cigarstix can be found HERE You an find more information on Ortega Cigars at www.ortegacigars.com and you can find Eddie on twitter at http://twitter.com/eddieor. You should give him a follow, he is a super nice guy and quite a character.

Gurkha Blue Steel Torpedo (6.5x53) Revisited

After two attempts to review this cigar, both ending with major burn issues, I decided to let them age a bit. My final verdict is that they were too fresh to smoke when I first received them. After 10 months in the humidor I decided to give them another go. The original review can be found HERE . So let's see how the extra time in the humidor affected this stick. The wrapper is a dark and oily Costa Rican Maduro with only light veining. I couldn't find any information on the binder but the filler is composed of Tobaccos from Nicaragua, Columbia, and Honduras. The wrapper offers the scent of mildly sweet, rich tobacco and hay. The foot offers a mild sweetness. I straight clipped the cap with my Xikar MTX and found a perfect draw with some molasses notes. Toasting and lighting was an easy task with a handy single flame torch.
The initial third opened with some toast and earthy notes. There were a few notes of honey that came and went in the first third. There is a very delicate spice on the retrohale and a sweetness that lingers on the lips and palate. The finish is long and toasty to this point. The second third brought some light coffee notes as the honey notes pop in more often. There is a subtle spice starting to develop that leaves a light tingle on the palate as well as some woody notes. The sweetness is full swing in the second third. Going into the final third the coffee notes begin to pop and gain some depth. Notes of dark chocolate emerge as the honey notes fade away. The sweetness has calmed a bit and the spice has picked up just a touch. The coffee notes dominate the final third but are rounded out nicely with the dark chocolate and woody notes. This go around I only had to make one small burn correction, which made for a very enjoyable smoking experience. The ash held to over and inch at a time. The body remained constantly on the full side of medium-full and was very smooth. I hate that I had almost given up on these and will have to stick a few more in the humidor before the end of their limited run. You can find more information on Gurkha Cigars and their offerings at www.gurkhacigars.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/gurkhacigars

Rafaeli's Cigar Giveaway

Nearing the 6 month anniversary of the Shaggy Feetz Cigar Blog, it is high time for a giveaway. Who doesn't love a giveaway? The nice folks at Rafaeli's Cigars have been generous enough to send a few sticks and a couple of pairs of awesome cuff-links for the site's first giveaway. There will be 2 prizes in the giveaway and both will include a pair of the awesome Templar cuff-links and a few cigars. Contest will Start at 12:01am EST on thursday November the 15th and will close on Thursday November the 22nd at 12:01 am EST. Get your entries in, spread the word, and good luck!
A review of the Rafaeli's Cigars Robusto Maduro can be found HERE.
Thanks to Yeron at Rafaeli's for sending the prizes for the first giveaway on the site. You can find more information on Rafaeli's at www.rafaelis.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/rafaeliscigars

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Rafaeli's Cigars Maduro Robusto (5x50)

I was contacted by Rafaeli's Cigars about doing a review of the brand for the site and a possible giveaway. That being said, I jumped at the opportunity. The back story to the brand is very interesting and involves a miraculous diamond. You know me, I don't get too deep into brand information but it is very interesting and I recommend checking the story out. On to the good part and the reason we read reviews, you want to know how these smoke. I removed the cigar from the cellophane and rounded up my tools to get started. I got my water to pair it with, torch, stinky jr ashtray, and cutter... wait... That's the great thing about theses cigars, you don't need a cutter. Each cigar come pre-punched making it easier for the consumer. I can't remember how many times I have been asked, "How much do I cut off? About an inch?" This feature makes it great for someone who travels a lot and doesn't want to pack a cigar tool box, or for the new smoker who isn't super comfortable with clipping their caps just yet. I couldn't find much information on the blend. The wrapper is maduro with a Dominican binder and the filler is a blend of Indonesian, Cuban, and Dominican seed long-fillers. The wrapper has a rustic look to it with a couple of decent sized veins, but not large enough to cause a burn issue. The wrapper offers notes of hay and barnyard and the foot offers some cocoa and sweetness. I didn't need to clip the cap, since it was already punched, so I checked the draw. The cold draw was spot on with notes of hay and dark chocolate. I had no problems toasting the foot and getting it started with a single flame torch.
The initial third opens with notes of coffee and toasted nuts. There is a mild and pleasant sweetness that jumps out front. The retrohale has a nice amount of spice to balance out the sweetness. As I progress through the first third some notes of honey pop in and out and there is a caramel-type flavor to the smooth nutty finish. Going into the second third the coffee notes really start to gain some depth as the honey notes come in more often. It is producing billowing clouds of tasty smoke for my enjoyment. For me the midway point was were the sweetness and spice found their perfect balance and all was well with the world. As made my way into the final third some leather notes joined the coffee and toasted nut flavors have faded into the background. The sweetness calmed a bit in the final third as the honey notes became more subtle.
The construction was excellent as the ash held to just over an inch at a time. The burn required no touch-ups and body remained somewhere between medium-full and full. This was a pretty straightforward cigar but still very smooth and flavorful. I could honestly see me stuffing a box of these in robusto size into my humidor, especially to take on trips or to work. The convenience of not having to carry a cutter, which I have lost a few at work, is a serious plus. They do not currently offer singles but offer boxes of 50 for 90-110 bucks depending on the size. I have had 10 dollar sticks that couldn't hold a candle to this 2 buck gem. Thanks to Yeron at Rafaeli's Cigars for providing the samples for this review and the prizes for the upcoming giveaway. I will be getting a box of robusto as soon as I clear some space in the humidor, or convince the wife I need another one. You can find more information on Rafaeli's Cigars and order directly from their site at www.Rafaelis.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/RafaelisCigars I hope you will check out their site and read the story behind the brand and the diamond on the cigar's band.