Loose Cannon a Trigger Happy toro (6x54)

 

After its debut in 2011, C&C Cigars is quickly becoming a top brand in the cigar industry. Owner Joe Chiusano knows a thing or two about cigars, having once been the president of Cusano Cigars. He understands that cigars not only need to be quality, but at a price that appeals to everyone. These handcrafted blends come in an array of strengths and sizes to suit the needs of every consumer. Try C&C and you will see what the fuss is all about!

I was sent some of the new offerings from C&C Cigars awhile back and am finally getting around to getting them reviewed. Following our blizzard last week, more of an ice storm really, we ended up with a few really nice smoking opportunities. The weather was a nice 67 degrees and the wind had finally died down. What better weather to send a few cigars to the ash heap? Sorry I don't have pictures of the whole smoking session, my iPad died and I was enjoying the cigar too much to go inside for my phone.

The Loose Cannon series is one of the newest offerings from Mike Chiusano of C&C Cigars. He is the former president of Cusano Cigars, so he is a seasoned cigar veteran. The body of the cigar is firm with with a touch of sponginess but no soft spots or imperfections. The milk chocolate brown wrapper has minimal veins with visible but smooth seams. The body offers notes sweet field grass and the foot offered notes of molasses and hay. I V cut the cap with my StogieBoys V cutter and found a perfect draw with only the flavor of sweet tobacco on the cold draw. The wrapper is a Dominican Habano that houses a Dominican binder and filler. I used the lighter that came with the StogieBoys Big Sexy Smokers Clube welcome kit to toast the foot and get things going.

The initial third opens with a ton of woody notes and just a total barage of flavors. The flavors started to settle in around the half inch mark as the woody notes became more of a sweet cedar flavor. There is  nice bit of spice to counter the sweetness, especially noticed on the retrohale. The spice is a black pepper spice and isn't overpowering, it does leave a nice tingle on the palate and the back of the throat. As I progress through the first third the sweet cedar gains some character and definition as it is joined by some honey-like sweet notes. The finish is crisp with a toasty tone. Nearing the end of the first third, some espresso notes join the mix.

The honey notes kick it up a notch in the second third as they are joined by a nutty almond flavor. It reminds me of the honey-almond nouget inside a toblerone candy bar. The sweet cedar moves into the background a bit to give the honey and toasted almond some time in the spotlight, which is shared with the notes of espresso. The sweetness has increased just a bit and so has the black pepper spice. This cigar is very well balanced on the sweetness and spice so far. The body started out just a touch on the medium-full side of medium and has been consistent so far. Somewhere around the midway point some fruit flavors begin to pop in and out.

There wasn't a lot of change in the final third, but no complaints from me. The fruit notes take on an apricot flavor, really more of a candied apricot. The honey-almond, sweet cedar, espresso, and black pepper all survived through to the end. This was a fairly complex cigar with the way the flavors presented themselves and danced around on the palate. It was smooth and never harsh throughout the burn and the burn line required no corrections. The ash held firm with a dark gray color for just over an inch at a time before falling off into my waiting ashtray. Overall this was an outstanding cigar, which I have found to be the case with all the C&C Cigars I have smoked so far. It is the quality and flavor you expect from Mike Chiusano. I look forward to what he has instore for C&C Cigars' future blends. StogieBoys has these for 8.25 per stick in the toro size reviewed here, or a box of 20 for about 112.00. This is about the price point I would expect for this flavorful stick. At the time of this review the loose cannon cigars are buy one get one free on singles and five packs, so what better time to grab a few. You can find this deal at http://stogieboys.com/cigardon-feature .

C&C LRMD Churchill (7x50)

This is the second cigar sent to me by the good people at stogieboys.com to review. It is another offering from C&C Cigars. The LRMD is their maduro offering and is the one I am most excited to try, as I love a maduro wrapper on a cigar. So let's get to the important part, the cigar. The LRMD has Habano Maduro wrapper, Dominican binder, and a blend of Dominican Ligero as the filler. The rustic wrapper had some lighter brown spots along the length of the body. The veins were very small and the seams near invisible. The wrapper had a barnyard and compost aroma, and the foot offered notes of dry cocoa powder with a hint of sweetness. The body is firm and well packed with no soft spots or visible flaws. I clipped the triple cap with my Xikar MTX and found a perfect draw with some sweet hay and earthy notes on the cold draw. I used a single flame torch to toast the foot and get things going. It is very rare that I get to enjoy a cigar when the sun is out, so this was a real treat for me even though the wind was raging. The initial third opens with some oaky wood notes, cocoa, cooking spice, and a mile maduro sweetness. The cooking spice seems to change with each puff, if this keeps up for the burn this promises not to be a boring chuchill by the end. The finish is long and woody with hints of cocoa lingering on the palate. The second third brings in some coffee notes to join the oak, cocoa, and spices. The mild sweetnes of the maduro wrapper really ties the flavors together nicely. As I go into the final third the coffee notes find a little more depth. The notes of oak, cocoa, and coffee are going strong as the spices start to fade into the background. This was a more complex smoke than I had anticipated for the price point. It started medium body for the first third and finished the last two thirds with a medium-full body. The ash held to around an inch at a time even in the roaring winds I endured while smoking the LRMD. The price point on the LRMD in churchill size is around 4.75. C&C cigars also have a corojo and a bargain line called Roll Back. The LRMD and the Connecticut were both very enjoyable smokes, so I can bet the Corojo and the Roll Back will be also. Thanks again to Sheryl and stogieboys.com for partnering up with me and providing the sticks for the C&C reviews. Stogieboys has the LRMD Churchill available in singles, 5 packs, and boxes of 18. The review of the C&C Connecticut Toro can be found HERE