Pinar Del Rio Oscuro Robusto (5x50)

I have a small sampling of Pinar Del Rio cigars that I got in a sampler from Cigars International a few months back. I decided on this one to kick of the series of reviews on them because this isn't the first one of these I have smoked. The presentation is nice with the double bands near the cap and a blue ribbon as the foot band. Pinar Del Rio is one of the brand offerings from A. Flores and J. Rodriguez crafted in their factory located in the Dominican Republic. This cigar has a Brazilian Oscuro wrapper that houses a Dominican binder and a blend of long filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The wrapper was toothy with a nice oily sheen and one fairly big vein running the length of the body. The wrapper gave of a faint scent of hay and the foot had a mildly sweet honey-like aroma. It was firm to the squeeze with little give and no soft spots that I could find. I clipped the cap with my Xikar MTX and found a perfect draw with fruity notes with a bit of honey sweetness. I used my faithful single flame torch to toast the foot and light it up with little effort. The Initial third offered up nice woody oak notes with a touch of toasted nuts. There was a nice pepper spiciness to go with the natural sweetness on the retrohale. There were occasional notes of honey that popped in and out in the first third. Going into the second third some light coffee notes join the roasted nut and coffee. The notes of honey didn't last in to the second third. The finish remained crisp and nutty throughout the first two thirds. The final third didn't really change much from the second third except for a very subtle note that resembled oregano, it was very faint yet noticeable. It had a fair amount of complexity and it was a very enjoyable cigar. The ash was flaky, light-medium gray in color, and held to about an inch and a half at a time. This one did produce tons of smoke, even at rest. The burn went a bit erratic about an inch and half into the burn and required a total of 3 minor corrections to keep it on track. I look forward to giving the rest of the Pinar Del Rio cigars in my humidor a go and will post them here when I do. The price point on these is around 5.50 per stick and can be found in a variety of samplers at Cigars International. For more information on Pinar Del Rio Cigar Co. and their lines visit them at www.pdrcigars.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/pdrcigars

 

 

 

 

Paul Stulac Angel Brazilian Maduro (5x58)

Use coupon code SHAGGYSTULAC to receive 10% off your order of Paul Stulac Cigars at www.cigarstix.com. A Shaggy Feetz exclusive. Code is valid until 8/3/12 so get your orders in while it's still good! Thanks Brad!

I recently won a few of the Paul Stulac cigars on twitter, as they were having a giveaway once a certain number of followers was reached. They announced I was the winner of the first giveaway and I couldn't wait to get these in the humidor. I had seen them online and the band was the first thing that caught my eye. It is adorned with a crest, skulls, angels wings, a cross, and a pair of crossed scepters. I have to say this is the most bad ass, I mean business cigar band I've ever laid my eyes on. The stated ring gauge was 58 but I would honestly have to say close to 54. The cigar appears to have been lightly box pressed, which the 58 could have been the measurement before the pressing. The chocolaty Brazilian maduro wrapper had a few very small veins but was satin smooth to the touch. If there were any flaws in the wrapper I certainly didn't see them. The wrapper had a barnyard smell to it and the foot smelled of rich, sweet tobacco. I clipped the cap with scissors and removed the band at the foot, which had the size name imprinted in gold. The pre light draw was near perfect and had a slightly sweet earthy tone to it. It lit very easy after toasting with my single flame torch. The first third started out medium in body with notes of toasted nuts and a bit of spice complimenting a sweet cedar core. The finish was a bit sweet and had a nutty flavor to it. The ash was a nice light gray/white and was nice and tight. The second third brought more of the sweet cedar and as the toasted nuttiness started to fade, notes of cocoa and an occasional hint of light coffee took it's place. Somewhere around half way through the second third the smoke became more creamy and the spice kicked up a notch. The ash held to about 2.5" and actually fell as a result of me trying to scoot the band back. The body went from medium to medium-full at the midpoint of the cigar. At the midpoint the finish lost most of it's sweetness but maintained the nuttiness. Going into the final third the spice kicked up just a tad more as notes of leather and the sweet cedar dominated the profile with a hint of something resembling caramel, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. This was a very enjoyable smoke with flawless burn (zero retouches and no erratic burn at all) and excellent construction. The flavor profile was pretty complex and maintained the sweet cedar throughout which complimented the spice perfectly. I will have to add this to my normal rotation for sure as soon as space in the humidor (and the bank account and wife) allow. You can find out more about the Paul Stulac line at www.paulstulaccigars.com, you can also find them on facebook and on twitter. My friend Brad Bortz at www.cigarstix.com has given me a coupon code for my readers to use. The code is SHAGGYSTULAC and is good for 10% off your Paul Stulac Cigar purchase. Be sure to get your order in while the coupon code is valid (ends 8/3/12). Thanks again Paul Stulac Cigars for the opportunity to give these great cigars a try and to Brad Bortz for offering me and my readers this discount at your online store.