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!

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

Don Smith series dee Churchill (7 x 50)

I picked up a couple of these in a sampler. It's amazing how many times i'm going to start a post that way huh? These are wrapped in a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper and stuffed with dominican long-filler. They are available for around a buck a stick so this fits the bill for the discount portion of my reviews. I had the first cut of the season due on the lawn and wanted to enjoy a "yard-gar" while cutting and weed-eating. I picked this from the value bundle churchill sized smokes I had and figured it looked like a good candidate. It had a surprisingly smooth wrapper for the 1 dollar price point. The veins were minimal and seams smooth. Pre-light it had a sweet tobacco smell which was even more powerful at the foot. Upon cutting and lighting, which it lit without a hitch, it was pretty much what I was expecting. There was no symphony of flavors dancing around my palate but it was in no way the worst cigar I have ever smoked. The only real flavor notes it had to it were woody and sweet tobacco with a hint of nuttiness. It wasn't overpoweringly sweet and had a nice aroma to it. The flavor was pretty consistent through to the nub with no real pickup in strength. It remained a mild and mellow smoke that was perfect for my yard work. I would hate to smoke a good cigar like a Sosa or Toro Y Leon while chopping weeds. I don't see me ordering a box of these but I wouldn't throw them out if I were to get a couple more in a sampler. Everyone needs a good "yard-gar" (or at least a decent one). Sorry I don't have a picture of this one, my hands were planted firmly on the lawnmower.