RIOT 55

I'm sure you've seen the post by now about my closing of the blog. Well, I was contacted by the lovely Sheryl over at StogieBoys and asked I would be willing to review their newest exclusive release. Who am I to say no to Sheryl and the fine folks at StogieBoys? So here we go without further ado, the short story behind the RIOT cigar line. The RIOT is a brand that will be exclusive to StogieBoys and is blended by none other than Master Blender Jose Dominguez himself. If you are unfamiliar with Jose, I'm almost willing to bet you have smoked a cigar at some point in time that he blended or had a hand in blending. Without listing all of his blending accomplishments, let's just say the man knows his tobacco. The RIOT is available in 3 sizes: the 45(figurado), the 55(robusto), and the 65(toro). Each of the size offerings are mad of the same Dominican tobaccos wrapped in a dark chocolate brown maduro wrapper. What makes the RIOT so unique is the chisel tip at the foot. This allows the cap to opened with just a squeeze and eliminates the need for a cutter to enjoy the cigar. The band has RIOT across the front in red letters but the i has been replaced with a Molotov cocktail. The words at the bottom are somewhat inspirational. The band reads "The successes of a man is his riot against mediocrity".  Now to the nitty gritty, let's see how it smokes. I have to admit I have smoked more than one, so I already know how this is going to end muahahaha. 

Before lighting I addressed the cigar and found a rather rustic chocolate brown wrapper with visible but smooth veins. The body of the cigar was pretty firm but with some give, I would say it falls right in between spongy and rock-solid. With that said, I'm anticipating a quicker burn than some cigars but it shouldn't burn hot or have a wild burn line. The body of the cigar offered notes of sweet field grass and the foot offered notes of cocoa with a mild sweetness. I squeezed the chisel cap and it opened perfectly, allowing me to test the cold draw. I found the cold draw to be a bit on the tight side and offering notes of cocoa with a hint of molasses. I used my handy Bugatti torch to get things toasted up and smoking with no problems. 

The initial third opens with a ton of flavor, the most notable being toasted nuts. The finish is long and nutty and there is a nice amount of spice on the retrohale but note nought to be unpleasant. Around 1/2 of an inch into the burn the spice has calmed some and the flavors are that starting to define themselves. The toasted but flavors are gaining some depth as they are joined by a oaken woodiness. The finish has found a peppery tingle that lingers on the palate that wasn't present at the time of lighting. 

As I enter the second third the toasted nut flavors are still going strong as the woody notes are moving into the background. There are some coffee notes beginning to emerge and a very faint hint of dark chocolate that pops in every now and then. The sweetness of the maduro wrapper is also starting to make itself known. So far the burn has only required now small correction and body has been consistently medium-full. There has not been any harshness, in fact it's really mellowing out for the finish.

The final third didn't see any new flavors. The complexity of this stick comes from the depth and presentation of the flavors and not so much from the amount of flavor transition throughout the burn. I don't mind a cigar being one dimensional as long as it's a good dimension. One of my favorite lighter cigars, the perdomo champagne, is fairly one dimensions but is an excellent smoke. I would put the construction and flavors on par with some cigars I have had that are double and even triple the price point of the RIOT cigar. I can only imagine what some aging would do for this already good cigar. I may just have to grab a box and age the for a bit just to see. Final verdict is that RIOT cigars are a hit and a great value smoke. StogieBoys has these for around 4 bucks per stick and I would say they are well worth that and more. Thanks to StogieBoys and Sheryl for sending these samples for review, they are quite tasty.

Thurman Thomas Connecticut Toro (6x52)

This is the second of the Thurman Thomas cigars I was sent for review by StogieBoys. I have to admit I wasn't as excited about the Connecticut as I was the Maduro, my mistake lol. Lately I have been smoking more Connecticut wrapped sticks, it's only fair to include them on the site, and I have found many excellent and flavorful sticks. This is one of those Connecticut wrapped stogies that you won't be bored with or wonder where is the flavor. The wrapper on the Connecticut reminded me of mocha and had a oily sheen and light tooth. The veins were small and the seams were smooth. Like the Maduro, this is a well constructed stick made in the General Cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. The wrapper doesn't offer much of a smell, save for some very light notes of hay and cocoa and the aroma at the foot is of hay a well. The samples I received were both a bit spongy but had no soft spots or flaws that I could find. I used the StogieBoys V-cutter on the Connecticut, just as I did with the Maduro. The draw was just a tad more free than I usually like but still well within my tolerances. The cold draw offered notes of mildly sweet field grass and hay.
The initial third opens up with tons of flavor with notes of coffee and some light caramel notes jumping out front. Surprisingly the Connecticut offers a bit more peppery zing, especially on the retrohale, than the maduro. The finish is moderate and has a leathery crispness to it. About 3/4 of an inch in the peppery spice calms a bit as the smoke become more creamy. Going into the second third a toasted nuttiness joins the coffee and caramel as a herby spice jumps in on occasion. As I started into the final third the creaminess becomes more hearty and savory. The peppery spice that was present in the first third has made a comeback. It isn't overpowering at all but does leave a nice tingle in the nose and on the sides of the tongue. The coffee notes move to the background as notes of leather and a piney woodiness move in to finish the burn. This was a great stick, consistently medium body and full flavor throughout the burn just like the maduro. This is a Connecticut wrapped stick with more than enough body to satisfy the seasoned smoker. The Maduro and Connecticut have similar flavors, but the way they present themselves are different. Ash held to just over an inch at a time and only one minor burn correction was needed. The Connecticut and Maduro are different enough in flavor profiles to warrant giving both a go. Construction on both was excellent and both were equally enjoyable. The price point on the Connecticut is also around 3.60 per stick, giving you a very nice "bang for your buck" ratio. You can find more info on Thurman Thomas and his cigars at www.thurmanthomascigars.com and you will only find his cigars on StogieBoys.com. Thanks again to Sheryl and the great team at StogieBoys for providing the samples for the review. I highly recommend trying both blends in the Thurman Thomas line. Both are available as a single, bundles of 25, and boxes of 25. The Maduro review can be found HERE

Thurman Thomas Maduro Toro (6x52)

The nice folks over at StogieBoys.com sent me a surprise prize pack for the next giveaway (Details will be posted soon) and also sent a couple of the Thurman Thomas Connecticut and Maduro to review for the site. If you're not familiar with Thurman Thomas, he is a Hall of Fame running back who spent most of his NFL career playing for the Buffalo Bills. Like golf, football and cigars pair well together. I decided to start with the maduro first since I am fan of that maduro sweetness. There isn't a lot of blend information on these sticks, but I can tell you that they are made in General Cigars in the Dominican Republic and utilize Dominican long fillers. The Milk Chocolate brown wrapper has minimal veins and smooth seams. The maduro is rock solid, well packed, and has very little give when pinched. The body offers up the aroma of barnyard and hay and the foot offers some light earthy notes. I used by StogieBoys V-cutter to clip the cap and found the cold draw to be just a tad on the firm side of perfect. The flavors on the cold draw were of cocoa and molasses. The wind is not blowing at all so I used matches to toast the foot and get things started with no problems.

The Initial third opens with some very nice flavors. Notes of cocoa and a nice earthy spice, balanced by the mild maduro sweetness. The finish is moderate and has a caramel-like tone. There is a touch of spice, especially noted on the retrohale, that leaves a tiny tingle on the tongue. As I progress through the first third notes of coffee start to emerge. Going into the second third the cocoa moves to the background as the coffee moves into the foreground. The smoke and the finish have taken on more of a creamy texture as the coffee notes become more rich and really work well with the subtle earthy spice. There are a few woody oak notes popping in on occasion as well. Going into the final third the woody oak notes take on some depth and really start to shine. The caramel-like finish has become more of a dark roast with a bit of a black coffee bitter sensation. This in no way detracted from the smoking pleasure. Construction on the samples I received was excellent and ash held to around 1.5" at a time. The maduro's burn went a touch wavy but always corrected itself with no help from me. Final verdict? For the 3.60 per stick price tag, you're cheating yourself not to give them a try. They are exclusive to StogieBoys and can be purchased as a single or in bundles of 25 and boxes of 25 (like myself, some people love box collecting). You can find more information about Thurman Thomas at  www.thurmanthomascigars.com and find his cigars only at StogieBoys.com. Once again, thank you to Sheryl and the StogieBoys team for providing the samples for the review. The review of the Thurman Thomas Connecticut can be found HERE