In this our 9th edition of HLC's One-Timer reviews, we take a look at some of the cigars that came out of this year's IPCPR show in Orlando.
While there's no possible way we could sample all of the releases from the show, we tried to make tasting notes from all the releases that most interested us plus whatever else we can get our hands on. The result is a stack-ranked list of our five standouts.
Leave a comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with our assessments. There are many new releases we may not get around to trying for awhile, so if there's a favorite stick you think we should check out, we're all ears ...
Tatuaje Little Monsters Review, One-Timers Ed. 8
One box of Tatuaje Little Monsters is now in the can and the reviews are all here in the 8th edition of HLC One-Timers.
It wouldn’t be right smoke just one LM when you get two of each in every bright orange box. So the full ten were put down in preparation for this post. Perhaps we could have called it “Two-Timers”, but that would have required new blog categories, tags etc... It’s enough work just to smoke all those cigars and write some coherent comments about the experience.
Speaking of comments, if you missed out on getting some Lil’ Monsters for yourself, then we encourage you to leave a comment on one of the LM review pages with your sad story of missed cigar opportunity. The commenter with the most tragic tale of woe will be rewarded!...
Tatuaje RC233, Short Run 2012 & More OTs (Ed. 7)
The Tatuaje RC233 behemoth tops all scores in this our 7th edition of One-Timer reviews. While not necessarily a limited release, the largest-of-all-Tats can be a challenge to find. The 9+ inch figurado is certainly worth hunting down when stocking up on celebration stogies.
One other OT eclipsed the oh-so-important 90-pt. marker. That distinction belongs to the EP Carrillo New Wave Connecticut Short Run 2012 Exquisitos. Every Short Run we've tried has been good-to-great and this year's New Wave edition sustains the Short Run's winning pedigree.
Remaining One-Timer tastings include limited and regular releases from Drew Estate, Torano and a second Tatuaje...
Cien Anos, MUWAT & More One-Timers (Ed. 6)
None of the One-Timers in this sixth Edition of the series topped the critical 90-point threshold. That’s not to say we didn't enjoy the cigars sampled for our weekly OT run-down. A few were quite tasty and all were without serious flaws.
The highest-scoring stick in this sixth edition of the OT series is the vaunted La Aurora Cien Anos Belicoso. The Beli vitola is arguably the best expression of the original Cien Anos blend that arrived at retail some nine years ago. It’s difficult to tell exactly how old our belicoso samples are. The assumption is that they came from the original run that ended in 2006. The cigars were purchased about six months ago from a B&M in Los Angeles...
Anejo Shark, Kill Bill & More One-Timers (Ed. 5)
The first half of 2012 is coming to a close and the depth of quality product available in the US market continues to amaze. Some of our favorite experiences came courtesy of sticks with established reputations. Others have highlighted the abilities of newer brand owners quickly making a name for themselves.
The Fuente Anejo Shark defines the former category and the La Palina Kill Bill represents the latter with style. We tried both cigars for the first time recently and were stunned by the depth and quality they presented. Both sticks topped the 90 pt. threshold earning them top positions in this One-Timers edition.
While the Shark and KB outshined the remaining OT entries, the La Flor Dominicana, Alec Bradley and La Aurora sticks sampled are no joke...
Short Story Maduro & More One-Timers (Ed. 4)
Three Dominican sticks take top honors in our latest One-Timer review compilation. Nicaragua still holds a special place in our hearts, but after receiving some (often online) guidance regarding a geo-diversity, we're sampling increasing amounts of D.R. product. The result is greater appreciation of cigars like the Fuente, LFD and La Aurora sticks featured in this post.
These stogies represent high-level Dominican blending and manufacturing that compares positively to the Nicaraguan elite. Product from Pepin, Padron AJF, etc... will always occupy real estate in the HLC humidor. So we'll just have to expand capacity as we make room for favorites originating from other cigar hotspots.
If you're entrenched in a Jalapa/Condega smoking cycle, then you are in very good company. However, we encourage the slow expansion of your routine that includes offerings from the best D.R. manufacturers. You can start with the 90+ rated One-Timers detailed here...
Tatuaje La Verite & More One-Timers (Ed. 3)
We've switched our One-Timers back to the original format. The goal is to get a One-Timer post up each week. The posts will elaborate on the most notable quick reviews/ratings that now appear in real time on our Instagram feed. If you don't use instagram, you can see the latest updates by clicking on the slide show on the right nav section of the site.
If you'd like to follow our updates as they happen via your preferred social media tool, just follow @HLCigars on Twitter and/or highlight_cigars on Instagram.
Of the five tastings we rated in this third edition, the Tatuaje La Verite Vintage 2008 Churchill and the My Father #2 Belicoso stood out. Both cigars received ratings well over 90 pts. We don't love everything that comes from the DPG factories, but these two blends deserve any/all accolades they receive (and they've received plenty)....
Quesada Oktoberfest Bavarian Review
When you can't track down rare cigars at your local B&M or online, the best plan is to get on the phone and hit up shops outside your area. We did just that when our favorite bloggers collectively voiced approval of a couple limited 2011 Quasada lines late last year.
A couple quick Google searches and phone calls were made, and soon a split box including 10 Quesada Oktoberfest Bavarian cigars and 10 Selección España robustos was on its way to HLC world headquarters! In the months since the cigars arrived, we put down about half of the stash.
We may share our thoughts about the España at a later date. Today, we’re focusing on the Oktoberfest. This blend was released in limited quantities in (you guessed it) October to celebrate the German beer festival season. According to Quesada’s PR, the Dominican puro was specifically formulated for pairing with a good brew. This is an interesting idea that we weren’t going to test. The HLC tasting committee (of one) lacks beer-geek status and wouldn’t know how to select a brew likely to work with this or any cigar...
Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Serie Robusto No. 4
The Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Serie sports a two-tone wrapper that is the cigar's most identifiable feature. For those not inclined to smoke this stick down to the nub—and thus burn the darker, Criollo-wrapped segment—the Cabinetta's distinctiveness is primarily aesthetic. JdN claims the Nicaraguan Criollo creates a noticeably sweeter taste on the lips that adds to flavor produced by the Ecuadorian wrapper's smoke. We didn't notice any unique flavors imparted by this combination.
We were curious about what happens when the darker wrapper ignites during the final third. Our Cabinetta Serie Robusto No. 4 samples smoked well, so we made it a point to burn past the criollo wrapper overlay and note how this impacts the smoke's character. More on how this "second wrapper" colors the Cabinetta experience is provided toward the end of our comments. But first we have a few more thoughts about the Cabinetta Serie presentation....
Paul Garmirian Gourmet Series Connoisseur
Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Torpedo
Oliva Serie V Double Robusto – One Timers Ed. 2
With a stack of new offerings from Tat, Drew Estate, Pepin, Alec Bradley and others accumulating in the HLC cabinet, we’re beginning to wonder if another humidor needs to be on our holiday wish list. We prefer to let purchases rest in the humi for a couple weeks and resisting the desire to indulge in this new crop of post-IPCPR releases is hard to say the least. Hopefully, reviews of the aforementioned sticks will go up soon, or at least some consideration of these releases can be included in the HLC “best of” lists now that 2011 has just about blown by. So as the new-release tastings are beginning, an extra-large One Timers post seemed to be in order.
The number eight figures prominently in this second edition of our One Timer quick reviews. Eight cigars are covered in the post with five earning an HLC rating between 88.0 and 88.9. That’s a lot of eights! Two sticks managed to break the oh-so-important, 90-pt. barrier. One of these highlights is nearing iconic status (in our opinion) and another surprised us with an intense, but pleasant sweetness.
As a reminder, the One Timers format is reserved for recent smokes that we weren’t compelled or able to create full-length reviews for. Some One Timer sticks have only been tried once, some are go-to sticks we’ve been enjoying for years and others weren’t considered noteworthy enough to warrant a full analysis....Tatuaje Gran Cojonu | Highlight Cigars One-Timers Ed. 1
Welcome to the first edition of Highlight Cigars' "One Timers" where we list quick thoughts about sticks recently pulled from the humidor. Although we provide scores for each cigar, some One Timers are just that--smokes we've only had once. Others are old favorites, but it's worth noting that One Timer opinions are recorded under conditions less "scientific" than those of standard HLC reviews.
The standout in this batch of One Timers is definitely the Tatuaje Gran Cojonu. Like many cigar snobs, we don't care for 60-ring sticks that much, but this offering from Pete Johnson is a notable exception. The other sticks on the list are a varied bunch representing a couple brands we don't have much experience with. It seemed fitting to have these first-time smokes in the first One Timers post....