The Gold Standard [5 Vegas Gold]

You would expect a cigar wrapped in gold to be pretty amazing. The 5 Vegas Gold doesn't disappoint! 

This medium bodied cigar is full of sweet flavor. A nutty, leather flavor, with a touch of light pepper, is maintained throughout.  The light colored Connecticut wrapper, and medium firmness allows the cigar to burn cool and slow with great smoke production. It does burn a bit unevenly and may need to be corrected.  

The sweet flavors of this stick make it a very enjoyable smoke! Definitely one to keep in your humidor, and look forward to!

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan/Honduran

Additionally, I like the simple and colorful design of the 5 Vegas website. They provide the need-to-know information in an easy-to-navigate format. 

Here's a full video interview from Should I Smoke This?:

Cigar Stories - Weekly Round-up

Val Maestro Antuono - Tampa Mansion for Sale

Cigar King Antuono, died in 1941 but the house he built in 1925 has survived with many of its original features including the tiles, hand-painted ceiling beams and stained glass windows. And now it’s for sale, for $2.995 million.




The Airstream Cigar Lounge

The 1972 Airstream hides a swanky, surprisingly luxurious Old World cigar lounge. "It's really more than a cigar lounge," Johnson said. "It's an experience, an unexpected luxury."  Although cigar aficionados are impressed by the custom mahogany humidor stocked with 30 brands, most customers aren't avid smokers. Instead, they get cigar recommendations, based on their beer preferences as they marvel over the cozy, air-conditioned lounge complete with leather seating, colorful lighting, a TV and a sound system.

Where's Churchill's Cigar?

A Winston Churchill bust, constructed from LEGO bricks, has been defaced, with someone stealing the cigar. The vital accessory has been removed from the lips of the bust that represents one of Britain’s most famous Prime Ministers.

How to Smoke a Cigar [Best Advice Ever Received]

For the new cigar smoker, the amount of information available, can be overwhelming.  Sometimes the cigar advice and how-to information can even be conflicting. As a new smoker I spent countless hours searching the internet, reading articles, and watching videos. Often to the point of overwhelm. 

The best advice on cigar selection, cutting, and lighting can be found in this simple video by Nick Perdomo for Cigar Advisor.

For more advice for the new cigar smoker, download the Cigar Maven's Guide for New Smokers.

Top 3 YouTube Cigar Review Channels

With the hundreds of hours of cigar review videos and the plethora of cigar marketing copy available, who can you trust? As a new cigar smoker, here are the voices I have come to trust.

Cigars and Whiskey

Average Joe who loves cigars. This brand has been developed to show the Average Joe that cigars are art, passion, love and community! Cigars and Whiskey shares his love for cigars through reviews, pairings, history, events and basic 101. Great channel for those new to cigars and seasoned smokers, alike!

Cigar Vixen

Join Delicia the Cigar Vixen for an interactive guide to the cigar & spirits lifestyle through cigar reviews, lounge reviews, cigar & spirit pairings and cigar industry events. Watch the Cigar Vixen smoke cigars, break down flavor profiles and provide descriptions.

Watch the Cigar Vixen's show on Amazon Prime!

Cigar Obsession

By his own admission Bryan Glynn is "not an aficionado. I am not an expert. I am simply a regular guy with 25+ years of experience who happens to LOVE cigars." He provides honest reviews and just the facts. How does it burn and what does it taste like?

Bryan provides a complete review of the experience from start to finish. His personalized reviews convey the full sensations, while exploring the nuances of each cigar.

BONUS: JR Cigars 

Entertaining hosts, and good reviews, however, geared to sell cigars. 

Who are your favorite cigar reviewers?

It's whats on the inside that counts... [Leaf by Oscar]

When you walk into a humidor with rows and rows of plastic wrapped cigars, the cigar wrapped in a tobacco leaf, definitely stands out. The dried tobacco leaf that these cigars are package in, may not be visually appealing, its whats on the inside that counts.

Unwrapping the Leaf by Oscar (corojo) you are struck by the beauty of the cigar itself. The Honduran wrapper is deep, dark brown, with the appearance of rich leather. I found the medium bodied corojo to have a sophisticated feel with rich woodsy flavors of earth, leather, and mild pepper.

The firmly wrapped cigar has a harder draw than some (but not too hard), and is slow burning. The Leaf holds its flavor profile throughout the full smoke. It provides a rich smoke output but does not burn evenly and may need to be cleaned up mid-smoke.

All-in-all I found this to be a nice smooth relaxing smoke. Enjoyable, but nothing too crazy!

Wrapper: Honduran Corojo PuroBinder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras


Video review by Cigar Obsession: