One Minute Review- Benji Menendez Partagas Master Series Majestuoso

I know, I know, this is supposed to be the Padron Millennium review, but those photos take a while to get together...I promise it will be up on Monday morning :)

I smoked the Benji Menendez Partagas Master Series Majestuoso (a name that takes longer the say then smoke, btw) last night, a 6x46 Dominican cigar made with a blend of Cameroon wrapper, Havana seed binder grown in Connecticut, piloto Cubano filler from the Dominican Republic, and two types of Nicaraguan filler--ligero from the Estelí region and leaf from the volcanic island of Ometepe.

Only 5,000 boxes of the Majestuoso will be released, each of which contains 20 cigars. They will go on sale in October at a suggested retail price of $9.98 per cigar.

The wrapper is a great golden brown, and the cigar is very firm when squeezed...very little smell to the wrapper, and I love the band (just a simple green band with Benji's name in script in gold)...Simple and elegant...

The cigar starts off with a bit of spice and pepper, and with a very nice woodsy flavor (kind of a cross between oak and cedar) with a sweet undertone...Honestly, the flavors did not change much for the whole stick, and the pepper/spice levels never got above medium, but everything was balanced extremely well...the stick never got harsh, (all the way to the nub), the burn and draw were wonderful and it was a very pleasant, albeit one dimensional smoke...I recommend it for someone looking for some great flavors in a mild to medium smoke...Although honestly, for the price, there are better sticks out there that are easier to find...

Final Score: 86

Icons of Cigars™ Portraits- Pete Johnson

When Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars came to Cigar Shop and More for an event, I asked to see if I could photograph him for my Icons of Cigars™ project...He said yes, and below is the resulting photograph...

Space Filler Post- Packages going out...

So, I am working on my next review, and needed a bit more time, so I thought I would post a photo of all of the packages going out tomorrow...These are either bombs, trades, contest winnings or (a few) sales...there are some great sticks in there, and this is even before I start sending out Boris and Dracs :)

Coming This Week:

• Tuesday: Portrait of Pete Johnson for Icons of Cigars Series
• Wednesday: Padron Millennium Maduro Review
• Thursday: 1930's Robt. Burns Review for Vintage Smokes Series
• Friday: Something I have not thought of yet...

Dallas Cowboys Contest- Week 8- Win a Fuente 8-5-8 Sungrown!

After their great win last week, the Cowboys are back again today playing the Seahawks, so it is time for another contest! This time, I think I will award something nice and rare, an A.Fuente 8-5-8 Sungrown...Great stick, and not the easiest smoke to find :)

You can read the rules of the contest here...Basically, if the Cowboys win on Sunday (today), you post a comment starting immediately after the game ends, and the person whose comment was posted closest to the time that I have already determined (and written down) wins :)

The Game starts at 12:00pm (Central Time-the BEST time zone!), and I will be in front of my TV, waiting with baited breath...

(the photograph is of the box of 8-5-8 Sungrowns, but you will only get one if you win :)

As always, go Cowboys :)

"Hangin with Pete"...A new movie coming to theatres near you!

When I heard that Pete Johnson (of Tatuaje Cigars fame) was going to be at my local store, Cigar Shop and More, I made plans to attend...I had never met him (although we had talked many times about various things) and I was looking forward to putting a (actual) face to a name...I am not sure what I expected, but I was astounded by the fact that he sat down with a few of us BOTL for about an hour or so (in the middle of the chaos of signings and having his photo taken with various people) and shot the shit with us...we talked about cigars mostly, and the amount of passion that he has for his business is extremely evident...Being an artist by trade myself, I know how rare it is to find someone who truly loves what they do (and is lucky enough to get paid to do it full time)...

During the night, he handed me a prerelease of the new International El Triunfador ("Tabacos El Triunfador") Lancero(ish) (although he made me smoke it and photograph it right in front of him!) and gave a few of us lucky enough to be there at the time an never to be released stick (think only 25 in the world)...Reviews coming soon :)

But the highlight of the night for me was that he agreed to allow me to photograph a portrait of him (as I did for "Pepin" Garcia when he came to town) for my Icons of Cigars series...The actual portrait will be posted next week, but for now, I tracked down some video that a great BOTL Brian took of the actual photoshoot while it was taking place (and asked his permission to post, of course)...

That constant clicking in the background is my shutter going off :)