Now working at Bull and Bear Tobacco shop!

Its no secret that I have been wanting to work in the cigar business for quite some time now, and now I am! I will be working at one of my favorite cigar shops, Bull and Bear in St. Charles a few days a week starting this coming week. My schedule is going to be crazy now that I am working 2 jobs, but having this as a second job will be fantastic! I finally get to put my cigar knowledge and experience to some use! The group of people working at Bull and Bear are great, and I am really looking forward to joining the team they have there. So, anyone in the St. Charles area stop by for a few cigars in the lounge and keep an eye out for our upcoming events. Ill try to remember to post a blog for every event we are having. There is one coming up Friday, November 27th for the Punch Upper Cut, but I won't be there unfortunately.

1 W. Illinois Street - Fox Island Square - Saint Charles, Illinois
630.513.9345
http://www.bullandbearcigars.com/index.html

Cruzado Domenicos

Todays review is of another cigar by Dion Giolito, the man behind Illusione. This is his second line of cigars, called Cruzado. I am smoking the corona gorda, a 5 5/8 X 46 cigar. This is a Nicaraguan Puro like the Illusione, and has a dark Criollo wrapper with a really nice looking pigtail cap. Dion said he toned these down by using Viso leaf instead of the stronger Ligero.Visually this is a great looking cigar with a much more ornate band than on the Illusiones. I really like the silver and black with the gold trim.

The predraw flavor is of dank earth. After lighting, there is definitely some spice to this blend, along with dark chocolate and something similar to citrus zest on the finish. After getting a little further into this cigar, a leathery flavor shows up and seems to be the flavor at the core of this cigar. That citrus zest disappeared quickly and a slight sweetness joins the mix. This is a very complex cigar with an amazing array of flavors that are constantly shifting around the leathery backbone of the blend. This is not a cigar you will get bored smoking with flavors that change after every few draws. The burnline is dead even and the ash isnt the strongest, falling off at a little under half an inch. I am blown away at how clean and crisp this cigar's flavors are.

Smoke this cigar. Find out if your local has them, if they dont, order them. I am a huge fan of the Illusione, and wasn't sure if this line would be able to live up to them, and it does. It is a very different smoke compared to the Illusione line, but definitely as good. It is a solid medium bodied cigar with a very full, complex flavor. The construction on these is flawless. Dion's cigars have become a definite favorite for me, right up there with Tatuaje. These aren't cheap, around 9 bucks a piece if i remember correctly, so I won't be smoking them everyday. Even saying that, I am definitely going to try to get a few more to have in my humidor.

Cain Maduro Torpedo

I previously reviewed the Cain Habano torpedo, and todays review is of the Maduro Torpedo. This is the same size as the Habano, a 6x54. The Maduro wrapper on this cigar is very dark and nice and oily. The cigar feels very firm in hand, and the white band at the foot creates a nice visual of contrasting colors with the wrapper. I am not going to go into detail about the blend, as I already did that in spades with the Cain Habano review.

I had to cut a little more off than i prefer on a torpedo because the head was cracked from shipping. The predraw flavors are very similar to the Habano, with plenty of leather and earth, but with a slightly sweeter edge to it. Once lit, this cigar starts off nice and smooth with a sweeter flavor profile than the Habano. There are some definite semi-sweet chocolate flavors, mixed with a woodiness at the core of this smoke. Maduro wrappers tend to lend that rich, sweet characteristic to cigars in my opinion. (this isn't always the case, it depends on the blend they are wrapped around and how that flavor plays with the other leaf) There is a little bit of spice on the finish, along with a leathery and earthy flavor. The burn is slightly uneven, but a few passes of the torch fixed it right up.

After the first inch or so, this cigar settles down to a pretty typical maduro flavor, and is a solid full bodied smoke. To be honest, the flavor of this cigar is a little boring to me at this point. This is definitely not a very complex cigar, and I have already come to the conclusion that I prefer the Habano if I am going to smoke a Cain. These are really well constructed cigars though and have a very strong ash that holds on for well over an inch. This is one of those cigars I kind of wish I had smoked outside, the smoke is very heavy and a little on the acrid side.

If you like full bodied cigars and maduro wrappers, then you might like this one. Compared to the Habano, this cigar fell short in the flavor department, and wasn't as full bodied either. To be perfectly honest, this cigar didn't really do much for me. The Habano was a much better cigar as far as my palate goes. The flavor was on the one dimensional side with a typical maduro flavor, nothing special. The habano wasn't the most complex cigar, but it had more going for it than this one. The first inch of this cigar was promising, but after that it didn't really go anywhere. I may be a little bias though, as I definitely prefer a habano wrapper to maduros. Ill pass on this cigar in the future.

Here is a side by shot of both the Habano and Maduro to really show the difference in wrappers:

Cain Habano Torpedo

The Cain is a new cigar for the year by Sam Leccia (maker of the Nub)/Oliva cigars. This cigar is supposedly a strait Ligero cigar, Ligero being the strongest/most full flavored of the different grades of leaf. Now, when I first heard this, i figured this would be unsmokable and way too powerful to even enjoy. The way they were able to make a strait ligero cigar was by triple fermenting the leaf. I copied this next paragraph from the Cain website to helps explain this process:

"Fermentation is where the real magic occurs. After curing, the tobacco leaves have all their potential locked inside. It is through patient and vigilant handling that the leaves are brought to the desired result. The tobacco leaves are placed into groups of 20-25 leaves called "Manos". The "Manos" are then stacked in large piles called, "Pilones". Inside these "Pilones" the tobacco can reach temperatures as high as 120 degrees. The inner most tobacco generates the most heat. The "Pilon" is rotated often to allow for even heat exposure. No automation is used in this critical process. It is the work a tobacco man and his instincts. Triple Fermentation is a process by which we bring the tobacco up to temperature three seperate times. This was imperative in making Cain because of the mission to make a Straight Ligero cigar. The Ligero tobacco can take sustained temperature as a result of its thicker character. Through this careful process we brought out all of the deepest richest flavors of the Ligeros. This also allowed us to smooth the jagged delivery of flavor into a very full body yet smooth curve."

As to the blend of this cigar, it has 3 types of Nicaraguan Ligero leaf (Ligero comes from the top leaves of the tobacco plant and receives more sunlight, which darkens and thickens the leaf). The first is Esteli Ligero, which is the strongest of all Ligeros. The second is Condega Ligero, grown north of Esteli Nicaragua and is supposed to be a little tamer and add a rich complexity. The third and final ligero is Jalapa and is grown in the northern most part of Nicaragua in a valley, so it receives less sunlight than the other 2. This ligero is supposed to be the smoothest with a very complex array of flavors. (after doing a little research, i found that this is technically not a 100% ligero cigar, but more like 82% because a strait ligero cigar would have major issues burning correctly)

I am reviewing the Habano (they also make a maduro) in the torpedo size, measuring in at 6x54. The construction on this cigar looks fantastic, with a nice toothy and oily Habano wrapper. This is a very solid cigar, just loaded with very rich smelling tobacco. I am expecting a very full bodied cigar, but am hoping, especially with Oliva behind this one, that it will not just be a one trick pony. A lot of these very full bodied cigars suffer from just being strong with no complexity or enjoyable flavors.

The prelight draw shows an earthy, leathery flavor, with no apparent spice. This lack of spice certainly isn't the case once you light it! Right away you get a very earthy, rustic flavor with plenty of spice to back it up. This has a deep, dark flavor, but is surprisingly very smooth to start. So far this is an enjoyable cigar, definitely full bodied but not overwhelmingly so. The smoke is so thick its as if you could almost chew it. The burn and draw are pretty much perfect at this point. I have a feeling that the strength of this is going to sneak up on me and smack me over the head...

After getting into this cigar a little further, a slightly sweet characteristic joins the flavor profile, as well as something similar to black cherry. It may just be that this cigar is a little youthful, but there is just a touch of roughness from it on the back of my throat. After about 2 inches, I am definitely starting to feel the strength of this cigar. While it is still smooth and tasty, It has me just a little jittery. This is not for the faint of heart. I am used to smoking full bodied cigars, but for someone who isn't, this would be a bit overwhelming.

Overall, the Cain Habano is a tasty cigar, but not an everyday smoke. All that ligero makes for one powerful cigar! This is not a cigar to have while doing anything other than sitting back and enjoying it after a big meal. If you are a fan of powerful cigars, but still want a heavy dose of flavor to go along with it (and dont mind losing control of minor motor skills while smoking it) than this is definitely one to try. This isn't the most complex cigar on the market, but doesn't suffer from all power and no flavor like some out there do. I don't know yet if this will become a regular in my rotation, but I will probably keep a couple on hand for when I feel like getting my ass handed to me by a cigar. (I have smoked 2 of these so far, the first being the one i reviewed. The 2nd Habano I smoked had a little less power and was a more enjoyable cigar. This shows a little inconsistency with this line, but I think it could be due to them pushing them out of the factory early and just needing some more time to rest)

As a side note, if the Cain isn't powerful enough for you (if its not, you have some serious issues) they make another called the Cain F, which stands for Fuerte. (strong in Spanish) This is the Cain on steroids and I definitely do not recommend it if you aren't a seasoned cigar smoker who enjoys full bodied cigars. They are VERY powerful.