Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Cigar Bistro Cigar Review: Rocky Patel American Market Selection



CIGAR BISTRO Review
Rockey Patel American Market Selection
Vital Statistics:
Country: Handmade, Honduras
Size: Corona - 5 1/2 x 42
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan & Honduran combination
Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras
Strength: Mild







The Feel: The Rocky Patel AMS Corona is solid and well-packed, but lighter than it appears. The wrapper is tan/light brown and smooth.
The Smell: The RP AMS had a mild tobacco smell, prior to lighting. and others have described as "caramel." After it was lit, the RP AMS had a smooth "woodsy" flavor, with more of a "heavy cream" flavor after the halfway point.
The Cap: The cap was well-attached and cut easily.
The Draw: The draw of this Rocky Patel AMS was excellent.






Rockey Patel American Market Selection NOTES:

The RP AMS was a mild smoke. In fact, after first lighting this cigar, I struggled to taste all of the flavor.

I prefer heavier tasting cigars, so the fact that the Rocky Patel American Market Selection got "tastier" after the first 10 minutes or so--around the one-quarter smoked mark--made this corona more personally enjoyable after that point was reached.

Holding the smoke and slowly exhaling it, the flavors alternated between woodsy--some have called it "cedar-like"--and a smooth heavy cream taste. The flavors became became more distinct and enjoyable after the three-quarters mark--but that is just a personal preference.

One note to enjoying this cigar: take some extra between draws.


MORE on Rocky Patel American Market Selection Cigars.

Lush, mellow-smoking cigars from Rocky Patel in an affordably-priced 'American Market Selection.' Also referred to as 'AMS,' the term comes from the mild, light-colored wrappers that were preferred by American smokers early in the 20th Century. Blended with long-aged Nicaraguan & Honduran longfillers rolled in silky, Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers, the smoke is medium-bodied, creamy, and very aromatic with subtle flavors of sweet cedar and spice throughout. A *must-smoke* and a great buy!



FINAL VERDICT:

The RP American Market Selection was a good smoke. Was it a spectacular smoking event like some other cigars I've experienced? I can't honestly say that it was.

However, if you are looking for a mild, solid cigar--as I sometimes am--to smoke in between a couple of "heavy hitters," this Rocky Patel might just be the palate cleanser you're looking for.


FINAL CIGAR BISTRO SCORE:

Intangibles (Feel, Heft, Smell, Cap): 7.5
Wrapper: 8.5
Draw: 9.5
Flavor: 7.5
Aroma while Smoking: 8.5
Smoking Experience: 8
Value: 6

Total: 55.5/70

I smoked the Rocky Patel AMS corona twice: the first time after another mild-medium smoke; and, the second time, after a full-flavored cigar with a Maduro wrapper. Personally speaking, the second time was the more memorable of the two smokes.






by Mondo Frazier

images: DBKP Cigar Bistro;stoogie review; Famous Smoke Shop
Rocky Patel American Market Selection cigars obtained through: Trinity Insight LLC

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Cigar Bistro Cigar Review: CAO CX2 Robusto



CIGAR BISTRO Review
CAO Cx2
Vital Statistics:
Country: Handmade, Nicaragua
Size: Robusto - 5 x 52
Wrapper: Cameroon - double wrapper
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Colombia, Nicaragua
Strength: Medium







The Feel: The CAO Cx2 has a nice, solid feel to it. The wrapper was dark brown and luxuriously smooth with a very slightly oily texture.
The Smell: The Cx2 had a--what other way to put it?--smell of fine tobacco mixed with other scents that some have called "cocoa" and others have described as "caramel." In spite of a prolonged session of slowly taking in the Cx2 aroma before it was lit, I couldn't settle on a definitive descriptor. I will say that it was "delightful" and reminded me of the smells one encounters on entering a well-kept cigar shop.
The Cap: The cap was firmly attached and cut easily.
The Draw: Despite the heft, the draw was excellent. Sometimes, well-packed cigars have a problem with the draw. The two CAO Cx2 Robustos I smoked both had an excellent draw.






CAO CX2 NOTES:

The CAO CX2 presented one problem, which was a pleasant one: I couldn't quite make out the extra flavors in the aroma. The flavors changed from a lighter (woody?) mix--when the CX2 was first lit--to a heavier (coffee? caramel?) flavor as the cigar's halfway point was reached.

Over it all, an earthy taste of fine tobacco prevailed. It was the additional pleasant flavors which contributed to the aroma which were harder to nail down.

In fact, I left my desk and retired to lie down on the couch, the better to concentrate on the captivating flavors swirling about me. Alas, it wasn't much help. It was a particularly pleasant problem to have.

The one thing that was distinctive: the CAO CX2 Robusto was a good smoke right up until it was too short to hold comfortably. There are some cigars that are best abandoned 1-2 inches from completion. Not the CAO CX2.


MORE on CAO CX2 Cigars.

CAO CX2 cigars (Cameroon times two) present a rich-tasting, medium-bodied cigar brimming with velvety-smooth flavor and a seductive aroma. Now made expressly for Famous Smoke Shop, these cigars have a perfectly-balanced blend of robust Nicaraguan and Colombian longfiller tobaccos surrounded by TWO rare, Grade-1 African Cameroon binder and wrapper leaves. The smoke is laden with earthy-woody flavors underscored by sweet tobacco notes. One of CAO's BEST cigars.



FINAL VERDICT:

Despite not being able to quite put my finger on the hints of flavors the cigar contained, the CAO CX2 was a fine smoke. Unlike some cigars which disappoint the second time around, the subsequent smoking of a second CAO CX2 was a no less rewarding experience.


FINAL CIGAR BISTRO SCORE:

Intangibles (Feel, Heft, Smell, Cap): 9
Wrapper: 10
Draw: 9.5
Flavor: 9
Aroma while Smoking: 9
Smoking Experience: 9
Value: 9

Total: 64.5/70

All in all, I look forward to next being reacquainted with the CAO CX2. Perhaps then, those other fainter, more elusive flavors will give up their secret.



by Mondo Frazier

images: DBKP; Famous Smoke Shop
CAO CX2 obtained through: Trinity Insight LLC

























WHAT PEOPLE PAY TONY PODESTA $1000 AN HOUR TO DO.

Tony Podesta is in the news because he lobbies for BP, public enemy No. 1 in President Obama’s Washington after a BP-rented oil rig blew up and started gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico 63 days ago.

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, it would be business as usual at Guantanamo long after the election. And they were right!
--June 26, 2010

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, THOUGHT POLICE WOULD ARREST PEOPLE FOR PASSING OUT LITERATURE THAT OFFENDED RELIGOUS FUNDAMENTALISTS. AND THEY WERE RIGHT! Video: Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival?

--June 23, 2010



They told me if I voted for McCain, Washington would be run by insider fatcats and their corporate tools. And they were right!
--June 22, 2010


THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR MCCAIN, AMERICANS WOULD BE SHUNNED ABROAD — And they were right!

American expatriates are fast becoming the world’s financial refugees. Onerous legislation from the U.S. government is making it too difficult – and too expensive – for banks to service U.S. citizens that live abroad. Expats are being left with a fast diminishing range of options. An increasing number are taking the most drastic step and renouncing their citizenship.

Ouch.

--June 20, 2010


THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR MCCAIN, WE’D SEE BLUENOSES TRYING TO SCORE CHEAP POLITICAL POINTS OVER PORN. And they were right! “Porn-busting isn’t just for Republicans anymore –and Democrats hope preventing sexual predation and dirty pictures in the world of federal mortgage insurance will give them a little lift at election time.”

--June 12, 2010


THE COVER UP IS WORSE THAN THE OIL SLICK: Tom Maguire: “They told me if I voted for McCain that the scientific process would be politicized…”
--June 10, 2010





THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, WE’D SEE NEWS CHOKED OFF TO PROTECT THE REGIME: And they were right! “Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials. To some critics of the response effort by BP and the government, instances of news media being kept at bay are just another example of a broader problem of officials’ filtering what images of the spill the public sees.”
--June 10, 2010
























NATIONAL DEFICIT COMMISSION MEMBER: “The market-worshipping, privatizing, de-regulating, dehumanizing American financial plan has failed and should never be revived.”

It’s hardly surprising that President Obama’s deficit commission has become a font of unintended (if wince-inducing) hoo-larity. Nor is it a shocker that diabolically effective labor organizer Andy Stern would be brazen about re-molding government to benefit public sector workers at the direct expense of the rest of us. Still, there’s something irritating about seeing a presidentially appointed deficit commissioner and inner circle FoB uncork statements like these.

They told me that if we elected Barack Obama President, we’d see commie labor goons attacking the free market with official sanction. And they were right!

--June 9, 2010


THEY TOLD ME IF WE ELECTED BARACK OBAMA THEY’D BE putting up statues of Stalin around our nation’s capital. And they were right!
--June 7, 2010

About Me

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Editor and write daily at End Times Prophecy Report. http://endtimesprophecyreport.wordpress.com Regularly at Death By 1000 Papercuts.