Famous signature series by Rocky Patel

The Rocky Patel signature for Famous smokes shops signature series is very similar to the Vudu I reviewed a few days ago. Again like the Vudu this is yet another blend developed by APC and the taste to be quite honest is pretty much the same with just a little less spice. There's just something about this stick! When I clip it and take a cold draw I'm reminded of the mustiness of woods and the smell of fresh water. Very earthy and clean with a touch of cedar. As I sit on my balcony and smoke the pleasant and aromatic stick I am immediately taken from my balcony to a lakefront on a cool fall evening. The cigar provides a good amount of smoke and again the woods and earthen flavors are prominent. The burn is flawless needing no touch ups at all. The ash like the Vudu holds for about an inch then breaks cleanly. I sit on my balcony and effortlessly smoke this superb stick but as I said I could just as easily be smoking this while sitting on a fallen tree trunk looking out over the lake as the sun sets. Why don't I own a lake house again? I should really get my priorities in line. Any how if your lucky enough to come across the FSS Rocky Patel I urge you to give it a try, it's definitely earned a treasured place in my humidor.

Until next time...

Harry

The Vudu Robusto

I can't remember if I promised a review on the Rocky Patel Vudu or not. Regardless here it is. First off I feel it is worth mentioning that the Vudu of late has been one of my go to sticks. Developed by Amilcar Perez Castro for Rocky Patel the Vudu is a stronger fuller bodied stick than most of Rocky's blends. With a Nicaraguan binder and filler in a Mexican Maduro wrapper the Vudu has a nice kick to it. I keep both the Toro and Robusto stocked in my humidor and at a reasonable price why not?

The cut was flawless and the appearance while not spectacular was still pretty nice. The solid black ring with raised black lettering set against the dark Maduro wrapper just made me feel like a bad ass. The cold draw was pleasant with a little spice and a hint of grassiness. With the foot toasted the cigar lit up with no problem giving me a consistent burn to the nub. The initial flavors were very full and the spice was a nice peppery flavor with earthy tones. I was expecting a little leather based off the wrapper but surprisingly to me at least that flavor never came. The initial ash was very nice, tight and light grey holding for about an inch before breaking. About halfway through the stick the flavor mellowed slightly although the temperature remained consistent. Initially the mellowing of the stick was a bit of a let down but like a good fighter in the later rounds about a third of the way through it came out swinging packing that hearty punch I experienced early on.

Ultimately I truly love this stick and while it may not be the best on the market for the money it's hands down the best in it's price range. The taste while not to complex always leaves my palate satisfied. Pair it with a sweet bourbon and you can't go wrong.

I give this stick a solid 4.5 out of 5

Until next time...

Harry

At least I left with my dignity intact...

Friday was my final day at work. Sure I could've taken the day off like most people but I'm a committed individual so I show up for work. How am I rewarded for my hard work and dedication? I'm dressed in a cow costume and paraded around the facility for all to see. It was actually for a good cause. Dressing me up raised money for the United Way and as humiliating as it was I was glad to do it. Aside from the costume it was a bitter sweet farewell. I'd like to thank everyone who helped make my last day with UPS special. I will definitely miss each and every one of you.

Until tomorrow...

Harry

Kristoff Event

Just got back from the Kristoff Cigars Event hosted by J. Paul of Oxmoor Smoke Shoppe at 60 West Bistro and I must say I had a great time.  Aside from the fact there were no big giveaways or door prizes I cannot really complain.  They did however have a buy 3 get one free promotion which allowed me to grab 3 of their best selling Robusto's  and a freebie Kristoff Maduro. 4 cigars = 1 before dinner one after and 2 left to stock the humidor.  The atmosphere was great and the food equally so.  The setup was very nice, 60 West Bistro accommodated us with a very nice open aired room allowing for a pleasant breeze as well as an opportunity for the cigar smoke to escape to ensure we wouldn't be mistaken for a Cheech and Chong sequel. We started the night with a light appetizer of Chipotle Calamari accompanied by what started as 1 Stella only to quickly multiply as the night went on.  The calamari was delicious, a little spicy but that's the way I like it.  We followed up the appetizer with a meats flat bread pizza with white sauce that featured a home made maple fennel sausage that was absolutely wonderful.  I really cannot express how impressed I was with both the ambiance and the food of 60 West Bistro, honestly the cigars were just a bonus.  I look forward to future cigar events hosted by J. Paul and only hope the venues are as stimulating as 60 West Bistro.  Don't worry a review of the Kristoff Robusto will follow in the next day or two.

Until tomorrow... Good Night

Harry

2 in one night... must be someones lucky day

Imagine that.  I take two days off then follow it up with a two post night... I know what you're thinking and yes I am pretty damn amazing.  To be upfront and honest the first post was written earlier and just recently posted.  This update however is fresh out of the humidor.

As much as I like to support local and I do quite often, the truth of the matter is in order to try as many premium and quality cigars as I'd like I often have to leave the comfort of the cigar shops around town and venture forth via the internet in search of the biggest and greatest deals.  For the most part I've been lucky and manage to get good quality cigars that have been maintained, stored, and shipped correctly (it pays to research your retailer).  Over the weekend however I ran across an online retailer selling a Gurkha Super Premium Humidor Sampler which included 16 Gurkha Cigars and a "Gurkha Humidor" for a very low price of $69.  Not one to pass up a bargain I immediately secured my order and patiently waited like a kid on Christmas eve for my order to arrive. 4 magical days later I came home to as promised 16 very nice Gurkha cigars but a generic humidor ... that's right my Gurkha humidor had mysteriously transformed to a basic humidor fully emblazoned with the online retailers logo on the lid.  Not only had they run a bait and switch, they expected me to advertise for them as well.  Don't get me wrong the cigars I got for the money I paid was a very good value and the humidor was just a bonus, but don't advertise one thing and send me another.  Needless to say I made a phone call and did manage to get them to refund me $10.  A small win I suppose but I really wanted that humidor, Oh well I suppose that's what eBay's for.

Until tomorrow... goodnight

Harry

By the way, if you would like to see the Humidor I did not get it's pictured below.

Alan made me mention his name...

Sorry, for the lack of updates over the past two days, let us just say it has been one busy week. However, I was able to sit back, relax between games on Sunday, and enjoy a cigar and a few cold ones courtesy of my good friend Alan. I won’t say I purposely stopped by his house empty handed equipped only with my torch and cutter but it was his turn to come through with the sticks and come through he did. I was greeted immediately with a beer and a Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne Magnum Tubo which usually retails for around $10-12 at your local shop and new to me. I love trying new cigars and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. Aesthetically this cigar was beautiful. A well designed gold and black ring set against the smooth light colored Connecticut wrapper immediately set this cigar off. The cold draw was subtle with hints of chocolate and almonds. Once lit the burn was smooth and the ash was tight and light grey colored. The flavor started at a nice medium which with the help of the mild Connecticut wrapper mellowed to a slightly robust mild with a very silky smooth finish. Overall on a scale of 1-5 I would rate this cigar at about a 3.5

NFL week 2!

With all the college football last night I decided to give my pallet a rest.  Until I get a TV outside or find an industrial exhaust fan I'll definitely smoke fewer sticks during football season.  Apparently my predictions were a tad off last night as FSU fell to Oklahoma and Louisville managed to beat KY.  Go CARDS!  It looks like Oklahoma might just be the real deal this year.

NFL week 2 has got me super excited the Saints have a chance for redemption against the Bears after last weeks close loss and Tamp looks to handle a struggling Vikings team.  Not to mention my fantasy lineup is stacked.  Even with all the football excitement today I did manage to stop by one of the local cigar shops and grab a Gurkha Ninja Perfecto and a Camacho Room 101.  I can't wait for a little break in the action where I can sit back and enjoy one of these sticks.

Until later...

Harry

Bourbon Football and more Football

This week just happens to be the annual Bourbon Festival in Bardstown KY.  Normally I would be all about this but seeing as I missed the most important event last night "Bourbons Cigars and Jazz" I think I will forgo the entire festival as it happens to interfere with Football.

With many good college games today I can say with certainty that I will be enjoying some great football! The hardest choice will be when to change the Louisville / Kentucky game @ 7pm over to the FSU / Oklahoma @ 8pm. The early game being a rivalry with two at best lackluster teams, both seem to have a decent defense with UK having what appears to be the better offense.  As much as it pains me to say it I'm afraid UofL will suffer yet another defeat at the hands of our in state rivals.  Moving on to the real game, you know the one with BCS National Title implications.  I can not wait to see FSU whoop up on Oklahoma it's been almost a full decade since the Noles have had national title hopes and there still are some naysayers out there but rest assured they will be eating crow in the morning.

Not to disappoint the cigar enthusiast although I find bourbon, football and cigars go hand in hand.  None the less this is a cigar blog so I will leave you with a few pics of my Humidor not quite full yet but a few good sticks regardless.

It's Friday

Wow!  It's Friday night and I had an amazing day at work.  I'm not sure if it was due to how smoothly things ran or just the simple fact that by the end of today I only have 1 full week left before I move on to newer, bigger and better things. As I was nearing home I could not wait to crack open a Stella sit on the balcony, relax and enjoy a nice stick, and here I sit.  What better way to end a good day right?  I must say the beer and the cigar are excellent but I'll get to reviewing that at a later time.  At this moment what I want to talk about is the package that was awaiting me when I got home.

Now let me start by saying that I have been a huge fan of Xikar lighters.  From the very start despite the steep price (I learned quickly this was the rule rather than the exception when it comes to cigars) Xikar lighters are incredible whether you are toasting your very first stick, lighting up, or touching up a cigar you just can't go wrong. Trust me there is nothing worse than being out, going to light up and your torch suddenly decides to stop working. Unfortunately I didn't put that much thought into my cutter purchase and instead purchased a nice stainless steel double bladed guillotine cutter which until recently worked pretty well.  If I haven't mentioned this yet I happen to be the proud father of a 13 year old adorable and brilliant daughter, who as it turns out thinks that cigar cutters are best used to cut pencil erasers. For the past month I found myself saying a little prayer every time I made a cut and perhaps thanks to pure karma or some other divine intervention I've managed not to mangle one yet.  The good news is all the pencils in my house have cleanly sheared erasers.  As lucky as I have been I am not one to tempt fate so when a Xikar Xi2 cutter (See pictures below) came across my cigar monster Iphone app at an amazing $29 I purchased without hesitation, thus leading to the package waiting for me this evening.

With beer in hand and a delicious Vudu Robusto Maduro what better time to try this new cutter.  What can I say but WOW!  Xikar is officially the brand that I equate with quality when it comes to cigar accessories.  The Xi2 aside from looking sweet as hell cut through my cigar like it was butter, with virtually no effort at all.  Black sleek and sharp as a samurai sword I was hooked at first cut, not to mention Xikar's Lifetime warranty.   Needless to say my cigar loving friends can expect to get one of these from me come Christmas this year.

Until tomorrow... Good Night!

Harry

Welcome

Welcome to Harry's Cigar Experience!  As someone fairly new to the world of cigars I felt the best way to fully appreciate and experience this new world would be to share my experience with fellow cigar novices and aficionados alike.

Over the past year I have grown to appreciate the benefits of a truly remarkable cigar and look forward to sharing my adventures both past and future with you in the time to come. As I review new cigars along with providing recommendations and comparisons to what I consider to be some of my "go to sticks"  I encourage your participation and recommendations, and as any true adventurist I welcome any free Cigars you would like to send my way.

I look forward to the time we will spend together hopefully over nice bourbon and equally fine cigars!

Until tomorrow... Goodnight!

Harry