DogWatch Cigar Radio Episode # 294 - Space Coast of Colorado

This week Bob interviews Abe Flores from Pinar del Rio.  Also this week, John Richardson, General Manager of A Little Taste of Cuba cigar shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania is the guest on"What's Hot, What's Not, What's Next."   

Cigar of the Week - La Aurora Guillermo Leon

Dark Side - SAN CRISTOBAL MURALLA 7x54

What else have you been smokin' Dale? 

San Lotano Maduro Toro - from TBOTLCH

Master by Carlos Torano

PDR 1878 Cubano Especial

Fonseca Cubano Limitado

What else have you been smokin' Bob?  

13th Floor Robusto - This is an interesting cigar with some unusual flavors and great construction.

Don Kiki Brown and Green - Not something I would have normally picked up to smoke as they do not resonate with me; well they didn't before now. This is really a well made cigar with smooth flavors of tobacco, very slight spice and a light savoryness that made for a very pleasant smoke.

Di Fazio Red Label - Honduran Puro

La Aurora 107 Robusto

Tatuaje La Verite - Thanks to Tobacconist University for providing me with this fine cigar to review.

I was fortunate to see these cigars while still in the aging room at My Father Cigars in Estelli. Pete was like a proud Papa when he showed us the shelves full of these beautiful sticks. For those of you that may not know, the la Verite is a special project of Pete Johnson and Pepin Garcia to produce a cigar containing only tobacco from a single year and a single vega (farm). Something that has not been done or even considered in the cigar business before now. When the project was first announced it caused a wave of discussion amongst cigar enthusiasts, not for its proposed recipe but for its proposed sales methodology. Pete had intended to sell futures in the cigar much like is done with wines. In the wine business it is common for certain vintages to be 'pre-sold' prior to being tasted outside of the vineyard. This is in essence a speculation on the final quality of the product with the hope that the investor will realize financial gain by buying in early at a discount and that the final street price will be higher. It was a revolutionary concept for the cigar industry and unfortunatley for Pete and Pepin, it was not well received by enough of the consumer market to be a success. Nonetheless, the cigars were being produced anyway and now they are available to the public with a production of 20,000 cigars - 400 boxes of 25 and 1000 boxes of 10.

This cigar has a very nice body and a clean burn.  It tastes very peppery with a grass undertone and a metallic retrohale.  But the pepper was the dominant flavor. Pepper is easy to identify once you learn to recognize the sharpness on the edges of your tongue and the back of your jaw.

One thing I really enjoyed was the aroma of this smoke. It was beautiful through the nose, intensifying the flavor without being overpowering. The entire smoke was consistently smooth. There was a bit of a dry finish but nothing harsh or unpleasant to me. Cedar was especially prominent at the beginning of the smoke, but more complexity with earth flavors came forward as the smoke continued.

This is not a powerhouse, but a medium bodied smoke with some lovely characteristics. At $20 a stick it isn’t a daily smoke, but one for special occasions. As they are from a single crop and vintage, they are limited. I think this will be a nice addition to the Tatuaje line.

What's My Band? - #932 from Liz; AJ. Fuego Natural

September Palio Cutter Contest Winner:  Kris Allen from Mineral Wells, Tx won the classic black Palio Cutter.  Enter the October contest now to win a gold Palio Cutter.

Herf line from ER Doc on the LFD Air Bender and a Happy Birthday to Dale herf Line from Angry Bill.

Do you have a Herf Line Review?  If you call and leave a cigar review on the herf line and it is played on the show, you will receive a DogWatch Cigar Radio patch! You can reach the Herfline at 321-594-4373 - or cigar.radio on Skype. You can also send email to theshow@cigarmedia.tv.

Origin of the term HERF: From Cigar Craig, http://cigarcraig.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/the-origin-of-the-word-herf/

Do you have a suggestion for the unbanded cigar of the week?  Every week Bob and Dale include an “unbanded cigar” segment in their show in which they smoke a cigar without any markings and give their honest opinions.  Bob then opens a sealed envelope and discovers the cigar’s name and manufacturer.  If you have suggestions for the "What's My Band?" segment, please send them to liz@cigarmedia.tv.

Thanks to Michael Howe for bumpers and special effects in this show.

Music provided by the Figurados from their new album, "Lesson Two," and The Surfonics. 

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