Even with the shortened review format there’s no time to do reviews of everything, so I thought I’d drop a “once in a while” collection of cigars I’ve been smoking along with very brief thoughts.
Foundation Cigars, Charter Oak Shade
I keep coming back to these milder cigars, made by the AJ Fernandez Cigar factory for Foundation…they’re just plain good for a veritable bargain price.
Foundation Cigars, Wise Man Maduro, 2024
Foundation moved production of this blend from Aganorsa Leaf to My Father Cigars, and the results are predictably great. I liked the old blend…almost love the new one.
Aganorsa Leaf, Arsenio, 2024
Another dormant label gets reblended by Aganorsa. This medium bodied Nicaraguan puro is far better than I remember the old blend being…although, to be fair, it’s been at least a decade since I had the old one. Expensive, but really good.
Blackened S84 Shade to Black by Drew Estate
I think they missed a marketing opportunity with this one…instead of “Shade to Black” it could have been the equally-dad-joke-worthy “Blackened Mild.” I wasn’t crazy about this one when I first tried it, but it’s grown on me and now I find myself reaching for it almost every time I buy Drew Estate cigars. Really very good milder cigar.
Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Reserva Broadleaf
How much do I love what Pete Johnson does with Broadleaf Maduro in the Tatuaje lines? Some of my favorite cigars, to be honest…Pete honors the sweet and spicy aspects of this wrapper so well that I’d be willing to buy a box of just about any of his blends that use it. I hope they never go out of style…or if they do, I hope Pete just doesn’t care and keeps on making them.
