Featured Cigar Dimensions

Brand Name:	Shape	Size	Strength	Country	Panel Rating
A. CAO Black Storm	Robusto	5 x 50	7.5	Honduras	92
B. Carlos Toraño 1959 Exodus	Toro	6 x 50	7.0	Honduras	93
C. Conga by La Perla Habana	Toro	6 x 50	6.5	Dominican	92
D. Felipe Gregorio Dominicana	Torpedo	6 x 52	5.5	Dominican	91
E. Vintage 1990 by Rocky Patel	Churchill	7 x 48	6.5	Honduras	94

Welcome Original Cigar Club Members!

Before we begin the cigar reviews, we’d like to extend a warm welcome to members of our Original Cigar Club who have recently upgraded to our Select Series Club! We’re glad you’ve joined us and hope you enjoy this club where we feature the very finest cigars we have to offer. Welcome to the club!

CAO Black Storm Robusto

You’ve probably heard of CAO Cigars; with their consistently solid smokes, they’re reputation continues to grow right along with their swelling fan base. Three years ago they were able to act on a long time goal by resurrecting the CAO Black line. CAO Black was actually the first cigar created by founder Cano A. Ozgener. Once their flagship line, as the Ozgener family turned their attention to furthering the success of their other lines, the CAO Black was taken off of the market. The move was always seen as temporary by Cano, son Tim and daughter Aylin, who decided to wait for the right opportunity to re-introduce the CAO Black label on a grand scale. After many years of successful marketing and reputation building, the family felt that they had reached a milestone point where they could create their finest cigar to date—it was only natural that such a cigar would be under the CAO Black label. We’re sure you’ll agree—they’ve struck gold (Black gold that is)—this is one of the finest cigars produced by the acclaimed cigar maker.

CAO’s superior reputation is reinforced by all features of this cigar—from construction to flavor and everything in between. The CAO Black tobacco blend was crafted using extensively aged, primo tobaccos. Care has obviously been put in to this cigar; note the packaging—wrapped in cedar and accentuated with a black, shiny, garter-like band at the foot. The wrapper is Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut shade, the binder is Nicaraguan-grown Habano-seed, and the filler is a complex blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Mexican tobaccos. This is a very complex cigar that is medium-to-full-bodied. We found that it was loaded with creamy, spicy flavors, with hints of vanilla and notes of pepper and wood. Look for it to mellow nicely about a third of the way through and offer plenty of smoke volume throughout. An excellent choice to pair with a full bodied cabernet or port wine.

Carlos Toraño 1959 Exodus Gold Toro

Carlos Toraño cigars are recognized and resilient characters in the tobacco industry—they’ve been around for nearly 90 years! Their four generations of family cigar-making tradition began back in 1916 when Don Santiago Toraño emigrated from Spain to Cuba. After the Cuban revolution of 1959, his son Carlos would forever change the tobacco industry by introducing the concept of growing Cuban seed tobacco plants in the Dominican Republic. The seeds he brought from Cuba to the Dominican Republic yield tobacco that is today known as ‘Piloto Cubano’—a term you may be familiar with—which we can all enjoy these days due to the instincts of this cigar maestro. Since Carlos’ untimely death, his son, Carlos A. Toraño has continued the family business, expanding tobacco-growing to Nicaragua, Mexico and Ecuador, while also bringing Carlos Sr.’s grandson in to the trade.

Today, the company is the only family cigar business to own and operate three cigar factories in each of the leading cigar producing countries (Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic). It is at these famed factories that they continue making classic cigars such as the Tribute, Cameroon, Select and Signature lines, as well as a host of other private brands such as CAO and La Perla Habana (see above and below).
The 1959 Exodus Gold we’ve selected for you commemorates the mass departure of expert Cuban cigar families and their impact on the cigar industry after the nationalization of all tobacco farms and cigar factories by the Cuban government in 1959. The Toraños were one of those very important families. The Toraño Exodus Gold is filled with creamy and herbal tones. After lighting, you should immediately notice creamy, slightly spicy, nutty notes. The taste is medium-to-full-bodied, powered mainly by the Habano ‘H-2000’ wrapper, accompanied by a complex, five-country blend of Dominican, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Costa Rican tobaccos. It is excellently constructed with a perfectly saturated draw. Pair with a Nut Brown Ale like Newcastle.

Conga by La Perla Habana Toro

Conga is a festive and flavorful extension of the La Perla Habana Black Pearl line. La Perla Habana is generally regarded as today’s top boutique brand, consistently receiving the highest of ratings from Cigar Insider, Cigar Aficionado, and SMOKE Magazine alike. The brilliant work of aficionados Sergio Cuevas and Doug Wood is undeniable here; the blend is complex and exceptionally flavorful. And how could they go wrong? This cigar is born and raised in phenomenal cigar-making company—it comes to us from the Carlos Toraño factory in Danli, Honduras and is produced under the attentive eye of Fidel Oliva. So what makes this cigar unique? Well, for starters, there’s the interesting “conga drum” style box it comes packaged in, another fun feature to this light-hearted cigar. But make no mistake—fun and lightheartedness aside, this is a serious effort and a solid smoke. More impressive than the cool packaging is the wrapper—a prized, Brazilian-grown Arapiraca leaf which is as exotic and rare as it is delicious. What’s more, the ingeniously blended combination of Nicaraguan and Honduran long fillers and Javan binder skillfully bring out the unique flavors of its exceptional wrapper.

We really loved this cigar from its amusing label design to its nice fat ring gauge. Note the excellence of its construction and appearance: densely packed with top-tier tobaccos and exhibiting a properly oily sheen. We savored the outstandingly smooth, robust tobacco flavor, mellow spice and heaps of complex flavors. Note the stiff white ash, indicating properly aged tobaccos, and a growing pepperiness that always remains downy smooth as you make your way through this cigar. Honestly, we don’t feel its necessary to say much about this cigar—it truly speaks for itself. Throw on any record with the words “Buena Vista Social Club” in the title, pour yourself some warm dark rum and just try to fight the urge to dance. When you concede, don’t burn your partner with that fine stogie!

Felipe Gregorio Dominicana Torpedo

The Felipe Gregorio line of cigars is beloved the world over. Founder Philip Wynne, was born and raised in Switzerland. After graduating from college and working a number of years in the Middle East selling helicopters, he decided to start his own cigar business in 1988. Because he grew up in Europe where Cuban cigars were legal, when he decided to get into the cigar business, the haunting flavors of all the Cuban cigars smoked in his youth were still vivid on his palate. He wanted to produce cigars similar to the many Cuban brands he grew up with; in other words, strong.

Made in the Dominican Republic, the Felipe Dominicana series was the first Felipe Gregorio cigar made outside of his Nicaraguan factories. Philip was led to the Dominican Republic by none other than Frank Sinatra. Mr. Harvey Chaplin, the owner of Southern Wine & Spirits, contacted Philip and told him that they had chosen Felipe Gregorio to make a cigar that would carry Frank Sinatra’s name. He was doubly honored—not only was he to make the cigar, but Sinatra himself insisted that the box read “Sinatra by Felipe Gregorio”. Frank’s people had only one, small request—that the cigar be made in the Dominican Republic. Philip explained to them that he had no factory there and they simply told him to build one. We’ve heard it was tough to say no to Frank’s “people”, and Philip wasn’t about to reject the honor and opportunity. Thus, Tabacalera Real de Felipe Gregorio was born.

Rolled with Havana-seed Nicaraguan filler, Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf, these cigars are mild-to-medium-bodied, with a creamy, peppery taste and wonderful aroma. Note the excellent construction—seamless and smooth with the perfect amount of oil in the wrapper. It delivers an earthy complexity with plenty of spicy coffee bean flavors and aromas with peppery, oaken notes. Very rich tasting, creamy, robust, yet extremely smooth as a result of the use of 1999 Tabacage. Expect a finish that is spicy and woody, with a subtle nuttiness. Enjoy it with a Madeira wine—we suggest Opici.

Vintage 1990 by Rocky Patel Churchill

Good old Indian Tabac—always putting out such incredible cigars! Actually, the fact that they’ve only been around since 1995 makes them less than old. But their phenomenal success in such a brief period of time is a testament to their dedication to producing super-premium class cigars. Founder Rakesh (Rocky) Patel has quickly made the contacts necessary to produce cigars of the highest quality. Their cultivation areas are located in the beautiful Jamastran Valley of Honduras and the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua. They recently left their fabrication area in Danli, Honduras in favor of a modern production area in San Martos, Honduras. And the owner of the production area is none other than the legendary cigar plantation baron Nestor Placencia.

The Vintage line is considered the best Indian Tabac has created to date. The wrapper tobaccos are the key—absolutely incredible and aged to perfection. They cover an ultra-premium blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan Ligero leaf that’s older than the company itself! The line comes in two styles, the Vintage 1990 and the Vintage 1992. The 1990 is a tantalizing 14 year old natural Broadleaf wrapper from Honduras that delivers a medium-bodied, complex smooth-rich flavor. The 1992 is a dark, beautiful 12 year old Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. It’s medium-bodied with a creamy, nutty, and full flavor. We’ve opted to ship the truly distinctive Vintage 1990, and one look at its gorgeous oily wrapper will give you a clue as to why. But the real reason we selected this variety is the flavor—slightly sweet, deceptively strong, and offering tons of complexity. Expect an intense cigar that never overwhelms the palate despite its firm spiciness. Note the long-lasting peppery finish that ends with a tasty, sweet note. Powerfully smooth—and well suited to enjoy with a brandy of your choice.

ASK MURL

Hey Murl,

For the benefit of your club members, could you take a moment to explain the meaning of the words Ligero, Seco and Volado. While I rarely see the word Volado in your fine club’s newsletters, I feel that for the sake of completeness, it ought to be discussed. I’ve been smoking premium cigars for 22 years now, so I’m familiar—but I figure at least some of your readers will find it worthwhile reading.

Langston Murphy
Upper Saddle River, NJ

Yo Murph!

Listen bucko, all my columns are “worthwhile reading”. Even if I sat here and wrote nothing more than a few words about cigars, opting instead to talk about the disturbing trend of sweater vests for dogs. Hello people? We already have coats—no need to humiliate the entire species with a designer doggie GAP polo. And do you really think those things keep your best friends warm? Please… It goes down to about the belly, entirely covering the chest—among my best features I might add—why cover that up? You wouldn’t wear 3-D glasses to view the Venus de Milo would you? It’s gorgeous the way it is, unadulterated and raw, much like my fine canine self… Anyway, back to what I was saying, the so called “warm and toasty” doggie sweaters… Ever notice how they cover merely the upper one third of the canine physique, while the real meat and potatoes are just as bare as they day we hit the litter? If you consider the fact that the real purpose here is for folks to dress their dogs up like people, these are ‘people’ without pants… This look may have worked for Donald Duck, but as far as I’m concerned, it just looks obscene… not to mention, how should I say, frou-frou and ridiculous… Hmmmm… frou-frou and obscene at the same time… reminds me of a certain Bichon Frise lady-friend I used to hang with… ahhh, the glory days…

Now look here—I’ve proved my point—a worthwhile column even without much about cigars. Tell ya what Langston, I’ll write my column the way I see fit—no need for suggestions. But just so you know, I agree, a brief discussion of the cigar terms you mention couldn’t hurt. Ligero, Seco and Volado refer to the classification of leaf types present on all tobacco plants, irrespective of variety. They come from different parts of the plant, and every cigar should, truth be told, have some combination of these leaves to burn properly. Ligero are taken from the top third of the plant, seco from the middle third, and volado the bottom third. The strength of tobacco flavor runs from the top down, thus, ligero provides the bulk of the cigar’s strength, with milder flavor influences (but certainly aroma) from the seco. The volado leaves have little flavor influence, but burn exceptionally well—far superior to the ligero and seco (which contain more moisture and other flame resistant plant nutrients). Thus, they play a critical role in keeping your primo cigars lit and burning smoothly. Manufacturers must skillfully determine the correct combination of ligero, seco and volado to achieve the flavor and burning characteristics they desire…

Now you know more than the average citizen about the tobacco plant… But keep in mind the important points here: just say no to doggie sweaters.

Woof!
Murl

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For Members Only

Original & Super Grab Bags!

That's right babies, help us put a little bit of our humidor into your humidor at insanely cheap prices! We've got some extra smokes that need a caring home to take them in so check it out! Choose between:

Discounted Box Re-Orders!

Members can take advantage of our volume purchasing and re-order their favorite cigars in box quantities at just over our wholesale costs. Re-order any selection featured in the box quantities listed below or order them in convenient 5 paks! Other cigar shapes and sizes not actually featured, but from a featured brand line may also be re-ordered. Call for pricing.

Featured Cigar	Box Quantity	Box Cost	5 Pack Cost
A. CAO Black Storm Robusto	20	$82.50	$26
B. Carlos Toraño 1959 Exodus Gold Toro	24	$78.50	$21
C. Conga by La Perla Habana Toro	20	$72.50	$23
D. Felipe Gregorio Dominicana Torpedo	25	$92.50	$24
E. Vintage 1990 by Rocky Patel Churchill	20	$87.50	$27

Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery and add $7.95 for S&H for your first box and $3.00 for each additional box or grab bag. S&H for 5-packs is $4.95 and $1.50 for each additional 5-pak. All reorders are sent Priority mail unless otherwise requested. CA residents please add 7.75 % Sales Tax. S&H for International re-orders must be calculated on an individual basis. Prices are subject to change.