Featured Cigars - February 2014

La Estrella Cubana is a mild to medium-bodied Nicaraguan jewel. Note it’s sumptuous, triple-fermented Costa Rican maduro wrapper—dark, thick and silky to the touch. The filler is a combination of hand-selected, well-aged Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers that is held together with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. They marry nicely with the wrapper to produce a buttery-smooth, creamy, maduro experience. Look for silky smoke to hang densely...

Handmade in Nicaragua, this unusual stogie features an exotic blend of premium tobaccos from, as the name implies, Africa but it’s also packed with tobaccos from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic that have been patiently fermented and extensively aged. Don Lino then adds some of the world's finest Cameroon wrapper leaf to the filler which spices up the cigar even more (and is one of the characteristics that makes the cigar unusual).

The first installment of the Circa Series, the Dominican Selection, originally hit the shelves in 1995 during the tail-end of the cigar boom. Like many premium cigars during that time, the Dominican Selection didn’t last long due to an obnoxiously over-crowded market full of sub-par handmade cigars and poor marketing. Back for the second time, this beauty was recreated with the same blend recipe it had back in 1995 with a handsome brown...

The Rocky Patel Fusion is a luxurious, deeply complex cigar with a heady Cuban-esque character. Starting from the inside the Fusion has a Cuban-seed mixture of aged Nicaraguan long-fillers that is secured with a Nicaraguan binder and finished with a fermented Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper that is rich, toothy, and practically dripping with oil. This medium to full smoke has a lavish combination of wood, spice, and leather with a hint of sweetness.

With a Cigar Aficionado rating of 89, the Trinidad Reserve consists of a rich blend of aged Honduran and Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos, anchored by a Nicaraguan broadleaf binder and finished with a toothy and oily Cuban-seed Ecuadorian leaf with a rat tail cap. The cigar lights easily and evenly; the draw is a bit tight initially but loosens up. Look for consistent, grey ash. This full-bodied stogie is a hearty—even gutsy—smoke, without...