La Aurora 107

ed. note: Sorry for the lack of a picture but had this in the shop and no camera. My Bad!

If you remember, we had a previous post about this new series, the La Aurora 107, because it's their first true attempt at a fuller bodied cigar. I got to give this a try at a local shop during their big marketing campaign on April 30th and was very excited to give it a try. Based on the previous La Aurora's I have tried and reviewed this should be a knock out. And a knock out is almost what I got...

Check the review after the break!

Montecristo Reserva Negra Robusto

Quick, when I say "Mexico" what do you think of? I can pretty much guarantee no one thought of cigars. Well Montecristo decided to wrap it's latest cigar in a maduro wrapper from Mexico. Sounds good to me and it looks great. Plus I really enjoy the gold and black label Montecristo has brought back as it gives it sort of a distinguished look. So what give's with the Mexican wrapper?

Situated on the east coast of Southern Mexico lies the coastal state of Veracruz and the San Andres valley. This is pretty good soil thanks to thousands of years of volcanic activity and it shows well in this cigar. You may remember the review from yesterday which was also a maduro wrapped cigar but different soil gives the tobacco a completely different taste profile. Check my notes after the break!

La Cuesta-Rey Centenario Robusto No. 7

Chocolate is great and who doesn't like chocolate! Now I'm sure many of you agreed with that statement but less of you will agree that chili peppers are also great. "What do chili's have to do with chocolate?", you may ask yourself. Well, there are actually chili infused chocolate's out there. In fact, I gave one such creation to my father a few Easter's ago and he loved it. I thought it was an interesting combo but gave it a try as well and I have to admit it's pretty good. What does chocolate and chili's have anything to do with cigars? I found out that the two are not that dissimilar.

Cuesta-Rey has been around a long time, since 1884, and started in Cuba like so many other cigar brands but then moved to the Dominican which is where they are produced today. You may notice that in the picture the cigar is very dark and almost a little hairy and you're suspicions are correct! The maduro wrapper give's cigar's an almost bittersweet, chocolate taste to them so it's great if you're a fan of chocolate. See my notes after the break for the full rundown.

What's Coming Up!

Folks, I have to apologize for the dearth of post's lately. I have been working on a big project over the weekend but unfortunately the results are not in quite yet. Needless to say, this will hopefully benefit all of you once I am done with this project. I ask you to hold tight as long as you can and promise that your regular, outstanding reviews will continue tomorrow as regularly scheduled and once the project is complete it will be revealed right here on The Finer Things...

Thanks for your patience and hope you all had a great weekend as well!

H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Belicoso

I had the pleasure of having Tom Oristian, Co-Founder of Lucy Phone join me for this review. Lucy Phone is a great service to utilize if you hate waiting on hold!

When I think of Cameroon I think of dark, wet, lush jungle and probably strife, sorry...just being real. It's location next to a few countries that can't seem to keep their borders in one place for more than a few years rubs off on Cameroon and people can't help but think of war, strife, etc... Well, folks, after smoking this little beauty I have completely changed my mind about Cameroon!

H. Upmann has been around for well over 100 years and have been flying under the radar recently with some of the bigger brands like Montecristo, A. Fuente, Padron, etc... taking the spotlight in our collective minds and I think it's about time H. Upmann got some credit where credit is due. The H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Belicoso has a nice cedar wrapper dressing it accordingly before you even begin. What the cedar wrapper hides, though, is a fantastic value and taste. See my notes after the break!

2008 Novella Synergy Blanc

This is another find from Trader Joe's much like our BV Coastal Estates Pinot Noir. Only problem is that Novella isn't really a winery and a quick Google search confirmed my suspicions when I got home. It's made by EOS Estate Winery and in Trader Joe's typical fashion they made up a label specifically for this wine to be re-branded from EOS. Not a big deal but just in case you go looking for this at another store you might be hard pressed to find another example. It's a blended white and the good news is that they give you the breakdown of what's in the bottle so you can try to find a similar blend at another store if you want to. 55.6% Sauvignon Blanc, 40.8% Chardonnay, 3.3% Muscat Canelli and 0.3% Pinot Grigio (not even sure why they have Pinot on the label but whatever...).

Now I'm not normally a white fan because I enjoy my French red's a great deal but at this price it wasn't a total wash so I chilled it for the evening. I figured I would try a white with the seasons changing and the ability to stay outside for longer periods of time meant I could enjoy this on the porch in the evening with the wifey.I find most white's too sweet for my taste so I was hesitant to try this but after my first sip I was pleasantly delighted from what I found inside this bottle.

Check my notes after the break to find out my thoughts!

Great List to Get Started

I was searching around for some good articles to bring you when I came across this piece at The Robb Report, pretty much the antitheses to The Finer Things. But, after looking through the specifics I thought I would share since it includes some pretty good information and can help you get started with Cigar's. It's tough to know where to begin because you can walk into a cigar shops humidor and feel overwhelmed pretty quickly with the tens to hundreds of boxes on the walls from various brands and sub-brands, not to mention the sizes. So consider this a good starting point as it has lighter to fuller cigars for every price bracket and you should be able to find something in a shop or get a good recommendation based on these at least.

Feel free to leave any questions or thoughts about getting started with Cigars in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.

[Source: Robb Report]