Monday, August 30, 2010

Introducing Official Cigar Reviews by Eric

So it’s been about 3 weeks now that I’ve been posting reviews here on www.cigarfox.com and I would just like to give you all a BIO on myself let you know a little bit more about who I am. 

I’ve been smoking cigars for just over 8 years now and have enjoyed each and every minute of it. I just completed my education program on becoming a Denturist. What is a denturist I’m sure you’re all asking yourselves, it’s a Specialist in Implant, full and partial dentures. I live in Windsor Ontario Canada and I am a member of the Montecristo Lounge in Sterling Heights Michigan. 

Let me tell you how I got into cigar smoking. 8 years ago when i was still in high school and this was the age when smoking cigarettes made you “ COOL” never having smoked a cigarette I wanted to smoke something that had more class more meaning that a cigarette, for years i remember watching my dad and my neighbour smoke cohiba esplendidos out in the garage, cigars always intrigued me movies like Scarface and goodfellas that portray cigars as a luxury. The Night of my semi formal dance had arrived and i figured i would celebrate at the after party smoking one of my dad’s Cubans , so before the dance i went to see him and when he took off to the washroom i opened that beautiful desktop cherry wood 50 ct Humidor and snatched a Vegas Robaina Torpedo , something about that beautiful Gold band that stood out more than the cohiba, romeo y Julieta , montecristo and Hoyo De monterrys that were in there , Went to the party lit the stoogie up and received a large variance of comments some saying man that’s awesome and the jealous type of course always having their input saying oh you think your cool with your cigar or “okay big shot”. I didn’t let this bother me one bit i just continued on reading and studying cigar , being my first cigar or first time smoking anything i really don’t know what i was looking for in particular i had read a little bit in CA about how to taste cigars so i did my best to do that i could just taste some spices and cream , but trust me 8 years later this fuller bodied Cuban beauty is much more complex than that . I got home and immediately researched this cigar, I found out that this cigar was produced by Alejandro Robaina , who is to do the oldest Tobacco farmer in Vuelta Alejab (recognize that place from my reviews?) they actually call him the “DON” he grows some of the world’s best wrapper tobacco, and in 1997 The people in the industry wanted to honour him with his own cigar in 5 sizes using his Wrapper Binder and Filler so you can just imagine what this cigar would taste like. As time went on i would sporadically take cigars from my father and smoke them i started to read more and more and truly started to understand tobacco and cigars the life of cigar smoking was great until I finally got caught, a friend of his saw me smoking outside of the movie theatre one night, my father confronted me and i had to admit to him that i had been steeling and smoking his cigars. He simply replied I’m very disappointed and your so damn young son. 3 days later Christmas Eve he brought home some A sized cigars with a whopping 56 ring gauge and told me to smoke the whole thing and he was certain I would vomit. After 3 hours he was disappointed when i told him i didn’t feel sick at all and that it was an amazing cigar he just gave me, and in turn he had made a big mistake. He replied to me “well what can I do, i really can’t stop yo , but don’t steel from me if you want one just ask . Time went on i began smoking once a week every Saturday with my friend Adam whose father is also a big Cuban cigar smoker, we would take turns taking from our fathers and trying new cigars, In my earlier days of cigar smoking i would always read reviews before i smoked the cigar to try and get a feel of what to look for when i was smoking . As time went on i didn’t really need reviews anymore i was able to tell strength/body , I remember my first encounter with non Cuban cigars , I was on Vacation in Orlando and my father took me to Sosa family cigars , beautiful store but i couldn’t believe how cheap cigars were , Romeo Y Julietas, montecristos , all around $9 to me this was an absolute steal compared to the retail value of Cuban cigars starting at $15 for a petite Corona ( in Canada due to high tobacco taxes in Cuba the cigars are actually more reasonably priced ranging from $ 8- 30 per cigar . As time went on i started reading more about non Cubans and became very interested. A friend of my fathers had told me about the Cigar Factory outlet in Troy Michigan about 4 years ago, that Friday they were hosting a CAO event, none of my friends wanted to go so i figured hey these people like what i like CIGARS and that’s the only thing you need to have in common with someone and you can strike up conversation for days upon days upon days . I went to the event and was very impressed with not only the customer service I received from Dan Jenuwine , Tommy Paull , and John C , and the amazing deals they had that day , BUT more so the selection of non Cuban cigars i could not believe how many non Cuban cigars there were in existence, it was actually mind blowing. Time went on and i made my travels across the border weekly to continue to try new cigars each time , it was great especially when they had events . I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigar brand in every size and yes that includes cohiba and all the Singlo series’ too , I have also smoked alot of Cuban Limited editions from 2004, 2006 and 2008 as well as some of the Regional Editions which are cigars that are exclusive for certain countries like for instance in Canada Vegas Robaina released a special sized robusto only for release in Canada , Bolivar did a Cigar for asia which was a short Edmundo this was one great cigar I must say. I’ ve smoked quite a few 20 year aged Cubans including cohiba lancero , esplendido , romeo Y julieta Churchill , hoyo De Moterry Double Corona , Monte cristo No. 2 and No.4’s, and most of this took place later in my smoking years when my palate was actually experienced . Are non Cubans just as good as Cubans is the question I am always asked day in and day1 out, i always hear people say oh my friend brought me back some Cubans and they were SH*T or i went to this store and they were garbage , or i was on vacation and bought some Cubans and they were garbage to . Here’s the thing that you must understand and need to accept about Cuban Cigars , about 95% of Cuban cigars consumed in the united states are counterfit , and a large percentage of those consumed around the world it’s the same situation , also one of my favourites i hear My friend got me these in cuba on the beach , or when the guy tells you the cohibas with the glass case are limited edition THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS COHIBAS IN A GLASS TOP CASE THERE FAKEEEEEEEEEEEE, or i was in Mexico and the guy told me that his friend works at the factory and stole this box, take a second and think about this DO YOU REALLY THINK ITS THAT EASY TO JUST WALK OUT OF THE FACTORY WITH A FULLY SEALED BOX OF CIGARS WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT ? They inspect each and every person before they leave the factory every day , security is not taken lightly , and even if there was an inside connection it wouldn’t be an amount that would make it as readily available as all of these con artist salesmen say it is why do u think they sell the box for a measly $50 even in cuba boxes of cohibas start at over $150 . In Countries outside of Cuba theres really only 1 place you should buy Cuban cigars , La Casa Del Habanos or the company Habanos SA which is the authorized retailer for Cuban cigars in 150 Countries when u buy a cigar from one of these dealers you know you are guaranteed the real thing. Its the same to compare clothing you can get fake Hugo Boss everywhere but if u go to the official store or an auithorized retailer you know your getting the real thing with the 100% quality that you are paying for , if you are in Cuba either direct purchase from the Factory La Casa Del Habanos or the airport is also a fair choice but once again if you want to be 100 % satisfied with proper humidification, quality and authenticity HABANOS is the way to go. Another thing you have to remember when smoking cigars even if your “friend” did purchase these cigars at Habanos and tells you there the real thing and you have a poor burn or they come apart don’t let that be the end of your smoking of that cigar or brand , YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLES HUMIDOR CONDITIONS ARE , i know that when I give people a Cuban cigar they never complain or have any problems , 1) because i get them from a Reputable source and 2) i know how to maintain my humidors. So my whole point to this is the fact of don’t knock it until you’ve really TRIED IT THE RIGHT WAY . Getting back to this point again about humidity this is really one of the most important aspects of a cigar , it can affect the burn the draw and the flavours of the cigar , have u ever received a cigar go to cut it and the wrapper just crumbles or peels apart how much do you hate that ? its defiantly at the top of my peevs list. I know that every time i purchase a cigar from the Cigar Factory outlet, Jenuwines Cigar outlet or cigarfox.com i know that i will be receiving a quality humidified product NO EXCEPTIONS, this is why i purchase my non Cubans from here QUALITY, when it comes to cigars i need quality and i won’t settle for second best . So are Cubans better than Non Cubans to me YES they are if you smoke the real thing , but are there some non Cubans that are better than Cubans YES what makes Cuban cigars truly a gem is the way that they are cultivated and the soil and the climate that has been around for years and years, and the quote my friend Glenn Haege always says “a hundred hands” which is true 100 hands on average it takes to make a Cuban cigar. But the thing about non Cubans is that most of the owners or manufactures are from cuba , every cigar has a story and a taste , i appreciate hand made cigars from all over the world weather it be Cuba, Nicaragua , Mexico, Honduras, Eucador, Africa, Indonesia, ect..... Someone took time to make the product your smoking by hand , and thats another thing , if once and a while you get an uneven burn or maybe the draw wasn’t as seamless as the last 22 cigars you smoked from the box , remember its a hand made product. I will continue to post reviews weekly about all the great products that are available at cigarfox.com Cigar factory outlet Troy and Jenuwines Cigar Outlet Sterling Heights with and inventory of over 200, 000 cigars you could just imagine how many more reviews are to come , Hope you all enjoy my reviews l, now its time for me to PUFF MORE GARS , take care
Sincerely
Eric D. Kukucka ( Member of the Montecristo Lounge Sterling Heights )

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