Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill Tubos

In november last year, I was in London. While visiting Harrod's I was guided by one of the most impressive shopkeepers I have ever seen :)

Anyhow, I bought myself 3 Romeo Y Julieta Short Churchill's, and I didn't feel like lighting one up, untill last week.

This tubo has the new Romeo y Julieta colours, not the silver anymore but the red and white. Only, this tubo doesn't open on the top, but in the middle. Great distinction! It also doesn't have a screwcap to open, but you can just pull it apart.

The smoke itself was great. I really like robusto shaped cigars, because they give a lot of flavour for a short time. This one was a bit too mild for me though..but I tend to like heavier cigars.


The smoke was beautiful, the Churchill burned great and evenly, and it was a heaven to hold in my hands because of the soft wrapper.

Light hinds of pepper and leather, this cigar keeps its mild flavor from the first puff to the last, while showing no bitterness in the last past. Well rounded taste, and definitely great quality for the price!

I hope I can hold the others long enough in my humidor to last untill the summer, I bet these will smoke superb while laying in the sun!

"Luxurious" is the best way to describe them...

Discovery of a new cigar shop: Vierstraete in Oostende

While I finished my day at a customer in Oostende, I wasn't really looking forward to the 90 minutes trip back home. Therefore I asked around if there was a cigar shop in town, so I could get something for the ride back home. Thankfully, one of the employees knew exactly what I was looking for, and pointed me to Vierstraete.

It looks very small from the outside, but man...it is big!!! A very wide range of pipes and attributes is very nicely stalled for viewing pleasures...but I was mostly interested in the humidor ofcourse.
The humi is not the biggest I have ever seen, but it is packed with a lot of cigars of various cigar brands. They also had a lot of brands that you dont find in most other stores, so definitely a must for guys like me, who are still trying out a lot of different cigars and tastes in order to refine the palette.

Though I didn't had the pleasure to meet the owner Jos Vierstraete (who is a member of the select group of European Maitre-Pipiers), I was guided in a very friendly and professional manner by one of the other employees who graciously took time to answer all my questions and showed me around the humidor to find the specific types I wanted.

Definitely a must for all Belgian cigar lovers, and a place where I will return very often!!
Now if they would just finish their website ;)

H. Upmann Coronas Major Tubo

I still remember my first Upmann. I just bought a whole box ( my first box that I bought actually), and remembering they werent that great. They were definetely not bad, but something in the taste just doesn't appeal to me.

So when I bought this Coronas Major Tubo, I was quite convinced the same flavor would fill my mouth and nose. And it did.
But, wait, first, let me give you some info about this tubo:

It is not expensive, ranged as the Romeo tubos. About the same size and diameter.They smoke great, good draw, but tend to burn uneven. They are spicy ( and that's what I dont like about them), even when you just taste the cigar before liting it. Other flavors that come to mind are toast and dirt. They produce a full flavor, and give a good consistent ash.

So, it definitely is not a bad cigar, but they just dont do it for me. The taste is not my style.

Cuesta-Rey Centenario Pyramid No.9

When I visited the cigar shop Tabaco in Hasselt ( a great website, a big shop, one of the biggest humidors I have ever seen and very friendly host!), I inmediately saw a couple of large boxes with Cuesta-Rey cigars. As they are one of the oldest cigar brands, I never smoked one. So I picked up both a Pyramid No.9 and the maduro version.

So when I got home, I lighted it up quite fast, with a lot of hopes to watch "The war of the world" on tv. Beautiful, grand cigar, with the impressive torpedo, it just looked great in my hand.
Upon lighting it up, it got smoking really fast, leaving me enjoying it right away. Puff after puff, it burned evenly, and all the signs of a great cigarmaker were there.

For the taste, I was somehow dissapointed. Not a powerhouse, but for this expensive big cigar it lacked complexity. While the taste was consistend during the 2hours the cigar lasted, it was too light, leaving notes of earth and wood.
To my opinion, I think it would grow to a heavenly cigar when I would leave it aging in my humidor for some time. Too bad I didn't pick up another one ;)

So, conclusion: A really big torpedo shaped cigar, beautiful to behold, soft to hold, great to draw, but too light on the taste. In a few weeks I will light the maduro, of which I expect a great deal!

Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Churchill

On New Year's eve I was looking for a grand smoke. So I was aiming for a churchill size or Toro size cigar, and while browsing through my humidor ( reminds me I need to create a good cigar database for maintaining my humi) the Arturo Fuente came up. It had a green velvet band around it, and it was just looking pretty.
One smell on the cigar, and I had made up my mind!

I clipped the top off (I dont use my bullet anymore, no specific reason) and lit it...Wauw..
While not a powerhouse on taste (like the Gurkha), it surely did pack some punch. Nutty flavors, and a hint of leather enriched the buttery aroma, while the solid burn made a lot of smoke that created a dark layer of mist on my ceiling.

Definitely a great cigar, though a little too big for my taste. I didn't get bored with it, the taste was consistent through the whole cigar, but I am just not that 2 hour cigar man..A definite must for each humidor!

Cigar review: Gurkha Regent

I remember when I got this cigar: My sister brought it with from San Francisco after I gave her the Top2005 list from Cigar Afficionado. I clearly remember when she gave me the plastic bag with the cigars, the Gurkha sticking out.
It was big, it had an odd shape, not round, but squared with round edges, and it smelled a lot..not good, just a lot..I dreaded the day I had to smoke it, and I tucked it away far below in the humidor.

Then came the day I was aching to see the Godfather (Part I ofcourse) again, and I was looking in my humi for a matching powerhouse cigar.
The Gurkha laid there, with its dark wrapper.


I picked it up, and smelled it: the stench was gone, and a flowery dark odeur came flowing in my nose. This was the chosen one for tonight.
It felt perfect in my hands, and I lit it up: it drawed great for such a big and heavy cigar, and the strange shape felt quite good in my mouth. it even tasted sweet, and the smoke was very complex, feeling buttery and sweet.

Some sidenotes I found online for this dominican cigar: the blend is comprised of Dominican Piloto & Cuban Ligero, an Indonesian binder and an exquisite, Nicaraguan Havana 2000 wrapper. It has aged for 5 full years.

This was such a great cigar, I have to admit one of the best cigar experiences I ever had..But I dont know if it comes because it had laid in my humidor for 18 months or because it is a great cigar..if someone can find any, please stop by at my house to give me some ;)

First and last visit to Mike's Havana House in Antwerp

Totally overjoyed and overwhelmed by the Christmas spirit, I went shopping with Radia for presents in Antwerp today. When we came close to Mike's Havana House, I really wanted to go in, because I have heard so much about it: they don't only sell cuban cigars, but they also sell art, food, and books. Small (personal) issue is they only sell cuban cigars..who are very overrated these days..

The place looks really nice, very big, with a grand humidor (though it wasn't very wide). The mood looked right there too, lots of people enjoying themselves.

The only problem was the arrogant man who was working there! Not only did he try to make smart remarks like it was the first time I was buying a cigar, but he also said it was good after I took 3 cigars..he looked at me and said, you will do fine with 3 cigars, that's enough..

Really terrible!
Radia was disgusted as well, and it really ruined our day out.
So first and last time at Mike's havana house..too bad.