Mobile device user’s click here:http://blip.tv/mikesstogies/arandoza-cigars-blue-label-6586027

Mobile device user’s click here:http://blip.tv/mikesstogies/quesada-oktoberfest-5769385

Mobile device user’s click here:http://blip.tv/mikesstogies/padilla-reserva-maduro-6571790

Look: The wrapper a bit toothy but a very even tan color witg no imperfections.

Aroma: The cigar smells earthy and slightly sweet with notes of tobacco.

Prelight Draw: This holds the same earthy notes with tobacco and sweetness.

First Third: I immediately notice hints of wood, earth with a hint of spice. The spice is more baking spices with a hint of pepper, just enough for a bit of a bite without the overwhelming heat. It has a bit of a malty finish with coffee in the aftertaste. The retrohale has hints of cinnamon and hickory.

Second Third: The notes of coffee and spices pick up as the main notes, really warming the palate. There is now wood and coffee in the aftertaste. At the halfway point, I start to pick up peanuts and cayenne pepper. There is more spice through the nostrils at this point.

Final Third: The hickory really starts to come through in the final third, mingling with wood and coffee.The spice is very subtle on the palate, until the finish where it lingers with the same smooth malthy finish as the first third.

Conclusion: The Nomad Navigator is a great smoke in so many ways. The flavors are complex, yet balanced making it a good cigar for any time of day. The draw and burn are perfect and the cigar is just beautiful in its presentation and clearly well rolled. These have very quickly made their way into my regular rotation of favorite sticks.

This little guy I pulled out of my humidor the other day to go on a short walk. Forgetting how long these actually  take to smoke lets just say my walk lasted much longer than intended. This guy is a 4×60 Cameroon Nub, they go for usually $7 a stick but they last quite a while so you get your moneys worth.

1st half: With the first half I got some nice leathery notes along with a little amount of spice, but when retrohaled I got a deeper and much nicer full body spice.

2nd half: With the second half especially towards the very end I got a very nice full body spice. The second half also revealed nice woody and nutty notes as well.

All around this was a great stick. For the price you could take this and go mow the lawn but with the great notes you could also sit outside and really enjoy it. I will be picking up more of these next time I am at my local B&M and I suggest you do the same. God bless and have a safe two weeks.

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Pre Light

The Rocky Patel Private Cellar has a very dark almost black maduro wrapper with a few small veins running through it.  The wrapper has two purple and silver bands wrapped around it.  The aroma coming off the cold wrapper is of cocoa and pepper with the same flavors coming off of the cold draw.  The cigar is well packed and has a nice weight to it with a good in hand feel.

1^st Third

The cigar opens with a pepper blast quickly followed by a rich cocoa.  There isn’t much smoke coming off of the draws but the cigar is still burning cool and even.

2^nd Third

The pepper has really dissipated in the middle portion of the cigar.  The cocoa is the focal point this far and is joined with a light grassy undertone.  I’m still not getting much smoke off of the draw and burn line is starting to get a little wavy.

Final Third

It’s the last inch of the cigar and the cocoa is still going strong.  The pepper kicked back up in the final third and is greeted with flavors of coffee which is really blending well with the cocoa.  The cigar needed a few touch ups but nothing major.

Overall

I enjoyed the Private Cellar.  I don’t really smoke a lot of Rocky Patel cigars anymore which I haven’t realized till now.  I use to enjoy the Decade and the 15^th anniversary cigar so this was a little bit of a wake-up call.  The flavors were right up my alley and besides the small hiccup in the construction it was very enjoyable.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Mobile device user’s click here:http://blip.tv/mikesstogies/diamond-crown-maximus-no-2-6001505

Bone Crusher

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 ¼ x 55

The Bone Crusher starts with a light pepper along with notes of coffee.  Later on I get notes of earth and a slight leather after taste.  The smoke was heavy with a nice room aroma.

Crystal Baller

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Toro 5 ¾ x 56

The Crystal Baller starts off with a more mild pepper flavor and with some sweet cocoa.  The other flavors I get later on were wood and light floral taste.  The smoke was light and airy but was still plentiful with every draw.

Skull Breaker

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Natural

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Belicoso 5 ¼ x 52

The Skull Breaker has notes of cocoa and pepper on the first third and towards the middle flavors of earth, leather and a kick of spice at the end.  The construction was good with a nice draw and lots of creamy white smoke.

Tramp Stamp

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 ¼ x 48

The pepper was again up front in this one and was mixed in with notes of cocoa.  Notes of dry grass and a light fruity flavor to go along with the cocoa rounded out the rest of the cigar.

Overall

I enjoyed the entire line and the construction was perfect on every smoke.  Coming from the My Father factory I figured there was going to be that pepper kick on the line but the rest of the cigars were flavorful and all stood out on their own.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Personally, I thought the cigar looked pretty cool. It had a nice weight to it and the band is very understated. The wrapper had a nice rich cocoa aroma with hints of earth. The foot held the same notes with a bit of grassiness. Now, I have to admit I was a bit puzzled as to how to actually cut this cigar. At a ring gauge of 72, it definitely wasn’t going to fit in my cutter and a single V cut didn’t seem like it would be enough so this is what I did:

The cold draw had notes of cocoa, earth and raisins, very rich and flavorful. I immediately picked up leather, cocoa, cayenne and anise that remained through the first third. Molasses lingered in the finish. There was plenty of smoke that held hints of pepper and a sweet, floral note.

In the second third, cocoa, molasses, coffee and subtle spices are present through to the midway point. Then raisins and rich earth become noticeable with a creamy finish. The burn has been surprisingly good and the draw is perfect considering the ring gauge.

In the final third, there is spice on the front of the palate followed by coffee, leather and raisins with anise on the finish. A blend of spice remains in the retrohale.

This cigar was tasty although it wasn’t very complex. I’d consider it medium to medium-full in strength. The shape was interesting but not uncomfortable to smoke. I would definitely recommend using a double v cut as the draw was perfect. If you get the chance, I would recommend giving it a shot. I really enjoyed it.

Now I need a Toblerone!