Cigar Photo Set #40 Posted ~ A smoke at Norwescon 37

This set finds me enjoying an undoubtedly delicious smoke at Norwescon 37, back in 2014. Yep! That's how far behind I am in updating photo sets on the website.

It's been a pretty ... eventful few years, for sure, but things are back on track to be settling into something a little more reasonably paced soon, and I've got all sorts of plans. 

Oh! And some news that isn't on the site, for those of you who read my blogger posts...

I just bought a brand new Harley!! Yep! You read that right. I am now a Harley owner! She's still getting mods done, so it will be a couple months before I'll actually be riding, but know that there will DEFINITELY be some photos (or entire sets) featuring me smoking on/with my beautiful bike! 

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

New La Herencia Cubana CORE Smoking Photo Set Posted

 

 

Stills from a Zoom session yesterday, smoking a La Herencia Cubana CORE. They aren't anything fancy, but I will be able to start doing real photo shoots again in a couple months. In fact, I'm really excited about it, because I will have more space, more different rooms (including my new playroom!) and settings, both indoors and outdoors, and a small, but very private back yard as well, so I will be able to do a good variety of sets. I've got lots of ideas and plans, so do stay tuned. 

And, of course, don't forget to join me tomorrow for the first ever Smokey Kisses Virtual Cigar Social!

 

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

Review ~ La Herencia Cubana CORE (5/10)

 

 I didn't plan it this way, but it turned out to be an A.J. Fernandez day.

According to the write-up:

"The La Herencia Cubana line started as an experiment by AJ Fernandez to capture a new audience in the boutique market by showcasing an affordable premium cigar. In Spanish, La Herencia Cubana translates to “Cuban Heritage,” which pays homage to AJ’s focus on creating premium handmades that are similar in complexity and flavor to those from Cuba’s glory days."

I had one or two of these out of the 5 that were in a sampler ages ago, and wasn't super fond of them, so I figured I'd let them age a while, and then promptly forgot about them for a couple years. 

Ageing did improve them, but they're still not really my cup of tea, hence my rating.

That said, it is not a bad cigar at all - just not one I particularly like, so if you like this sort of flavour profile and experience, you may well love them.

Appearance: Sleek, dark, lightly veined wrapper with a nice, satiny sheen. A very nice looking stick.

Construction: well built, solid, with just the right amount of "give" with a gentle squeeze. No imperfections noted.

Pre-light: Smell was rich and earthy, in a dry, crisp sort of way, taste was less crisp and gave a hint of the supple leather notes, with definite pepper evident on the lips.

Light & Cut: As usual, I did a light and cut. It lit quite easily and evenly, and immediately started producing quite a bit of white, creamy looking smoke, which, with the promises of  smoke that is "creamy on the palate" seemed to bode well. I did a V cut, and there was no unravelling or tobacco getting in my mouth, so another plus there for construction.

First Third: The main flavour was very earthy, with the slightest trace of grass, with warm notes of well oiled leather coming into play about halfway through. Toward the end of the first third, the pepper started becoming more apparent, though it was more a sensation than actual flavour, giving it a bit of heat and that spice on the lips and tongue tingle.

Second Third: Lots more pepper, coalescing into more obvious black pepper flavour, rather than the earlier "generic pepper/spicy" feeling. The ligero piquancy really started coming through here as well, amping up to meet the full bodied rating in the description. The retrohale proved even stronger - almost harsh, rather than the "smooth through the nose" in the advertising, and with very slight hints of toast only showing up in the exhale.

 Last Third: Even stronger than the previous, and finally, some of the claimed creamy notes crept in. My "creamy" experience was nothing like I expected, based on the advertised description, and didn't have any of the chewy traits I usually expect with the more full bodied smokes either. Unfortunately, it started tasting more burnt than strong just over halfway through the last third, so I didn't even get to enjoy the best bit for long. 

All in all, rather a disappointment to me based on expectation and hype, but it was still worth finishing, which is why it gets a 5/10 from me, rather than something lower. 

I'll probably trade or give away the remaining ones, cause I think someone with a different flavour profile preference will appreciate them more, which I suspect they actually DO deserve. As stated right up front. I don't care for it, but I think it is a good cigar within that profile.

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

Smokey Kisses (Virtual) Cigar Social, this Saturday, 13 August, 2022

Come smoke (or just hang out) with me on Zoom this Saturday, 13 August, 2022, from 3-6pm, Pacific Time at the very first (hopefully of many!).

The Zoom link will be sent to all confirmed attendees the day of the event, so be sure to check out the FetLife Event Page, or just go directly to the website event page to get all the details and RSVP (required!).

This will be the first of several Smokey Kisses and PNW Cigar Enthusiasts events, so be sure to keep an eye out for more!

This is a virtual cigar social for lovers of the leaf and their admirers to gather and enjoy fine cigars and pairings, share tips, tricks, recommendations, and general conversation.

Whether you enjoy smoking cigars, watching others smoke them, serving as a human ashtray or other cigar service, want to learn about cigars as a pastime, fetish, form of service, or just what pairs well or where to find great deals on sticks and accessories, this is a great opportunity to meet some new friends and have a good time.

And while you're at it, check out my newly revived Smokey Kisses Website!
I've been giving it a major overhaul. I've already implemented a brand new and improved smoking gallery, with all the previously existing sets already uploaded, PLUS lots of never seen before sets (over 1,700 cigar photos so far, with more on the way!), all in better organised, easy to navigate, fully searchable categories and albums with voting and comments enabled and a built in Members Only feature with extra special content just for my most loyal fans! Check it out and read up on all the new and upcoming changes. I'm going to be adding new sets to the gallery at least once a week for the foreseeable future, and more!

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

 

New Gallery with new sets and updated member section

As mentioned a while back, I've been working on reviving the Smokey Kisses Website, and, of course, the biggest thing with that, besides the new posts here and on the Facebook page, is the photo sets!

So, I've been working on a new gallery that, after the initial time in getting it all set up, will make adding entire new sets, no matter how big or small, a breeze! 

That means there will be far fewer batches of photos just sitting and waiting to be added until I have time to create the gallery itself, and the separate page for each and EVERY photo! Nope! Now, once any needed edits are done (crops, reducing file size, lighting/balance fixes, etc), I just have to click a button to add an album, name it, describe it, and then upload the whole lot of pics in one go, and that's it! 

The new album software doesn't yet handle videos, so those will still be available separately for the time being, but I'm working on finding something better for that too. 

What it DOES have though, in addition to lots of other features, like comments, rating, favourites, and the like, is the ability to register and, if you are a Smokey Kisses Supporter, you'll have access to the Members Only albums and features!

All my regular and member only sets are up on the new gallery page, along with a new, not yet seen set from 2012. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll be adding new albums for photo sets over the last few years that have just been sitting there, waiting to be added, so keep an eye out for new, old sets, as well as some upcoming new, new sets!

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

 

Review ~ Final Blend Robusto Maduro 5″ x 50 (8/10)

 

These were a limited run, Famous Smoke exclusive in 2010.
Here is the official description:

Final Blend cigars are the result of a marathon cigar sampling session held in Nicaragua, and as so often happens, the very last blend is what earned these uber-flavorful, medium-bodied cigars their name. The 'final blend' is...a core of Dominican, Colombian and Indonesian tobaccos rolled in dark, oily Brazilian Mata Fina Oscuro wrappers. Earthy, sweet, and spicy flavors weave in and out as notes of cocoa and coffee bean surface for a deliciously complex, MUST-TRY cigar.

At some point that year I ended up with one in one of their samplers, but it wasn't really on my radar at the time. Since then, it's been hanging around in my humidors, getting shifted from one to the other in my various re-organising as my collection has expanded, and I never got round to smoking it, as I never really read or heard much of anything about them and it wasn't high on my list to try.

Well, today, it just sorta jumped out at me, and I picked it up. Initially, I thought maybe my hygrometer was out of whack, because the thing was rock hard, and pretty lightweight, so I thought it was too dry, but all other sticks in that humi were as expected, and, on closer inspection, it didn't look dried out, cracked, or in any other way compromised. It was smooth, dark, with a nice sheen, lightly veined, and almost velvety to the touch and on the lips. Smelled wonderfully rich and just a little sweet, giving me hope that it would be a worthwhile smoke.

It was!! Alas, it may well be the only one I ever get to enjoy. About halfway through, I looked it up, knowing I wanted to find more of them, only to find the sad news of the aforementioned limited run.

As always, I employed the "light and cut" method, though, in this case, it was light and punch. It took a little while to light all the way to the centre, as the thing is really incredibly packed, but it was easy to light evenly, and the pre-smoke aroma was pleasantly earthy and dark.
The first couple puffs gave a hit of "crisp" (not sure how else to describe it), dry leather, moving quickly to a rich, deep, oily leather with thick, dense, chewy smoke that totally coated my mouth. Midway through second third, hints of espresso started creeping in, with slight chocolate in the aftertaste.
Strong espresso on the retrohale, and increasingly more creamy chocolate notes adding to leather and coffee toward end of second third.
Into the last third, it had morphed into a warm, mocha latte, with a slight, mellow, almost nutty nuance, though the leather notes were still peeking through on the back of the tongue.
Perfect draw throughout, very slightly uneven burn, but nothing a couple touch-ups couldn't fix, white/grey semi-solid, slightly flaky ash.

All in all a very nice, medium strength smoke, and I'll be on the lookout should they ever return! I give it a solid 8/10.

 

Review ~ SOSA Belicoso (6/10)

  So, it turns out the few of these sticks I have left from the bundle I bought ages ago are now a bit of a rarity.

Originally, they were made by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic, but in December of 2016, A.J. Fernanzez announced that he would be buying the entire Sosa family line, and would be producing them, using the same blends and wrappers, but he would be growing the tobacco himself, and using his own, distinct manufacture and curing methods, as of January 2017, so I imagine the ones put out after that would have been a similar, but not the same cigar.

I got these around 2015, so they would have been the ones made at the A. Fuente Factory, apparently by Juan Sosa, himself! (Pretty cool factoid there, IMO).

They have since been completely discontinued. I'm not clear on just when that happened, but they are not available anywhere that I can find. Just as well they aren't a new favourite or I'd be hosed! ;)

Anyhow, on the the review part!

The construction was good and solid. It felt firm, with just the right give, and it looked nice - chocolate milk brown, and a smooth sheen to the wrapper. 
The scent was fairly straightforward tobacco, with a bit of coffee and spicy chocolate. 
It lit up nicely, using the light and cut method. 

Despite the light and cut, the cigar started out pretty harsh, (the first time that has happened since I learned that technique!) and I was wondering if it would end up in the ashtray in short order, but at about an inch or so in, the harsh beginning gave way to some actual flavour, albeit difficult to define. It was almost acrid, like a very, very dry white wine, but not in an unpleasant way. 

I have to admit, I was a little confused by the seeming disparity between the unlit smell and the taste of the smoke, but it isn't the first time I've encountered this. I may have even noticed it when I smoked the rest of them, several years ago, and then forgotten, or, perhaps, the time in the humidor has changed their profile more significantly than it does most.

The flavour continued to improve, as well as mellow, and by almost 1/3rd of the way down, I started detecting notes of cedar, and something almost, but not quite like leather, along with a tobacco... "crispness", is the best way to describe it. Definitely not bad at all.

It was about that time that the uneven burn became clear as well, but I'm willing to speculate that the breeze and not keeping it rotating could be at least partially to blame. It was simply a matter of having to periodically torch one side a bit.

The emergence of black pepper on the tip of my tongue, joined (finally!) by a nice black coffee/espresso flavour, and followed closely by hints of unsweetened cocoa was a nice turn of events.

At about the halfway point, I was confronted by a nasty "burnt cigar butt" taste, and was afraid the cigar was done, just when it had started to get pretty good. Luckily, just blowing it out well and letting it burn for a couple seconds banished the burn, and it was back to the slightly spicy, rich, dark, chocolate espresso profile for the duration which turned out to be right down the last inch and a half or so!

Most of the cigars I smoke with cocoa and/or coffee notes also tend to have creamy or sweet notes as well, and, curiously, this one didn't. At all. Like, there wasn't so much as a hint of either. Different from the usual, but not at all a criticism.

They are meant to be medium to full bodied, but I found it pretty mild after the initial few, dubious puffs. 

The ash held firm to a little past an inch and a half on average, and was a dusky, blue-grey.  The volume of smoke wasn't terribly impressive, but, while those thick billows of velvet clouds are usually a plus for me, as there is more to play with and taste and get a good mouth feel, it's not the end of the world. 

All in all, it was a decent smoke, and I do look forward to enjoying the rest of them over time. It gets a solid 6/10, which is pretty good from me, for something I didn't flat out love.

Review ~ Ave Maria Divinia on my 2nd Alaska Cruise (7/10)

 I'm finally getting round to posting this review from my 2019 cruise reviews and stuff notes! You know what would be SUPER awesome?? A cigar cruise, departing from Seattle, that I could hope to afford! Or even a well planned cigar event or two on a cruise that I can take. I mean, there are always at least a couple other cigar smokers on the smoking deck at some point in the time it takes to enjoy a stick, but it's just not the same as an intentional gathering.

Not much beats relaxing with my dog after a great meal with a fine cigar, awesome coffee, and the wind in my hair in the middle of the sea! 

I didn't get the chance to smoke as many cigars as planned on my most recent cruise, but this was definitely a good stick for the 2 hours I had free to smoke on the day in question. 

Right out of the cellophane, I noticed great, solid construction, no defects on the cap, as some seem to have noted, and a delicious smell. 
The dry draw was also promising, tasting of well aged tobacco, with a mellow, earthy sweetness and just a hint of spice. 

It lit pretty well, especially considering that I was on an open deck and we were travelling at around 21 nautical miles per hour at the time. First puff delivered as promised - mellow, silky, slightly sweet, earthy, with more of a smell than taste of coffee grounds, and full of undefined, but full bodied flavour. From the beginning, the burn was nice and even, despite the wind factor, and produced a good, firm, grey white ash that wouldn't let go before the 1.5" mark, at least. The spice wasn't really evident at all until almost into the second third, which is also when some of the other, previously undefined flavours began to take shape. Alongside the mild, black pepper, a roasty, toasty (not to be confused with toast), mildly sweet, almost creamy taste began coating the roof of my mouth, and shortly after, hints of strong coffee and dark chocolate than came and went until the last third. 
Overall, the flavour is far more mild than I had been anticipating, and would have preferred it to pack more of a punch, but I do tend to favour sticks on the very strong end of the spectrum, so others may disagree with me there. 
Either way, the mild profile did not negate its great taste, mouthfeel, draw, or burn. 
All in all, a nice smoke for an afternoon, a probably a good intro to "fuller bodied" cigars too, for those who want to venture out a bit and put a toe in stronger waters. 
I'm giving it a solid 7/10.

My Namesake Cigar?

Someone on a cigar forum commented earlier today; 

 "a name "Khaos WolfKat" could have been cameroon's masterpiece." 

That got me to thinking...

If a masterpiece of a cigar were to bear my name, it would have to be one doozy of a stick! I would simply insist upon it.

It would be large and plump, with extra curves in the right places, and aged to perfection. 
I'm envisioning the tobacconist's incarnation of Venus of Willendorf. 
The smooth, richly dark and fragrant wrapper - finely, though exquisitely lined - if you look closely enough, and fair to bursting with succulent promise, would simultaneously hint at and conceal -  both hide and reveal the boldness, strength, complexity, and nuance packed within. The profile would tempt and tease, pound and confound, delight and ignite, sway and slay the palate by turns, with sneaking subtlety laced with explosions of flavour. 

It would be as stealthy as a Prensaso, luxuriously silky as an Oliva V, sweet as Drew Estate's  Java, dark as an Onyx, bold as a Camacho, spicier than The Punisher, more powerfully chuggin' than a Diesel, and pack far more punch than a mere Punch. 


As long as care and time were taken and attention paid to the process, the light would be, not "effortless", but a joyful simplicity in itself and well worth the small effort, leading to a long, slow, sultry smoulder, rather than something so crude as a burn. 


The initial flavours would be a smooth, slightly nutty, and almost caramel coated, roasted coffee bean, with just a few puffs whispering the merest hint of vanilla, soon to be joined, then replaced by notes of cinnamon and cocoa, deepening to dark chocolate, accompanied by strong espresso and an underlying, velvety sweetness, which would stay the distance. Meanwhile, sometimes fleeting, other times lingering visits of cardamom, leather, cream, cedar, and black pepper would make their rounds, the flawless dance of flavours lulling the senses such that the addition of cayenne goes nearly unnoticed, save for the undeniable rush of energy, seemingly from nowhere, and the heat seems, somehow, more sweet than searing. By the end, the flavours will coalesce into what should be cacophonous, yet is, against all odds, bombastic and symphonic.

One would be smitten at first sight, eager to have it all, though not without some amount of (well advised) trepidation. Having further examined, (coveted) the dusky jewel and fired it up, determined to sample the myriad treasures within, they would discover, far too late, that it is, perhaps, themselves who have been had. Long after, when all was said and done and they had at least somewhat recovered from being thoroughly knocked on their arse most deliciously, though still more than a little punch drunk, they would revere the experience, already looking forward to the next bout. 

 

Smokey Kisses,

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

~ Khaos

Review ~ Nub 460 Connecticut (7/10)

This isn't really the sort of cigar I generally buy, as it just doesn't fit my preferred flavour, strength, or type profiles in the least, but it came in a sampler a long time ago, and I had decided to start smoking some of the sticks in my humis that fall outside of my normal rotation.

Cigars International describes it thusly;

"smooth, silky wrapper. Mellow and creamy to start, with a rich, somewhat sweet core. The aftertaste is toasty, but crisp. Toasted cedar through the nose. Medium-bodied with a rich, milky texture."

I'm just gonna go with a "stream of consciousness", sort of vibe on this review, and transcribe my thoughts and comments as I smoked it. Is this the way reviews are "normally" done? No. Do I look normal to you?? That's what I thought!


By the way, I didn't read any descriptions of the stick before I smoked it, as I didn't want any unconscious bias butting in, especially considering I was already starting out with my own bias, ready to put my nose in the air and declare it "boring" just on principle, due to my typical preferred smokes. 

Paired with single origin, organic, Peruvian, meduim-dark roast coffee, served hot with a bit of Milo and 1/2 & 1/2.

"Hmm... Toast.

Ooh. Creamy.

Oh, it's buttery... Like BUTTERED toast!

*smack smack smacking lips*

So much toast! And it's so buttery and creamy!

Oh! And now it's kinda sweet too.

*more lip smacking*

Look at all these huge billows of creamy, white smoke!

Mmmm. Now there's this hint of woodsy cedar adding to the mix.

This is actually pretty nice!

It's like... having sweet cream, buttered toast with my coffee on the back deck of a forest cabin.

Wow! Who knew such a mild little cigar could be so yummy?
Oh, well, I guess Oliva knew - Duhhhh.
Man! This is really nice for such a mild stick.

I might actually have to get a few more of these for breakfast/morning coffee cigars."

I smoked it alllll the way down to the.. well, Nub!

So, there you have it!

 Even for this die-hard, bold and strong fanatic/snob, the Nub 460 is a treat, and it's getting, believe it or not, a 7/10, which is practically unheard of from me, for something this low key.