Cheap Cigar Review

JR CIGARS is jumping the gun! Avoid them!

2009-03-05T10:08:00.002-06:00

The dreaded SCHIP tax is not going to take effect until 2009, but guess who is gouging their customers with increased prices already?

JRCIGARS.com! I recommend that you purchase cigars from anywhere but here, because price gouging is not fair. JRCIGARS is like the stupid gas station on the corner who jumps their price up by 25 cents per gallon even though the tank still has gas from the previous day.

It's been a long time! Happy New Year 2009, Valentine's Day, Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday.

2009-01-04T15:44:00.004-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time, and you know what? I just haven't had that much time for a cigar. I tried to smoke them during Spring/Summer softball games with my company in NW Indiana, but other than the usual La Floridita and JR Alt. Edicion Limitada cigars that I have been telling you about over the last couple of years, I have not many opportunities to smoke a good cheap stogie. Except for smoking one on the way to school (I'm working on my Masters degree at Indiana Tech), I haven't even smoked oneIn fact, my three humidors were running dangerously low. For a couple of weeks I consolidated everything and fit the cigars into my two small humidors (total capacity about 50-60 sticks). So when I went to Detroit to spend Christmas with my family, I managed to stop by the JR Cigar store the day after Christmas. There I smoked a Partagas toro that they had as the weekly special for $3.00. I know that is above my $2/cigar limit for this blog, but I gotta tell you, it was good and cheap compared to what the typical box price is for these cigars. Anyways I picked up a bundle of 25 Consuegra No. 9 maduro cigars for $27. At just over a $1 per cigar, this is probably the first cigar that most cigar lovers think of when asked for what is considered to be a bargain. A couple of months ago, my neighbor Russ gave me a bag full of cheap "flavored cigars" that he had picked up at a trade show. I was eager to see what was in the bag. Primetime, Blunts, and Dutch Masters Collection or something like that. Oh man, these were awful. I smoked one, and it smelled like a pineapple-scented marker. And it tasted like one too. I tossed it and immediately brought the bag to one of my lab technicians where I work. He smokes Middleton's all the time, and even he couldn't smoke it! Ew! Just say to no to really bad machine made cigars.

Cigar Catalogs

2008-09-12T09:19:00.003-05:00

I like reading cigar catalogs. Always filled with good deals but never filled with very useful information. Most of the writing that you find in your average cigar catalog is of the same quality as this blog: amateur, funny only to a select few, and full of exaggerations. One thing that bothers me is the Thompson's cigar catalog. I can get the same cigar that they advertise for the same price or cheaper at my local cigar store, even after all of the taxes. Everybody starts out with Thompson's cigar shop, but if you want to save some cash and enjoy your cigar down to the nub, don't buy from them. They're too expensive!

Quorum Torpedo - Maduro: The one sentence review!

2008-07-30T09:59:00.003-05:00

Quorum Torpedo - Maduro: The one sentence review!

Despite having a very dark maduro wrapper, this is probably the blandest medium strength cigar that I've ever had. :(

Happy Birthday Geddy Lee!

2008-07-30T09:56:00.002-05:00

Celebrated Geddy Lee's birthday the other day (He's 55!) by listening to a bunch of good tunes from Rush, my all-time favorite rock band. The one song that always moves me is Freewill. As a bass player who has been playing for 17 years now, I still cannot play it note for note. Must practice!

Humidors, Humidity, and Humor

2008-07-28T19:11:00.004-05:00

I have three humidors.

I purchased my first new one off the auction site (http://www.cigarauctioneer.com/) that Famous Smoke has back in the holiday period of 2004-2005, which was my crazy time for purchasing cigars. I still have some cigars from that time (mostly Presidente size cigars of Dominique, Tabamex, a few premium oddballs here and there) that are probably really really super smooth now. It started out as a flip top with hinges, but after stripping the screws from too many repair jobs, I decided that it didn't need any hinges and the top fits fine without them. It's actually easier just taking the top cover off when I need to access my cigars. It's a 100-ct. humidor, FSS exclusive made in China. The color of the laminate (my current work involves laminates over wood and plastics) looks like a birdseye maple pattern, nice sheen, still feels like real wood on the outside. I've gotten a large rectangular humidifier that does not one to stay fixed to the top of the cover, so it just sits around the bottom. I probably have only about 50 cigars in there now. They are the lousy Chairman's choice, a few sticks of LVH CC, JR ALT El's, one Ashton Cabinet Tubo, one Phoenix Cigar Company Presidential tubo, and a motley collection of Tabamex, Dominique, FSS Dominican 1000 Torpedoes, and so on. You name it, I got cheap ones in here!

My daughter put a bunch of smiley face stickers on the cover, and it looks really funny. In fact, whenever I would come home from work, my daughter would ask me if I wanted to "play with a cigar or beer". That's my baby!

My 2nd humidor is a small 25 ct. (supposed to be 40 ct. corona sized) that I picked up off of http://www.jrcigars.com/ when they ran a special on Montecristo Peruvians (buy a box, get a free matching humidor!). It's actually a very nice humidor with excellent construction. A nice cedar tray made it a plus! The cigar itself was good but overpriced, so having the humidor made it an easier purchase because for a while I did really want to try other Montecristos.

With that in mind, I had purchased my 3rd humidor as yet another JR deal, this time at their store in Southfield, MI. I saw that they were advertising a similar Montecristo deal to the national website, but with the cigar being any of the Montecristo lines. I asked if there was a minimum purchase size, and the cashier said one box. So guess what I found? Montecristo Afrique cigarillos, way overpriced at $38 for 30 cigarillos (or extremely petite sized coronas as some people like to say). They are actually an excellent cigar/cigarillo, and I do endorse them readily. Now here's the funny part to my story: the advertisement said that I could pick any size humidor. As the cashier was pulling out the corona-sized humidor out, I told her to give me the 40-ct. churchill size humidor. She looked at me, scratched her head, read the ad and gave me my freebie. Then she tried to sell me everything in the store. No thanks! For the last couple of months, I've been seeing a similar/the same humidor on special at Mike's Cigar (a very nice website retailer) for about $70. It's bundled with 10 cigars. Not a great deal, but these really are nice humidors.

Woohoo I'm cheap!

I will put photos up soon for these.

Punica Pomegranate Liquer

2008-07-28T08:56:00.004-05:00

I bought this bottle around the holidays in 2007. This French-made liquor is made with pomegranate extract and comes in a beautiful glass bottle. The low-octane strength (about 34 proof) and sweet, fruity yet unobtrusive pomegranate flavour make this an excellent choice as a mixer (great with vodka) or on the rocks after dinner. I've seen this brand on sale at the store for $18. for 750 ml. When I purchased a bottle during the Christmas season they packaged it with a very nice martini glass. Impressive!

Let's get rid of the Chairman!

2008-07-28T08:34:00.002-05:00

Okay, last year I reviewed some cigars that I picked up called Chairman's Choice. At the time I was being generous with the review. More than a year later I have ultimately decided that these are the most taste-free cigars that I've ever had. Absolutely no flavour! While mowing my lawn yesterday (we had friends over for burgers, hot dogs, and smores!) I decided to give the CC churchill another try. When I'm doing work and not concentrating on drinking beer and smoking a stogie (it's hard work multi-tasking :) ), I prefer to smoke something that's mild to medium in build. This cigar unfortunately is sub-mild. After trying to get something out of it for 20 minutes, I finally threw the stick into the firepit. If you are interested in taking these "cigars" off of me for absolutely nothing but postage, leave a contact with your information and I'll gladly send these things out to you.

Value: 2 - these are probably good for lighting fireworks

Old Overholt Rye Whiskey review

2008-07-25T16:36:00.003-05:00

This fine and inexpensive spirit was purchased after much reading was done on rye whiskeys. Since I moved outside of Chicago back in 2006 from Detroit, I have found that the biggest foodie/drink/cigar finds outside of great Chinese food have been the availability of good liquors at lower prices. Illinois has high taxes for just about everything but liquor. Don't know why, but I can get a bottle of good bourbon like Maker's Mark for about $5 less per 750 mL than in Michigan. That said, I do not buy bottles of liquor in Michigan anymore. What I do is buy drinks at the bars in Michigan because a good pint of Guiness is usually no more thatn $4 in Detroit versus up to $7 in Chicago.

Anyways, Old Overholt is a sweet and smooth rye that has a very flavourful bouquet. What that means is that when I drink it, I feel the warm burn going down my throat and not up my nose. No harshness, but you know that you're drinking something that was made with a bit of care. At about $13 for the bottle, I must say drink and be merry with this one!

Rosa Cuba, you are a bit plugged!

2008-07-25T10:05:00.005-05:00

One Word Quick Review:

Neutral.

Cigar: Rosa Cuba Robusto
Where did I smoke them: Full Moon, Ann Arbor, MI while shooting pool.

Appearance: 5 Wrapper is a bit on the thin side, to the point that it's translucent at times.
Construction: 4 Wrapper did not hold up well, started to crack as I pulled them out of the cellophane.
Prelight aroma: 7 smelled nice, like a typical cigar.
Flavour: 6, nothing special nothing offensive
Draw: 3 Plugged on about half of them.

Value: 5 - still better than a Swisher (although I have to admit that machine made cigars are consistent in appearance and construction), and for under $20/bundle for most of the sizes, you have yourself a cheap date. But you could do so much better! This is like going out on a date with your hot female friend's hairy hippie classmate.

Very old cigar! It's Don Augusto!

2008-07-25T09:17:00.004-05:00

Another quick review on a cigar that I actually smoked a while ago:

Don Augusto Toro, from the awful Thompson cigars. Almost everybody that has started out on cigars gets the recommendation from someone that they should check out Thompson cigars. My advice is, do not listen to them! Back in 2004, when I first really got into cigars, I was given an old humidor (40 ct. size, holes were filled with glue), and some cigars. There were a couple of these cigars that looked like the kind that you could find in the local gas station next to the Phillies - comical blue and white striped labeled with gold lettering , just one of those cigars that is meant for a- "it's a boy! it's a girl!" occasion. It's the venerable Don Augusto. I have never seen these cigars on any other website, so I'm going to assume that these are Thompson's 3rd rate specials. They sell for about $1 each, which is the standard Thompson's cheap deal. Anyways, these cigars had sat in my humidor for the next year, and from what I understand, they were now about 4-5 years old. Not wanting to toss out a cigar based on where it came from, I decided to light the Don Augusto Toro up. I sat outside in the cold spring air and I was floored! This was a mild-medium cigar, and it tasted as good as or better than most of the Macanudos that I have had. That's the truth. It had a natural wrapper, no funky taste, just solid tobacco goodness. On a scale of 1-10, it would be a 10 for flavour, 7 for construction (most of this was probably because of neglect), and 10 for value. Now here's the catch. If you buy a box of these, I really do recommend that you have room in your humidor, because aging is key to this brand. Inventory costs money, so build yourself a good coolidor. I have not been on Thompson's website in a very long time, and once sent them an email to tell them to never send their catalog to me. They still do sometimes, but I don't mind it. The writing contained within is even cheesier than my blog. Ew!

JR Alt. Edicion Limitada to the Hoyo Piramide

2008-07-25T09:11:00.004-05:00

Here's a quick review:

Smoked the cigar. Nice looking, sharp end. Smoked it to about 2 inches down. Tossed it. Why not smoke it to the nub? Unlike the other JRAlt EL's that I have smoked, this one just wasn't as tasty. Everybody says that the JR Alts. are the same tobacco wrapped up in different constructions, but in this case, the flavour never developed and it was one-dimensional (straw like, not woody and tannin-like as I prefer for this line of cigars). If I had to rate it from a scale of 1-10, I would say a very neutral 6.0 for flavour, 9.0 for construction, and 6.5 for overall value.

Consuegra No. 73 Cigar (Toro size, Natural)

2008-07-25T09:06:00.001-05:00

Cheap cigars! What a life! I don't even smoke that much, so why do I purchase and patiently review these things? If had more money, then maybe I would buy a few boxes of Don Carlos robustos to smoke and get fat with. Then again, if I had more money, I would be spending it on other things, like a good magazine subscription to Bravewords and Bloody Knuckles or some other cool heavy metal magazine. Or even better, I would spend it on a big double bass or a nice drum kit. Hold on! I'm making a slight thought detour. VroOm! I got a free six issue subscription to Cigar Aficionado last year that finally just ended. I actually enjoyed reading the interviews and learned a (while trying to keep a straight face) from reading the all important cigar reviews, but Everything in there is a bit off, and the stories by a Mr. Suckling (haha, that is his real last name) are quiet pretentious. Yes, James, Cuba is a wonderful producer of cigars and the glory days of 1958-1959 are a thing to remember, but let me tell you. Cuba is still a communist government, and Castro and his brother are vile despots. Therefore I cannot actively support the purchase of Cuban cigars. Yes, they taste good, but I have decided not to speak for them. So you might ask, what about Chinese-made items being sold here? I do my best not to buy them. I refuse to buy food from China, I am diligent in finding USA-made equipment and parts, and will not support companies that are actively pushing all of our jobs over to China (and other countries for that matter). This is wrong, and so is China's leadership, so to all of the US manufacturers out there that are complaining about lower/zero revenues, it's all your fault for supporting this evil. I can't even step into Wal-Mart because of this. Imagine that, an Asian brother that won’t buy Chinese-made items. Until they bring God back into their country, nothing will change over there. Wow, what a rant. I better stick to reviewing cigars. I need to exercise more and get my mind focused. If only it came in Churchill form.

Okay, if you’re still with me, here’s my review:

The Consuegra No. 73 is a good cigar once you age it. These have been sitting in my brother-in-law’s wine chest/cigar humidor storage unit for about 2-3 months now. There was no room in his humidors at the time, so he wrapped up the bundle in several layers of plastic wrap. I was somewhat skeptical on this method of storage, but it seems to have worked. The cigars were purchased at JR Cigars in Detroit and were quite moist. Just about every cigar that I have ever had from there tends to have a lot of moisture within the leaves, so a few days or even week outside of the humidor should not have any detrimental affect on them. We unwrapped the cigars, removed them from the cellophane, and I promptly clipped one with a double-blade cutter. The end that I clipped started to tear slightly, but I managed to peel it off without too much problem. I sniffed the toro and got only slight whiffs of the general tobacco aroma. Strike that up as mild! I put the stick to my lips to get a pre-light taste, and it was woody, mild (no chewing tobacco-like sensations on this one) in flavour, and enjoyable.
One match lit the cigar without any issues (I could be overly snooty and say that I grabbed a tinder from my pile of cedar strips and lit it with the flame that I have kept going for the last 10 years, but then you would probably quit reading my posts and drink a cosmopolitan while talking about how hot Sarah Jessica Parker is and how she reminds you of your mom).

Several puffs into it and the cigar’s draw was perfect. Since Consuegras are seconds, there are times where their cigars can be plugged. Not in this case. The draw was perfect. Again, the taste was mild, plenty of smoke, not a bit of harshness. Best description in terms of what I tasted was that it’s like drinking a good hefeweizen. I’m really enjoying the natural Consuegras. When I want a really full-bodied cigar, I’ll got get my JR Edicion Limitadas out or pull out something from my stash of true premium cigars (yes, I am the cheap guy who keeps a humidor of premiums, but they’re mostly gifted cigars that I’ve received over the last couple of years). The robusto that I reviewed before was excellent, and now this toro can be added to the Metalbass Hall of Exalted Cigars (note – this hall is not listed on the website :)).

Holy Cow! It's been 20 years!

2008-05-21T10:30:00.007-05:00

Well I'm officially approaching middle age. Actually I am a firm believer that I'm not middle aged until I approach 50. Then I will be a middle aged yuppie idiot who is driving a much nicer car than I have now. While being in great metal band. Now when I'm 50 years old, will all of you think that I'm suffering through a mid-life crisis because I'm in a sports car and playing bass (wid me fingers!) in a fine Christian progressive death metal band? :)

I think not. By then I will be a world famous Christan progressive death metal bassist with tons of groupies. Being married, these groupies will only shower me with gifts and handmade quilts instead of the usual groupie offerings (which I have never partaken in, but mostly because nobody wants to fool around with a handsome Asian brother (HAB) bassist, we're too serious and committed to the dark arts of CPDM). Plus nobody ever tells you that the bassist gets stuck with the ugly chicks. But since I'm married to a hot babe, I must say, I have proved them wrong! Anyways why am I writing about this on a blog about cheap cigars and other cheap things? Not sure why, so therefore I must be venting.

I had my 20th high school reunion at the beginning of May. The class of 1988 at WBHS truly is starting to look, well, older! A good number of my classmates look pretty much like a more mature but still recognizable version of themselves from 1988. There were some people that I just had no idea as to who they were, and when they told me their names, I still had no clue. Now that is scary. One woman claimed she knew me (everybody knew Chuck in high school!). I had no idea who she was. She said she even put the yearbook together. Again, no clue! She spent all of bar night and the reunion pestering me to remember her. I even saw the picture of her helping our reunion organizer puke in the bathroom.
It was a fun time, my only complaint was that there was no open bar. What sort of cheapskate doesn't book an open bar? Just kidding, but seriously, I like my drinks! Maybe the Somerset Inn was cheating us or something.

Other than that (late seating was another pet peeve), it was a nice reunion. My old neighbor is still aloof and single. Can never figure her out. Too bad, her mom and stepdad are really nice folks. Got to talk to a bunch of other people, and they were cool. Good to see people after 20 years.

Okay, so what does this have to do with cigars? Hee hee, glad that you asked! When I got back I decided to forgo my thought of not purchasing anymore bundles in 2008 (my humidors have more than enough, and since I don't smoke every day, the humidors are now very full) and promptly purchased two bundles of La Floridita Lonsdales from Famous Smoke Shop in Pennsylvania. I've had good luck in purchasing premium and economy cigars from them over the last four years. Only once have I purchased a box cigars that totally sucked from there (Famous Nero Cattivos crap). La Floriditas consistently get good reviews for both their natural and maduro cigars. FSS had a buy one get one deal, so I got two bundles of lonsdales for $28.99 (free shipping too!) with one being natural and one maduro. I will let you know how these are once I get over my stupid cold. Never drink or smoke when you're sick. It ain't worth it.

Consuegra DR (Dominican)

2008-01-30T10:27:00.000-06:00

I picked up this bundle at the JR Cigars in Southfield, MI. 25 natural wrapped robustos, calling out my name as I walked by! Seriously, I wanted to go pick up this bundle and I'm glad I did. Haven't seen many reviews on this cigar. There are thousands of you out there who enjoy the maduro Consuegra cigars, particularily the #9's. I bought a bundle (if I remember, it was about $28 for the bundle/tax), and I will continue to buy these when I have room in my humidor. For being cigars that are classified as seconds, there is nothing more consistent, delicious, and economical than Consuegra. The DR version is about the same strength as the maduro version, but perhaps a bit lighter in aftertaste. The draw was acceptable. New cigars tend to be tight in draw, and these were not too bad. (Since I first got this bundle, they've been in my humidor with my favorite kiddie stickers on them for about 2 months, and I have found the draw has improved). What flavours/aroma that I could discern were tobacco (duh!), leather/tannins (reminded me of drinking a nice glass of merlot), and hints of grass. And not the Jamaican type! No harshness, even at the nub. I smoked one while drinking a Heineken. Neither cigar nor beer overpowered the other. Anyways, it found it to be a medium/full cigar (you might disagree, but your opinion don't matter here), well worth the price. Strike this as another victory for the Cheap Cigar Connoisseur.

Top Five Cigars Under $2 (AKA and we ain't talking about the price you get from auction)

2007-12-20T16:40:00.003-06:00

Here's Metalbass Top Five Great Cigars Under $2
And in no set order, you have to try them all!

I really can't stand going to websites and see people talk about how good of a bargain a particular cigar is and then find out they got them off an auction website. The real price is still the retail price that the online dealer sets. To me, I don't always have time to hit the auctions, and though I have had good luck on them, I usually don't find what I want on them. My favorite is when people end up overpaying for a box of cigars,
that takes real skill. Ha ha!

1) JR Alternative Edicion Limitada
- Fellow cheapsters, rejoice at the fact that you can get these online at the never discounted price of $1.80 or less per cigar. The dark wrapper, full robust flavor, and awesome construction all make this a great bargain. My only complaint about JR Cigar is their crappy shipping charges. For every item that you buy, they tack on a bigger fee.

2) JM Dominican's - You can get these online for about $60 for a box of 50 robustos, natural or maduro. They are very well constructed, taste great (maduro is medium and sweet), and have a very bright band on them so you can't get lost at night.

3) Mr. B's Candela Toro - I like candela cigars. These are cheaper than most machine mades and way better. They have a mild yet tasty flavor. Construction is okay, but at 80 cents or less per stick, you cannot go wrong with these. Buy a bundle, smoke a few, and hand the rest out to your mooching good for nothing friends.

4) Tabamex Maduros- Of all the cheap Famous Smoke cigars I have tried, the best bargain to me are the Tabamex Presidente maduro cigars. $36.99 for a bundle of 25. You can find my comments about how good these cigars are on their website. Medium in character, smooth tobacco taste. They are not the most attractive cigars out there, but honestly, if you are worried about how a cigar looks, you must have an oral fetish.

5) La Vieja Habana Corojo Corona Chateau - Very consistent quality, under $2/stick online. Nicaraguan corojo wrapper on a sandwich blend. The aroma is sweet, the flavor is medium-full but very smooth. Cigar snobs don't like sandwich blends. I think cigar snobs only enjoy the sandwiches that their moms give them. Poor slobs will never move out of their mom's basement! Anyways, try these cigars out. They come in cheap cardboard boxes filled with loose tobacco leaves that smell like farm. Toss the box and scrap, put the cigars in your humidor, and enjoy them with moderation like all cigars should be enjoyed.

Updates! Expect reviews on Consuegra DR Corona, JR Alt. Edicion Limitada Hoyo Piramide, and some other cheap cigars!

2007-11-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

Hi all!

Seeing how my fanbase is not going anywhere, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be posting a few updates on the website soon! Expect reviews on Consuegra DR Corona, JR Alt. Edicion Limitada Hoyo Piramide, and some other cheap cigars!

Famous Smoke's Cattivo Nero

2007-09-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

This maduro cigar, one of the house brands marketed by Famous Smoke, was purchased in the Winter of 2005 (Jan.) and came with a huge shipment that has taken me 2+ years to go through. Most cigar smokers run through an entire box without blinking an eye, but I like to do things the Cheap Cigar way, and that is savor each and every cheap cigar (and the occasional premium cigar) in my humidor. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy this maduro-wrapped corona cigar. The first couple cigars I pulled out of the box (28 to a box, slide top, retails at Famous Smoke for $29.95) were harsh and bitter, nothing like their wonderful natural wrapper cousins, the Cattivo Biondo. The Cattivo Biondo was one of the most mild yet flavorful cigars that I have enjoyed. I honestly think of it as the Poor Man's Macanudo, but for about 1/3 the price and 4/3 the consistency. But back to the Cattivo Nero. What flavors came out of this cigar? Straw, no maduro sweetness, just bitterness. I could have revived a roomful of fainted people with this cigar's flavor. "To the humidor!" I thought, and so it went.

After a few months of aging, I lit one up, and again, harsh and bitter. Hmmm, looks like my cheapness is getting the best of me. This isn't even a good yard gar. "To the humidor!" And so it went.

Okay, it's 2007, more than 2 years since I last smoked this cigar. I gave away a few to people who were sponging cigars off of me, and a few more went to people I knew that had no idea what cigars meant. Wow, as a Christian, I'm not being very nice. Mu ha ha! Actually I was just giving them away to whoever wanted them. Still had a couple left in the old 100-count humidor. Lit one up, and you know, I should have expected it. Blecch!

This one is a loser from Famous Smoke.

JR Alt. to the Romeo and Julieta Bully

2007-09-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

So does this guy do nothing but review cheap cigars and give them good ratings? Read on brother, read on.

JR Alternative to the Romeo and Julieta Bully
Size: Rothschild
Wrapper: Natural
Origin: Pepper Mill, Sanitary Station

Two word review: Yuck Yuck.

Why: Smoked one the usual way, right out of the bundle and fresh from the store.
My stomach hurts. I like a good strong, full-bodied cigar. Just not this one. It's ulcer- inducing. My tongue is numb. I pass out. Ten hours later, I wake up! Where am I? Why is my stomach inside out? Must put bundle in humidor to age for infinity.

Few months later: Took one out of the lower depths of my Made In China humidor. Why are so many things made in China? I'm Taiwanese in heritage, but I was even made in the USA. To all of corporate America, quit selling my country short and sending work to China. They're evil communists who care nothing about what they make. Garbage in, garbage out.

Political rant over. Back to cigar!

Okay, after a few months, cigars tend to mellow out a bit and the taste should improve. Not this cigar. My stomach still hurts after smoking this cigar. The taste was way too peppery, like eating Habanero peppers. No flavor, just full on spice. This sure is lousy. I ended up giving the bundle away. Probably should have thrown them out. JR Cigars, I want my refund!

Cheap Wine from Trader Joe's - Is Charles Shaw a true bargain?

2007-09-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

Been purchasing a few bottles of wine here and there. I've found that I like a nice dry red wine. Chiantis are a bit light, but good with pasta (hmmm, coincidence? I think not!). Merlots are my favorite. I typically drink one 750 ml bottle in about two days. Being the connoisseur of cheapness, I decided to try the Trader Joe's $2.99 special, Charles Shaw Merlot.

Here's what I have found:

Aroma: Typical red wine, slight floral and pepper smells emanate from the glass after being poured.

Taste: Dry, more tannins. Hmmmm, not bad!

Aftertaste: Not much, doesn't linger.

Paired with Spicy Chinese food: Doesn't kill the flavour of the food, and doesn't lose any either.
Paired with Pasta: Enhances tomato sauce from jar.

Party Drink Power (PDP): Guests of mine usually have no clue of their wine, so this was more than adequate in getting them inebriated. Cheap and effective. Yahoo! PDP of 90. (Don't you love it when people give you a number rating that is meaningless?)

Overall analysis: Good for the amateurs like me who only know cigars, whiskey, and beer. Perfect for the average Metalhead. Not for the woman who only drinks white zinfandel. I say it's a bargain!

Cheap Cigar Calls for a Cheap Drink!

2007-08-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

First ever drink review by the Metalbass!

Jim Beam Rye, the rotgut with the yellow label. Totally different than Jim Beam Bourbon, the vile concoction in the white label.

This rye whiskey is $9.99 just across the border from where I live, and it's hard to find for some reason. It's got a sweet aroma and a caramel-like, mild flavor. Nothing to wreak havoc on your esophagus. My buddy and I drank half the bottle in four days. Compliments my collection of cheap and fine cigars by accenting the tobacco flavours. There is not much smokiness in this liquor. Overall, I highly recommend this rye because it's flavourful, easy on the palette and the wallet, and perfectly compliments a yummy cigar! Score is 90!

JR Alternatives

2007-08-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

I have in my humidor a few cigars of JR's fantastic Edicion Limitada JR alt. cigars. The Montecristo C and Edmundo are both medium-full bodied cigars and the bottom line is: they're cheap and tasty! That is what this blog is all about. Order them now, before the marketing geniuses at JR realize that they can double the price on these cigars. These are better than their Ultimates!

Review of La Vieja Habana Chateau Corona, Corojo wrapper

2007-08-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

The LVH CCC cigar is a good example of how a low-priced cigar can have plenty of flavor and great construction. There is a slight spice, medium flavor, and smooth draw and a good yet only slight aftertaste. The corojo wrapper really has a nice aroma (word of caution - when I first got my box and brought it home, it smelled like farm because it reminded of cow and earth. Luckily the aroma disappeared when I removed the cigars from the box and tossed box and the bed of tobacco leaves out).

Mixed filler cigars have really come a long way, and this is one of the best. I enjoyed a few LVH cigars in the past, when the box prices were about $10-$15 less, but even with the price increase, these cigars are still a fantastic bargain in my opinion. Drew Estate has done a good job and I highly recommend these cigars.

Famous Dominican 1000 Torpedo

2007-08-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

The quick review: Got it for $16/bundle. Normally somewhere in the $30 range for 20 cigars. I got 4 off of www.cigarauctioneer.com . Sold one bundle, gave one away, and kept two bundles. Normally it's a good idea to let the cigars sit in your humidor for a few weeks before trying the first one. But the metalbass way is to smoke one immediately, then determine how you want to proceed based on the initial taste. One bundle had bands (Famous Smoke Dominican 1000) and the other bundle had no bands. I smoked one from each and I must say, these are very good cigars. Mild to medium in flavor, slight spiciness, plenty of smoke, good draw. Almost leathery. I am not an expert at describing a cigar's taste other than tobacco, peppery, spicy, coffee-like, and leathery. Anybody that describes a cigar as having hints of nutmeg, durian, or whatever is full of it. Anyways, these cigars are good. I've already smoked about four of them, and I'm going to have to let them age so that I don't smoke everday.

Chairman's Choice President Cigar

2007-08-09T14:21:00.000-05:00

Wow, I must say I like Famous Smoke alot. They have good deals, and their cigars tend to be just right on the humidification side. I have very rarely gotten lousy cigars from them. Today's review is on Chairman's Choice President cigars. Got two boxes of 25 for $19.95 each off of FSS's auction site. Using the tried and true metalbass cigar/drink sampling method, I opened the boxes, put them in my humidor, and smoked one cigar. Lit it, sat outside, nice and sunny, drink in hand was a bottle of Foster's lager. I like a good drink with a cigar. Beer can be light or dark, preferably dark when I have a cigar, but sometimes a lighter beer helps cleanse the palate rather than enhance the flavor of the cigar. In this case, what little flavor I got from the CCP cigar was washed out by the beer. Hmmm, me thinks that this cigar is a bit too mild. No hints of spice, panties, nothing. A few days later I smoked another CCP, this time accompanied by a martini in Ann Arbor. Two of my friends also partook in one of these cigars. This time, still mild, but a bit more flavorul, enough to hold it's own with the martini. Came back home and a few days later, tried one more while working. No drink on hand this time. Flavor was stronger yet still mild, slight spice, draw was a bit loose but on a summer day, sometimes you just don't want to think about what you're smoking and just enjoy the weather. Don't pay full price for this closeout from the makers of Troya cigars. Instead, buy it at the rock bottom auction price that FSS puts these out at every now and then. I'm sure they still make like $10 off of a box. I still think that this cigar may get better with age, and it's definitely better than any machine made junk out there that I see the old guys smoke. Really, don't smoke everday. If you do, stick to cigarettes.