Author: Stef

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday.  In honor of this solar circuit, I requested to have my friends with dogs bring their puppers over for an ice cream social. I am pleased to report that giving doggo friendly ice cream to sweet canines was just as enjoyable as I had hoped.  I did not expect, but was extremely surprised when my friends brought me a plethora of cigars. It is indeed a fabulous first world problem to have a full humidor. The most prevalent present, one of my favorites: Asylum 13. I have written about the corona in the past, I would like to talk about their Ogre version with the really nice Barber pole tobacco effect.

This slender version of the Asylum 13 Ogre doesn’t let anything down in terms of how it smokes. While they made it skinnier, it’s much longer than a corona, so it smokes in about the same amount of time. I feel that the light Candela and dark Habano tobacco in the barber pole wrapper actually meld into a nice middle ground between light and medium bodied cigar. I would definitely classify this as a smoother natural cigar. A bigger ring size is available of this stick, but this size was perfect for me.

Before cutting, the slender Asylum Ogre smells of leather, coffee, chocolate, and the cut-grass-green-aroma of the Candela tobacco. When it’s cut, the darker tobacco filler makes it presence known and starts to take over most of the aroma. After lighting, the first 3rd of the cigar is very leather and tobacco, with a smooth draw. Getting to the mid point of the stick, some of that chocolate and coffee starts to edge in. At this point, the draw got a little uneven, but not necessarily tough.  The cigar finishes with a really nice coffee-tobacco-leather melding of all of the previous flavors. For the smoke itself, I get lots of chocolate and coffee nuances tinged with the green aroma from the stripe of Candela, but not a lot of bite and pepper like I usually get in the full corona of the Asylum 13.

In the past, I have paired the Asylum 13 with a dark, dry red wine with much success.  The Ogre was also very tasty with a solid Merlot, and I would suspect that it would also pair well with root beer, coffee, or a nice dark beer.  I was lucky enough to be gifted a few delicious gluten free Endeavours for my birthday, and cigars always go well with that. The cigar was also delicious after my non-traditional birthday treat: coconut milk ice cream with gf cookie dough bits, a half shot of Jameson, chocolate and caramel sauces, bacon bits, and happy little sprinkles.  I consider myself lucky to be able to thank so many people for such a fantastic birthday!

Cigar smoking is usually regarded to be a high end hobby. Every so often, I do find a cigar that is of fantastic quality and smoke but doesn’t break the bank. While this stick didn’t hurt my wallet, it did really wipe me out. The heavy handed Boneshaker cigar is not a light smoke in any way, shape, or form. I picked up the stick for under $3 from Tampa Humidor, and even the purveyor there warned me that this was not a light bodied cigar, that it takes time, and a full meal would go far to help with smoking this stick. Truthfully, as I like horror movies and spooky things, I really picked up the cigar because I liked the cigar rings. They’ve got cute little skeletons all over and it was an inexpensive cigar so I figured “why not?” The dark Nicaraguan wrapper is boldly honest about what type of smoke it will be — there is no bones about it, is a dark, oily, heavy cigar. While it was one of my more inexpensive choices, I was impressed that it was a very good quality tobacco.

Uncut, and unlit, the Boneshaker smells of smoked woods– mesquite and hickory especially– and dark leather, with tiny overtones of coffee. Once cut, the stick takes on a little more leathery smell, but the dark leaf, oily tobacco definitely makes itself known. It’s like Michael Myers in that it just slowly works its way to knocking you down. It is not in any hurry, it is confident that it will destroy you.   After being lit, the first third of the cigar is mostly smoky hardwoods(more hickory than anything) with a lot of leather. The midpoint of the cigar has a bit more coffee going on, but still really heavy on the dark tobacco. As I smoked, I confirmed with my companions that it didn’t stink like a really cheap, poorly put together cigar at all. The smoke itself was heavy as well, as the clouds stayed close to my hand. Yes, I said clouds, not wafting tendrils of smoke. The oily nature of this cigar makes itself known, as even the smoke seems to be heavy.

The cigar smoked evenly, and had a very smooth draw for such a heavy hitter. I never felt like I had to relight, I could go to get another beverage, come back and the cigar was still waiting for me. The last third of the cigar had an Oolong tea feel to it, instead of a coffee aroma, more a dark black tea with a hardwood smoke underneath.

While this cigar was definitely better than expected, it was certainly a lot heavier than I was prepared for on a calm Sunday afternoon. For under $3 I don’t know that I could find a better dark cigar than this, but I also don’t think it’s something I could put on my frequent rotation. I paired this with a low gluten IPA, and I think anything heavier would actually even make me more sleepy. I felt it necessary to let my companions know I didn’t fall in the shower before I fell into bed and slept like the dead. The Boneshaker definitely shook me up.

Today is about a cigar/cigarillo that I carry around with me so frequently that I’m absolutely shocked I haven’t written to you all about it yet. I usually have this stick in the form of a tin of cigarillos with me, and I like to share them as I feel like it’s a very pleasant smoke. It reminds me of the pipe tobacco my dad used to smoke when I was a kid.

Moontrance by CAO is another CAO Flavours line that they have executed flawlessly. While the aroma is sweet, the tobacco itself is actually very mild. I generally prefer this cigar in a petit corona form, or as a cigarillo. I do consider this to be a dessert cigar, something to round out an evening. A corona is large a ring as I would recommend for this stick.

Moontrance earns its popularity from a very beautiful blend of bourbon vanilla, exotic fruits, and a good quality tobacco. Unlit and uncut, it has quite a few floral notes, layered with an unmistakable bourbon vanilla and tinged with honey aroma. Cut, this little number is such a fantastic bouquet– I’d take a dozen of Moontrances over roses any day! The cut stick leads the nose with that heady vanilla, but the senses also taste through smell the fruits and honey.

On the first lighting, the vanilla definitely leads the way. But on the draw, it’s just the tobacco and fruits that I get. The wrapper isn’t sweetened, so it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the complex flavor of the cigar. The cigar definitely benefits from the additional essences added to the tobacco, the tobacco itself isn’t really anything to write home about. On the other hand, it also doesn’t smell like what I consider the stinky old man cigar- that stogie that has to be just as offensive to smoke as it is to be near. This cigar is an elegant aroma, it has a sophistication. The tobacco is meant to be part of the experience but it is certainly not the leader in any way shape or form.

While I do generally consider medium body cigars more my style, I enjoy this smoke for the lightness of it. The Moontrance is a lovely cigar to round out an evening, as it doesn’t go straight to your head. It’s more of an aromatic experience, and it goes well with wine, coffee, darker beers, and the spiked seltzer waters I’ve been enjoying lately. To me, the Moontrance is a ubiquitous cigar for any smoker who wants a nice night cap. I would not try to pair this cigar with a heavy meal, in fact, I can’t really think of a food that would really jive with it. As it is mostly vanilla, there’s a lot of flavors it can certainly enhance– I’ve had this with breakfast a few times, as I keep a clear head afterwards.

Greetings Brothers and Sisters of the Leaf, I’ve been out in the world of spell. Thank you so much to the lot of you that actually reached out to tell me that you’d never smoked a cigar in your life, but my writing about it has you interested. That is such high praise! Thank you thank you thank you!

Life last year got a little more chaotic than I would ever want it for anyone, and I lost myself along the way.  I am still struggling to remember, much like 10th doctor when he generated, asking myself what kind of person am I. Am I the kind of person to do actions of such magnitude? Am I the kind of person to wear black Chuck Taylors and a bathrobe?

I have learned that the best of friendships are those where you can simply be in each other’s presence without having to say a word. That the comfort of another human doesn’t always have to have any sound involved. I have learned that people don’t always expect me to bring anything to a gathering, just as long as I go to a gathering. Being recognized that I am a gift of myself, especially from people that you appreciate and recognize as gifts as people, is actually an eye-opening and wonderful thing. For too long, I thought that there were certain things that were expected of me. I built up in my head that people expect that I will entertain or provide– and I have been pleasantly surprised that the only thing my friends really want from me.. is me. This is such a refreshing revelation for me from the past several years where I felt more that I was a means and not an ends.

Love is not material, this is an ancient bit of knowledge which am trying to keep remembering. Also applies to how folks feel about me. Nobody’s real value is from stuff. Nice to know that people value me just being around, as much as I value them simply being around me. And one of the best ways to simply spend time around amazing souls is with a great cigar.

For this Beltane, I gleefully started a fire on the evening of April 30th, had the company of people that I hold in the highest regard and had a smoke that is completely appropriate for the day. A CAO Earth Nectar was an apt cigar to have this evening. Uncut, the stick smells of light tobacco with undertones of dates, golden raisins, and currants. After cutting, the dried fruits are more pronounced. This adds a sweetness, but it is not cloying.

As I have found with most of my CAO products, they burn very evenly. The smoke is consistently flavored, this stick in particular with a very delicate hand on the flavorings. The point behind the Earth Nectar is to celebrate all the valuable things on our planet that bring joy to our life, the bounty of fruit and nuts that can be available to us all year long. While the aroma is the dried fruit before lighting, after lighting a tiny bit of a pecan smell is noted, especially as an aftertaste on exhale. This combines with a very pleasing cedar that rests gently on the tongue.

After about a third of the cigar, a delicate floral note worked its way through the nutty and dried fruit goodness.  I feel that this particular cigar speaks to the old gods, taking into account that offerings of dried fruit and nuts presented with aromatic flowers would be completely acceptable on a Beltane.

My favorite thing about the cigar is that it is not very sweet at all, it’s a slightly sweet smoke that comes out of the stick. It is not cloying, it is not perfumed, it is simply a healthy reminder of what bounty we have on this planet, and that we do have a very sweet life indeed if we have a moment to enjoy a cigar among friends. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for being the most precious resource I have, thank you.

May the Green Man and the May Lady bring you health, happiness, prosperity, and peace. Now, I’m going to go keep this bonfire lit.

Good morrow, my Friends of the Leaf.

I have gotten such great feedback from several folks. The only bad things I’ve been told is that my posts are missed.

Stay tuned, folks. May 1, I’ll be reviewing again.

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