Daniel B. Honigman's site

(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)

Brand: Black Cat Cigar Company
Line: Rey Miguel
Vitola: Toro 6 x 50
Origin: United States
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Box Price: $164.95 (Box of 25)

I’ve been reviewing some local and boutique stores lately. The Bobalu Cigar Co. is one. Nat Sherman is another. I’ll be coming back to those later. The Philadelphia-based Black Cat Cigar Company is next on my list.

I was drawn to Black Cat by its all-star line of house blends, made by some of the cigar industry’s finest, including Nestor Plasencia, Henke Kelner, and the Eiroas. The Rey Miguel line, an exclusive made by “Don” Pepin Garcia, is one of the finer house brands I’ve had. Ever. (Thanks to Sam from Black Cat for getting these out to me.)

The Rey Miguel has a good pre-light draw, and once you light it, it should continue to have a superb draw and a good, even burn. This cigar produces plenty of flavor, a Pepin trademark, and it’s a hearty smoke. It starts out with a boom, smacking you with a lot of black pepper, but it smooths out about halfway, giving you an earthy taste with hints of peanuts.

My one beef with this cigar — and it’s not a beef, really — is that the ash was a bit delicate for my taste. It split more than once, but I was still able to get a good burn out of the Rey Miguel.

Verdict: The Rey Miguel is a superb cigar. It’s tasty, has that Pepin “zing,” burns well and is reasonably priced — at least a buck or two less than most Don Pepins. I know that when I finally make it to Philadelphia, I’ll be swinging by Black Cat to pick up a few of these. (Who really cares about ash anyway?)

Similar cigars: Of course, the Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Generoso.

ADDENDUM - Due to Pepin Garcia’s workload, word is he’ll no longer be making this cigar for Black Cat. Get ‘em while they’re still there!

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Met this guy yesterday at a champagne tasting at The Artisan Cellar wine shop at the Merchandise Mart. I got a bottle of the Andre Clouet Grand Cru Bouzy Silver for $40. Great bubbly, if you haven’t tried it yet. (It retails for $70 or so.) Only bad thing: It’s hard to find.

As Clouet and I spoke, the passion he has for his work became quite clear.

Enjoy the video!

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)

Brand: El Mejor Cigars
Line: Emerald
Vitola: Toro 6 x 52
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium-to-full
Strength: Full-to-full
Box Price: $69.50 (Box of 20)

I’m relatively new to the cigar world, so I haven’t seen too many crazy-looking cigars. So when I got my hands on the El Mejor Emerald, I didn’t really know what to expect. The cigar’s foot has an old-style appearance, with loose filler and binder tobacco sticking out. Kind of cool, but it reminded me of a Backwoods, something I used to enjoy back in the day. I probably don’t have to tell you that the El Mejor Emerald tastes much better than a Backwoods cigar.

I do have to tell you, however, that it tastes better than many other cigars. (Good cigars, mind you.)

After you notice the EME’s shaggy foot, I recommend you give it a whiff; its smooth, aged Corojo wrapper makes it nice and spicy.

It has a good prelight draw, and when you light up, you’ll get a pleasant toasty taste and aroma. An inch in, the wrapper kicks in, and it gets peppery, with a slightly tangy aftertaste.

My one beef with the EME: It got hot at the end. But if you want to smoke it down to the nub — and you will — it’s a risk you’ll have to take.

Verdict: Complex, but not overbearing. An enjoyable cigar. And the price isn’t bad, either.

Similar cigars: The Don Pepin Cuban Classic.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Allright, folks. In case you cared, DanielHonigman.com is now a Google PageRank 4 site.

What does this mean, exactly? Is my site starting to gain steam on the Web? Probably not. I’m starting to rank higher for several terms, like “tidbit of the day,” “cigar of the week” and others, but who knows, really?

Anyway, here are my April site stats:

1,193 unique visitors
1,422 visits
2,012 pageviews

I didn’t post too often in April, thanks to my new job, but there were a few good ones in there, like:

- Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video

- A bit about the Chicago taxi gas surcharge.

- And lastly, several Cigars of the Week

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This HAS to be the latest viral video. Keep in mind one thing: I love Gummy Bears. (Thanks, Mollie!)

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

You probably already know about this one. Starting today, taxi drivers are going to charge an extra buck to help them out with rising gas prices. Unfortunately for drivers, customers won’t be happy about the charge, and will probably tip less.

Thank goodness for public transportation. As much as Chicagoans complain about the CTA, at least we have a semi-decent bus and train system.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)

Brand: Cuba Libre
Line: Cuba Libre
Vitola: Magnum (Robusto 5.5 x 55)
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium-to-full
Strength: Medium-to-full
Box Price: $75 (Box of 20)

Famed tobacconist Nestor Plasencia must have received news of Fidel Castro stepping down before the rest of us.

Well, that’s probably a stretch, but the Cuba Libre is a fairly new offering from Plasencia, who left Cuba at a young age, and is being offered at a decent price pretty much all over the Web. (Thanks to Steve from Cigars International for getting this out to me.)

The box-pressed “Magnum,” or robusto, has a slightly oily wrapper that’s toothy — but extremely attractive — and is highlighted by the cigar’s red, white blue and gold band. It’s a good looking cigar.

It has an easy, slightly creamy prelight draw. Once I lit the sucker up, it peppered up a tad on me, but the spice was smoothed out by its nutty, almost earthy, sweet finish. (Gotta love that Corojo wrapper!) The Cuba Libre stayed this way through the end.

There were no burn, ash or draw issues here, as I smoked it down to the nub. (Through several of these, I’ve found they stay cool.)

Verdict: While it doesn’t pack the punch of the Punch Rare Corojo, it makes up for it with its smoothness. It’s not an overly complex smoke, but I have to say I enjoyed this one from start to finish. My question: What’ll happen when the other Castro steps down? Will Plasencia stop making these cigars? I hope not.

Similar cigars: Most medium-bodied Plasencias.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)

Brand: Nat Sherman
Line: V.I.P. Selection
Vitola: Carnegie (Toro) 6 x 48
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Brazilian, Dominican
Body: Mild
Strength: Mild
Box Price: $134 (Box of 25)

Another day, another Nat Sherman. Oh well, things could be worse.

This time, it’s the Nat Sherman V.I.P. Selection. As you’d imagine, for a cigar with vitolas named after famous New Yorkers like Andrew Carnegie, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt and J.P. Morgan, it’s a luxurious smoke.

It’s an extremely light-colored, smooth cigar, not toothy at all, and has a good prelight draw. I found that once I started it, it was buttery and sweet, with an incredible burn and a creamy finish.

Verdict: I think I’ve found my new mild-bodied cigar. It is, by far the smoothest mild-bodied smoke of the Nat Sherman collection. Very enjoyable.

Similar cigars: I’d go so far as to compare it to the Davidoff Special Series cigars.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)

Brand: Nat Sherman
Line: 1400 Series
Vitola: Omerta (Torpedo) 6 x 54
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium-to-full
Strength: Medium-to-full
Box Price: $36.00 (Box of 6)

Man, the Omerta. I remember smoking this one as I was wearing my New York Giants Superbowl championship hoodie the other day. (Yeah, I have to gloat a bit.)

Omerta, as you probably know, is the mob code of silence. But I don’t think I can be quiet about this one. The Omerta is the torpedo size of the Nat Sherman 1400 Series line, named to commemorate the store’s original location at 1400 Broadway in New York.

As soon as I took the box-pressed Omerta out of its cellophane wrapper, I was struck by its hearty, earthy prelight scent and its stellar construction. (I love a good cap, and the Omerta delivers.) It also has a gorgeous dark Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, which is highlighted by its silver-and-black band. (Sorry about the blurry picture on this one, guys!)

Once lit, the Omera gave me a heavy dose of black pepper at first, but about a third of the way in, it smoothed out into a heartier cigar, but had an aftertaste reminiscent of cacao beans.

The cigar produced very solid, white ash. It started burning a tad unevenly about halfway through, but the burn self-corrected after about half an inch. Towards the end, for some reason, the draw got very tight.

Verdict: At about $6 a stick, I’d say this is a good buy. It’s a nice change of pace for Nat Sherman, which tends to make milder-bodied cigars. I like the company’s darker side. Fuwahahaha.

Similar cigars: The EO 601 Maduro Blue Label. Both dark Nicaraguans; both sweet once you get to know ‘em.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I know I’m a bit late on this, but this song has been stuck in my damn head all day. Enjoy!

You’ve been Rick Rolled. Well, not really.

Share this entry

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!