89%On the Dotted Line

AVO LE 30 Years Signature Double Corona

July 9, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $10 to $15 Range, 2019

“There, I guess King George will be able to read that without his spectacles!” — John Hancock Hancock’s remark, of course, was made after being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. The late Avo ... Read More...

89%Golden Blueprint

Gran Habano Blue in Green Gran Robusto

EL Oso Fumar

May 8, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $8 to $10 Range, 2019

“Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith” –Garth Brooks, "We Shall Be Free," c. 1992 It’s hard to take a glimpse at the Gran Habano Blue in Green without admiring it for all it encapsulates. Okay, e... Read More...

90%Lady Luck?

Pier 28 Oscuro Robusto

EL Oso Fumar

April 26, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $5 to $8 Range, 2019

A common mantra frequently attributed to Thomas Jefferson: I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Is it possible we’ve found the Thomas Jefferson of the cigar i... Read More...

83%Grapes of Wrath

Hoyo La Amistad Black Rothschild

EL Oso Fumar

March 28, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $5 to $8 Range, 2019

La amistad—friendship, to those who don’t speak the romance language of Spanish. It is certainly an apt description for the relationship that A.J. Fernández has with the premium cigar industry right now. His fi... Read More...

90%Twists & Turns

Long Live the King MAD MF Corona

EL Oso Fumar

March 8, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $10 to $15 Range, 2019

I find Robert Caldwell’s story so rich and froth with intrigue. One could spin this review and take it down so many roads. I could conjure T.H. White from The Once and Future King, “The bravest people are the o... Read More...

87%Toil & Trouble

Grimalkin Toro (2018)

EL Oso Fumar

January 28, 2019

Cigar Reviews, $8 to $10 Range, 2019

What's done cannot be undone. Sorry Will, Scott Zucca (owner of Emilio Cigars) and James Brown (of Black Label Trading Company and BLK WKS Studio) don’t care to live by your pointed words. The Emilio Grimalk... Read More...

88%Well-Behaved

Protocol Official Misconduct Toro

EL Oso Fumar

December 28, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $8 to $10 Range, 2018

We’re cigar nerds. Juan Cancel and his fellow nerds owners, Bill Ives, Bill Agathis, and Kevin Keithan, have come a long way since their initial launch in 2015. But, if you ask (or, in some cases, don’t ask)... Read More...

89%Isn’t a Farce

Room101 Farce Connecticut Robusto

EL Oso Fumar

December 11, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $10 to $15 Range, 2018

COACH MEISTER What if I could guarantee that this year’s show will make money?… …why don’t we get some of my football players to be dancers in the show and people will show up in droves just to see them fal... Read More...

92%Silver > Gold

Joya Silver Toro

EL Oso Fumar

December 4, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $5 to $8 Range, 2018

Allow me to paint some perspective on the year 1968. Yes, the obvious, it was 50 years ago. The same computer power that you now hold in your hand took rooms to house. The Ford Torino rolled off the assembly fo... Read More...

Todo Las Dias Mas Fuerte Thick Lonsdale cigar review

89%Mas Worth It

Todos Las Dias Mas Fuerte

EL Oso Fumar

November 2, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $10 to $15 Range, 2018

The 2018 IPCPR trade show had many standouts and notable additions to impressive portfolios throughout the industry. One of these additions was to Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. However, the additi... Read More...

88%Oaked not Choked

Diesel Whiskey Row Robusto

EL Oso Fumar

October 19, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $5 to $8 Range, 2018

It seems that everywhere you turn today, there is a new brewery, distillery—even artisan cheese shop popping up in towns across this country. I wish the same existed for cigar companies, but this isn’t the arti... Read More...

87%Textbook Draw

CAO Nicaragua Granada

EL Oso Fumar

October 3, 2018

Cigar Reviews, $5 to $8 Range, 2018

The storied history of CAO is one froth with peaks, valleys, and everything in between. Once known for making pipes and building humidors, the company started the bold move into premium cigars during the infamo... Read More...

Author EL Oso Fumar