Italia | CigarCraig's Blog

Monday night, in celebration of re-stocking my Maria Mancini selection, I lit up a Magic Mountain that I’ve had in my humidor for quite a few years. It smoked great, tasted great, and was, over all, more than I expect from a $2.00 cigar! There is one more old one left that I may have to smoke back to back with a new one just for kicks. I’ve smoked many, many cigars in this line over the years and the flavor has been remarkably consistent, aged or new. I don’t know if this is good or bad, I just know that I like the cigars!

I’ve been wanting to smoke a Cain F, but I also wanted to smoke something that isn’t receiving a lot of buzz lately and the Cain seems to be talked about quite frequently. So for Wednesday’s cigar I chose a CAO Italia Box Press that I got at the 2008 IPCPR show. These may not be for everyone, but I enjoy the sharp flavors the Italian tobacco adds to the blend from time to time. This particular example was plagued with burn problems. The wrapper wouldn’t burn…it was like the original H2000 leaf when it first came out (which, ironically, the Maria Mancini uses, and always burns well). I had noticed a small tear in the wrapper just above the cap, but I don’t know that that was the whole problem as I was able to cover the tear with my lips. I emptied one lighter trying to keep it burning, and when it finally did get going with about 2 inches to go I probably got a little overzealous with it and ended up curled up on the couch in a fetal position for the rest of the evening. It’s not often that a cigar gets the best of me, but this one did. I have a few more Italias in the humidor that I hope are better smokes than this one was. It was quite a disappointing experience.

Another reasonably disappointing cigar was tonight’s Montecristo. It was a small cigar, not even sure where it came from or how long it’s been floating around the coolerdor, but it was about 4″ x 42 or 44. It had a bit of a sour taste about half way through. It fit the time I had allotted just fine, so that was a plus, but it just wasn’t all that good.

I noticed that the Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve deal is still out there at http://www.ryjhabanareserveoffer.com/promo0828.html. Nice cigars for $2 each delivered! I gotta think anytime you can get a cigar that’s smokable for $2-$3 it’s a deal, let alone a name brand premium. The RyJ is a nice cigar, and even if it’s not your cup of tea, it’s nice to have on hand to gift to someone.

It’s a new month, so keep an eye out for this month’s contest coming soon. Also, remember you can subscribe to receive e-mails when this page is updated, and you can follow me on Twitter (@cigarcraig). Also, I’m working on a new front page for CigarCraig.com. Stay Tuned!

Finally, here’s a short video that my wife and son put together for me a bit ago:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYk3-5Hivfs

Until the next cigar,

Cigar Craig