Nica Rustica Robusto and CAO Esteli TAA Edition Cigars

If this post is different today there’s a few reasons. I’m a little out of sorts because yesterday somehow my WordPress user name was changed and I couldn’t log in, which caused some panic. I still haven’t quite figured this out and I haven’t had time to sit on the phone for long periods of time with anyone. I added a user as a workaround, and when I got in, it look like WordPress has changed their interface from the old familiar to something called the “wonderful world of blocks”, which is a completely different layout and I don’t have time to figure it out because I have to go to work and just wanted to get a quick post done. So now I’m stressed out. Great. Anyway, I spent the last few days going through all the old posts fixing videos so they work. There seems to be some photos missing, which will be a much larger job, something I’ll have to do in front of a computer as opposed to on an iPad. Anyway, enough of my bitching and moaning, I did get a few cigars in this week.

I had a long stretch between days off, so when Thursday rolled around, I was all set to relax after my dentist appointment. Unfortunately, I ended up having a root canal in the afternoon, which kinda harshed my mellow a little. I hate Novocaine. After cleaning up the pulled pork sandwich that I dribbled all over my face, I grabbed a familiar favorite, a comfort food cigar, the trusty Drew Estate Nica Rustica, this time in the Short Robusto vitola. I’m quite sure I’ve smoked this size before, but I certainly haven’t smoked as many as the El Brujito or the Belly, and this will probably change. In this circumstance, it got off to a slow start, with the first third having less of a flavor impact, but as the Novocaine wore off, the flavor intensified and the familiar Nica Rustica goodness came through. I love this cigar, the Broadleaf, the cocoa and espresso flavors ht me just right. I always have some of these on hand and will stock up on this size. Highly recommended for post-root canal.

Friday I decided to pay a visit to my local shop, just two miles from my house. I don’t actually spend a great deal of time there. I go to events when they have them, I know the people there, and stop by from time to time, but I’m just not the guy who spends a lot of time hanging out in any cigar shop. Neighbors are often asking me why, when they drive by this particular shop at all hours of the day, mornings especially, the parking lot is always pretty full. My usual response is that there is a group of guys that hang out there, some retirees, some who set up their laptops and work from the lounge. So I figured since I had Friday off I’d go in for a smoke and hang out for a while. Since CigarCigars is a TAA shop, I decided to give the CAO Esteli TAA Exclusive a try. This is a 6″ x 54 Toro, and it is made in the Scandanavian Tobacco Group’s Esteli Factory, with a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, Honduran binder and fillers from Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. This was an intriguing cigar, and if I ‘d been smart, I would have smoked the CAO Nicaragua when I got home to compare, but I was distracted by a shiny band. It was a nice, medium bodied cigar, with a distinct cookie-like flavor. It had some caramel and almond nut kinds of flavors, if that makes sense. It was a departure from many CAO cigars, much like the CAO Nicaragua is, but they are different cigars. I’ll work through more of the TAA exclusives as I visit the local CigarCigars shops (there’s no less than six with in ten miles of my house).

That’s all for today. I have to work another Sunday, but I should have next weekend off, with is nice for a change! I gotta figure out all this new WordPress nonsense! As always, thanks for reading along, until the next time,

CigarCraig