Danli Honduras Tobacos – Don Juan Calavera Maduro Toro (6x52)

First Impressions: The Don Juan Calavera Maduro is another extension of the Don Juan Calavera line.  Similarly, to the Sumatra line, the Maduro is dressed up with the same beautiful label and a piece of black tissue paper made to look like the calavera is wearing a tuxedo.  The maduro is sold in a beautiful dress box of 10.  I have said it before, but I really like the marketing behind this brand.  Prior to this review, I enjoyed three samples of the maduro toro.

Prelight: I’ve come to associate Danli Hnoduras Tobacos with high quality and great taste.  The maduro line did not disappoint.  Each sample passed the pinch test with flying colors, revealing no soft or hard spots.  With each prelight draw, there was a little bit of resistance with extremely subtle flavors of grass.  The maduro wrapper was milk chocolate brown, with few veins and almost no imperfections. 

Hangman’s Budget Pairings – Tales From The Lower Shelf

JNV Don Jorge Habano Box Press

Vitola: Box Press Robusto, 6x54

MSRP: $5

Wrapper: Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

This is the first installment of a new series that I hope will give you options for both cigars and spirits that are budget-friendly. I know everyone has a different budget, but for this series it will be set for cigars under $12 and spirits under $30. So let’s get to it…

Today’s pairing was pretty easy for me, because this is my "go-to" everyday pairing, The JNV Habano Boxpress with Evan Williams 1783 bourbon. The EW 1783 is a small batch bourbon that sells for about $18 for 750ml. I found it to be quite smooth with a little bit of a fruity hint to it.

As for the cigar, Don Jorge is one of the nicest guys I know and he makes the cigar that I smoke 90% of the time. He is basically a one man operation, doing all of the blending and rolling himself. All of his cigars across the line are $5 each and could easily be sold for twice that much without any hesitation.

Hangman’s Budget Pairings – Tales From The Lower Shelf

By – Chad “Hangman” Potier

The Herrera Esteli by Drew Estate
Vitola: Tors 6x52
MSRP Cigar: $8 (but I got this on CigarBid for $3)
MSRP Whiskey: $12 for the 750ml
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaragua Viso , Seco, and Ligero from Esteli & Jalapa

As promised, here’s another installment to keep you and your wallet happy. The Herrera Esteli is blended by Willy Herrera for Drew Estate. I found it to be on the fuller side of medium that was creamy with some bits of spice and sweet 1 deposit casino nz.com. I paired it with Zackariah Harris 80 proof Bourbon which is distilled, aged, and bottled by Glenmore Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. I drink this as my daily drinker, it has a nice Vanilla taste with some corn and wood as well.

Vitola: Robusto

Wrapper: Sumatra

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Esteli Nicaraguan Ometepe

Pairing: Glenlivet Founders Reserve

I would like to preface my review to say that I am very surprised I am reviewing a Gurkha. Don’t get me wrong, I like some Gurkhas, but not enough of them to write a review. When I stopped by the Gurkha booth at Stogiefest 2019 in Jacksonville FL, I heard the rep say Sumatra. That was enough for me to pay attention to this cigar. It was an easy sell for me, so he put one in my bag. I smoked the cigar at the event and liked it a lot. So much so that I ended up buying a box of them. I sat back and enjoyed it where I could pay closer attention to the cigar’s flavor profile. I will enjoy this cigar with some Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve. Now, the review!

It's been a while since I've written a review and this one is long overdue. I've smoked more than my fair share of the Mesmerize and they are one of my favorites. This 6.5 inch, 54 ring Nicaraguan is sweet, so I'm pleased to share a bit about it with you.

As with all of Alan Fonseca's creations, sold under the banner of SalamancaCicarGroup.com, the construction is something to behold.  Aside from the 7 elements that make up this cigar, the triple cap is expertly applied and allows for a solid "nubbing" should you take this rusty railroad spike to the limit.

For Catholics, Lent is a time of fasting and meditation leading up to the Easter holiday. Central to the tradition in modern times is refraining from eating meat on Lenten Fridays. If you are like me and on a low-carb diet, Lenten Friday meals can be a challenge. In normal times, a bread dish, (such as a cheese pizza), a pasta dish (take your pick), or even fried fish from the local parish are all off limits to the low-carb dieter. The breading on the fish has a considerable amount of carbs and the hush puppies and fries are all carbs. With that in mind, I took up the challenge and made a Lenten Friday meal that was delicious to even non-dieters and fell within the strict low-carb guidelines (which, for me, is fewer than 20 grams of carbs a day, less than the sugar most people would add to their morning coffee).

Danli Honduras Tobacos –Don Juan Calavera Sumatra Toro (6x52) 

First Impressions – I was very impressed by the overall presentation of the Don Juan Calavera line. The bright colors of its boxes, along with the beautiful calavera logo made me stop and take notice. The great marketing continued with the cigars themselves. Each cigar is dressed with a large beautiful multi-colored label and black tissue paper made to look like the calavera is wearing a suit. Pretty clever!

Prior to completing this review, I had the opportunity to enjoy three samples of the Sumatra Toro.

Prelight – The pinch test gave me the impression that these were going to draw perfectly, which ended up playing out just as I suspected. The prelight draw was exceptional on each sample. With each pull, I was able to pick up subtle hints of grass and hay and heavy notes of barnyard on the nose. The wrapper on the Sumatra Toro was a bit on the veiny side and light brown in color. Each cap was beautifully placed.

First – Typically the first third of a cigar is my favorite; however, on these it seems as though the first third was the warm up to the second. The Sumatra toro starts out delicately earthy with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste. There was also a bit of spice on the retrohale.

Hoyo Epicure Deluxe (LCDH)

5x52, 68% humidity

Beverage: water

As I inspect the construction of this cigar, I am drawn to how tiny the vein structure is within the wrapper leaf. I've had cigars with big veins in the wrapper and I've had cigars with hardly any veins in the wrapper leaf. This one is different from any other I've seen. There is a slight coffee and leather aroma from the foot.

This is a healthy robusto cigar and I expect it to deliver a volume of smoke with a slight draw. The pre-light draw confirmed that this was going to be the case.

Upon lighting the cigar, I drew smoke that even if if had not been banded I would have immediately identified as a Hoyo de Monterrey. From the first draw, the leathery flavor profile of Hoyos was up close, personal, and lots of it. There is no harshness as is common on the first few draws of a cigar. The leather flavor practically slaps you in the edmeds24.com.

The aroma is of very strong tobacco, which is exactly what I expected. Even though it wasn't harsh to begin with, the flavor smooths out even more in the first inch. Hints of coffee begin to present themselves. The cigar continues to produce volumes of smoke at the slightest draw.

Hangman’s Budget Pairings – Tales From The Lower Shelf

Sons Of Anarchy Black Crown

Vitola: Torpedo

Price Paid: $3 from Cigar Bid

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Cuban Seed Nicaraguan Long Filler

For the second installment of this series I am going with The Sons Of Anarchy Black Crown Torpedo. This is one cigar that can vary in price depending on where you purchase it, but most places will be between $3-$6, well within the range of “BUDGET FRIENDLY." I paired it with a newer bourbon to the market Hill Billy 86 Proof.

I discovered Hill Billy while attending Stogie Fest 2019 at Aroma in Jacksonville in March. At $20 a bottle it is a solid bourbon to have in your rotation. Bottled in South Carolina, it is distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and aged in new charred oak barrels. Spicy wood notes with some corn and vanilla and a bit of spice.

Mash Bill: 18% Rye, 78% Corn, 4% Malted Barley