My final cigar of Labor Day lazing was the Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Toro (6½ x 52). I was very much looking forward to smoking this limited stick, having already been a huge fan of almost anything Rocky puts out. It’s a beautiful cigar, packed in a tight trunk-press with no visible flaws and a nice gunmetal double-band.

It was a bit breezy on the golf course, so this cigar took a while to get going, but once it did I had no issues with the burn, save for the last third, when the cigar went out after I let it rest a bit too long. We had the entire course to ourselves, which was odd considering it was 3:00 p.m. on Labor Day. But we weren’t complaining, kicking back with cigars and cold cans of Guinness, mostly making par and taking our time with it — I couldn’t think of more perfect conditions to enjoy a cigar.

The first thing I noticed about the Rocky 15th was a spicy start, though not peppery enough to be called a “blast of spice”. It was a smooth spice, like peppercorn on the back of the palate. The spice faded back after a dozen puffs as the cigar became more leathery. There was a rich darkness to this cigar, not exactly black coffee and chocolate though there were fleeting notes of both. The main flavor was rich tobacco, and it really felt to me that this cigar is a tribute to the plant from which all cigars are made. This cigar wasn’t trying to do anything fancy or overly complex, just showcasing a strong tobacco flavor by tempering it into something eminently palatable.

If the Rocky 15th was made of inferior ingredients or poorly crafted, I might tend to say this stick is somewhat boring. But while the flavors didn’t morph and change all over the place, this stogie was still complex. It just felt like the complexity was limited to within a traditional tobacco taste. At different times the cigar would taste leathery, then earthy, then woody — all flavors that are not literal but rather based on ‘mouth feel’ and aroma. The ever-present spice kept a tingle on the tongue without ever interfering with my enjoyment of the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder/filler.

It’s another exquisite blend by the masters at Rocky Patel. It’s not my favorite Rocky of all time, but it is certainly unique in its meditation on the taste of tobacco. It felt like a ‘pure cigar’ in that sense — a no-frills homage to the classic cigar taste (before we got into infusions and flavor-forward blends), but with all the premium accoutrements of the modern cigar manufacturing operation.

They’re pricey, maybe a bit too pricey, but I can’t find anything else to complain about in this generally flawless product. Fans of Rocky Patel have to try this, since it’s so unlike anything else they’ve put out.

I think Lumberg liked it too

Toro size, a monster 6 x 58 that is a little bigger than my usual size. Being a nice Friday afternoon I figured I could handle it.

It has a nice, rich pre-light aroma and the wrapper was sleek and silky. It lit up nice and easy, you can tell that the torcedor who rolled this one knew exactly what he was doing. I immediately was puffing away on some thick, creamy smoke that brought a mild cedar flavor along with some mellow sweet notes. Between the Corojo portion of the binder and Habano wrapper I was expecting a little more spice, but it never really came all the way through. About 1/3 of the way in this one took a hard left and evolved from being a nice, easy-going smoke to being a complex mesh of earthy flavors that kicked this one into high gear for me.

Each puff brought new notes, the Corojo still never brought spice to the forefront but it stayed in the background as some coffee hints mixed in to the woody/earthy flavors. The middle third was definitely the sweet spot for me, all the different flavors that exposed themselves earlier settled together to create a rich blend that was very enjoyable. The impeccable construction also made this one very easy to enjoy, puffing easily and burning quite well.

I liked this smoke quite a bit, it’s a little outside my typical flavor profile but it’s blatantly obvious that this is a top-notch cigar. It certainly made my Friday afternoon a whole lot more enjoyable, and I’ll close this out with a heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Leon for a job well done!

It’s still unclear at this point if we’re going to be able to stock these or if they’ll only be available for B&Ms, but I sure hope they’ll be on our shelves, I know you La Aurora lovers are going to like this blend.

The first thing you notice about this new H. Upmann is its colorful and elegant band. The cigar itself is also very easy on the eyes, with minimal veins and perfect construction. The size I smoked was the Short Churchill, a 4½ x 54 that is obviously an attempt to join the Nub-style revolution. In fact, I got this in a sample pack of three handed out that were all this size — the other two were a Trinidad and a new A. Turrent Triple Play which I plan on smoking next.

Back to the smoke. It lit easily and drew well, and there was a nice upfront spiciness on the first few puffs and that trademark H. Upmann woodiness that makes you feel like you’re in a furniture shop. I like earthy, leathery cigars so I was a bit skeptical if this cigar was right for me. While the flavor was definitely dominated by a woody foundation, it was incredibly smooth. It very quickly became rather light on the palate as well, with a nice clean finish that hung around just a bit on the back of the palate.

The body of the cigar tamed down considerably after the first inch, wandering around medium-body territory. The spice also became more subdued but remained present in just the right amount. The rich woodiness gave off very fragrant hints of cedar and sandalwood. The sweetness of the cigar became apparent after a couple of inches, which for this size was about halfway through. The mouth feel became even smoother, and I’d say the middle of this cigar was definitely where it hit its stride.

I was very surprised to find some cocoa notes in the middle — fleeting but detectable. The perfect draw and burn continued into the last half, where the cigar picked up in strength a bit. The rich woodiness was met with a hint of earth, and before you knew it, I was holding a very hot nub. The taste never even came close to getting harsh, but with an inch to go it was hot enough to put down for good.

While this cigar confirmed that my personal tastes lean away from H. Upmann’s signature woodiness, the fact that I enjoyed it so much is testament to the quality of this smoke. For a taste profile that isn’t quite my thing, this cigar was still quite delicious and utterly smooth. If you’re a fan of H. Upmann, you’re definitely not going to want to miss their new Sun Grown line. We are awaiting our shipment of these fine premiums and we’ll let you know when they become available for purchase!

Of course, we can’t smoke and review every cigar on the market (we’re kind of busy selling them), but we try. Last month we brought you the first reviews of the Macanudo Cru Royale, Gurkha Viper and Gurkha Ninja. I must admit I also smoked a CAO La Traviata Maduro and found it to be chocolately and delicious, like a rich dessert, but I wasn’t paying quite enough attention to write a review. Of course, it was so good I’m sure I’ll be smoking another.

There were many more new cigars released at this year’s IPCPR, so to make up for our shortfall in reviews we’ll link you to some other points in the blogosphere for the 411. We can’t link to a review of every new cigar, so we picked the most interesting and sought-after new stogie reviews.

StogieReview smoked the Gran Habano Azteca Jaguar and declared it “box-worthy” and a great value for the price point, adding that it’s the perfect sweet-tooth cigar “because this one is candy”. I can’t wait to try it. They also have a video review of the Master by Carlos Toraño, giving high praise to the new stogie.

Puff.com forums user ‘thebayratt’ was able to beat all the major cigar blogs to reviewing the new La Gloria Serie N. He rated the cigar around 90, reporting interesting complexity and a low-maintenance burn.

Barry from A Cigar Smoker’s Journal reviewed the new La Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor, giving it a 91 rating and predicting it will fly off the shelves. He loved the new Avo Heritage even more, declaring it “best in show” from his post-IPCPR review. They also smoked and reviewed the El Primer Mundo Liga Miami Toro… do these guys do anything besides smoke cigars?

Everyone’s waiting to hear what the new Padron Family Reserve No. 46 tastes like. The No. 45 was a hard act to follow, hitting #1 on Cigar Aficionado’s top cigars of 2009. The Cigar Feed leaked a photo of the cigar, noting that the Padron family smoked 1,000 test cigars before finalizing their blend. Alas, the cigar goes on in a week, and so far we’ve seen no pre-release reviews anywhere.

If you’re a follower of Tatuaje‘s highly collectible Halloween lines, you should read this Cigar Cyclopedia interview with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje. He talks about the third installment of this popular series, ‘The Face’, a 6 3/8 x 56 cigar inspired by Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Finally, though it’s a Cuban not sold in the states, everyone wants to know what the new and super-expensive Cohiba Behike tastes like. You can check out Smoking Stogie’s positive review, but it still won’t stop you wondering why someone would pay up to $100/stick for any cigar.

Our list is limited to “production” cigars — we’ve excluded vintage cigars such as the one owned by Winston Churchill that recently went for $3,000 at an auction. These cigars were made to be prohibitively expensive from the outset.

3. Gurkha His Majesty’s Reserve – $750/stick
Infused with Louis XIII de Rémy Martin cognac and limited to 100 boxes a year, the His Majesty’s Reserve is priced with no deference to affordability or reason. The one review we could find was not at all convinced of this stick’s value, though at this price we’d all have to admit expectations are impossibly high. Is it even possible to produce a cigar that’s truly worth $750? I think this works out to at best a $50 cigar with $700 in “I’m rich, bitch!” blended in. Still, you kinda have to admire K. Hansotia and crew for their marketing prowess.

2. Gurkha Black Dragon – $1,150/stick
Not to be confused with the current Gurkha Black Dragon production line, the original limited edition 2006 Black Dragon is legendary for its price tag. We can’t comment on how it tastes, because we’ve never seen or heard from anyone that smoked one. Maybe that’s because the supply was limited to five hand-carved camel-bone boxes of 100. That’s a $115,000 box of cigars right there. We love luxury, but that price is obscene. Sure, this cigar contained the rares tobaccos from all corners of the earth, meticulously crafted and all that, but no box of dead plants is worth that much. There are no reports on if Gurkha even sold any, though I’m sure there’s someone out there rich enough and — ahem — needing to compensate for lack of something else to buy one of the five boxes.

1. Gran Habano Corojo #5 El Gigante – $200,000/stick
Just last month, this monster overtook the Black Dragon as the world’s most expensive production cigar. We even visited it in person. Judging by its price tag, it may be a while before another cigar breaks the record.

Some readers might argue that this cigar doesn’t really fit into a list of “production” cigars due to its ridiculous 1920 ring gauge, 1,600 pounds of tobacco and all. But damned if this cigar isn’t smokeable — it’s actually the same 90-rated blend available in the regular Gran Habano Corojo #5. What’s more, the geniuses at Gran Habano have come up with a weird suction device that attaches to the mega-cigar, with 40 tubes extending every which way. Get one person puffing on each tube and you can actually smoke this thing. Yeah, you might have to cut the cap with a chainsaw, but it’s a real cigar. Rumor at the IPCPR was that one had been purchased already. Included in the price tag is a trip to Gran Habano’s factory to oversee the production of your very own $200,000 cigar. We can’t imagine that the first people to smoke this thing wouldn’t videotape themselves in the process, so keep your eyes peeled. Honestly we’re a little too impressed with this feat of cigar manufacturing to give Gran Habano a hard time for the ridiculous idea of paying for one of these.

Children Forced to Smoke Cigars as Punishment
This strange but sad story out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia details how a teacher who caught his young students smoking in the boy’s room forced them to smoke cigars as punishment. The school has appropriately freaked out, but the Western Pacific Region has well-documented problems with adolescent cigarette smoking. This was recently brought to light via a viral video of a two-year-old Indonesian boy who apparently smokes two packs a day.

Law Prohibits Pets from Enjoying Cigars and Other Weird Smoking Laws
Cigar Advisor’s list of odd smoking laws has some entertaining stuff, but smoking ban for household pets in Zion, Illinois takes the cake. The rule specifically disallows giving a lit cigarette to domesticated animals like your pet cat or dog. Other odd laws include a similar animal smoking ban in New Jersey, which specifically prohibits people from giving cigars or whiskey to zoo animals. Does that mean cigarettes and vodka for the zebra are OK? We feel like these animals deserve a little something to pass the time in captivity.

The Cigar Arsonist and Other Urban Cigar Legends
If you haven’t heard the one about the lawyer who insures his cigars against fire only to have the insurance company sue him for arson — well I kind of spoiled the story right there but you should read it anyway. There are several urban myths surrounding cigars, including the one about cigars being rolled on the thighs of virgins. We’re very disappointed that one turns out to be false.

In 2014, we may very well see a National Minimum Smoking Age Act which raises the smoking age to 19 or even 21. This is already the case in several places — the legal smoking age is now 19 in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, Utah and some counties in New York.

A quick Google search on “smoking age” reveals a constant crusade by lawmakers to raise the age for tobacco purchasing. A few years back, Connecticut considered a bill to raise the legal smoking age to 21. So did California and Oregon. Other places that have tried to raise the smoking age to 19 include Texas and New York City.

Current negative attitudes toward cigarette smoking are driving the trend. A recent Rasmussen survey found that one-quarter of Americans would like to see cigarettes banned altogether.

The push to raise the smoking age to 19 is just one item on the agenda of an important upcoming public hearing by the New York State Senate Health Committee. The New York Tobacconists Association has urged smoking rights advocates to attend and make their voice heard. Here in New York, smoker’s rights are being demolished left and right. From the press release:

“The New York State Senate Health Committee will be holding a public hearing on September 23 at 10 AM taking place 250 Broadway, 19th Fl., New York City… We need every retailer to attend this meeting as well as customers and manufactures We must overwhelm them and show the legislators that enough is enough and we are not going to put up with the endless harassment, persecution, and discrimination. This prohibition by increments stops now. Failure is not an option!”

Of course I don’t think that we should encourage teenagers to smoke, or market tobacco products to underage kids, but give me a break. A 15-year-old can walk into any theater in either country and see graphic murders, car crashes, suicides, war, and any other number of violent acts in PG13 (or 14A in Canada) films. That is no problem, but seeing an actor smoke is going to harm them? Those physicians claim that they have commissioned a study that “proves” 130,000 Canadian teens have taken up smoking because they saw it in a movie. Do they also have 130,000 teens that killed someone because they saw it on screen? And how did they come up with that ridiculous number anyways? Am I really supposed to believe that none of those teens would ever have smoked had they not walked into a theater that one fateful day? Maybe the kids were just too stressed from watching all the violence so they lit up. The influence of on-screen smoking seems like it would be impossible to quantify, yet these doctors are trumpeting their study as absolute truth. I’m sure that this study paid for by this anti-smoking lobby is very very unbiased. In case it’s not clear, that was me being very very sarcastic. The article goes on to state that one of the goals of implementing this rating system is to give movie producers a financial incentive to eliminate smoking from their films. Just what we need, another bunch of know-it-alls influencing the creative process of making the art we all enjoy.

I cannot understand why a bunch of doctors feels that the best way to make teens not smoke is to control the content in movies. How about some parenting? Most 15 year olds have to get a lift from their folks to get to the movies in the first place. So if the teen’s parents think they’re impressionable enough to start smoking from watching a movie, maybe they should just not let them go to the movie. Or, and I know this is way out of left field, but they could actually talk to their teen about smoking and have an honest dialog about the subject. Is a 2 second clip in a movie really more influential than a 15 minute talk with Dad? Maybe these nosy physicians should spend their time and money figuring out ways to help parents convince their kids not to smoke instead of butting in on our freedom of speech. I know talking is not going to stop every teen from smoking, but neither is eliminating cigars and cigarettes from movies.  Life isn’t perfect, and teenagers are always going to do bad stuff. That’s reality. And that’s what art does – imitate reality.

So today we bring you the top 3 cigar apps for Android smartphones. While the Android app market is not as established as the iPhone’s, the devices are positively exploding in popularity and quality apps are following. I can’t vouch for these Android apps myself, but judging on the user ratings and descriptions, there really only are a handful of cigar apps worth checking out at the moment. Here are your options for Android-based cigar software:

RateMyCigar
Price: $4.95

Android’s premiere cigar collection tracking and rating app is RateMyCigar. It’s loaded with a database of thousands of cigars, all you have to do is rate and inventory them. Recenly added Facebook and Twitter integration also allow for sharing info on your favorite smokes.

Cigars by Stoked (Android 2.0+)
Price: $3.99

Called ‘Stoked’ for short, this app has another huge database of cigars, which the makers say gets updated every week. You can also manage your humidor inventory, rate cigars, review them and share with your friends on social networks. The company that makes this app for Android also has several other apps that help you find cigar-friendly smoking spots in various cities around the country. If I had an Android, I’d definitely be downloading the NYC Cigar Smokers Guide for just 99 cents.

CigarObsession
Price: Free

You can’t go wrong with free. CigarObsession is the app based on the popular cigar blog of the same name. This program brings you the latest from their cigar review site, rich with videos. Like the other apps on this list, it is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter as well.

We’ve put together a list of our five favorite iPhone apps for the cigar fan. We excluded silly apps that display cigars burning on the screen, which you can fake-smoke by puffing on your iPhone’s microphone. It’s fun the first time, you show it off to your friends, and then you wonder what the hell you just spend a dollar on. The apps we chose are all functional, and for a small investment, they’ll turn your smartphone into a resourceful database of cigar facts and functions.

Perelman’s PocketCyclopedia of Cigars
Price: $3.99

From the makers of the famous Cigar Cyclopedia, Perelman’s has introduced one of the most useful iPhone apps for the cigar smoker. Using the same vast database of cigar information as Perelman’s “bible of cigars“, this app puts a list of thousands of brands at your fingertips. Look up countries of origin, wrapper/binder/filler info, sizes, shapes and more.

Cigar Review
Price: $3.99

Puff.com, a popular online forum for cigar smokers, has branched out to the iPhone with this handy app. You’ll find thousand of specs on a wide array of cigars, top 100 lists, reviews, voting and more. It’s certainly the best-reviewed app on this list according to its users.

StogieRate
Price: $4.99

Based on Doc’s popular desktop app to track your cigar collection, StogieRate is a great way to keep tabs on your humidor. For those with big collections, this app could be indispensable, allowing you to track inventory in multiple humidors. There are also tools you can use to rate your smokes and check the value of your collection. It’s a very cool and in-depth resource.

DogWatch Cigar Radio
Price: $2.99

This app allows you easy access to one of the best cigar podcasts out there, DogWatch Cigar Radio. Hosted by true aficionados Bob and Dale, it’s a weekly radio show that gives you the lowdown on new cigars and trends in the industry. The app has some cool extra bonus features as well, but you can always subscribe to the podcast for free if you don’t want to shell out the three bucks.

Mobile Stogie
Price: $3.99

Mobile Stogie is another cool cigar collection tracking app. You choose your cigar inventory from a large catalog of over 2000 vitolas in over 100 brands. The program not only keeps tabs on your collection, but serves as a handy reference if you want to look up the characteristics of any of your sticks.