I’ll be honest it’s just sort of hitting me currently while writing this about how random it is that I’m setting up a blog about cigars. This isn’t something I’ve ever done before. But then again, fuck it, why not?
I intend to keep the tone and wording of this blog as close to how I actually talk as possible. So, it’ll have crap humour, bad language, sarcasm, as well as probably poor spelling and poor grammar.
Like every shite blog, I’ll give a brief run down about how I got into all this in the first place and what I experienced that got me into this hobby. It’s my blog, I’ll do what I want.
Where my love for cigars started
I first found an interest in cigars about ten years now, when on holiday to Cuba with my now ex-girlfriend. I went on an excursion focused on the cigar making factories because she was doing my head in and I wanted away from her in all honesty. I went initially on this particular excursion because, well let’s be honest, I was in Cuba.
Literally everything about that country is focused around the exquisite product, of which they will never be beaten in quality or craftsmanship. They are immensely proud of it, and rightly so. While touring these factories, I got to sample some cigars afterwards. I had never smoked a day in my life, but, ‘when In Rome’.
Truthfully after the first few draws I nearly fell off my chair and passed out as it went straight to my head. Thankfully the tour, guide realised I was being an idiot who didn’t have a clue. The expert stepped in and gave me advice on how to properly enjoy the cigar, once he stopped laughing as me, obviously. Immediately I loved it and the fact it was compared to enjoying a fine wine, whiskey or brandy resonated with me about what this craft is all about.
After that, life got in the way and I just didn’t have the spare money to spend on cigars, and for a few years I didn’t go near them. When I got back into it I didn’t have the money for the Cubans, so took to exploring the smaller cheaper non-Cuban cigars at first. I was Just smoking them really and not understanding much about them. But as time has went on I’ve learned to understand a lot more about what I personally enjoy after about 6 years of solid smoking.
I will be honest, to me it seems that money is a huge factor behind enjoying cigars. I would say nothing about it is actually ‘cheap’. I would word it more in a way that you just have ‘less expensive’ options to choose from. But from smoking for a handful of years while being completely skint with no real spare cash, I have found out that doesn’t always mean a less enjoyable smoke.
So I want to share my experiences of smoking all types of cigars, of all price ranges, sizes and shapes. so I can give my opinion, reviews and recommendations on them. So if anyone is new to this, you can find ways to enjoy cigar smoking to start off without going daft in your bank account while I’m also simultaneously increasing my own expertise.
My humidor is not massive, it’s a small personal one that my wife kindly bought me when I started getting back into cigar smoking on a more committed level. It holds a few dozen sticks depending on the sizing and is perfect for what I need right now. I recently topped it up with about variety of 20 cigars that I bought recently, and all of them are new world.
This brings me to my first cigar of this batch to give my opinion and review on. The Chinchalero Novillo. I will say right from the start, having never smoked this cigar before, I will definitely be smoking more, It was superb.
My first ever cigar review
This Chincalero Novillo is a ‘Gordito’ shape of cigar meaning it’s short and fat. It is a 40-60 minute smoke with a 4 inch length and 60 ring gauge. I paid £11.75 per stick and genuinely I reckon you would struggle to find a nicer cigar for the money. A decent quality 1 hour smoke for that money is just not something I feel I can criticise.
It has an Ecuadorian wrapper and Nicaraguan/Honduran filler and binder. The flavours I noted at the start and for the first third of the cigar were of wood and pepper. Into the second third of the cigar came the introduction of some sweetness giving a nice balance to all the flavours. The final third I found to be what I would describe as nutty and sweet with distinct sugary/honey notes. There was plenty of sweet velvety smoke and I personally didn’t notice any bitterness.
The only real criticism I have of this cigar is that Initially the draw wasn’t 100% clean with a slight catch and a little more effort needed. But, by the end of the first third of the cigar this disappeared and a nice clean draw maximised the remaining smoking experience. To give this cigar a rating out of 10, it would get a solid 7.5 out of 10.
So if you’re like me and you love cigars but also love a bargain and value for money this is definitely a top contender right from the start.
Here is the link for the Chinchalero Novillo and where I bought it if you’re interested
Thank you for taking the time to read my first ever post. I have absolutely NO idea what i’m doing in regards to this website but I believe I have set up the ‘contact me’ link correctly. So, if there is any information, recommendations or abuse you want to fire my way, by all means get in touch.
Take care