Cigar Obsession Community Review Contest 1 – THE VOTE
CONGRATULATIONS TO DALE ALLESHOUSE!
The Prize
The prize for this round is a box of Personalized Romeo and Julieta Reserva Real provided by Cigar Country! Cigar Country, the leading premium cigar retailer in the Caribbean, just launched, their official website www.cigarcountry.com. Offering a new online cigar customization tool where any customer can personalize their favorite premium cigar brand and receive them directly from the factory! They feature a good variety of premium brands you can order and customize by the box, including Arturo Fuente, Ashton, Augusto Reyes, EP Carrillo, Fonseca, H. Upmann, La Aurora, La Flor Dominicana, Monecristo, Nat Sherman, Romeo y Julieta, VegaFina and more! All cigars are specially selected from reserved “extra-aged” batches at factory cedar rooms, individually packaged in personalized cellophane or cedar wraps and shipped via FEDEX International directly to your doorstep.
Ashton ESG 22 Year Salute Cigar Review
Ashton ESG 22 Year Salute Cigar Review
This 6×52 torpedo features a premium blend of tobacco and is a limited release. This has been aging in my humidor for 3 years since I bought it and features a dark milk chocolate wrapper with minimal veins, tight invisible seams, even slightly spongy give, light pack and rich pepper and cedar aroma. First light reveals (more…)
Free New Ashton Cigar Wallpaper
Here’s another free cigar wallpaper for anyone that wants it! Just please do not alter it or use it anywhere else. Click the image for the full size and you can save it to your computer to use!
Cigar Obsession & Smoke Inn Premium Sampler
Introducing the new Smoke Inn & Cigar Obsession Premium Sampler! This very special cream-of-the-crop sampler was custom selected by me, to bring to you my top 10 favorite cigars from Smoke Inn! Inside you will find 10 instant hits, all with rich smooth bold flavors, perfect construction and mouth watering satisfaction! (more…)
Ashton Aged Maduro #60 Cigar Review
Ashton Aged Maduro #60 Cigar Review
This 7.5×52 maduro stick offers a almost black firm wrapper with slight tooth, minimal veins, tight seams, a dense pack and an oily, peppery aroma. First light reveals a loose draw, a good amount of light and airy smoke giving a mild-medium body of sweet, cedary earthy flavors with a relatively short finish. The first third burns perfectly, keeping much of the same experience, getting smoother and more blended together, dropping the sweetness a bit. 1 hour in just passed the 1/2 way point the flavors pickup with a slight sweet nuttiness. Ending at 1:45 the last third proved to be as consistent as the rest, simply getting too warm for my taste to continue past the last inch.
Cigar Art – Ashton Label
Cigar Art – Ashton Label

Ashton VSG Eclipse Tubos Cigar Review
Ashton VSG Eclipse Tubos Cigar Review
This 6×52 dark chocolate stick comes wrapped in a cedar sleeve, inside a black aluminum tube for easy transport and storage. Offering a robust, slightly veiny irregular roll it presents slight tooth, a firm pack and beautiful chocolate tobacco aroma. Starting on the mild-medium body side of things, it opens with a oily, smooth tobacco and black pepper flavor without any of the spice and heat, adding a hint of a bitter chocolate in to the long pepper finish. Strength wise it’s definitely got a punch, medium-full by the first inch in. By the half way point flavors had changed to a creamy sweet chocolate and coffee, with a smooth pepper finish, getting richer as it burns down. By the end of the 2nd third flavors had dropped the pepper in exchange for more cream and butter, especially on the finish, leaving an oily creamy slick on the palate. The last third brought the coffee flavor to the forefront and the pepper back but at a milder point, with just a hint of the chocolate. Overall still rich, creamy, oily and slightly sweet, it finished long and smooth. Burn and draw were both excellent all the way down without issue. Total burn time to the last inch was 1:15 where it started getting hot. Thank you very much to Ashton for generously supplying this sample for review!
Ashton ESG 23 Year Salute Cigar Review
Ashton ESG 23 Year Salute Cigar Review
This 6.25×52 stick offers a dark milk chocolate wrapper with a slight tooth, tight seams and firm pack with just a bit of give. A triple cap and minimal veins combine with a slightly irregular lumpy appearance showing it as a hand made creation. The first third brought a medium-full body of flavors including a smooth creamy cocoa with an undertone of tobacco and pepper, the finish being short and more peppery than the draw adding a slight spice kick. By the 2nd third flavors had transitioned to a smooth creamy cocoa with a bit of coffee, touch of leather and on the end of the draw into the lengthening finish, a black pepper taste and slight zing over the tongue. The last third brought the coffee flavor more forward and amped up the pepper especially on the finish. Smoke output was very good, coating the mouth with rich, smooth tastes. Draw and burn were both excellent all the way down with no issues and not needing any thought. Burn time to the last inch was 1:35. Thank you very much to Ashton for sending this in for review!
Thank You Ashton!
Ashton Cigars just sent me this awesome care package consisting of three Ashton ESG 23 Year Salute cigars and three Ashton VSG Eclispse Tubos, plus a great Ashton t-shirt! Thank you so much guys, I can’t wait to review these!
San Cristobal Monumento Cigar Review
San Cristobal Monumento Cigar Review
This 7.25 x 49 stick offers a oily dark chocolate wrapper with slight tooth and fairly firm construction. The aroma has a slight sweet cocoa note along with a rich tobacco. This was a monster of a smoke pushing the 2 hour mark and building to full strength by the last bit – not an early morning smoke! It had some minor burn issues needing several corrections but nothing show stopping. Several transitions were present and flavors were fairly diverse including cream, cocoa, espresso, mocha, wood, pepper and a bit of spice. The draw was a bit firm at the start but quickly opened up to just on the loose side. Thank you very much to Ashton for donating this for review!
La Aroma De Cuba New Blend Monarch Cigar Review
La Aroma De Cuba New Blend Monarch Cigar Review
This 6×52 stick offered a very smooth satin medium chocolate wrapper with a nice aroma of dusty cocoa. Draw started out very firm but gradually went down to a very nice amount of resistance as the stick burned. Total burn time to the nub was 1:30, holding the ash between 3/4″ and 1 1/2″ with an almost razor sharp line. Flavors in the first two thirds were very consistent, giving a light creamy leather flavor with a long finish. Pepper and spice built up on the finish giving a zing on the tongue and a heat on the lips. The last third showed the leather to fade out replaced by a smooth tobacco, and the pepper going way down to just barely there. The spice was completely gone by the band point. Thank you very much to Ashton for donating this for review!
Smoke Rings – Photo Contest
EDIT – WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED
OK, this will be the third try at a simple photo contest – but no voting this time! Entry is simple – leave a comment on this post with a link to a picture of YOU blowing a smoke ring. Yup, I’m making you work for this one! How to win? Simple – it’s random, chosen by computer. The prize you ask? A 10 pack of assorted Reyes Family/Cuba Aliados/Puros Indios/Rocky Patel/Ashton cigars!
The contest will run until 12/1/09 and the winner then announced. I will contact the winner for a mailing address, and out your pack will go! Entries are limited to those 19 and older in the US only.
I don’t care where your picture is hosted, just leave a link to it in your comment. I will pull each one and add it to the post for all to admire while the contest is running.
Help spread the word too – tweet, post on Facebook, forums, email your buddies, etc. Good luck and happy ring hunting!

















