Rain's Guard Duty Reviews

Rain · December 2012

So, I have a five day guard duty. For anoyone who has had guard duty, you know that it's (in my case) eight hours a day of of sitting around and checking IDs...even though a gate ahead of me has already checked everyone for IDs

. As of yesterday, I've decided to become more involved in my cigar experiance, and that means I'm keeping notes. For a long time, I've just smoked whatever and kept a mental note. So, anywho, I have picked five of my cigars to smoke over the course of my duty, and I'd like to post the reviews of them here. Please feel free to give me suggestions, and of course, critique and encouragement! The cigars I will smoke are a God of Fire 2008, AB Fine and Rare, Gurkha Cellar Reserve, DE Natural and a Diesel Unlimited. To be honest, my first day of duty was yesterday and I smoked the GOF. I will post that review shortly.

Rain · December 2012

Producer - Arturo Fuente Country of Origin - Dominican Republic Wrapper - Ecuadorian Binder - Dominican Filler - Dominican Date - 08 December 2012 Size - 5.2 x 50 Shape - Rubusto Price - $22 (CCom, this is the 2007 price, they do not sell the 2008) Age - Unknown MISC - 2008 by Don Carlos Notes - The stick had a dark wrapper with several veins and slight cracking, which could be from being in a tube. Despite the veins, the wrapper felt very smooth. I could not detect any prelight taste. Cigar smelled of leather. 1/3 flavor was of a light cream with very little spice. 2/3 flavor was an even lighter cream and no spice. 3/3 flavor would alternate between extreme spice and no spice at all. Also left my mouth feeling dry, I had to take a sip of water after almost every draw. Held an almost razor straight burn the entire way. Smoke output was great, it might have helped that it was dark outside. An enjoyable smoke, not sure if it's worth $20 a stick though. I am very suprised that there was not very much complexity in this cigar.

nickiam · December 2012

im guessing you have duty at either grey or hood airfield then. am i correct

Rain · December 2012

Mhmm.

robbyras · December 2012

RAIN! Glad to see you're doing some reviews bro! I've had a few of the 08's and I'd say that 1/4 of them gave me the same experience that you had... the other 3/4 were AMAZING... not sure what caused it, but it just seemed that a few were "off the mark" almost like drinking a sode that has been opened for a few days... I'd suggest you try another one and see if you have the same experience

Rain · December 2012

Haha, there are the reviews you do, which are entertaining...and the reviews I do, which are just for referance. Unlike you, I'm not painting a picture with words! You have a gift my friend.

nickiam · December 2012

Rain · December 2012

nickiam · December 2012

Rain · December 2012

Producer - AJ Fernandez Country of Origin - Nicaragua Wrapper - Honduran Ligero Binder - Nicaragua Filler - Nicaragua, Mexican San Andres *****1st***** Date - 07 December 2012 Size - 5.7 X 56 Shape - Belicoso (Torpedo) Price - $6.50 (CCom) Age - Unknown Notes - Extremely dark wrapper that was completely smooth with the exception of one prominent vein. The lone band is on the foot and it is nothing special. Smell was a mixture of wood and coffee and was very pleasant. Prelight smell was a hint of dark chocolate. 1/3 flavors were of leather, pepper, cream and wood. 2/3 put my mouth and nose in to overload, as I tasted stronger pepper, leather, cream, champagne, coffee and wood. There may have been even more, but I'm surprised to have picked up as much as I did. 3/3 taste was much more one dimensional, an tasted of leather, pepper and a slight hint of champagne. Smoke output seemed to about "average", not too much and not too little. Draw was a little tight, but it being a torpedo, I adjusted and it made the draw perfect. I had to make four minor burn corrections, that could have been my own fault, as I took it out of my humi about 12 hours before I smoked it. An enjoyable smoke, not sold on a box purchase at this point.

Rain · December 2012

I had the DE Natural Root ready to go, but it was too cold and windy tonight. Excuses, I know!

Rain · December 2012

Guard duty is over, but the weather heated up so I did the DE Natural.A regular band and a band on the foot, the most obvious feature of this cigar is the shaggy foot. Cigar feels solid, maybe even a little light. Prelight smell is of coffee and licorice, the foot smells of syrup. No noticeable prelight taste, but I got the faintest hint of chocolate. 1/3 flavor was of pepper, coffee, chocolate, cream and, oddly, some kind of flowery taste that I can't really explain. The same flavors were present in the second third of the cigar, but all got a little heavier and more harsh. I did not get to smoke the last third because my daughter was ready to go in, and what a sick girl wants, a sick girl gets! The smoke output was above average, not at the level of a Liga 9 but still impressive. The draw was super loose, but oddly, it grew on me and I think it fits this particular cigar. The burn was by no means straight, but it never got too bad and I did not need to touch it up. I think it is taken as a negative thing when someone says "the same flavors were present throughout the whole cigar", but I enjoyed the cigar regardless.

JLonsinger2011 · December 2012

Looks like the weather is going to heat up again this weekend... time to light up!

ENFIDL · December 2012

Nice reviews man!

Rain · January 2013

Four days next week I have guard duty...which means you all have to suffer through four more of these. Stay tuned and I'll pick the sticks.

biodarwin · January 2013

Rain · January 2013

One will be the Carlos Torano 1916 and one will be Genesis The Project. Not sure about the other two yet.

Vision · January 2013

Go with a Gurkha. Something Conny too

Rain · January 2013

Should do that Julius Ceaser hah.

jeep edson · January 2013

i liked the genisis the project enough i bought a box. good smoke. hope you like it.

jadelt · January 2013

Nice reviews Rain..... much better than mine. I either like em or I dont. My taste buds are getting old. Keep going...love reading them

Rain · January 2013

jadelt:
Nice reviews Rain..... much better than mine. I either like em or I dont. My taste buds are getting old. Keep going...love reading them

Nah, both of ours are straight and to the point. Thanks, though!Not sure the weather is going to let me smoke any.

Amos Umwhat · January 2013

Cigars on guard duty. Brilliant. I'd have never been able to do that, as I was either in the motor pool, no smoking, at the front gate, no smoking, the ammo bunker, NO smoking, or down in the basement at HQ in charge of the guards.....no smoking. Count your blessings, keep up the good work.

Rain · May 2013

Tomorrow will be a Partagas ISOM, brought to you by everyones favorite fish.

Rain · May 2013

Rain · May 2013

Review to come after my shift ends.

Rain · May 2013

Alright, the/a Partagas. I guess it would be a. I did not copy notes down, and that was by design.When I licked the cap of this bad boy, it made me think of syrup. Prelight, the draw felt very tight and it had me a little worried. Once I lit it, the draw still "felt" tight, bit I got tons of smoke and it did not hamper the cigar. I don't have any 1/3, 2/3 or 3/3 notes (like I said earlier), but here is what sticks with me. The cigar had the normal wood and leather notes, but the taste in my mouth was..well..different. After smoking My Fathers and MOWs, the clean feel in my mouth was very welcome. That's the only way I can explain it, it felt clean. No harshness or burn.As for the retro, which is by far my favorite part of a cigar. Smooth. VERY smooth. It also reminded me of syrup, thick and at the same time smooth. I loved it. After I had finished and was driving to work, I tasted cookies. COOKIES. Yum.In conclusion, I don't know too much about ISOMs. But from what I understand, these are pretty affordable sticks. If that is the case, you need to get some. It was not super complex, but the flavors that did come through were good, and a winning burn and retro make this a great cigar.

catfishbluezz · May 2013

The problem with party shorts, and corona's in general, they need age as well to develop complexity. However, given the smaller filler to wrapper ratio, they tend to be smoother faster and ready to smoke. So keeping your hands off them long enough to age...is impossible lol. Love me some partagas man..