The legendary brand Joya de Nicaragua has long been a respected name amongst non-Cuban cigars.  Before the communist Sandinistas seized power in that nation, Nicaragua's cigar industry had begun to rival Cuba's in terms of quality and taste.  And it was Joya de Nicaragua cigars which led this perception.  However, the Sandinista regime effectively ended the reputation which had been carefully built over the years, and even after the Sandinistas' fall to the forces of freedom in 1990 the Joya de Nicaragua brand struggled for years to regain its former glory.  Early post-Sandinista Joyas were atrocious, to say the least.

The Cigar Journal is brought to you today live from the Dominion of Canada, a familiar yet mysterious land where donuts and coffee are as big a part of the culture as are ice hockey and anti-Americanism.  And nowhere can this be better evidenced than at one of the ubiquitous establishments known as Tim Horton's.  "Timmies," as these places are affectionately called, seem to be everywhere on this side of Customs.  In one Ontario town of about 30,000 people which I frequent, there are at least two places where Tim Horton's exist across the street from each other; those four, plus countless others, thrive in that sleepy city.  It seems that hardly a person in Canada can claim to be separated from a Tim's by more than a kilometer or two.  Besides the donuts they offer, the firm which was founded by legendary Toronto Maple Leaf icon Tim Horton, is known for their coffee -- a beverage which provides the morning boost for the lion's share of Canadians.

What is it about Tim Horton's coffee?  How do even Yanks like me become addicted to this brown elixir?  And how is it that I, a self-described promoter of the finer things in life, when in Canada, must stop at a donut place several times daily for coffee in a paper cup?

It isn't the best-tasting coffee, that's for sure -- although it isn't at all bad.  It is quite enjoyable and undoubtedly refreshing.  The unassuming flavor profile is simple and unadorned.  Simply put, Tim's coffee is addictive.  And no one knows why.

Theories are often proposed to explain this curious addictive quality of a Hot Tim's.  Some say that certain additives are included in the blend.  Others claim that it's not coffee at all, but some rare tropical concoction.  Yet others blame it on the Americans (who now own the chain, which is affiliated with Wendy's -- a shock to the Canadian psyche roughly equivalent to a French conglomerate buying the Alamo).



But I say, the answer must be far more simple.  Careful blends of economical but high-quality beans, roasted masterfully by experts in the field, and provided fresh to an eager public -- that's my theory.  Care is taken to provide a reasonably economic, but totally consistent and flavorful cup.  That, and an unusually-high caffeine content, are their secrets.  Or so I believe.

So, the next time you find yourself north of the border -- or, in one of the many American border towns like Detroit where an Americanized Tim Horton's franchise has been established -- stop in for a large double-double and some Tim Bits.  And you, too, will be hooked.  You may even find yourself bursting into song, "With glowing hearts we see thee rise / The True North strong and free!"

"An intoxicating blend of rich Nicaraguan tobacco surrounded by a gorgeous Brazilian wrapper.  This cigar yields a lush and chewy texture of smoke and captivates the palate with flavors of exotic spices and wood, with a seductively floral aroma."

That's how the CAO website describes their Brazilia line.  I have been a fan of CAO cigars for quite some time, and have enjoyed the Brazilia line since its inception.  So I guess that, based on past experience, I couldn't take exception with their marketing description.  But the best way to tell is to smoke one.  And that's just what I did.

The Brazilia line is an all-large ring-gauge set of dark, spicy vitolas that literally fill one's mouth with flavor.  The Ipanema is a massive 7.0 x 50 double corona.  The one I most recently smoked was solid, large, and imposing.  Having set me back $7.59, this monstrous stick was heavy and solid.  A dark brown maduro in color, the wrapper was oily and the construction was fine.

I've been too long in submitting this review.  For that, I apologize.  It's not due to a lack of smoking material; after all, I was in Canada last week, and had an opportunity to sample some interesting stuff while there.  This one was given to me as a gift, brought back from that magical island itself by a friend (a good friend!) who knows I can't go there, and, well ... took pity on me.  This was my consolation prize.

The Partagas 898 Cabinet Selection is said to be among that brand's mildest smokes -- which doesn't necessarily mean that they're mild cigars.  For the Partagas selections are amongst Cuba's strongest smokes.  The 898 comes in two versions, known by the box; varnished and unvarnished.  The varnished starts out stronger, and matures more slowly.  A brief bit of research showed me that a box of 25 varnished 898s could be had for between the high USD 200's and low 300's.

My prize was a beautiful panatela of 6.75 x 43 dimensions, an elegant size, befitting of the likes of James Bond.  The wrapper was a light, rosy brown, shade-grown, with slight (but distracting) veininess.  It felt solid but somewhat light.  Overall, this stick had an impressive, elegant appearance and seemed to be of excellent construction.

The lightup was smooth; draw was silky and pleasant.  The first impression was of firm, tobacco flavors -- firm but not strong.  A certain spiciness soon established itself, providing initial flavors of toast and coffee.  This was a very approachable cigar.

At ten minutes this stick would have been considered to be medium in body.  I became quite aware of a certain perfumey character; unusual flavors dominated the mix but I couldn't quite identify them.  It really did remind me of perfume, though; nothing specific, but in an indistinct manner -- rather like the aroma one might notice when passing by the perfume counters of an upscale retailer.  These were flavors and aromas which were quite unlike others I'd experienced in a cigar, but they were nevertheless enjoyable and quite interesting.

After twenty minutes I removed an inch and a half of dark gray, mottled ash.  The cigar was burning quite nicely.  The cigar was developing a serious finish, which contrasted with the perfumey flavors.

At 35 minutes the smoke was simply delicious.  Elegant and mysterious, my 898 was not mild but certainly no powerhouse.  It was smooth, complex and balanced.

At 45 minutes the panatela had become quite enjoyable, and was somewhat fuller and sweeter.  The finish had taken on a pleasant, cedary character.  In the flavor profile, attractive tobacco flavors had become dominant, together with nuts; the perfume was less noticeable now, but still part of the complex mix.

After 65 minutes I was enjoying the smooth, medium-to-full flavors which hung in a balanced tension.  The cedary finish was quite long and firm for a lighter stick such as this.  Even after over an hour, this Partagas was still quite approachable; there was something there for lovers of all types of cigars.

At an hour and fifteen minutes I abandoned what was left of my 898.  It was simply too difficult to hold and draw, yet it remained enjoyable throughout.

It would be hard to go wrong with this Havana.  It was attractive and elegant, and was well-constructed; it had lots of flavor and a very nice finish.  Fairly reasonable in price (for a Cuban, that is), this smoke had a significant complexity which held my interest.  This beautiful Havana panatela was the type of cigar that could be enjoyed by all types of smokers, and just might be one of Partagas' most approachable selections.  I would say that the Partagas 898 Cabinet Selection (Varnished) ISOM is definitely recommended.

I probably should have mentioned this earlier: I am in Canada until Friday of this week.  If all goes well, the situation could lead to some interesting cigar reviews.  Stay tuned.

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is another of my very favorite cigar men.  Born in Cuba to a cigar-making family, the tall, slender former jazz drummer came to Miami's Little Havana to carry on his father's tradition of making great, Cuban-style smokes.  His La Gloria Cubana brand has long been one of my favorites, and his Serie R (all bold, robust, with big ring gauges) is a fabulous addition to the line for lovers of the most serious smokes.

Not to be confused with the fine Havana cigars made today under that name by Cuba's communist government (which illegally seized the original LGC name), honest La Gloria Cubanas are made by Señor Perez-Carillo, the rightful heir to the brand (which falls now under the General Cigar umbrella).  Today these excellent smokes are produced mainly in the Dominican Republic, from a multi-nation blend of tobaccos.  But a few are still American-made in the El Credito factory in Little Havana, their home and sole point of origin from the post-revolution 1960s to 1996.  In fact, during much of that period La Gloria Cubana cigars were one of Little Havana's most well-kept secrets.  But when the word leaked out, Ernesto's La Gloria Cubanas took off like wildfire.

Apart from his very recent release of a series of torpedos, the N° 7 is the latest vitola in Perez-Carillo's LGC Serie R line.  And, measuring a whopping seven inches in length, and with a stout 58 ring gauge, it is the biggest of the big.  This is a huge cigar.  Over the years I have tried just about every one of Ernesto's vitolas, but until this review I had never summoned quite enough courage to tackle this jumbo treat.  I knew from experience that these sticks smoke extremely well right from the tobacconist's shelves, but had also learned of their capacity to greatly improve with age.  So, about four months ago, I purchased four of these massive sticks for $7.99 each, and have been aging them ever since in perfect temperature and humidity conditions.

I must admit that the first one I smoked was outstanding in flavor and finish but had significant construction problems.  As this was perhaps the first LGC stick of any kind with which I had encountered such problems -- during well over a decade of smoking them -- I decided to postpone publishing the review until I had determined whether this was a fluke, or an unfortunate characteristic of the vitola.  Fortunately, it turned out to be a fluke -- somehting that can and does happen with even the best of cigars.  Therefore, this review will follow the second smoking rather than the first.

This second stick had an appearance which was virtually identical to the first.  A very large and intimidating cigar, it had a smooth, medium-brown wrapper with fine veins but not much visible oil-staining.  The cap was somewhat obvious.  The stick had a solid feel, and was not as light in the hand as was the first one (which felt unusually light for such a big cigar).

The draw was on the light side of medium, and the lightup seemed to be mature and developed right from the start.  Not at all earthy, the flavor was smooth but full, not overpowering in the least.

After five minutes the flavor was developing along cedary lines.  Cedar being quite dominant, the flavor profile was nevertheless not at all one-dimensional.  The N° 7 was sweet, elegant and enjoyable.  By ten minutes the draw had become nearly ideal, and flavors of tea were evident within the cedary flavor profile.

But for a moment I began to panic; the ash appeared to be somewhat loose and powdery, and would not hold onto the cigar as it burned.  As this was a catastrophic failure of the previous cigar, I began to suspect the worst.  However, this time it seemed fairly innocuous, and the burn was even, albeit somewhat fast.  (The first stick had had a far-too-light draw, had burned highly unevenly and much too quickly, and the ash had flaked and shattered, rendering the thing nearly unsmokable.)

However this second stick quickly righted itself.  At 20 minutes the ash had begun to cling well.  The cigar was full-flavored but paradoxically light-bodied, featuring flavors of cedar and tea.  There was not much finish yet, but the smoke was very aromatic, filling the club's smoking room with an enrapturing scent of rich tobacco.

At 25 minutes I removed 1-3/8" of white ash, which was now clinging nicely, although it still seemed somewhat light and fragile.  The stick was burning well.

At 40 minutes my companions and I were enveloped in gobs of aromatic smoke.  The cigar was becoming more full-bodied.  I was enjoying the rich cedary-tobacco character.  This was a pleasurable and interesting cigar which completely dominated the others in the room.

At 50 minutes I removed another inch and a half of ash, which was now more compact and took some effort to dislodge.  The finish was full and cedary-sweet; the flavor was full but smooth and complex.  This was a fabulously enjoyable, flavorful, and interesting cigar with no objectionable flavors.  It stood in absolutely perfect balance.

At an hour and five minutes the finish was incredibly long, full and cedary.  The flavor profile was smooth and fascinatingly complex.  Fifteen minutes later I ashed another inch and a half, now compact and white.  The smoke was becoming still fuller and more delicious, especially on the finish.

At an hour and a half the formerly enormous cigar was now only an inch and a half long; flavors were fuller yet, perhaps somewhat minty.  I finally gave the stick up after an hour and forty-five minutes, as I could no longer hold onto it.  It remained exquisite to the last.

This cigar featured a smooth presentation, exceptional, complex flavors and a delightful finish.  With an even burn, plenteous amounts of aromatic smoke and a delicious aroma, the La Gloria Cubana Serie R N° 7 was an elegant and supple giant of a cigar with great finesse.  Despite the one-time construction flaw I still consider this and all La Gloria Cubana Serie R vitolas to be highly recommended.

The following is a list of the Cigar Journal entries from the beginning through 28 February 2005, listed according to type (Cigars; Other) and rating:

Cigars:

Highly recommended:
Carlos Toraño Exodus 1959 Torpedo
The Edge Corojo by Rocky Patel - Toro
Fonseca Colorado 6-50 (toro)
Oliva "O" Maduro Orion - a 7x54 behemoth!
Padrón 3000 5.5 x 52 Maduro
Padrón 3000 5.5 x 52 Natural (EMS)
Partagas Serie D No. 3 Edición Limitada 2001

Recommended:
Partagas Black Label Magnifico 6 x 54
Plasencia TKO
Quintero Brevas: an entry-level Havana

Mildly recommended:
Camacho Corojo Toro
Don Diego Reserve Belicoso Maduro
La Corona Perfecto X - Natural
La Vieja Habana Wavelle Dluxxe

Not recommended:

Other:

Highly recommended:
Allegro Extra Dark French Roast Coffee
Café Mayorga "Genuine Counterfeit Cuban" Coffee
Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate - 70% Cocoa
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World, Part One; Part Two

Recommended:
Citterio Rustico Calabrese: hot dry sausage
Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa)
Lindt Dark Chocolate -- 85% Cocoa!
Paco Rabanne XS eXtreme: fragrance for men
Petit Livarot AOC cheese from Graindorge
Scharffen Berger Cacao Nibs
SFL Raclette cheese from Auvergne, France
Trader Joe's Bay Blend Ultraroast Coffee

Mildly recommended:

Not recommended:

It could happen only in California. Only there could a man start, own and operate a successful upscale winery sporting his own name, then sell it in order to pursue a dream: to start, own and operate another company (sporting a modification of his name) which would strive to make the best chocolate in the world.

The man is John Scharffenberger.  The winery is Scharffenberger Cellars.  And the chocolate business is Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker.

Scharffenberger takes a vintner's approach to chocolate-making, selecting the best "varietal" cacao beans from around the world, blending them in proprietary fashion -- and in general, nursing the product through its delicate birthing process until it becomes the premium product bearing his name on your grocer's shelf.  His line of confections is fascinatingly complex; as an introduction to his products I chose what I felt was the most unusual of them all: cacao nibs -- that is, pieces of roasted, shelled cacao beans.

As confectioners have lately been releasing ever higher percentages of cocoa in their dark chocolates, I have wondered what pure, 100% cocoa might be like.  While Scharffen Berger does sell a 99% cocoa baking chocolate, it still does have a touch of vanilla in it, and it has indeed been processed into a homogeneous bar.

In contrast to even that nearly-pure cocoa, Scharffen Berger cacao nibs are the 100% real thing.  Pure chocolate, almost as it comes off the tree.  Yes, there has been a small amount of processing; the raw cacao beans have been shelled and roasted, and the resulting beans have been "cracked" into bite-sized pieces, about the size of those walnut pieces packaged in bags for baking purposes.  Cacao nibs are the point of origin for all chocolate -- the Quelle, the source, the starting point of it all.  They are to chocolate as grapes are to wine.  This is where it all begins.

Before opening the sealed, nitrogen-flushed, inner foil package, I hesitated for a moment, wondering how I might react to totally unsweetened chocolate.  I remembered sneaking into my mother's pantry as a child and biting itnto her baking chocolate -- I shudder to remember the shock of that experience.  Do I enjoy chocolate for its sweetness, or in the total absence of sweetness, am I mature enough to appreciate its other characteristics?

I opened the package and poured a small amount into my hand.  It was indeed a handful of small, surprisingly-chocolatey-looking, cracked beans.  (I had expected them to look dry and hard, like broken coffee beans.)  The color and texture variation in the individual bean pieces was clearly evident.  While this was clearly a pile of largely-unprocessed beans in my hand, the pieces looked creamy, almost like chunks of processed chocolate.  They did not look quite as foreign as I had suspected.  They looked like chocolate.

And the smell -- the aroma was of dark cocoa -- full, dark, aromatic, heavenly chocolate.  I tasted some.  The texture surprised me; they had almost the same texture as almonds.  Indeed, the immediate impression was that I was eating a handful of nuts.  Yet as I chewed, the taste of chocolate filled my mouth, especialy in the back and up into my nose.  Oh, yes, this was chocolate.  But the contradictions were intriguing.  The texture of nuts, but the aroma and flavor of full, dark cocoa!  The lack of sweetness didn't bother me, as this was a totally different experience than eating candy.  Oh, yes, the chocolate aroma and taste did seem slightly out of place with that nutty flavor and texture.  But the overall impression was ... delicious.

Yet I wondered how many people would be turned off by this contradiction.  People have been conditioned to expect their nuts to be dry and crunchy and their chocolate to be smooth and sweet.  But what if it were the other way round?  What if we had turned almonds into candy for centuries, and the occasional unsweetened almond were an oddity, eliciting contradictory responses in its tasters?  And could people have accepted the nutty-chocolatey-ness of simple, toasted cacao beans?

Once one recovers from the initial strangeness of the experience, the true value thereof shines through.  These are delicious, nutty little chunks of intense flavor and bountiful aroma.  It works.  For me, anyway.

I ate them plain.  Scharffen Berger recommends the use of cacao nibs as a sprinkling in various desserts (and even main courses), and provides recipes.  One can even make one's own homemade chocolate by combining cacao nibs with sugar in a coffee grinder, then gently melting the resulting paste and pouring into molds.

A fascinating experience which provides a unique insight into the mysteries of that marvelous product, chocolate, tasting cacao nibs is suspenseful, fun and quite educational.  I consider Scharffen Berger cacao nibs to be heartily recommended as a unique treat for the chocolate lover who is both adventurous and curious.

Ted asked a question that I thought any reader of these reviews might have.  So, with his permission, through the magic of Cut+Paste, I post it here:

cigarjunkie, i was wondering why you seem to be recomending just about everything you review.  are you that easy to please? if so i have a daughter i want you to meet. just curious, hope you arent offended and that.

Don Diego cigars aren't a brand that I would normally smoke.  They're known to be mild to medium in body, and I tend to gravitate toward the fuller smokes.  But when one of my most trusted tobacconists recommends a cigar to me, even though she knows my tastes as well as I do -- well, I take notice.  So I tried one.

Don Diego Reserve is a line extension that is meant to be more full-bodied than the traditional Don Diego line.  These Reserve sticks feature a dose of Brazilian Mata Fina filler which is meant to "kick it up a notch," so to speak.  These Dominican beauties come in both a natural Conneticut broadleaf wrapper and an Ecuadorian broadleaf maduro.  I chose the maduro because, well, it looked so beautiful that I couldn't resist it.

Taking the stick out of its protective cellophane I saw that it was a strongly square-pressed torpedo of impeccable construction.  With its sharp, severe corners the band appeared to be nearly creased.  The dark, rosy brown wrapper was oily and featured the most lovely, silky sheen.  The cigar also had an unusually neat, precise cap and a perfect torpedo construction -- I almost hated to clip it, it was so beautiful.  Overall the appearance was quite impressive.  The stick had a medium feel in my hand, but was slightly squishy (but not objectionably so).  The unlit cigar had a nice, ripe tobacco smell.

The lightup was soft and supple, but to some extent, flavorful.  Draw was fine, perhaps slightly firm.  My first impression was of a mild, cedary-cocoa cigar that had already developed the sweetness of its post-light flavor.  My wife remarked that the Don Diego was particularly aromatic -- like buttery popcorn, she said.

At this point I would have described it as mild to medium in body, with a very nice flavor profile, warm and tasty.  The buttery aromas continued to hold my wife's attention.  For me, though, it may have been too mild, even closed, but enjoyable nevertheless.

At 15 minutes the stick was burning nicely, and had become surprisingly enjoyable for a milder cigar.  There was not much finish, but the flavor was sweet, with notes of cocoa and light cedar.  This Don Diego Reserve was a balanced and elegant smoke.

At 25 minutes it began to change.  Medium-bodied now, the cigar had a very enjoyable cocoa character, while cedar dominated the finish.  Five minutes later I removed an inch and a half of light gray ash.

Cedar dominated the flavor profile at 35 minutes, and the body was much fuller now -- enough to satisfy.  Smooth, salty and cedary.  And it was burning almost perfectly evenly.

But alas! at 45 minutes the saltiness had moved into the foreground and was beginning to become distracting, spoiling what had been a very nice balance and complexity.  There was still some cedar on the finish.

At 55 minutes I removed 1-3/8" of ash.  The saltiness may have been diminishing, but was still dominant.  By the 65 minute point the cigar had become more enjoyable again, but the previous elegance was gone; the balance, still torn asunder.  At this point the cedary finish was saving the cigar from my disappointment at its slightly unpleasant flavor.

At an hour and fifteen minutes the smoke had become fuller, and somewhat enjoyable again.  The nice finish had recovered a bit of its former cocoa character.

At an hour and a half I removed a final inch and a half of ash; the stick was getting hot but I was enjoying the cocoa finish.  Five minutes later I gave the cigar up.  The two inch stub was getting quite hot.  It had burned absolutely perfectly the entire time.

At $7.99 the Don Diego Reserve Belicoso Maduro was an expensive stick.  Half the time this cigar was out of balance.  But its appearance was exceptional, its construction excellent, and it provided a very enjoyable aroma for my wife.  Therefore I would be comfortable to say that this cigar is mildly recommended.