One of my regular tobacconists gave me a Dominican with THE PLAYBOY BUNNY on the band. Never tried it before. Don Diego launched it in 1996 at Hugh Hefner's Beverly Hills Mansion. Now it's part of the Altadis USA brands, evidently the sixth largest cigar company in the world.

I smoked a Robusto 52 x 5. Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra. Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf. Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian. The first two or three puffs were boring for me, milder than what I thought would be medium... but the flavour improved and the smoke became stronger. Passable, though I prefer full-bodied cigars, mainly maduros. And not a bad burn.

Lately I have been experimenting with Rocky Patel Sungrown and Decade and Alec Bradley Tempus Imperator. I tend to avoid overpriced Cubans, because too often I am disappointed, except for Cohiba Maduro, especially when my jet-setting friends give me a stick or two. Please I'm an unemployed novelist, still unpublished.

The Playboy novelty cigar probably sells for stag parties, poker nights or on golf courses. The pretenders will leave the band on to indicate who they are or fancy who they are. Like i did.

Me? I'm a middle-age to old fart, 62. However, officially I'm not a senior citizen in Canada until I turn 65. Then I will get discounts at movies and so forth. But I still feel sexy, and some say I have that distinguished look.

Maybe I'll pick up a few Don Diego Playboy cigars to hand out to a few smokers. To surprise them, if they haven't smoked the brand, because generally I am anti-social and fequently impecunious to be handing out overtaxed stogies.

Playboy Cigars
http://www.altadisusa.com/cigar/playboy.asp

Altadis USA
http://www.altadisusa.com/company.asp
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Now here is an interesting brand name DIRTY RAT reviewed by a cigar aficionado. I wonder if this is the brand that the players of Goldman Sachs and shorting masters at Paulson & Co. smoke?

Cigar Review: Dirty Rat by Drew Estate
http://www.acigarsmoker.com/2010/04/...y-drew-estate/
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So this is the new version of the Playboy? Because I have a box that looks totally different!
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I'm not sure if they had a blend change, but they did have a band change.
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Yes, the blend is different. The Don Diego Playboy is much milder.
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This is the old version. The new version has Hugh Hefners initials on the band.
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