Lunchtime came and no cigars had been selected. Decided to go to the old cab and grab a couple from the singles drawer. Pulled the wrong drawer and damn...

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I have alot of nice NC cigars with a bunch of age on them.

Decided to smoke these to and from Quaker Steak and Lube lunch today. Right off the bat these have that.. there is really high quality tobacco in there kind of mouth flavors. Lingers on the mouth and tongue in a pleasant way. Conversely, they are harsh on the nose and you really need to just let a sip out or it is unpleasantly harsh.

For those who do not french exhale, these would be the cats pajamas of cigars. Rich and elegant. It's in the nose that issues arise. Properly modulated (maybe 10% nose) a good rich smoking experience. No tremedous changes as it burned down but.. a good solid smoke. Easy for a Cuban cigar smoker to toss due to harshness though as you need to be real careful not to burn out your sinuses.

Price performance is always an issue when comparing High end NC cigars to Cuban alternatives. In this there is no contest, at least for me. Upmann # 2 vs these on the need to grab a smoke ... 9 times out of 10 it would be the Upmann with these being just a change of pace. Plus these are more expensive by a factor of 2 so in all, no contest.

That being said, cigar demonstrated why I used to buy them. Rich and good all the way down and if you like "that flavor" a satisfying smoking experience and a great one compared to most NC cigars.

I guess the moral being .... you can go back but today is nothing like your memories as you have traveled far since they were made.
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Great review on a great stick. Nice little collection you got going on in that cab.
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Ain't that the truth.
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I don't see any cremosas.......:-)
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Dave, you hit on a point that seems often lost. NCs just don't seem to exhale out the nose well at all. When I first started, I couldn't for the life of me get it. Then after switching to cubans, and I was like, yeah this is what they mean. Even when I mixed cubans and NCs, I couldn't get myself to nose exhale NCs. I think you lose so much not exhaling cubans through your nose, but domestics almost demand a mouth only smoke. Don't know what the difference is between the two types, seems NCs are just built to be such powerbombs/flavorbombs, that the subtle tastes, that a nose exhale demands are lost.

Nice review, Padrons were always my favorite NCs, and of the few I still have, they are the only ones left.
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This maybe a stupid question, but how is nose exhaling that important? Isn't it about taste and body?
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Exactly for me as well. Nasal exhale on young NCs can be too painful. I usualy still do but just the very last bit of the smoke. I just never get those nuances if I dont do it.

Thanks for the review DK. A fine smoke indeed.

~Vitis
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The Anniversary has inspired many a eloquent review.+1 :-)
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True but how you access that taste and body is the point our friend refers to.

I posted some thoughts on this here....

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1906

The real issue has to do with "what cigars" you smoke. Within the Cuban category the issue of "nose" becomes a significant issue.
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Dave, would you say the aging had a dramatic impact on the flavor profile, or not so much?
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I find that the larger 64s, especially the maduro, get very harsh closer to the band IF they are smoked too quickly. I have to make an effort to smoke em slower, then they turn out excellent. Smoking an Exclusivo right now, as a matter of fact.
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Dunno. My smoking technique has changed so radically from when these were frequent smokes. If you are a mouth only smoker, no nose exhale, these are one of the best cigars regarding flavor, aftertaste etc. Once you start the process of nosin it the frame of reference changes and you realize how little you get out of these based upon the harshness of the nose as compared to your run of the mill cuban cigars.

I remember them as being "special" just better than most other cigars from my no nose period. They may be better now after a few years but.. not a cigar I can fully appreciate in contrast due to current habits.
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Man, your NC collection sucks relative to the rest of your collection. Of course, it's all relative as your NC collection is the stuff most cigar smokers dream of.

Thanks for the "review." Or at least thanks for mentioning that you smoked it. I found that in itself amusing as I can't remember when you've lowered your standards enough to smoke a NC cigar besides your coveted cremosas. :-)
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It's not a matter of standards just of smoking what you have come to like. Interesting in that the average daily smoke for me now is cheaper than in the NC phase. You missed my first 30 years of NC smoking. Pretty much smoked em all. Conversion has pretty much been a one island cigar smoker for me for the past 3 years. Once you become a nose smoker its difficult to appreciate what NC cigars have to offer.
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I was more making a cremosa joke. I'm not always the best comedian... er... maybe never actually. :-) I wasn't knocking your taste in cigars whatsoever.

Anyway, I really did get a smile out of you posting up about a NC cigar. It's just so... well, rare. I considered it a treat.
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Glad someone did, Sam *****ed about the cigars all during lunch.... its too strong, has a funny aftertaste.... friggin Cuban snobs.:-)
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Nice singles drawer!!

I really like Padron the Anny lines, but I agree with you. Price definitely comes into play and it's hard to pay more for a stick that's just as good/not as good as less expensive sticks. It's all about bang for the buck.
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Ironic, considering where our buddy, Sam was at Shack 2. Handing out Fuentes, and saying he didn't see the appeal of cubans. What a difference that weekend made. :-) (and that bad influence in the office next door to his)
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He's such a snob now.. in a $ 2-4 cuban cigar kind of habit way. Snobs really the wrong term though. Smoking what you come to enjoy at a price that is less expensive per stick is ... well it's quite unexpected for those still looking down from the top of the slope.
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The nose exhale is what ruined the NC's for me.

Great review and interesting reading everyones posts.
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