Dipping into the world of Handmade cigars

  In recent months, I have had more handmade cigars than machine-made cigars mentioned in earlier posts such as Black & Milds. There is nothing wrong with liking these types of cigars. However, you get what you pay for.  Truthfully, there is nothing like a handmade cigar. The flavors you get from one are better and they have a longer burn time than the ones you can buy at a Walmart or gas station.  There are so many brands to choose from and can seem endless.


     The first handmade cigar I had was a Nat Sherman Metropolitan Host Hobart (shown below), which was suggested to try by a friend of mine.  This cigar was light bodied and filled with flavor. The draw was great as well and produced a lot of smoke. I really like this cigar and is now one of my go-to's. This cigar goes well with a bourbon aged beer or after a cup of coffee.

20th Anniversary Connecticut

   Another Cigar brand I love is Perdomo. Perdomo has a lot of different varieties to choose from. Some of my favorites include Lot 23,  Bourbon barrel aged Habano Connecticut, and their 20th-anniversary collections,  just to name a few.  The Lot 23 is Medium-Bodied and offers a great flavor profile throughout the cigar. This cigar would pair well with a morning cup of joe. The Habano Connecticut is really a cigar that I would lean towards when I want a higher flavor profile. This cigar is one I like during the evenings with a single malt scotch or a high-end bourbon (Such as Bullet or Jefferson reserve).  All the cigars here have a slight sweetness to them which enjoyable for the beginner and intermediate cigar aficionados alike.

Habano Bourbon Barrel-Aged Connecticut

Lot 23 Connecticut

  I was given a box of Baccarat cigars from a friend of mine who had gotten them from a veteran friend recently. It was a brand I never heard of before. They are slightly sweet due to a slightly sweetened tip. Like all of the cigars mentioned on here, they feature a Connecticut wrapper. They are bound with a mexican binder and are long-filled with habano seeded tabbaco grown in Honduras.  The flavor profile I got was a slightly sweet, coffee taste out of this cigar. The size I have is a Churchill (7.0"x50). The average burn time I have is about 2 hours. The packing is tight. The only issue with these is consistancy in the wrapper. Some of them are veiny throughout while other wrappers are smooth. With that being said, they are not a bad smoke to start with or if you just are in the mood for something sweet. 

K.A. Kendall's 7-20-4 Dog walker

  K.A. Kendall's 7-20-4 brand is a rebirth of an old cigar brand that went out of business back in 1964. Back then they were known for their 10 cent cigars and were manufactured at 724 Elm Street, Manchester, NH. K.A. Kendall, a New Hampshire native brought this company back to life. Today they are no longer 10 cents or made in the old Manchester location. One of their signature cigars is a Petite Carona they call "the Dog Walker. " These cigars are very flavorful and have a nutty finish to them. These cigars have an easy draw and are a pleasure to smoke. They are made in Honduras at the new location using the finest tobacco. They feature a Brazillian Maduro wrapper and is has a Costa Rican binder and is filled with tobacco from Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and Columbia. The strength of the cigar is considered to be full.

   These cigars were good, not great. And really are not as memorable as I have moved on to other brands. It is not because that they are bad by any means. The quality is definitely there. It is just not a brand that is regularly available in my area that I reside in. When I lived in New Hampshire, you could find these at Twin's Smoke Shop and sometimes at Castro's Backroom. But, since I now live in another state, they are not as easy to come by as other manufacturers that are mentioned on this blog. When I did buy them, I did get them in the 5 pack as pictured above because that is what I could get my hands on at the time. Nowadays, I like to get single sticks so I can have a different variety in my Humidor.