Allow us at PuffingCigars.com to be one of the first, so my limited research shows, to introduce you to Garo cigars. Licensed Chiropractor and President, Dr. Garo Bouldoukian has been developing this brand for over 10 years. Dr. Garo has been the sole blender of Garo Habano cigars since the company’s birth onto the world.  Today we will be reviewing one of their highest rated cigars – the Garo Aniversario X.

So that being said, let’s see how the marketing material form Garo defines this cigar: “…Garo’s new Aniversary X(10) cigars offer four Cubanesque shapes (Salomon, “A”, Belicoso and Toro Gordo). Aniversario X (10) is a full bodied, beautifully-constructed masterpiece, easily one of the finest cigars to come along in quite a while.

The sun-grown Corojo wrapper finishes a complex and intriguing blend of the finest Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The result is a taste and structure almost indistinguishable from fabled Havanas of the 50s and 60s. Bold, clean and entrancing, the cigar is certain to find devotes from every segment of the cigar smokers’ realm.

The finest and most exclusive humidors in the world will make room for the cigar.”

Construction: Garo Aniversario X is wrapped in an elegant light brown wrapper with some medium sized veins. While the veins are medium in size they can’t really be felt with the fingers. Tobacco is packed in nice and tight leaving no soft spots and the cap is put on with perfection.

Draw: Smoking the  Garo Aniversario X belicoso means that our cutting options are somewhat limited and you can pull out any standard issue accessory. An interesting observation – these belicosos have a flat head so if you had a small punch you would also be able to open the stogie up. The draw had some resistance that required just a little tough, not enough to become cumbersome, and provided a good amount of smooth smoke.

Burn: Garo Aniversario X created one of the brightest ash I have seen on any cigar in long time. The ash did very well at holding on until I was ready to dispense of it. Burn can be described as slightly jagged, generally straight and required no sort of correction through the entire smoking process.

Flavor: Initial light introduced an interesting spice on the lips and a very smooth tobacco tasting smoke on the palate. However this upfront spice quickly faded away and only started lingering in the aftertaste. In this initial 1/3 of the cigar you aren’t going to differentiate tons of different tobacco profiles. You simply, and enjoyably, get great mixture of tobaccos that are smooth and easy.

Perhaps the most notable change in the middle of the cigar is the body and spice. The body still only slightly increases remaining in the medium range and the spice tends to remain on the palate slightly longer.

No other changes can be noted on the Garo Aniversario X as it comes to an end. This cigar was very consistent from beginning to end and produces a smooth smoke of the true tobacco flavors. Being so consistent and marrying the tobacco flavors really well makes the Garo Aniversario X a great candidate for that morning coffee. In doing some research you will find Dr.Garo (the creator) does a lot of sales in the European market. This cigar is a slightly more full body cigar than you would find in that market.

Final Verdict: Retailing at $8.xx the Garo Garo Aniversario X this is a cigar I think everyone should try. If you are looking for the full body power house – stay away.  However, if you want something that is consistent, smooth, good and goes very well with a drink – then stock up now. You will also notice the quality and amount of tobacco just stuffed into these sticks makes it a great bargain.

Ashton VSG Belicoso is one of my all time favorite cigars. I was looking for a good way to introduce the VSG to you, the readers, but could do no better than the Ashton website it self. And after reading about who is involved in creating this amazing stick – you too will realize that the Ashton VSG is something special:

“For those who desire a powerful and intoxicating flavor with a complex rich finish, look no further than the Ashton VSG. The VSG is blended exclusively for Ashton by Carlos Fuente Jr. using 4 to 5 year old aged Dominican tobacco taken from the finest and most fertile plants. The distinct flavor of VSG comes from its wrapper grown on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family where this proprietary wrapper leaf is grown for the Fuente Family exclusively for Ashton VSG.”

Construction: Dark, spicy, and perhaps rugged are just three words I would use to describe the look of the Ashton VSG wrapper. The Ecuadoran Sun Grown wrapper has an oily sheen that not only looks amazing, but makes this cigar such a great build. Little veins run through the firm stick but do not effect the cigar in a negative way. Smoking down to the nub will not be an issue with this perfectly rolled stick.

Draw: Belicoso shapes do not leave many options for obtaining your draw: Cut or V Cut. Choose your preferred method of cutting and enjoy because the draw is perfect. In reality this is the kind of draw I wish every cigar had.

Burn: How picky do you want me to be about the burn? Had this cigar been in the 5 dollar range – I would say it was perfect. Except this cigar sits in the $10-$12 range (depending on markup, taxes, etc) so I have to say… the burn is good. While it does get a little off track the stick did a great job of correcting itself.

Taste: Let’s start by giving the Virgin Sun Grown cigar the “nose” test. Doing so will give you an indication of the spice you will soon encounter, the sweetness, and what I would call a light mocha smell.

The 1/3 of the cigar punches you with an amazing amount of spice – it is a medium-full bodied smoke from the start. Once you overcome the spice you get an amazing nutty flavor with a hint of coffee – or perhaps a light chocolate(?). The smoke is full and flavorful giving you a nice creamy finish and a firm white ash.

At the 2/3 point (midway of the cigar) the spice of the Ashton seems to die a bit and take backseat to a sweeter taste. This “sweet” taste only introduces what’s to come: leather, woodsy, and cedar like notes. The body is now in the full spectrum and the smoke is just as creamy. The ash is still white and firm but burned a little uneven.

Grand Finale: The VSG is still in the full range and the leather flavor is what dominates the smoke. The leather taste is supported by the spice (this spice never fades) and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is a sweeter cedar – but it compliments it very nicely making the Ashton VSG easy to smoke to the nub. Again the smoke is creamy and the ash is firm and white. I would like to note the uneven burn corrected it self.

Verdict Is: This is a cigar you should have in your normal rotation and can easily be found in many retail tobacco establishments. I also found that the VSG is even more amazing when aged. So while this is a bit expensive to some (or anyone who smokes everyday) it is okay to buy some and save the VSG for that perfect day.

Other Cigars:

At this current time the only other cigar I can recomend (as in same spciy taste, full body smoke, and quality) is the Opus X.

The Chateau Fuente King B was officially released in 2005 at the then RTDA convention. Released to the market as a limited cigar; you can usually find this cigar at your local B&M – and you can surly find this cigar online.

Story has it that the King B was named after a local tavern that Carlos Fuente Jr very own grandfather liked to frequent. This tavern was conveniently located behind his grandfather Arturo’s house and it was the place all the cigar makers would meet. The King B tavern no longer stands but this cigar gives proper tribute.

Chateau Fuente King B comes well protected in a cellophane wrapper. Underneath the wrapper is a large cedar sleeve secured with the signature black ribbon across the bottom. The King B has a beautiful presentation and I almost hesitate to undress the cigar.

Construction: The reddish brown color wrapper looks familiar to Fuente’s other sun grown cigars in the lineup.  Small veins covered the entire King B – however they were small enough to not effect the smoke. It was tightly wrapped which enabled it to hold its composure while smoking (no unwrapping). Again – the Chateau Fuente is a quality build from the Fuente family. Nothing is unusual with this.

Draw: I would have to say the King B has a medium draw, depending on the stick you happen to select. I usually have perfect luck with the Fuente products but many sticks in this box required me to double cut. Either way I given it has a medium draw – or a draw that you can fix with very little effort.

Burn: The Chateau Fuente King B burned perfectly. I was a little hesitant with the cigars that had the tougher draw – but stick after stick my worries were put to rest. King B created a thick white ash that was well formed.

Taste: As expected the King B had the initial taste of the cedar it was wrapped in and a bit of sweetness that just stays in your mouth. I detected a hint of spice throughout the finish of the first third of the cigar.

Two thirds of the cigar brought out the pepper and the spice stayed around to make it a great smoke for me. Everything is really smooth and compliments each other quite well.

The King B is still a medium bodied cigar and it remains a medium body cigar through the entire smoke.

Finally the spice seemed to fade away as the cigar was coming to an end. You could really get more of the earthy type of flavors. This finish was still smooth but there seemed to be a hint of bitterness that just faded into the cigar.

Final Verdict: You can add this cigar to your humidor. Going into a cigar lounge to purcahse the stick will cost you around $9.xx. You will not have any trouble finding this cigar online and the price is a bit better at $7.xx.

The Chateau Fuente King B is easy to smoke in warm weather, cold weather, morning, day or night. It’s a versatile cigar that everyone should at least try.

This would be a great pick up at the $7 range but I as you get into the upper $9 range there might be some better cigars out there. If you don’t have a cigar budget – or have everything else in stock – then pick this King B cigar up.

Other Cigars:
Lower Priced: JFR
Same Price: Fuente Cuban Belicoso
Higher Price: Ashton VSG