Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for General Cigar was quoted stating the “Brioso was created with today’s value conscious, premium cigar consumer in mind. In Brioso, we feel we have satisfied all the touch points of the smoker who demands high quality tobacco, complex flavor and expert craftsmanship. Since Brioso delivers an excellent smoking experience at a very accessible price point, we are confident that this new collection has all the makings of a consumer favorite.”

It’s always exciting when a value-priced, “bundle“, cigar comes into the market from a company that is well established. The Brioso concept has the ability to keep people smoking on a very limited budget; with today’s hardships and tax increases this is a very good thing from General Cigar. Briosos is also a “contract” stick meaning they can only be sold at the local B&M – again, thank you General.

Construction: Brioso has a pretty decent looking wrapper for a bundle cigar. It is light brown in color and appears dry, lacking any kind of oils, and has a couple of large veins that makes the stogie feel rough.

Draw: Impeccable. You can cut, punch or… poke the Brioso cigar and it will have no trouble filling your mouth with thick smoke after requiring a light tug.

Burn: As great as it is to poke fun at the “big giant cigar company” I have to give them credit with the burns almost all of their cigars create. The Brioso has a peppery white ash that holds strong and will never require a correction.

Flavor: “Hey, what kind of wrapper are they using on this?”

“A gross one.”

Well let that be some indication as to what is going to come from the “flavor” section for this very article.  I commend General for trying to create a cigar that is affordable and easily obtainable to the public for every day consumption. However, if you are going to do something (like create a cigar), why not try to do it right?

At least the cigar is smokable. Yes – put it in your mouth, light it up and give it a puff. Now if you are looking for something complex or even slightly enjoyable you might (I wish you could hear the tone of my voice) have to turn away from the Brioso. At best this cigar might be called “less harsh” or “smokable” or maybe even just a cigar.

I know people might counter with the pricing argument. Stating that one can’t have too much of an expectation on a cigar with a bottom of the barrel pricing structure. To you, the one sticking up for the “big giant cigar company“, I would ask you to pick up a Benchmade, Fresco or Flor de Oliva – all of which are 1000x better.

Please accept my apologies for not really describing the “flavors” of this particular cigar. I did not have the strength to relive the horrible memories.

Final Verdict: The Brioso Corona cigar by General Cigar retails  in the $3.xx range. Did you know General Cigar required the retailer to separate the Brioso from the other lines? Originally, as it was spun to me, due to the fact that this would be more “boutique” and sold exclusively inside stores to help counter the online sales. General Cigar would have done retailers more of a favor by not even selling them stick and freeing the space up for a cigar people might actually enjoy. Maybe instead of trying to help the budget minded smoker General Cigar was just trying to pick their pockets too?

Construction: This toothy wrapper is oily, dark and beautiful to stare at. The tobacco was packed heavy and you will not find any soft spots on the La Flor Dominicana L-200. A single medium sized vein may be found but will not effect the burn.

Draw: The La Flor Dominicana L-200 was smokable with punch but performed perfectly with a cut or a deep v-cut. It had the right amount of resistance to prevent the small cigar from burning hot and the smoke was still plentiful.

Burn: The burn on the La Flor Dominicana L-200 was perfect and created a gray ash.

Flavor: When you are smoking a cigar that is smaller in size you decrease the chances of the filler tobacco playing a major role in the complexity or flavor profile. Generally speaking you then increase the chance of your palate only recognizing the wrapper that is used on the cigar.

This is exactly what happened as we were smoking the La Flor Dominicana L-200. From start to finish you palate will be filled with the aroma and taste of the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Sumatra wrapper, again generally speaking, is going to deliver the same consistent flavor regardless of what cigar your smoking it on.

With a small cigar that has very little tobacco to intrigue your palate some people will find this boring. Granted that the Ecuadorian Sumatra is spicy – this is really all it has going for it.

Final Verdict: La Flor Dominicana L-200 Cabinet Oscuro retails for around $6.25 and can be found online at the $4.50 price mark. This is a cigar one would buy if they like smooth cigars and/or truly enjoy the taste of Ecuadorian Sumatra. Others who strive for something more complex or demand more value for their hard earned dollars should not purchase the stogie. If you really want to try this type of cigar I would suggest getting a larger size for a couple of cents more. The tobacco then might just make this smoke worth it.

Construction: 601 Green label Corona is a very dark, oily, and tiny cigar. The wrapper had some minor veins that you really can’t see due to the overall color of the stick. It had the usual “perfect Pepin” construction and was really full of tobacco.

Draw: Perfect. There isn’t a single cigar from the 601 group, or even the EO cigar family, that comes to mind with anything less then the perfect draw. You have to give them credit for the quality control.

Burn: I am always weary of how smaller cigars tend to burn and hold their ash. With this 601 Habano Oscuro Corona you can put your worries to rest. The burn is fairly straight and the small cigar can still hold a nice ash.

Taste: I was expecting this 601 Habano Oscuro Corona to be much like the larger sizes in the line, however this is not the case. From the beginning the cigar had a full body spicy punch (it’s still a Pepin cigar) with a thick smoke that does very well at covering your palate.

However, quickly after the 1/3 or so the spice immediately dies and leaves you with a more woody and perhaps slightly earthy taste. The smoke remains thick from start to finish but this is about all we can give it credit for.

To be fair to the cigar, the lot we were smoking was approximately two years old (just slightly older) and again has really changed the way a younger (or fresh) Corona might appear to the smoker. So we caution anyone with a couple sitting in their humidor to give them a shot before all the flavor, that you find in the larger sizes, dissipates.

Final Verdict: At the local B&M you should find these cigars around the $6 range. Online you can find the 601 Habano Oscuro Corona between $5-5.50. It is a decent cigar that did not really bring too much to the table as far as flavors go. It’s something that you can smoke in a brief period and is worth trying. However, we also suggest you smoke this cigar fairly fresh and do not let them age too long in the humidor. It is worth a try, let us know what you think.

Brazilian Corjo wrapper is making its way into the cigar industry. Development of this wrapper took approximately 3 years before it was deemed worthy enough to introduce. The first wrapper of this type will be used by the masterful J. Fuego.

And why did J. Fuego get this privilege?

Well, his father happens to be the grower of the the Brazilian Corojo. This means it will be exclusive for the first couple of months before the Corojo is then sold to other producers of cigars.

Have you ever wondered if you were really getting a good value on your cigars? Let me give you another tidbit of cool information:

Jesus Fuego requires all of his cigars to be fully packed with tobacco. Take a 777 (or anything in his line) and, with sizes being equal, you will almost always find that the Fuego cigar weighs more than the other stick your comparing it to.

Try this little test at home and let me know what kind of results you come up with.

Now enjoy a brief introduction from Dean Laffey, representative to J. Fuego cigars at Casa Fuma cigar lounge:

Construction: The Brazilian Corjo wrapper makes a mouth dropping cinnamon brown wrapper with a red tint. It appeared to be a little toothy with very minimal veins. You will never find a cigar from J. Fuego that has soft spots, it just wont happen.

Draw: J. Fuego cigars typically have a medium draw that require just a little tug to pull the smoke through due to the amount of tobacco used in sticks. That being said, I would recommend cutting the Brazilian Corjo and everything will be downright perfect.

Burn: puffingcigars.com should make a standard canned response for some of these cigar makers, J. Fuego being one, that tells you just now perfect the burn is. Since I don’t have one just yet so let me give you these words: “perfect“, “straight“, “amazing ash“, and “great smoke“.

Taste: Light this stogie up and get ready for the Brazilian spice. There is a bit of earthiness that I can just make out over the spice and it’s a great flavor combination. But quickly into the first 1/3 of the J. Fuego the spice settles down and that earthy flavor makes more of a pairing instead of just being an undertone. The Brazilian Corojo is leaving my palate dry.

At the midpoint of the cigar the spice is settling in the back of my throat. Earthiness seems to be the main profile my palate is picking up. There is a sweetness you can also sense (maybe depending on how sensitive your palate is). The J. Fuego is really, really, starting to mellow out now.

Welcome spicy cedar. I thought I was picking this up at the end of the middle and I’m glad it’s here. Earthiness is the major flavor profile still, an interesting earthiness I contribute to the Corojo wrapper. The body has increased and still remains in the top end of the medium or the low end of the full spectrum.

Final Verdict: J. Fuego 777 Brazilian Corojo will have a low $5.xx price range. With a great price point, a dynamite blender, and a really unique Brazilian Corjo wrapper backing this cigar you must absolutely give it a try. It’s interesting, it’s complex, and all around great so I won’t blame you for buying a box (I did).

Many have expressed their disinterest in the Don “Pepin” Garcia blended cigars (yes, believe it). Describing, in the most vivid of details, being blasted by more pepper than any other cigar on the market. And while I love the blends and cigars that are produced by “Pepin” Garcia I have grown slightly tired of smoking the intense full body, slightly similar stogie.

While visiting a local cigar lounge I was handed an unbanded cigar. The cigar proved to be a smoke I thoroughly enjoyed and was exactly what I was looking for to get away from the “normal” cigars I had been consuming.

Only when I was done was I informed that this was a Don “Pepin” Garcia blend created for Ashton. I was really impressed that this creation was a far cry from anything else I have  seen him produce.

La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial is now one of my favorite cigars to smoke.

“Handcrafted in small batch fashion by a select group of master rollers, this is a cigar for the connoisseur with a seasoned palate.  The flavors within this cigar are tremendously complex.”

Construction: Dark milk chocolate in color this beautifully capped cigar was a great contrast to the bright yellow band it wears. Some small veins were spread over the wrapper but did not cause much concern. However each stick seemed to have maybe 1 or 2 long running veins that I was able to feel with my hand. The tightly wrapped Ashton cigar contained no soft spots and held together exquisitely.

Draw: Punching the La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial left me with a medium draw that required a little tug. Cutting the cigar, as you can imagine, opened up the draw and made it absolutely perfect. Either method produced clouds of thick smoke.

Burn: La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial has a pretty even burn throughout the entire smoke of the cigar. It may be a little jagged at some points, there wasn’t any touch ups needed, and it burned at just the right rate. La Aroma de Cuba produced a solid white ash that came off midway through the cigar.

Taste: La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial immediately grabbed my attention on the pre-light smell. Why? Because it did not give me the “this-is-going-to-kick-you-in-the-tail” pepper Don “Pepin” Garcia smell.

La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial started out with a great mixture of flavors in the tobacco. Each draw contained a sweet note accompanied by wood, slight coffee, and a bit of leather. The smoke was thick and would leave just a minor indication of spice in the back of your throat.

The flavors are pretty consistent, however develop enough to be complex and keep you interested. As the sweetness becomes more delicate an earthy flavor is introduced. Wood was the dominate flavor and the leather made the body increase. Again some spice is in the smoke that coats your pallet.

Final Verdict: Buy it. On the retail side the cigar will cost (in the low) $7.xx range. Online purchasing would save you about a dollar, $6.xx.  This is a great value for an Ashton cigar, a Don “Pepin” Garcia cigar, and/or an overall good medium body cigar that your pallet will love. Furthermore, I have had the opertunity to age the La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial and I can tell you that it does quite well. So pick up this cigar – smoke some now, age some for later – either way you are going to enjoy.