Posts Categorized: Miscellaneous

  A cigar oasis…That’s the best way to describe XO Cigars in Woodland Hills, CA.  Owned and operated by Bob Tadini, XO is a great place to buy, smoke, and discuss cigars.  But a cigar lounge is only as friendly as its owner, and Bob is a pleasure to be with.  His place reflects his… Read More

The walls are closing in on our rights to enjoy our cigars.  We MUST ALL join the fight to save the cigar industry. Marvin Shanken, the Editor of Cigar Aficionado magazine, sums it up simply: “The Food and Drug Administration is taking aim at the cigar industry. There are 85,000 American jobs at risk. And… Read More

As smooth as a baby’s butt…that’s how I’d describe the new box pressed Epernay cigars.  Not only in the feel of their leathery wrappers, but also the quality of their smoke.  We are talking about three new cigars from Illusione: the Epernay Le Taureau (5.5×56); the Epernay L’Alpiniste torpedo (6.75×56); and the Epernay La Vie… Read More

Cigar mold can be the scourge of a cigar collection, and building a Cigar Closet was supposed to protect my sticks from such harmful maladies. Yet here I stand, scratching my head and wondering: why have some of my cigars grown mold?  The closet’s RH is rock steady at 70% with the temp. hovering around 70… Read More

Congratulations to Carl C of New York.  He is the Robustojoe’s Newsletter lottery winner.  If you did not win this time please don’t dispair.  If you are signed up for the Newsletter you will automatically be entered into the next drawing.  

  I have often written about the virtues of mild cigars and how flavorful these everyday sticks can be.  That’s because I smoke many different cigars, of many differing strengths, and often find myself reaching for a cigar that doesn’t require stamina to enjoy.  Mild cigars give us the opportunity to sit back and contemplate… Read More

Ernesto Padilla is a busy man, very busy. He has recently created a new company logo and is refashioning all his cigar bands to reflect this new image. But that is only part of the story. He is currently working on a number of new cigar blends that sound very exciting. This is a Sneek… Read More

No two cigar smokers would ever agree on how the perfect cigar should taste.  Some of us like our cigars strong, others mild, some spicy, some fruity…there are an infinite number of variables that make up the flavor of a cigar and we all have our preferences.  That’s why when we use cigar reviews as… Read More

In the current article The X Factor: The Soul of a Cigar, the idea that a cigar can have soul was brought into focus.  There are many outstanding cigars currently available and we all have our favorites, but to this author, none exemplify the concept of a soulful cigar as much as the Man ‘O… Read More