First Party at The Outlaw South

Saturday was the first monthly party at the new Outlaw Cigar Co. location at 137th and Metcalf. Michael Chiusano (of Cusano Cigars) was the guest of honor. Sorry, no pics, but I have a good reason . . turnout was HUGE and all you'd see in the photos would be a bunch of people packed into the store! Standing room only after 12:00! Great food, great cigars (I had two) and a great time with Mr. Chiusano. Frankly, I think he was blown away by the size of the place and the incredible turnout, but he managed just fine. If you missed it, don't worry . . they'll do it all again next month!

IT'S ALIVE!

The Outlaw Cigar Co's south location is NOW open! Aaarrrggghhhhhhhh! (Homer Simpsom Impression.)


13700 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS. 913-814-9000
Hours are 9am - 10pm Mon thru Sat. Sunday 10am - 7pm. It's a trek for me, but it looks WELL worth it!

Scarritt Cigar Lounge?

Yes, the Scarritt Cigar Club needs a lounge. Preferably somewhere in the neighborhood! 39 degrees with sleet is not the proper outdoor atmosphere in which to enjoy a finely crafted stogie. Ideas? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

Spreading the word . .

Ashton Cigars at the Outlaw Cigar Co. this saturday! This may be last party to be held at the north location this season!

Camacho Triple Maduro

It's been a while since I've done a full review so I thought I'd do something special . .

There's been a trend lately toward producing specialty cigars with a "gimmick" (for lack of a better term). The Cain all ligero comes to mind. Most of these, in my opinion, are designed purely with marketing in mind. A hook, if you will, to get you interesting in trying it. The Camacho Triple Maduro would seem to be one of these. If you like maduros, how about a TRIPLE maduro?

Maduro isn't really a leaf, but a process that produces a darker, richer flavor much like the difference between dark and light chocolate. Maduros are more time consuming to produce so are usually reserved for just the wrapper of a cigar. In the Camacho Triple Maduro, however, the wrapper as well as the binder and filler are made with maduro-processed leaves.



Contents: Honduran
Wrapper: Honduran
Size: 50/4.5 or 4.5x50
Body: Full
Acquired From: Famous Smoke Shop (online)
Price: $11.30 a single, $33.90 per 5 Pack
Smoke Time: 1.5 hours

Pre-light
The wrapper was dark, thick and a little lumpy. The cigar felt firm and well packed. The aroma of the cigar reminded me of chocolate brownies and compost. Composted brownies, maybe? The draw was perfect, with sweet chocolate flavors leaving a little pepper on the lips and tongue.


First Third
After lighting it up, the initial flavors were of mild, smooth coffee and sweet brownies, with a dark tobacco finish and none of the pepper I'd noted in the pre-light. The cigar produced lots of smoke with an aroma of sweet baked chocolate. After the first inch, the flavors toned down to a cream-and-sugar iced coffee profile with mild pepper in the finish. The burn was near-perfect and I was enjoying long, slow, savory draws throughout the first third.


Second Third
The cigar began to increase the intensity of flavors and added a nice bit of spiciness with a hint of roasted nuts. The ash was firm and grey and the body was approaching the full range. By the end of the second third the burn was getting a little too wavy, necessitating the removal of the rather large band and a burn correction. The ash hung on, and by the end of this third the body was solidly into the full range, leaving me a little light-headed.


Final Third
The flavors were moving into a dark roasted coffee profile as the ash finally fell off. Mild pepper remained on the finish. While I smoked it until it became too hot, the flavor never turned overly bitter.

Conclusion
This cigar surprised me. There was not "too much of a good thing" at any point in this smoke. I have to say that if you like maduro cigars, the odds are good that you will love the Camacho Triple Maduro!

Would I smoke this cigar again? Yes
Would I recommend this cigar? Absolutely, despite its high price tag.

Cigar Week (in review)

What a week!

It started off Wednesday with Carlos Torano at Cigar & Tabac in Overland Park, KS. Felipe Sosa was the master roller for the event and Carlos Torano made certain no guest was a stranger. Torano knows just about everybody in the cigar business and had a story about each one! I learned a LOT and had a great time. There aren't a lot of photos because I was busy with an Exodus 1959 50-Year Anniversary; VERY nice!


Friday it was Sam Leccia, founder and CEO of NUb Cigar, again at Cigar & Tabac. Sam is not your typical cigar maker, and he seems to like it that way! He makes astonishing stogies, though. I had his new Cain, all-ligero cigar. I expected something along the lines of a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero, (a little stick full o' whop-ass) but what I got was smooth and flavorful with only a little pepper and no harshness. Yeah, I bought more.

Here are a couple shots of Sam working his craft on a special, smokeable band.




I had a great time (again) and enjoyed talking with Sam. Hope he comes back soon!


Last but certainly not least, Saturday was the Don Pepin Garcia event at The Outlaw Cigar Co. I've been looking forward to this most of the year and was NOT disappointed! I even won a Pepin T-Shirt in the raffle at the end of the day!

Want to see two perfect cigars rolled in under 2 minutes?



Great cigars (do I really have to say that?), great food, Ford Cobras and bikes to look at, and a helicopter landing! All very nice, but meeting Jose Pepin Garcia topped them all!




(All photos -except the first one- by Mrs. f-stop.)

KC's Cigar Week (unofficially)!

There are three major events this week of interest to cigar fans here in KC. A rare coincidence, in my estimation!

Wednesday, Sept 9th
Carlos Torano and Master Roller Felipe Sosa
at Cigar & Tabac
4pm-8pm

Meet the founder of Torano Cigars and watch Felipe Sosa demonstrate the art of rolling! The new Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 will be featured, as well as a sampling of tasty Cuban food! Cool!

Friday, Sept 11th
Sam Leccia, founder of NUb Cigars
at Cigar & Tabac
4pm-8pm

Don't know if Sam is planning anything more than a meet and greet, but I do know he's got a new product or two in the works right now, so ya never know. Should be a good time!

Saturday, Sept 12th
Jose "Pepin" Garcia,
founder of El Rey de los Habanos, Inc.
at The Outlaw Cigar, Co.
11am-who knows when!

Called the hottest brand in the U.S., Don Pepin Garcia is THE MAN to many cigar fans! Don't miss this one!