Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Figurado
Size : 6 x 55
Wrapper : African Cameroon
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : $11.00 – $13.00 each

Created by Don Carlos Fuente, Sr., and rolled at Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic, the Don Carlos No. 2 is claimed to still be one of the finest cigars on the market. Being released to the public in 1997 and said to have vintage aged tobacco (10 years) these cigars are typically difficult to come across. The Don Carlos line consists of seven different sizes each available in boxes of 25:

• No. 4: 5 1/8 x 43 (previously reviewed here);
• Robusto: 5 1/4 x 50;
• Belicoso: 5 3/8 x 52;
• No. 3: 5 1/2 x 44;
• Double Robusto: 5 3/4 x 52;
• No. 2: 6 x 55;
• Presidente: 6 1/2 x 50 (previously reviewed here).

Read the full review of Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Chisel (box-pressed)
Size : 6.5 x 58
Wrapper : Brazilian Ligero Oscuro
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Connecticut Broadleaf
Hand-Made
Price : $11 each

The La Flor Dominicana – Chapter One attracted a lot of attention at the 2013 IPCPR Convention, and is the first cigar from the brand to be blended by Antonio Gomez, Litto Gomez’s son. If you’ve seen his name online, it may be because he’s in charge of the social media pages for the brand. He’s done a lot of different duties with the company, and in fact lists his position on Facebook as “A Work in Progress.” I decided to check out his first cigar, and I can definitely say that he’s going places.

Read the full review of La Flor Dominicana Chapter One…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Torpedo
Size : 6 x 54
Wrapper : Brazilian
Filler : Dominican
Binder : Costa Rica
Strength : Medium to Full
Hand-Made
Price : $6.90 each

Construction

Launched for the 2005 IPCPR, Gurkha’s Ancient Warrior is still one of their most popular cigars on the market. This medium strength stick is cloaked in a super dark, oily Brazilian wrapper. The wrapper leaf is flecked with numerous raised veins and a bit of tooth. The length of the six-inch stick is plump and nicely rolled with no soft spots. The tapered cap cuts cleanly with my Colibri Slice cutter, leaving behind no shards of filler tobacco.

Read the full review of Gurkha Ancient Warrior…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 4 3/4 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Connecticut
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : £6.50 each

I regularly contribute my own views (as something of a newbie to this pleasure) and I find it interesting how these converge/diverge with those of other readers/contributors. I have contributed to the Montecristo (Open Master, Open Regata and No. 5) and El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme reviews predominantly, but also others.

I would like to share my views on other brands which I sample, mainly drawn from my favourite stockist, Fox’s of St James’, London. As a newbie, I think I can add something to the experience of other beginners, as reviews can, with time, become quite in-depth (rightly so) but would benefit from sharing a newcomer’s take as well.

I am particularly interested in being able to draw out cigars which may suit the palate of the beginner which will include bigger names with less demanding flavours and, crucially, other non-Cuban cigars which, on account of perhaps more modest pricing, may be more attainable on a regular basis.

To this end, I’d like to start with the Fox’s new, in-house brand, the Carlos Torano Dominico Robusto 1.

Read the full review of Carlos Torano Dominico Robusto 1…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Double Corona
Size : 7 1/2 x 54
Wrapper : Ecuador
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : $13 each

The Ashton brand has become one of the most well-known, sought out cigar brands in the world. The VSG Series cigars are blended exclusively by Carlos Fuente Jr. with 4 and 5 year old Dominican tobacco. The wrapper leaf is grown in Ecuador by the Oliva family and sold to the Fuente family exclusively for Ashton VSG cigars. The VSG Series comes in 12 different sizes for your smoking pleasure (a lot of these vitolas have already been reviewed on CigarInspector.com, click on the name to read the corresponding review):

Eclipse – 6 x 52; Wizard 37 – 6 x 56; Pegasus – 5 x 54; Enchantment – 4.5 x 60; Tres Mystique – 4.5 x 44; Belicoso No. 1 – 5.25 x 52; Corona Gorda – 5.75 x 46; Illusion – 6.5 x 44; Robusto – 5.5 x 50; Sorcerer – 7 x 49; Torpedo – 6.5 x 55; Spellbound – 7.5 x 54

Read the full review of Ashton VSG Spellbound…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Churchill
Size : 7 x 50
Wrapper : Connecticut Shade & Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler : Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Binder : Ecuador
Hand-Made
Price : $9 each

Released back in 2010 by General Cigar, the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros line utilizes two wrapper leaves on one cigar. However, this is not the only thing that makes this cigar unique, as the tobaccos chosen for the wrapper(s) have not been used by the La Gloria Cubana brand. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Michael Giannini, marketing director for General Cigar, stated, “We thought about this like we were at a restaurant eating food. The Connecticut Shade (at the foot of the cigar) is the appetizer, and this is the big entrée (pointing to the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper).” The design is intended for the smoker to experience two separate distinct flavors as the cigar is smoked.

Read the full review of La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros 750…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Maduro
Filler : Brazilian Hybrid, Piloto Cubano, Dominican, Iconic Leaf Ligero
Binder : MBC (Proprietary Binder)
Hand-Made
Price : ~$7.5

This pre-release Robusto was sent to me by Iconic Leaf but in no way was my review impacted by this. 2 cigars were provided and both were smoked for this review.

They were sent to me for review last autumn. Given my smoking climate, I let them rest over the winter in my humidor and while these cigars are now available I have finally gotten around to smoking my two samples for the purpose of this review.

Iconic Leaf (Recluse) rolls all of their cigars in the entubado style and all are rolled at their Tabacalera Leyendas Cubanas factory in the Dominican Republic.

More information about the company and their methods can be found in my review of their initial offerings (The Recluse and uniquely-shaped Kanu).

Read the full review of Recluse Draconian…

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Grand Corona
Size : 6 3/32 x 43
Wrapper : USA Connecticut Shade
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : $15 each

The Davidoff brand, founded by Zino Davidoff, has been in production since 1946. As far as I remember, I read somewhere that this brand is among the top 5 best-selling cigar brands in the United States. As most of us are aware of, Davidoff cigars carry a large price tag in comparison to other competitor brands. Lets see how the Grand Cru No. 1 measures up to the test.

Read the full review of Davidoff Grand Cru No. 1…