Update

Joined Jan 2005
1K Posts | 0+
Chicago
Guys I am sorry I did not post about the RTDA today. I have been so busy catching up at work. I am also sorry if I did not get a chance to respond to any IMs. I am going to leave the day to day for thor to write about when he gets back in town on Tuesday.

However, I will get a post up tomorrow so I can at least give you guys the feedback on the new cigars. :D
 
wow i did not think it would have taken so long to get settled in after the show but I am in the middle of a move and the wedding is creeping up.

The show was great, most definately a lot less crowded then last year in vegas. I heard from many people what the numbers where but the overall theme were that the numbers were definately low this year.

I had a chance to meet with many vendors and when thor finally gets back on tuesday I think he will post a play by play for everyone. For any folks that have not been to new orleans let me tell you that everything there is amazing. The food and the women.

The new cigars that have come to market this year have overall been pretty dissapointing. Last year I was able to come home and immediately pinpoint who the homeruns were going to be for the cigars and this year it appears that there were some good and bad releases this year but the only thing that really blew me out of the water was the new stuff from cusano. It was in such short supply they did not even have any samples to hand out at the show but I must have a nice smile becuase I got a chance to smoke each of them with Mike. Here is a quick hit list with some of the stuff I tried that is off the top of my head:

cusano 18 maduro - great stick. One of the best maduros I have smoked in a long time and I think it will sit right up there with the oliva o maduro which has for a long time been a favorite. For fans of the 18 natural, this will be a cigar not to be missed. It has a little move bite then the natural with more complex aromas.

cusano c10 robusto- mike did a good job of getting the new robusto size to capture all the best parts of the corona in a nice fat ring guage. If you like the corona the robusto will be a big pleaser.

cusano sun grown- this cigar will not be released until so and metime in 2006 and maybe beyond. I can safely say though that this cigar was by far the best cigar I have smoked at the show and perhaps maybe this year (except maybe for the diploma) It was a dominican puro with a dominican sungrown wrapper. I would compare it very closely to the Opus X only better. (opus is rare because it also has a dominican wrapper)

cao cx2- i thought this cigar was just okay. if you like the other cao cameroon this will be a pleaser but with a price per box of over 150 it was a little scary

cao sopranos- very good cigar but priced a little high. It was like the brazilia only a little bit edgy. i have no doubt it will sell well.

caribe- the unnamed. bold and straitforward flavor but not quite like the corojo. Good cigar but at the end of the day I still prefer the sun grown corojo. the came out with another cigar that has a name that escapes me but it was a nice rich flavor on a lighter body. Good smoke.

Ashton- saw a picture of an esg but could not find any anywhere. the search continues.

general- I was horribly dissapointed with the bolivar. from what i understand it was met with mixed reviews. However the new partagas decadas line was magnificent but overpriced. the 10 year old cameroon wrapper was a nice compliment to the rare nicaraguan filler they use. I highly recommend trying this cigar. What was also impressive from general was mainly its el credito products. The new sizes in the la gloria cubana reserve figurado line looked good enough to eat, particularly the maduros.

oliva- the o classic is still such a great cigar for the price and the bundles are great too. It had been a while since i enjoyed a nice grand maduro and cameroon and I stopped and wondered why we dont sell those since they were wonderful tasting sticks at the show. I had a chance to get my hands on a masterblends 2 which was another cigar that showed a lot of promise. Let me just say it is unlike any nicaraguan cigar I have ever smoked. At first I found it to be one dimensional but as it approuched the last 2/3 it becuase increadably complex and dynamic. It had a very dry and sweet finish. Two thumbs up on this cigar.

that is really all i can think of right off the top of my head. There were other great new cigars from Graycliff, Torano, and a host of others but I have not gotten around to smoking them yet. It looks like I am going to be a busy boy the next few weeks.
 
Thanks for the summary Mac. Sounds like I'm gonna have to pick up a couple of boxes of the new stuff from Cusano.
 
Thanks Mac. Good info. Will be picking up the Cusano 18 Maduro for sure!
 
Cusano Sun Grown...damn, it's gonna be tough to wait for that one. Thanks for all the great info Mac!