fire Torpedos!

[jinny]

So, I'm a neovirgin at cigars.

I hadn't smoked a cigar for nearly a decade before rekindling an enjoyment for the ritual... I say "ritual" because I am finding that the storing... no, aging... no, nurturing... yes, nurturing of cigars to be nearly as, if not more, enjoyable as smoking them. I just love the smell, the fussing, the giddy enjoyment of lining them up in the humi, everything...

well, I've mentioned this before in other posts, but what turned me on to cigars again was an ISOM MC#2 (for noobs like me that may not know what that means... an Island South Of Miami MonteCristo no.2... aka a Cuban Montecristo No.2). it was like nothing I've smelled before... it was amazing... maybe I was caught by the allure of forbiden fruit, maybe I wasn't ready before, maybe the JW Blue I was drinking at the time was messing with me, but it snared me and took me hostage... I was like curious george and the MC#2 was like the man in the Yellow Hat (the original version, not the politically correct modern versions).

In college, I only smoked cheapies... mostly machine made or machine rolled... whatever was convenient... I know, embarassing now that I think of it

well, after the MC#2 incident, I dusted off my cheapy humi and embarked on my current short trip turned expedition to find a decent and inexpensive "go to smoke" for my humi... I built up a small stock from visits to local B&M's... btw, am I the only person that first thinks "bowel movement" when they see "B&M"?... anyways, got me some random sticks... and started smoking them... mostly parajos (sp?) kept some in my fancy ziplockador till my humi was seasoned and recently I started stocking some torpedos... I was shooting for that first experience with that MC#2... the handmade parajos I had more recently were not bad either... nothing to write home about, but worlds better than than my college smoking days.

so, now my humi seems to be in good shape and I have a few torpedos waiting for me... maybe you can follow my line of reasoning... I have a variety or NC Montecristos... all no.2's... a Dominican, a White Belicoso, a Platinum Habana Belicoso (only "Habana" in name... the leaf content is a mutt to say the least)... I also have a Padron 6000 Maduro torpedo... I've also smoked some torpedos already... a cuban MC#2, a couple Dominican MC#2's, a local house brand all Nic. leaf torpedo, and a Pinar P3000 Belicoso Gran torpedo...

best of all, I am currently in the middle of a Cuban MC#2 as I type...

I have to go back to the cubans to periodically calibrate myself... at least that's what I keep telling myself...

well... for the most part... the NC torpedos that I've had aren't measuring up to my gold standard... actually this one I'm having right now is a little off as well... I know they kinda have a rep for inconsitency, but this one is from the same bach as that first one. there was a slight soft spot near the band that I am smoking thru right now and I guess I was correct to be worried about it... it's making it burn really hot and maring the taste a little, if I could, I wold have taken it back, but it's not that easy to do right now... besides, I hear that Fidel is sick and I don't want to be bothering him with my petty cigar issues

It's still darn good. but I really don't have the money or time to make a habanos my regular go to smoke... so onward and upward.

I'll be smoking these torpedos and trying to find a good one.

I don't have that much experience with them, but I think I like how the shape concentrates the smoke... I also like how I can vary the cut to change that funnel effect if I so desire. I like options.

I'm discovering that I lke my smokes on the mild side but with good/interesting flavor... so, with that in mind, I'd love to hear some opinions on good ones out there... (cheaper and easily obtained if possible)

I had had some draw issues with the Pinar, but the flavor was very interesting to me... the wrapper itself was super spicy at first and startled me... but nice long smoke... I would definitely smoke 'em again.. that is, if I could get em.

the all nic. local hous brand was good too.. but the nicotine hit me like a freight train... the last half of it nearly knocked me out... not having smoked for so long, I'm still a buzz wimp. I had to lay down for a while after that one.

the 2 dominican MC#2's I've had were as different as they come... I thnk it was mainly due to where I got them... one I got at a "discount" shop and I don't thnk they were stored that well... it smoked hot the whole time and I was very disappointed.. the other one was much better, but still mediocre compared to the habanos. I still have one left in my humi, I hope it learns some manners hanging out with other sticks, but I don't expect too much... I probably won't be getting any more.

I only smoke about once a week, so it's gonna take a while to get thru this escapade... but I expect to have fun.

I'm gonna be at a auto industry ride and drive event tomorrow with a nice free dindin afterwards... the industry is pretty cigar friendly, so there will probably be some smokers... which means I may have the rare oportunity to have more than one smoke this week... I'm thinking of taking the Padron with me to have after dindin... it smells amazing but I hope it doesn't kill me, 'cause there is supposed to be a private concert for us afterwards... and having to lie down on the floor at a concert, even if there isn't that many people, doesn't seem like a smart thing to do...

I'll periodically post my torpedo experiences here... and I'll post some **** later too (I didn't bring my memory card reader for this smoke so no **** now)...

looking forward to lots of fun.

see you later, fellow gorillas!

btw, I'm nearing the end of this habano... and I'm buzzed



edit: wow I wrote a lot... this habano has made me blab on... sorry for the long read

[Baric]

Sounds like fun - damn, when those #2s are on theyre on and when theyre off its ! Ive found there to be some good torp NCs out there, enjoy the journey!

[drawfour]

Originally Posted by jinny

btw, am I the only person that first thinks "bowel movement" when they see "B&M"?...

I hate you now.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by jinny

btw, am I the only person that first thinks "bowel movement" when they see "B&M"?...

I've often made that connection myself. Worse than that, my title at work is BM1...so I'm a first class bowel movement myself.

[rhdad42]

Hey Jinny -- I'm a big fan of torpedos as well. My NC smoke of choice is the El Rey Del Mundo Flor de Llaneza. I put them in my humidor and they just keep getting better with age.

For other non-Cubans, you could give these a try:

• Ashton Cabinet Selection Pyramid (mild to medium and super smooth, though a bit pricey)
• 5 Vegas Gold Torpedo
• 5 Vegas Series A Alpha Torpedo (in fact, I picked up the 5 Vegas Series Heritage Sampler and haven't had a bad one yet!)
• Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage or the 1992 Vintage Torpedos -- both are great

I've also heard good things about the El Mejor Espresso, but other BOTLs say you have to age them for a few months to get the most out of them.

In terms of Cubans, you couldn't pick a better smoke than the MC #2, though the RyJ Belicoso is pretty good, too.

Shoot me a PM with your address. I've seen so much generosity 'round this jungle, I'd like to get on board.

[jinny]

Originally Posted by rhdad42

Hey Jinny -- I'm a big fan of torpedos as well. My NC smoke of choice is the El Rey Del Mundo Flor de Llaneza. I put them in my humidor and they just keep getting better with age.

For other non-Cubans, you could give these a try:

• Ashton Cabinet Selection Pyramid (mild to medium and super smooth, though a bit pricey)
• 5 Vegas Gold Torpedo
• 5 Vegas Series A Alpha Torpedo (in fact, I picked up the 5 Vegas Series Heritage Sampler and haven't had a bad one yet!)
• Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage or the 1992 Vintage Torpedos -- both are great

I've also heard good things about the El Mejor Espresso, but other BOTLs say you have to age them for a few months to get the most out of them.

In terms of Cubans, you couldn't pick a better smoke than the MC #2, though the RyJ Belicoso is pretty good, too.

Shoot me a PM with your address. I've seen so much generosity 'round this jungle, I'd like to get on board.

wow, thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna have to take it slow, I'll never get thru my smokes, at my one cigar per week pace, if I get sticks sent to me... I'm already accumulating sticks faster than I can smoke them.

I'm sure your enthusiasm will serve you well here.

thanks for the recomendations. I always like to see what people like and then I like the search... my local B&M's don't carry everything, so hunting down a cigar is almost as fun as smoking them.

[jinny]

well, I've make terrible headway on this self-imposed journey.

I mentioned that I would smoke a torpedo last week, and so far, that's the last cigar I've had. boo to me.

but, that last cigar has let me realize that I find that my opinions of a cigar are heavily influenced by the mood I'm in before smoking it... case in point, I did smoke that Padron 6000 Maduro torpedo at the event I mentioned in the first thread. It was fantastic... the perfect end to an amazing day. I got to test drive the new 2007 Acura MDX, I met some of my music industry heros like Joe Walsh (guitarist for the Eagles)... went to listen in on a recording session at the world famous Capital Records tower... teh got free breakfast lunch and dinner... and got to see a concert (Jewel and Train) on someone else tab... oh, also hung out with some Deal or No Deal models that happened to be at the concert...
ended the day, poolside at a hip hotel in Hollywood (Mondrian) smoking my cigar... what cigar was almost irrelevant... I probably could have smoked a bubble gum cigar and still loved it.

I'll have to get another Padron 6000 Maduro torpedo and try to be a little more objective about it. I had a different Padron today (Padron Executive Maduro), and while it wasn't horrible, it was really not my tastes... like the 6000 Maduro, I really liked the what the Executive Maduro looked and smelled, but that's where it love affair ended... once I lit up, I was a bit underwhelmed... the flavor is a little too slap me in the face strong for me... I finished the cigar and still enjoyed it for the most part, but considering how much I liked the 6000 and seeing how Padron crazy a lot of the people on this site are, I was surprized to be so neutral about it. I'm also surprized because, I really enjoy a line of house brand cigars from a local B&M that are suposedly to be made by Padron.

Oh well, I look forward to my Padron 6000 Maduro resmoke.

I've got a lot of torpedos to go... here are some pics

1. 2007 Acura MDXs for the taking
2. before cigar dinner at BOA Hollywood... NY Strip yum
3. Padron 6000 Maduro taken during a quick stop at my brother's office

[jinny]

so I'm guessing that my positive experience with the 6000 may have been heavily infulences by the day's activities... hanging with leggy models always make me wanna smoke... dunno why.


more pics...

1. Joe Walsh speaks at lunch
2. Padron 6000 Maduro foot
2. some of the Deal or No Deal models, Tameka and Alike... and my sis-n-law (Manager of Publicity at NBC) and friends

[jinny]

so, it's been a while since my last torpedo...

I decided to fire up a couple this morning and a wierd thing happened... I finished a stick that I had initially abandoned.

I usually try to avoid reading reviews before I smoke a stick for myself, becuase I admit that I'm an easily swayed person... if I'm borderline on something, I might give a cigar the benefit of the doubt if it seems that others have differing opinions... well, I had smoked a couple Dominican Montecristo No.2's already with mixed results and after reading some opinions on them, I had some prejudices going into my morning smokes...

I cracked open a three stick Monetcristo sample pack of no.2's... it's some sort of charity/relief organization pack that contains a DR monte, a White, and a Platinum No.2's... I stripped them of their celophane and I've had them in my coolerdor in it's little wooden case for a couple months now. I figured I'd smoke em and get em out of the way...

keep in mind, that a lot of my enjoyment of a cigar, as you may have noticed in the posts above, comes from the ritual involved and also from the atmosphere that I have the smoke in...

I started with the regular Monte No.2... as before, I noticed it was made fairly well... considering the relatively high cost, I would expect no less... it burns pretty nice... fairly mild, very cool smoke... the taste was not strong, but there was somthing that sorta reminded me of somthing that was burnt badly... I really wasn't happy with it and I let it die after smoking less than an inch...

I moved on to the White No.2 and now, I was getting worried that I would be disappointed... the White No.2 is a little bigger in both length and RG... it is equally well made... I am actually surprised at how nice it looks... it has a very smooth evenly colored wrapper with little defects... that burnt taste was not there so my worries were allayed... pleasant smoke... not bad at all... even burn, good draw, unoffensive taste... last couple inches smokes pretty fast with a nice nicotine buzz... if they were a lot cheaper, I would consider just keeping 'em around as "go to's". Nothing special tho... certainly not worth the 10-12 bux my local B&M sells em for...

I was about to move on to the Platimun No.2 in the box, but the cheapskate in me couldn't let the first cigar die...

I don't know if sitting around for almost an hour did anything for it, but after I relit it, I was able to smoke it... to be honest, I think that same burnt flavor was there, but I guess I was more inclined to tolerate it... maybe even, enjoy it. no construction complaints... a nice looking cigar. there was a bit a spicyness that I didn't sense the first go at it... but overall, it was okay too... nice white ash that actually looked nicer than the White No.2... couldn't smoke it all the way because of wrapper problems, but overall, it wasn't horrible... in retrospect, it may have not been worth reviving but I'm glad I did... hate to waste $10.

I saved the Platinum no.2 for last, because it just looked better. Similar high quality construction as the other two and size wise, pretty much a twin to the White No.2. The wrapper look nicer than the other two... a little darker than the other two and with a nice oily sheen to it. Didn't smoke as cool as the first two either, which is not necessarily bad for me... flavor is mild like the others as well, maybe milder, but a more interesting... a little more nutty... none of that burnt taste I had in the first one. Draw was a little tight at initial light up, but loosened up quickly as the cigar warmed up. wrapper itself tasted pretty good too. overall a nice smoke... but again, like the others, a bit too pricey for me. but of the three, the platinum is more in line with my tastes...

If I were given these sticks blind, I would have been surprized to learn that they were all Montes... besides outward appearances, they couldn't have been more different.


Oh well, I look forward to trying some more torpedos soon...

[KASR]

Good times! Good read.

KASR

[stashu]

Great play by play jinny!

I happen to like the DR Monte #2's very much.

I don't really care for the whites, platinums, or the "Classic's" much but the regular DR #2 has a sort of "sweet" taste to it after about 1" that I love. It also has a unique shape too.

And I think I come across that taste in about 3 out of 5 of them, I don't know, maybe it's my imagination.
I was curious if anyone else knows what I'm talking about. I have not tasted this in any other size either. Crazy huh?

[CEC_Tech]

You should try the Monte Serie V. I love 'em. They have a smooth nutty flavor with a bit of hazelnut mixed in. Try the belicoso or the Robusto. They are both really good.

[stashu]

Originally Posted by CEC_Tech

You should try the Monte Serie V. I love 'em. They have a smooth nutty flavor with a bit of hazelnut mixed in. Try the belicoso or the Robusto. They are both really good.

I happen to have a belicoso in my humidor now. It's been sitting for a couple of months. I had two of them but I smoked the first one right after I bought it and it burned bad and had a tight draw so it was an overall bad experience.
Hopefully this one will be much better.

[Old Sailor]

Nice read, enjoyed that....

[jinny]

Darn, I forgot to post my thoughts on a couple more torps that I had... so much for chronicling my journey here...

well, to quickly get up to date...

Rocky Patel Sun Grown torpedo... I really lke RP's so I wasn't surprized that I enjoyed it... the stick I had was a little tighter than I'm used to with RP's (which I find are normally pretty tight) I had to cut it again to get an acceptable draw... but other than that, a good time was had.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 torpedo... nothing bad to say about this box pressed beauty... I'm a regular RP vint smoker, so the torp was a nice way to mix it up a little... I look forward to more.

I also had a Felipe Gregorio Don Felipe Torpedo... I had an okay experience with another Felipe Gregorio cigar before, so when they had a 5 pack for $5 at the devil site, I thought I'd give em a shot... First of all, it got autobid up to my $7 max, but that wasn't a big deal till the day I smoke one... over all, the stick looked passable. nice shape. decent 6" long, but still one of the shorter torps so far. there was spill over of glue from the band all over the stick... couldn't get the band loose till I was practically burning thru it... so that lowered my opinion a bit... Flavor wasn't horrible, but I had significant issues with the burn so I was a bit distracted. draw was tight... and the first two inches burned retarded... litterally... well, the over tight filler burned really slow... while the binder and wrapper burned really fast... I had a rediculously ugly ash cylinder that when I went to ash into the bowl, only the outer layers fell off... I was left with a glowing hot stick like probe jutting out of the center of the cigar... besides that, it burned unevenly around too... in generally too much fussing was needed to get this one smoked... I hope the other four turn out better... 'cause this one was not fun.

Just had a Sol Cubano Connecticut Torpedo... got these at the devil site too... $1 each for a 5-pack. a pretty good looking cigar. looks well made... a little tight on the draw, but not unmanageable... and the tight draw remaind the same thru the whole thing. nice even burn and good looking ash. mildish flavor with a hint of spiciness. no complexity but thankfully not offensive either. no surprizes. a little boring... might make a good golf smoke. this is the first Sol Cubano I've had... and although it shouldn't affect the smoke, the band looks cheap...it looks okay from a far, but up close, it looks bad... besides the fact that it prominently displays the letters "SC" in red and gold in the middle (I went to UCLA, so I am supposed to poopoo anything that reminds me of USC, right? ) there is some really coarse half-toning in the printing and there is some moiré interference that makes the lettering look less than crisp... i think there are some scenes depicted in the space to the sides of the "SC" but I can't tell what they are... maybe the right side one is of trees... overall, besides the metalic sheen of the gold color, it looks like it was printed on a crappy laser printer... In terms of draw, I'll cut my next one a little higher to see if that changes anything.