Cigar Review: Tailgate by Karen Berger Brand: Karen Berger Vitola: 6×52 Toro Filler:  Nicaraguan Wrapper: Indonesian Sumatra Binder: Nicaraguan Flavor intensity: Medium Body: Medium Price: $8 What Makes It Special Bruce Busch is a ‘man for all seasons’, and has created the perfect cigar blend for all seasons, as an extension of his fun persona. His new Karen Berger Tailgate cigar hit the market in July 2023, in its classic American pickup truck box, which opens up at its rear tailgate, to retrieve a cigar. The cigar is “designed to be enjoyed in all four seasons while you and your crew are tailgating outside a ball game or concert and spending time with friends and loved ones.” This is something Bruce focuses on daily, even when on the road as the VP of Sales and Marketing for the Queen of Cigars, Karen Berger. The cigar is produced at Esteli Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua. I expect some spice from the Nicaraguan tobaccos, and nice aromatics from the Indonesian Sumatra wrapper. Visual / Pre-light Draw The light brown Indonesian sumatra wrapper is very smooth to the touch with a thin layer of oil and bold floral notes of fresh hay on the side sniff. The dry foot odor is minty with some hints of cocoa, minty enough to clear my sinus, holy cow! The cigar’s black red and gold band displays that classic American pickup truck over “Tailgate” By Karen Berger. There is no spice on the palate when prepping the incredibly smooth head for a nice straight guillotine cut, to experience all the seasons and flavors Bruce’s “baby” has to offer. The dry draw produces nice oat and berry notes. Let’s pop open that tailgate and get this party started! First Third Immediately the foot smoke odor smells like we…

Cigar Review: Lampert Don Patron Oro Line Brand: Lampert Cigars Vitola: 6×52 Toro Filler: Dominican Republic / Peru Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Binder: Ecuador Flavor intensity: Bold Body: Medium Boldness Price: $17 What Makes It Special Living near the midwest’s cigar Mecca has its perks. Norwood Royal Cigars owner Vick Shah regularly hosts meet-and-greet events with cigar industry professionals while providing cigar lovers and supporters great deals on featured brands. Lampert Cigars was featured on July 14, 2023, and I had the pleasure of meeting its Austrian brand owner, Dr. Stefan Lampert, who led me straight to his Oro Line Don Patron cigar. This, of course, was after learning of my preferred dark leathery char notes on a cigar. I immediately fell in love with the cigar, my first time experiencing Peruvian tobacco. Lampert Cigars started in 2016. After a vacation, Stefan decided to apply Thailand’s concept of the tailored suit to a cigar. “With his brand, he wanted to give customers the opportunity to create their very own handmade premium cigars as if in a laboratory, which is why he named his first cigar line My Cigar Lab – now the Oro Line.” The Oro Line is produced at Tabacos de Costa Rica in Costa Rica. It uses a two-year-old Connecticut shade wrapper, over three-year-old binder, and fillers, including five-year-old Pelo de Oro tobaccos from Peru. Lampert cigars are also produced in Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Panama, adding to the company’s diversity in its cigar lines. The brand also has its own rum, produced in Panama, aged twelve years, in hopes of enhancing its cigar line experience. Visit LampertCigars.com for additional information on the brand and all of its unique cigar lines. Visual / Pre-light Draw Very oily and slick light brown Connecticut shade wrapper with subtle toothy edges. The…

Leaf n Grain Cigar Review – TIMELESS PRESTIGE by Ferio Tego Brand: Ferio Tego Vitola: Hermoso 5.5×54 Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Binder: Dominican Republic Flavor Intensity: Medium Bold Body: Medium Boldness Price: $11 What Makes It Special Michael Herklots is easily the sexiest man in the cigar industry, and so are his Ferio Tego cigars. Ferio Tego is the Herklots family motto to “Strike and Defend,” launched by Michael in 2021. When it comes to blending, Michael’s goal is to ensure his cigars’ flavor is “compelling, interesting and satisfying…compelling enough to make you want to take another puff.” I had the pleasure of meeting Michael on April 20, 2022, at the Corona Cigar Company & Montecristo Lounge in Lake Mary, Florida. I covered a pairing event featuring Michael’s Elegancia cigar and Dalmore expressions with Whyte & Mackay’s Senior Whisky Specialist, Ben Boice. Micheal is energetic, hilarious but classy, and fully invested in his cigar line. I have personally been enjoying Ferio Tego cigars since. The Timeless Prestige is easily one of my favorite cigars, so the opportunity to review it was a no-brainer! Visual / Pre-light Draw Beautiful shiny medium brown maduro wrapper with lots of oil and very toothy veins. On the side sniff, there is very bold fresh hay that has been recently rained on. The nice shiny gold red and black band displays “TIMELESS” over “Prestige,” with a nice shiny gold secondary band displaying “Exclusively for FERIO TEGO.” The dry foot odor has nice chocolate cereal oat notes, while the dry draw produces faint vanilla and bold oak notes. First Third Big leather and oak on the first puff. Fantastic draw with a perfect amount of smoke input and output. Then a nice transition to a nice soft vanilla extract. The…

Ozgener Bosphorus Cigar Review by Joe Gulino Brand:  Ozgener Family Cigar Vitola:  4.0×50 Box Press Filler: Nicaraguan (Esteli, Jalapa, Ometepe) Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut & Nicaraguan Jalapa Smoking time: 40 minutes Body: Medium Flavor: Medium Intensity Price: $11 What Makes It Special The former head of CAO, Tim Ozgener, has launched his first Bosphorus Ozgener Family Cigar line. Tim is the son of CAO Founder Cano Ozgener. The cigar’s name, Bosphorus, is a body of water that divides Europe and Asia and pays tribute to the Ozgener family’s Turkish roots. These cigars are produced by the Tabacalera Pichardo Factory in Nicaragua and distributed by Crowned Heads. This 4.0×50 was graciously provided by Crowned Heads Regional Sales Manager David Payne III during a by-chance meeting at Norwood Royal Cigars in Chicago. Although the cigar was gifted, my review of the cigar will remain honest and transparent, based on my personal smoking experience as a self-developed cigar and whisk(e)y pairing reviewer, under the guidance of Dave Yancey, aka Greybeard, and Ash Red. Its Ecuadorian wrapper leaf gets its varying spicy and sweet flavors from Ecuador’s rich volcanic soil and minerals, ideal for growing the most oily and pliable tobacco. Sumatra tobacco migrated from the Indonesian Sumatra Island, where it is known as ‘black tobacco.’ Ecuadorian Sumatra, made by blending Cubano and Sumatra varieties, is a mild and sweet leaf that produces sweet floral and earthy notes of cinnamon. The Nicaraguan fillers and binder will provide nice leathery notes and additional spice to the cigar. Visual / Pre-light Draw This is easily the smallest vitola to reach my hands. After a two-day dry boxing of the cigar, it was still slightly oily. It is smooth to the touch with tougher toothier-looking veins toward the head of the cigar. It has a…