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Rocky Patel's Fifty-Five is like the Lexus ES350 of cigars. It's an entry-level luxury experience that's not the last word in anything, but makes you feel like you got a premium product for just a few bucks more than a Camry. Like the car, it's sumptuous—but you'd never mistake your $40k ride for a thousand kilobuck Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It's comfortable, cosseting, surely not a sports car let alone a zesty, hardcore experience like a Ferrari. But just about everyone will enjoy it and finish their ride satisfied.
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Autumn is here, and with it comes an annual event fans of brown spirits look forward to all year: the release of the Pappy Van Winkle distillery's bourbon and rye. Of course, the best of those are nearly impossible to get. In fact, here in Pennsylvania, the state liquor monopoly awards them by lottery. Prospective purchasers pre-pay and hold their breaths until they are notified--or not--by the state bureaucracy of when and where to collect their bottles. Backward? Sure, but probably more fair than stores in other states simply selling the bottles at outrageous markup.
Today is the first installment of a new feature we're calling Bundle Pundit. Once in a while, we'll scrape the bottom of the barrel in search of candidates for well-priced yard cigars, golf course burners, moocher handouts and hopefully, a few hidden gems. Because, let's face it, not everyone can--or wants to--drop ten bucks on a cigar. Heck, some folks will feed their families today on what a brand-name cigar costs.
It's All In The Wrapper One of our favorite cigars—which we sadly didn't get to review before being discontinued—is the CAO Osa Sol. It was the first CAO line fully conceptualized by the General Cigar team following their takeover, and a lot was riding on it. Luckily, it turned out to be one of the best cigars ever released under the brand. Six or so years later, we’re still enchanted by its ability to deliver big flavor and subtle nuance, while remaining remarkably mild in terms of strength.
When Drew Estate arrived on the scene, the cigar world was crying out for innovation. It was the 1990s and back then, a line extension from Don Diego would have made headline news. (Which didn’t happen, because it would have been way too edgy.) As the cigar boom exploded, there were plenty of new brands, but very few that took a unique approach…mostly copycats looking to cash in on the craze.
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About Our RatingsCLASSIC means that a cigar is the very best example of its type. |