Davidoff’s Limited Edition this year is a Robusto Intenso, made with six different kinds of tobacco, in an effort to capture six different notes: spicy, with aged Cuban seed Criollo from the Dominican Republic; intense, with Piloto from an exclusive plantation from the Yaque valley; complex, with extra aged and fermented San Vicente tobacco from Jicome ; sweet, with aged San Vicente tobacco from Mao; all toped with Olor binder and Davidoff Ecuadorian wrapper that is fermented and matured for three years.

I must have smoked several boxes of the Serie R vitola back in the days, and liked them a lot. A pricey smoke though, the Davidoff Serie R is still appealing to me from time to time, though in recent years I’ve found myself going for more full-bodied cigars. If the Robusto Intenso lives up to it’s name and promise though, it might become another great favorite. I’ll have to keep an eye out and pick up a few of these to review them some time.

Ahh… the smell that fills the room when you light up a Cohiba siglo cigar. The Siglo III is no exception. The sweet notes, mixed with dark leather and earth, are nothing short of captivating, but I’m getting ahead of myself…

The Cohiba Siglo III is a very well constructed cigar; I’d say flawless. You can expect a spotless wrapper and a solid feel to the cigar overall. The pre-light scent I find unique to the Cohibas, and reminiscent of sweet butter and cacao. Yet, as soon as you hold this unlit stick in your mouth, the peppery character of the Cuban tobacco begins to hint at its richness. Take a minute to hold it, test the draw, and begin a rapturous journey. Take it slow, one step at a time, and enjoy all the Siglo III has to offer.

The draw on this cigar is a bit firm, but will usually loosen up a tad in the second third. No matter, once lit the musky, dark, richness takes center stage for the next eighty minutes. Billows of the thick white smoke are delivered right from the start with a burst of peppery sweetness.

The sweet character will not recede, but will remain extremely well balanced throughout by the increasing spice, leather, and earth. A faint cedar undertone at the start will crescendo slightly in the last third, but will remain smooth and without a trace of harshness. You’ll feel compelled to take it right to the nub on account of it’s exceptional smoothness, and this magnificent cigar certainly merits it.

As for the burn, it is on the spot, so you can relax and muse away. The ash is solid; you can drop it and it won’t fall apart.

There aren’t enough good things I can say about this one. Rated a solid 95 by Cigar Afficionado, the Cohiba Siglo III is a tribute to the Siglo line, a smoke that spells out finesse; an experience to be sought by every cigar lover, at first opportunity.

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday at the tobacconist’s shop. The guy, who I assume (from looking at the photos on the wall) has worked in the business for many years, asked me if I was looking for Cuban or non-Cuban cigars. I told him that I am looking for both, and that I like trying out different things to find the best smokes.

He then pointed me to the Cuban section (about 90%) of the humidor, and at my request, showed me the other section. While I have known for some time of the European attitude that only Cuban cigars are worth your time, I just wasn’t prepared to accept his next assertion: He basically began to purport, as if betting his life on it, that no cigar could ever be as full-bodied or a strong as an habano.

I meant no disrespect at all to the man, who was quite a bit older, but tried my best to convince him that I have personally had Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran cigars of comparable strength and body to many habanos. He motioned with his hand that he would argue no further and I just continued with my shopping.

But I couldn’t help being bothered by his non-sense… yes, nonsense. His surety is as arrogant and nonsensical as saying that no wine can ever be as good as French wine. One would have simply to make a trip to the Napa Valley to disprove the notion.

Perhaps once upon a long time his claim would’ve held up nicely, but I can assure you, as a guy who has right this minute a humidor full of both Cuban and non-Cuban cigars, that there is a good amount of hype to the Cuban cigar tale these days. The fact is that for many years now cigars from countries such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras have come way up to meet (and in some cases out perform) Cuban cigars in terms of quality and construction, some even outscoring Cuban cigars in blind tastes by cigar Magazines. While the quality and construction of cuban cigars has generally declined.

Cuban tobacco does taste different than tobacco from other parts of the world, but I would contend that it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be appealing to everyone. It is simply different and unique in a way that many cigar lovers, myself included, find very appealing. Yet, whether you will like it or not, or whether you will prefer it or not, is just a matter of taste and your own personal preference.

While it is undeniable that Cuban tobacco makes cigars that are delicious and unique, a true afficionado would have to be a fool to dismiss the variety and richness of the other tobaccos of the world. Maybe european tobacconists need to get out more…

Ok, you love cigars, but you always feel you need to smoke them outdoors to avoid people’s complaints about how your place smells. You always try to smoke outside, but the bitter cold of winter makes it impossible anymore, plus it ruins your perfectly humidified precious smokes. There’s got to be an alternative to that scenario, you think; and you are right!

I’ve been smoking my cigars indoors for years and I’ll give 200 dollars to anyone who can come into my living room and tell me that they can smell it. I’m not kidding.

The answer is quite simple: Ventilation. Cigar smoke only becomes offensive to some people once it has been allowed to get stagnant in a room without ventilation. In a ventilated room, however, cigar smoke does not get stale, and only a faint smell remains. It’s much the same principle as removing any left over portions of the cigar and the ashes promptly after smoking.

I discovered this a few years ago when I just got tired of freezing outside while trying to enjoy a Cohiba Siglo VI. It just didn’t make any sense to be to be trying to enjoy such a fine pleasure under those conditions. So, here’s what I did:

I decided I was going to smoke in the living room, where I’m comfortable. I waited until my wife (who does not smoke) went away for a week-end and set up shop: I fitted a fan to one of the living room windows, turned it on at the highest setting, and cracked open another window somewhere else in the house, so that the air could circulate. I adjusted the heating so the room would not get too cold since it was the middle of winter. No, problem so far; I fired up my favorite cigars and smoked away. I left the fan running the whole time while smoking, and the next day as well. I then lit a vanilla candle before my wife came in from her trip.

Sure enough she came in and didn’t even flinch. So, later on I asked: Does it smell funny in here? To which she replied no, why? Of course at that point she knew something was up because of my devilish laugh… so I just told her I had been smoking in there the whole time she was gone. She was very surprised indeed.

I don’t have to tell you that I have never smoked another cigar outside (not by force anyway). My equipment has gotten a bit more sophisticated: I got an actual window fan for ventilation; since I figured out that it works better if the fan is higher up the window, I acquired a large comfortable chair (soon to be replaced by a nice leather chair), and got all kinds of deodorizing sprays (I still find vanilla scented sprays and candles particularly effective). But all in all, it’s just one basic principle that makes it work.

My next project? How about turning an entire extra room into a smoking lounge? I’ll have to update you on that.

*** UPDATE — Cigar Room Ventilation