Unco B's Stogie Diary

Macanudo is the brand that’s supposed to be boring, safe, and forgettable. Instead, the Sumatra Toro is nuanced, constantly moving, ridiculously well-behaved, and far more sophisticated than its price has any right to suggest. I kept waiting for it to turn back into a Macanudo. It never did.

The Crowned Heads Tennessee Waltz Toro opens awkwardly, almost discouragingly so, but it gathers itself and bursts into activity. And the story it tells in the process is one for the ages.

The Macaron Orange has the stillness of a marble statue. It doesn’t move much, but there’s tremendous power, structure, and complexity beneath the surface. It’s the epitome of what I value most in a Dominican cigar. Of the three Macarons, this one declares its name most completely.

The Don Carlos No. 2 is like Daniel Craig’s James Bond. On the surface, it’s calm, cool, and collected. But there’s far more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye.

The Privada Patisserie Macaron Series Lemon spends nearly half its smoking time as a mild-mannered, pleasant cigar before erupting with complexity. As they say, patience is a virtue, and in this case, my patience was well rewarded.

Smoking the Crowned Heads Mil Dias is like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of his hat. Each puff begins with a blur of activity before resolving into something distinct and completely unexpected. Just when I think I understand the trick, the cigar reaches into its hat again. This…

The Patisserie Macaron Series Vanilla is frank and almost blunt in its delivery. But that directness hides an incredibly complex and cosmopolitan mix of flavors, with transitions continuing throughout the smoke.