Unco B's Stogie Diary

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.

Smoking this cigar reminded me of listening to traditional Balinese music, all bells and percussion. There’s so much going on. This isn’t what I would have expected from an inexpensive cigar.

Complex, full-flavored, and astonishingly composed, the Patisserie behaves exactly like its namesake: a busy French bakery where every movement is controlled, deliberate, and without waste.

House blends are supposed to suck. But the Cigar Page house blends I’ve reviewed so far prove otherwise.

The El Titan de Bronze Black Swan spends the first half in a deceptively moderate glide before steadily building into something far more muscular and complex. Its progression reminded me of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture: a gentle beginning that builds into cannons blazing and bells ringing.

A couple of months in the humidor have done wonders for the La Gloria Cubana Intención. The profile is nuttier, the bright citrus and cedar stand out more clearly, and the whole cigar feels much more integrated. I bumped its score to 94 and immediately bought another box. At $69.50…