I’m always bad for this. I tell myself to leave newly received cigars alone for at least three months and I never do. “I’ll just see how they are coming along” I say to myself… I never learn!

This one still needed more rest. The marzipan and gingerbread were present, but masked by the harshness of an unrested cigar. Some beautiful flavours were hinted at but nowhere near the forefront. I’ve put one out to air like I did with the JL2 a couple of posts back. We’ll see if it makes any difference…

Rafael Gonzalez Petit Corona is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I’m starting to find these little machine-made Cuban cigars very enjoyable for the pub. At only 29 RG by 106 mm I believe they are pretty similar in size to the Cohiba Club or Montecristo Purito (neither of which I’ve tried). I find you need to smoke them slowly or the flavour just turns into tar, but when you can manage to give them the time they do actually taste of Partagas tobacco! Now mine have started to settle nicely after some months rest they are softening a little. My only issue with them, apart from being impossible to find in the UK, is that the gum at the head end isn’t particularly effective and it often starts to unravel in my mouth. Not a major problem for the price though.

Partagas Chicos is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I do love these Cuban cigars! To my taste they have a rich and refined medium flavour that seems to go well with a lot of whiskies. The first few I had a year or so back were disappointing, but a little bit of age and they really turn into something delightful. This one still had a touch of roughness about it that leads me to suspect I should leave some out of the box (but still in the humi) to improve the air exchange. I’ve just moved one now that I’ll try and leave alone for a while to see if it makes a difference. I keep trying this but I never manage to let them stay there for very long!

Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2 is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I’d gone out for a evening walk by the river with my girlfriend and the weather was looking a little precarious to say the least. As I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to smoke I decided to pick one of my cheaper short-filler Cuban cigars so if I did have to throw it away prematurely then it wouldn’t be too heartbreaking for my wallet!

This time I chose a La Flor de Cano Selecto. At 41 RG and 150 mm long this would certainly last as long as I needed it to, and probably cope with the wind better than my usual thicker long-filler Cuban cigars. I’ve found in the past that these smoke better than the smaller Flor de Cano Preferidos, and this one was no exception. Not particularly big on taste though certainly far preferable to the ubiquitous Hamlet. I believe US citizens would refer to this as a ‘yard gar’, though I’m sure being Cuban it would still be in demand there!

Not particularly exciting, but better than not having a cigar.

La Flor de Cano Selecto is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I left it open for a while and tried to ignore my girlfriend’s comments so they didn’t prejudice me. This had a very light smell of synthetic strawberry (a bit like Hubba Bubba) and the slightest touch of chocolate. Surprisingly subtle compared to the powerful scents I’m used to with merlot.

Soft to the taste and very similar to the smell at first sip. Settling into it I felt it was strongly ‘creamy strawberry’; and much later on an apple note popped out too. Quite a bit of depth to my uneducated palate and surprisingly complex.

Wasn’t too tannic either-it had that drying action but not enough to make the back of your mouth curl up or your teeth go furry.

Reading up about this Syrah stuff, turns out I know it as Shiraz. Perhaps a whole new grape is opening itself up to me! Wikipedia (I know…) suggests that the choice of naming it either Syrah or Shiraz signifies a stylistic difference with the Shiraz supposedly being used for the ‘bolder’ New World flavours. I have no idea. I guess more ‘research’ is in order!

2008 Asda Syrah Vin de Pays d’Oc is a post from: FistLoad Blog

Here’s a video I posted when I first got it:

The reason why I’m posting is that the ignition mechanism packed up recently, and remembering the five year warranty I printed out my ebay receipt (thank God for email backups!) and posted it off with a covering message written on the printout. I must admit I was half expecting them to send it back unfixed as the receipt wasn’t exactly the most descriptive, however, within a couple of weeks a parcel turned up with a BRAND NEW Turboflame Military in it! I was only hoping for a repair but they’ve certainly outdone themselves. Certainly value for money in my book. Here it is:

Turboflame GX7R Military lighter is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I’d been going through my cigars checking their condition when I noticed this Saint Luis Rey Serie A had a touch of fluffy white mould on it [after a comment that it might have been bloom, I realised I didn't mention that I believed it to be mould as it was localised and it didn't fluoresce under UV light-I may be wrong though!]. Now, after cigar beetles, this is one of the things I fear the most. I’d already punched this one and put it back in the humi some months back, as I’d given it a test draw and felt it was too tight. I can only surmise that my saliva helped the mould grow as none of the other cigars had any on them. I will keep a close eye on them though!

Here are some photos of the mould in greater detail. I may have disturbed the structure by the time I took these so it may not look particularly fluffy.

As this was my last remaining one of these, and the mould hadn’t entered either end of the stick, I brushed it off and smoked it anyway!

I was a little disappointed in this. First off, it felt beautiful to the touch, a bit like leather with a slight velvet feel, slightly oily too. The smell was so rich, like a strong dark chocolate with hints of coffee bean. The pre-light draw had a slightly sour taste about it, like I get with most other Cuban cigars. The draw had loosened up as hoped, enough to smoke but still tighter than I would prefer.

It lit easily, but this is where it went downhill I feel. It was difficult getting as much smoke as I’d like, but a bit of a massage and it improved. It had  a citrus note all the way through that I just didn’t get on with-I’ve experienced this with previous cigars from the Saint Luis Rey marca. I gave up on it with two inches to go. I doubt I’ll be looking to investigate SLR further…

Saint Luis Rey Serie A-with mould! is a post from: FistLoad Blog

Start with a large saucepan and heat a couple of tablespoons of oil. I favour groundnut (not for the peanut allergic though!) but any relatively flavourless vegetable oil should be fine. Once that is hot, put in a tablespoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of ground cumin and swill the oil round for 20 seconds or so to mix it all together. Put in a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic and about three or four onions (sliced). Fry that until they have all gone soft.

At this point, chuck in a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and a whole sliced cayenne chilli pepper. You can add more or less depending on your taste-I often like to add a sliced birdseye chilli too as I’m partial to the more firey food. A quick stir round to mix it all together then I put in a teaspoon of garam masala and a pouch of passata (sieved tomatoes). The budget one is fine as I can discern no difference between that and the one that is twice the price, apart from the packaging. I did try it with tinned tomatoes once to add a bit of texture but it was way too sweet then. Give that a stir then leave it on a low heat uncovered to reduce down. You may find a mesh splash-guard over the top of the saucepan helpful as boiling passata is particularly messy…

After it has thickened a bit and tomato is no longer the dominant taste, i.e. it tastes like curry, stir in a handful (about 30 g) of chopped fresh coriander and some (about twice the size of your thumb) grated or thinly sliced (matchstick size) fresh ginger. The grating is easier but sliced ginger seems to keep its flavour better in the mixture.

Serve with basmati rice or naan bread immediately.

Chickpea jalfrezi is a post from: FistLoad Blog

I had a small can of Canada Dry with this. It’s my preferred accompaniment for this Cuban cigar as it really seems to complement the flavours well. This was an enjoyable example of the Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto that appears to have finally settled enough that the complexities are coming through. Even sat under an umbrella in my back yard in the dark!

Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto is a post from: FistLoad Blog

My price is £20 each now down to only £17 including Royal Mail Recorded Delivery in the UK. You don’t need a Google account to purchase, just a credit or debit card. You have the added advantage that this is a secure transaction, processed by Google.

I’ve found mine very useful so far, not only when camping but for DIY in the garden and in the house. Here’s a video of the Unbelievable Saw in action in realtime:

Unbelievable Saws for sale! is a post from: FistLoad Blog