Size: 5 x 42 ( Petit Corona )
Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Habano Sun grown)
Binder and Filler: Nicaraguan
Strength: High Medium to Low Full
Price: unknown

Behind The Stick:

Alright – so this is a cigar that literally was sent to me out of the blue that I didn’t even know existed. I got a pair of them from a buddy on one of the cigar forums, and then @youngbuck sent me one along with a few other smokes! Since I had a few of these around, I decided to light one up and have it as my commute cigar back home from work. When I got home, I mentioned the odd size ( spoiler, I like this size ) on twitter and heard a lot of good things said about them and thus lead to some research. The Oliva V has always been a ‘go to staple’ of mine – when I don’t know what to have, I can always fall back on the V and be happy. Lets see if this little brother of the line lives up to the name!

Well, the story of the No 4 is that Oliva released these to a small number of European shops, and an even smaller number to American shops – but only if there were in attendance of the TAA trade show in Cabo, Mexico. This makes for a great ‘must have’ series, simply dude to the limited availability of them! From what I have been able to find, the blend is essentially the same, nothing ‘major’ has been changed but rather minimizing the size down to a nice corona feel and making something that fits that daily commute, for me, just about perfect.

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Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Colorado Maduro
Binder and Filler: Brazil, Cameroon, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Syria, Turkey, and the United States
Strength: High Mild to Medium
Price: Just under $7.00 usd each or roughly $4.50 ea in box purchase

Behind The Stick:

For those in the cigar world living under a rock, Drew Estate ( best known for their ACID line of infused cigars ) has been pushing their ‘Rebirth of cigars’ slogan and I have to admit, some of the cigars they have been putting on the market recently have been damn good. The Natural series is a totally different type of cigar, the English in specific is a blend of tobaccos from 12 ( yes, twelve ) different countries, Brazil, Cameroon, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Syria, Turkey, and the United States. As the name implies, these are ‘Natural’ cigars and although the intensity of certain flavors ( vanilla, chocolate, coffee, etc ) may lead one to think they are infused, but the fact of the matter is that same as the name, they are natural. I have only seen a handful of reviews on the web and finding detailed information on the line is like trying to pull teeth, the Drew Estate website doesn’t even list the English as part of their Natural line. Lets see if this mish-mosh of tobaccos produces something amazing or if it is more like a 3 year old making dinner.

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Size: 5 1/2 x 54
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Criollo
Binder and Filler: Dominican Olor and Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium
Price: Give or take $7.00

Behind The Stick:

Surprisingly enough, the Kristoff brand has been around for a very short time ( 2005 ) and yet have been putting a pretty wide variety of cigars into the market. I first heard of the line from the Kristania name, a cigar I was not overly impressed with but ‘for the price’ fit the bill – and Kristoff even remarks they are the ‘budget conscious’ smokes of their brand, aside from the ‘its a boy/girl’ cigars they also offer. The main thing that caught me with the Kristoff brand was the packaging – although a bit on the plain side when looking at the box, squished up and surrounding the cigars are layers of actual tobacco leaf. I love the simplicity of the design with a certain ‘pop’ that will forever imbed this style into my mind – but, enough jabbering about a cool box, how the hell do the Kristoff Criollo’s smoke?!

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Size: 4 x 58 ( Gordito )
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder and Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, Hondurian, and Cameroon
Strength: Full
Price: were $7.50 a stick, on sale for $2.50 for 12

Behind The Stick:

As some of you know the Don Lino Africa line are actually made by Miami Cigar and was started when Nestor and his son Daniel took a trip to Africa and when they returned, they had decided to create cigars that would honor the land they had just visited. The boxes were created with a little extra flair and the names of the cigars – instead of English or Spanish – was actually the native language of Maasi – each cigar representing a different animal.

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Size: 5.5 x 54
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder and Filler: Honduran
Strength: High Medium to Low Full
Price: ~$6.00

Behind The Stick:

We all know about General Cigars – and if you don’t I suggest you take a few to educate yourself. Not always the ‘best’ cigar on the table but most if not all of us have met the die hard fans. Some have said some pretty negative things about them but along with other lines such as La Gloria, Punch and the recently purchased CAO – they have a large following who are as devoted and loyal as they come. This cigar actually was inspired by a readers comment – that I didn’t have enough Punch cigars reviewed on the site and that I should get this one in as soon as possible! Well – let this be proof I listen to the readers! Onto the review.

P.S. had to borrow pictures – forgot to photograph before I finished the review.

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