Prepare to be jealous:

Joya de Nicaragua “Antono Dark Corojo”- I wanted to like this one more than I did. I have another, I’m going to give it another shot with a cleaner palate.

Illusione/Drew Estate “Nosotros”- Had one that was a week old, so it was pretty ammoniated still. Lots of potential.

A guy on the trip, Matt, gave me an LG Oscuro, which is a rare version of the LG. Thanks, Matt!

Drew Estate “Dirty Rat” – I liked this a lot- not sure of the release date.

Joya de Nicaragua “Cabineta” – With a dual wrapper (one from band down, one from band up), this was one of my favorites. I’m a sucker for a schtick.

Nestor Miranda “Dominicana” by Don Pepin – I liked it, a lot. Spicier than I would have thought, which you know I love.

Don Pepin “Tobacos Baez Serie H” – I’m about to smoke this now!

PS- I learned that Oliva is going to release the Cain “F” or Super Fuerte as a regular line in March

#5 Manufacturers take armed guards with them when they cross over into Honduras.

#4 Water makes the difference. Pepin uses his well water to cure and roll cigars. Padron catches rain water and uses that. One manufacturer on Cigar Aficionados top 10 cigars of 2009 uses chlorinated city tap water which is stored in a reused ether barrel. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

#3 Blending theory varies widely amongst manufacturers, but each theory is valid. Pepin uses his own tobacco and doesn’t buy any because he wants to have control of the quality of the supply chain from beginning to end. Padron uses only Nicaraguan tobacco because they think it’s the best. Drew Estate buys and uses tobacco from different parts of the world because it makes for more interesting blends, and because puros will taste different from year to year, just like wine. Blending enables the manufacturer to ensure that they are delivering a consistent tasting product from year to year. All different ideas, all good cigars!

#2 We only saw a draw test machine at one place (Perdomo) and we saw multiple places where the “draw-test” was a human sucking on the cigar pre-wrapper and deciding if it was acceptable or not.

#1 At Joya de Nicaragua, there is a person whose sole job it is is to face the cigar so that the pretty side is up. He then takes chalk and a ruler and draws a straight line over the cigars to indicate the face, and where the label should go. Then the lady who applies the label wipes the chalk off before the label is applied.