Cigar Review: 5 Vegas Gold

Recently, I took a pleasure/work trip back to my home town of Easton, Pennsylvania to give a helping hand to my mother. She's moving to a new apartment/house unit and needs a strapping young lad to help out with the bigger boxes. My brother is about useless in this endeavor regardless of him living three minutes away (very literally in fact), so I came up and had a good old time of it. On the way 'round trip my wife and I stopped in at her parents' home and I sat out back with my Father-in-law and Brother-in-Law to have a smoke.  I opened pop's humidor and he gives me a 5 Vegas Gold, Toro. I mentioned it was a nice looking cigar but I'd never had one. He wouldn't let me NOT try it, so off came the cello and out we went to the back porch.

The 5 Vegas website has this to say:

"5 Vegas Gold

Enter the new era in mild-bodied cigars. 5 Vegas Gold Series breaks all barriers, proving a mild-bodied cigar can indeed teem with flavor. A luxurious blend of superior, 5-year-old tobaccos are skillfully combined inside seamless,hand-selected wrappers. Discover 5 Vegas Gold and be instantly charmed by its smooth, creamy, and eventful bouquet."

We all know how much that all means to me, but I thought you might fancy a link. I started my ritual the way I always do - with a little squeeze to see how full and how humid the cigar is and figure out my best plan of attack.  After a moment, I realized that my trusty punch was the way to go and gently bored out the cap. It was here that I noticed the capping was quite extensive. A very thick top of about 3 layers, more than normal, which lent itself to a great punch rather than a cut. In fact, my opinion is to stay away from the cutter on this particular size.
I took a cold draw and a good sniff and did take notice of the nutty, "eventful" bouquet from the listing above.  Not at all like "dirt tobacco" smell, but rather light and airy- almost that heavy aroma with a freshly baked muffin or bread. Not at all harsh, with just a hint of sweetness. If you're a fan of nuts (stop fucking giggling right now..)...As satisfying as it is to eat a handful of good cashews - this cigar lends that same gratification in its aroma.  I almost didn't want to light it - but I did- 'cause fuck it.. it's a cigar.  Using my Rocky Patel 3 torch lighter, I toasted the end and took a good puff.  Much to my surprise, the flavor and draw is exactly what is stated on the manufacturer's website.  A smooth draw, with a light-bodied and creamy smoke though there was not much "eventful" occurrence through the cigar. The long filler held up well and I only dropped ash once- at about 2 inches- but that may have been attributed to the breeze. The flavor stayed just as it initially portrayed itself, all the way up to the last 1.5 - 2 inches. Pepper? Mild, but still a bittery sort of pepper nonsense that hadn't been present at all anywhere else in the cigar. It was a little surprising. In these last couple draws, I can only assume the buildup of oils through the cigar produced a mild pepper aftertaste that - while not unpleasant - didn't really sit will with me since I don't really care for surprise pepper. Especially after the dream that

I had just smoked through! Still, it was not too much of a punch in the face and I was able to effectively quell the issue with some Lexington and power through it handily.  Just be ready for it.  If you don't get it- consider it a bonus and enjoy it thoroughly! Overall I did enjoy the cigar and would definitely make a purchase, if not just for the awesome gold band.

Overall, we're talking about another sub $5 cigar here going toe to toe with your favorite stick. I'm going to pick some up for the foreseeable future and hit the course with a couple to use the band to shoot some light into my competitors' eyes while they're over a putt. I'm seriously digging the box, which looks like a gold bar with trapezoidal sides.


Bottom Line:  A good cigar for a good price. If you're wishy-washy on what you'd like today this is a smart choice. Smooth character, and not the wildest gal at the party but thoroughly enjoyable with good conversation. Keep an eye out for the pepper switch and either put it out before it gets to be too much, or make sure you have a back-up plan to wash down the finish.

Cigar Review: Casa de Garcia Churchill

And So it Begins.....

The first round of the season is always a crapshoot. It's early... what's the weather going to be like... what condition is the course in... and most importantly what does my swing look like after a winter of bourbon and cigars.

My answer is "not too bad" all the way around.  Golf season proper starts April 1st according to the USGA handicap revision schedule.  We had a pretty mild winter up until January and since then all hell has broken loose. The last snowfall came just last week, small as it was, but the lingering effects can still be felt in some areas. There's still a mound of snow about 10 feet tall in the parking lot of our local mall. That being said, the golf courses fared quite well in my opinion.

Four Seasons Golf Course is right down the road from my office, so it offers the most opportune chance at getting the most holes in after work before dark. I'm pretty light on funds these days with some house renovations going on, so I decided to cash in on a free weekday pass that I had won in a scramble last year. I don't really get to play much during the week anyway and when I finally would have time to use it there is a special for $7 (all you can play before dark). I mosey'd over to the course, got my spikes on and took the ever-so-useful two practice swings then went full bore at the ball. Dead pull, not much has changed since last year I reckon.

The course was wet from the rain in the afternoon, but not sopping. There were some drainage issues, but overall there wasn't much issue with club and turf interaction. On the second hole I decided to light up my first cigar - a Casa de Garcia 6.5 x 50. This particular CG is a Dominican blend with a Connecticut Wrapper. I keep my humidor around 68 and this cigar was still in the cello. It had a nice firm feel with a little give under my fingers. Normally I'm a punch man, but for this one I chose a straight cut to maximize the draw being that I was outdoors and there is more chance the cigar will go out on me with the slight breeze and moist conditions so I wanted every puff to be nice and full. In general, I like a slightly more humidified cigar when I'm out golfing since there's a lot of breeze and a good chance I'll be re-lighting once or twice - it keeps the wrapper from getting dry too fast and cracking or unravelling.

 I used my trusty single flame needle lighter and the cigar lit perfectly, no charring.  Oddly enough, some reviewers put this in the 'medium' flavor category and for the first inch or so, I couldn't understand why. First draws were very light in flavor and strength and the draw was a little bit harder than I imagined it would be. I tee'd off and went down the fairway puffing away. A half-inch or so into the smoke is where the light and smoky flavor stopped and the real heart of the stick started to hit me. It was still very light but had earthy notes that were not bitter but still left a lasting flavor for a light cigar.  I set it down on my pull cart a number of times. I averaged 2 or 3 draws between shots on the walk to my ball and found little need to stoke it after hitting a shot despite the conditions.  No, I'm not the kind of guy who keeps smoking when he hits... I take my game as seriously as my cigars. I also take in a lot of the scenery. With the early season comes the post-winter cleanup.  There were piles of tree trimmings everywhere. Don't forget fellow golf-nuts, you get free relief from ground under repair and that includes "material piled for removal".  Two club lengths, no nearer the hole, relief from the nearest point of relief. In this case it would be the nearest edge of the pile.

Material piled for removal off #6 tee box.

Dollar for dollar I thoroughly enjoy this smoke.  Around the 4th hole it really started to get into the "medium" area of flavor country.  That earthy flavor that had been light in the beginning was not really making itself known. I could only describe it as a smooth inhale of fresh sod. Just a nice, heady, thick sort of flavor. When I smoke, I generally keep the tip intact and wouldn't label myself a "chewer" by any means, but after hitting a few bad shots I had worked my way around the tip and got some of that sort of semi-bitter tobacco flavor with each draw and it only enhanced the smoke. I found myself liking it a bit more than I should have and started to chew it a little over putts rather than put it down - it cost me my birdie on #3.

Murray the Penguin approves.

The band had to come off around hole #6 before the tee shot. It was warm, but for whatever reason it didn't want to just flake open like other cigars. Still, I was able to remove it without losing my cool and there was no damage to the wrapper. I was really sad when I hit the Tee box on #8 and had to get rid of the last inch. I just couldn't hold it anymore and it started to get a little too warm on the draw, so off it went. I regret that I didn't bring another to start and for the ride home.

For the first time out this season, I put up a respectable 39 for the 9 holes. No gimmes, no mulligans, just lift clean and place due to every shot getting plugged and muddy. Hey-- it's the first round of the season, I'm not going to kill myself with mud balls just yet. 3-putts abound as normal and I'm shorter than I was last year, but hey "it's early" right?