Matthias Clock

About Matthias Clock

Brand evangelist, digital marketer, cigar and spirits expert specializing in consumer tasting and educational events. Matthias made the long trek from his hometown of Portland, Oregon to New York City in 2007, and in nine years has hosted more than 120 events and helped promote and launch dozens of cigar and whiskey brands in the U.S. In 2016, he joined the Cigar Journal Tasting Panel, blind-reviewing pre and new release cigars.

Posts by Matthias Clock:

Viva La Vida Cigar Review

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Viva La Vida Cigar Review

If you smoke cigars and live in New York City (or travel there), you know about Cigar Inn. Founded by Billy, Gus, and Bass Fakih, the shop was home to the official “Cigar Aficionado Lounge” and one of the most well-stocked humidors in New York City. The lounge was considered by many (including me) to be the cultural capital of cigars on the East Coast. But earlier this decade, the brothers sold the lounge and moved on.

Fast forward a few years, and Billy and Gus Fakih have reinvented themselves as the masterminds behind Artesano Del Tobacco, their new cigar brand. Their first blend: Viva La Vida, a Nicaraguan puro blended by AJ Fernandez.  I had the privilege of helping to launch this cigar in New York City at The Carnegie Club, and was impressed by the early pre-release blends I smoked.

So today we review the fully released Viva La Vida from Artesano Del Tobacco. I’m going to do my best to be unbiased!

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Viva La Vida Robusto
  • Wrapper: Habano Oscuro 2000
  • Binder: Corojo 99
  • Filler: Criollo 98
  • Size: 5 x 50 robusto

Viva La Vida Cigar Review

Appearance and Construction

From a branding standpoint, Viva La Vida doesn’t have a hard time standing out in the crowd (which is a very good thing for retail sales). The dark Habano Oscuro 2000 wrapper is just about flawless, but what’s most surprising is just how much weight the cigar has in my hand. I can tell that it’s been packed with a lot of tobacco, definitely more than average.

Almost as surprising is that on the four samples I smoked for this review, all of them had a perfect or near-perfect draw. The cold draw brings forth notes of light spices, cocoa, and a wood that reminds me of the forest back in Oregon.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

As I light the cigar, Viva La Vida kicks off with rich medium-bodied smoke showcasing chocolate, assorted nuts, wood, hints of cinnamon, finely ground black pepper, and floral perfume. The buttery nuttiness really makes itself known mostly in the aroma which is just marvelous. The smoke is tremendously sweet as it hits the palate (rare for even sweet cigars). The draw as well is perfect and produces torrents of flavorful smoke. The retrohale is rich but smooth, summoning charred wood and more chocolate. It’s a pretty great lift off for Viva La Vida, and that’s only the first ten minutes!

At an inch in, the burn has developed a bit of waviness which corrects itself roughly five minutes later, and the ash drops. The spice on the palate begins to hit the nose a bit before dropping off, and the flavor palette settles on mostly sweet, with a slight savory character.

Viva La Vida Cigar Review

As the cigar nears halfway, the wood note steals the spotlight, with the spice and sweet chocolate playing supporting roles. The cigar is still performing excellently in terms of construction and smoke production–and the smoke is remarkably cool.

As the Viva La Vida enters the final third, the milk chocolate note shifts toward semi sweet dark chocolate and espresso, adding an enjoyable bitterness to the experience. Meanwhile, a maple syrup note has emerged, layering nicely on top of light baking spices and black pepper. It’s only in the final inch that the black pepper really takes the reigns and becomes prominent, with a bit of harshness entering in. Both body and strength increase substantially, pushing the last part of the cigar close to full in terms of body and strength.

Conclusion

Well what can I say? The Viva La Vida proves itself to be an inaugural blend from Arteseno del Tobacco that’s damn near impossible not to enjoy. I also think that the Robusto is simply the perfect size for this blend — I just can’t imagine it being improved.

Besides a great sweet profile of chocolate, wood, and nuts, I love how the spice and pepper play thoroughly supporting roles throughout, instead of dominating the profile as they do on so many other blends.

I highly recommend seeking this cigar out at a tobacconist near you.

Final Rating: 93

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Buy Cigars From These 4 Websites—Avoid the Rest

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Unlike other articles outlining the best places to buy cigars online, this article also goes into detail on online cigar stores to avoid. That’s important, because there are some truly terrible websites to purchase cigars from, including companies that have terrible service or are straight up scams. 

So how do I determine the best websites to buy cigars online? After 10 years of personally ordering from a number of retailers, the most important components of a cigar store are customer service, price, selection, quality, and the usability of the website. 

Now, without further ado…

The Best Websites to Buy Cigars Online

1. Famous Smoke Shop

famous-smoke

Famous Smoke Shop was the winner on my original list back in 2016, and it remains there to this day. First, although not perfect, the website is easy to navigate, has a modern and mobile friendly web design, and makes it easy to sort product by price, brand, country of origin, ring gauge, strength, and more.

Second, after a number of years of making large and small purchases with Famous, I’ve never had a bad order—never late, never any dried out product, no bait-and-switch orders, etc. And when I have needed customer service (to change shipping addresses, etc), their customer service department has been friendly and completely on point.

Third, Famous Smoke Shop still maintains Cigar Monster, which is a newer take on the old deal-an-hour fad of the early 2000’s. The benefit there is they have five packs of major brands that are discounted 20%-30%.

2. Gotham Cigars

Gotham Cigars comes ranked as the number two online cigar retailer for a couple of reasons. First, the websites does a good job of appealing to a broader arrow of cigar smokers, including those looking for cheaper, machine made cigars (which are all of their top sellers). Second, the website is very clean and easy to navigate, which might not sound like a big deal but if you’ve ever tried to shop on some of the more archaic cigar websites (*cough* Cigar Auctioneer *cough*), you’ll know that having an easily navigable experience is a big plus. 

3. Smoke Inn

smokeinn

When I wrote my last ranking in 2016, Smoke Inn was a runner up, with the caveat that its web design needed some work. Well, somewhere in the last two years this site upgraded. It still isn’t 100% intuitive to navigate, but the product pages are slimmed down and much easier to understand than most other online cigar retailers.

Two other reasons Smoke Inn makes the list. First, they have the standard cigar selection, and second, they also have a huge selection of boutique smokes (good gifts for the enthusiast in the family).

4. Cigar Page

cigarpage

Cigar Page’s slogan is “A smorgasbord of cigar deals,” and boy does it deliver. The website specializes in five and ten packs from major brands, and really does have excellent deals. I haven’t purchased from this website personally, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the product, and hence why I strongly recommend Famous Smoke. But some of the deals are impressive, so if you’re a current cigar smoker it’s a website to look at.

And now, with the best websites out of the way, it’s time for…

The Worst Websites to Buy Cigars Online

If you’re going to buy cigars online, you need to know that there absolutely are retailers to avoid. Here are the cigar retailers you should pass over in favor of our recommendations above.

Thompson Cigars

I hate to say it, but even after writing my first article on online cigar stores more than five years ago, Thompson Cigars still hasn’t improved their reputation much. True, they have a A+ rating on Better Business Bureau, but if you look at the reviews page, you’ll find negative review after negative review. They seem to have a reputation for signing unsuspecting shoppers up for expensive monthly subscriptions without their consent, which is, you know.. Bad.

I don’t have first hand experience, but here are some of the comments on my previous post about Thompson:

“Please avoid Thompson Cigar…they did exactly what you said they would do…Back in the summer my boyfriend spoke to them about starting a monthly subscription starting September 11 2017…and told them he would call them first before he wanted his card charged…Well on September 1 2017 they went ahead and charged his card….he immediately called them and told them to cancel it….after all kinds of back and forth they refused to cancel the order and we would have to wait until after he received the cigars then call them back to have a return slip sent to him…2 months later he was still waiting, he finally got it after several months but at that point decided to keep them, which I’m sure was done deliberately so he did keep them…well they got $120.00 but he won’t ever purchase from them again…Thank you”

“I placed an order online with Thompson Cigar and within half an hour cancelled it. I received an email acknowledging the order was cancelled. Much to my surprise, I received an email telling me it had shipped. When I called their CSC line, I was told there is nothing that can be done (is the CSC out of the country?) I usually order from another large online vendor but they did not have what I wanted to send and had heard good things about Thompson. My mistake and will not order again. Consumer beware.”

“Thompson’s cigar club is a nuisance, as are their pushy sales people!”

Cigars International

Cigars International on my worst list boils down to the fact that they still have an F rating with Better Business Bureau. The rating is largely due to an IT issue that surfaced in February 2017 that resulted in thousands of customers being charged for orders that then had extreme delays in delivery. You can read the ground floor from the consumer point here. The problem has mostly been fixed, but I’ve still seen reviews surfacing around the internet from customers who are still reporting problems. 

CigarBid

Cigar Bid was actually on my “best” list in previous years, but due to my own personal experience they are now on my worst list. Cigar Bid is certainly a website to get good deals, but I’ve found a number of my orders were delivered with dry cigars inside. Cigars that aren’t humidified are mostly ruined, so this is equivalent to getting a box of wine bottles that have oxidized and turned into vinegar. Second, I had one order placed where I was then told they didn’t actually have the product in stock and would be sending me something else. 

If you want a full breakdown between CigarBid and Cigar Auctioneer, read my detailed breakdown here.

Solo Cigars

I’ve never purchased through Solo Cigars, but I’ve read on countless internet forums now that, not only do they sell fake Cuban cigars, but they’ve also been involved in creating fake accounts on popular cigar forums to try to get people to change their mind about the retailer. Just google their name and look at result 2 – 10. You’ll get the idea. Key point here is: always check the reputation of any cigar retailer you purchase from. Just google their name and add “reviews”.

Do you have a favorite cigar retailer that should be on this list? Or, if you have a question about a cigar retailer, or a comment (good or bad), drop it in the comments section below.

Affiliate disclosure: when you purchase something using the retail links on this or other Fine Tobacco NYC pages, we may earn a small commission. Our opinions remain our own!

Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No. 1 Review

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Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No 1

Well folks I’m back. I had quite the January, with a long lingering cough that’s now thankfully subsided. I knew I wanted to make my first review of 2019 count, so I pulled out this smoke I picked up at Nat Sherman in December that is now, sadly, sold out. This cigar is the Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No. 1.

The Bench Series is available only at Nat Sherman stores, in extremely limited quantities, and with very limited information on the blends or even manufacturer. I buy it whenever a new release comes out, because they’re all so interesting. All I know about this cigar in particular is that it is 100% Dominican, rolled in 2008. That means this cigar has been aging for at least ten years, which is an insane amount of time to be sitting around.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No. 1
  • Wrapper: Dominican
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican
  • Size: unclear, but I’d guess 6″ x 48

Appearance & Construction

The Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No. 1 sports a brown sugar colored wrapper with minimal veins. The cigar is slightly springy when squeezed and is packed consistently the length of the cigar. As you can see from the photo above, the wrapper is just beautiful.

The aroma off of the foot is tantalizing, with a mixture of sweet hay, light woodsiness, sweet coffee, and light spices. The cold draw summons brighter flavors of citrus, coffee beans (like the large open coffee bags you find sometimes at the market), and some light, woody spice. The draw itself is about an 8/10 in terms of restrictiveness, just a touch more than I typically like.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Nat Sherman Bench 2018 kicks off with remarkably sweet, creamy, medium bodied smoke. Overall, it’s quite complex and balanced, hitting sweet, savory, salty, and bitter portions of the flavor wheel all at once, with some spice on the palate. Smoke production is just above average.

About 10 minutes later, less than a half an inch in, the flavors shift toward tangy Apricot jam, toast, creamy chocolate and light baking spices. If that sounds good, it’s because it REALLY is. Just delicious.

By an inch in, the thick salt and pepper ash is still holding on. The balance of the smoke, though, has fallen a bit out of whack, with a cedar note coming in just a little too heavy. Still, the complexity and harmony of flavors like apricot, chocolate, spice and cream make for an intense and enjoyable flavor experience.

As the Nat Sherman Bench 2018 burns past the second third, body remains at medium, though the retrohale is strong and spicy. Flavors remain mostly the same, though the cream on the finish gives way to a drier, woodier core. No constructing issues as of yet, though there is some waviness to the burn.

Near the halfway mark, both body and strength creep up to medium full, with bitter wood, cream, coffee, and salty smoked meats making up the core of the profile. It adds a nice chapter to the story of the Bench 2018, keeping things interesting. The final third of the Nat Sherman Bench 2018 lands this cigar near full body, with spices and toasted bread on the retrohale, and a woody, coffee-forward palate. Even in the final few minutes of the cigar, the smoke refuses to heat up, a testament perhaps to the extreme aging on this cigar.

Conclusion

What can I say? The Nat Sherman Bench 2018 No. 1 offers a true gourmet experience, much like so many other new Nat Sherman blends. This one though is just stellar, with excellent complexity and complementary of flavors. In particular, I really enjoyed the first two thirds, which delivered creamy but very textured smoke, and a great bouquet of complementary flavors like apricot jam, toast, coffee, cream and cocoa.

The first Bench Series I reviewed was way back in 2012, and I can say I’m even more excited about the future of the Bench Series than I’ve ever been.

Final Rating : 92

Ramon Allones Superiores Review

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Ramon Allones La Casa Del Habano Review

There’s a certain kind of excitement that comes from opening a package full of Cuban cigars, especially from legendary brands like Montecristo, H Upmann, or Ramon Allones, the brand behind the cigar up for review today. There isn’t a cigar smoker alive in the USA who isn’t aware of the reputation Cuban cigars have as the forbidden fruit of the Caribbean.

Those who have smoked with me know that I don’t buy into the myth of Cuban cigars, for the simple reason that I’ve smoked so many bad ones, mostly due to under-aged tobacco and outright atrocious construction. That said, Cuban cigars also happen to represent some of my top rated cigars of all time.

The Ramon Allones Superiores isn’t a cigar I’ve smoked before, so I was excited to give it a shot.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Ramon Allones Superiores
  • Wrapper: Cuba
  • Binder: Cuba
  • Filler: Cuba
  • Size: 5 5/8 x 46 (Corona Gorda)

Ramon Allones La Casa Del Habano Review 3

Appearance and Construction

The Ramon Allones Superiores is one of the more nicely branded Cubans out there, with a complementary color palette of red, white and gold. The double banding as well is a nice touch. The outer wrapper is a mottled light brown, with a few picked and one noticeable vein.

After using a straight cut, the draw proves to be very tight, about an 9/10 in terms of restrictiveness.

Cue blaring alarms. My guess is the tight draw will tank the smoke production.

And, because of the overly tight draw, the cold draw is hard to decipher, with some generic wood and faint hay.

Ramon Allones La Casa Del Habano Review 2

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

After a bit of work getting the cigar fully lit, the Ramon Allones Superiores produces a below average amount of smoke. Seems that I was right about the draw. As a result, the flavors are light and somewhat bland, with some almonds, damp paper, and light baking spices. The retrohale is mild, with some fermented grass that’s not enjoyable. Body and strength are both barely at mild. If the opening of the Ramon Allones Superiores portends the rest of the experience, I’m not excited.

By an inch in, the Ramon Allones Superiores is somehow producing even less smoke than before. The flavors are still somewhat  bland, and there’s been no movement in terms of complexity. Some change finally arrives in the second third, the strength has inched up above mild, and a nice spice has developed on the tip of the tongue. The burn is excellent, but it doesn’t help the issues with the draw.

The final third continues the positively dismal performance of the Ramon Allones Superiores. Although the burn remains straight, the flavors are still bitter and flat. The temperature of the smoke increases quickly as I near the final inch, providing (another) reason to put this cigar down.

Conclusion

To say that smoking the Ramon Allones Superiores was a disappointment would be an understatement. Most of the issues this cigar faced undoubtedly came down to poor construction – an overwhelmingly tight draw and abysmal smoke production. In fact, construction played such a role that I considered not this review. Surely this single, poorly constructed cigar can’t fully represent the line, right?

There’s some truth to that – this single stick doesn’t represent the overall quality of the cigar. In fact, this cigar received positive reviews here, here, and here. Frankly though, I think cigar reviewers and enthusiasts have made enough excuses for the atrocious construction of many reputable Cuban cigars. 20% – 25% of all of the Cuban cigars that I’ve smoked in the last three months have been nearly or totally unsmokable, either because they were too young or so poorly constructed that they were impossible to smoke.

If these were common issues in major brands from DR/Nicaragua, I wouldn’t bat an eye. But I haven’t had construction issues like these even once in the last 12 months from reputable Dominican or Nicaraguan cigars. The Cuban cigar industry is out of excuses in my book.

In conclusion, give it a try. Maybe the Superiores you smoke will be wonderful.

Or maybe they’ll suck.

Should you decide you want to try the Superiores, you can pick them up at Montefortuna here.

Final Score: 65

Crowned Heads Yellow Rose Review

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Crowned Heads Yellow Rose Review

Up for review today is Yellow Rose from Crowned Heads. Following on the heels of Hawaii-exclusive and Tennessee-exclusive releases,the Yellow Rose was blended and released specifically for the Texas market. The name “Yellow Rose” fittingly refers to an old Texan folk song called “The Yellow Rose of Texas” that dates back to the early 1800’s. It’s actually quite a romantic song and worth listening to. Here are the lyrics to the first two verses:

There’s a yellow rose of Texas
That I am going to see
No other fellow knows her
No other, only me
She cried so when I left her
It like to broke my heart
And if I ever find her
We never more will part

She’s the sweetest rose of color
This soldier ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about your dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the Yellow Rose of Texas
Is the only girl for me

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Crowned Heads Yellow Rose
  • Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 1/4 x 54 (torpedo)

Appearance & Construction

Obviously, there’s not much to say about the branding, but the extremely dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is one of the most perfect wrappers I’ve seen in a long time. Zero major veins, and a light crystallization dusting the cigar from top to bottom. The cigar also has a great weight in the hand, which is a nice touch, though I’m sure not an aesthetically-driven decision.

Approaching the cigar, there are heavy aromas wafting up off of the foot. Barnyard, burnt toast, sweet wood, and some mild spices. The draw is a bit tight, about an 8/10 in terms of restrictiveness, with a cold draw consisting of granola, oats, some light white pepper, and wood.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The Crowned Heads Yellow Rose doesn’t open up as strong as I was expecting, instead delivering measured, medium bodied smoke on the first few puffs. The profile is decently complex, with flavors striking a balance between sweet, bitter, and slightly salty categories. On the palate, there’s a heavy charred oak note layered on top of bitter earthiness, light pepper, coffee and some metallic notes. The aroma is a different story, with black coffee, cocoa powder, and a slightly bitter, almost yeasty note. Smoke production is well below average, and I’m worried the flavor experience will suffer as a result.

First impression: the Yellow Rose kicks off like a real after-dinner cigar, with sweet, creamy, and bitter flavors that suit desert well. The low smoke production, is a problem.

Crowned Heads Yellow Rose Review 2

About 15 minutes in to the smoke, the ash comprises roughly an inch of the cigar. Although the smoke production is still insufficient, the profile morphs considerably. Body and strength are now in medium plus territory, moving quickly toward full. Flavors too are more concentrated and aggressive than before. Bitterness is the most prevalent flavor category, with plenty of coffee, leather, and bittersweet dark chocolate. There’s also a marked increase in spiciness, a kind of vegetal pepper that activates the middle of the tongue and is strong on the retrohale. Construction throughout the first third is good, with a bit of curving on the burn that’s easily fixed with a couple of purges.

In the second third, the pesky smoke production issue finally starts to level off, and smoke production increases. The palate is now dominated by assertive black pepper, hot peppers and charred wood, though there is a bit of sweetness to the peppers that balances the bitterness (though not completely). Body and strength are now firmly in full territory, and I’m surprised to already be feeling the nicotine. The retrohale simplifies a bit, taking on more of a charcoal flavor which doesn’t do much for the overall experience. I’m hoping the final third will offer more by way of complexity, because as enjoyable as the smoke is, it’s become a bit one sided.

Unfortunately, another 25 minutes reveals an almost identical experience to the second third, though with more smoke production issues. A shame really because otherwise the Yellow Rose would clearly have a compelling story to tell.

Conclusion

Yellow Rose from Crowned Heads is a good cigar but I’ve got to say I think it was more enjoyable to look at than it was to smoke, largely due to the overly tight draw which compromised some of the flavors. Otherwise, it deals up some seriously flavorful smoke that’s mostly balanced between bitter, sweet, and salty.

It’s not my cup of tea, but if you see it in your local humidor, I’d say why not, give it a try.

Final Rating: 86

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