Wrapper: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Toro (6×52)
Strength: Medium

The Los Blancos Maduro cigar comes packed in a bright yellow box banded with the bright yellow Los Blancos bands. The color compliments the dark oily wrapper so well I almost hate lighting the tasty maduros. The box sits well in any humidor, smoke room, or lounge and will catch the eyes of many.

Looks are not the only thing this maduro cigar has going for it: It’s a great stick to smoke and brought to you at a reasonable price ($6)

Construction: Los Blancos makes one intimidating looking maduro wrapper - this is one dark cigar. “Chocolaty” might be the best way to describe this Los Blancos stick. The wrapper in it self looked very well constructed with not too many veins and just enough texture to know it’s a solid smoke. Upon the removal of the cellophane you will immediately notice the nice oils coming through the wrapper. It’s actually just enough to get you excited.

Los Blancos Maduro’s are consistently firm with no soft spots. Never once have I encountered any unraveling problems while smoking.

Draw: My method of opening the cigar is normally a punch. The punch was a perfect fit for this stick and the draw was just right. I have used the trusty XIKAR Xi3 every now and then and have not had a problem; a quality cigar will always have a great draw.

Burn: This area of the Los Blancos Maduro review might bring my only complaint. Of the many cigars I have smoked a vast majority of them have burned slightly uneven and a correction with my torch was always needed. On a good note the burn rate was perfect and the ash was always securely in place.

Taste: While the Los Blancos wrapper may make the stick appear strong - that was not the case. This maduro was a very pleasant smoke. I picked up some cocoa flavors from the light and the smoke slowly introduced a woody flavor that has a hint of spice. The smoke is creamy and creates a very well balanced medium cigar.

Verdict Is: As you can see from my pictures I have a box of the Los Blancos Maduro. This is a great medium bodied cigar that you can enjoy in the day time, night time, summer, or winter. The price point is excellent at around $6 a stick. Heck, this cigar would still be a good value even if it had run a few bucks more (please don’t raise the prices). So at least get this stick the next time your in a shop and looking for something good to smoke. I have a feeling you may just pick up a box.

Tobacco beetles, cigar bugs, or scientifically known as Lasioderma serricorne; This little nuisance can cause destruction of your beloved cigars. With minimal warning and the proper weather conditions the tobacco beetle can turn your cigars to dust. If suspect of a tobacco beetle infection there are measures you can take and prevent a full blown attack.

Let’s Understand the Tobacco Beetle
The tobacco beetle is quite small in size; on average growing between 2-3 mm in length. Size comparisons are often made with the size of a pinhead. Life cycles are in a four stage 10-12 week process: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

The female adult will eat through the wrapper of the cigar and bury itself in the tobacco to lay its eggs, approximately 100 eggs. Shortly after, 6-10 days, the eggs will turn to larvae. Larvae will survive by eating your tobacco and ruining your sticks. I will not go into too much detail of the pupa and adult stages – but these bugs will then start to reproduce and the chances of hurting your other cigars will increase.

L. serricorne thrive in very warm clients above 70 degrees (F), however the L. serricorne beetle has been found in temperatures as low as 65 degrees (F). I also want you to know, and please take note, the tobacco beetle CAN FLY.

Evidence of Tobacco Beetles
It is very important that you always check the cigars in your humidor (or similar storage device) for tiny holes on the outside wrapper. This will be your first – and hopefully your last indication of the bug.

The second thing you may see is a light black dust that will either be next to the cigars – or if the cigar is tapped it will fall out. This is tobacco beetle do-do.

Found Tobacco Beetles ? – Do This
You must immediately isolate the infected cigars from the cigars showing no wear. Please keep in mind the tobacco beetles can fly – move – and just generally get around. If the infected cigars were sitting next to others you must consider the others also infected. For boxes – the cigar bugs shouldn’t have moved from one closed box to another. You must check your cigars and make a judgment. I choose to error on the side of caution and place all nearby cigars and cigar boxes in the “contaminated” pile for cleaning.

Take the cigars, remove them from the box they are in (or humidor) and place them in a freezer bag (double bag). To reduce the shock of cigars I slowly introduce cigars into the cold (they can only live in warm weather; freezing will kill the tobacco beetle).

• Place the freezer bag of cigars in the fridge for one day.
• Move the cigars into the coldest part of your freezer for 3 days.
• Return the cigars to the fridge for one day.
• You can then bring them back into the humidor.

Many have suggested you do this process twice to ensure the tobacco beetles have been killed.

….ONLY AFTER YOU….

Clean the humidor. When you start the process of freezing your cigars you should also start to clean your humidor.

• Remove everything from the box and wipe it down with a clean cloth and distilled water. Vacuum the inside and make sure all bits of tobacco are removed (the food source).
• Place the humidor in open air and allow it to try; removing all humidity.
• Allow it to sit and dry out for about a week.
• You will of course have to re-prepare the humidor to accept the cigars again.

Prevention
The infection of tobacco beetles happened because your living situation was just right. Make sure the cigars are not too warm or too humid. Many smokers will try to keep the temperature of cigars at 69 degrees (F) or lower. When lowering the temperature you will have to adjust to the proper humidity, 70 percent rule no longer applies.

Quick Note On Cuban Cigars
I was told that all Cuban cigars should be immediately treated as if they are infect because of the curing process they go, or don’t go, through.

Smoke ‘M is a head shop located in Chandler, Arizona masquerading as a cigar shop. Passing by Smoke ‘M you will notice multiple sings that boast of a “walk in humidor“, a new “cigar lounge“, and other cigar references. While this shop does sell some cigars, but I have to warn everyone: Smoke ‘M is NOT a cigar shop.

When you enter the Smoke ‘M establishment you see the “cigar lounge” is nothing more than a couch facing a wall. Yes - just facing a wall. There is no TV, music, or even a cigar ash tray to sit your smoke on.

Next to the “lounge” you will find the humidor. The humidor is just large enough to hold two adults. It is very empty, and not taken care of very well. I noticed a box of La Gloria Cubana Series R No. 5 Maduro sitting on the shelf. I took the liberty to open the lid to find the cigars were all dried out, cracked, and well…. not smokeable. Most of the cigars are flavored acids, there was a Gurkha infused tray, and other random smokes. To be honest my local grocery store Basha’s has a bigger selection of cigars.

From the limited inventory that Smoke ‘M offered I can tell you that the prices were quite high.

Smoke ‘M has had one person working in the store at every visit I made (Yes, I still did multiple visits). Never being greeted, never being offered any kind of assistance, and never even having eye contact with the worker made me never want to go in the Chandler head shop again.

Smoke ‘M has a great selection of Hookah’s, knifes, metal pipes, and other items some people might love. This little shop is not worth visiting if you are looking for a real cigar experience. Advertising as a full blown cigar lounge with a great cigar selection is a lie; I must provide the thumbs down.

Smoke ‘M
1250 N Alma School Rd # 32
Chandler, AZ 85224
Smoke ‘M Does not have a website I could find.

Ford & Haig - The Tobacconist is a small cigar shop located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ford & Haig’s little cigar shop is in the artistic, and oh-so chic, Old Town area; providing great eateries, art galleries, bars and scenery (eye candy) in a short smoking distance.

Ford and Haig’s website lays claim as a cigar shop that is frequented by “professional baseball players” and in general “famous people“. Knowing this I somehow imagined walking into a grand cigar shop laced with fine leather chairs, beautiful women, and only limited edition cigars.

Opening the door to the Ford and Haig cigar shop I quickly realized the cigar shop is very small and very packed (packed in a good way). I overheard a conversation about the fluctuation of the oil market and the effect of their portfolio (yes I am now in Scottsdale). Two gentleman working warmly greeted me and I walk straight into an oddly shaped, triangle-ish, humidor.

The humidor had a great selection of smokes. Something that immediately caught my eye, as you can see from the pictures below, is the nice selection of Don Carlos cigars. Pricing was all around fair and nothing was too high or a great deal; I did expect a Scottsdale cigar shop to be overpriced. After multiple laps in the small humidor I selected a nice Cabaiguan cigar.

I had no real intention of smoking the cigar in the shop due to the limited seating area. Out of no where I hear a “Are you going to smoke that bitch?” Okay - That’s the kind of invite I like. While checking out the friendly staff v-cut my cigar. I like people who can offer creativity and suggestions in smoking.

The atmosphere portion of the review has always been good for this Scottsdale cigar shop. Seating is limited to about 5 seats in the very front of the store. You wont be able to have any kind of private conversation and if the company is not good, or there are more than 5 smokers at once, you will be quite uncomfortable. Another thing I noticed is the lounge is in front of large windows that face the bright Arizona sun - so be careful.

Overall I give this Scottsdale cigar shop a thumbs up. They have friendly / knowledgeable staff, a great location, and some pretty unique cigars at a fair price. Just hope you get some great smokers to sit with!

Ford & Haig - The Tobacconist
(480) 946-0608
7070 E. Fifth Avenue
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
Visit the Ford & Haig - The Tobacconist Website