Guys, the pressure of getting a new cigar/beer pairing up on the blog every week has been bearing down like a freight train. Upon my agreement to do these posts, I said I would only do reviews of parings that really made an impression on me; I didn’t want to do them just to do them. I haven’t had anything sensational in the past couple of weeks; they were the same old smokes, good, but nothing I would recommend running out and buying right away. That is until this past weekend.

I was in New York City over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, I was doing my normal run through the city hitting my favorite cigar spots when I stumbled onto a blast from the past – the Camacho Diploma. I have only had this powerhouse once, when it first came out about five years ago. I had bought two and smoked one on the spot. That is all I remember about it..The other is still sitting in my humidor. When I saw this cigar again in NYC I bought another, remembering my first experience.

The next day, I was in Central Park after lunch and happened to have this smoke with me, so I cut it and fired it up. WOW! It hasn’t lost a step. This smoke burned perfectly and had a draw that sets the standard for how draws should be. The smoke was full-bodied and spicy with a nice almond finish. If the store wasn’t closed I would have went back and picked up more. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy a beer with this smoke, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write about it anyway.

NOTE: I don’t recommend this smoke if you have a wife and/or mother waiting for you to get to the airport for an early evening flight. If you are like me, when it comes down to catching a cab to the airport or finishing the smoke, the Camacho Diploma wins every time, and makes for a loud cab ride (and the noise isn’t from the horns in traffic or the radio – if you know what I mean).

TAGS [ CIGARS | CAMACHO DIPLOMA ]