Wrapper: Brazilian Cubra Maduro
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Nicaraguan Seco, Cubano Ligero, Nicaraguan Ligero, Dominican Ligero, Corojo Ligero, Piloto Cubano Ligero, Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Size: 6 x 58 Trumpeta
Strength: Full
Price: $8.10
Today we take a look at the Sinistro Honor Among Thieves.
I picked up a fiver online.
BACKGROUND:
From the Sinistro Cigars web site:
“With over 3 decades of experience, Sinistro Cigars has traveled to the world’s most renowned cigar producing regions in search for the perfect smoke. The attention to detail & quality can be seen & tasted in every stick. Each cigar is hand-rolled by master cigar rollers under the strict supervision of a cigar aficionado. Follow us on the road to excellence.
“Born from an undying passion for tobacco & an obsession for excellence, we are Sinistro. A band of brothers who’s zeal & passion for fine cigars has set us on a journey around the world to unearth the finest tobaccos to create Sinistro Cigars.
“All of the tobaccos in this cigar were aged 6 years prior to blending.”
SIZES AND PRICING:
Corona Gorda 5.5 x 42 $7.38
Box Press Robusto 5 x 50 $7.90
Box Press Toro 6 x 54 $8.22
Trumpeta 6 x 58 $8.10
APPEARANCE:
This is a beautiful cigar. Only when exposed to direct light can you see the gorgeous oily mottled wrapper. It shimmers and looks like some ancient relic. The wrapper is smooth as glass. The cigar measures 6” from the foot to the tip of the cap. The Dr. Seuss haircut is not counted in its length.
Construction is immaculate. No visible seams. Lots of tiny veins permeate the stick but only give it additional character. The shape of this suppository trumpet is executed nicely; showing a high level of rolling technique. The cigar is evenly distributed without hard or soft spots. Feels heavy in the hand.
SMELL THE GLOVE:
I hate to cut the fuse of this Seuss character but it’s time to get down to business.
It begins with some mild floral notes…followed my milk chocolate, cream, red pepper, malt, rich espresso, sweet raw Brazil nuts, a touch of lemon citrus, graham cracker, barnyard, cedar, and a bit of mesquite.
The cold draw presents flavors of red pepper, dark chocolate, creaminess, dark espresso, malt, cedar, and graham cracker.
As the tip is so small, I wasn’t able to get much of a draw. I grabbed my handy dandy PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool. I did not need to go past the first half of the cigar band and now the resistance is poifect.
FIRST THIRD:
Some interesting flavors start the journey. A big dollop of creaminess, milk chocolate, malt, the spiciness is now black pepper, very nutty, the graham cracker transitioned from aroma to flavor, cedar, and some Jamaican spices.
I can taste the 6 years of aging in the tobacco. It is deeply rich and thick.
I can also taste the 37 types of Ligero in the filler. I bought these cigars 3 months ago and have only smoked one about a month in. There is a lot to be said about patience. This is a much better blend now. The complexity has a nice balance due to the richness of the tobacco.
I did have some burn issues with the first one. This one? So far, so good.
My first stab had me thinking this was a medium strength blend despite the leaf stats of horror. Ain’t so, McGee. A little naked humi time has ramped up the strength. But not overwhelming and very, very early. I have my 1957 leather football helmet at the ready should I begin seeing things that only dead people see.
This will be a long smoke. This baby is packed to the gullet. But when I put it down to type, it sits quietly and does not go out.
Strength is an immediate medium/full.
Couldn’t get to the laptop for reviews the last couple days as Prime Cigar in Milwaukee opened its doors on Thursday the 21st. I went back on the 25th. It was good to see human hominids again. I’m off for a couple days so I can get some reviewing done; whether you like it or not.
I’m becoming a big fan of Sinistro Cigars. They are solid and each blend shines in its own way. Consistency.
The finish is redolent of brown sugar and cinnamon with a dash of whipped cream.
Transitions begin. Slowly, but that’s OK. I’m barely into the stick and I can barely decipher the depth…it is like a bottomless pit…like my sex life…I keep looking down that hole…and nothing. I’m not sure if I just insulted Charlotte or not.
And then a serene mellowness arrives. The Ligero is punching away but it is a controlled strike. We are in the morphing process. Aforementioned flavors twist and turn and find that each puff comes with a Cracker Jack surprise.
Hell, the price is outstanding for this quality. Prices do vary so you must check out the Sinistro web site for B&M’s and online stores that carry the brand. Look for the best pricing.
Creaminess mixed with dark coffee and the pepper go right for the ‘nads. The balance is in constant flux; so I’m finding a very nice savory v. sweet footing.
This cigar will never become a flavor bomb. The whole is greater than its parts. Don’t need to observe an obscene level of palate descriptions that reviewers like me shove down your throat. A good cigar is a good cigar regardless of whether you can dissect it or not.
“California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas is playing. I remember drummer Hal Blaine telling me that every time he recorded with them, John Phillips always brought an official leather doctor’s bag into the studio with him. Hal said there was a variety of drugs inside that bag that would make a pharmacy drool.
I’ve been knocking away at this cigar for over 15 minutes and only burned 1-1/8”. By the time it gets down to the tiny tip, the flame will be crawling up my schnoz and sending unwanted hairs into the ether.
The char line has only required a minor tune up early on. It is on the money now. I’m pleased.
Know what this cigar shape reminds me of? A chillum. I first tried one in the 70’s to smoke hashish. But the damn thing is like a Rubik’s Cube. You need to hold it in your hand upright and then grasp it with both hands and create a solid vacuum so that you can smoke out of your hands. I could never do it. I could never get my hands to lock properly. Now and then, I’d be at a party and I’d try and would only be laughed at. So, I laid down on my back on the floor and stuck the end in my mouth and smoked it that way. The laughter got worse.
Shit, it goes out on me. I did dry box the cigar for two days. But it’s finally gotten hot and humid here…could be worse; I could be living in Florida.
Flavors don’t expand but the richness and balance do. Flavors are subtleties now.
Strength is full.
Despite the pube igniting strength, there is a quiet mellowness that the aged tobacco produces. You never know what to believe when you read the PR from cigar brands when they boast about aging. It sounds good…and then a dog turd arrives. Maybe because the tobacco had aged for 5 years in the back of a truck somewhere in New Jersey.
The Honor Among Thieves drips with great tobacco.
I’ve only smoked 1-1/2” and it seems like I started this review hours ago…must seem longer than that to you. My bad. Verbal diarrhea.
SECOND THIRD:
I’ve pulled out my Braille laptop to finish the review. Vision is gone in my left eye and my right is blinking like a cop car’s lights.
No wonder…I donned my football helmet on backwards. I transition its position and I can see again. It is a baby Jesus miracle.
My first sip of water and new elements are flushed out…baking spices, charred meat, pumpkin, the maltiness leaps, and a lime citrus is exposed.
There is a slight hint of black licorice. The first time I discovered that real licorice is a laxative was on stage with Curved Air in 1974. The licorice in England is off the charts. Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable ride back to the hotel.
If you are an experienced smoker, you’re going to love this blend. It will decimate a multitude of newbies. You gotta have balls of iron for this baby.
Yet, while the strength is powerful, the aficionado will be swayed by the projected concept of this blend. It will be hard to find another cigar blend at this price point that is this special.
I’m just cruising now. I miss Whittier Blvd.
Out it goes again. Damn humidity. The ash has been stalwart and I wish I could show the structural integrity, but it’s not meant to be.
Man, I light up again and there is an avalanche of flavors that nearly overwhelms my palate. All flavors are standing and accounted for. This is a great blend. I might need to snag another fiver. I’d buy a box but I have to pay rent.
If you take my advice and buy a few, DO NOT be impatient. Sure, go ahead and smoke one after receipt…the more than fair price allows you to do this without suffering massive religious guilt. Let ‘em rest my dears and ye shall be rewarded.
Not a lick of linear stagnation going on. The stick keeps on getting better and better. This blend is just a mind fuck of the highest order.
Since I bought these cigars, they were not provided by a manufacturer, I don’t need to worry about using George Carlin’s 7 Dirty Words you can’t use on TV…”shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.”
I feel better now. I hate hiding my inappropriate profanity based…fuck it…actually, at my age, I don’t give a shit. You hang around long enough on the planet and you earn some perks.
Just finished watching my 604th Netflix series.
Now some smokers might consider the slow roll of this extremely potent blend as torture. As I’ve been married 35 years, I laugh at torture. Although, I still don’t like the finger up my arse. Charlotte has long nails. (Thank God she stopped reading me years ago).
The Sinistro Honor Among Thieves is a luxurious tobacco bratwurst. I find it calming; even when the strength is causing projectile vomiting. Dr. Rod…Run!
I love the juxtaposition of savory notes and then a quick dash of sweet notes. Right on point.
Once in a while, a customer of Prime Cigar comes in to complain that a recently purchased cigar has an impossible draw or unravels. I’ve had to give away 178, by last count, free replacement cigars. (The owner of Prime reads me so I just wanted to see if I could short circuit his pacemaker with that last statement). But then I always hand them my katman business card and order them to get smart and investigate the tools on the PerfecSmoke web site. I make them wear an ankle bracelet that allows me to shock them until I’ve confirmed they’ve come into the 21st century and bought some of Dr. Rod’s cigar smokers lifesaving products. You can stop throwing away cigars. And stop complaining to the cigar lounge because you don’t know how to take care of a problem cigar. Little League.
Sip of water…a rabid beaver exits my nostrils. Flavors explode like the first time I dry humped a girl while making out. I was 38.
Goddamm the Pusherman. What a magnificent cigar.
Construction has maintained an even keel throughout. Sinistro knows what it is doing.
Still not a flavor bomb…but a richer blend will be hard to find.
A luthier finally opened shop and I told him that I installed a Hip Shot bridge on my fretless Fender Jazz and fucked it up. He told me to bring it in while he laughed at me. Sigh.
Charlotte is off today as well. We plan on having hot monkey sex for at least 14 minutes. Afterwards, we will pop a Vicodin and lay there for an hour until our joints stop cramping. When she gets on top, I’ve hooked up a pulley and winch system to assist her…gives a whole new meaning to ‘spinner.’ (I fucked that up. I made it sound like she’s fat…thank God she doesn’t read me…when actually, she is 5-‘7 and 130 lbs. I hate it when I’m too lazy to go back and fix something).
The cigar seems to have reached the human limits of potency. Using a physics equation, it can only become stronger if there was plutonium in the filler.
LAST THIRD:
Flavors are whizzing past so furiously, I can no longer dissect them.
I’m kvelling.
I find it amazing that this cigar can start off with such beauty and only continues on that journey til your brain can barely stand the emotional roller coaster. I know how annoying it is that I exaggerate so much.
I am considering laying down a list of Yiddish words for you to look up. The first one with all the right answers gets 2 nights, 3 days at the Gaza Strip with a target painted on your shirt.
As the cigar winds down, not a hint of harshness or bitterness. It doesn’t get hot. But I do feel like I’ve done blotter.
The cigar doesn’t drop a single flavor I’ve mentioned throughout the review.
It is on a feverish journey of white-hot passion.
For you smokers who enjoy Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, this is the blend for you. If you weep while watching “Titanic,” stick with Macanudos.
And I’m spent.
RATING: 96
And now for something completely different:
1975
I was never that bright in the world of street sense. We were touring in the far south-west country of England. We were in the seaside community of Torquay…just east of Plymouth. Torquay is in the county of Devon which is one of the most beautiful places in the U.K. Mick, our guitarist, had lots of friends there who he invited to the concert and to hang out with.
I always forgot that I was considered a rock star in the U.K. I have lots of silly stories to confirm but it was so long ago. Imagine being a 24 year old local musician who gets thrown into a big band doing major tours and recording albums. It’s pretty trippy as I look back. But, I felt that I was the same SoCal kid who just happened to be playing bass in a band. The fact that we played in front of huge crowds was the only difference in my head. But no matter the size of the auditorium or arena we played, we couldn’t see the audience. It was black. All we could see is the first few rows. I think that helped me play more relaxed. If I was watching 20,000 people watching the band and me, I probably would have been paralyzed. Think back to when you were 24 and where your head was at. And now this time, you are a rock star. You’re a kid!
The original band leaders took their fame seriously. It was boorish to me; which eventually led to my downfall within the band.
All of Mick’s friends were good people. And one in particular, a very pretty girl named Cynthia, took a liking to me. I had no radar and Mick had to tell me. We spent 3 days in Torquay and Plymouth doing two shows over two days.
On the second day, Cynthia and I began to hang. She was a lot of fun; smart, funny, witty, and really good looking. We began holding hands as we walked the seaside and boardwalks. And did a little smooching. I was truly enjoying myself. Being a rock star had its privileges and perks.
For our first concert. Mick got all his friends front row tickets. And it turned out that Cynthia got caught up in the rock star show with all the lights and the big sound system and by my dynamic personality on stage. (Facts get distorted over time).
Me on the far left playing my 1970 Gibson EBO bass with additional Fender P pickups
We did a 2-1/2 hour show, including encores. For some reason, the audience always expected us to do 3-5 encores a night…which just floored me. The band had a history that I was not part of. And the band coming out of hibernation from 2 years of sleep really got the huge fan base going. And I should mention that these were the original players except for me. Another story.
The huge klieg lights made me sweat like a monkey or a clam. Not sure which. So, by the time we hit the dressing room, I was drenched. My leather pants clung to my skin making it very uncomfortable. Taking off suede leather pants while you are soaked was like the Spanish Inquisition. I usually raced to the bathroom to change into my civvies, but I wanted to impress Cynthia. Kept my wet leather pants on this night.
I sat in a big chair while she stroked my forehead with a damp wash cloth. It felt great. She felt great.
I took Mick aside and told him it looked like I was getting laid that night. But I knew nothing about her. What if she had an STD? Oh God! Condoms were not in style back then.
He told me the way you tell is light a cigarette and get some tar and nicotine on your thumb and forefinger. Then you insert them into her vagina and if she jumps because it stings, well…you know there is something wrong. The only problem was that I had never smoked a cigarette in my life.
And the whole time she and I hung out, she smoked cigarettes and I declined them every time she offered one. How would I do this and not look stupid.
After partying in the dressing room for a couple of hours, we left for the hotel. It was a given that Cynthia was coming to my room with me.
I was nervous as hell.
We got undressed and I asked for a cigarette. She looked stunned. “I thought you don’t smoke fags, darling.”
I choked and gagged on the cigarette trying to look cool while she looked at me like I was from outer space. I kept rubbing my fingers on the cigarette filter until I saw a brown substance on my fingers. Time to go to work.
We made out for a while. Very tender. All the time, I was trying to keep those fingers from touching her which made the whole thing comical.
Finally. I did the deed and she never made the expected “Ouch” sound.
I was relieved. So, we spent the night making love. It was a great night and I remember seeing the sun come up with her and me sitting on the patio of the hotel room in our bathrobes provided by the hotel. My fro looked like a squished sea urchin. She laughed at me every time she looked at me. I laughed too. A fro was very high maintenance. I hated it but it made me look very rock n roll.
Years later, of course, I came to find that Mick’s technical test for STD was all hogwash. Like I said, I wasn’t very street smart. But she was a good girl and there was never any chance of me catching anything.
Thank goodness. My girlfriend, back in London, would have killed me.