This is what it’s all about. This year’s first BBQ was a moment I had been eagerly awaiting all winter. The sun was shining, the air was warm enough for just a short sleeve shirt, and the grill was radiating heat as the kids played joyfully. Our puppy was diligently guarding us from my wife’s lap, while two of my brothers-in-law were manning the grill. Meanwhile, my mother-in-law was busy making two irresistible pies – one apple pie and one mixed fruit pie. As I stood there taking in the view of everyone’s smiles, I was overcome with an extra sense of joy, realizing that it’s moments like these that give life its true meaning. To top it off, I had the pleasure of savoring and reviewing two cigars that added a golden touch to my day: the Dunbarton Sobremesa Robusto Largo and the Nub 460 maduro.
Subscribe to our newsletter and find out about all new posts
Latest posts
- Aroma de Nicaragua Ecuador Robusto Review: A Long-Burning Nicaraguan Value
The Aroma de Nicaragua Ecuador Robusto is a medium-bodied Nicaraguan that delivers far more smoke time than its size suggests. Over an impressive 85 minutes it works through sweet almond, cedar, vanilla bean, and dark coffee, developing steadily from a nutty, peppery opening to a dark, grounded finish. For a Robusto, that length is remarkable, […]
- Valentino Siesto at InterTabac 2026: Orange Black Arrives and Velero Sets Sail
The Black Series has been growing one cigar at a time, and in September it gets its fourth member. Orange Black joins Nero Black, Nero Black N.2 and Yellow Black in Dortmund, turning what began as a single line into a family with a face of its own. Next to it on the same booth […]
- El Septimo at InterTabac 2026: Mi Familia and Queen Sheba Series II Come to Europe
There are a thousand boxes of Mi Familia in existence. There will never be another one made. Zaya Younan named every cigar in it after someone he loves. His wife of 35 years. His children. Five different blends, five different vitolas, one box that celebrates the people who made the man. Both of El Septimo’s […]
- Top 20 Best Robusto Cigars 2026: Reviewed by Flavor, Body and Smoke Time
The best robusto cigars are the ones that fit a whole blend into a format you can finish in a single sitting. Twenty of them here, every one smoked and reviewed in full on vdg-cigars.com. Mild shade wrappers and full bodied broadleaf. Forty five minute sessions and, in four cases, robustos that ran ninety. No […]
- The Children Nobody Reaches
One night a year, in a room in Philadelphia, cigars are lit for children who will never see the room A VDG Cigars special report, with the Roberto Martinez Foundation There is a particular way a child sits when there is nothing in their bag. They keep it closed, on their lap, with both arms […]
- The 100 Best Cigars: Reviewed by Flavor, Body and Smoke Time
The best cigars are not the ones with the loudest names on the band. They are the ones that hold their balance from the first draw to the last inch, and the only way to know which do that is to smoke them. This is a list of the 100 best cigars I have reviewed. […]
- A Life Without Limits: Angela Brown of Black Label Trading Company
By Peter Stefanic, VDG Cigars Some brands you discover through a cigar. Black Label Trading Company is one of those brands you discover through a story — and then you can’t stop reading. Founded in 2013 by Angela and James Brown, BLTC is not a brand that was built in a boardroom. It was built […]
- Karen Berger Cigars Compared: Eight cigars, by Body, Flavor and Smoke Time
Every one of the eight Karen Berger cigars have been smoked here in full, timed from the light to the last inch, and written up… Read more: Karen Berger Cigars Compared: Eight cigars, by Body, Flavor and Smoke Time
