Friday, September 13, 2024

Djeep Turbo Refillable Cigar Lighter in Review

Djeep Turbo Refillable Cigar Lighter in Review

I seem to be told quite often and by many people that they never, ever shop at Walmart. Which I find odd, because every time I do, the parking lot is fairly full. Someone goes there; a lot of someones. One of the more recent times I went there, I saw this Djeep at the checkout. I was tempted, but much more ready to be done and back home.

Then, my virtual herfing bud, CigarCraig, showed off his new purchase. His was the muted grey one. There was also maybe a greenish, blueish, and possibly more. I went back to Walmart post haste to procure my own (grey-ish). While there, I picked up several other disjointed and incongruent extras. It was a fevered dream of toilet paper, dog food, and shoe insoles. I recall mouthwash.

Upon returning home, the Djeep was nowhere to be found.

I was crestfallen. Indeed, my crest had been felled and I was utterly Djeepless. I toyed with the idea of purchasing another but that, to my math, would have made it a ten-ish dollar lighter instead of a five-ish dollar lighter. Plus, I have many other lighters already and more than plenty of toilet paper. So I pushed it far from my mind. In the interim, CigarCraig gave it a nice write-up on his ever-popular blog HERE.

Fast-forward a tick, and I was bagging my own groceries at the supermarket (much to my own disgust). When what did I find at the bottom of one bag? That's right... half a dozen old receipts. But at the bottom of another, I found the Djeep. O, happy days.

I used to prefer the old disposable Djeeps to Bics until I grew weary of what I saw as a decline in their quality and also of my own insistence on being different. They also seemed less and less readily available if memory serves. I relented to good sense and am now-since a Bic man. Nevertheless, I retain a soft spot for Djeep.

This Djeep is a very serviceable tool from a nice enough and recognizable brand. It's a single torch, which is my preference if torch I must. There's a cap attached to the thing by a chain which I immediately and purposefully broke off. Boom--single action lighter. No complaints whatsoever insofar as to how it performs. However, I remain a soft-flame fellow.

Would I buy it again? Well, I sorta answered that already. Will I continue to use it? At times, sure. Will it live to need refilled and will I then take the time out of my busy schedule to refill it? Only time will tell. I will hazard a guess that I'll mainly use it to (with something very-closely resembling surgical precision) re-touch errant burns.

In closing, I'll close in the nigh immortal words of CigarCraig, "That's all for today, until the next time."

::: very ::: 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Don Doroteo Cigars El Alcalde 15 Anos in Review

BRAND: Don Doroteo
BLEND: El Alcalde 15 Anos

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian
BINDER: Ecuadorian
FILLER: Brazilian, Dominican

FORMAT: Belicoso (6.25x52)
ORIGIN: La Aurora, Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2.5/5

NOTES:
Dessert spices | Leather | Cashew butter

Sweet warm spices wrapped in glove leather, densely-held above a confectionarily-bent cashew butter body. Lives somewhat-'tween an egg cream and a chocolate malt. Orange Julius tendencies; as long as that citrus component holds in-check, is as long as this smoke is positively delicious. 

[In three samples, that citrus turn happens early, a bit later, and much later(in this review specimen).] Each time, it does knock the blend off-kilter. Lip-coating.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Monday, September 9, 2024

Kaplowitz Media. Programming Note | Live Cigar Reviews COMING SOON

Kaplowitz Media. Programming Note | Live Cigar Reviews

Some (a numerical sentiment falling here between almost not a one and not very many) of you know of my Office Hours somewhat regularly-scheduled live appearance on Instagram. I carefully avoided the use of the word 'show' there. Regardless, here's a thing I once wrote:

Office Hours: Live on Instagram every Friday in the afternoon/evening. I do my best to give a heads-up there as to specific times. I turn on a stream and if you have any questions/comments/concerns I might be able to help you with--let me know. I also at times provide unimportant bits of KM. news. [the Kaplowitz Media IG feed] is where you'll find that when not postponed.

Well, in an effort to give you a bit more of a bang for the lack of your infotainment buck, I have decided to also review a different cigar offering each week at the time mentioned above (narrowed down further now to the 3 o'clock left coast US hour). Succinctly, I will be performing a live video cigar review each week, while also being available to chat a bit. I still, for the record, wouldn't call this a show.

For a link to this and other Kaplowitz Media. Audio/Video ingestment opportunities, please see: this LINK. To go directly to my KM. Insta, click HERE

::: very ::: 

Friday, September 6, 2024

La Gloria Cubana Cigars Gran Legado in Review

BRAND: La Gloria Cubana
BLEND: Gran Legado

WRAPPER: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Dominican

FORMAT: Figurado (7.75x62)
ORIGIN: El Credito, Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium/Med.-Full
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:

Legado, huh? Well, it's the size of a leg. Now to see what's ado. So as to not keep it too light, I had a thought the other day as to my eventual epitaph. Not to tempt either fate or George Strait, I'd like it to read "I wasn't here for a good time, I was here for a long time." I digress.

Cuban coffee | Hazelnut butter | Black pepper (finely-ground)

Syrupy, not cloyingly. A natural dark-rounded sweetness steers. Pumpernickel. Dark but happily-high notes of even-keels. Paprika. Excellent nuance, well-lit depths. Confectionary. Leathery molasses. Cherry wood.

Smokes for a long time; offers a good time.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very :::