Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Honduran Connecticut (Talanga)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Seco, Viso, and Ligero)
Size: 7 x 50 “Churchill”
Body: Full
Price: $5.25 (On Sale at Famous Smoke $3.70)
Or $2.75 on Cigar Monster per stick in a 20 count box.

Photo courtesy of Famous Smoke Shop:

Today we take a look at Carnage Cigars from Famous Smoke Shop.
Thanks to a reader/friend for sending me some sticks.

Did my research and discovered it was a Famous Smoke Shop house blend by Nestor Plasencia.
I was skeptical and figured a cigar this cheap can’t be any good. At least not for the experienced smoker.
I was wrong. It is only for the experienced smoker as it hits full body in about 5 minutes.
He told me that he paid around $55 on Cigar Monster for a box of 20. At that time, Famous was selling the same box for $105.00. Now they have dropped it to $74.00 and the other sizes respectively. With the Katman 15% off promo code, it means a box is $62.90 or $3.15 per stick instead of the original $5.25 pre-sale price. Crazy.
Read further….

DESCRIPTION:
Made by Nestor Plasencia.
A very rustic looking wrapper. But seams are darn near invisible. Lots of veins both big and small. I believe it is adorned with a double cap. Executed nicely.
The wrapper is the color of russet brown with a decent amount of oiliness. And it feels very smooth to the touch.
The cigar band is simple and classy.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Churchill 7 x 50 $3.70
Magnum 6 x 60 $3.85
Robusto 5 x 54 $3.35
Toro 6 x 52 $3.50
All prices are current On Sale pricing.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell sweet fruit, spice, spice, cinnamon, and cedar.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell dark chocolate, strong spice, sweet fruit, cinnamon, cedar, maple syrup, and a strong cup of tea.
The cold draw presents flavors of dark cocoa, spice, tea, sweet fruit, cedar, cinnamon, and espresso.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is steady and slightly resistant. Good.
First flavors: Creaminess, chocolate, cinnamon, malts, caramel, cedar, sweetness, steak sauce, and tea.
Yeah, I know. This cigar surprised the hell out of me when I lit one up yesterday. My lovely friend, who wants to remain anonymous, has only had his box for a week or so. AND…I smoked this cigar near the end of the day when my palate was crispy and yet; the flavors came through loud and clear. So did the strength.

I had some burn issues so I will keep a careful eye open for them this morning for an ounce of prevention.
Strength immediately hits medium/full.
Flavors are boastful. I can tell, this early, that complexity is not far away. All this from a $3-$5 cigar. LOL.

If it gets as strong as it did last night, I may need to take a break and eat a bowl of cereal so I don’t keel over halfway through the cigar.
The burn line is dead nuts.

The only reviews I found were ones in which Famous gave the reviewer some cigars. No one, except for me, is doing it voluntarily. But believe me, this cigar is worth it. I’m sure the more experienced smoker is put off by the price. How can it be any good?

Cory at Famous has sent me sticks in the past that I had to pass on. I’m sure he will be happy to read this review. Didn’t cost him a thing.
Smoke is plentiful. And so are my words. If I am going to keep this essay less than 5,000 words, I better take breaks from writing this 7 x 50 stick.

So..how are you? The kids? The wife? Still a ball buster? And you parents? They still kickin’ it? Still disappointed in you because you didn’t meet their expectations in life?

Time for Led Zeppelin. “Latter Days” from “The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two.” Nothing soothes the big savage breast like the Zep.

The high today in the Milwaukee area will only reach 12°. Brrrr….
Go Packers. It is do or die today.

The whole point to Carnage Cigars is to provide an affordable yard ‘gar. In my opinion, it does more than that. It makes for a nice change of pace. It’s flavorful. It will make you go doo doo in your pants from the strength. And you can hand them out to your mooch friends who will be duly impressed.
Fuck! I just dropped the entire ash on top of my camera that is hanging from my neck. That’s it. No more hanging the camera from my neck because it is easier this way. If and when the camera dies, the autopsy will show about 4oz of cigar ash in it.

I’m impressed that I’m not having a lick of trouble with the burn line.
And here are the malts: Chocolate Rye Malt, Mild Ale Malt, Coffee Malt, and Crystal/Caramel Malt. (See Malt Chart).
New flavors: Rye bread, golden raisins, and graham cracker.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Strength is a might full bodied.
My toupee is spinning on my head and my moustache wax melted and is now covering the camera. (Old habits).

This is a damn fine cigar. You need to own a box. Keep an eye out on Cigar Monster. And even now, the sale on these cigars plus the Katman discount makes it a deal.
Carnage Cigars is new. And word of mouth will make this a keeper. I believe the sale is to get the word out. Because it really is a good blend. And you know how picky I am. I am sure you are just as picky.
And for a Toro, it is pumping out flavors like a Corona. Nice.

I had burn issues with the first one I smoked. Not a single touch up required with this one. Not one.
Construction is top notch with no errant wrapper seams.
Maybe next month, Charlotte will nod her head in disgust and I can snag a box on Cigar Monster. I can easily see smoking this stick a lot.

The flavors: Creaminess, chocolate, graham cracker, malts, caramel, raisins, spice, cinnamon, cedar, and rye bread.
That’s a lot of rye bread lately. Maybe my Jewish DNA is telling me something. That I am craving a good loaf of Jewish rye bread. Not the crap in the super market, but the good stuff from a good bakery. Dense and full of caraway seeds and when toasted is perfect for butter and preserves. Yum. (There. I had my meal).

I dredged up an old story I’ve published a few times but it was easily found and I haven’t posted in at least a year. And I’ve gotten a bunch of new readers since then.
The Carnage Cigars blend is super smooth for such a powerful cigar.
The complexity is spot on. Balance is great. A long, long finish.
The waning spiciness returns. My tongue burns.

A sip of water and new flavors wash over my palate: gingerbread, nutmeg, and maple syrup.
Yes. I taste all these flavors. Now. I wonder what the Carnage will taste like in a couple of months. Hi-Dee-Ho!
Halfway point. Smoke time is 50 minutes.

This has to be the creamiest cigar I’ve smoked in quite some time. It reminds me of a chocolate malt milk shake.
The Carnage has been a true joy to smoke.
And now for the nicotine part of our show. Oy vey.

The blend is definitely not for newbies. Their bodies will be found on the side of the road somewhere in Idaho.
But if you like your cigar blends strong and flavorful, this is your baby.

I’ve had online stores send me $3-$4 cigars and they were just horrible. As I’m sure you have experienced the same thing.
This is the first, to my memory (Yeah, sure), that is this inexpensive and yet smokes like a great boutique blend. Blind taste test would have me guessing it is an $8 cigar.
How’s that for an endorsement?

Perfect construction. Perfect char line. Complex. And muy flavorful.
I wouldn’t say it is a flavor bomb. But its flavor profile is substantial and never loses my interest.
I was going to review a $20 Cohiba Black today until I smoked the Carnage last night.
Godamm! As the cigar progresses, it just becomes unbearably good. I’m not fucking around when I say this is a great cigar. Kudos Señor Plasencia.

I check Famous Smoke’s auction web site, Cigar Auctioneer, and it doesn’t have the Carnage.
Shit. I just checked the weather online. I was wrong. It ain’t 12°.
It’s 0°. Fuck me!
The Carnage needs its first minor touch up.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour and 20 minutes.
The Carnage is so good that time has flown by. Normally, a two hour cigar is too much for me and I get bored. But this blend continues to climb the stairway to heaven with each puff.

The sun comes out. When I got up at 7am, it was still dark out. I just can’t sleep any longer than that. I love rushing downstairs to start my review. Damn. I’m going to miss this. Maybe with the right cigars, I will come back now and then. All dependent on my health.
The Carnage is a friggin’ candy bar.
The nicotine never really took hold.

The Carnage ends with no complaints or criticisms. Cool to the touch. Solid. Just a great cigar for the price.
Final smoke time is approximately two hours.
I put it down with an inch to go. I’m tired.

RATING: 90

And now for something completely different:

This is an old story that I published a year or two ago; so I thought I would give it another spin around the turntable.

I was playing in the Todd Hart Band. A power blues trio. We moved to Mesa in 1991 and stayed until 2000. I played with Todd from 1997-1999.
Todd did the music thing to make a living so we played out a lot. And I went to work in the mornings bleary eyed. Todd had an amazing voice. He even spent time with the English blues band, Savoy Brown.
I played with the band for a little over 2 years. We went through drummers like Spinal Tap. Although, I don’t remember any of them disappearing into thin air on stage.

We started playing Hell’s Angels gigs; a lot. They loved us. But I didn’t love them. Scum..real scum. Todd had a neighbor that was a high up muckity muck with the biker gang.

And then lucky us, we became the official Hells Angels band of Arizona. See, they had just moved into Arizona in the late 90’s. They incorporated a lot of the outlaw bike clubs.
Now as you probably know, Arizona is the wild west when it comes to guns. You can carry openly and you can carry concealed.

I always wore a Blues Brothers-type black coat. In the small of my back, I carried my .45 caliber Glock 30. A subcompact. 10 +1 Rounds. But I had an extended mag so it was 13 + 1.

Whatever club we played, the Angels had taken over for the night and the parking lot had hundreds of bikes.
So a coterie of Angles took turns guarding them. With guns in plain sight. The scary part was that none of these guys knew anything about guns. They just like carrying them; especially in the Don Johnson type shoulder holster.

One night, during a break, I walked outside and began talking to a few of them with carrying the shoulder holsters. I asked them to show me how they would draw the gun. And every one of them did it wrong.

If you pull the gun horizontally, you sweep the area as you bring it towards your target. Not good. Studies have shown that in an adrenaline situation, you pull the trigger 2.5 times before it is aimed at the target. So sweeping the gun means you shoot innocent bystanders.

So I showed them how to do it properly by pulling the gun out, dropping it immediately nose first to the ground, then in a twisting motion, bring it up to the aiming position without sweeping it.
They all slapped me on the back and thanked me.

And then it hit me.
These guys are famous for drugs and gun running. There had to be at least one undercover ATF agent in the bunch. And he had just watched me tell the Angels how to shoot their adversaries properly.

A month later, I quit the band.

That’s the band with me in the far right background wearing a ball cap and wearing my electric upright bass like a bass guitar:

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: Carnage Cigars Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, famous smoke shop