What smokes "hit your radar" in 2011...??

[BlindedByScience]

Some smokes that hit my radar this year - not necessarily the "best", absolutely not in order. I smoke most of these in my normal rotation and found them all to be interesting;

Tatuaje Fausto
- It's either the T110 blend or something very close, but there's a lot to like in this powerful, complex cigar. I like these a lot.

Tatuaje La Casita Criollo
- More on the mild side, but a nice cigar at a very good price point. A nice change up, to be sure.

Tatuaje Petite Cazador Reserva
- Hands down, my absolute favorite "AM with coffee" smoke. This little smoke is a blast of pepper, nice complexity, great stuff in a small 30 minute smoke. A favorite.

Tatuaje Wolfman
- I've never chased the Tat Halloween smokes, but a plane jane box of these more or less fell in my lap so scored it. A big cigar, fantastically constructed, with an interesting flavor profile that is to my tastes rather unique for a Tat. Jury is still out but it's a very interesting smoke. A fun one ot share with friends; torpedo top, shag foot...a cool cigar, to be sure.

Tatuaje Anarchy
- Rolled for Smoke Inn's 15th anniversary and IMHO Pete and Pepin hit this one out of the park. Great size, great shape, and the taste....wow. Creamy, rich, incredible detail and complexity...I put a couple boxes of these down. One of my favorite Tat's overall...I really dig these smokes.

Tatuaje L'esprit de Verite 2009 (5 X 50)
- Another one that the jury is still out on, but the flavor profile is amazingly complex. I'm giving the rest of my 10-box some nap time and let's see what they offer up in the next couple of months. Very good now, could be fantastic with some nap time.

Padron SI-15 1964
- A custom rolled Padron..?? Yep. These were rolled for Smoke Inn's 15th anniversary and are a 60 ring '64 monster. As much as I don't really care for 60 ring jawbrekers, this one is a winner. It's like a '64 on steroids; dense clouds of rich, sweet smoke, and the unmistakable Padron 64 flavor profile. I did a review on these with some pics in the review forum...it's a great smoke and a fun one at that.

Padron Family Reserve 45th (Maduro)
- I don't make this statement lightly: This is one of if not the best cigar I've ever smoked. Really. No kidding. The guys at Padron know how to make a fabulous cigar and they completely scored on this one. If they weren't so bloody expensive, I'd smoke one every day. I have never had one of these that didn't just blow me away. Never let me down, never dissapointed. If you haven't had one, get one and experience what a perfect cigar tastes like. "Wow" doesn't cover it. Yes, they are that good.

Padron Family Reserve 85th
- Probably 2nd runner up to the majestic 45th....which is saying a lot. A nice size, and wonderful complex flavors. Maduro and Natural wrapper versions of this smoke have different things to offer up, but they are both fantastic smokes.

Drew Estate Liga Privada #9
- I really grew to enjoy the LP series of smokes. I seem to prefer the #9 to the T52 wrappers but that is my preferance; they are both fantastic smokes. A very different flavor profile than my favorite Padron smokes, and I like them. A lot.

Drew Estate L40 Lancero
- These have a different blend than the other DE Liga Privada smokes, and are a slightly larger ring than the "typical" lancero (if there is such a thing). Just got a 6-er of these in and the first one really blew me away. The Liga Privada heritage is in the blend to be sure, but as they say, it's been fiddled with a bit. They are very good, might be fantastic with some down time. Big expectations for this one, to be sure.

Drew Estate "Undercrown"
- What a fantastic surprise from DE and what a wonderful cigar. Rumor is that this is the LP blend turned "inside out". You can taste the LP heritage in them, to be sure, and the word is that this will be a regular production smoke where the LP is sometimes problematic to make due to leaf availability. Whatever, these are great, very unique tasting smokes at a very good price point. Very, very different than the Padron or the Pepin smokes coming out of Esteli. I really like these smokes and plan to keep a box around.

Pepin My Father Le Bijou 1922
- Like the Padron 45th, this line of smokes has turned into one of my favorites. From Al's custom blend Corona Gorda to the regular 1922 line, there's nothing "regular" about any of these fantastic smokes. My two favorite sizes are the Toro (6 X 52) and the killer little Petite Robusto (4.5 X 50) which is one of the best "quick" smokes going, IMHO. The harder to find box press torpedo's are wonderful, too. I have several boxes of these in the cabinet and I intend to always "go deep" on the smoke. These are one of my staples, and a world class cigar. Try one, you'll see why I like them so much.

Jamie Garcia Reserva Espcial (Petite Robusto)
- Jamie's "Reserva Espcial" blend is still a bit of a question mark, but his little Petite Roubsto (4.5 X 50) is a great quick smoke. Tons of pepper in this one, some aging may smooth them out a bit which wouldn't be a bad thing. Excellent price points on this make it a good one to try.

601 La Bomba (Napalm)
- Rolled by Pepin in the "My Father" tabacalara, this is without question the strongest smoke I've ever had. No kidding....wow. I was gifted one and smoked it after dinner one night, wondering if I'd end up on the couch sweating. Didn't kick my ass, but it did manage to surprise me....with fantastic, rich, dark, meaty, wonderful flavors. Power gimmics aside, this is one tasty cigar. It's a Pepin made smoke, so you know they are constructed well and smoke perfectly. If you like powerhouse, rich cigars, you'll like these.

JMHO, YMMV, BBQ, ETC.....

Happy New Year, guys - B.B.S.