The Russians Are Coming!!!

The Russians Are Coming was a 1966 comedic movie starring Alan Arkin, Brian Kieth and Carl Reiner about a Russian submarine running aground in Massachusetts during the cold war and it was entertaining in its day. But in 2011, a pair of Russians really arrived – on rented Harley Davidsons – to found a US expansion of their Russian cigar business.  Maxim Privezentsev and Vladimir Roshchen paired up with local Texans in Amarillo and launched the Total Flame brand.

Their attachment to Harley motorcycles is apparent in the cigar band logo.  Close inspection reveals what appear to be motorcycle cylinder heads on either side of the name Total Flame – reminiscent of the famous Harley twin cylinder engine design. Another comment on the cigar band is the motto “life’s short, do it hard.”  Capping off the motorcycle motif, Total Flame named its cigar sizes after motorcycles such as “8 ball” and “bobber”.

I visited Total Flame’s booth at the July 2013 IPCPR and received a few of their latest cigar offerings to review.  This one is of their Old School line, a 6 X 52 torpedo. This stick had a Connrcticut wrapper, felt a little loose at the foot and firmer at the cap. The binder is Nicaragua/Mexican and the filler is Nicaraguan/Dominican.

The Old School had a very mild taste of cream, coffee and nuts with a sweet aftertaste. This stick is mild enough to have before any meal as its taste will not interfere with food and drink.  The draw was average and took about 45 minutes to smoke. I give this cigar an overall rating of 3.5 even though I could not find a price for it in the US. If you do find this cigar, I would not pay more than $4.5 to $5 for one.