Speaking of the Java's...
Set up an account, and set your minimum bid, and make your max bid $5 more, and you should have no problem snagging a 10-pack for $5.70/per stick, after shipping. Typical price in my area is $7-9/ea in a B&M, so a "dessert" smoke of this quality, at that price, is a great deal.
Tonight, I fired up a Ramon Bueso Oscuro that was just delivered today. Not sure if it would benefit from some humidor time, but I have a baseline to judge future samples against. Tomorrow, I plan to smoke a Ramon Bueso Olancho, and see what that's like.
This was a new experience for me. About 2" in, and I got a light hit of mint, of all things. Like a Tic Tac, not overpowering, but it never came back. It wasn't expected, but it didn't throw off the experience.
All in all, it wasn't near as good as the Genesis I had previously, but for the price, it was a decent smoke. The nicotine isn't anywhere near as much as the Genesis, either, so that was a plus for me with the Oscuro. I will be putting the rest of them away for a rest in the humidor, and will revisit them later, and try to remember to report back.
The Genesis continue to be dynamite smokes, and they aren't really getting much time to see if they'll mellow out, but I also picked up some of the Super Gordo size, and it's starting to turn to pipe season for me, so that humidor time will be coming.
Speaking of pipes, I also had a winning bid for 4 tins of Cult Blood Red Moon. If you're a fan of flavors, and cherry is your jam, try this. It's not the maraschino fake cough syrup type of flavoring, more of a chocolate covered cherry smell, and it has drawn raves from everyone when I light it up. It may need a bit of time, and it's definitely on the wetter side, but it smokes cool and easy if you spread some out to dry for about half an hour. It's gawdawful expensive in any B&M that carries it around me, but again, CigarBid.com comes through for me when they have it, running $7-9/tin. To me, it's worth it
Lastly, I picked up a smaller ashtray, shown above. NOT a fan. It looked nice, but it's lighter than expected, and not as stable as I'd prefer. I may try some hot glue in a few spots around the base to help the stability, but that thing may be gifted away sooner rather than later.
If I can find some wood at a reasonable price, I may be trying my hand at making an ashtray to my liking. I'm considering a walnut version with a paduak accent, but that's a project for down the road. If any of you have tried "wood" in a 3D printer, I'd be interested in your experience with it as well. That could be a good beginner project for me to get started, barring any suggestions otherwise.