Archive for April 6, 2008

Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Maduro Robusto

{ April 6, 2008 @ 12:26 pm } · { Everyday, Maduro }
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  • Blend: Honduran(?) Maduro
  • Wrapper: Honduran Broadleaf Maduro
  • Region: Honduras
  • Dimensions: 5.5 x 50
  • Price: Single 7.00 – 8.50, Box 100 – 130.50

Lots of nice things come out of Honduras! Not just Don Tomas, but also Rocky Patels! Remember too, that Vintage 1990 Aged 12 years simply means they go on sale 12 years from 1990, so if you buy yours in 2008 that makes them 18 years old! Onto the review.

Incredibly smooth start, full-bodied and strong! Spicy flavor, no real obvious bitter choc. or nutty overtones, just very smooth and spicy. Slightly lacking in aroma compared to the exquisite flavor, which is surprising considering the caliber of the cigar and company. Good ember qualities, though slightly difficult to maintain (not wind-tolerant) with a pure-white ash. Dense roll with a very large smokable window, still maintains great draw pressure throughout. Wrapper was very smooth, mottled brown/black and slightly oily, which made it look gorgeous. Continues to age well at home, not picky about being laid next to any maduro cousins. Maintained humidity well, and tolerant of humidity fluctuations (opening and closing humidor). Easy to predict life-span; flavor tapers of slowly and predictably, which makes them easy to put out on time. Everyday smoke.

  • Flavor: 8.5/10
  • Aroma: 6/10
  • Ember: 6.5/10
  • Draw: 7.5/10
  • Maintenance: 8/10
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 8/10, Weasel 8.5/10

Re-Buy? Definitely

Duration: Long! 1hr to 1hr 20min

La Vieja Habana Torpedo Natural (Drew Estate)

{ April 6, 2008 @ 12:06 pm } · { Budget, Natural }
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  • Blend: Nicaraguan Natural
  • Wrapper: Corojo Natural
  • Region: Nicaraguan Filler (rolled and prepared in the states)
  • Dimensions: 6 X 54
  • Price: Single: 1.90 – 2.65, Box: 35.45 – 48.75

Budget cigar, great humidor filler, and great project cigar. After a few months of time around piles of good maduros, they greedily assume lots of the flavors of their finer cousins. However, we didn’t find them the be very enjoyable fresh (in their retail, natural state). Hollow, empty, slightly bitter taste, with inconsistencies involving ember and flavor stability. Mildly sweet aroma, with bouts and fits of skunkiness. (Pre-aged)

After Aging: The natural wrapper aged with the maduros makes it into a light, pleasant smoke with an easy to maintain, slightly spicy, more full-bodied flavor. Slight hints of cream are detectable, but the surprising shift into spiciness is much more noticeable and preferable. Aroma is much improved, stable, and subtly spicy. All Drew Estate cigars come with their trademark ember issues. (spooning, unstable temp, gouging, flaking, etc.)

The wonderful selling point of these cigars is the ease of which they infuse, the variety of roll, and their decent price.

  • Flavor: (Pre-aged) 2/10, (Aged) 4.5/10
  • Aroma: (Pre-Aged) 2/10, (Aged) 5/10
  • Ember: (Pre-Aged) 1.5/10, (Aged) 2.5/10
  • Draw: 4/10
  • Maintenance: 4.5/10
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 6/10, Weasel 5/10

Re-Buy? Yes

Duration: 30-45min

Tatiana Flavored Cigars – Cinnamon

{ April 6, 2008 @ 11:43 am } · { Budget, Cigars, Everyday, Flavored }
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Quick Review:

A decent smoke for a good price. Bittersweet moments mixed with syrupy goodness make for a overall decent, but unpredictable flavor of cinnamon/sugar.

Long Review:

This cigar had an average draw: not too tight, but not too loose. It will smoke down to a half inch of the band without much difficulty, beyond that will earn you a slightly eggy flavor. (Attempting past-band smoking is never recommended on flavored cigars anyways) The wrapper flaked easily, though. Possibly because it burned hot.

It was unusually consistent for a flavored cigar; no eggy moments. Although it would begin to taste wierd after smoking for a while, blowing out the settled smoke helped. Ember was also consistent, even though it had to be watched very carefully.

At two dollars and fifty cents, it’s worth the price.

Flavor: 7/10
Aroma: 9/10
Ember: 6/10
Draw: 6/10
Maintenance: 5/10
Overall: BTDestroyer 7/10

Re-Buy? Yes

Duration: 10-15 minutes