Posts Tagged ‘Cigars’

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

Graycliff “Professionale Blue Label” Presidente Un-banded Maduro

{ April 4, 2008 @ 8:05 am } · { Cigars, Everyday, Maduro }
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  • Blend: Nicaraguan/Brazilian Maduro
  • Wrapper: Dominican/Nicaraguan/ Brazilian Maduro
  • Region: (Above)
  • Dimensions: 7 x 48
  • Price: Single: 12.50-16.00 Box: 300.00-350.00

Now, to point a few things out.

First, we got our Graycliffs un-banded at a reputable local cigar shop. They were cycling their stock, and had these Graycliffs up on sale. The person who sold them to us knows us well, and we are regular customers. They were recommended to us because they were Graycliffs that had been un-banded for the discount sale (possibly so Graycliff reps couldn’t identify them) We got them 8 dollars a piece, about roughly half their normal price.

Second, it is not a normal decision for us to smoke un-banded anything, and we don’t recommend smoking any un-banded cigars, as we feel this is a way for cigar manufacturers to keep people from recognizing cigars they produced that may have not been, well, “up-to-snuff” by removing any branding that may allow you to either avoid those cigars, or possibly even complain. In this case, we were aware of where the cigars had come from, who had unbanded them, and why. Now, onto the review.

Extremely unique roll, with a very smooth, dark wrapper. Slightly harsh start, but evened out quick to a cedar, woody flavor with a pleasant aroma/ Slightly less full-bodied, mildly spicy, smooth and creamy. Had ember issues that would not let you look away for a second. VERY inconsistent cigar to cigar. Mine (T) was god-awful and now I am gun-shy about ever smoking Graycliffs. Sulfurous foulness every few draws, jumping back and forth between wonderful flavor, and complete ass, emitting an eye-watering stink. (I don’t believe any of this had to do with where, how, or who we got them from). As expensive as they were, even on sale we were just expecting more consistency, especially cigar to cigar. Weasel thinks his was delicious, but not worth the price.

  • Flavor: 7.5/10
  • Aroma: 7.5/10
  • Ember: 5/10
  • Draw: 5/10
  • Maintenance: N/A
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 1/10, Weasel 6.5/10

Re-Buy: Maybe, On Sale Only

Duration: 1hr 15min

La Aroma De Cuba Immensa

{ April 4, 2008 @ 7:35 am } · { Cigars, Everyday, Natural }
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  • Blend: Natural
  • Wrapper: Natural(?)
  • Region: Honduran
  • Dimension: 5 1/2 X 60
  • Price: Single: 5.25-6.50 Box: 105 – 127.50

This cigar was awful! Very harsh start, with a short enjoyable smoking window. Very difficult to maintain ember, as well as maintain in a humidor (probably because of its gauge) not very spicy, but overpoweringly full-bodied. Halfway in, it jumps flavors ranging from the subtly spicy, to full-bodied almost-harshness, to downright assy! No notes of chocolate or nuts, no notes of woody, oaky or piney flavors. Aroma was mediocre at the best of time, foul at the worst. Don’t let the price, band, and well rolled look fool you! Would not recommend.

  • Flavor: 4/10
  • Aroma: 3/10
  • Ember: 1/10 (spooning, with no air current and proper lighting technique)
  • Draw: 5/10
  • Maintenance: 2/10 (attributed to the gauge)
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 3/10, Weasel 2.5/10

Re-buy? No

Duration: 1hr (if you make it that far)

Oliva Serie G Boxpress Churchill Maduro

{ April 4, 2008 @ 7:21 am } · { Cigars, Everyday, Maduro }
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  • Blend: Maduro
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
  • Region: Nicaragua (?)
  • Dimensions: 7 x 50 – Box of 24
  • Price: Single: 4.25 – 6.00 Box: 92.50 – 118.00

Slightly harsh start. Evens out about half a centimeter in to a very creamy, moderately spicy flavor. Very smooth maduro, similar in burn length to its Serie O brothers. Lasts longer in creaminess than the normal Serie O maduros. Not detectable notes of chocolate or nuts. Hints of oakiness along with the cream, followed by a more peppery, less creamy taste getting closer to the band. Nothing particularly special about this one other than the Serie O and G’s distinctive oily dark maduro wrapper, and the creaminess this Serie G has. Normally shy of box-press (I feel it messes with the ember) Olivas tend to do decently well with their embers. Ligero is slightly noticeable down the long-axis. Everyday Smoke

  • Flavor: 8/10
  • Aroma: 6/10
  • Ember: 6/10
  • Draw: 8/10
  • Maintenance: 6/10
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 6/10, Weasel 7/10

Re-Buy? Yes

Duration: 3o-45min

Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 Maduro

{ April 2, 2008 @ 9:30 pm } · { Cigars, Everyday, Maduro }
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  • Blend: Maduro
  • Wrapper: Maduro
  • Dimensions: 6 x 47 (Cabinet Corona Gorda)
  • Region: Dominican Republic (Current)
  • Price: Single: 4.50 – 6.00 Box: 192.50 (Box of 50)

Reminiscent of an old brand I started on (Diablos: Picantes). Slightly harsh start, very tight draw (which I prefer). Six inches seems to be a very “middle of the road length”. You are not committed to the hour or more a nice Churchill or Presidente could require, but you still get the length allowing a lot of the smoke to be drawn over the cooler tobacco, imparting more flavor, for longer. VERY spicy, VERY full-bodied. Getting close to the band (about an inch or so) flavor becomes a bit iffy, allowing a little harshness and bitterness to push through the spicy, peppery taste it gave you on the ride down. I don’t recall taking the band off. Slight bitter chocolate taste, no emotes of any nuts that I could detect.

  • Flavor: 7/10
  • Aroma: 4/10
  • Ember: 5/10
  • Draw: 9/10
  • Maintenance: 7/10
  • Overall: Thirteentcor: 8/10, Weasel: 6/10

Re-Buy? Yes

Duration: 30-45min

Don Tomas Presidente and Robusto Maduro

{ April 2, 2008 @ 4:49 am } · { Cigars, Everyday, Maduro }
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  • Blend: Maduro
  • Wrapper: Maduro
  • Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 50 and 6 x 50
  • Region: Honduran
  • Price: Single: 3.50 – 4.50 Box: 56.50 – 98.25

Description: This cigar is one of my all-time favorite smokes. Hand-rolled, the ligero tends to be down the long, central axis of the cigar, as opposed to shot through, with many different folds of the leaves. (Like Camacho or Partagas occasionally.) I believe this lends to the sheer consistency of the flavor, and maintains a very spicy, oak/pine flavor that is felt throughout the entire smoke. I tend to notice this feature on the more consistent cigars I’ve smoked. I was surprised to find this stability here; Presidente cigars and Churchills tend to actually be a bit inconsistent because of their length, and I usually shy away from them, preferring Robustos. Initial lighting is actually quite pleasant, and not at all harsh. Not a cigar full of hints of chocolate or nuts. If it had to be, I would say dip a Serrano pepper in biter chocolate and take a bite! As for aroma, If the cigar didn’t taste so good, I would use them for incense! Out of all the cigars I have smoked at cigar shops, this is the only one that actually caused a gentleman sitting across from me to put his newspaper down, and ask me what I was smoking, because he couldn’t resist how it smelled! I noticed when he got up to leave he bought a few as he was heading towards the door.

Both the Robusto and the Presidente burn consistently down to within 1″/1.5″ of the band. After taking the band off, if I feel like doing that, flavor tends to be hit or miss depending on how heavily and quickly I smoked the rest of it. Some of the spiciness tends to dissipate, and a little harshness can set in. However, I count any cigar that makes it within an inch of the band and good all the way there as a “good smoke”. Anything tasty after the band I count as good fortune.Everyday Smoke. Great Price.

  • Flavor: 8/10
  • Aroma: 9/10
  • Ember: 10/10
  • Draw: 7.5/10
  • Maintenance: 9/10
  • Overall: Thirteenthcor 9!/10, Weasel 8.5/10

Re-Buy? Box

Duration: 1hr-1hr 15min and 45min