Review Contest deux Cigar 5!!!!!!

[Benzopyrene]

Okay guys here we go with cigar number 5. Its the larger maduro if you are unsure. You have until July 31st at midnight. Cheers!

 

[Asher]

Cigar #5

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Appearance (14/15): This cigar was approximately 6 3/8 long with about a 52 ring gauge. It had an dark, slightly mottled maduro wrapper. With the abundance of of painted "maduro" cigars on the market, these minor imperfections are good to see. The wrapper was thick and sturdy, and it became very soft and supple as the cigar burned. The bunching of the filler was extremely uniform and fairly tight, as can be seen in the photos. The only construction flaw was some dried vegetable glue visible near the head and around the triple-cap. The pre-light aroma smelled of fresh fruit, particularly cherries and oranges.

Ash (9/10): The ash was medium gray and sturdy. The burn needed to be touched up frequently, so I didn't get a chance to see how long the ash would hold.

Draw (8/10): The draw was tight initially, and didn't let enough smoke through. By the end of the first third, the draw relaxed and was no longer an issue.

Burn (7/10): The burn was uneven and needed to be touched up frequently.

Smoke (9/10): The smoke was thick and pleasant, though hindered by the draw in the first third. The initial aroma was of oranges, and was pleasant throughout.

Flavor/Blend (17/20): The first third was pleasant but not very interesting, probably due to the restricted draw. There were hints of cinnamon. The flavor became slightly harsh around the transition from the first third to the second third, and the flavor was dominated by bittersweet cocoa with a long aftertaste. Cocoa and almonds remained through this third, and were replaced by a flavor almost like hot apple pie, cinnamon and baked apples! The bitterness of the cocoa gave way to a sweeter, brighter flavor. In the final third, there was a strong and distinct flavor of a common kitchen spice, but it disappeared before I could pin down the exact flavor. The flavors were interesting throughout, but lacked cohesion.

Uniqueness (9/10): Lots of interesting unique flavors here, though they didn't always work together.

Finish (13/15): Decent finish. There was a long aftertaste in the middle, but not much of an aftertaste at the end. With about 1 1/2 inches remaining, the cigar began to get harsh, but nor overwhelmingly so.

Total: 86/100

 

[Angry Bill]

Nice review Asher. Thanks. Can't wait to smoke this one!

 

[indyrob]

I'll hopefully get to mine tomorrow night and post the review too.

 

[tubaman]

Overview: This cigar have me some initial feelings that the last cigar gave me. It wasn’t particularly appealing visually and it was a bit spongy to the touch. This was a surprise since the draw was so firm at the beginning. The smoking time for this was an hour and twenty minutes.


Appearance: This is a meaty looking cigar. I didn’t measure the dimensions, but it looks to be approximately a 50 ring guage and about 6 and half inches long. It has a dull brown mottled and wrinkly looking wrapper. It looks a bit rumpled, like a shirt that needs a good ironing.
12/15

Ash: The ash was a fairly firm ash and held together very well. It maintained a nice cone throughout the entire cigar.
10/10

Draw Prelight draw was a bit firm. Not bad just more firm that I enjoy. After an inch or so the draw opened up and it was more pleasant to smoke.
8/10

Burn:. The burn on the cigar was inconsistent at the beginning, but straightened out very nicely.
10/10

Smoke: Initially there was very little smoke in the draw. This was very disappointing as I was trying to get enough smoke to make a judgement as to flavor and I couldn’t get much at all. Even after the draw opened up I never got the body of smoke I was looking for with this cigar.
6/10

Flavor/Blend: The prelight draw gave me some hints of sweet herbs. The herbal flavors continued after I lit the cigar. There was also a slight creaminess to the flavor also; it seemed to coat my tongue nicely given the small amount of smoke that I was getting. I would characterize this as a mild cigar. The flavors didn’t really do much for me. While it wasn’t bad, it didn’t bowl me over either.
17/20

Uniqueness:. I never really know how to answer this part. I’m not really sure of the origin country of this cigar, possibly Honduras but I usually suck at getting that right. In any event, I have tasted cigars that were similar to this before.
8/10

Finish: The finish was dry and nutty. Very pleasing to the pallet. After awhile though, it started to turn slightly pungent. I smoked this pretty slowly, so I don’t think that was the culprit.
13/15

Conclusion: While I wouldn’t go out of my way to find this cigar, I would smoke this cigar again if gifted one. While it certainly wasn’t ugly, it was a very visually appealing cigar. The burn was very good but there wasn’t the volume of smoke I was looking for. On a side note, when I was purging the cigar I caught a whiff of something that took me back about 20 years. I swear I smelled some hemp burning. Maybe one of the neighborhood kids were lighting some up nearby. It was a brief trip down memory lane!!

Overall score: 84

 

[Benzopyrene]

Getting close to being done with this one! Anyone else got any reviews????

 

[Electric Sheep]

I have mine that I did last weekend...just haven't posted it up yet. I'll try and remember to do that tonight when I get home from work.

 

[Angry Bill]

OK, here is my review of this cigar. The cigar was 6 1/2 x52. Nice dark chocolate wrapper, close to a pure maduro, but a little lighter. Small veins were present on this cigar, as it appeared to be well made.

Pre-light hints of citrus, cocoa and light hay emitted from this cigar. After cutting the cigar with my Palio cutter, pre-light taste showed a light white pepper, an oakiness and cocoa. I lit this cigar with my Dupont Xtend and it immediately took to life. Nice smoke came of this cigar with a decent ash. The burn line was a little awkward and had to be corrected a few times. No draw issues, although it was a little restricted. The overall feel of this cigar was slightly soft, but no construction issues developed during my smoking this one.

Overall this cigar was good, but the smoke could have been more present and the blend could have been a little spicier. The finish was nice, but again not great. It was not a bad cigar, but not a great one. I cannot see myself going out a buying a box of these, but would like to try it again. If nothing more than to see if my taste was skewed the night I smoked it or not.

Appearance 13/15
Ash 9/10
Draw 8/10
Burn 7/10
Smoke 8/10
Flavor/Blend 16/20
Uniqueness 8/10
Finish 13/15

Total: 82/100


Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks Luke for the tasting contest.

 

[Electric Sheep]

REVIEW DETAILS

APPEARANCE: 12/15
A haphazard looking medium-dark brown wrapper with noticeable signs of
de-veining wraps this cigar, including a part that visibly warps one side.
The aroma is nice and sweet, and there's a hefty feel to the stick, not
spongy or soft at all. Although it's a little rougher-looking than the average
cigar, it's not ugly or unattractive.

ASH: 9/10
The ash is somewhat soft, is relatively dark, and is heavily banded. It looks
like a loose stack of tortillas--if the tortillas were dark gray and ashy, that is.

DRAW: 9/10
This cigar draws fine, if not just a tad bit loose, but doesn't seem abnormal
for a cigar with a large ring gauge like this.

BURN: 9/10
While the burn looks just a tad off-kilter, it stays consistent throughout,
never requiring a touch up or any other fiddling at all.

SMOKE: 8/10
This large cigar creates an equally large volume of smoke that has an slight
harsh smell to it. It's not bad, but it reminds me of the kind of stinky smoke
my uncle's cigars made when I was a kid.

FLAVOR: 15/20
The wrapper starts off dry and salty on the tongue. The initial flavor of the
smoke hits the front of my mouth with heavy earthy/mossy flavor and then
rolls to the back of my throat with the distinct flavor of breakfast
toast--maybe with a dash of black pepper. After a few puffs, an slight
metallic tone popped up; this must be a young cigar. About 1/3 of the way
in, the flavor became somewhat sweet and picked up a nice nutty quality,
which was a vast improvement to my smoking experience.

UNIQUENESS: 7/10
I can't recall ever tasting a cigar exactly like this, but it doesn't seem to be
anything particularly special. Overall, this cigar is like a train ride through
Kansas: straight, flat, and narrow without any hint of excitement.

FINISH: 13/15
The finish was better than I expected, perhaps because enough smoke built
up throughout the stick to intensify the flavor delivery at the end. In
addition, the change from a flat earthy flavor at the start to a sweeter
profile deeper in helped let this cigar end better than it started.


TOTAL: 82 Points



PS - his was the least flavorful cigar I've tasted in this review. It's not
terrible, but it's just flat and dull. I don't think I'd buy these on my own.

 

[Benzopyrene]

muy muy interesting

 

[Angry Bill]

muy muy interesting

With that... He is going to tell us its a Tat, a VSG or an Illusione.. lol..

 

[Benzopyrene]

Actually... BILL....:stretchgr It is not a tat or a vsg. This cigar that we enjoyed over the last 2 weeks is the Johnny-O Sublime. With that being said my review shall be up in the morn! Gnite amigos!

 

[Angry Bill]

Lol.. I didn't think it was, but you are sneaky enough to pull a trick on me. Wow.. A Johnny O. Never had one.. damn... Thanks.

 

[daniyal]

Great reviews guys!!

 

[Electric Sheep]

<-----not impressed with that Johnny O cigar.