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Blind reviews - April 2012 - Cigar B

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Sounds like a La Ricky to me from Tatuaje. But also looks like a Padron. I will stick to my guess of a La Riqueza. Nice reviews, these are fun to read.
 

danthebugman

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Size: 6 1/4 x 42
Wrapper: Unknown
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown
Price: Unknown

Intro: This is the second (or B) cigar for Fourtotheflush's Blind Review. Thanks for doing this, let's see what we got...







Prelight: This cigar features an oily, dark roast coffee colored wrapper. If you roll the cigar in the light you can see some glints of gold flakes. In my experience I'd bet this is from the band that was on the cigar. Doesn't have anything to do with the smoke, but might help id the cigar. There are some small veins present, but nothing that should effect the burn. The cap looks a little rough, like perhaps it was applied in a hurry or by someone who is still practicing. At any rate I've seen worse and it's coming off any how. The seams are tight. Wrapper has an earthy manure aroma to it. Like a barn on a hot day. I grew up in the country and it's a nostalgic aroma. The foot has the same aroma only with a little sweetness to it. Cap cut easily with my Palio. Took a moment to take a gander at the tobacco under the cap. Sometimes you can get an idea of what the smoke is going to be like by what kind of tobacco you see under there. This yields a nice mixture of tobacco and I think I should be in for something pretty tasty. Easy draw with and intense cinnamon spice (like Big Red gum) backed by a rich tobacco flavor. Since my lighters are dead and I haven't gotten more butane yet I fired this up with matches.



First Third: Right off the bat there is a peppery flavor towards the back of my throat that fades to the cinnamon I got on the prelight. The core is a rich tobacco flavor with a slightly sweet coffee on the retro. As it burned I also picked up some nuttiness and hints of a cherry or plum type fruit. The fruit was fleeting and I only got it in a few puffs. Thought maybe it was a figment of my imagination at first. Spews smoke like a LP. The wrapper split a bit at the foot when I first lit it, but the burn past that part without any issues and it didn't split any further. Ash was a nice white contrasting against the darkness of the wrapper. Ash looks strong, but then unexpectedly falls in my lap at about 3/4". Burn line was straight.



Second Third: Continuing into the second third the burn is still straight. There was an ocassional stray, but the cigar caught up and corrected itself if left on its own. Shortly after reaching the second third the cigar went out, but relit easily. Smoke output remains thick, alost suffocating at times just after taking a draw. Flavors have transitioned to a mainly woody flavor with some creamy coffee and notes of chocolate. There is a floral note on the retro. As the second third progressed there were a few touch ups needed, but nothing real major. The cigar started as a med-full body and is definitely leaning more toward full already. Or maybe it was just that I didn't really eat much of a lunch.



Last Third: Winding down into the last third I got more of an earthy/chocolate flavor with some hints of the cinnamon from the first third. Seemed like I had to strike a halful of matches to keep the burn even in the last third. The wrapper couldn't stay lit in a few places. About half way through it went out again and I dropped it in the Stinky.

Final Thoughts: Well now, this is why I love blind reviews. This was a pretty good cigar and I think with some down time it could be really good. I got none of the harshness that others did, but I took my time (almost 2 hours). Enough of the profile was similar that I'm going to say I think I know what it is, but will wait for the rest of the reviews to come in before blabbing.

Dan
 
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Sorry for the delay in posting..
very firm, dark wrapper. Small veins present. Double Cap. Smells like, you guessed it, tobacco.
1st) Right out of the gates it's got a nice amount of pepper to it. QUickly settles to a rich cocoa with a hint of pepper. Good so far
2nd) So good. Pepper is very laid back now. sweet tobacco, cocoa and bitterness that doesn't overpower
3rd)Pepper is completely gone some saltyness comes in to pair with the cocoa, bitterness is climbing after a few relights
Conclusion: This was a great cigar that I will definitely buy a few of once I find out for sure what it is. Reminds me of the La Riqueza, if that's not it i'm going to go with Padron something or another maduro :)




 

Jfire

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That looked like a shit ton of ligero in dans picture! Guys if there is bitterness remember they may be a little wet wich can in turn "wick" tar towards the head and right towards the mouth. At the first sign of bitterness purge the heck out of them with a lit flame on the end!
Thanks for the read.
 

JLB

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That looked like a shit ton of ligero in dans picture! Guys if there is bitterness remember they may be a little wet wich can in turn "wick" tar towards the head and right towards the mouth. At the first sign of bitterness purge the heck out of them with a lit flame on the end!
Thanks for the read.
Thats good advice, thanks! :thumbsup:
 
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Cigar B

Prelight: Dark brown toothy wrapper (Reminds me of a Henry Clay)

1st 3rd: Blast of pepper, rich tobacco flavor. The smoke pouring off the foot smells great. So far the ash is light and flakey and falls just after the first few puffs. Good start! Unfortunately I am not very good at picking out flavors, but I can say that this stick is full of em. I will say that I taste hints of what I can only describe as "fruity".

2nd 3rd: The 2nd 3rd remained pretty similar to the first, with the addition of a roasted type of flavor. The smoke has a sweet finish and the spice is somewhat in the background, that is until I pass it through my nose. So far this is another enjoyable cigar! The ash is still somewhat loose, falling in 1/2 inch chunks.

3rd 3rd: The final 3rd brings back some of the fruity flavors I tasted in the 1st. The spice remains prominent. Great tobacco flavor, great performance. This has been quite an enjoyable med/med cigar.

Summary: This was an excellent cigar. I could see myself smoking these on a regular basis. It had just the right amount of spice and some very interesting flavors. I would guess the cigar is from Nica, or contains tobacco from there. The draw and burn remained perfect throughout, and the smoke output was perfect for me.
 

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CaTeacher

BoM May 2012
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FTTF Blind Review Cigar B

Appearance and Construction – A nice looking and fairly well constructed cigar with a dark, toothy wrapper. There was a slight box press to this cigar. Slightly spongy towards the foot, but nothing bad. This looks to be short of a churchill size with about a 44rg, but again, no measurements were done here.

Pre-light – Draw was very good, with a faint taste of wood and coffee. Cigar smelled slightly sweet, almost floral.



1/3 – Upon lighting I was immediately greeted with a quick blast of pepper that only lasted through the first four or five draws, and then almost immediately turned into a milk chocolate flavor with a smooth, creamy finish. Burn was a little wavy, but corrected itself throughout the smoke.



2/3 – The milk chocolate stayed in the forefront, although the pepper returned towards the end of the second-third. The finish remained very smooth and creamy. Draw and burn both continued to be very good.



3/3 – The milk chocolate gave way and the pepper became the predominant flavor here. For a short period of time, I got a slight taste of almonds in the background.



Final thoughts – This was a very enjoyable cigar from start to finish. I would certainly seek out at least another fiver for a good morning golf course cigar. I found this to be medium in body, but full in flavor, just what I like in the morning.

I would rate this at 88, a solid B+ with room for improvement with a little more time.

If I were to guess, I would have to say a Padron, but I’m sure that I am way off.
 

Fourtotheflush

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In defense of this cigar.

I did get them recently this year and send them out.
I would typically have them on hand for 6+ months before smoking them.
So I probably should have grabbed something else.

I debated grabbing some cigars that were a little less spendy but had more age on them.
I thought they would have served you guys better as I had one and it was GREAT.
 
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I'd figured Padron, but not the '64. Seemed the size was a little off and it looked a little rougher than I'd have imagined.

Dan
Funny that many people say that Padron Annis are at their peak when they ship and they go downhill after that.

Also, funny that, for a cigar that so many people say is "amazing"...these, in general, seem like some pretty mediocre reviews. For a $10 cigar I want something that will make me go "WOW! Holy crap" not just say yeah "that's a good one for the golf course" or "that was a solid B" ...I can get many solid B+/A- cigars for $3-$4 regularly!!! Like a previous poster stated above...it's funny how you stick a certain band on a cigar and it makes it taste good!

Because of this, I don't really trust non-blind cigar reviews anymore and, also, because of this I am going to trust my own taste buds more and rely less on what other people say about sticks.
 
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Thank you FTTF! I see some of these in my future. I've had PAN's that didn't too too much for me, but this Maduro was great!
 

Craig Mac

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Gibble would have never smoked that cigar because he would have seen the non-triple cap and box press and known it was a Padron and threw it in the trash, lol.
 

CaTeacher

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Funny that many people say that Padron Annis are at their peak when they ship and they go downhill after that.

Maybe I just don't pay enough attention to what others say, but I've always enjoyed my Padrons more after some down time and think they get better with age :dunno:

Also, funny that, for a cigar that so many people say is "amazing"...these, in general, seem like some pretty mediocre reviews. For a $10 cigar I want something that will make me go "WOW! Holy crap" not just say yeah "that's a good one for the golf course" or "that was a solid B" ...I can get many solid B+/A- cigars for $3-$4 regularly!!! Like a previous poster stated above...it's funny how you stick a certain band on a cigar and it makes it taste good!

I smoke good cigars on the golf course all the time. What I said was that the flavor profile and strength was perfect for my early morning rounds.

I agree that the band on the stick can certainly have an influence on ones thoughts, which is a big reason I wanted to do one of these blind reviews.

Because of this, I don't really trust non-blind cigar reviews anymore and, also, because of this I am going to trust my own taste buds more and rely less on what other people say about sticks.

I think this is what most of us want or try to do, but sometimes you find individuals that have similar tastes in cigars and it's helpful to get their thoughts on different cigars because it's basically impossible to try everything out there.

Just my two pennies
 

JDog

BoM Nov '12 & May '13
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Because of this, I don't really trust non-blind cigar reviews anymore and, also, because of this I am going to trust my own taste buds more and rely less on what other people say about sticks.
One of the reasons that I finally signed up on this site is due to member reviews, blind or not. Over time, I've found that my opinion of cigars is remarkably similar to certain reviewers, whether it was reading that review before or even after I smoked a particular cigar. Ultimately you need to form your own opinion on whether you enjoy a cigar or not, but with all of past cigars that I never smoked and with so many new brands and blends released each year, I see cigar reviews as a valuable resource to help me figure out what I should try next.... just my opinion. Otherwise you would need a lot of time and money to find that next cigar gem.

Thank you Neil for putting this together... I'm enjoying the read from all the participants.
 
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