danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
Size: 5" x 50
Wrapper: EMS Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: ~ $2.00
Intro: Like many of you, I am a fan of much of the stuff Drew Estate has turned out. I did not know, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, that they made some bundle cigars. I got a few a while back and stumbled along them buried in the bottom of one of my humidors a few days back. So yesterday afternoon while pulling weeds and mini-trees from my yard I decided to fire it up...
Couldn't resist a little artistic flourish with this one...
Prelight: Not a bad appearance for a bundle cigar. Seams are tight and the cap is neatly applied. The wrapper is a light tan color with some toothiness to it. The only imperfection, and the reason this cigar didn't make varsity, is a fairly large greenish sun spot. The cigar has an interesting aroma. Well packed, but a little soft. Kind of a pepper and wood, but bordering on an aged leather. Cap cut cleanly, but dislodged a portion of the shoulder. Didn't cause any problems though. Perfect draw. Cold draw was mainly a creamy, woody flavor with a little pepper afterthought. More of a suggestion really. Time to fire it up...
First Third: Didn't take much to get it fired up. Initially there was a slight pepper with some wood and a light, sweet, graham cracker flavor. Smoke output was good, burn was great. Draw was great. Flavors didn't change much through the first third.
Second Third: Second third was much the same as the first. Good burn, good draw, and flavors were an earthy wood with some sweetness. Not bad, not wowing me either though.
Last Third: Needed a few touchups and tried to go out once, but other than that no problems. Flavors were now a very earthy wood flavor with that slight graham crackery sweetness to it and the pepper had returned just a little.
Final Thoughts: For $2.00 you don't expect a whole lot, but DE offers up a very budget friendly option with this stick. Wasn't complex, but the construction and burn were good. Better than you'd expect at this price point and certainly better than many offerings, but would you expect anything less from JD? Didn't get any harsh notes either. I've seen them available at multiple sites on the net, but many have been out of stock so I'm not sure what the availability is on these. They come in the usual sizes for bundles...Robusto, Toro, Churchill, and also a Belicoso. I don't know why, but no one does a Petite Corona when they do bundles :dunno:. I have also seen advertisements for Maduro and Infused versions as well. While the Infused aren't my thing, the Maduro sounds interesting. No, these aren't LP (wouldn't that be nice though) so if you're into those these may not be to your liking, but if you're a fan of the Chateau Real or La Vieja Habana then these are certainly worth checking out.
Dan
Wrapper: EMS Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: ~ $2.00
Intro: Like many of you, I am a fan of much of the stuff Drew Estate has turned out. I did not know, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, that they made some bundle cigars. I got a few a while back and stumbled along them buried in the bottom of one of my humidors a few days back. So yesterday afternoon while pulling weeds and mini-trees from my yard I decided to fire it up...
Couldn't resist a little artistic flourish with this one...
Prelight: Not a bad appearance for a bundle cigar. Seams are tight and the cap is neatly applied. The wrapper is a light tan color with some toothiness to it. The only imperfection, and the reason this cigar didn't make varsity, is a fairly large greenish sun spot. The cigar has an interesting aroma. Well packed, but a little soft. Kind of a pepper and wood, but bordering on an aged leather. Cap cut cleanly, but dislodged a portion of the shoulder. Didn't cause any problems though. Perfect draw. Cold draw was mainly a creamy, woody flavor with a little pepper afterthought. More of a suggestion really. Time to fire it up...
First Third: Didn't take much to get it fired up. Initially there was a slight pepper with some wood and a light, sweet, graham cracker flavor. Smoke output was good, burn was great. Draw was great. Flavors didn't change much through the first third.
Second Third: Second third was much the same as the first. Good burn, good draw, and flavors were an earthy wood with some sweetness. Not bad, not wowing me either though.
Last Third: Needed a few touchups and tried to go out once, but other than that no problems. Flavors were now a very earthy wood flavor with that slight graham crackery sweetness to it and the pepper had returned just a little.
Final Thoughts: For $2.00 you don't expect a whole lot, but DE offers up a very budget friendly option with this stick. Wasn't complex, but the construction and burn were good. Better than you'd expect at this price point and certainly better than many offerings, but would you expect anything less from JD? Didn't get any harsh notes either. I've seen them available at multiple sites on the net, but many have been out of stock so I'm not sure what the availability is on these. They come in the usual sizes for bundles...Robusto, Toro, Churchill, and also a Belicoso. I don't know why, but no one does a Petite Corona when they do bundles :dunno:. I have also seen advertisements for Maduro and Infused versions as well. While the Infused aren't my thing, the Maduro sounds interesting. No, these aren't LP (wouldn't that be nice though) so if you're into those these may not be to your liking, but if you're a fan of the Chateau Real or La Vieja Habana then these are certainly worth checking out.
Dan
