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Exile Perfection #1

Hendy

BoM Oct 08 / BoM Oct 09
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Took one of these in last night. Unfortunately, to me, it did not step up to any of the hype that I have been hearing about it. My feelings may have been influenced by the atomsphere I was in, or lack there of. A B&M that had 3 people in it with personalities and cigar knowledge of a rock. Kinda sad. I am a talker and can keep quite a conversation going, especially about sticks. These gents (one being an owner) had, pretty much "zero knowledge" about cigars. Kinda Sad.

None the less:

Cigar: Exile Perfecto #1
Size: 50 X 5 1/2"
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
MFG'd: Nicaragua

Nice looking cigar. Nice presentation with slightly oily looking wrapper and nice looking band.

Cut very nicely with my Palio Burlwood cutter (love this cutter like no other). Predraw was very easy to pull but did not provide too much taste in it. Maybe a little spice or grass. The roll was not as firm as I like, but alright.

It lit up without and issue and burned beautiful right out of the shoot. Nice free draw with a nice amount of smoke. Nice medium taste of cedar and a little grassy with some sweetness.

The first 1/3 was pretty consitant with the taste and razor sharp burn. I was looking forward to the tastes that I would be looking at soon. Well, this was not in the future.

It was at that moment that this one got weird. I hit a spot in this stick that I call "the slot spot". It almost immediately stopped smoking. I had a nice glow on the foot, but was just sucking air. Like trying to drink a chocolate shake through a broken straw. I also noticed, in the feel, an area of about 1 1/2" that seemed to have collapsed. Like the binder just broke down. I was looking for a hole or reason for this but could not find anything obvious. This was a little weird and I had to put it to rest.

I would probably not buy another one of these. Especially at $9 a stick. Maybe I am being a little too harsh. But, with cigars, my first impression stands pretty firm in my memory. This stick to me was one of those "lemon" cigars.

Thanks for watching.
 

njstone

BoM January 2010
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Thanks for the review, I agree that non-stellar reviews are welcome!

I too find that first impressions mean a lot. But I know that sometimes I judge a cigar unfairly or other factors effect the experience, so I try not to decide if I like it or not based on just 1 cigar.

One of my pet peeves is cigar shop owners/workers who don't know anything about cigars...what is the point? That can't be a huge money-making buisness, especially these days. It seems to me that the shops that do well are those that build a real consumer loyalty base, and you're not going to do that if don't know much about cigars or even smoke them!

At my top local B&M, the guys working there really know there stuff. Last time I was in, they were having a private discussion over what the best overall cigar was that they sold. One was arguing for the Oliva V because it was in his price range and yet comparable in quality to any of the "big boys," I think the other was arguing for some Fuente but I couldn't tell for sure. At any rate, this showed that they not only had knowledge about their products, but personal experience :smokingme The only thing I don't like about that place is that they are consistently at least 15% above MSRP. But the selection can't be beat (they even carry Tats!).
 
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Has anyone else tried these that can share their opinions? I also saw a review on here by kaelaria who really enjoyed the smoke.

Any one else like to share their thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
 
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I've smoked one. It started off nice, but the flavor went downhill fast. It seemed to have a chemical taste, kind of like bug spray. I don't think I even smoked half of it. I haven't tried another since.
 

SkinsFanLarry

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Thanks for your candid review Scott, I for one appreciate that type of review my friend.

Is this the same Exile cigar made by Berger & Argenti?
 
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Thanks for the review.

I have smoked several of these and while not something to "write home about" I found them to be enjoyable yard gars.

IMHO, with some age on them, they really are not that bad.
 
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