danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
Today was one of those days at work :angryteet. So after getting the baby down for his nap I settled out on the deck for a little me time :grin:. It was warm, but with a slight breeze and the humidity was way down from where it has been...in short it was a beautiful afternoon and the perfect time to turn a cigar to ash. Today I decided to pick a stick that you seldom hear about (or at least I hadn't). The Felipe Gregorio Icon is an interesting line of cigars. The line gets it's name from famous cigar smokers of the past and the band (and a kick a$$ band it is :thumbsup
is adorned with their likenesses.
There are four vitolas in the line. The Einstein (5 x 55 figurado), Groucho (5 x 50 robusto), Sir Winston (7 x 48 churchill), and Twain (6 x 52 torpedo). It is the Twain that I will be reviewing here. I'm not sure what these retail for, though I have seen them on CBid for around $3-5. I got this cigar in the NC PIF, but alas my memory has let me down as I cannot remember who to thank. It has been resting in my humi for several months at 65% and around 70 degrees. This cigar sports a Costa Rican wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Dominican filler. The wrapper is a slightly oily chocolate brown color and there is a network of small veins extending throughout the cigar. The seams are visible, but appear tight. The cap is a little messy. Giving the cigar a little squeeze, it feels well packed with a slight spongy feel. There is a small singular soft spot near the cap. The aroma is that of slightly sweet chocolate and mild tobacco.
The cap came off cleanly with a swift clip of my cheapo double guillotine. The pre-light flavors are that of a slightly sweet, chocolaty tobacco with a faint peppery finish. Not like black pepper though, more subdued (white pepper perhaps :dunno.
The foot band comes off easily and the foot toasts quickly. At once a pleasant chocolaty aroma greets my olfactory senses. The initial flavors present themselves as a mild, slightly sweet chocolaty tobacco with a slight white pepper on the finish. There are also creamy coffee noted on the retro hale.
While the flavors are nice, I wish they were more intense. The smoke output isn't a lot, but it's adequate. Perhaps if there was more smoke output the flavors would be more intense :dunno:. The burn is a little wavy, but not really in need of a touch up.
The ash is starting off looking like it's going to be flaky and is a dirty gray color. About half way into the 1/3 a leathery note is beginning to develop on the finish. The other flavors remain the same. The burn continues on the verge of razor sharp.
The chocolaty flavor begins to fade and is completely gone by the time I'm into the 2/3. It is replaced by a mild to slightly medium tobacco flavor with a leathery finish. The coffee notes are still present on the retro hale.
The ash hung on until between the 1/3 and 2/3 and needed some touch up. About halfway through the 2/3 the leathery finish is suddenly gone. The only flavors I'm getting now are a slightly sweet roasted coffee. The cigar is also requiring a touch up here and there as it goes. Not really a pain yet though.
The coffee flavor has dominated the 2/3 and into the 3/3. Once into the 3/3, the chocolaty flavor begins to creep back in. I called it quits when the cigar started heating up and I began to lose the flavors. Total burn time was around 1 hour 20 minutes, there was probably another 10-15 minutes left for those who have more heat tolerance than I.
Overall I found this to be a pretty enjoyable cigar. There were some minor burn issues, but I've had more well known brands with worse. Certainly the flavors could have been more intense, but they weren't bad. I'd rather have a cigar with good flavors leave me wanting more intensity, than a cigar with not so good flavors wanting less. If you can find them at a good price they'd be a great day to day, yard work, or golf cigar.
I'm looking forward to reviewing some other unusual/not much talked about cigars in the future.
Dan
is adorned with their likenesses.
There are four vitolas in the line. The Einstein (5 x 55 figurado), Groucho (5 x 50 robusto), Sir Winston (7 x 48 churchill), and Twain (6 x 52 torpedo). It is the Twain that I will be reviewing here. I'm not sure what these retail for, though I have seen them on CBid for around $3-5. I got this cigar in the NC PIF, but alas my memory has let me down as I cannot remember who to thank
. It has been resting in my humi for several months at 65% and around 70 degrees. This cigar sports a Costa Rican wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Dominican filler. The wrapper is a slightly oily chocolate brown color and there is a network of small veins extending throughout the cigar. The seams are visible, but appear tight. The cap is a little messy. Giving the cigar a little squeeze, it feels well packed with a slight spongy feel. There is a small singular soft spot near the cap. The aroma is that of slightly sweet chocolate and mild tobacco.
The cap came off cleanly with a swift clip of my cheapo double guillotine. The pre-light flavors are that of a slightly sweet, chocolaty tobacco with a faint peppery finish. Not like black pepper though, more subdued (white pepper perhaps :dunno
.
The foot band comes off easily and the foot toasts quickly. At once a pleasant chocolaty aroma greets my olfactory senses. The initial flavors present themselves as a mild, slightly sweet chocolaty tobacco with a slight white pepper on the finish. There are also creamy coffee noted on the retro hale.
While the flavors are nice, I wish they were more intense. The smoke output isn't a lot, but it's adequate. Perhaps if there was more smoke output the flavors would be more intense :dunno:. The burn is a little wavy, but not really in need of a touch up.
The ash is starting off looking like it's going to be flaky and is a dirty gray color. About half way into the 1/3 a leathery note is beginning to develop on the finish. The other flavors remain the same. The burn continues on the verge of razor sharp.
The chocolaty flavor begins to fade and is completely gone by the time I'm into the 2/3. It is replaced by a mild to slightly medium tobacco flavor with a leathery finish. The coffee notes are still present on the retro hale.
The ash hung on until between the 1/3 and 2/3 and needed some touch up. About halfway through the 2/3 the leathery finish is suddenly gone. The only flavors I'm getting now are a slightly sweet roasted coffee. The cigar is also requiring a touch up here and there as it goes. Not really a pain yet though.
The coffee flavor has dominated the 2/3 and into the 3/3. Once into the 3/3, the chocolaty flavor begins to creep back in. I called it quits when the cigar started heating up and I began to lose the flavors. Total burn time was around 1 hour 20 minutes, there was probably another 10-15 minutes left for those who have more heat tolerance than I.
Overall I found this to be a pretty enjoyable cigar. There were some minor burn issues, but I've had more well known brands with worse. Certainly the flavors could have been more intense, but they weren't bad. I'd rather have a cigar with good flavors leave me wanting more intensity, than a cigar with not so good flavors wanting less. If you can find them at a good price they'd be a great day to day, yard work, or golf cigar.
I'm looking forward to reviewing some other unusual/not much talked about cigars in the future.
Dan
