8ball
Ruler of Grayskull
well, lots of reviews for these lately, so here's one more.
First of all, I'm not the best at giving an in depth review. I usually score cigars in 3 categories, crap, not bad, premium. Second of all (or maybe first), thanks to @mel-mbombay for gifting me this smoke to review. So let's get into this one.
So the presentation is pretty much amazing. Shaggy foot, pig tail cap, oversized band. Yep, it's all here. I like how different this cigar looks. I don't go crazy for looks, but this would be an amazing cigar to bomb someone with, just because it looks so cool. I like to collect bands for future projects, and this one blows my mind. Easily in my top 5 for impressive looking bands.
With any oversized band, I remove before smoking. Thank goodness for slow pulling as I managed to pry this off with minimal damage, and no damage to the wrapper. I have to admit this, the fact that a smaller band is underneath the larger band is the most ingenious thing I have ever seen in my 9 years of smoking cigars.
A simple torch to the foot and we're off. I usually frown on shaggy foots as I don't usually see the point, but this one suffers from no issues whatsoever as it approaches the wrapper.
This is what surprises me, I decide to retrohale right at the start and it doesn't harm me. Usually I have to give a cigar a half inch before I can do that. I'm a big fan of sandlewood incense and I can taste it in the filler. Not infused by any means, you can tell its natural and that is much appreciated.
Now we're getting into the meat of this puppy.
This is a medium but not quite full smoke. I'm detecting strong notes of oak and the sandlewood is played down as the wrapper takes over. As I approach the halfway point, I'm starting to pick up some hay in addition to the oak, buts it's all good. Top qualitity tobbacos are easily present as this is a smooth cigar with no acidity present. The oak is dominant, and it does not have any smokey flavor to it. We're now approaching the end:
Even near the end, the flavor remains consistent. Fans of oak will rejoice with this cigar. I know the way we are here, we'd never slam a cigar that was gifted to us, but I will honestly say, I rather enjoyed this cigar, and would love to get my hands on some more. The flavor profile is diffenetely unique, and while it's not a daily, it's a nice change of pace.
Pros:
Appearance
Construction
Consistant
Good quality tobbacos is present, no garbage mixed in
Woodsy and oaky in flavor
Cons:
Msrp from what I searched through online, it's $16. That's hard to compete with cigars like Padron and Opus that you can sometimes get for the same price. I'd market this at about $10. At $8, I'd buy a box.
In America, the name Bombay is not really associated with cigars. I think we go toward more Spanish sounding names, as I don't think we associate India with cigars. Personally, I think just calling it the Mel Shah KeSARA Is a better sounding name.
Availability. Where do we get these from? No retailer in my area has them and they are not available through any big retailers.
------------
In closing, is this up there with premium cigars, well, no. But, it is a great smoke that I throughly enjoyed and would like to try more. I can't say I'd spend $200+ on a box, but knock these guys down to $8 and I'm all in. $160 for 20 + 20% small batch discount = take my money. If you guys see these, please give them a try. They are quite unique, quality construction, and a solid smoking experience. I really hope this brand takes off and I thank @mel-mbombay for giving me the chance to review this excellent stick.
Again, I'm not BSing, it was quite enjoyable.
First of all, I'm not the best at giving an in depth review. I usually score cigars in 3 categories, crap, not bad, premium. Second of all (or maybe first), thanks to @mel-mbombay for gifting me this smoke to review. So let's get into this one.
So the presentation is pretty much amazing. Shaggy foot, pig tail cap, oversized band. Yep, it's all here. I like how different this cigar looks. I don't go crazy for looks, but this would be an amazing cigar to bomb someone with, just because it looks so cool. I like to collect bands for future projects, and this one blows my mind. Easily in my top 5 for impressive looking bands.
With any oversized band, I remove before smoking. Thank goodness for slow pulling as I managed to pry this off with minimal damage, and no damage to the wrapper. I have to admit this, the fact that a smaller band is underneath the larger band is the most ingenious thing I have ever seen in my 9 years of smoking cigars.
A simple torch to the foot and we're off. I usually frown on shaggy foots as I don't usually see the point, but this one suffers from no issues whatsoever as it approaches the wrapper.
This is what surprises me, I decide to retrohale right at the start and it doesn't harm me. Usually I have to give a cigar a half inch before I can do that. I'm a big fan of sandlewood incense and I can taste it in the filler. Not infused by any means, you can tell its natural and that is much appreciated.
Now we're getting into the meat of this puppy.
This is a medium but not quite full smoke. I'm detecting strong notes of oak and the sandlewood is played down as the wrapper takes over. As I approach the halfway point, I'm starting to pick up some hay in addition to the oak, buts it's all good. Top qualitity tobbacos are easily present as this is a smooth cigar with no acidity present. The oak is dominant, and it does not have any smokey flavor to it. We're now approaching the end:
Even near the end, the flavor remains consistent. Fans of oak will rejoice with this cigar. I know the way we are here, we'd never slam a cigar that was gifted to us, but I will honestly say, I rather enjoyed this cigar, and would love to get my hands on some more. The flavor profile is diffenetely unique, and while it's not a daily, it's a nice change of pace.
Pros:
Appearance
Construction
Consistant
Good quality tobbacos is present, no garbage mixed in
Woodsy and oaky in flavor
Cons:
Msrp from what I searched through online, it's $16. That's hard to compete with cigars like Padron and Opus that you can sometimes get for the same price. I'd market this at about $10. At $8, I'd buy a box.
In America, the name Bombay is not really associated with cigars. I think we go toward more Spanish sounding names, as I don't think we associate India with cigars. Personally, I think just calling it the Mel Shah KeSARA Is a better sounding name.
Availability. Where do we get these from? No retailer in my area has them and they are not available through any big retailers.
------------
In closing, is this up there with premium cigars, well, no. But, it is a great smoke that I throughly enjoyed and would like to try more. I can't say I'd spend $200+ on a box, but knock these guys down to $8 and I'm all in. $160 for 20 + 20% small batch discount = take my money. If you guys see these, please give them a try. They are quite unique, quality construction, and a solid smoking experience. I really hope this brand takes off and I thank @mel-mbombay for giving me the chance to review this excellent stick.
Again, I'm not BSing, it was quite enjoyable.
Last edited:
Yeah, sometimes I have room for a decent smoke.