Jwyatt55's Newbie Blind Review - Cigar #1

[miurajus]

Originally started here:
[ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=38038"]Newbie blind reviews - BOTL Cigar Forums - Brothers of the Leaf[/ame]

Mystery Cigar #1 Identity: DPG Vegas Cubanas Corona

This is the thread for the first cigar assigned for review (04/09/10). Big thanks again to Jwyatt55 for allowing us newbies the, "opportunity", to review (give you guys some laughs) some cigars.

1. cornhusker85
review: [ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showpost.php?p=711743&postcount=21"]BOTL Cigar Forums - Brothers of the Leaf - View Single Post - Jwyatt55's Newbie Blind Review - Cigar #1[/ame]

2. ndn384
review: [ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showpost.php?p=710740&postcount=17"]BOTL Cigar Forums - Brothers of the Leaf - View Single Post - Jwyatt55's Newbie Blind Review - Cigar #1[/ame]

3. GreedyCapitalist
review: [ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showpost.php?p=709438&postcount=13"]BOTL Cigar Forums - Brothers of the Leaf - View Single Post - Jwyatt55's Newbie Blind Review - Cigar #1[/ame]

4. Miurajus
5. Leafhugger
review: [ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showpost.php?p=708625&postcount=8"]BOTL Cigar Forums - Brothers of the Leaf - View Single Post - Jwyatt55's Newbie Blind Review - Cigar #1[/ame]

 

[miurajus]

This beautiful CM shade cigar was a well rounded smoke consisting of pepper and coffee notes, hints of cocoa and caramel, along with a buttery profile which gave way to a robust ending.

Size: 5.5in~ x 42ring~
Country: Unknown
Wrapper: Unknown (Guess: Nicaraguan Corojo 99)
Filler: Unknown (Guess: Nicaraguan)

Appearance: 8.75
Construction: 28.5

Pre-light notation: Nothing but great things to say about this stick. No visual defects. Maybe one vein, with any definition at all. Solid, rich color on the wrapper, smooth to the touch with not a lot of oil.

There were two things that struck me and factored into my overall guess as to what cigar this was. Namely the smell of the wrapper; a distinctly tart, pepper and leather. Secondly, the presence of a triple cap.

Taste: 50.5

1/3: The first two draws had a lot of pepper. It mellowed out by the third draw and I began getting caramel and cocoa on the palette, along with meat through the nose. The finish was medium in length and left the flavor of tea. The profile was enriched by a buttery presence intertwined.

2/3: The profile switched it up here. The meaty aroma and flavor, now, roasted nuts. Leather and coffee notes began to surface. The finish was longer and tasted of cocoa.

3/3: In the final third, leather, coffee and pepper peaked. There were faint hints of cocoa and ceder, along with pepper and a minute toasted nuttiness.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half. The initial third was absolutely fantastic. Great complexity with the spice, caramel and cocoa. I liked how the flavors progressed during the 1/2-2/3 mark. The medium length, tea finish, taking on a more stern approach; a longer, cocoa note. The salty, meatiness, present in the retrohale, giving way to a toasted nutty aroma which found a great dance partner to spend the evening with in the buttery cream, encompassing the flavors on the palette.

Having taken this down to the nub, I can just imagine fans of the pepper, leather, french press, tart bomb going crazy over this sticks ending. It's just a little too much for myself personally. Construction wise, this cigar was flawless. A straight circle of glowing orange the entire smoke. Fabulous draw and enormous volumes of smoke. Even with a slight drizzle falling outside, the burn remained flawless at 2-3 minute draws. Further allowing me to enjoy my evening.

Overall: 87.75

I believe this is a Nicaraguan puro. The Tatuaje Havana VI Angeles.

 

[Gokian]

Amazing review my friend. I hope to see many more from you.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

Most excellant review Justin! :thumbsup:

I agree 100% with Tom, I definately look forward to many more reviews by you my friend.

 

[leafhugger]

Great review, Justin! :thumbsup: You sure set the bar high for us newbs. I can't tell, though, whether those are your smoking notes or your math homework. Impressive!! Thanks for kicking this thing off. I look forward to adding my thoughts on our first mystery stick early next week.

 

[jwyatt55]

Great review! Really looking forward to the rest of the reviews

 

[danthebugman]

Awesome review :thumbsup:. Look forward to more.

Dan

 

[leafhugger]

I smoked the first of five cigars from the Newbie Blind Review last night. It was a breezy, 55 degree evening when I sat down in my backyard.

Pre-light:
At 5.5 inches long, and a low 40s ring gauge, the mystery stick had a solid and consistent structure. With little to no oil on the wrapper, the leaf still gave off a subtle sheen in the evening light. The wrapper was thin and slightly rough with small veins. It was easy to see the ridges of the binder leaf’s veins.

The smell on the body was mild and sweet. The foot gave off a more distinctive, yet still mild, fragrance of barnyard and manure.

It had a very firm construction, with slight sponginess. The perfectly applied triple cap, cut cleanly and easily with my palio. After an initial pre-light draw I found that the airflow was hindered. I opened up the head a little more allowing for a firm but comfortable draw. There was little perceptible taste on the lips.

1st Third:
The cigar lit quickly, with the cherry moving quickly to the center of the foot. After a quick purge, I took the first draw. My initial reaction was less to the flavors and more to the volume of smoke. The smoke was thick and tangible. What followed was a pleasant but full flavored array of roasted nuts and dried alfalfa. I perceived the toasted, chalky flavor of unsalted, roasted brazil nuts. The retrohale was powerful leaving more of the roasted nuts and hay experience.

There is a thin burn line with no blistering. While not straight the burn line is progressing evenly. The white/grey ash is firm and holds to at least the 1 inch mark before letting go.

2nd Third:
There was little change as I progressed into the 2nd third. More of the dry, roasted nut flavor with a pleasurable, mild aftertaste. At this point I started to get a faint, yet noticeable, spiciness on my lips. This was accompanied by a slight sweetness of dry baker’s cocoa. The sweetness was more in the retrohale and was faint. Again, the ash dropped soon after the 1 inch mark.

Final Thoughts:
The outside temperature has dropped below 50 degrees which to me is cold. Even though I increase the frequency of draws, the cigar burns cool and evenly. The cigar is still firm and only begins to display sponginess in the final inch of the nub. The only deviation in flavor is a slight sour flavor that may only be attributable to my increase in draw frequency.

In summation, this was a one-dimensional cigar. That is not a negative comment. It stayed consistent in taste and aroma throughout. Even the slight deviations in the 2nd third were quickly washed out by the dominate roasted nut flavor. This cigar was full-flavored and medium/full bodied.

My cigar experience is too limited to venture a specific guess but it does seem obvious that this is a Nicaraguan Puro. If it was a different length and ring guage I would guess that it was a product from Illusione. All in all, an excellent cigar and closely fits the flavor profile of my typical gravitation.

 

[miurajus]

Killer review LH. If it measured 5.5 inches I guess my stick is out. :cursing:

 

[jwyatt55]

Great review derek!

 

[whodeeni]

Great Review Derek! Can't wait to see your next one!

 

[t_ron99]

Two really good reviews.

Leafhugger,
That last pick You should send that last pic to Palio. Its perfect for an advertising type pic. Awsome job.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

Derek that was an excellant review and your pic's were over the top my brother! :thumbsup:

GC, that too was an excellant review, pic's would have definately put it over the top my brother! :thumbsup:

 

[leafhugger]

Thanks everyone for showing some love for my glamor shots and review. :tiphat:

Great review, GC!! Regarding the photos, I wish I could tell you that it was all skill, but alas, it is just the camera. But at a little under $400 it might not be out of your budget, especially after seeing some of the destruction that you have been causing over in the Bombers Basement. :timebomb:

I use a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H5, which is in essence a souped-up version of the common point-and-shoot. It is probably as expensive as it is because of all the many features that I never use. At 7.2 mp it takes some great shots, especially in the right light. Some brothers with some real photography skills and knowledge can probably lead you to a better option.

Looking forward reading the last reviews and moving on to the next round!!

 

[ndn384]

Let me start off by thanking JWYATT55 for the chance to write these reviews as it is something that I always wanted to do, but never tried. Please be patient with me as this is the first time I am reviewing a cigar. I hope I do a decent job and improve over the course of this sampler.

Appearance and construction: Very nice golden wrapper. Very shiny but not oily. There are small veins running the length of the cigars. perfect triple capped. The cigar is firm with just the right amount of give. The cigar cut very clean . Pre-light draw was perfect, with a mild sweet taste on my lips.

Atmosphere- Southern California April early evening. The sun is just started to set and there is a mild breeze on my patio. Its in the lower 70s right now and i am sitting outside with just a t-shirt on. I couldn’t ask for a nice day to be enjoying this smoke.

1st/3rd- The cigar lit up quickly and had a huge amount of dense flavorful smoke right on the first puff. The aroma of the cigar is very sweet and smells amazing. The flavor is mild but very enjoyable. I have been smoking a lot of full bodied powerhouses lately and this is a great change. The flavors that I am getting are hard for me to describe. I am thinking a hint of chocolate and cedar. It began burning crooked till about an 1.5” into it and it corrected itself after a couple minutes of sitting. The ash was very light colored and soft and started to droop after about an inch. The ash started to fall after about 1.5” As I am typing right now the smoke is barreling out of the cigar like Dante’s Inferno.

2nd/3rd- A little bit of spice has started to hit my lips. The cigar is remaining mild, but have my mouth a nice little tingle. After two puffs the spice went away and is now very mellow and creamy. The flavor I am getting now is like a mild milk chocolate. The chocolate flavor has began to fade and I just hit a stronger licorice flavor. I am not a big licorice fan but it is still very enjoyable (about half way into the cigar now.) The sweet aroma has faded. The burn is right on and has not required a touch up at all yet. The ash is remaining soft and starts falling about every inch.

Final/3rd- I let the cigar sit for about 5 couple minutes and I the first couple puss came out a little bit bitter, but I am not faulting the cigar for that. My wife will be showing up soon with dinner so I am going to smoke this last third a little bit quicker then I would normally like to so I will see how it goes. As I expected the bitterness is gone and I am noticing a bit of leather and spice coming through now. I just required my first touch up on the cigar with less then 2” remaining on the cigar. The cigar is finishing off with the licorice flavor that i mentioned in the ended of the 2nd/3rd.

Final Notes: This cigar was a good mild to medium smoke. It had great construction and a complexity of flavors. The cigar burnt great though out with only one touch up required at the end. Overall this is a cigar that I wouldn’t mind smoking again. It was not one of my favorites but I did enjoy it. The appearance with the color and size made me think it might be one of Dion’s Illusions

Pictures to follow. I just finished and I will post pics hopefully by the end of the night.

 

[cornhusker85]

Hey guys i didnt forget about the review i wrote it all down last weekend just been a little busy with a tradeshow this weekend ill post it tomorrow. and great reviews so far guys.

 

[leafhugger]

Great Job, ndn384!! :thumbsup: Looking forward to those pictures. Totally echo that mild chocolate taste in the 2nd 3rd. I'm so curious to know what it this is! I sure hope we don't have to wait till after the 5th cigar to learn the true identity of our mystery sticks.

 

[jwyatt55]

Great reviews guys! I will let you know what the smoke was after all the reviews are in.

 

[cornhusker85]

I know everyones palet picks up tastes differetly and I'll admit I'm a newbie to cigars but this is my take on cigar #1.

Size 42 ring x 5.5"
Cutter/Light Palio/Ronson

First thought was this is a very well constructed cigar, there were no soft spots, very little veins, not oily and it had a nice triple cap.

Pre-Light - It had a very nice easy draw but I didnt pick up much flavour on the draw if anything maybe just a little cedar.

1/3 - Well I lit the cigar and immedialty caught a ton of flavour. It strated of earthy/coffee/ havelnut but disappeared about a 1/2" in to smoking. Ash is a nice light gray color draw seemed to get a little harder and i Started to pick up on coco flavour. It kept an ash for about an 1".

2/3 - The earthy hazelnut flavour picked up again but I hadnt gotten any pepper taste at all so far. The ash stayed nice and gray but had a brownish line on one side. I started to pick up a coffee taste again and earthy coco taste continued. The cigar has been a pretty mild-medium cigar so far but has been very nice. Kept an ash for about 1 1/2".

3/3 - Still coco taste and no pepper. Final thoughts are this is a good cigar with a consistant coco flavour throughtout and the flavours really didnt change much throughout. I would put it in Mild_medium category. I would have another one, it would make a great morning cigar with coffee.

Thanks Jwyatt for the oppurtunity to participate.

 

[cornhusker85]

I had photos but I lost them when I got my new Iphone, i forgot to back the old one up sorry guys, next you'll get photos.