MithShrike
Yerba mate for life.
Well, I am spoiled by having a friend who blends and rolls cigars. Anyway, while I was in Charlotte, North Carolina I stopped into Fox and Hound Smokehouse and Tavern and picked up one of these for about $10, I was talking to the pretty girls who worked there so didn't really notice the price...
I'd never before bought a cigar which had a metal tube for its casing. I took this thing to the back porch and opened it up. The cigar slid out of the tube and I must say I was somewhat impressed by its apperance. It looked comparable to my friend's lanzero, which is a panatella but with a finished head instead of a pigtail. The Portofino is 7"x34 ring guage. The wrapper was a very pale claro. It did not feel overly stiff.
I smelled the wrapper and the foot of the cigar. The scent of the wrapper was very faint but the foot had a better aroma to it. I moistened the head of the cigar and cut on the line. I then lit up.
The draw was what I was expecting of a cigar this shape. It was tight but not so much that I had to cave in my forehead to get any smoke out of it.
As to the flavor. I was pleased by the flavor until about 1/3 of the way into the cigar when I started to notice a mild harshness to it. As it progressed the harshness made itself more apparent. Harshness is caused by ammonia in the tobacco which means that the leaves were not aged long enough. I'm thinking the leaves used in this cigar were only about 3 years old or so.
Would I buy this cigar again? No. Did I get what I paid for? I don't think so.
Overall I give this cigar a 6.5. It had a decent flavor but the tobacco is under aged. It was decent but I'm used to a good deal better.
I'd never before bought a cigar which had a metal tube for its casing. I took this thing to the back porch and opened it up. The cigar slid out of the tube and I must say I was somewhat impressed by its apperance. It looked comparable to my friend's lanzero, which is a panatella but with a finished head instead of a pigtail. The Portofino is 7"x34 ring guage. The wrapper was a very pale claro. It did not feel overly stiff.
I smelled the wrapper and the foot of the cigar. The scent of the wrapper was very faint but the foot had a better aroma to it. I moistened the head of the cigar and cut on the line. I then lit up.
The draw was what I was expecting of a cigar this shape. It was tight but not so much that I had to cave in my forehead to get any smoke out of it.
As to the flavor. I was pleased by the flavor until about 1/3 of the way into the cigar when I started to notice a mild harshness to it. As it progressed the harshness made itself more apparent. Harshness is caused by ammonia in the tobacco which means that the leaves were not aged long enough. I'm thinking the leaves used in this cigar were only about 3 years old or so.
Would I buy this cigar again? No. Did I get what I paid for? I don't think so.
Overall I give this cigar a 6.5. It had a decent flavor but the tobacco is under aged. It was decent but I'm used to a good deal better.
