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Review Contest Cigar 6!!!!!!!

bballbaby

Nov '08 BoM
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i've been reading through these reviews and i'm definitely going to get in ont he next contest. Not to mention the fact that in lokoing at the list of known smokes, there have been some pretty good ones in the lot.

Cna't wait to see what this last one is.
 

Benzopyrene

BoM June 08
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Alright guys today is the last day to smoke this cigar. I shant be giving any extra time on this one. Ill smoke mine and rate it for you tomorrow evening and then we will put up the voting field for whoever had the best reviews throughout. Remember!!!! Please dont vote for yourself. Cheers!
 
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Appearance: 13/15
This was a beautiful cigar. The wrapper was flawless and just looked great.

Ash: 10/10
The ash on this cigar was very study. I had no problem with it falling of during my smoke.

Burn: 8/10
I cannot complain about the burn at all with this cigar. Though it wasn’t “razor sharp, it was not bad. It did go out on me once, but that was probably more my fault than the cigars.

Draw: 10/10
The draw was very nice, just a little deliberate, but that was not bad since it fill you mouth with a ton of smoke every time I took a draw.

Smoke: 10/10
The smoke in this cigar was nice. Every puff I took gave me a mouthful of smoke.

Flavor: 15/20
I did enjoy this cigar quite a bit. Some of the distinct flavors I noticed was a slight spice and earthiness. Must be pretty consistent with since everyone kind of notice this.

Uniqueness: 7/10
From my experience, I probably would consider this that much of an unique cigar, but I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this cigar to others.

Finish: 13/15
The finish on this cigar was good. It did not linger too long in my mouth, but I could taste the spices for a little while after finishing the cigar.

Overall Score: 86
I would definitely recommend this cigar to others that might be interested in this type of some. Though it is a little longer than most cigars I tend to smoke, I really enjoyed the experience.

Thanks Luke for the contest and I can’t wait till the second one starts.
 

Angry Bill

2x BoM, BoY '08
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OK, you guys asked for it, so now you get it!!

Number six got smoked last week, although based on what I have read, wondering if Luke gave me the same cigars that he gave you? I smoked this cigar at work, as we do most nights. Had my water, my Dr. Pepper and 7 of us partook of different smokes.

Careful inspection of this cigar shows a nicely wrapper, medium dark cigar. The cap was well made and placed on the cigar. Some veins, but these did not detract from the overal appearance of this cigar. After removing the cello, hints of spice, cocoa and coffee emitted from this cigar. No flaws in the construction were noted. Nice toro size cigar.

After cutting the cigar with my Palio, which all of my co workers want to steal from me, I tasted the unlit cigar to my tongue. Still good spice, not too strong, not too weak either. A slight hint of rosemary aslo came through on the pre-light taste. Pre-light draw was decent, with what appeared to be a little resistance. So far so good huh? Not!!!!!

After toasting this cigar, it was lit for exactly 4 minutes, before the draw completely tightened up. Prior to it going out, the flavors of coffee, Oak, rosemary, spice (white pepper, red pepper and anise) came through. Also a hint of light hay. I relit the cigar and tried to get it going again. Nothing. The cigar was plugged. I had to walk out t my truck, get my Henry's draw tools, walk back t the smoking circle, where I placed the tools on the trunk of a car. The guys laughed at the tool, not having a clue what they were.

I picked up the longer of the two tools, inserted it into the cigar, manuvered it a few different times, and tried to light it again. I was able to get it lit and keep it lit this time. The draw was still restricted, which worried me. The flavor seemed to disapate, since the draw was screwed up, but I did not loose faith.

After about 15 minutes, the cigar went out again. I re-lit it, but it was plugged again. Sheeesh... I even said to my guys, "This is a 94 cigar? No F**king way!" Being the consument cigar lover, I refused to give up. I redployed my Henry's draw tools, opened up the draw again, this time with greater success.

I relight the smoke and the draw was good, cept the burn sucked. I hadn't noticed that the burn was extremely uneven. Can it get any worse? Fear not, I touched up the burn, saw the ash was still somewhat nice and continued my adventure with this cigar. Needless to say, the first third sucked, but I keep an open mind.

The second third was more enjoyable. THe burn was still off and had to be touched up every 10 or so minutes, which kept it from canoeing. The ash was flakey, yet tight with grey and medium grey mottling. The flavors were still consistent with spice, Oak, coffee, earthiness (hay, wood) and even a slight sweetness. The draw was better with still a slight resistance.

As I hit the final third, the Cigar Gods struck again, smitting me for something I must have done to piss them off. The cigar went out yet again with ton's of restriction on the draw. I know this is supposed to be a premium cigar, but common. What the hell is happening. I use my draw tool yet again, get the draw to be better and light this one up again. The burn was still very uneven, although the ash was good. I really had to watch this one to keep it from going nuts. The flavors were still good, although my experience was adventurous to say the least. No harsh aftertaste, making the finish good. Also, good amount of smoke, which was blue grey.

Yes, Angry Bill, reared his angry mouth numerous times, but I never gave up. I refuse to quit. Overall, this cigar was not a pleasant one for me to smoke, but I am thinking there has to be one screwed up one in every box. I know it was not my humidor, as I smoked another cigar from the same travel case an hour later. (A Tatuaje Especiale). Had no problems what so ever.

This cigar obviously was not my favorite cigar in this tasting, but It was an adventure. My guys were all getting mad at me for saying several times, "This is a 94 cigar." lol.. It was actually funny! Although this was not a huge favortie of mine, I would like to try one or two more again, just to give it a fair tasting. I know it was a fluke to get a cigar like that, but still with draw and burn issues like that, it worries me abou this cigar. Can't wait to find out what it was..

Here are my scores and it won't be nearly as high as any of yours!


Appearance: 14/15 Well made in appearance. No issues.
Ash: 9/10
Draw: 5/10
Burn: 5/10
Smoke: 8/10 Huge smoke when it was lit.
Flavor: 16/20
Uniqueness: 8/10
Finish: 13/15

Total: 77/100

I am more critical on cigars that do not provide me a good smoking experience. Thanks for taking the time to read and for Luke for hosting this one. Can't wait to taste the next good round.


On a side note, If I can find more Henry's draw tools, I have 3 sets sold. hehe
 

RigilKent

RigilKent
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nice review im sorry you had such a bad experience. it must have been a fluke because the flavors werent bad but the draw and burn were terrible were as mine burned like a razor and drew perfectly. i may be wrong and we got flukes. I think i may be off on my first guess of this gar but we will see. thanks again Luke cant wait for round two
 

Hendy

BoM Oct 08 / BoM Oct 09
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Wow Bill. I have red marks across my back from your review.:crackwhip :crackwhip Are you sure you didn't drop it in a puddle? You were a fighter though. Nice to see that you are so persistant on validating your responses.
 

Angry Bill

2x BoM, BoY '08
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Scott,

I made the mistake of looking at the others before I smoked this one.. I shouldnt have. Lots of you went over 90 on this one.. hehe.. I would like to try another one though, so whoever wins, let me snag one from you...Please Cause It won't be me!
 
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This cigar was a freaking giant. I mean, it was really huge. Another 7 or 8 inches and it would have rivaled Little Rich K, and that's saying something!

Appearance: 15/15
The stick was pretty and made my mouth water. Good coloring, some veins that didn't detract from the stick, and some more caps to add to the count. I've lost track of how many total caps Benzo sent on these sticks, but he must get a 3-for-1 deal on 'em.

Draw: 3/10
The draw started a little tight and never loosened up. I thought with a bit of burning the draw would fix itself, which is usually the case. Instead, I had to triple-puff to get any real amount of smoke. In my last review, I talked about the huge importance of the draw in a cigar review. The draw on a cigar is like sex in a relationship -- when it's good, it accounts for 5% of the relationship, but when it's bad it accounts for 50% of the relationship. Bad draw kills a cigar the same way bad sex kills a relationship.

Smoke: 8/10
I had to really work to get smoke from the cigar, so I really appreciated the smoke that did come through. It was delicious, thick, and very white. More smoke would have raised my score in this category.

Ash: 10/10
Tight ash. It hung on for several inches, and was a brilliant white. The ash on this stick might have been the best of the 6 we smoked in the contest. No complaints in this department.

Burn: 9/10
No major inconsistencies and a pretty good burn throughout. I was puffing with vigor, so the draw didn't really have a chance to mess itself up. I probably made the stick burn too hot, but that's the hazard of a tight draw. At least it made the burn really good.

Flavor: 15/20
The cigar started with some light spicy notes, which were followed by an earthiness and some woody flavors. Mostly, it was lightly spicy the whole way through. It seemed to be medium-bodied and didn't give me any buzz at all, which is sort of uncommon for a cigar of this size. The flavors were consistent through the whole cigar, without many changes. No real surprises.

Finish: 13/15
Surprisingly, the cigar had a very good finish even though I had to puff like a maniac to get any smoke from it. Usually a bad draw ends up leaving a bitter taste in my mouth (literally and figuratively). But not this time. I was left with a pleasant spiciness.

Uniqueness: 5/10
I didn't see much about this cigar that was unique, which was disappointing given the other reviews.

Final Thoughts
I'm glad mine wasn't as plugged as Angry Bill's but, like him, I want to try another of these to see what I was missing. I can't help but be intrigued by the very high scores the stick was given by others.

Final Score: 78
 
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I can't believe the contest is over! It was an awesome idea, Benzo. Thanks a million for hosting it.

Someone's going to be remembering this contest for quite some time by smoking the winnings. I don't imagine the rest of us are going to be forgetting it any time soon either.
 

Benzopyrene

BoM June 08
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Sugar Land, TX
Alright guys its time for the revelation of the 6th and final cigar. And... unfortunately I can not find my write up at this moment and since I have to work in the morning itll have to wait, but I promise Ill locate it tomorrow. Its gotta be around here somewhere. yada yada. So, The final cigar in our review contest is not a siglo six, it is not a H.upman Sir wini, but rather the one, the only, the J. Fuego Natural Churchill. DId anyone see that coming I mean honestly? It was great though no?
 
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