Sultan Signature Review Thread

[danthebugman]

After my experience with blend B, I decided to let the other two sit for a while in the hopes that some time would improve the cigar. Today was supposed to be a nice day so I figured I'd give 'em another go. Today I happened to grab blend A.

Pre-light inspection reveals an oily, dark brown wrapper that gives off a distinct peppered jerky aroma. I love that aroma and I don't believe there is another cigar on the market that carries it. There are some veins present and, as with blend B, I think a few are going to cause burn issues. Giving the cigar a little squish between the fingers reveals a very solid cigar, perhaps too solid.

The cap gave way cleanly to a draw that was tight. I ended up taking off a little more and while it was better, I still found it tight. I briefly considered taking another slice off the top, but was wary of going too far so I didn't. The cold draw flavors were much the same as blend B (slightly sweet tobacco with spice), but carried more pepper on the finish.

Toasted easily with the Ronson and we're smoking. Not much coming through with the flavors in the first few puffs. The draw is tight and I'm having to work to get much smoke output. A quick look at the foot reveals that the wrapper doesn't seem to be burning :hanghead:. A quick touch up gets things headed on the right track again.

A little ways in the flavors make themselves known. I'm getting an earthy, molasses flavor with some pepper on the finish. Through the nose there are some sweetened coffee notes, but they are very faint. The burn has been all over the place and the draw remains tight.

The flavors have remained consistent and they are good, but it's quite a bit of work to entice them out. Also there are some veins that are wreaking havoc with the burn.

I ended this cigar a little before it was through simply because I was tired of coaxing it. While the flavors were good and distinctive, the burn/draw issues were too much of a distraction.

Thus far if the primary consideration is flavors, blend A is the one I'd have to choose. Hope to get to blend C later this week or next.

Dan

 

[W.B.]

Sultan Signature -A
Construction/Appearance- The cigar is dark brown and oily. A bit veiny but it is very firm from head to foot.
Burn/Draw- The draw is impeccable. A modest pull for a mouthful of smoke.
Flavor/Aroma-
1/3- Starts off immediately with some sweetness complements a dark(cherry) fruit flavor and cocoa.
2/3 & 3/3- The flavors are very uniform throughout. Not an immensely complex cigar, but enjoyable.
Overall- 8.6/10 Thanks for the experience!

 

[shuckins]

the first of the 3 signature reviews i will be posting

the "A"

very solid,hefty feel.earthy tobacco smell

bit the tail off and punched it (sounds cruel doesn't it) bugatti torch to light.there is so much tobacco packed in this cigar,that it took a minute to get it lit.
in the first few puffs it's earthy tobacco tasting with smoke so thick you can almost chew it

pretty good burn. the draw is tighter than i like,but produces clouds of cool creamy smoke.
it's on the mild-medium side so far with a light sweet tasting spice and a bit of coffee aftertaste.
light grey,almost white,flaky ash

still burning decent,the draw has improved,same great smoke.
light coffee with earthy tobacco taste and a spice i want to call sage.
it's very soft and mellow on the palate

a touch of leather has joined the coffee,giving it a creaminess that i enjoy.
a little spicier now too,with white pepper joining the sage. same great sweet earthy tobacco flavor

a medium strength,but full bodied cigar at this point.
good burn,the draw has really opened up,and a good looking ash as a special bonus

same flavors of coffee with light leather,sage has gotten a little more peppery.
tobacco is still earthy,but not as sweet. burning cool with a creaminess to it.
i had to remove the first band,the ash fell at about 2 1/2" when i did

i'd say close to an hour and a half of smoking to get to the nub.
no real changes in flavors at the end. a very solid smoking cigar from start to finish.
i like the earthy sage flavors along with the taste of coffee,but would have enjoyed more of the spiciness that showed up at the end.

be sure to check out my reviews of "B" and "C" coming soon...

 

[shuckins]

the second of 3 signature reviews i will be posting

the "B"

rock hard body,tea and tobacco smell

tail was short,so i punched it with it on,no problem. lit pretty quick with my torch.
lot's of tea flavor with light spicy tobacco taste in the first couple of puffs

drawing great,burning good with plenty of smoke.
got a little bite on the retrohale

same earthy tobacco flavors,kinda sweet with a spicy citrus zing to it that i'm enjoying.
light grey flaky ash fell at an inch and a half or so,coulda been my fault,ok it was my fault...lol.
i bumped it with the camera

getting a little more peppery. tobacco is more woodsy than earthy tasting now.
great draw,good burn,lot's of smoke

a medium strength and bodied cigar so far.
woodsy tobacco with a light peppery spice. the citrus zing has faded

had to remove the first band.
it's kicking pretty good now with light tea and pepper flavors,along with the woodsy tasting tobacco.
drawing and burning pretty good

about an hour and 20 minutes to get to the nub.
a medium-full strength cigar at the finish.
finished with woodsy tobacco and light peppery tea flavors

so far,i like the strength of B,but the flavors of A.
can't wait to see what C brings...

 

[shuckins]

the third of the 3 signature reviews i will be posting

the "C"

medium feel,nice weight. coffee,light cocoa and tobacco smell

same technique as before,punched and lit with my bugatti torch.
firm draw,light coffee and cream taste. tobacco has a sweetness to it in the first few puffs

draw is fine,burn could be better though. an amazing amount of smoke.
all three cigars have produced tons of smoke. a very smooth smoking cigar

same coffee with light cocoa flavors,the sweet tobacco is a little more earthy tasting now,with a hint of wood and leather on the retrohale. dark grey flaky ash

been steady smoking. the draw and burn have both improved. a little puff brings a lot of smoke.
coffee and cocoa have picked up a taste of leather.
tobacco is earthy,but not as sweet as before. ash fell at an inch and a half

it's been a very slow burning cigar,the sun's gone behind the hill,gonna be dark soon,but i will smoke on! same great flavors as before,a medium strength,full bodied cigar so far

removed the first band. burning and drawing fine with plenty of smoke.
a little cocoa flavor has returned to join the coffee and light leather taste.
a bit of sweetness has also returned to the earthy tobacco flavors. the woodsy taste has faded

over an hour and a half to get to the nub.
finished with a great draw and burn and the same tasty flavors as before,with a little added spice kick at the very end.

i think C combined the best of A and B and has earned my vote to be the Sultan Signature Cigar!

i'd like to thank Yan and Ferry for the cigars,and thank everyone who posted their reviews!!
if you haven't posted your review,please do it soon!


be sure to watch for the Sultan Signature group buy coming real soon...

thanks for reading guys! hope you enjoyed the reviews!

 

[LTS 4 Bad Cigars]

Ok, I have searched the web and cannot find where to lay hold of these sticks. What gives? I really want to try a couple.

 

[SuprHasan]

Ok, I have searched the web and cannot find where to lay hold of these sticks. What gives? I really want to try a couple.

I don't think the Signature is available for sampling anymore.
Of the three, the C was chosen as the new Signature Cigar.
Lucky for me, I got a sampler :dance:

 

[LTS 4 Bad Cigars]

I don't think the Signature is available for sampling anymore.
Of the three, the C was chosen as the new Signature Cigar.
Lucky for me, I got a sampler :dance:

Thanks. That A sounded like the one for me. Hopefully by the time the Group Buy comes around I will be in sufficient standing to partake.

 

[shuckins]

Ok, I have searched the web and cannot find where to lay hold of these sticks. What gives? I really want to try a couple.

Thanks. That A sounded like the one for me. Hopefully by the time the Group Buy comes around I will be in sufficient standing to partake.

i will be posting the group buy thread tomorrow,and there will be a couple of surprises that i think you will really like...

 

[SuprHasan]

Sultan Signature Series - C

I know everyone loves photos. Photos are after the review. LOTS of photos.

Feels firm to a light squeeze with a few soft spots.
Wrapper is dark and but inconsistent with lighter patches.
The wrapper smells like a light chocolate, cocoa, tobacco and coffee.
The cut is solid, firm, crisp and clean using a double straight blade.
Post cut head smells of tobacco and leather. Very pleasant, reminding me of my grandfather’s leather factory in Pakistan.

Lighter used is a Colibri single flame torch. Takes a while to get lit up due to the RG, but once lit, produces copious amounts of smoke with a white ash.
Initial flavour reminds me of the Sultan Churchill. I taste aniseed, to be honest which is the dominant flavour in the Churchill, though is more subtle here.
I’m finding that it’s lacking in flavour with nothing jumping out at me. It’s producing a medium amount of smoke with each puff and with a light passing through the nasal passage, I feel the sting of a heavy smoke, without it being one.
It might be my palate isn’t refined enough to appreciate the flavour, but I think I’m missing out on something.
Well into the first third, there’s a bit of spice coming through. Nice change.
I just had half the ash fall off. It’s about an inch and a half long, but only one side of it came off while taking a draw.
Starting the second third sees the flavour plateau. Nothing new to report. Still a mild to medium cigar with a touch of spice and aniseed.
Another third of the side of the ash fell off, so I rolled the cigar in the corner of the ashtray to find the ash to be very soft, brittle and flakey.
Half way through the 2nd third, the strength increases as does the amount of smoke. I’m not liking the after taste L

The burn continues to be average with an irregular burn line. There was a point where I had to take a few strong puffs to ward off it extinguishing itself.

The final third is pretty much the same. Unfortunately it wasn’t as exciting as I was looking forward to.

Conclusion
I really wanted to like this cigar as the wait for it was highly anticipated. My friend, while visiting Jakarta, got these cigars (Churchill, Robusto and Signature) delivered by Frederiko, who then brought them back to Sydney for me. I was excited to get such a package and waited for the perfect opportunity to light it up.
Maybe it’s the lack of refinement in my palate, but I didn’t really get into the cigar as I had hoped I would. I kept pushing on till the end, waiting for it to surprise me with something unexpected. The unexpected surprise was that, for me, there was no surprise. It was pretty much the same from beginning till end. Mild to medium bodied with a good draw, lacking in flavour and complexity, reminiscent of the Churchill’s flavour.

Photos:

Packed well.

Noticed the ash starting to split

Wrapper was multi coloured.

More ash splitting

Gaping holes in the ash now...

No photo editing. That's how my phone camera takes the photo.
Ash split and fell off.

Another thirs of the ash falls off.

Flakey soft ash.

 

[shuckins]

the group buy thread has been posted:

http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=46864

 

[LTS 4 Bad Cigars]

It says I do not have sufficient privileges to participate.

Darn!

 

[shuckins]

It says I do not have sufficient privileges to participate.

Darn!

the forum doesn't allow posts in group buy threads...

 

[danthebugman]

the group buy thread has been posted

So has the blend been chosen?

Dan

 

[shuckins]

So has the blend been chosen?

Dan

yes,the signature will be blend C. if you prefer A or B,they will be available until the remaining cigars are sold,which is less than a 1000 of each blend.

 

[danthebugman]

yes,the signature will be blend C. if you prefer A or B,they will be available until the remaining cigars are sold,which is less than a 1000 of each blend.

Guess I should have read the group buy post first :laugh:.

Dan

 

[SuprHasan]

Yeah, I know it's kind of pointless making this review since the Signature blend has already been chosen, but I was gifted the 3 blends to review, and damn it, that's what I'm going to do!!


Sultan Signature B

Sydney, Australia.
Sunday, 12 December 2010, 4:30PM
Outdoors, 32°C, 35% RH, Smoking Time 1h 30min.

This cigar is very firm when giving it a good pinch between the fingers. There aren’t any soft spots
Wrapper is dark and but inconsistent with lighter patches. I’m noticing that the longer the cigar is out of the humidor, the lighter the wrapper becomes. I know that’s it’s losing moisture, but I’ve never see a cigar change colour so drastically.

The wrapper smells like leather and a light tobacco.
The cut is solid, firm, crisp and clean using a double straight blade.
Post cut, head smells of tobacco and leather. It has a medium draw and has a slight sweet after taste. I like this one more than my C review where I think I got a bad egg that slipped past QC.

Lighter used is a Colibri single flame torch. Lights up very quickly and might be due the stupid temp outside as I smoke it. Once lit, the smoke is white and has a mild smell to it.
As with the C, I don’t find a mouthful of flavour, rather, it’s a bit bland. Unfortunately, being spoilt for choice with Cubans, I don’t think I’d pick up a 5er of these. There’s a medium amount of smoke that pleasant, even when the cigar is resting. When taking a draw, it’s easy and not offensive when exiting through the nose. There’s less sting than the C and it feels a lot more palatable.

The first third is rounding up now and it’s not bad. The mildness of the cigar, coupled with the hot and dry day, is making me forget about the one dimensional flavour. There’s nothing new in taste as I smoke it down, but it’s not unpleasant either. Maybe it’s just the tobacco in the region, but I’d like to see one of these jump up and grab me by the throat and say “Hey! This what you’re looking for?” before laying out the earthy, leathery and woody flavours I love (think BCJ and PSD4).

Wow, I just had a bit of a surprise. As I wrote the notes above, the B decided to put itself out. Upon relighting, I instantly got hints of a smoky wood. I then had a craving for an Atlantic smoked salmon sandwich. Damn you Sultan!
I’m starting to enjoy this now. It’s giving a bit of a bite, like a white pepper.

The ash is strong and held on for a good inch and a half. I had to break it off to relight. The burn so far has been good. It started off irregular, but I decided to leave it and have it correct itself, which it did nearly perfectly. I also noticed that it’s plagued with the same ash-split issue as the C had. Not a problem this time as it didn’t fall off.

The burn continues to be average with an irregular burn line.
The final third is pretty much the same as the 2nd, but with a bit of sweet leather. Each puff gives off a huge amount of smoke and I can tell you that the bee that’s been hanging around no longer wishes to accompany me till the end. It finishes off strong and leathery. A good end to a day.

Conclusion
I was a bit hesitant about this cigar as my last Sultan experience wasn’t that good. Much to my surprise, this blend was much different than the last. The B is a cigar that I wouldn’t mind revisiting after another 3-6 months rest. The cigar doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It is what it is. The flavour comes around only into the second third, but it’s enjoyable from there on.

 

[shuckins]

it's never pointless to post a review,especially a good one with pics!!

 

[danthebugman]

Yes, very good review Hasan :thumbsup:.

Dan

 

[traveller]

the group buy thread has been posted:

http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=46864

Says i don't have sufficient privileges either. I can't see the thread at all...