Meh. Construction saved this cigar, especially after I've had so many lately with poor burns or caps falling off. Nary a problem to be seen. But the flavors were just not there. Nothing bad in the cigar at all it just wasn't that complex or rich. It certainly didn't have any of the rich and slightly sweet flavors I expect from a maduro. It was not a full cigar in flavor or strength; really it came across as more mild than anything. That's not a bad thing; I like mild cigars. It's just not what I expected from this guy.
I know cincos are a "value" cigar, but there are some similarly priced sticks out there I would prefer. Heisenberg's are only a bit more. Partagas Cifuentes are only a bit more. Heck, they're not my favorite, but the Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro's are a steal if you like them and have a lot more to offer in terms of strength and complexity with some characteristic Maduro qualities.
Still, all this being said, I enjoyed the cigar enough to smoke it through a couple of hours. The draw was perfect, none of the flavors were off. No burn issues were evident; the ash held strong, and the wrapper remained intact. QC means a lot, but it doesn't trump good flavor in the end. This didn't have bad flavor. It's simply a middle of the road smokable stick. I would pick it again before some more expensive cigars that really turn me off, that's for sure, but it won't go on my list of favorites, either.
Meh. Construction saved this cigar, especially after I've had so many lately with poor burns or caps falling off. Nary a problem to be seen. But the flavors were just not there. Nothing bad in the cigar at all it just wasn't that complex or rich. It certainly didn't have any of the rich and slightly sweet flavors I expect from a maduro. It was not a full cigar in flavor or strength; really it came across as more mild than anything. That's not a bad thing; I like mild cigars. It's just not what I expected from this guy.
I know cincos are a "value" cigar, but there are some similarly priced sticks out there I would prefer. Heisenberg's are only a bit more. Partagas Cifuentes are only a bit more. Heck, they're not my favorite, but the Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro's are a steal if you like them and have a lot more to offer in terms of strength and complexity with some characteristic Maduro qualities.
Still, all this being said, I enjoyed the cigar enough to smoke it through a couple of hours. The draw was perfect, none of the flavors were off. No burn issues were evident; the ash held strong, and the wrapper remained intact. QC means a lot, but it doesn't trump good flavor in the end. This didn't have bad flavor. It's simply a middle of the road smokable stick. I would pick it again before some more expensive cigars that really turn me off, that's for sure, but it won't go on my list of favorites, either.
Spot on. Don't know why but the "darker" non Gold 5 Vegas all seem to be mild and the flavor as you said seems mild also. I found that the Gold will pick up some legs even with a minimum amount of aging/rest and after at least 3 months really develop into a better smoke. Its a shame but I can't seem to put any of them aside for a longer period of time.
I'd never heard of Rodrigo before being given this cigar; now I want more. Seems they sell them at the one lounge around that I HAVEN'T been to. Hmmm. Perhaps a field trip is in order.
Pre-light, this cigar is nearly seamless, toothy, and has a nice sheen to its Ecuadorian Habano/Sumatra hybrid wrapper (that's a mouthful!). The cap has a little nub, like a clipped pigtail. The smell is of sweet tobacco and cedar with some nice floral overtones. A lick is slightly sweet with some typical tobacco flavors, but nothing very strong. After clipping the cap, the draw is perfect.
I toast using about a dozen kitchen matches. I don't want to scorch this thing, but my fireplace matches aren't handy. No torch allowed on lanceros; that's what I always say. Or I should say that, but I really haven't smoked for that long or that many lanceros, so that's kind of a lie. But I should market the sign. Heck, a whole series of signs. "Lancero parking only, all others will be towed." "No large RG's allowed." But I digress, and I'm not really that much of a lancero fanatic, either. But this one almost converts me. In the first third, I notice a lot of spice, similar to black pepper, but it only hits me high on the back part of the roof of my mouth. With a short finish, it doesn't linger and never approaches being harsh. As the cigar settles in, the pepper remains, but cedar and wet earth notes enter the picture.
In the second third, the flavors get a little muddled. The cigar is still good, but it seems like the flavor version of mixing paint. In the first third, there were little splotches of paint neatly laid out on the artist's palette, but this third has all the same colors, only some two-year-old started to swirl them all together. It's not one note, you can still taste all the flavors; they're just not as clearly demarcated from each other. Some might find this interesting, but I found it lost something. Still, it's good. In this third, I started having some burn issues, but that's because I was smoking pretty slow. I should mention at this point, that this thing puts off copious amounts of smoke. I don't know if it was the way the wind was hitting my porch, but it was long-lingering smoke, too. It kept hovering right in front of my face. Oh, and the retro here gives a blast of pepper, but it's also a very "clean" pepper. Just made my nostrils tingle, and I felt like I wouldn't need to trim the nose hair for a week. Then "poof" like Keyser Soze, it's gone. No more pepper-induced effects in the nasal passages.
The floral notes that I smelled on the cigar really start to peek through the muddled mess to mark the beginning of the final third. Then, maybe a slight citrus joins the cedar and the earth. Some toasted bitter almonds join the mix as well. The pepper is still there, but more as feel than as flavor. The finish isn't as clean or as short as it was in the first third. In fact, I'm still feeling it a little bit the next morning.
Overall, this was a great smoke. It's funny how on some cigar something that might really annoy me is not an annoyance on another cigar. The only thing I can attribute that to is what I might call a gestalt of the cigar. The burn on this cigar was a little uneven at times, and if set it down just a hair too long, it went out. But the draw was so smooth that it allowed me to take gentle, lingering, "lancero draws" perfectly. The flavors lost something in the middle, but they were still good and the feel of the thing remained top-notch. Smoking to the end didn't clear up all the flavors, but added some new to the mix and increased the character of the cigar. I haven't smoked many I'd rank higher. It's not my favorite smoke, but that's because the strength was a little more than I like and the profile doesn't suit me. Some might call this a medium, but I'd rank it more a full. Not LFD strong, but definitely in-your-face. Still, I would search these out again because the experience was so good. Given the right post-meal setting, these could be a featured smoke from time-to-time. Certainly, it was a good way to spend about an hour and 45 minutes during a V-herf with Curt and Vinny. Sorry, guys if I wasn't all that chatty. I was busy taking notes on this. I knew I'd want to get this review down.
Photobucket chewed up my pre-light image pretty good...
...and it lost most of my other photos which will not upload again.
At any rate, I noticed a slight amount of pepper on the cap. I cut it once and the draw was pretty tight. That happens sometimes with my cutter and belicosos. I let it go, but eventually had to make a second cut. There were some hard-draw issues not related to the cut as I went along, too, but they weren't from a plug so much as a tight roll. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first third is mild. Long finish in the mouth, but not on retro. Slight pepper, but not much else except a mild tobacco flavor.
Into the second third, I get some lettuce/vegetal flavors that are unpleasant, but it's smoking okay otherwise. Those flavors hit right about this point in the cigar...
In the final third, the lettuce is gone and we're back to a mild smoke, but with a bit more complexity. Problem is, the lettuce is lingering on the palate. I almost stopped to brush my teeth because I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
Down to this point, the smoke took me about an hour and 25 minutes...
I smoked the nub a bit more after this, and the flavors and heat remained good for another 10 minutes or so. Good smoke from DPG except for the salad. Nice change of pace for him.
First, let me say, this is the cigar I recently mentioned on the things I hate thread...I lost my tasting notes.
Next, let me say, ccom needs to update the pic of this stick on their site. Completely different band and no cedar sleeve had me confused for a bit when I received these.
Now, to get started, my wonderfully witty and astute observations are scattered electrons, now. Getting down to it, the cigar was attractive, even if the band was on the slightly gaudy side. But it was shiny and I like shiny things. Licking the cap made me think of Sriracha sauce. Spicy, sweet and some slight garlic. Even though I would use the same flavor descriptors for the rest of the cigar, maybe minus the garlic, it was only the lick that was distinctly like my favorite hot sauce.
Pepper was the predominate flavor throughout the smoke, but it was a smooth pepper. I do remember a little citrus on the retro as well, but only on the retro. I had to set this down about halfway for reasons outside my control, and I was extremely disappointed. The draw was smooth, with just a little bit of resistance. The finish was medium-long. I knew I had smoked between puffs and afterward, but nothing unpleasant remained. Neither did anything particularly fantastic, though, so this was kind of a neutral observation for me. During the smoke it was fine, but later, I like to have a good taste in my mouth, not just a "I smoked" impression. But, my wife liked the lingering aroma on my facial hair and kissed me several times, which she won't always do after smoking.
These were part of my wife's "bouquet" that came from a Kelly deal. The retail price is under $5, and would be well worth it. I haven't found many sub-half-sawbuck cigars I liked this much. Nor have I found a ton over that price. I'm glad there's more in my humi. I thought these might be some BPT material, but now, you'll have to get your own, suckers! These are going into the rotation with my Oliva V Melanios and a few others I can afford to smoke regularly.
Oh, and these are an AJ blend and definitely carry some of his distinctiveness, but are also very different from anything else from him. There's some spice, but the cigar doesn't seem Ligero-heavy. I wonder how these might age...
Great stick. Good with coffee. A little pricey, but it reminded me of butter-pecan ice cream, so how can you really go wrong? Not as complex as my still reigning favorite Connie (Oliva Connecticut Reserve) or as bold as second place (San Cristobal Elegencia, now that it's a confirmed Connie). But this is in solid third of all the connies I've tried. Perfect morning stick for the back porch.
None of this matching colors for me, PuffDougie. I drink my coffee as God intended. The cigar provides the cream. Some wind made for small ash.
I had a few burn issues and lots of flakes on the ash, but I only needed one minor touch-up.
Still going strong after 1:30.
Really, did you need to read past butter pecan ice cream?
Packaging galore. Double band outside of tissue paper with a repeat of the double bands inside makes getting to this cigar kind of like Christmas morning...or a birthday party (which I suspect this was supposed to be a birthday present...my wife gave it to me since it was such a nice night but a week before my birthday.) Let's get ready to light this candle.
The smell to this cigar is interesting. I can't decide exactly what I'm smelling, but there's some complex earth, leather, coffee, chocolate, and spice notes kind of swirling around. It's not muddled, but nothing is lingering on my scent receptors long enough to decide exactly what any one aroma is. The cap lick makes me think of a Lindt Dark Chocolate bar with Chili pepper in it. (http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/chili-excellence-bar). The wrapper is super oily. Like the Hoff on Baywatch kind of glistening sheen of oil. There are some veins and blemishes on the wrapper, including one odd "pimple".
The chili goes away once I toast and light. It is replaced with more of a clove-like spice. Chocolate flavors come and go throughout the smoke, which lasts over 2 hours. About halfway in, you can really taste the nicotine (I know, it's a tasteless chemical), but you don't really feel it in the head or gut, so I don't know how to describe what I was experiencing, but it was definitely from the nic. But after it builds up and comes on strong, it kind of goes away. The final half of the final third went south on me, so I didn't nub this. It wasn't bad at that point, but it lost some magic. It was really solid before that.
As oily as this thing was, and with it's not-strong-medium-strong-medium progression of intensity and because of the blend, I wonder if this would age well and become better. Honestly, I expected this to be a more expensive cigar than it is listed, but some of that is because of the all-out packaging. Flavor-wise, I'd rank it pretty high, if a little indistinct in some parts. There's no "signature" flavor that stood out, and nothing that wowed me to the point of remembering it strongly a day later, aside from the long finish that took brushing that night and then the next morning to start to subside. This thing hung around! But until the very end when it started to burn hot, there was nothing that turned me off, either. I did have to give it some touch-ups along the way. Scratch that. A lot of touch ups. The thing did not want to burn. It seemed to have a really thick wrapper/binder combination. It never really went out, but it would go out one side at a time and burn unevenly. My wife looked at the matches in my ashtray and complained about the waste (I need to refill my lighters.)
I forgot to take pics of this. It was a robusto of the new version. I've never had the old version in the triple Mad, but I did have a regular maduro from the old line and liked it for the most part. This was definitely a full smoke. Some good rich flavors of chocolate and sweetness, but a lot of strength, too. My wife came out to smoke with me, so I stopped taking notes, but wanted to at least note that I liked this one for a stronger cigar. Right up there with the CAO Brazilia Gol for something comprable.
I forgot to take pics of this. It was a robusto of the new version. I've never had the old version in the triple Mad, but I did have a regular maduro from the old line and liked it for the most part. This was definitely a full smoke. Some good rich flavors of chocolate and sweetness, but a lot of strength, too. My wife came out to smoke with me, so I stopped taking notes, but wanted to at least note that I liked this one for a stronger cigar. Right up there with the CAO Brazilia Gol for something comprable.
Oh, and my wife like her CAO Flavors Moontrance.
I tried one of these the other day and found it to be just overpowering. I like a strong smoke, but this one was too harsh for my liking. My wife also likes to be around when I smoke a good full-bodied cigar, but the Camacho Triple Maduro was too much for her too.
I forgot to take pics of this. It was a robusto of the new version. I've never had the old version in the triple Mad, but I did have a regular maduro from the old line and liked it for the most part. This was definitely a full smoke. Some good rich flavors of chocolate and sweetness, but a lot of strength, too. My wife came out to smoke with me, so I stopped taking notes, but wanted to at least note that I liked this one for a stronger cigar. Right up there with the CAO Brazilia Gol for something comprable.
Oh, and my wife like her CAO Flavors Moontrance.
I tried one of these the other day and found it to be just overpowering. I like a strong smoke, but this one was too harsh for my liking. My wife also likes to be around when I smoke a good full-bodied cigar, but the Camacho Triple Maduro was too much for her too.
I've only had a couple of these, but I think they probably need a year or two to mature. I liked them, but, they will kick your butt. If I had a big humidor, I'd stash a few in the bottom and try them after a year.
I forgot to take pics of this. It was a robusto of the new version. I've never had the old version in the triple Mad, but I did have a regular maduro from the old line and liked it for the most part. This was definitely a full smoke. Some good rich flavors of chocolate and sweetness, but a lot of strength, too. My wife came out to smoke with me, so I stopped taking notes, but wanted to at least note that I liked this one for a stronger cigar. Right up there with the CAO Brazilia Gol for something comprable.
Oh, and my wife like her CAO Flavors Moontrance.
I tried one of these the other day and found it to be just overpowering. I like a strong smoke, but this one was too harsh for my liking. My wife also likes to be around when I smoke a good full-bodied cigar, but the Camacho Triple Maduro was too much for her too.
I've only had a couple of these, but I think they probably need a year or two to mature. I liked them, but, they will kick your butt. If I had a big humidor, I'd stash a few in the bottom and try them after a year.
I don't know how much the blend has changed with the rebranding, if at all. I thought it was okay. I smoked it after two days of huge meals and ate another right when it was done. I didn't suffer at all. Was quite surprised really, but it was just the perfect smoke for the set of circumstances. Normally I don't like cigars that strong.
Trying this in another vitola...5.2x50. Still sucks. Wrapper is falling off. Same burn problems. Same harsh flavors. Top it off with some construction issues/thin wrapper...the thing is cracking and peeling in several places. Started under the band when I took it off, and the peeling has expanded. Trying to lick it in place, but every time I do, another spot comes up. This one has about 6 months on it or more, so I don't think its a matter of needing rest. Just not my stick.
Martel:
This cigar has a really high price tag as a single. I got a deal from March Madness for a fiver and picked it up with a mix of other stuff, including the Oliva from my last review. I wouldn't pay full price for one of these...not worth it. I'll let some age acquire and see how these are after a while.
Pre-light, this cigar has a soft foot and firm middle. The band was stuck to the wrapper...this is becoming common on some of my cigars. I smell hay and some molassesey sweetness, which I taste as well. After a toast and light, I notice a pretty harsh finish on this until it gets nice and warm. After 1/4 of an inch, it is much better, but my palate is reeling. I get the feel of pepper, but not much pepper flavor. It is woodsy and the ash is flaky. The burn on this is really wonky, and it eventually caught up to itself but is still very irregular.
The second third begins with the third ash fall of this cigar. It is mellowing and smoothing out. We shall see. There is a nice feel to the smoke, now. Cedar is strong with a hint of citrus, maybe grapefruit. There is also some richness. Ohhhh, is this the elusive toasted marshmallow? Maybe just a hint of blackened marshmallow on a stick. There is also a slight bitter espresso flavor.
The burn is once again really uneven. The flavors get harsh again, but not awful-harsh. There's something that fits about this harshness. Some people might like it, but it is an over-toasted, almost burned nut flavor that just isn't my favorite.
Not nearly as nice as my last smoke. I'll try this one again after a bit more rest. This one only had a week or so, and I wonder how it will age. It could stand to have some mellowing and melding of flavors at time. I worry that there are construction issues with this cigar. Overall the construction looked decent, but I had so many burn problems, I ended up lowering the marks. Strength was a bit over medium. Flavor was what I had a difficult time with on this stick. Sometimes good and rich, at other times harsh and nasty.
Loved it. Took very few notes. This was my birthday smoke. Great selection.
There was a noticeable vein/stem on the wrapper near the head. But I didn't notice it by look; only by touch. It was mostly hidden by the band. I was surprised by the low-key aroma and cap lick. There wasn't a lot of spice or flavor. That was the case through the rest of the smoke, too.
Let me just say, this was the best cigar in this price range I've had so far. Milder than expected, but encroaching into the medium. There was some nicotine strength to be felt by the time I reached the final third, but not a lot of flavor strength. There was a lot of pepper in the retro, but not really sharp pepper.
There was a nice amount of sweetness to this smoke. Hints of wood, but nothing jumping out; very well rounded and balanced. Smooth and interesting throughout. Definitely want to try more of these.
I'll add some photos once Photobucket allows me.
Two hours toast to nub, and I wanted to keep going.
I love Graycliff, but this one is not one of their best and I agree that almost all of them are overpriced, I buy on the Devil site or not at all.
I tried another one of their sticks...The Avelino Lara 80th. It was much better.
That is a good one. Their two best, to me, are the 30-year and Double Espresso. Their casillero privada is passable, but not much more, but that's based only on the first stick I have tried of that line.
I love Graycliff, but this one is not one of their best and I agree that almost all of them are overpriced, I buy on the Devil site or not at all.
I tried another one of their sticks...The Avelino Lara 80th. It was much better.
That is a good one. Their two best, to me, are the 30-year and Double Espresso. Their casillero privada is passable, but not much more, but that's based only on the first stick I have tried of that line.
The Avelina Lara is more budget friendly, and I enjoyed it more than the Platinum. I have something else in my humi, but not sure what it is. I'll have to look and see if its one of these.
It split at the head. Binder was intact, so it still smoked okay. The problem was I just didn't like it. It didn't taste right to me. Ashy. Not a lot of pepper, but what there was struck the back of the throat in a harsh manner. Retro seemed harsh. I was disappointed in this cigar because I normally like Litto's stuff. I'm not even going to bother with pics...I didn't even finish it. Sorry I didn't have more detailed notes for y'all. I was smoking with my wife and we were chatting a lot.
Originally I didn't mention anything about the looks of the cigar in this review. But it has a really nice feel to it. Some tooth to make it feel good and oils to make it glow add up to a pleasant visual. The band is understated matte paper, but it actually has quite a lot going on it. It fits with the cigar, too. It's not the flashiest presentation; it's not super ornate, but I like it.
This was a really interesting smoke. It was giving me some flavors like a smoker filled with hickory or applewood puts off. Then come to find out, that's because there's some tobacco cured by a smoking process in the blend.
It was really interesting, but at the same time, the smoke curing didn't take away from this being a great cigar in its own right. I would imagine much more of this tobacco would have overpowered the rest of the blend, but as it was, it smoked smoothly all the way until the last sixth of the cigar. I couldn't nub this thing because it got harsh at that point. The ash held solid and strong.
Not a lot of strength, but some definite strong flavors at times created a complexity that I appreciated. It won't go on my top 5 (or 10) list that I send my wife, but it will definitely go down as an enjoyable smoke that I'd seek out again.
This was a really interesting smoke. It was giving me some flavors like a smoker filled with hickory or applewood puts off. Then come to find out, that's because there's some tobacco cured by a smoking process in the blend. It was really interesting, but at the same time, the smoke curing didn't take away from this being a great cigar in its own right. I would imagine much more of this tobacco would have overpowered the rest of the blend, but as it was, it smoked smoothly all the way until the last sixth of the cigar. I couldn't nub this thing because it got harsh at that point. The ash held solid and strong. Not a lot of strength, but some definite strong flavors at times created a complexity that I appreciated. It won't go on my top 5 (or 10) list that I send my wife, but it will definitely go down as an enjoyable smoke that I'd seek out again. I'll post pics in an update, but I forgot to charge the phone. Once it's got juice, I'll get some posted.
I am smoking a Leccia White from Bigshizza as I read your post, and it may very well make it to the nub stage, a surprisingly good little cigar.
Ditto.. the one Shizz PIFd me with was (white label) was a great smoke. I he sent the little guy they call it so I lit it up in the morning...lol unexpected spice bomb with full flavors! Def on my future box list to buy.
You nailed the black. It's a great cigar, that employs fire cured tobacco, not a cigar that tried to showcase it really. Leccia got it right with that blend IMO. It's a great cigar, and oddly out of my wheelhouse but I like it for some reason. If anyone has some they want to get rid of, LMK.
I thought you decided on too much Ligero, but then I realized it only hit right on the front of my tongue and didn't get harsh. There was some good sweet chocolate flavor to this cigar, too, but most of the sweetness came from the wrapper, which fell apart on me. QC, AJ, QC! The only initials Randy approves of me using with you would be FTW, so please, don't disappoint me if I smoke another of your numerous blends. The fact that I was putting my mouth on binder instead of wrapper somehow really bugged me through this smoke. So much so that I didn't even finish it, despite finding the flavors to be excellent for what they were. In the end, though, it just wasn't my flavor profile. I'm going to go smoke an Armada or Sol Cubano CC or that Mayimbe I got bombed, now.
Comments
I know cincos are a "value" cigar, but there are some similarly priced sticks out there I would prefer. Heisenberg's are only a bit more. Partagas Cifuentes are only a bit more. Heck, they're not my favorite, but the Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro's are a steal if you like them and have a lot more to offer in terms of strength and complexity with some characteristic Maduro qualities.
Still, all this being said, I enjoyed the cigar enough to smoke it through a couple of hours. The draw was perfect, none of the flavors were off. No burn issues were evident; the ash held strong, and the wrapper remained intact. QC means a lot, but it doesn't trump good flavor in the end. This didn't have bad flavor. It's simply a middle of the road smokable stick. I would pick it again before some more expensive cigars that really turn me off, that's for sure, but it won't go on my list of favorites, either.
Spot on. Don't know why but the "darker" non Gold 5 Vegas all seem to be mild and the flavor as you said seems mild also. I found that the Gold will pick up some legs even with a minimum amount of aging/rest and after at least 3 months really develop into a better smoke. Its a shame but I can't seem to put any of them aside for a longer period of time.
Pre-light, this cigar is nearly seamless, toothy, and has a nice sheen to its Ecuadorian Habano/Sumatra hybrid wrapper (that's a mouthful!). The cap has a little nub, like a clipped pigtail. The smell is of sweet tobacco and cedar with some nice floral overtones. A lick is slightly sweet with some typical tobacco flavors, but nothing very strong. After clipping the cap, the draw is perfect.
I toast using about a dozen kitchen matches. I don't want to scorch this thing, but my fireplace matches aren't handy. No torch allowed on lanceros; that's what I always say. Or I should say that, but I really haven't smoked for that long or that many lanceros, so that's kind of a lie. But I should market the sign. Heck, a whole series of signs. "Lancero parking only, all others will be towed." "No large RG's allowed." But I digress, and I'm not really that much of a lancero fanatic, either. But this one almost converts me. In the first third, I notice a lot of spice, similar to black pepper, but it only hits me high on the back part of the roof of my mouth. With a short finish, it doesn't linger and never approaches being harsh. As the cigar settles in, the pepper remains, but cedar and wet earth notes enter the picture.
In the second third, the flavors get a little muddled. The cigar is still good, but it seems like the flavor version of mixing paint. In the first third, there were little splotches of paint neatly laid out on the artist's palette, but this third has all the same colors, only some two-year-old started to swirl them all together. It's not one note, you can still taste all the flavors; they're just not as clearly demarcated from each other. Some might find this interesting, but I found it lost something. Still, it's good. In this third, I started having some burn issues, but that's because I was smoking pretty slow. I should mention at this point, that this thing puts off copious amounts of smoke. I don't know if it was the way the wind was hitting my porch, but it was long-lingering smoke, too. It kept hovering right in front of my face. Oh, and the retro here gives a blast of pepper, but it's also a very "clean" pepper. Just made my nostrils tingle, and I felt like I wouldn't need to trim the nose hair for a week. Then "poof" like Keyser Soze, it's gone. No more pepper-induced effects in the nasal passages.
The floral notes that I smelled on the cigar really start to peek through the muddled mess to mark the beginning of the final third. Then, maybe a slight citrus joins the cedar and the earth. Some toasted bitter almonds join the mix as well. The pepper is still there, but more as feel than as flavor. The finish isn't as clean or as short as it was in the first third. In fact, I'm still feeling it a little bit the next morning.
Overall, this was a great smoke. It's funny how on some cigar something that might really annoy me is not an annoyance on another cigar. The only thing I can attribute that to is what I might call a gestalt of the cigar. The burn on this cigar was a little uneven at times, and if set it down just a hair too long, it went out. But the draw was so smooth that it allowed me to take gentle, lingering, "lancero draws" perfectly. The flavors lost something in the middle, but they were still good and the feel of the thing remained top-notch. Smoking to the end didn't clear up all the flavors, but added some new to the mix and increased the character of the cigar. I haven't smoked many I'd rank higher. It's not my favorite smoke, but that's because the strength was a little more than I like and the profile doesn't suit me. Some might call this a medium, but I'd rank it more a full. Not LFD strong, but definitely in-your-face. Still, I would search these out again because the experience was so good. Given the right post-meal setting, these could be a featured smoke from time-to-time. Certainly, it was a good way to spend about an hour and 45 minutes during a V-herf with Curt and Vinny. Sorry, guys if I wasn't all that chatty. I was busy taking notes on this. I knew I'd want to get this review down.
Thanks for the review.
...and it lost most of my other photos which will not upload again.
At any rate, I noticed a slight amount of pepper on the cap. I cut it once and the draw was pretty tight. That happens sometimes with my cutter and belicosos. I let it go, but eventually had to make a second cut. There were some hard-draw issues not related to the cut as I went along, too, but they weren't from a plug so much as a tight roll. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first third is mild. Long finish in the mouth, but not on retro. Slight pepper, but not much else except a mild tobacco flavor.
Into the second third, I get some lettuce/vegetal flavors that are unpleasant, but it's smoking okay otherwise. Those flavors hit right about this point in the cigar...
In the final third, the lettuce is gone and we're back to a mild smoke, but with a bit more complexity. Problem is, the lettuce is lingering on the palate. I almost stopped to brush my teeth because I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
Down to this point, the smoke took me about an hour and 25 minutes...
I smoked the nub a bit more after this, and the flavors and heat remained good for another 10 minutes or so. Good smoke from DPG except for the salad. Nice change of pace for him.
Next, let me say, ccom needs to update the pic of this stick on their site. Completely different band and no cedar sleeve had me confused for a bit when I received these.
Now, to get started, my wonderfully witty and astute observations are scattered electrons, now. Getting down to it, the cigar was attractive, even if the band was on the slightly gaudy side. But it was shiny and I like shiny things. Licking the cap made me think of Sriracha sauce. Spicy, sweet and some slight garlic. Even though I would use the same flavor descriptors for the rest of the cigar, maybe minus the garlic, it was only the lick that was distinctly like my favorite hot sauce.
Pepper was the predominate flavor throughout the smoke, but it was a smooth pepper. I do remember a little citrus on the retro as well, but only on the retro. I had to set this down about halfway for reasons outside my control, and I was extremely disappointed. The draw was smooth, with just a little bit of resistance. The finish was medium-long. I knew I had smoked between puffs and afterward, but nothing unpleasant remained. Neither did anything particularly fantastic, though, so this was kind of a neutral observation for me. During the smoke it was fine, but later, I like to have a good taste in my mouth, not just a "I smoked" impression. But, my wife liked the lingering aroma on my facial hair and kissed me several times, which she won't always do after smoking.
These were part of my wife's "bouquet" that came from a Kelly deal. The retail price is under $5, and would be well worth it. I haven't found many sub-half-sawbuck cigars I liked this much. Nor have I found a ton over that price. I'm glad there's more in my humi. I thought these might be some BPT material, but now, you'll have to get your own, suckers! These are going into the rotation with my Oliva V Melanios and a few others I can afford to smoke regularly.
Oh, and these are an AJ blend and definitely carry some of his distinctiveness, but are also very different from anything else from him. There's some spice, but the cigar doesn't seem Ligero-heavy. I wonder how these might age...
None of this matching colors for me, PuffDougie. I drink my coffee as God intended. The cigar provides the cream. Some wind made for small ash.
I had a few burn issues and lots of flakes on the ash, but I only needed one minor touch-up.
Still going strong after 1:30.
Really, did you need to read past butter pecan ice cream?
Packaging galore. Double band outside of tissue paper with a repeat of the double bands inside makes getting to this cigar kind of like Christmas morning...or a birthday party (which I suspect this was supposed to be a birthday present...my wife gave it to me since it was such a nice night but a week before my birthday.) Let's get ready to light this candle.
The smell to this cigar is interesting. I can't decide exactly what I'm smelling, but there's some complex earth, leather, coffee, chocolate, and spice notes kind of swirling around. It's not muddled, but nothing is lingering on my scent receptors long enough to decide exactly what any one aroma is. The cap lick makes me think of a Lindt Dark Chocolate bar with Chili pepper in it. (http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/chili-excellence-bar). The wrapper is super oily. Like the Hoff on Baywatch kind of glistening sheen of oil. There are some veins and blemishes on the wrapper, including one odd "pimple".
The chili goes away once I toast and light. It is replaced with more of a clove-like spice. Chocolate flavors come and go throughout the smoke, which lasts over 2 hours. About halfway in, you can really taste the nicotine (I know, it's a tasteless chemical), but you don't really feel it in the head or gut, so I don't know how to describe what I was experiencing, but it was definitely from the nic. But after it builds up and comes on strong, it kind of goes away. The final half of the final third went south on me, so I didn't nub this. It wasn't bad at that point, but it lost some magic. It was really solid before that.
As oily as this thing was, and with it's not-strong-medium-strong-medium progression of intensity and because of the blend, I wonder if this would age well and become better. Honestly, I expected this to be a more expensive cigar than it is listed, but some of that is because of the all-out packaging. Flavor-wise, I'd rank it pretty high, if a little indistinct in some parts. There's no "signature" flavor that stood out, and nothing that wowed me to the point of remembering it strongly a day later, aside from the long finish that took brushing that night and then the next morning to start to subside. This thing hung around! But until the very end when it started to burn hot, there was nothing that turned me off, either. I did have to give it some touch-ups along the way. Scratch that. A lot of touch ups. The thing did not want to burn. It seemed to have a really thick wrapper/binder combination. It never really went out, but it would go out one side at a time and burn unevenly. My wife looked at the matches in my ashtray and complained about the waste (I need to refill my lighters.)
Good smoke.
I know, it's not a very useful review to anyone but me. However, now I'll know forever not to buy them.
Oh, and my wife like her CAO Flavors Moontrance.
There was a noticeable vein/stem on the wrapper near the head. But I didn't notice it by look; only by touch. It was mostly hidden by the band. I was surprised by the low-key aroma and cap lick. There wasn't a lot of spice or flavor. That was the case through the rest of the smoke, too.
Let me just say, this was the best cigar in this price range I've had so far. Milder than expected, but encroaching into the medium. There was some nicotine strength to be felt by the time I reached the final third, but not a lot of flavor strength. There was a lot of pepper in the retro, but not really sharp pepper.
There was a nice amount of sweetness to this smoke. Hints of wood, but nothing jumping out; very well rounded and balanced. Smooth and interesting throughout. Definitely want to try more of these.
I'll add some photos once Photobucket allows me.
Two hours toast to nub, and I wanted to keep going.
Originally I didn't mention anything about the looks of the cigar in this review. But it has a really nice feel to it. Some tooth to make it feel good and oils to make it glow add up to a pleasant visual. The band is understated matte paper, but it actually has quite a lot going on it. It fits with the cigar, too. It's not the flashiest presentation; it's not super ornate, but I like it.
This was a really interesting smoke. It was giving me some flavors like a smoker filled with hickory or applewood puts off. Then come to find out, that's because there's some tobacco cured by a smoking process in the blend.
It was really interesting, but at the same time, the smoke curing didn't take away from this being a great cigar in its own right. I would imagine much more of this tobacco would have overpowered the rest of the blend, but as it was, it smoked smoothly all the way until the last sixth of the cigar. I couldn't nub this thing because it got harsh at that point. The ash held solid and strong.
Not a lot of strength, but some definite strong flavors at times created a complexity that I appreciated. It won't go on my top 5 (or 10) list that I send my wife, but it will definitely go down as an enjoyable smoke that I'd seek out again.
I am smoking a Leccia White from Bigshizza as I read your post, and it may very well make it to the nub stage, a surprisingly good little cigar.
It did and it is still going.
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/YVLKM1g.jpg?1
I thought you decided on too much Ligero, but then I realized it only hit right on the front of my tongue and didn't get harsh. There was some good sweet chocolate flavor to this cigar, too, but most of the sweetness came from the wrapper, which fell apart on me. QC, AJ, QC! The only initials Randy approves of me using with you would be FTW, so please, don't disappoint me if I smoke another of your numerous blends. The fact that I was putting my mouth on binder instead of wrapper somehow really bugged me through this smoke. So much so that I didn't even finish it, despite finding the flavors to be excellent for what they were. In the end, though, it just wasn't my flavor profile. I'm going to go smoke an Armada or Sol Cubano CC or that Mayimbe I got bombed, now.
Thanks for sharing your skills one more time.
Sincerely,
Martel