Martel's Marvelous Musings on Magnificent Miasmas of Merit

Okay, enough alliteration.
I'm a noob. But I also think I have a decent palate (it's the only one I've got, so I'm partial to it), and I know what I like. Even though I make a living communicating in various forms, I'm not going to claim to be a professional writer. Neither am I going to attempt to have a set rubric for my reviews. So some of these might get kind of weird. I'm going to include the random thoughts I have about smoking and life which I jot down during my smoke sessions.

Okay, enough with the rationale behind starting another review thread, time to get to it. I hope you enjoy. I know I will.

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Smokable. Fairly smooth with some floral hints. Consistent throughout with just a hint of sweetness growing throughout especially near the end. Fairly strong ash. It's a house blend, so I never know what to expect. Didn't have any bits and pieces with this one, so that's a plus. The wrapper did start to split at one point about an inch and a half in. It was bulging and slightly cracked along a 3/4 inch stretch, but it didn't affect any aspect of the smoke and held together.

For a rainy afternoon smoke that lasted about an hour to the nub, this was just about perfect. I knew that if the rain made for bad smoking conditions I wouldn't be upset if it didn't work out, but since it smoked well enough, it was great for the conditions.

I had a couple of hours to relax. The wife was entertaining the kids and the weather was warm, so I went looking for a big stick I had yet to try. I think they call this size a Bomba. It's a pyramid/torp with no pigtail in the 6x50ish range. Maybe someone can clear up which one is which in this line... The wrapper is evenly colored light brown with strands of a cinnamon color in spots. It smells of hay and pepper. Licking the cap doesn't add much and neither does a pre-light draw.

This cigar has a lot of pepper, and the best way I can describe it is if you take several of those fast food packets of pepper and empty out varying amounts of the pepper, going from a full pack to an almost empty pack with only a dusting of pepper. Now, put a pack in your mouth, paper and all, and chew. That's what I got. Paper and stale black pepper, with varying amounts of pepper throughout.

Well, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. But those were the predominate flavors, and the cigar seemed to be pretty much a one trick pony. Even though, as I reread it, the description sounds bad, it wasn't a cigar I hated. I actually kind of liked it for what it was. It had some burn problems with a canoe happening twice, but evening out on its own, and then a touch-up/relight required at the final third. The day was really humid and windy, after a rain earlier that coated every square inch of my large, covered back porch. I'll blame the conditions on the burn problems and give the cigar the benefit of the doubt on this one.

The retro had lots of pepper, but I didn't have to snort, sneeze, or cough like some peppery retros make me do. It did make the eyes water a bit. Overall, the cigar gave me the impression of medium-full strength and power in flavor and and even more so-towards a complete "full"-in feel, but it was not very complex and probably won't be on a list of must purchase cigars for me, even if I can find them on a discount like I did this one.

Nice review.You did make me think. I'd rather have a decent cigar that I know what I'm getting then a "good" cigar turn out bad!Thanks for giving me a meditation moment

Thick, mottled, dark, oily, and what's up with the "N"? That's what runs through my head at first glance and touch on this wrapper. Most would call it ugly, but I'm hoping for some rich, deep, and sweet flavors from the oscuro. I'm not sure which size this is. I forgot my ruler, but it's in the robusto range; around 5.5x50. Looking at the sizes online doesn't tell me for sure if its the Generoso or JSB. There is a definite roasted coffee smell to the cigar, and it does taste a little sweet on the lick and pre-light.

Once this thing warms up, I'm loving it. Lots of roasted/toasted flavors. Nuts, coffee, caramel. It's not the best tasting cigar I've ever had, but there's nothing offensive through the first third and it has lots of complexity.

Into the second third, I'm noticing a sour tightening in the back of my throat. Not harsh, but the smoke is definitely having some effect in the rear of the mouth. The retro is strong, with a hint of vanilla and also some bitter coffee. I also feel some sort of acidity with the retro. The environmental aroma from this cigar is delicious. I'd hang out with someone smoking it, for sure.

The burn on this seems slow. Normally I wouldn't complain about that, but I'm trying to squeeze in a smoke before picking up one of my kids from school on an unexpected afternoon off. I've been at it for more than 45 minutes and I'm still not to the "N" on the wrapper. Maybe it picks up, maybe not, but I've got about 20 minutes before I have to go. I'm starting to get some more woodsy flavors, but also more vanilla and cream at this point, too. Maybe that lighter "N" (I can't get over that) is adding a hint of something as I approach it.

To sum up what I've got to this point. Toasted everything and dark roast coffee, vanilla and cream and a touch of sweet. The box price of these cigars strikes me as a great deal at under $4/stick for most vitolas. I wouldn't call the cigar smooth, but it is balanced and flavorful. Oh, and I made it to the "N" with no appreciable difference in flavor from one puff to the next except for the normal evolution of the cigar, I suspect.

I'm noticing some hairline cracks in the wrapper, going around the circumference of the cigar, in at least two places. The cracks don't appear to go all the way through the wrapper but they weren't there when I started. I suspect I won't even smoke this to the point where I can see if they affect the burn, but I want to mention it in the review at least. I'm starting to get some earthy flavors to go with the wood now, in the final third. The sweetness is lessening and the vanilla is gone. The wood is distinctly cedar, now, and is strengthening. There's also a slight floral quality teasing in the nostrils, now.

I'm glad I have another one in the humi. This is a definite smoke again kind of cigar. I probably stopped with about 3/4 of an inch left of puffable cigar and it took me almost an hour and twenty to get there. Slightly slow burn. Great flavors. Good aroma. Interesting retro. Complex, but leaning a bit towards harsh at times and never smooth.

Rain:
Nice review.You did make me think. I'd rather have a decent cigar that I know what I'm getting then a "good" cigar turn out bad!Thanks for giving me a meditation moment

Yeah. But I also like surprises and variety. This one played one note. It was a huge contrast with the LGC 'N' I just reviewed.

During last night's vherf, I looked for my previous review on this stick, but couldn't find it. I looked through my notes, but couldn't find it. I looked through old bands and found one. I knew I'd smoked it before. Bad Martel! Bad!

At any rate, it was difficult to concentrate on the stogie with all the distractions from Jeff trying to ignore his wife while they were alone in a hotel room with no kids. Dude. I love my cigars and all, but methinks the wifey was wanting something from you big boy.

So without the aid of notes, I wanted to get down some impressions of this stick. The smell was heavy on chocolate and leather. Slight bit of spice on the draw. Long toast with a fireplace match got this one to glow perfectly. Initial flavors were great; leather, wood, but also some sweetness, and caramel cashews. Maye a hint of cinnamon. It didn't taste like a candy bar at all, but it had lots of these flavors and aromas nudging on the edges.

First ash held on strong, but I knew it was a goner when it started hanging to the left. I risked a puff but got it to the ashtray in time. The second ash caught me by surprise and wound up in my lap. It wasn't nearly as impressive. After that, it pretty much ashed at the nub.

The wood got stronger toward the end (uhh, hmmmm, maybe I should change that line?) and some spice picked up. The retro went from interesting to unpleasant and ashy, but it was still okay in the mouth. All in all, I enjoyed the stick. At just under $3/stick at the box price, these are durn fine smokes. If I were to find a 5er at that price, or if I were to see boxes on sale for any less, I'd snatch them up in a heartbeat.

I thought you'd look different..... More like my build but 8 feet tall.. Hmmmm guess you never know, you are a handsome devil. Nice to see you last night!

Bigshizza:
I thought you'd look different..... More like my build but 8 feet tall.. Hmmmm guess you never know, you are a handsome devil. Nice to see you last night!

LOL, not quite that tall. All my weight sits right on my gut. My wife agrees with you about the handsome part, but I've never thought so. I do try to make the best out of what God's given me, though. I enjoyed the vherf. And the cigar. I'll do it again sometime, for sure.

I need suggestions. Post 1000 is coming fast, and I plan on saving it for my next review. What should I smoke?

Here's a selection of some from my humi...

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So, brothers, choose for me, please!

Nice line up and had nearly all of those. Haven't smoked one of the new OSOK's yet though so I'd say that or the EH Passion for review. The EH is surprisingly outstanding, or at least it was for my palate.

This will be my 1000 post review after I edit it. I'm just tired of not posting on any other threads!

Okay, down to my 1000 post review of the Edgar Hoil OSOK. (phone somehow lost my photo of this thing in its wrapper)

First thing to note is the insane paper wrapper. This thing can't be called a band, but it is an intense, black and white fiesta of visual noise that is worthy of the cigar's namesake, but also a little intimidating. Way too much tape made it difficult to remove and I got two little nicks in the wrapper of the cigar from doing so. The inner foil band echoes in silver and black the theme of the outer wrapper, and it also had glue issues. Other than those spots on the cigar from removing the bands, this is a beautiful and consistently colored perfecto that smells strongly of cinnamon.

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It's a chilly day out (high 50's and a breeze), but still, I'll be pairing the cigar with a cup of icewater. My guest reviewers today are featured on the cup. If I can keep them from bickering too much, I might allow them some input.

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The cap tastes slightly sweet with a hint of creamy mocha. A quick snip with my Cuban Crafters Perfect Cutter opens up the cylinder to a very easy draw with some light hints of the cinnamon but also fresh hay. C-3PO, in his best protocol droid mode, informs me that he'll be closely monitoring how I light this rocket. I'll be back after a toast.

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Doot, toot, tweeeeeet, whoooooooo. Thanks, Artoo, I agree there's a lot of smoke being produced. The initial puffs are toasted marshmallow and grain with some mild white pepper. But as soon as I get past the small perfecto tip, the strength kicks in with some hints of leather and wood. The pepper intensifies a bit to black pepper, but is more of an afterthought to the rest of the flavors. You know it's there, but it's not what you're expected to taste, first. The first third is marked by strength and the leather/wood flavors, but it is smooth, despite the strength.

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In the second third, I experience some burn issues. It tunnels and canoes. The burn rate is varying as the rg varies, and it's kind of hard to keep it even. It starts to get harsh, and I don't think it's entirely because of the puff rate or the one retouch. I think it's this tobacco. The flavors are still there, but everything is just lower in intensity, except for the perception of strength and the harsh feel. 3PO is complaining about the smoke fouling his joints and has left for an oil bath. R2-D2 is playing something about the fire department being the alliance's only hope. Then I told him it was just the cigar and he said, "tweeeeeoooooooo!"

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Into the final third, the harshness has mellowed and we're back to a very smooth smoke. This is a nice autumn day smoke, with the environmental smoke reminding me of a pile of burning leaves. Wait, I guess that's really what it is...
Anyway, the leather flavors are mostly what I notice, but they are not very strong. The pepper is back to a milder white pepper. There's also a touch of citrus in the very back of my mouth when I retro. The retro is still a bit harsh, but it is complex and not offputting. The smoke output is much less, unless I'm actively puffing. The flavors have all mellowed, leaving me with a great impression overall of this stick. It has been a pleasurable overall experience, with an easy draw and cool smoke.

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Nearing the end, Goldenrod sticks his head back in to make sure I respect the stick and don't grind it out, but the blue and white astromech tells him to stuff it for me, knowing I haven't made it a thousand posts on this forum over almost a year without learning a few things about the ways of the force, already. My thanks go out to all of you Jedi Masters who have shown me the way.

Martel

See the review, above!

I'm sorry it didn't treat you too well Martel, but I loved the read all the same, keep me coming and thanks for sharing!

90+ Irishman:
I'm sorry it didn't treat you too well Martel, but I loved the read all the same, keep me coming and thanks for sharing!

It was good in the first and final thirds. The burn problems were minor, but large enough to note. Since so many variables can cause burn problems, I won't hold it against the stick unless I run into it again. I would definitely smoke this; overall it was enjoyable. In fact, if not for the underwhelming/disappointing/different-from-the-rest middle third, this might make it fairly high in my overall rankings of cigars. It was bigger than most smokes of mine, and was a great way to celebrate a good afternoon when I got to call 10 students to tell them they passed their GED test. I didn't put in the review that this took close to 2 hours to smoke.

Martel:
90+ Irishman:
I'm sorry it didn't treat you too well Martel, but I loved the read all the same, keep me coming and thanks for sharing!

It was good in the first and final thirds. The burn problems were minor, but large enough to note. Since so many variables can cause burn problems, I won't hold it against the stick unless I run into it again. I would definitely smoke this; overall it was enjoyable. In fact, if not for the underwhelming/disappointing/different-from-the-rest middle third, this might make it fairly high in my overall rankings of cigars. It was bigger than most smokes of mine, and was a great way to celebrate a good afternoon when I got to call 10 students to tell them they passed their GED test. I didn't put in the review that this took close to 2 hours to smoke.

Awesome man, sounds like overall it was pretty good then, and even better with the great news you could share with your students!

Great review. I love reading them and am glad to see you back at it.

ddubridge:
Great review. I love reading them and am glad to see you back at it.

What the heck happened to Verlander? And what the heck is that new picture a picture of, exactly?

Martel:
ddubridge:
Great review. I love reading them and am glad to see you back at it.
What the heck happened to Verlander? And what the heck is that new picture a picture of, exactly?

Scrooge...My feelings on the season. Verlander will be back Dec. 26th, if we dont trade him away too.

I just realized I never followed up on my review of the PA with thoughts on the Maduro. I got a great deal on these a while back and have had them in the humi for over 9 months and am slowly working through them. The Maduro is just a bit less intense than the habano, but otherwise they seem very similar to me. The maddie adds just a hint of sweetness, but these are still super peppery. A cut helps open it up, because these do like to plug up on me with their tar, but I seem to have lots of problems with the cap peeling away when I cut them, whichever wrapper it is. I still like these, but they aren't my ideal in a 20-30 minute smoke.

Martel:
I've seen the talk and know people love these things for the most part, so I was glad to receive one to try...and now I may just be watching the sprint sale 'cause I know these pop up. Or I might just get a box.

This little corona sized beauty in the habano wrapper with a twisted cap was soft to squeeze. I center my punch on the nub and have a good sized hole to draw from, but it is still a little tight. The wrapper has one large noticeable vein, but is otherwise good looking and oily brown with a hint of red clay to the color.

There is some pepper that creeps up on you while smoking this cigar, which I notice more on an exhale-here it is really strong. There is tons of smoke and the draw becomes perfect once you get past the shaggy cap. The smoke even feels oily in your mouth. It's tangy with some earth in it, now. The ash is great and holds on until I'm about halfway done. The burn is razor straight.

After a bit, the punch did tar up, and I had to fiddle with it to get it to open up again. I did have to touch up the burn at this point, but I blame myself for not noticing the tar build-up earlier. The cigar mellows some near the end, but the only noticeable flavor that ran throughout the whole thing was black pepper. It was predominant at all times, even though there were some other flavors that came and went.

Definitely worth having around, if not my favorite smoke, would be a good weekly kind of smoke. I wouldn't save them for a special occasion and wouldn't want one daily, but I did like it.

20-30 min! The Puro Authenticos take an hour for me since they have such an oily wrapper. I've always used a guillotine on them and never had any tar buildup.

allsmokedup:
20-30 min! The Puro Authenticos take an hour for me since they have such an oily wrapper. I've always used a guillotine on them and never had any tar buildup.

Well, I have smoked these in an hour or just under, and that's probably what they are meant for, I guess, but in the windy cold of this morning I had to increase my puff rate to keep one lit and that's all it took me. I guess I wasn't clear that when I see a cigar in this size that I expect it to be a fairly short smoke, but this one doesn't meet those expectations. It's too much cigar for 20-30 minutes and you have to slow it down. The hour-long range is what I expect for a robusto, not a corona. Surprisingly, though, I don't notice much of a detrimental effect to the flavor by smoking at double speed with these.

Don't cut it or punch it. Just twist the nub off. That's all the opening you need. I love 'em, especially the smoke-producing shaggy foot. The flavors do mellow out a bit with some age, but once the oils dry you lose the smoke. And they are pepper bombs.

Many thanks to Jim, Bigshizza, and all around good guy, for sending this to me.

Well, since Drew won't go to sleep until I write this up, I thought I better get it taken care of now that all my family is tucked in. I don't have any co-reviewers today because the cold affects their circuits. I might have to stuff them in a tauntaun or something. So to start without any droids, there is this beautiful cigar sitting in front of me. Without pulling out the measuring devices or google, I'd guess around a 45 rg and maybe 5 inches. The wrapper is light brown with a few veins. It's actually quite nice looking and the band is classy gold on black with "Regius" in red. I might put this in my "pretty" thread.

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So first of all, there is a sweet floral aroma to the cigar with overtones of citrus. The cap doesn't taste like much on its own, but it is slightly sweet. After circumcising the tip, the first draw is perfect. My lighter ran out of butane and it's to cold to go fill it so I had to fight the wind to get a match going. Luckily my porch is pretty sheltered and I was able to get a fireplace match going and toast the foot properly. The wrapper on this doesn't take much heat, so be careful with it! The initial puffs are slightly strong but that may be from the wind blowing the flame from the match right on the foot as I was trying to light it. Nevertheless, there was a little spice throughout the smoke, but not much.

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No, the one overwhelming flavor I got was something slightly acidic. Sometimes I thought it was citrus, something lemony, but light, not as intense. At other times I thought it was more like a yogurt type of acidity, and the feel of this in the mouth, a coating sensation, reinforced the yogurt comparison.

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I did notice some floral qualities throughout the smoke as well. There were some variations in flavor as the cigar burned, but nothing super dramatic from start to sweet spot. I really enjoyed the smoke. A slight creamy sweetness helped to balance the acidity at just about the halfway point and keep it feeling smooth in my mouth. Nothing ever affected my throat with this stick, and the back of my palate remained "clean" with this cigar, with most of the feel and flavors remaining frontal. Any spice was mild, except in the retro, which had some pepper bite. With the combination of other flavors, something on the retro reminded me of peppery scrambled eggs. Either that or I was still tasting my brunch. Sweet potato waffles, thick cut hickory smoked bacon, and scrambled eggs with jack cheese and sriracha. Wait, what am I reviewing? Oh yeah, the meal was hours before the cigar...

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An interesting side note, I had some Corona sitting in my fridge, but not a lime to be found. About an hour after the smoke, I popped one open and the citrus flavors were still lingering...

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Okay, so I pretty much nubbed this thing. It was smooth all the way down to the end. The wind picked up and I didn't double layer on my lower body so I was starting to feel the cold. I had so many failed match attempts that I decided to build a little campfire in my ash-ramekin out of the matchsticks to keep me warm. Didn't work. The wind was also cutting right through my gloves. I like my smart-touch gloves for the ability to use the tablet in the cold and because I retain some measure of "feel" with them, but dang, they're thin in the wind. I have some ideas about how to help with that for future cold-weather smoking situations dealing with a double layer with finger-cut outs on one outer glove and hand warmers in between the layers. Still, without all that rigamarole, I toughed it out because this smoke was so good.

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There, that last pic is out of order, but it shows those gloves off. I remember doing just a little research when I received this. I know it's primarily a European brand (British?) that is just recently making its way into the States. It was perfectly constructed with very little problem with the burn even in winds steadily over 10 mph in the open. The draw was light, but not so light it felt like sucking on a straw. The ash looked tight and seemed to hold firm until the shivers hit me. I liked this cigar a lot. Maybe not the most interesting cigar I've ever had, but it was GOOD. The flavor profile was consistent, balanced, and appealing. The body was medium and the feel smooth with a mouth-coating quality. If I can find these (like the A-Team?) I would get them. Really curious about how these would age, because they seemed quite a bit different from most NC cigars. My ISOM experience is basically non-existent, and this wasn't like the one cigar that makes it only "basically". Still, it was a great cigar on its own merits and doesn't need to be compared to anything.

Great reveiw. I didnt make it last night, but it was well worth the read this morning.

Martel that is the corona, 5X42. The robusto is 4 7/8X50. If you need help finding more, let me know. The corona is a tad stronger then the other vitolas. This is my favorite new brand. They are distributed by SAG, which is MATASA's US hub, so you can find them anywhere that uses SAG to get smokes, but they are only in store.

catfishbluezz:
Martel that is the corona, 5X42. The robusto is 4 7/8X50. If you need help finding more, let me know. The corona is a tad stronger then the other vitolas. This is my favorite new brand. They are distributed by SAG, which is MATASA's US hub, so you can find them anywhere that uses SAG to get smokes, but they are only in store.

Yeah, I wondered after I did the review if it was the corona. Too late to actually measure it, though. It seemed smaller than most robusto's but enough bigger than the two corona's I smoked the day before that I just assumed. Sort smoke for a robusto, but about perfect for a largeish corona. I really liked it. Like I said, not the most jaw dropping smoke at any single point, but it was dayum good from start to finish and incredibly smooth.

Martel:
catfishbluezz:
Martel that is the corona, 5X42. The robusto is 4 7/8X50. If you need help finding more, let me know. The corona is a tad stronger then the other vitolas. This is my favorite new brand. They are distributed by SAG, which is MATASA's US hub, so you can find them anywhere that uses SAG to get smokes, but they are only in store.

Yeah, I wondered after I did the review if it was the corona. Too late to actually measure it, though. It seemed smaller than most robusto's but enough bigger than the two corona's I smoked the day before that I just assumed. Sort smoke for a robusto, but about perfect for a largeish corona. I really liked it. Like I said, not the most jaw dropping smoke at any single point, but it was dayum good from start to finish and incredibly smooth.

Oh, and thanks for the hint. One of my regular B&M's appears to use SAG, so I'll check with them.

If they don't help you, let me know, I have vendors that can.

I really like this and the T.L. Johnson Tempio for that citrus twang, very refreshing!

Bigshizza:
I really like this and the T.L. Johnson Tempio for that citrus twang, very refreshing!

Glad I'm not nuts about tasting citrus! I always wonder if the flavors can be confirmed by someone else.

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