May 2014 guess my CC challenge.
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Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 2,524
Every day in May I will smoke a different CC. I will post a picture with no band and some tasting notes. Maybe a hint as well. At the end I will be donating money to charity. Anyone who plays along or enjoys the post can do the same. I wanted to keep the awareness up and have some fun in the process.
Any thoughts, ideas or questions send me a PM.
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I will also match funds of up to $5 per day correct guess. At the end of the contest the charity with the most correct guesses will get a bonus above the daily amount.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/brianetz1
let's get ready to rumble!
You don't have to pay to guess or have the correct answer. This is running across a few cigar boards so the first correct answer by time stamp is the one I will be matching and counting.
Edit - I was going to do person who got it right charity but then the logistics of possibly 30 different charities was a mess. So I am going with one per cigar board.
thanks for organizing this.
This cigar before has placed in my top 3 cigars of all time. The first couple I had placed it a solid #2. Then another cigar came along and fought it for second place. Neither will ever take over first.
Possibly my favorite format, this cigar turned me around the corner into making this my favorite CC marca. Paired up with some Ron Zacapa 23 today in the near 90 degree heat.
Initial draw is caramel, dark and heavy. Heavier than the Dairy Queen sundae flavor. That is what drew me to this cigar since the first one I had. The one cigar that does this for me others cannot.
First third is a little bitter, honey and caramel. The rum is really helping the cigar along. Without it I would suspect the bitterness to linger and take away from the enjoyment.
Very toothy ash. I have read some people say that Cuban cigars are not toothy in appearance. This one is not. The ash shows the tooth extremely well where the wrapper will not.
Second third loses the bitterness but the strength of the marca comes out. Since I smoke primarily NC this doesn’t bother me. For this cigar it makes it better. The strength does take away some of the honey note but it is still there. Puffing slower and writing this as I set it down helps keep the subtleties there. Smoking it fast would turn this into a very strong cigar on the CC scale.
Third third is bringing back the honey and it is strong. Toasty finish with the rum really bringing it home. Great pairing. The outside temp is taking its toll on the rum but RZ23 still tastes excellent. Getting stronger as it evaporates some into the heat.
I would give this a 91/100. This particular cigar isn’t a top 3 of all time but it reminds me why it was there. Others I have had before I remember as a little better, maybe 94-95.
When I first started into CCs this marca was raved by many but I didn’t get it. Tried the flagship vitola from the line and after a few had no idea what people were excited about. After a year or so of my personal distaste of the marca I was sent this format. I don’t see many touted around but man it was the cigar that opened my eyes to this marca after a couple years of writing them off. Since then it has become probably my third favorite marca.
Prelight is a sweet spice. I want to say spice cake or a nutmeg but it isn’t nutmeg, but really close. First third is a nice merlot with spices. Dry aftertaste but not need a drink dry, very pleasant. Makes you want to puff faster and more often. So I take a break, write up some notes and work on some Stella in the again, 85+ heat.
Second third is getting lighter. Might be the Stella talking. Might be the 85+ degree heat talking. Might be the pool calling me. This was a bigger cigar than I probably should have lit up on a hot afternoon but I had the time. It has been a great cigar adding a toast with cinnamon apple butter.
Third third is picking up steam and strength. I am probably smoking it a little too fast due to the heat and need for a swimming pool. Still a great blend of strength in flavor and clean spicy finish. The Stella is long gone but having a cigar where you don’t feel the need to add a drink to compliment it is a unique experience. Flavors of toast, spice cake/cinnamon apples is a big hit for me. I do not get these flavors from the smaller vitola of this marca so enjoying one of these is always a treat.
Giving this a 93/100. Even with high expectations and the distractions of humidity and heat it was something I would do again, every day, time permitting. Burn time was over 2.5 hours. I wish every day gave me 2.5 hours to sit and relax with a cigar of this caliber.
This marca was never on my radar when I started smoking CCs, until I got a minuto they make in a blind trade. It was a clean and fresh little cigar that left an impression. Still a top three cigar in the minuto format for my tastes. Since then I have looked for a few of the larger sizes in their special releases. This one I stumbled upon in a blind trade as well. Never thought I would smoke one and probably the only one I will. This is as good a time as any to light it up.
Prelight is fresh and fruity. Pairing it up with some coffee waiting for the sun to come up.
First third is very hard to pin down. I had to look up a review to get an idea how to describe it. Now I can’t say I am getting cooked carrots or a prominent peanut taste but there is a fruit salad thing going on that I don’t get from any other cigar. I won’t say it tastes like coffee, because I am drinking coffee with it and frankly it doesn’t seem right to add a flavor that you have paired with it to the cigar. If I have this cigar some other day with a rum or scotch and it tastes like coffee, I will add that.
Second third is again flavors that unless I looked at reviews I would never think of. Same flavors as first third but it really is a heck of a cigar. I really wish these were not discontinued recently. This is a nice dichotomy to the flavors of Bolivar that I enjoy. A huge difference in two marcas. When people who do not smoke cigars say they smell and taste the same. This would be a prime example I would show them.
Third third. The finish is lighter than the beginning. Flavors are even more of a challenge. The fruity flavors are incomprehensible or gone. A ginger biscuit and marshmallow without the smores chocolate added in.
I am going 93/100 for this one. Not a typical creamy cigar I dig but it holds its own very well. The profile makes me want to get a box and try one every few months just to see how it changes over time. That would be a heck of a trip to keep notes on. See how this cigar goes from fresh to aged. Sadly this will never be a fresh box because it is discontinued and the cigar was a 2007. Boxes from 2011 should be floating around and I would love to try the other sizes in this series. What a way to start the day.
have a few tucked away,
CC#2 is a local brand on cuban cigar website and a large format cigar.
When I heard this cigar was being introduced I was smitten. Format I enjoy with a marca that I really wanted to have this format. The price is a bit off setting. One of those cigars that in your lifetime you should have one that is smoking well. Not only to say you had one, but to say you had one of the flagships of the CC industry, in my eyes.
Prelight is hay and honey. The habano wrapper has a little pepper to it but you can tell immediately it is a Cuban cigar by simply putting it to your lips. The wrapper of this marca is a dead giveaway when they are on.
First third is banyard, honey, hay and a slight gingerbread touch. The taste is so clean. When people talk about dirty NCs that coat your palate with some burnt tobacco taste, this is the polar opposite. The palate is left refreshed begging for another puff soon after. Patience will be a virtue with this cigar. Leaving it in my mouth as I type this is a test of futility. Setting it down is not really an option.
Today I spent a wonderful day at the beach. It was hot and sunny but the water was cool enough to take the edge off. I sat in some chairs under an two person umbrella for the Ritz Carlton. No I didn’t stay there but it was too hot for my northern body to stay in the sun all day. The Ritz didn’t mind. The umbrellas were not full and I had to class up the place a little. I had a couple of nice NC cigars on the beach between swims. Glad I didn’t bring CCs because the second NC was starting to peel a bit from the heat by the time I got to it. It was windy and the burn of the first one was a trial as well. Many people walked by just to smell the cigar for a moment. Funny how many people absolutely love the smell of a good cigar but then vote to ban smoking everywhere. That whole story was a set up for telling you this. This cigar is a reward for the last day of this great vacation. It is now 74F outside. Patio is screened off from bugs. I just had a salmon and potato dinner that was the perfect end to watching the sun set on the beach and cheering it off. Now I sit with a hallmark cigar and a good pour of Ron Zacapa 23. Thanks to a couple good friends for various parts of this journey, I now know how I would like all my vacations to go.
Second third has lost the honey but exchanges that for toast and heavier ginger taste. The cigar is noticeably drier tasting. A pleasant mix of hay gives away this CC marca like no other. It is a cigar that is on and in all the ways you expect it to be.
Third third is stronger in hay and toast. The hay is a refreshing smell through the nose. Leaves the palate feeling refreshed and satisfied.
This for me was a 94/100. If I only smoked this cigar the rest of my life it might be all I need. Clean, fresh and strong enough CC flavors to keep me smiling the whole cigar. This is what the end of a vacation should be.