Tampa and Czar feedback?

[El Presidente]

I would love to get some feedback on the Tampa and Czar cigars on a uniform thread that I can keep for future reference and to print and mail to the people involved.

The "Custom"project is a work in progress with always room for improvement but to improve I need to show our people the responses from people who have paid smoked them. Apologies to those who have posted reviews previously but if you could indulge me in a short paragraph.

Please touch on the issues of:

Aroma at cold

wrapper

construction

body

flavour

complexity if any

overall thoughts. The good the bad and the ugly. We can't improve what we can't measure

Cheers!

El Prez

[Colt45]

Aroma at cold

Both intense.

Czar - very pungent - funky.

Tampa - more on the "sweeter" side - sweet barnyard, some raisin and chocoloate notes.

wrapper

Both beautiful.

Czar - very dark, and one of the oiliest cigars I've ever seen.

Tampa - finely toothed with a matte finish

construction

Both very, very good (both were still a bit wet, the Czar more so at time of smoking)

body

Both medium, medium plus, but both also with a rich, dense mouth feel.

flavour

Both share some traits.

Czar - carob

Tampa - exhibits more of a spicy personality.

Both show an essence of high quality tobacco - really the core, and what struck me most.

complexity if any

Neither overly complex, which may sound like a negative, but is not intended to be.

overall thoughts

You should be proud of both. The density, richness, smoothness - made me feel I was smoking something fairly special. As mentioned elsewhere, I could

not help but get a real sense of "terroir". I feel they really represent the tobacco - not overly earthy, not truly sweet - almost like the skin of an almond.

They are young, and I don't have a good guess as to how they might change, if at all. So, at this time I could not make suggestions for what would be

considered "improvements".

[CanuckSARTech]

I would love to give some feedback Rob, but I fear that it may be in the New Year. I do not yet have them in hand from their transit, and when I do get them, I intend to let them lay down in the humidor for at least 30 days. At this point now, we're looking at Christmas-time for that, and we'll be snowed/wintered in at that point. So, for me, it'll maybe end up being springtime before I can take a crack at these.

[El Presidente]

I would love to give some feedback Rob, but I fear that it may be in the New Year. I do not yet have them in hand from their transit, and when I do get them, I intend to let them lay down in the humidor for at least 30 days. At this point now, we're looking at Christmas-time for that, and we'll be snowed/wintered in at that point. So, for me, it'll maybe end up being springtime before I can take a crack at these.

Look on the bright side....you won't have to freeze them

[ChanceSchmerr]

I smoked one of the Tampas 2 nights ago! Had a friend over to crack a new bottle of Cooper's Choice Longmorn 1995. An ok Whiskey - but nothing outrageously good. Longmorn is such a light experience, kind of like an aged ERDM. Really gotta look for the flavour notes.

Anyway, the Tampa! Great Feel in the hand, Aroma at cold of rich earth and sweet tobacco. Very Pleasant! I Have not dry boxed the cigar, and as a result the wrapper remains very moist, silky and soft to touch. It feels so much bigger than a normal Dalia, yet still not fat like a robusto - I like!

Clipped the head to find a slightly tight draw. Certainly not effortless, but this cigar is definitely not plugged. Near to the perfect cuban "pull". I lit the shaggy foot - this is where I wish I had dry boxed a little bit. The tobacco was definitely too moist, the cigar burned but didn't just flare off like I thought it would! I had to take a few puffs to keep the shaggy end lit, but no big deal there. Next time I dry box!!!

The First third of this cigar is immensly pleasurable. Lots of sweet chocolate, spice around the edges with coffee/mocha notes throughout. All the best stuff for me in a cigar, is present in this first third - I am in love!

Towards the middle third, this cigar becomes very perplexing. The flavours start to come out all over the place. Sweet woody tastes, followed by PEPPER followed by some mild cocoa......here I could tell the youth of this cigar - needs just a bit more time I think! The middle 1/3 wasn't an unpleasant experience by any stretch - but it failed to deliver on the promise of the 1st third.

The final third was plagued with burn issues - it went out a LOT in the last third. I think these are related to the humidified state of the cigar (my desktop humi was at 70 when I pulled it out to smoke it), but it is worth noting nonetheless. Any flavours I gleaned from the cigar were always followed by a strong pepper bite - not bad, but a little too forward for me.

This cigar certainly had complexity in spades, especially in the first 1/3. To me, it really has combined the best of Partagas, Rafael Gonzalez and Montecristo. A Chocolate Cocoa bomb with excellent smoothness, some woody notes and just enough spice to complement it perfectly. I think it just needs perhaps 6 months/1 year in the humi.....and to be smoked after dry boxing for sure. I really enjoyed the best of this cigar - would certainly be interested in buying some after Xmas! Score - 90 (96 - first 1/3, 86 - middle 1/3, 88 - final third)

Hope that helps, Rob!

[CanuckSARTech]

Look on the bright side....you won't have to freeze them

LOL. Touche - well played.

[yossie]

want to contribute for you but have no custom rolled cigars from Czar in my humidor. You know what I mean?

[adic88]

My feedback:

I'm angry i missed the chance to buy them!

[Omskakas]

Feedback?

Let them rest properly before firing one up.

[cigcars]

*Couldn't wait. Had to smoke. Didn't let sit - had one each.

Construction: Heavy, dark, supple to feel, thick and rich with oils oozing from solid beautiful wrapper.

Appearance: Oolala - can't say too much more

Smoking experience and aroma: Rich and permeating with Havana fragrances, the toasty, baked bread from the hearth made with Grandma's love! Overwealming power and grace, a fine and velvet smoker's wonderland I was sent to. Beautiful blue and gray plumes of honeyed brandywine aromas of heavy maple wafting to the rafters. A Havana lover's cigar from paradise that one could not ask for more.

Finish and follow-up. Did not want it to end. Yet, with such an ending of fragrance and satisfaction, left me in a wooze of peaceful lala land dreams and of fine cigar richness to return again

[Guest rob]

I havent tried mine yet... but when I read positive comments like I have here... I wonder why Habanos cant make regular cigars that get this sort of praise.

is it really that hard to get quality materials, blend them properly and have them rolled proficiently?

[MIKA27]

Hi Prez.

Well I only purchased the Czar and I must say, I absolutely LOVE them!

Aroma at cold - Damp earth, mushroom.

Wrapper - Very smooth, oily, dark milk chocolate color.

Construction - Firm, tight, neat, perfect in every sense.

Body - Chewy, dense, medium.

Complexity - Not a very " evolving " complexity to this however this is what I love about it to the norm because whilst it's not so complex (Like the Cuaba Piramides) it does keep it's consistency in flavor throughout.

Flavor - Sweet (Shitake) mushroom, milk chocolate, little pepper.

Overall- One of the top five cigars I've had the pleasure to enjoy this year! Whilst they are young, I did not get that overly 'young' taste I was expecting considering they were so newly rolled. I enjoyed it just as much as I have some of the LEs and again the Cuaba comes to mind, and I can not wait for the opportunity to buy loads more. A decadent cigar.

Improvements - Depends on where you want to go with this one?

If you want it to evolve a lot more in complexity how do you achieve that, more Ligero? Or, if you wish it to remain consistently smooth, and full of flavor, I think it's great the way it is. Who knows how the current flavor will change with some age? All I know is that had I had the foresight to realize how great these already are, I'd have grabbed a lot more mate!

Thanks for reading.

[dicko]

*Couldn't wait. Had to smoke. Didn't let sit - had one each.

Construction: Heavy, dark, supple to feel, thick and rich with oils oozing from solid beautiful wrapper.

Appearance: Oolala - can't say too much more

Smoking experience and aroma: Rich and permeating with Havana fragrances, the toasty, baked bread from the hearth made with Grandma's love! Overwealming power and grace, a fine and velvet smoker's wonderland I was sent to. Beautiful blue and gray plumes of honeyed brandywine aromas of heavy maple wafting to the rafters. A Havana lover's cigar from paradise that one could not ask for more.

Finish and follow-up. Did not want it to end. Yet, with such an ending of fragrance and satisfaction, left me in a wooze of peaceful lala land dreams and of fine cigar richness to return again

I love cigcars descriptions, so passionate!

[dicko]

Tampa:

Aroma at cold-

pungent rich tobacco

wrapper-

marbled, slightly toothy, dark, oily

construction-

perfect if not so wet (smoked OTT).

draw was slightly resistive, just how I like it.

perfect size.

body-

medium full

flavour-

glazed fruit, butter, sweet earthy tobacco. meaty aroma off the smoke.

complexity if any-

very complex in terms of many flavours and lots 'going on'. didn't evolve a huge amount from start to finish though.

final comments-

well El Prez called it infanticide on my part, I smoked this right OTT. but really, im glad I did.

sure, it was a bit wet, but this added to the sweet and earthy aromas, and the authenticity and experience of the freshly rolled custom.

Creamy and fruity with some good pepper were the core flavours.

Outstanding.

[adic88]

I havent tried mine yet... but when I read positive comments like I have here... I wonder why Habanos cant make regular cigars that get this sort of praise.

is it really that hard to get quality materials, blend them properly and have them rolled proficiently?

Truth has been spoken here.

[mbrody]

Tampa

Aroma at cold: Really Rich Tobacco, Sweet Leather 10/10...Amazing

wrapper: Oily as all hell

construction: Great

body: Medium

flavour: Spice, Rich Tobacco, Peanut Butter. Just a bit wet still, so flavor is their, but a little muted.

complexity if any: there were flavor/body changes and evolutions, so complexity does exist, although not overly so. Assume it will continue to evolve and the flavors will come forward more.

Great job!

[laficion]

I wonder why Habanos cant make regular cigars that get this sort of praise.

Now there's a question that many of us are asking ourselves and one for HSA

As for me, the Tampa & the Czar are two fantastic cigars.

The Tampa is a cigar that has a perfect blend that makes it possible to smoke it fresh from the rollers bench.

With time, the Tampa will be the smoothest cigar next to Heaven.

The Czar is a cigar for aging, rich, bold, full of passion. A cigar that can take you anywhere that you want to go,

fast and without any planning before hand, but with time, It will give you the perfect map and show you, with rich

complexe tastes, where you've been and what you've seen.

There is however, one thing that is common to both cigars and that is "Terroir", unmistakably "Terroir" of Cuba.

For that I would like to congratulate the blender, the roller and the team behind the creating of these two Masterpieces.

Just for an extra, I would love for the next batch of the Czar, to have a real Celestiales Finos shape.

[prshah25]

I agree with other reviewers onflavors and aroma..But I want to point out one issue I had with the Czar : The draw was too tight for the first 3rd. It opened up towards the middle giving me some unbelievable flavors but, I wish it was an easy draw from the start.

[Fuzz]

I think I covered my feedback well enough: http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/inde...76&hl=Prank

[Ellery]

Feedback?

Let them rest properly before firing one up.

Same here, got mine a couple wks back, and just sitting on them.

[cigcars]

I love cigcars descriptions, so passionate!

thank you, Dicko. My descriptions come from the heart - content, now that its desire is in plenteous abundance in my life

[qman22]

Just smoked my 1st Tampa yesterday after letting it sit 2 1/2 weeks, haven't smoked a Czar yet

aroma at cold: Straight dank, both these and the Czars have the most pungent aroma of any cigar I've experienced. Smelled like a farm

wrapper: Dark and oily, no blemishes to be seen

construction: The draw was perfect, though the cigar felt very spongy to me. I was sure the draw was going to be loose before I cut it, but it wasn't. Had a couple of burn problems here and there, with some touch ups and relights being needed, but nothing too severe.

body: Medium, med - full toward the end

flavor: I thought this cigar was very earthy and leathery, with a little grassyness and pepperyness creeping in during the second half. It was very smooth and refined for such a young cigar, and the flavors were very rich.

complexity: I wouldn't really describe this as complex at this point. It is pretty consistent and straightforward.

overall thoughts: Delicious. You can just tell these are made with really high quality tobacco. I am really looking forward to seeing how these develop.

[CanuckSARTech]

Okay, well.......I just finally got my 3-pack sampler of both the Czar and the Tampa this past Wednesday.

Upon my initial impressions, and after spending the last 3 days going over to my humidor, every morning and evening, first thing and last thing that I did each day, and going to just touch, smell, feel, and be absorbed by them....I am thoroughly looking forward to being able to smoke these beauties.

Construction - amazing. I love the shaggy foot of the Czar, although I find that there's a bit of variance with this in the amount of "shag" that's on the different cigars, from as short of shag as a 1/2 inch about, to over an inch (this is understandably so though, and it doesn't take away from anything - just a cosmetic issue to note). And I agree with Guy that the Czar would maybe have a bit more visual punch if it was a celestiales finos shape flat head, rather than the double-piramide/figurado pointed head. That said, these aren't even full gripes with either of these cigars - just minor feedback, and neither is enough to take away a point on the construction of each of these. Judging each cigar as it's presented solo, rather than in a bundle, beautiful. The oils and wrapper quality is readily apparent - no matter the lighting conditions, these have a sheen that just absolutely pops out at you. There's a slightly rough quality to the wrapper leaves too - you can slightly see the bunching and wrinkles of the binder leaf below it, and that's great. It makes me know that I'm going to enjoy a real one-off cigar - while I love cigars with smooth, flawless perfection to them, as some Cohiba construction/wrappers have that silky smoothness to them, I also find it's easy to forget the hand-made quality of cigars then. The Czar and the Tampa are just perfect in this regard - you know the wrapper is going to add something to the cigar, with the oils and character present in it, it's not just there for a cosmetic finish. The Czar wrapper has a slightly more present oily sheen - very noticable.

Aroma - again, utterly amazing. I now understand what everyone's been raving about with these. Both have a similar cold aroma to them. Very pungent and beautifully intoxicating aromas of a Cuban barnyard. Very strong barnyard notes. Damp, dank earth and wet leather. I'd have to agree with an earlier poster too - to me, the Czar specifically, maybe due to a slight variance with it's slightly more oily wrapper, has almost a bit of a mushroom quality on the nose as well.

Gawd, I'm so looking forward to smoking these! I will be partaking finally when the spring weather arrives again next April or so, once I've given these some adequate rest for about 6 months. It will be a nice treat to come out of the wintertime to.

Well done, Rob et al. I haven't looked this forward to trying a custom cigar before (I've only been this excited for one other production cigar - Trini Robustos T), and it looks like these will be absolutely smashing.

[cigcars]

Okay, well.......I just finally got my 3-pack sampler of both the Czar and the Tampa this past Wednesday.

Upon my initial impressions, and after spending the last 3 days going over to my humidor, every morning and evening, first thing and last thing that I did each day, and going to just touch, smell, feel, and be absorbed by them....I am thoroughly looking forward to being able to smoke these beauties.

Construction - amazing. I love the shaggy foot of the Czar, although I find that there's a bit of variance with this in the amount of "shag" that's on the different cigars, from as short of shag as a 1/2 inch about, to over an inch (this is understandably so though, and it doesn't take away from anything - just a cosmetic issue to note). And I agree with Guy that the Czar would maybe have a bit more visual punch if it was a celestiales finos shape flat head, rather than the double-piramide/figurado pointed head. That said, these aren't even full gripes with either of these cigars - just minor feedback, and neither is enough to take away a point on the construction of each of these. Judging each cigar as it's presented solo, rather than in a bundle, beautiful. The oils and wrapper quality is readily apparent - no matter the lighting conditions, these have a sheen that just absolutely pops out at you. There's a slightly rough quality to the wrapper leaves too - you can slightly see the bunching and wrinkles of the binder leaf below it, and that's great. It makes me know that I'm going to enjoy a real one-off cigar - while I love cigars with smooth, flawless perfection to them, as some Cohiba construction/wrappers have that silky smoothness to them, I also find it's easy to forget the hand-made quality of cigars then. The Czar and the Tampa are just perfect in this regard - you know the wrapper is going to add something to the cigar, with the oils and character present in it, it's not just there for a cosmetic finish. The Czar wrapper has a slightly more present oily sheen - very noticable.

Aroma - again, utterly amazing. I now understand what everyone's been raving about with these. Both have a similar cold aroma to them. Very pungent and beautifully intoxicating aromas of a Cuban barnyard. Very strong barnyard notes. Damp, dank earth and wet leather. I'd have to agree with an earlier poster too - to me, the Czar specifically, maybe due to a slight variance with it's slightly more oily wrapper, has almost a bit of a mushroom quality on the nose as well.

Gawd, I'm so looking forward to smoking these! I will be partaking finally when the spring weather arrives again next April or so, once I've given these some adequate rest for about 6 months. It will be a nice treat to come out of the wintertime to.

Well done, Rob et al. I haven't looked this forward to trying a custom cigar before (I've only been this excited for one other production cigar - Trini Robustos T), and it looks like these will be absolutely smashing.

* GEEZ - such patience! 6 MONTHS!? Well, hat's off to 'ya! AFTER I tried the Czar and Tampa each, now I can wait awhile and let the remainder of them age.

[bassman]

Smoked a Tampa today. Great construction, draw & burn. Medium body & strength. My only negative was a noticable bitter aftertaste from start to finish. Not overwhelming, but not a flavor I especially enjoyed.