The Czar goes to Mexico!

[Puros Y Vino]

Cigar: The Czar by Cigar Czar

Date: Dec 8 2010

Place: El Dorado Royale Spa & Resort. Playa Del Carmen. Mexico

Physical Appearance.

Dark chocolate brown, solid construction, no soft spots, very little give on the “pinch” test. I've had these for a little over 3 weeks in my humidor. Pres advises that we give them 3-6 months in the humidor for maximum enjoyment. I say smoke one now, then one later and do a comparison. So consider this is my first Czar review. In four months or so, I will do a follow up: weather permitting.

My view from the bar where I enjoyed this beauty.

Aroma at Cold.

Rich tobacco, very "Cohiba like" barnyard aromas. This cigar smells strong. It is not hiding anything. I must say the Czar looks and smells better than most of the cigars in my collection. Whoever put this together, knew what he/she was doing. On looks alone its' a winner, bring it up to your nose and you'll be tempted to eat it.

Pre-light observations

Draw at cold. Seems tight. Some sweetness on the palate when you attempt it.

This was a pain in the ass to light. I don't blame the cigar though. The wind was not agreeing with me. I was without my torch lighter too. It took half a dozen attempts to light, ducking behind trees, bars, etc. I could feel that the cigar was lit as the head was warm but on draws, no smoke came out. Eventually, after a few strong puffs and the Czar sent up smoke signals of life.

The Review: Broken down into thirds. With every comma you see in the text that denotes when I've just taken a puff and wrote down my thoughts on what I taste or see.

First Third.

Cookie tastes, coffee, tough draw but the cigar is definitely lit, dry/tanniny feel on the tongue and cheeks. Very little smoke, toasted nuts, good even burn so far, tanniny flavours, mild/medium bodied cigar so far, draw is slightly better, dry tastes, nuttiness, nutmeg, hints of cocoa, baking spice, cinammon, burn going askew, dry toasty flavours, slightly blustered ash, nice tobacco hit, dark dried cherry flavour, better draw, walnut, baking spice, woody flavours, tanniny, walnut, tobacco, dry nutty flavours.

Second Third.

Nutmeg, ground coffee notes, strong tobacco taste, ash topped off nicely, bread notes, coffee notes, dried fruit followed by pepper, long finish to each draw at this point, staying lit nicely, dry nuts, pepper, tannin tastes wash away nicely with a swig of Port, cigar brings out acidity of the Port, more dried nut tastes, nice tobacco hit, nutmeg, burn starting to canoe now ,

...some cinnamon sweetness coming out, rich tobacco, coffee grounds followed by nutmeg, pepper hit, cocoa hints, burn correcting itself, nutty tanningy dryness, nutmeg, more coffee taste, nutmeg again, walnuts, nutmeg, coffee, burn corrected, coffee & bread, coffee, nuts, more tannins, coffee, strong tobacco, bitter coffee.

Third Third

Strong rich tobacco, long finish, more tobacco, bread, some bitter notes, anise, vegatal notes, cinammon, strong nicotine now, cigar needs to be relit halfway through this third, the cigar has become stronger now, heavy nicotine in the draw like a PSD4 * 10!!, lingering pepper notes, nutmeg & cinammon, light finish on the palate, wind is picking up, loudmouths have also made it to the bar. 2PM and people are drunk already or still drunk from the previous night?, the tranquility of my Czar experience sullied somewhat . On the relight, the cigar gives off some ammonia, thankfully it didn't make it past the second puff post re-light, now on to bread notes, cinammon and nutmeg again, softer tastes come back, cookies, nuts, great burn, really smoking now!, more nutmeg, softer but still present, medium strength nicotine hit followed by fennel; nice, some cocoa, tannins back, more nutmeg, pepper, burn dying out, in the background loudmouths do shooters, not even the good tequila either, . Nonetheless, this cigar delivers from head to foot.

Conclusion,

Excellent. Will only get better with age.

Score: 90 points.

These are pretty fresh rolls and they do deliver a great smoking experience right off the bat. What I look for in a cigar is a taste experience. A culinary journey that is both surprising and enjoyable. The more dimension to the cigar, the better. If you look at my tasting notes above you'll see that the Czar has some very specific taste notes evident throughout. It is not a boring cigar by any stretch of the imagination. Bravo and well done Czar crew!! I look forward to enjoying a second one down the road and see how it fares.

The Good:

• Solid, gorgeous construction.
  
• Packed with aromas. The cigar is intoxicating.
  
• Lots of flavours, never in the same spots. Each third gives you something new to experience along with some repetitive taste notes, such as tannins, nutmeg, cinammon.
  

The Bad:

• Draw was a bit tight, but not enough to give me a headache.
  

Total Smoking Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Thanks for reading.

[ckearns]

Very nice review and a great setting (prior to the loudmouths) for enjoying it. I'm sure you're very excited about the weather you've come home to.

[El Presidente]

Great review and thankyou for going to such trouble.

Magnificent shots!

[Puros Y Vino]

Great review and thankyou for going to such trouble.

Magnificent shots!

My pleasure. It was a beauty of a smoke. Keep making them.

[thechenman]

Great review and nice pictures. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.

[SandmanTR]

Excellent review and great photos! Sounds like you had a great time decompressing from the work world.

[Bartolomeo]

Great review and glad someone is staying warm

Bart

[Sandman]

I smoked a Czar off the truck and really it was wonderful! A great custom rolled blend, hope it stays the same!

[adic88]

Grrr. I missed the boat on these. /facepalm

[Dbone]

Wow, what a review. I loved it. Good stuff Bund.

[Wicky]

I like the real time format. Nice review. thanks.

[CanuckSARTech]

Great review, Frank. I'm very envious of you on two counts - firstly, that you had some time in the warmth, and secondly, that you got to enjoy one of your Czar's. Very cool.

Another awesome review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[ZAZ]

Great review. Are these available anymore or?

[dicko]

Great review, please post more!!

The czar and tampa have been absolute hits! seems like good consistency across members' experiences too.

[PigFish]

Great review, photos, formatting; a pleasure to share, thanks for posting. -Piggy

[android]

Very nice Job

[CanuckSARTech]

Great review. Are these available anymore or?

Not at the moment, AFAIK.

It was a limited run of customs (the Czar and the Tampa) that Czar's did for some of us members on here - first ones in to buy got samplers, until they were sold out. Rob has said that they would be doing additional runs and batches, so that all can partake as possible.

Hopefully, full boxes will be up for grabs soon enough.

[El Presidente]

Not at the moment, AFAIK.

It was a limited run of customs (the Czar and the Tampa) that Czar's did for some of us members on here - first ones in to buy got samplers, until they were sold out. Rob has said that they would be doing additional runs and batches, so that all can partake as possible.

Hopefully, full boxes will be up for grabs soon enough.

We shall have a new batch of Customs here early January and I look forward to seeing them

[Puros Y Vino]

We shall have a new batch of Customs here early January and I look forward to seeing them

Rob. A suggestion. Before that new shipment arrives. Perhaps a contest to design bands for the Czar & Tampa?

[El Presidente]

Rob. A suggestion. Before that new shipment arrives. Perhaps a contest to design bands for the Czar & Tampa?

I am happy to do it but I like naked. I sleep naked. I like the feel of naked (on cigars).

Happy to consider it if there is enough interest

[Habanos2000]

Great review and great setting.

As far as bands, those cigars look so good as it, I would just see a band as detracting from their beauty.

[Puros Y Vino]

The cigars definitely look great naked. I won't comment on Rob. As for bands on the customs, it's just an exercise in designing them for fun. No one has to put them on.

If there's any interest, people will speak up. FWIW. Here's one I did for some custom rolls earlier this year. A Cuban roller, Arnaldo Alfonso, came up to Toronto to roll for several B&M's and the LCDH. To help me remember when they were done, I edited a Bolivar band, put on the date, his photo and a few details. Not the prettiest band, but it does the job.

[buster]

As far as bands, those cigars look so good as it, I would just see a band as detracting from their beauty.

+1 These sticks were born to be naked, bunched w/ a ribbon.

Rick

[CanuckSARTech]

Rob. A suggestion. Before that new shipment arrives. Perhaps a contest to design bands for the Czar & Tampa?

I dunno. As much as I like bands, I think that these are nice without them. I like the plain but boldly-coloured ribbons that they're tied with (red and blue). I vote for a nice green as the next addition if a 3rd cigar is still in the plans to be added to the trifecta. Green, or a cool burnt orange tone.

[CanuckSARTech]

I am happy to do it but I like naked. I sleep naked. I like the feel of naked (on cigars).

Happy to consider it if there is enough interest

Thanks, didn't need to know that.