Weekend Cigar Review Competition!

[Habana Mike]

Cohiba Siglo VI

Been a while since I've sparked up one of these, keeping more to the IV, V, CCE and the CoRo. It has been tempting me from the singles drawer and, while not quite sure of vintage, suspect it has at least a few years on it.

Beautiful wild honey-colored silky wrapper, couple of veins but not too prominent. A slight sponginess to the touch, hoping not a wind tunnel.

Clipped it open and the draw is just about right luckily. A bit less resistance then I prefer but not enough to be troublesome.

Cold draw shows cedar, hay and vanilla.

Lit it up and a wealth of thick, creamy smoke is produced.

By the taste I can tell this one's been waiting at least 3-4 years, possibly one of the remnants from my jar, very nice.

Had a hard time keeping my hands off of those as they came out of the gate tasting great and don't think they ever dropped off. I've only bought a 15 pack of tubos since.

Nice long finish of sweet grass and nuts, medium body almost spot-on burn. Easy on the retrohale with just a hint of spice. Ash is a very light gray with darker striations, again more typical of a cigar with some age.

Leaves a nice smooth coated sensation on the tongue. Hints of sugar cookies, cinnamon and medium-roast cafe au lait, touch of cedar on the finish.

First ash drops about 20 minutes in, fairly flaky but held well until then.

Moving into the second third the flavors get richer and fuller, now some core tobacco flavors coming to the forefront and cayenne through the nose. Really enjoying this one, good pick for a Sunday afternoon on the deck. Sipping water though something more may be in order.

Second ash drops about 40 minutes in, burn still perfect.

Entering the final third the burn becomes a little off, ash now a darker gray than at the beginning. I may be picking up the pace of my smoking a bit, time to back off a little, a little touch up and a purge.

Slight charriness now though not bitter. Sweetness has taken a back seat as well.

Third ash almost an hour in with 1.5-2 inches to go. Getting more of a roasted bean flavor now with a definite bite through the nostrils.

Last ash 1 hour 45 minutes in and put it to rest after another 5 minutes or so - about an hour and fifty minutes of smoking time.

Nice sweet cream finish on the palate. 4.5/5 for me.

Getting low in stock on these, may need to pick up a box in the near future.

[paulF]

520 and some Fizz!

​The wife is heading out, helping plan a friend's wedding as one of the bridesmaids. So I took full advantage of my situation.

Bathed the kids and put them to bed at 7pm, and took 'the wife' up a glass of Billecart while she was straightening her hair. Complemented her on how well she looked. She left at 7:27pm.

I now have nearly a whole bottle of champagne and a Partagas de Partagas No.1 in the dry box. For some reason I felt like the 520's needed a revisit, so I grabbed one of those instead.

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It looks glorious. I grabbed 3 boxes of these when Rob told me to do so. I would say he hand picked them because there are a whole bunch of oily crystals on the wrapper. It is a glorious, glossy, dark cigar.

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And well packed, head-to-toe.

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I clip it, draw is slightly looser than perfect, so perfect for me, and I am getting pretty excited. I have a few sips of fizz and retreat to the back balcony.

Upon lighting the cigar it tastes like the ultimate dessert! I love chocolate and coffee, but mostly cigars, and this is all 3 rolled into 1.

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About an inch and a half in (or 3cm) I try and anticipate the ash falling off and give it a gentle tap or two into the kaffir lime pot plant. But, the ash holds on. Construction is crazy good.

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For the record, I am a huge whisky and beer buff, but above all, I love champagne. I was hesitant in pairing the 520 and the fizz, as I don't blaze a great deal of Monte's, and I know they are predominantly coffee, chocolate and sweet, yet earthy. For the next hour and a half, I jump between sweet and sour. And, more and more recently I find champagne to be the perfect palate refresher. As such, I have been rewarded. The 520 performed well above my expectations this evening. It is the 3rd I have had, and I am fairly stoked I have many more.

I am typing this mostly from memory, which is now a little fuzzy from the fizz. But, all in all, I can remember having a really enjoyable experience. And I am going to rate it 93.75/100. And, I now have my 'pairing vindication' with the approval of Smithy, via Instagram.

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For those of you on the 'gram, (yes, I liked my own post) follow @smithyai 'cause he needs the support, with a measly 25 followers. His posts are mostly golf, drinking, reading, flying and cigars, so all the good stuff.

In closing, cheers Rob for the inspiration to write my 2nd review. I wish everyone else good luck in this weekend's review competition. If I get the chance to toast another cigar this weekend, I might do another review to double my chances of winning.

'ave a great weekend everybody!

Frothing on the 520's.

Jeremy

Really enjoyed the review and the whole set up around it. Good stuff. I'm a no Fizz guy but i think you just converted me to at least trying some Champagne with my next Cigar

[Jeremy Festa]

Really enjoyed the review and the whole set up around it. Good stuff. I'm a no Fizz guy but i think you just converted me to at least trying some Champagne with my next Cigar

Cheers Paul. I had fun writing it. I was late to champagne, as I was late to coffee, cigars, wine and whisky. You really have to earn that appreciation. In that, I mean, it's like being 17 and having a beer, unenjoyable the first few times. But then something clicks. Have a good one.

.

[sunsource]

Heyha fellas,

my first try to do a review, so take this into consideration .

HDM Grand Epicure EL 2013

Box code, date: unknown

Location: LCDH Den Haag, The Netherlands

Drink: Cubanero Fuerte

Construction: dark, perfect wrapper, well-packed all the way.

Pre-light: tight, but just okay draw, I really concentrated on catching and coming up with the exact name(s) of the catched taste, I would say lightly peppery, but sweet at the same time.

1st third: sweet, with hints of nuts and chocolate in progress coming up.

2nd third: chocolate comes to the lead, but still a sweet smoke, mother of god it's just great.

3rd third: still the same, catching a bit of nut at the end again.

Consistent flavors all the way down, I could catch more flavors, but couldn't name it while smoking this great stick.

(Since I forgot how to attach pictures, below 2 links:)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Zhp0tMv7m9TnNnS2ZjOVJXSHc/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Zhp0tMv7m9cmxfYkVsRHdEWW8/edit?usp=sharing

Have a nice day or night, depending on your location,

András

(currently living in Groningen, The Netherlands)

[Rye]

Ahh, springtime in Alberta.

Warm breezes, melting snow, budding trees, and the warm sweet smell of backyard.

Such a different sense on the palate. Sweet, pungent, musty, wet, and grassy. I picked a different cigar for the supervision of the biggest of annual chores, cleaning of the yard gars.

The Toscano El Presidente Italian smoke cured, sun dried cigars.

The aroma at cold is unique and unlike any other tobacco product and is reminiscent of wood smoked raisin and dried oak.

At about 4.5" in length, this rough, hard, and dry cigar is tapered from about 38rg at the pre cut head, to about 46rg at the clean cut foot.

I get the slave-teenager set up, and instructed on the procedure, and set in to a comfortable perch on the deck above to light up. 10c and a steady westerly warm breeze make me have to shelter my bic lighter with my shirt but the cigar takes very easily to the flame and billows up quickly.

The thick smoke tastes very much like the aroma at cold with that smoked raisin and wood taste.

Pleasant bitters and dried fruit mixed with hardwood smoke are a great cover for the sweet and musty smell of the task being performed by my minion.

Thick and dense smoke are building an almost creamy texture and the flavours don't waiver as I continue to enjoy smoking and barking orders to not miss any hidden dog-rockets.

The ever loving artist of this well decorated yard has now joined me in relaxing in a sunbeam and found himself a suitable spot to scratch his back and absorb the great weather that has been a long time coming.

The size of this "Amezzato" or half cigar is perfect for a quick blast of intense and smokey flavour.

After wrestling and tummy scratching in the sun, in an almost deliberately demeaning way in front of the enlisted help, I notice that the cigar is getting a bit hot on the lips for chewing it down while frolicking with the pooch.

I inspect the 210lbs of waste, look about the cleaned yard, and at the exhausted man/child, and pitch my very much enjoyed and tasty Toscano.

[Jeremy Festa]

Ahh, springtime in Alberta.

Warm breezes, melting snow, budding trees, and the warm sweet smell of backyard.

Such a different sense on the palate. Sweet, pungent, musty, wet, and grassy. I picked a different cigar for the supervision of the biggest of annual chores, cleaning of the yard gars.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396822984.508267.jpg

The Toscano El Presidente Italian smoke cured, sun dried cigars.

The aroma at cold is unique and unlike any other tobacco product and is reminiscent of wood smoked raisin and dried oak.

At about 4.5" in length, this rough, hard, and dry cigar is tapered from about 38rg at the pre cut head, to about 46rg at the clean cut foot.

I get the slave-teenager set up, and instructed on the procedure, and set in to a comfortable perch on the deck above to light up. 10c and a steady westerly warm breeze make me have to shelter my bic lighter with my shirt but the cigar takes very easily to the flame and billows up quickly.

The thick smoke tastes very much like the aroma at cold with that smoked raisin and wood taste.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396823419.074727.jpg

Pleasant bitters and dried fruit mixed with hardwood smoke are a great cover for the sweet and musty smell of the task being performed by my minion.

Thick and dense smoke are building an almost creamy texture and the flavours don't waiver as I continue to enjoy smoking and barking orders to not miss any hidden dog-rockets.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396823633.124566.jpg

The ever loving artist of this well decorated yard has now joined me in relaxing in a sunbeam and found himself a suitable spot to scratch his back and absorb the great weather that has been a long time coming.

The size of this "Amezzato" or half cigar is perfect for a quick blast of intense and smokey flavour.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396823919.674559.jpg

After wrestling and tummy scratching in the sun, in an almost deliberately demeaning way in front of the enlisted help, I notice that the cigar is getting a bit hot on the lips for chewing it down while frolicking with the pooch.

I inspect the 210lbs of waste, look about the cleaned yard, and at the exhausted man/child, and pitch my very much enjoyed and tasty Toscano. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396824064.724420.jpg

Classic! Top work!

[Rye]

Classic! Top work!

Yours as well my friend! Good luck!

[CaptainQuintero]

Snip

I love Toscano! The Classico is my favourite, just thick, dense smoke laden with rich sweet dried fig/dates.

[Rye]

I love Toscano! The Classico is my favourite, just thick, dense smoke laden with rich sweet dried fig/dates.

Yep, I love them all, but the Classico and the Antico seem to be my faves.

[dangolf18]

Today I have for review a LGC Inmenso, a 2010 sublime-sized LCDH release. Only 5,000 boxes are made annually and a box of 10 will set you back between $175 and $200. This is only the second one I have smoked. The first one I had was back at La Bodeguita del Medio in Prague in 2011 and I have to say I found it rather flat and mild. Let’s see how this one compares.

This cigar has a decent looking oily dark-colorado shade wrapper. Not the prettiest looking cigar, but I often find that how a cigar looks has little to do with how it’s going to taste. First few cold draws are very promising–very rich tobacco taste and hints of cedar, barnyard, and coffee.

1/3. Razor-sharp burn. Very toothy and delicious smoke so far. Very complex smoke already and very rich. You can tell that this is a LGC cigar, but it also reminds me of the H.Upmann Royal Robusto. At the end of the first third, I’m picking up some floral and citrus notes. Well-balanced.

2/3. This cigar is really starting to come into its own. Pungent, rich tobacco taste. Medium-bodied at this point. Really enjoying the interplay of floral/citrus notes and the cream and leather. So far I’m figuring this is definitely a 90+ point cigar.

3/3. No harshness in the last third. Citrus undertones are giving way to rich leather, cocoa, and cream. Lot of barnyard as well, not something I automatically think of when I smoke a LGC.

Final thoughts: Brilliant smoke. Tons better than my previous experience a couples years ago with this cigar. With three years of age, this cigar is definitely worthy of a spot in my humidor. Now to only find a few more boxes…

Score: 93-94 points.

[Rye]

Review of the La Gloria Cubana Inmensos on my site. http://longestashes.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/short-review-la-gloria-cubana-inmenso-pol-ene-11/

Not sure, but after reading the first post, I don't think a link counts.

The prez did say post review in this thread.

[Habana Mike]

By the way, great idea on the contest. It's nice to see some new blood stepping in and doing reviews.

I find that when you sit down to review a cigar you pay much more attention, the cigar lasts much longer, and you truly appreciate more of the subtleties and nuances than you would just 'having a smoke'.

That's one reason I try to do at least 1 or 2 a week, to slow me down, make me think, take me away from all the everyday distractions and really enjoy the cigar I selected.

Some good stuff here, best to the winner!

[Strada]

Well it isn't near spring here at all So indoor smoking this cigar!

Por Larranaga Secretos ER Spain

This was from a trade I did with a great Botl and on that, like me, is all over the place

The wrapper on these is kind of rough and dry. No pungent oils or any aroma per se.

1st

Instantly light medium body, the smoke is dense and plenty but it leaves a very short after taste. It is pretty flavorful, tea, graham cracker, sweet and dry. There isn't that much depth in here so far.

2nd

THis is relatively young and quite flavorful. It is building itself a nice amount of power to climb to medium body. My home smoking lounge smells like sweat bread, almost like a cake. I like it. I can taste the youth and fougue in this but I don't see go for decades. It reminds me of the Bolivar Simones that had lot of youth but is starting to peak. There are some bitter noytes towards the end of the after taste,

3rd

I decided to pull out a simple Highland Park 12. I like to stick with staple alcohol or sparkling water when I try new cigars. Body is till going strong and the complexity is still lacking. Flavrous are starting to be burnt. I am glad I got to try these as I enojy PLs in general.

And that, ladies and gents, is all she wrote!

[bigfunkyg]

Vegas Robaina Unicos 2008

Good start. Great draw earthiness and dark coffee.


a hint of dark sugar sweetness. Once upon a time I had two boxes of these. One had deep dark oily wrappers you only dream of. This was from the other box as that box met it'd fate a while ago. How I wish I still had a few of those although this is nothing to sneeze at. It's like a good Americano with just the right amount of raw sugar. Pairing very well with some Zapaca XO.

Body eases off a bit to medium. Bit of a shame because I love these when they are full bodied. Hopefully it picks back up.


I was supposed to watch the season premier of Game of Thrones with my wife but after a full and fun weekend with my young boys it was time for some daddy time. As my wife said Westeros will have to wait.


For a box with 6 years of age on it, it doesn't show a ton of "age character". I would have to revisit a more recent box. These are a humidor staple as I tend to smoke a fair amount of Pirimides. I generally have the whole portfolio of them in my humidor. Hard to rank them if I had to. When any of them are on they are all quite good.


The sweetness is quite prominent now. Getting that weird tar buildup at the cap so I gave it another small clip. Although the draw was good I didn't want it getting bitter. The second clip seems to have really opened the draw up. Zapaca was wonderful but must be conserved. Switched to some McCallum Gold. About a third in and the body is picking back up. Wonderful!

Stupid thing just went out! Was just thinking how good the burn was. Oh well. Quick touch up and we are back in the biz. Side note I bought a Robson Jet Lite torch for $14 recently and it is a great torch. I have a Xicar tabletop tri-flame which is a beautiful lighter but has given me nothing but problems. Sent one back already and about to send back the second. Thankfully Xicar has good customer service.


Back to the cigar. Body is above medium and the sweetness has faded. A bit one dimensional right now. Starting to get a bit bored with the cigar which is disappointing. Wish the sweetness would come back but it's a bit too heavy right now. About a third left so there's still hope.


I'm really surprised by this finish and not in a good way. I'm kind of nursing it hoping for something better but it's very bland. Maybe it's too much cigar for what I was in the mood for. I'm really tired as it's been a tough couple of weeks. It goes to show how important matching your size to your mood is. It's a fine line because there is nothing worse than choosing something too small and wanting more. Although that said that's not such a bad thing.


Ugg. Had such higher hopes for this cigar. Sometimes you hope for magic and you get medicore. That's cigars in a nutshell. You hope you win more than you lose. At the end of it your thankful your able to partake in this wonderful experience. Oh well, another week of the grind ahead and look forward to the next. Sorry for the "lack" of review but that's the way the cigar burns.


Cheers!


G

[Cigar Surgeon]

I don't know whether I missed the cut off or not. but I'll post my review!

Ventura PSyKo SEVEN:

The Ventura PSyKo SEVEN came as a 2 pack by way of a giveaway Ventura hosted in November 2013.

Nose:

Careful examination reveals spices and cedar. The nose is light for strength.

Construction:

The Ventura PSyKo SEVEN comes as a robusto, toro, gordito or gordo. I reviewed the sampler in the robusto vitola which measures 5.5” x 50 ring gauge. It sports an enormous band that wraps around the majority of the cigar, with a regular sized cigar band underneath.

The PSyKo SEVEN is manufactured out of the Dominican Republic but is a hybrid of Dominican, Honduran, Nicaraguan, US and Peru filler. Originally announced at the July 2013 IPCPR, they were released in 20 count boxes in August of 2013.

Flavor: First Third

Sweet earth, pepper and cedar. The pepper is mild to medium intensity and the sweet earth falls off and becomes sweet leather about 10 minutes in.

Initially the flavors are quite complex however as the first third winds down I’m just tasting the primary leather flavor.

Middle Third

The earth that fell off completely comes back here although quite light and subtle. The leather falls off and I would say the flavor complexity is on the lighter side of medium. The dried cedar from the first third is still present, but again very subtle.

Last Third

The cedar picks up to be medium to full strength going into the final with a finish of just sweet tobacco. As the last third settles there is some slightly bitter nuttiness breaking in.

Burn/Draw:

I tried a cold draw with a single v-cut but it was way too tight. I made it an x cut and the draw was great. The burn was even and slow with the ash holding tightly. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 46 minutes.

Value:

The PSyKo SEVEN in a robusto vitola will typically be around the $7 mark for a single. Boxes of 20 seem to be about $130.

Final Word:

I was pleasantly surprised by the PSyKo SEVEN. I carefully avoided any reviews prior to smoking and I had prepared myself for a mediocre experience. Instead I found a subtle but delicious cigar. In the past I haven’t gravitated towards Dominican origin cigars but I’ve already had several this year that were quite excellent.

[El Presidente]

well, it says it's a draw....... is the winner chosen at random? that's what a draw is, right?

shame because you did toss a wholesome effort into that!

just putting the tickets in the draw at 1pm today. Will draw and post 1:05

[El Presidente]

And the Draw is done

Congratulations Fabes. Shoot me an e-mail or PM tomorrow and I will get that little Aged 5 pack out.

.....I wouldn't get too excited

[Rye]

Congrats Fabes!

[paulF]

Congrats Fabes

[Jeremy Festa]

Nice one Fabes!

[Cmontoya79]

Congrats fabes!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LordAnubis]

Good stuff mate!

[Cigar Surgeon]

Congrats Fabes!

[fabes]

And the Draw is done

Congratulations Fabes. Shoot me an e-mail or PM tomorrow and I will get that little Aged 5 pack out.

.....I wouldn't get too excited

Wow.. what a surprise!

Thanks so much for your generosity Rob!

[CaptainQuintero]

Congrats Fabes!