2014 Blind Tasting Competition: Reviews: Cigar No. 2

[CaptainQuintero]

Email just sent to Alastair!

I'm nervous with this one after the confidence pummelling #1 reveal!

Perfect draw at cold reveals a hit of spice and undertone of fruitiness, not much else. Going to stick my neck out here and say it is Cuban though

Straight away I'm getting fruit which I took as melon, the flavour which took me to my doom last round!

Lots of spice, and I mean lots. It's coating the entire tongue almost making me wince. There is a definite berry after-taste though.

More fruit but I'm struggling to pin the type down.

Past the first third now and the previous crazy burn is settling down and I'm getting a sickly-sweet after-taste of sweet, damp wood.

The elusive fruit continues which (I think) has enabled me to narrow the cigar down simply by eliminating the 'non-fruity' cigars.

Half way and a dirty profile has crept in but takes turns in letting a pleasant milky coffee take a turn.

I think I have my guess by this point, which is lucky as it's started to rain :/

Strangely the negative aspects of this cigar has led me to the guess that I have this time.

What I did not taste what-so-ever, for comparison's sake:

Grass

Earth

Chocolate

Cream

Leather

Citrus

Bread

Honey

I'm starting to think me and Anubis have very similar palettes, eerily similar description in both rounds.

85/100 this time

[CaptainQuintero]

dble post

[Habana Mike]

Saturday afternoon, mid-70s, light breeze, low humidity, Cuban jazz in the background and cigar #2 in hand. Ice water on the side to keep the palate clear.

Our second entry in the 2014 blind is another Robusto with a fairly smooth reddish colorado maduro wrapper, lightly sheened with no sign of box pressing.

Very well rolled, nice triple cap and outstanding entubado bunching of the filler.

Toasted tobacco and woody bouquet.

Clean cut with the Palio, perfect draw. Prelight reminds me of honey nut cheerios.

Took a soft flame to the foot at 3:30. Starts with touch of sweetness - a slight oily mouthfeel, very smooth smoke on the medium side, no sense of youth at the onset.

Out of the gate I triggered on one of my top marcas. Not going to jump to conclusions just yet though.

Reminds me of sucking on Squirrel Nut Zippers or a Bit-O-Honey.

A little grassy, a little earth, a little cocoa - this baby's got a lot going on.

Ash is a solid light gray and the burn is a bit off - trying to avoid a touch-up as I always feel this has some adverse impact to the taste after charring the offending leaf.

Medium smoke output, first ash drops at 3:57 as I enter the middle third.

Breeze picks up a little and hints of leather begin to seep in, still that honey, though the nuts are receding, stonefruit coming to the forefront now, just a delicious cigar.

Full, rich flavors. Wrapper darkening and oils rising at the midpoint. Cinnamon, raisins, bread.

Creamy, long finish with strength picking up, spicier on the retro.

Entering the final third at 4:25 wood and earth enter the fray as the sweetness begins to dissipate, almost an hour in and still going strong. Starting to feel a bit of a nicotine hit.

Ash holding on through the center third, still not dropping.

Rich tobacco, some bitterness coming in the last inch. Wood and pepper on the retrohale.

Setting it down to expire at 4:45 - 75 minutes of smoking bliss!

Long, rich afterfinish - sweet, leathery, just fantastic. A perfect cigar.

Now this is a cigar I need to order a box or two of. Save a couple back for me Di!

[Guest rob]

My thoughts are almost identical Captain Quintero's. I had the same experiences, detected the same profile and will assign the score.

If its what I think it is, it is one of the least pleasant examples of one of these that I have ever had.

[Habana Mike]

Wow, I didn't read the reviews until after I posted mine to avoid any external influence.

Sounds like this one is split with some loving it and some not at all....hmmm

I think I 'might' get it right this time, wouldn't bet on it though.

Anxious for the reveal planning to order some if I don't have these, or more if I do. Hoping they'll all be as good as this one.

[Habanos2000]

My BC #2 has the darkest wrapper of all five. Personally, dark wrappers are a plus as I hope that they help deliver fully bodied flavors than lighter shades.

My cigar had no evidence of any box press. The construction was very good with only a soft spot near the head; it was well packed and had a light barnyard aroma.

After punching the cap, it took easily to the flame and immediately started to deliver a full bodied introduction. Overall the main flavors of cedar, wet soil and hints of sweet creamy spice held throughout the entire smoking experience. It was fairly windy outside when I was smoking so the burn was a bit lopsided, but a few touchups from the lighter keep everything in order. The ash was firm and my intentional efforts to detach the ash, so it wouldn't land in my lap, were met with some resistance.

I ended up nubbing this one as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed it to the point that it had to be a cigar I've had in the past. I'd be more than happy to have a box of these in my regular rotation.

I'll give it a 91 and my best guess.

[Professor Twain]

Cigar #2 is a sweet cigar with a bit of honey and vanilla. But I said that about cigar #1 too and it was a PSD4 so what do I know I'm nubbing this one, it's built nicely and is a great cigar. Burned beautifully and was a real treat at every stage. A fine cigar and I've sent in my guess.

[nikosdoc]

Ok, this one of my first reviews so please take it easy on me.

Cigar no2 had ane excellent construction with sweet aromas lingering on the cold draw. The cut was made with a xikar xi3, it light up fairly easy, with a perfect draw for my tastes. It burned immaculately ,in fact it forced me to take pictures of the whole procedure.

My company was nespressos Linizio lungo and tap water to clear my palate.

Flavours open up with a fruity citrusy accent with a sweet profile on background. After the first few puffs sweeter notes came on foreground, milk chocolate rounding things.

The profile went even sweeter with a hazelnut tone....Nutella perhaps ,staying on the palate, no more citrus or anything tannic whatsoever, nor any pepper.

The chocolate became darker ,heavier, with a sweet aftertaste. Perhaps one the sweeter Cubans I have ever had.

No harshness at all.. Some light notes of nuts, and a bit of burned sugar. Just one ash till now, wonderfull burn.

The chocolate returns with the nuts and the sweetness from the start. Really difficult to put it down. Enjoyed the whole 50 min it took to burn. Definitely medium strength, not overpowering at any time.

Really good stick ,I am struggling to make my guess.

Happy hunting to all.

Cheers.

[Croz71]

Cigar #2 Time: 4pm Paired with coffee and a water

Dark brown wrapper with minimal veins. Very good construction, well packed with no soft spots.

Used a punch, which reveals a great draw. Pre-light shows a slight grassy and toasted tobacco taste. Very nice.

1st third - Beautiful start, little sweet with a fruity flavour. Some nice toasted tobacco and then a hint of spice. Medium to full start.

2nd third - The ash is holding on well, showing how good the construction is. There is a lot more spice and pepper now, with some cinnamon. Ash drops off halfway through the 2nd third. Now darker with earth and leather. Good burn.

Last third - The earth picks up and now some nuts. Still spicy and peppery. Nice leather taste. Has moved to full now.

Finished 5:10pm. In the end, a good cigar which I enjoyed better than cigar #1.

[Paul3]

The nose and the cold draw really made me think I had this one nailed. Not that my blind taste test abilities are that good....still batting a perfect 0 for 6 in this and the last event, but this cigar just looked, felt, smelled and tasted just exactly like one of my favorites. Sweet tobacco, grassy, a bit of peppery spice...and then I put a match to it.

From the get go I was overwhelmed by the leathery, pepper flavors dominating the profile. Not my preferred start, but oddly not uncommon on one of my favorites. So, I continued on expecting the pepper to smooth out a bit shortly into the first third. To my disappointment the pepper and leather dominated my palate from beginning to end leaving me with little to say about it. Unfortunately for me I did not find this cigar as enjoyable as many other members seemed to and I'm left taking my best guess. 0 for 7?

[OkieJoe]

Cigar #2

Paired with Gatorade fruit punch (only the best when Im smoking )

Colorado wrapper that was flakey with a few construction issues that carried on into the burn.

Well packet/ good weight

First 3rd:

Immediate shot of pepper with a soothing flower finish. Almost...citrus?

Second 3rd:

the flower is more dominant with hints of leather and cedar. Medium to light bodied.

Final 3rd:

The pepper is back with wood flavor taking over the profile.

Thoughts:

If it turns out to be my first guess, I would say that I have a few of these kicking around the humi, Im really hoping its not my second guess lol. A very enjoyable cigar

[AlastairE]

Some excellent reviews here already guys!

Just a friendly reminder that today is your last day to get your nomination in for blind cigar no. 2 - send me those emails if you haven't done so already

[mbrody]

Cigar #2 was dark, some large veins. She smoked a bit loose and did not really show her hand. Leather, spice, grass, a little hint of floral, sweet tobacco every now and then. Built in strength and finished with a strong nic. Compared to other reviews, this was not a prime example. 84

[kjellfrick]

After a meal of Bratkartoffeln, beef and red wine my taste buds are primed

Mouth cleansing compliments of the Rioja district, Spain:

Punched it

Not so much on the dry draw

Not much aroma

Very slight box press

Veined in lighter colour, wrapper light Colorado with a bit of shine to it

Very fragrant on the first draws, good draw

A little pepper on the nose, but so far mild and sweet, slightly flowery

Getting more nut flavour but sweet flavours dominate

Almost an inch in and earthy flavours appear, a mingling of sweet and sour

More earth and a citrus tone appearing

Citrus notes vanishing slowly when half way and the remaining flavours are sweet, earthy flavours. Hardly any pepper at all

Getting bored here with two inches left and the cigar is becoming tannic. I think I'll watch a movie instead...

Skickas från min iPad via Tapatalk

[Cigar Surgeon]

Nose:

Hay and some spices. I’m detecting some light pepper on the wrapper. It’s very faint.

Construction:

All of the 5 cigars in the taster pack are robusto vitola, measuring 4.9” by 50 ring gauge. They’ve clearly been carefully selected to either be as similar or possible, or for the slightly longer ones to throw you off the hunt (I’m guessing one offs that are longer than they should be). An industrious person might use the CubanCigarWebsite to narrow down the possible production choices to 10 (4 of which I have in my current inventory).

Flavor: First Third

First few draws are equal proportions of pepper with a creamy sweet combination. After the first third establishes itself I start to get some light hay with bitterness at the end of the draw.

My initial impressions are that the flavors are all over the map. The flavor profile seems to change with each draw.

The bitterness starts to wane about 15 minutes in.

So far this cigar has all the characteristics of a really young Cuban stick that needs a good amount of time to age.

Middle Third

The flavors have settled down by the second third. Hay and light spices seem to be predominant. There is a bit of creaminess that develops but it’s subtle.

At this point I have no idea what this cigar this. Not a clue.

Last Third

Slightly harsh and earthy going into the last third. The flavors don’t develop much as it finishes.

Burn/Draw:

Boat loads of smoke production off this stick. I can’t remember the last time I had a Cuban that was like a chimney. Single v-cut put the draw right where it should be. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 39 minutes.

Value:

This is absolutely a case where value is going to be subjective. The 5 cigar selection tasting pack was $85, which works out to $17 a stick. This can either be a good value or a bad value depending on what exactly was included. The real win for me here is the chance to participate in a fun experiment, not to mention the chance to win a $500 US Cuban cigar shopping spree.

Final Word:

I didn’t really enjoy this cigar. It had moments of enjoyment but taken on the whole I would pass. My impression is that this would be quite good with at least a year if not two years of age on it. Instead of guessing on this cigar, I tried to match up my review notes. I ended up finding a source that had most of the same matching profiles through each third.

[ShortFatHokie]

Finally had a chance to smoke cigar #2 this afternoon...day late, dollar short...anyway, on with the review...

Cigar #2 had a medium/light brown wrapper and the wrapper had a few flaws as you can see in the picture.

(picture coming)

The cigar was solidly packed and had a fairly tight pre-light draw. It had a barnyard sweet aroma to it and a bit of spice on the pre-light draw.

First third: Lots of citrusy sweetness. The smoke had a chocolate sweet aroma to it which reminded me of the smell of hot chocolate wafting through the air on a cold Friday night at the local high school football game...brought back some good memories. The draw remained fairly tight and there wasn't a whole lot of smoke. Slight chocolate note at the end of the first third.

(picture coming)

Second third: Another slight chocolate note at the beginning followed by an earthy/hay flavor that remained for the rest of the second third. I actually thought the second third was kinda blah and almost nondescript.

(picture coming)

Final third: The earthy/hay flavor continued with a smattering of citrus throughout.

Some of you may have enjoyed this cigar, however, I found it very underwhelming...which was a bit disappointing. I did have to touch up the burn a couple of times due to it being a little breezy while I smoked it. I found it to be on the light side of medium in strength and total smoking time was one hour and ten minutes.

No clue what this cigar was.