Your Reviews For Blind Tasting Cigar Number 4 .....Please Post here

[El Presidente]

Please post your Review for Cigar Number 4 on this thread by July 8th. Do not disclose your pick but rather e-mail it to [email protected] before the cutoff date.

Cheers and Good Luck 

[ayepatz]

Since I'm doing such a bang up job of this blind-tasting, I'll get in there with my notes early, so others can use my clearly warped tastebuds to help them figure out what it's not.

Construction - Colorado wrapper with darker spots. Loosely packed at foot.
Nose - cedar, leather
Cold draw - perfect draw, earthy
1st third - under medium, slight leather, hay, peachy stonefruit, apple? (not had that before), very white ash. Very milky/creamy. Slight sweetness. Great smoke production. Feels very balanced. Ash dropped right on cue.
2nd third - woody notes. Pine more than cedar. Little bit of leather. Stonefruit again. Sweet smoke. Medium now. Dry, but not tanniny. Cream. Bit of tobacco. White pepper. Gorgeous smoke. Ash drops on cue again.
3rd third - pine, stonefruit, creamy, just over medium now. White pepper. Bit of leather. Still beautifully balanced.

It reminded me somewhat of one of the other blind tasting cigars, and I'm sure that has influenced my choice.

[LordAnubis]

Mine was decent construction and wrapper. Little bit of a press but not much at all. Looked like a Hermosa number 4 size.

Tasted of tobacco and cedar. A little bit of sweet milo towards the end. Solid medium body.

Paired with Fanta

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ElPuro]

Fanta! Excellent choice. 

[nonimurmur]

Vitola: Hermoso No. 4

Pre-Light:

The wrapper has an intense aroma that I can only describe as “Cuban funk”. It’s sort of musty, and every time a wrapper has smelled like that to me in the past, the cigar ended up being great. The wrapper is on the lighter side of Colorado and there seems to be an ever-so-slight press to the cigar. The draw is tight, which hopefully won’t put too much of a damper on the experience.

First Third:

Upon lighting, the draw still feels pretty tight, but I’m getting tons of smoke, so no worries. The flavor seems take a course through several familiar profiles, which I’ll chaulk up to my mind playing tricks on me. At first I tasted the sweet breadiness I associate with Upmann, then I got something more on the fruity side that reminded me of either Saint Luis Rey or Vegas Robaina. After 10 or so puffs, the flavor seems to settle into something else entirely. It’s sweet and nutty, but definitely more on the nutty side than the sweet. About halfway into the third, the balance shifts from nutty to sweet, and that causes a pretty drastic change in the flavor profile. The profile has taken on a sort of cola character, but I’m not sure how it transitioned from nutty to cola. As the third progresses, I start to realize the nutty flavor is still present, and the profile shifts between cola and nuts throughout the remainder of the third.

Second Third:

The flavor has shifted back to the nutty side, almost to the point of the cola disappearing. This tastes almost exactly the same as when the profile first settled down in the first third. A few puffs in, I start to notice a very subtle milk chocolate flavor coming into the mix. Just when I thought it was gone for good, the cola comes back again, bu the chocolate hint remains as well. This is my favorite part of the smoke so far.

Final Third:

The last third brings lots more of the chocolate cola combination and the nutty aspect of the profile has faded to almost nothing. I’m loving this smoke and while I enjoyed the changes, I would’ve been just as happy to taste only this the entire time I think. I’m mildly confident in my guess at this point, but if I’m right, I’ve never smoked this cigar before. I can’t wait for the reveal!!

[Nrengle]

Cigar 4

 

Robusto/Hermosa 4 in size

 

Bit of a rosado color to the wrapper.

 

Smells of cream brown sugar and my grandfathers chewing tobacco (Levi Garret to be exact)

 

Prelight it seems like this may be a bit of a wind tunnel. Tastes of a bit of plum/prunes

 

Light at 8:28am

 

Initial flavors I'm hit with. Toasted tobacco and a bit of peppery spice. 

 

First third is a bit peppery but mostly flat, can't tell much of what's going on here.  Not burning like the wind tunnel I thought it would be though. 

 

Didn't pay much attention to the 2nd third as I was enjoying play time with my dogs after 3 weeks away.  But didn't really notice a change in profile.

 

Last third though noticed a change to a more woody/leathery taste and losing the pepper.  Almost a touch of Worcestershire sauce on the retro hale. Maybe even equate it to HP Brown sauce.  Strange flavor indeed as I've never encountered that 

 

I only required touching up once as it got a bad shelf run on the last third. Think of a notch and only half the wrapper wanted to burn.  

 

Finished off kind of bland the flavors were very muted and faded to mostly a woody taste that reminded me of a 23+ year old bourbon/whiskey. 

 

Finished at 9:45am

 

Would smoke again but wouldn't spend a lot on a box...

[TomF]

Construction looks very good. Very smooth wrapper with very light veins, cafe au lait Colorado color. Perfect draw. Faint cedary aroma from the wrapper. Nutty aroma from the foot. Not box pressed but a slight press along one side, SLB bundle?

Cold draw: Salt on the lips, slightly musty flavor from the filler, also some nuttiness.

Light: Cedar, good smoke output but not creamy, somewhat airy.

First third: Cedar and spice, woody with salt and black pepper building on the finish. Slightly sharp through the nose. Light-medium body. One inch in - tight, light grey ash, not a lot of sweetness or nuttiness but there is something slightly sweet about the saltiness, like kettle corn. Mostly cedar wood, vegetal, floral through the nose, peppery salt on the tongue. Long salt and pepper finish continues. Good even burn. Ash drops just past one inch. Fruity sweetness begins to come in toward the end of the first third, salt and pepper diminish. Smoke gets creamier. Smooth through the nose now with floral notes still present. Long spicy finish turns from black pepper towards allspice and cinnamon on the tongue.

Second Third: The sharper flavors present in the first third have smoothed out. Cedar woodiness has turned more nutty and some fruity sweetness builds. Still some salt on the lips but the long peppery finish has diminished. This has become a much more pleasant smoke. Solid medium body now but not powerfully strong. When I put my tongue on the filler I taste salty and sweet kettle corn. Whatever sweet fruit flavors it has comes on the draw. Maybe some milk chocolate?

Last Third: Cigar goes out at the start of the last third. Re-light required and with it comes some bitterness, but not totally unpleasant. Flavors settle back in after 3 draws and smoke gets creamier. Sweet flavors are diminishing now, flavor deepens, earth, wood, tobacco dominate. Still a low level of salt. Strength builds to the end. Burn gets uneven near the end. One inch left in the ashtray.

Smoking time 1 hr 15 minutes. Smoked in the morning with coffee and cream. I'd rate this at about an 80. Not a bad smoking experience, but not great either. I'm taking an educated guess but my educated guesses have all been wrong so far.

[Scrubber]

Really struggled with this cigar. Despite a beautiful appearance the construction was terrible. Kept going out and tunnelling. First stick I've had in ages that tunnelled on me.

As a result of the constant touch ups and delights I struggled to get many decent flavours.

Pretty much a total guess (maybe that's a good thing?)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DrunkenMonkey]

Mine was a fairly dry looking wrapper, lots of small water spots, a bit on the rustic side. Very hard spot right in the middle of the cigar. After cutting, draw seems on the tight side.  After lighting, draw is ok, only a little tight. I thought the cigar overall was on the strong side of medium, but I think that was more of a rich flavors thing than actual strength. Flavors were really interesting; They seemed confused, all over the place at the beginning, and then settled into a rich, bitter(ish) flavor.  sort of chocolate-like flavor, but maybe more like the kind of chocolate flavor you find in a nice porter than actual chocolate. Burn was pretty bad, lots of re-lights and corrections. I liked the cigar, but it certainly wouldn't be an everyday cigar for me. I dont think I've ever had one of whatever this is, so my guess will be exactly that.   I smoked this while watching Argentina and Messi take apart the USA soccer team like an old fishing guide with a filet knife, so maybe that's where the bitterness came from.  But I liked the cigar much more than the soccer. 

[ShortFatHokie]

Fired this one up last Sunday afternoon.  It had a veiny, colorado wrapper, not the prettiest cigar I've ever smoked for certain, with floral aroma with hints of black tea.  Clipped it, pre-light draw was perfect with lots of black tea flavors on the draw.  It lit easily and the burn was very nice throughout.

First third:  First half inch was awful...acrid, metallic taste.  Then, it changed.  Fruit and an underlying sweetness and toasted tobacco continued through the rest of the first third.

Second third and final third:  Much the same as the end of the first third...full of fruit (apricot, cherry maybe) and a sweetness (vanilla/sweet cream) ruled a majority of the way as sweet toasted tobacco closed this nice cigar.

The strength was just above medium and the smoke was quite rich and viscous.  Other than the first half inch, I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar.

 

 

  

[skalls]

Not sure if I've had this cigar.  Medium bodied,  Didn't get much out of it except toasted tobacco and leather.  Did get a hint of cocoa at the end,  Wrapper was rustic and didn't have much oil in it which probably is why I didn't get much flavor out of it.

Would probably be interested in trying another with a nicer/better/oilier wrapper.

 

[billh1]

#4...

Man this is one ugly cigar!  Dry wrapper, big veins and a bit squishy.  Not impressed by the appearance but maybe I shouldn't judge a book (cigar) by it's cover.

Started with an open draw but the flavors were pleasant.  Picking up nuts and maybe some cocoa?

Occasionaly getting some sweet fruitiness...this is a pretty good stick.  I'm kind of surprised at how much I'm enjoying this ugly duckling.  

Wow!  I totally lost myself in the experience and nearly smoked my fingertips!  I think I've had this cigar before but there are a couple in this size I've never tried before so I could be way off base with this guess.  Email sent to Lisa.

Cheers!

Bill

[hoffmr3]

Pre-Light

Well-constructed, thin colorado wrapper without much oil (did not dry-box). The cold draw was perfect, tasting of toasted tobacco and a slight hint of leather. Paired with a tall glass of ice water, vintage 2016.

Initial Third (2:26)

Slightly over medium bodied. Started off with tangy marmelade or even apricot flavors, and what nonimurmur described so well as a fizzy cola flavor on the retrohale. The burn stays razor sharp through the first third, and the body settles into medium towards the end.

Second Third (2:45)

Body settles more to just under medium. Retrohale is less sharp, now mellowing into toasted tobacco and flat cola. Still a generous smoke output. Starts gaining more of a toasted tobacco flavor with every draw. Towards the end, started to pick up more of the hints of apricot I tasted in the first third.

Final Third (3:02)

The mellowness remains, still slightly under medium-bodied. Very pleasant toasted tobacco flavor, with hints of apricot intermittently popping up. Towards the very end, the burn gets a little uneven and needs one minor touch up. Purged the cigar just at the last 1/4, but no major flavor change; still toasted tobacco with hints of apricot. Nubbed at 3:26 (1 hour, on the nose).

Overall

A solid medium-bodied cigar with some mild complexity. I would put it somewhere around 85 points, and not sure how much upside it has with more age. I would pick up a box of these on special for reading the Sunday paper on the deck.

Hoff

[GavLew79]

Emailed my guess to Lisa but no reply as yet. Is she on hols? Everything cool?

[ShortFatHokie]

Same here...emailed my guess and no reply.

[LordAnubis]

Don't think she ever replies?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LordAnubis]

Don't think she ever replies?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ferrero]

Hey Gents,

I have Lisa's emails coming in to me at the moment as she has been overseas. I haven't been replying as you would get a message from my account which would just confuse things for some. Hope you understand.

I have everyone's guesses entered on the spreadsheet already. If you haven't emailed your guess yet then please get it in by the cut off so that you don't miss out.

[zeedubbya]

My review: 

Go DRUNKENMONKEY!  Bring this one home for our State and Country!!  Whoo Hooo!  I'm out of the competition so I am rooting for DrunkenMonkey for the win. For the Sweep!  Drunkenmonkey is like the Lebron of Blind Tasting!  3 in a row!  Incredible!  An NBA championship and a FOH Blind Tasting winner in the same year!  Same State?  I bet it's an unprecedented feat!  

Oh and by the way.  Really good cigar, I got that interesting cola flavor going on as well?   Hmmmmm....  Only one of this Vitola I have never had and that's the one I guessed.  I'm sure I'm wrong again.  

GO DRUNKENMONKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

8 hours ago, zeedubbya said:

My review: 

Go DRUNKENMONKEY!  Bring this one home for our State and Country!!  Whoo Hooo!  I'm out of the competition so I am rooting for DrunkenMonkey for the win. For the Sweep!  Drunkenmonkey is like the Lebron of Blind Tasting!  3 in a row!  Incredible!  An NBA championship and a FOH Blind Tasting winner in the same year!  Same State?  I bet it's an unprecedented feat!  

Oh and by the way.  Really good cigar, I got that interesting cola flavor going on as well?   Hmmmmm....  Only one of this Vitola I have never had and that's the one I guessed.  I'm sure I'm wrong again.  

GO DRUNKENMONKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I guessed on this one too 

[tomaszgeorge]

Cigar 4

 

An ugly looking cigar with many prominent veins and lumps and bumps across its length. the overall weight and construction seem very good though despite the outward appearance.

 

Initial draws are bread with a hint of citrus.

 

The first third is Mild/med body. There are espresso notes, similar to an Ethiopian coffee blend with high acidity and a subtle fruitiness.

 

The second third sees sourdough bread notes dominating with slight hazelnut character in the background.

 

The final third has seen the roasted hazelnut gaining prominence along side toasted tobacco elements.

 

Overall this was a pleasant but unremarkable cigar.

[RickHendeson]

Mine was a wind tunnel, I can tell you that.

 

Odd kaleidoscope of flavors

[RijkdeGooier]

126 mm long and 52 Rg. Pictured next to a RASS fresh from the box and measured at 124 mm and 50 Rg.

 

This is an interesting vitola indeed .

 

[ElPuro]

7 hours ago, RickHendeson said:

Mine was a wind tunnel, I can tell you that.

 

Odd kaleidoscope of flavors

Mine the same. 

[Lant63]

Not good,  salad, vegetal, yuck.  I hope I got this one right,  construction was good though.