WINNER ANNOUNCED!! Review thread: 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2024 : Win a box of Cohiba Robusto

[El Presidente]

 

 

For all those who purchased a 2024 12 Days of Christmas Sampler can review on this thread  one or more of the cigars and go into the draw (one ticket per review), for a box of Cohiba Robusto which will be drawn on Australia day the 26th of January.  That will give you plenty of time to get through if not all….then at least a few of your Sampler selection. 😊

 

This thread will open December 20 

 

 

12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2024

Cohiba Robusto

Partagas Serie D Number 4

Ramon Allones Specially Select

Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Number 3

H. Upmann Magnum 54

Juan Lopez Seleccion Number 2

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Number 2

Vegas Robaina Unicos

Partagas Maduro Number 2

Montecristo Number 1

Quay D’Orsay 50

Trinidad Coloniales

[El Presidente]

and we are away!!!!!

 

[Tunkat92]

I started the 12 days of Christmas Sampler Review with the Party Maduro 2.

Cold Draw: I didn’t get much, some slight hay and chocolate notes. The draw seemed slightly loose.

Notes: the initial puffs where all bitter dark chocolate. No partagas dna at all. I definitely get a breadiness undertone. Not many changes during the progression.

87/100: I would revisit but don’t have high hopes.

[Chibearsv]

Monte 1 - one of my favorite cigars

Firm draw on the pre light. Opened with a smooth, even draw and perfect burn. Classic Monte notes of dry baker’s chocolate and a hint of roasted coffee bean. Under-medium body and medium flavor. First third finished just as it started. Classic Monte flavor.

Second third didn’t change much, but I wouldn’t expect it to. The body has moved into medium-over. Still those classic Montecristo flavors that we all know and love.

Final third was pleasantly surprising. Both over-medium body and flavors. Flavor almost reaching to under-full. This had a consistent burn and I might have pulled a bit of roasted walnut and a touch of mint, but that could be a leftover from the Christmas cookies.

I nubbed this. Easily a 92-93 with room for growth. 

Looking forward to hitting the rest of these sampler sticks!

[El Presidente]

On 12/22/2024 at 5:25 PM, Tunkat92 said:

Notes: the initial puffs where all bitter dark chocolate. No partagas dna at all. I definitely get a breadiness undertone. Not many changes during the progression.

The Partagas Maduro line has zero Partagas DNA in my mind. Similar in that respect to the Cohiba Maduro 5 line. 

In the case of both, I have found that the general member consensus is that you either love them or hate them. 

[Tunkat92]

53 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

In the case of both, I have found that the general member consensus is that you either love them or hate them.

I didn’t hate it, I just was wanting more. A few months of rest may have helped.

[Tunkat92]

Juan Lopez No. 2, these have been top 5 for me 22/23 production. Im assuming this is a ‘24.

Cold Draw: I had a few beers and some scotch before this cigar it may have dampened my taste, I didn’t get many notes. Draw was perfect (touch of resistance)

1/3: Espresso, Floral, and touch of chocolate. Medium strength, medium body. Excellent start!

2/3: Espresso is still the front, classic JL2 jammy orange, and a touch of chocolate l

3/3: Black Coffee, bittersweet chocolate, orange is still present but not on every puff. Excellent ending!!

Final Thoughts: I always seem to have great luck with JL2’s ROTT. This example backs that. Construction was absolutely perfect, slightly inebriated I was not the most attentive smoker but it never went out or went wonky. 91/100

[Li Bai]

6 hours ago, El Presidente said:

The Partagas Maduro line has zero Partagas DNA in my mind

Same here. The N°3 stands out, N°1 and 2 are meh cigars to my taste...

[Chibearsv]

Juan Lopez 2 - I've never been a big fan of these young. We'll give it a shot though since the newer cigars are supposed to be more approachable. 

Nice rosado wrapper. Fairly open cold draw.

Cigar opens with nice twang, orange, chocolate and toasted nuts. Maybe coffee but not too much.

2nd third - Uneven burn. Toasted light coffee and citrus. The richness of this cigar leads me to believe that this will be a fabulous cigar with 2-3 years down.

Final 3rd - Pure JL2 dark chocolate and orange peel.  Running a little hot. These need at least 12-24 down. Will revisit in 2026.

87 with great potential to improve.  A little better than I expected since my prior experiences with young JL2 is more harsh.

[Tunkat92]

Hoyo Epi 2, I have only smoked a handful of these over the last couple years. When they are not blended too light, I have had some great experiences.

Cold Draw: Sweetness, floral, cream. The draw is a little too open for me.

1/3: Opens with a beauty sweet cream, baking spices on the finish. Light on the body but the smoke output makes up for it. Definitely not blended too light.

2/3: The profile started to get a little ashy, so I purged and that definitely helped bring back the sweetness. Very creamy profile, not as sweet, definitely more floral now. The baking spice surprisingly is not as present.

3/3: This cigar youth is really showing, not much sweetness or cream at all. Floral mostly, I get faint notes of floral skunkiness almost like cannabis. The smoke is pretty hot at this point. I never had a last third on a Cuban with a loose draw, but I will take this to the nub for the sake of 12DOC sampler reviews. 

Final Thoughts: If I cold smoke the first inch for the next 3 hours I would be in heaven. That sweet cream/ baking spice combo was divine. The 3 relights and many touch ups would have forgotten with that profile. 87/100 The first 2/3 were great, the construction not so much. I am sure some age would have helped so I cannot completely fault the cigar for that. 

[HuffnPuffff]

JL2 from the FOH Santa (the best Santa of all).

I’m a huge fan of these, in particular with some Belgian beer, which is typically strong and flavourful.
There’s even one that has a touch of orange flavour in it, although I’m not sure what that’s called.
I have JL 2’s from 2010/2018/2019/2021/2022/2023. Some are really dark, some are really light, most are middle of the road colour wise. So I feel I know this cigar fairly well.
Sadly this smoking experience was a bit of a mess, mainly due to my own silly fault. It was cold out with a strong side wind, I had some grumpy looking people sitting nearby and I was struggling to get some urgent work done.
I got toasted tobacco and coffee, plus a smidge of orange in a bit of a muddied mix of flavours. Certainly not the best version of this cigar I’ve had; the burn wasn’t great due to the wind, and I put most of my disappointment down to smoker error. I was guilty of trying to cram in a cigar at a bad time, which seldom works well in my experience.

I’m looking forward to working my way through the rest of Santa’s sack!
Happy New Year all




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chibearsv]

This is a leader of the Hoyo de Monterrey line up! Slight floral, clove and buttered toast on the opening.
Arguably full/medium flavor. I wish the DC’s opened like this!
2nd 3rd: Very strong, but not overpowering. This would have been great with the Christmas ham. Muted sweetness and decedent. Like clove-flavored cookies.
Final 3rd: I’m getting a box of these. Burn perfect. 1 hour smoke.

[Tunkat92]

PSD4: Since ‘22 these have been killing it for me. I smoked through a couple OEG ‘22 boxes that have been amazing.

Cold Draw: Hay, Graham. The draw seems a touch tight but nothing to worry about.

1/3: Sourdough breadiness, almond like nutiness, some burnt sugar sweetness came in after the first inch. The smoke was velvety and thick.

2/3: Not much change here this cigar is very consistent, I had to keep touching up one side that burned a hair slower. Not sure if it was the cigar’s or my fault.

3/3: Sourdough bread is still on the front, I am starting to get some paprika notes and touch of pepper on the retro, the burnt sugar is still their and really rounds it out nicely. 

Final Thoughts: This was a rather unique D4 for me. The sourdough notes were all D4, but the almond and burnt sugar that seemed to be on every puff was unique. The constant touchups were a bit distracting but it was 20° and I wasn’t paying the best attention to the burn. 90/100 points

[Tunkat92]

Hoyo Epicure 3: This cigar is rather squishy. The wrapper has a nice light shade but no oily sheen.

Cold Draw: The draw seems perfect for me, just a little resistance. I got some sweet baking spice notes.

1/3: Initial light, I get a disappointing ashy bland taste. This continues for the first inch. Near the end of the this third, I am starting to get some floral and cinnamon but predominantly pretty bland.

2/3: Things are starting to ramp up as this third continues. The classic hoyo sweet cream starts to shine, along with some cinnamon, and oaky notes. I am no longer regretting smoking through the first.

3/3: Not much change in the beginning of this third, but eventually the sweet cream fades leaving the oaky/ wood notes to take the for front. Occasionally I get some floral notes. Cinnamon turned into a rather generic sweet baking spice note.

Final Thoughts: This is only the second Epicure 3 I have smoked. The first example I acquired right around the initial release and I smoked a few months ago. It was great, everything I love about the Epicure line just ramped up a touch. I experienced a similar profile in this cigar for probably 1 inch in the 2/3. The rest of the time I was either disappointed or struggled to find a clear profile. Construction was flawless thoughout, zero relights, straight burnline, and just enough resistance. 85/100

[Tunkat92]

H Upmann Mag 54: A rare 2 cigar night for me, since I rarely get out to be able to smoke indoors. The wrapper was very veiny and rough and had a little bit of oil. The cigar seemed a touch heavy and well packed.

Cold Draw: Another cigar with a perfect draw. I got notes of molasses, hay, and cocoa.

1/3: Right of the light, I get earthy, sweet vegetable note that I can best describe as carrot like. Occasionally I get some bready notes in the background. The smoke output is very satisfying.

2/3: The carrot like note is still upfront, but getting slightly more complex. I now get some milk chocolate, breadiness, and cedar. 

3/3: Burnt sugar, earthiness, and cedar dominated this third. The carrot like note is still present but not upfront. The smoke output was still generous and the cigar never really heated up. 

Final Thoughts: This is not the first time, I experienced that earthy/ vegetable note with Mag 54’s. I had a 2017 or 2018 box that had a similar profile. I hoped with dissipate with age, but it only got more vegetable like. This example from the 12 DOC sampler was not unpleasant just different from what I love about Mag 54s. The construction was excellent and overall satisfying. 89/100

[BigGuns]

I also smoked the Epi 3 last night. My first time having one and it was fantastic. Didn’t smoke it with a review in mind, so this won’t be too thorough. I was concerned it would be a wind tunnel on the light, but the draw firmed up very nicely after about half an inch (or some odd amount of MMs for the non-yanks out there).

Opening 1/3 was a solid medium with smooth creamy/woodsy flavors. 2nd and 3rd ramped up to a more medium full body with less sweetness. Fully agreed that this is my favorite of the Epi line and will definitely grab a box. 

Didn’t take a pic of the cigar, as I wasn’t planning a review, but I did happen to snap a photo of what I paired it with:

I know…you’re all shocked. 

[Ford2112]

Great ashtray

[Boxer31]

17 hours ago, BigGuns said:

I also smoked the Epi 3 last night. My first time having one and it was fantastic. Didn’t smoke it with a review in mind, so this won’t be too thorough. I was concerned it would be a wind tunnel on the light, but the draw firmed up very nicely after about half an inch (or some odd amount of MMs for the non-yanks out there).

Opening 1/3 was a solid medium with smooth creamy/woodsy flavors. 2nd and 3rd ramped up to a more medium full body with less sweetness. Fully agreed that this is my favorite of the Epi line and will definitely grab a box. 

Didn’t take a pic of the cigar, as I wasn’t planning a review, but I did happen to snap a photo of what I paired it with:

I know…you’re all shocked. 

How is that tequila?  

[Under Pressure]

Heh Quattro is tasty.

[BigGuns]

7 hours ago, Boxer31 said:

How is that tequila?  

Excellent. One of the finer blancos. I’ll put it right behind the Uno, Platinum, and Ocho, in that order. 

4 hours ago, Under Pressure said:

Heh Quattro is tasty.

Love the phonetic…let the people know!

[HuffnPuffff]

Hoyo Epi #3 Xmas sampler.

My first rodeo with this stubby torpedo. I regularly smoke the DC’s and Epi 2s, which I like.
This cigar felt firm but cold draw was good.
First 1/3 reminded me of those Connecticut wrapper DR cigars which give my palate cardboard and bitterness. Thankfully, this abated in the 2/3 - I got mild woody notes and a bit of creaminess.
3/3 was more of the same if a little stronger.
Had I smoked this blind there is no way I would have guessed this was a Hoyo.

In summary this was not a cigar for me - somewhat reminiscent of a Quai d’Orsay or Upmann in Cuban terms, or a Davidoff in non-Cuban terms. Perhaps with age they’ll develop tastes that appeal to me. But for now I’m looking forward to a Partagas to remind me of the good life!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tunkat92]

7 hours ago, HuffnPuffff said:

First 1/3 reminded me of those Connecticut wrapper DR cigars which give my palate cardboard and bitterness.

I had the same experience with my 12DOC Epi 3. The first third was very bland. 

[Chibearsv]

Hoyo Epi 2

Creamy, light clove, and yellow straw on the open. Maybe a touch of mint, as well. Required a slight touch up after lighting.
First 3rd: Fresh cream and cloves. Epi 2’s are better fresh, if this is a representative example. Tasty and satisfying.
Second 3rd: No dramatic changes. Creamy and bakers spices. When I mention clove, it is in reference to cookies, not overpowering.
Final 3rd: Same profile, if not more intense.  Nubbed it until I burnt my lip. This is an outstanding cigar!
92+

[Ayub]

Partagas SD4 

D4 was my first cigar, sometime around May last year, and it probably the reason I walked into the world of cigars. I am not sure if the the quote is so true or is just the Magic of D4!

The first draw says it all, extreme magic of earth and spice.As I go through, it just develops and gets more complex all the the way till the fingers burn.

This guys is not just a solid 100 but also a reference line for all other cigars to me.

[Ayub]

Ramon Allones Specially Selected

After the first draw of RASS I felt that the $$ spent on other cigars was just a waste, so smooth and delicious. Fruits & Nuts 69ing on each and every draw.  Marzipan, Citrus and coffee. Such a great value of money. Uneven burn sometimes. 96/100