KC's Economic Crisis Dog Rocket Review Thread

[King Catfish]

Hi everyone,

I apologize for being away so long. The economic crisis has hit me and my family pretty hard, and I have been trying to work a lot of overtime lately.

Anyway, it occurred to me to set aside my snobbishness and have some fun reviewing the dog rockets I have been reduced to smoking lately.

To avoid unwarranted comparison with reviews of finer cigars, I will use an ABCDF grading system rather than the 1-10 scoring system. I invite you to review some dog rockets, too, if you're smoking them. The only criterion for eligibility is that they have to be cheap. Mention of the price is a must. Don't be shy!

The following are all handmades, no machine mades (although if you're smoking machine-mades, please post your reviews!).

Cremosa Cubana Robusto
Handmade with Dominican long-fillers and a Sumatra wrapper
Price: Approx 80 cents apiece
Body: Medium
Taste: Acceptable, decent start, nothing spectacular
Construction: Pretty good
Smoking time: Longer than expected
Overall satisfaction: Good for the price
Grade: B

Oro Cubana Anniversario Presidente
Indonesian wrapper, Dominican medium-fillers
Price: Approx 80 cents apiece
Body: Medium
Taste: Somewhat bitter but not weak of distant
Construction: Worst of the worst, looked like a practical joker's exploding clown cigar by the time I got to the middle
Smoking time: Fast, especially for the huge size of this stick
Overall satisfaction: Low
Grade: D

Joya Del Jeffe Presidente
??
Price: 90 cents apiece
Body: Mild
Taste: Nearly nonexistent
Construction: Decent, draw very hard
Smoking time: Loooooooong
Overall satisfaction: OK
Grade: C


Vieja Hacienda Robusto
"Cuban Sandwich" Short filler, dark wrapper, probably Sumatran
Price: 90 cents apiece
Body: Medium just edging on full
Taste: Surprisingly good, almost shows some complexity
Construction: Acceptable, gets soft at the end
Smoking time: average, maybe a little fast
Overall satisfaction: Surprised by the quality
Grade: A-

Key West 1876 Reserve
Dominican
Price: 90 cents apiece
Body: Mild-Medium
Taste: good
Construction: decent
Smoking time: fast
Overall satisfaction: mildly surprised by the quality
Grade: B-

La Floridita Toro (Maduro AND Natural)
Natural: Dominican & Nicaraguan longfillers, Connecticut-seed wrappers
Maduro: Dominican & Nicaraguan tobaccos, very dark wrapper
Price: $1.50 apiece
Body: Medium
Taste: Pretty decent, natural is better
Construction: Very good. Solid, never plugged, never soft.
Smoking time: Long
Overall satisfaction: Very nice for the price
Grade: A-

[King Catfish]

Well, not having had enough time to devote my full attention to a proper smoke, I had another Oro Cubana Anniversario Presidente while looking over some work I brought home, and the construction problem did not occur this time. Taste still one-dimensional. An acceptable fishing stick (for *actually* fishing, not relaxing in the cabin afterward, which deserves a better cigar).

[fredriko]

I have had all the above except the key west. none of them consistent. sometimes they are a ok smoke and sometimes I have to bear down just to finish one. I hate to waste a cigar, even a poor one. sometimes I have to rotate these in just to get rid of them. I dare not trade or send one as a gift.

[Alcibiates]

You might try out Fleur de Oliva (I believe that's the correct name) I've heard they're very good and run about 2$, even at B&M prices.

I tried out a Perdomo fresca (fresco?) and it was pretty awful... Loose draw that lead to weak looking/tasting smoke, and for the most part it just tasted very bitter to me--although the burn was pretty consistent for the half that I did smoke.

[Nocturnus]

You might try out Fleur de Oliva (I believe that's the correct name) I've heard they're very good and run about 2$, even at B&M prices.

I tried out a Perdomo fresca (fresco?) and it was pretty awful... Loose draw that lead to weak looking/tasting smoke, and for the most part it just tasted very bitter to me--although the burn was pretty consistent for the half that I did smoke.

I gave quite a few oif the Flor de Oliva. I agree about the fresco, wasnt good.