Private Stock #6

Hey everyone!

So, if there was a sub-title for this review, it would have to be - A Series Of Unfortunate Events!

*Please note: This is my first review on here.

Cigar: Private Stock #6
Manufacturer: Davidoff
Filler: Dominican
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Length/Ring: 5 1/4 x 46
Smoking time: 1 Hour and 20 Mins to the end of 2nd Third.

Story goes, my first cigar was a Davidoff Millennium Series 1000 - and so far that is, for lack of more appropriate wording, my favorite cigar IMHO - flavorful, perfect draw, mild (just right for me), a lot of smoke for fun, and just a swell first time for me.

I wanted to take a shot on the Private Stock. Davidoff deemed dependable for a great time for me, and although the Private Stock isn't really their selling line for a great cigar, it had the "Davidoff" making so I jumped on the opportunity. Boy oh Boy was it an interesting time.

First, I used a double-guillotine cutter. Simply said, I think I made a great mistake by cutting too much off the head, so for the first time I had the outer wrapper near the head unravel! Darn-it, but I was still determined. The band held it in piece, but about at the start of the second/third, the body of the cigar started to unravel as well....lesson learned.

Second, I used my trusty Ronson Single Flame Torch from Walmart to light the foot, BUT I was out of luck because, I think, I ran out of lighter fluid! The torch wouldn't light!!!

Still determined and patient, I grabbed my matches and that sufficed, lit the foot and proceeded to the ritual.

First Third:
THE BEST thing about the Private Stock was the aroma of the cigar! I don't think I've ever smelled anything like the Private Stock aroma, I very much enjoyed that. The flavor was lightly nutty, but my palate still isn't that developed to detect anything else.

Here's when my patience was tested:
I had another first, my first plug! I think it was, because I was happily puffing, but then it just died! Like, almost instantaneously. I believe that is what a plug is? Please clarify this for me, veterans.

AND I had many plugs in the first third! A whole lot, I lost count, I used up many many matches to get the cigar to relight again!

This continued to happen until the end of the First Third. :( It took me 1 hour to get through this First Third because of all the plugs I went through, relighting, etc.

Second Third:

After plenty relighting and encountering plenty plugs, I reached the second third. No flavor changes, still giving off that sweet aroma, and it went pretty smooth for about a good 20 mins. I was enjoying it, until it gave I think it reached it's end. As I said before, around the Second Third the body started to unravel, then I reached again another plug.

I gave it one last try at a relight, with matched, but here's where I had another first - and I'm sure this must be not good. On this last relight, I noticed that the foot where the ash fell off, it started getting black. Has this ever happened to any of you before, I'm a major NEWB.

With that, I gently let it die, and as a grand finale, after I took the band that was holding together the parts of the head where the wrapper unraveled - the places where the body unraveled (in the Second Third) and the head unraveled (after the cut) simply...unraveled. What I'm trying to say is that...the whole cigar unraveled when I took off the band. :(

I'd also like to add that the Private Stock, when in healthy condition as I was smoking it, did NOT let me have lots of smoke. This made it not so fun for me, because I like a lot of smoke - it makes it more enjoyable for me personally.

.......................And that's the end of my review. I think it's still worth a try, besides my newb attempts and the fact that by reputation it's not Davidoff's quality cigar, I'm sure I just had bad luck and bad skill combined to give me: A Series of Unfortunate Events.

*Please feel free to give me constructive criticism.

**This experience does not deter my search for my favorite cigar and/or stop me from smoking cigars. Bottom line though: I don't think the Private Stock was it.

I have always thought that a plug was where there as a spot at some point in the cigar that was stuffed too tightly and will not let much air past it. Which, I suppose could account for all your troubles and lack of smoke volume. I've resigned myself to that sort of thing every once in a while, as we're dealing with something made by hand, and even a master roller is going to screw up every once in a while.

I'm also not too fond of guillotine style cutters anymore. I keep one around for the odd torpedo, but I get far more use out of my bullet punch. I also found a cheap V cutter built along the lines of a guillotine, that seems to work rather well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galvanicfish

I'm also not too fond of guillotine style cutters anymore. I keep one around for the odd torpedo, but I get far more use out of my bullet punch. I also found a cheap V cutter built along the lines of a guillotine, that seems to work rather well.

I too have a cheap v-cutter that I use often. I've been wondering why more companies (Xikar, etc.) don't make higher quality v-cutters. Maybe I'm just overlooking them.

Well, there are tabletop V cutters that look to be pretty high quality, but the cheapest of those that I found runs around $40. I'm of the opinion that the less I spend of accessories, the more I have to spend on cigars, so I think I'll stick with my cheap, but serviceable cutters.

Thanks for the review. It is too bad that you had so many troubles with the draw. Perhaps you should get one of those wires to poke through the center of the cigar to keep the draw going. I have only ever experience slight draw problems with the cigars that I have smoked, but I guess when your really having trouble it is good to use that wire to make sure you have at least a draw for the rest of your smoke. Nothing is more frustrating than having deal with a cigar that unravels so much. Nice review. Roger. :smiley41::smiley4: