Budget Habanos

[597]

Thanks for the reviews.

[12500]

[pmp]

I smoked an upmann regalia last night. My apologies on the scoring system if you haven't seen it here before. Its something I developed for blowinsmoke that I find to be slightly more accurate than most

Name: H. Upmann Regalia
Vitola: mareva 5x42
Box Date: Sept 07
Review Date: Feb 14

8/10 - appearance and construction
Appearance is great. From outward appearance the entire box is perfectly constructed across the board. Each band, each cap, each foot is perfect. The wrappers are smooth with very little mottling or veining. The wrapper color is uniform and the color of rich red clay earth(colorado). The prelight aroma is somewhat tangy and spicy. The clip is a slightly askew by a small vein under the surface of the wrapper. The prelight draw is ample. Definitely no plugged stick here. Overall these are constructed very well.

15/20 - flavor
the flavor was bordering on exciting. It started off right out of the gate with a nice bit of leather, cake, black tea and some pepper. The first inch or so was a bit rough. As the cigar burned down it developed this bittersweet tannic profile and showed slight hints of spice. The flavor was consistent and enjoyable. I would have to say my only qualm was that it was slightly muted at times. Still an enjoyable flavor profile from h. Upmann.

9/10 smoking characteristics

Not much to report here. This cigar burned excellently and produced ample clouds of smoke. Solid construction is showing through in the smoking characteristics.

price 5/5

For a 4 dollar stick this is hard to beat.

37/45 x 100 = Score = 82%

Overall I was impressed but not blown away. The flavors were excellent and a very good example of cuban tobacco and h. upmann flavors. For anyone who has smoked the coronas major this is a departure from the lightness in that vitola. This stick is much bolder and spicier and closer to the flavors of a mag. This scoring system tends to be harsh sometimes in an attempt to make something unbiased where an average cigar actually earns a 50%. That considered, a score of 82 for a 4 dollar cigar is quite impressive.

[craig]

Thanks for the review!

So it sounds like the Regalia's are more flavourful compared to the Corona Major?

[pmp]

Thanks for the review!

So it sounds like the Regalia's are more flavourful compared to the Corona Major?

Not really they are just different. The corona major to me is pretty mild. These are more full bodied. The flavor in both cases is ample.

[craig]

1. Which one is the best to smoke now?
Jul09-The Por Larrañaga Montecarlo is easily the class of this field; but it also costs about 2x as much as the other cigars, and thus is in a different class. Of the rest, the Por Larrañaga Panatela for mild/medium; Quintero Londres Extra for medium/full.
Feb09-Quintero Brevas. Cold weather means I want something with stronger flavours than the delicate Montecarlo, and, due to the presumed age of these particular cigars, the Brevas are smoking better than the Londres Extra.
Nov08-Por Larrañaga Montecarlo

2. Are JLP's worth buying?
Jul09-Maybe. JLP's are inconsistent - the four different JLP's have three different wrappers. The other brands are more consistent. If you get a good box/bundle, then they're a great value.
Feb09-Yes. Local prices of Quintero's have gone up in '09, but JLP's are still at '08 levels. My favourite JLP (so far), the Conservas, is 2/3rds the price of my favourite Quintero, the Londres Extra.
Nov08-No

3. Por Larrañaga - one Montecarlo or two PL Panatela's?
Jul09-two Panatela's. The Montecarlo is a more refined cigar and smokes longer; but it is almost 2x the price of a Panatela.
Feb09-in winter, two Panatela's. Caramel in the dead of winter doesn't taste great.
Nov08-Montecarlo

Jose L. Piedra
JLP Petit Cetro (5"x38 Oct 07)
1 yr - Nov 08 - Mottled JLP wrapper (sun-grown?). Close to smoking status, but still had a tannic aftertaste. Guess on aging: two years (Oct 09)
20 mos - Jun 09 - Strong tobacco flavour with a bit too much earthiness for me at the moment. A different cigar from the Petit Cazadores. Guess on aging goes to three years (Oct 10).

JLP Petit Cazadore (4 1/8"x43 Jul 08)
5 mos - Nov 08 - Dark and oily JLP wrapper. Much too fresh for me. Guess on aging: two years (Jul 10).
11 mos - Jun 09 - Smokes like a hot and sour firecracker. Can be smoked now, at one year. Two years is probably better.

JLP Cazadore (6"x43 Jul 08)
7 mos - Feb 09 - Same wrapper as the Petit Cazadore. Partial plug. The Quintero Breva seems better.
1 yr - Jul 09 - Similar to the Petit Cazadores, but needs longer to age. Benefits from a lot of purging, especially after the halfway point. Guess two years (Jul 10) plus.

JLP Conserva (5.5"x44 Sep 07)
17 mos - Feb 09 - Has a light-coloured wrapper that looks shade-grown. rough but good. Guess 3 years (Oct 10).
21 mos - Jul 09 - partial plug. Still rough.

Rafael Gonzales
Rafael Gonzales Panatela Extra (5"x36 Oct 07)
1 yr - Nov 08 - Mild, floral, and sweet. Carefully matured for a bit longer is what I'm thinking. Guess three years (Oct 10).
20 mos - Jun 09 - Smokes well, improvement expected.

Por Larrañaga
Por Larrañaga Panatela (5"x36 Jan 08)
10 mos - Nov 08 - Typical Por Larrañaga caramel, but earthier. The earth dissipates as the cigar gets older, and then it may become like a lighter, less complex Montecarlo. These cigars are too tannic right now, but should get better. Guess one year (Jan 09)
13 mos - Feb 09 - Ready to smoke at one year - still earthy.
18 mos - Jul 09 - Continuing to smoke well. A little less earthiness.

Por Larrañaga Montecarlo (6 1/4"x33 Feb 06)
2.8 yr - Nov 08 - This thin smoke rewards only the patient smoker. The PLMC is not complex or in-your-face; it is all about caramel. You may not want a caramel cigar every day, but one sure goes nice with coffee once in a while. Very smokeable.

Quintero
Quintero Panatela (5"x36 Sep 06)
2.5 yr - Jan 09 - Strong tobacco taste, perhaps the strongest of all Quinteros. Tannins come in half-way. Guess three years (Sep 09).
2.8 yr - Jun 09 - These still have a bit too much bite for me ... three years may not be enough.

Quintero Breva (5.5"x40 no date)
Jan 09 - These have a darker wrapper than other Quintero's. Of indeterminate age, they are smoking well right now. I would guess that they have four plus years of age.

Quintero Londres Extra (4 7/8"x40 Jun 07)
1.5 yr - Nov 08 - like a Partagas/RA/Bolivar Fuma. The wrappers even look like a lighter Ramon Allones - definitely the best-looking cigars of this group. However, besides quality of flavour, what you also give up is consistency - from draw to draw. This June 07 box is not ready, but is still enjoyable. Smoked now it is strong, almost like a Lito Gomez. Guess three years (Jun 10)
2 yr - Jun 09 - no change, although this one had a partial plug.

[nhcigarfan]

When you use the jar, do you put any humi device in the jar when it goes in the cooler? Also, how tight is the lid?