Badwhale Challenge contest!

[Paddy]

Will,
You made your own "NUB".

[badwhale]

Will,
You made your own "NUB".

Yeah, well I don't think I hit a "sweet spot" with that one

Thanks again Craig for my required participation in the contest.

Will

[craig]

Hefty: He had a choice at the beginning.

So ... #6 died en route. Too bad, because it was a Hajenius http://www.hajenius.com/ A long time ago I won a contest on another board put on by Renefatdude and have developed a taste for these when I want a break from my usual smokes. They are a high-quality short-filler cigar - a blend of 15-20 different tobaccos from around the world - in one cigar. This particular cigar was a Hajenius Corona - their largest(!) size - and is designed to be super-mild yet have a lot of character. A unique smoke.

Thus, there are now five cigars:
Summary of BWC #1: Nice smoke, however isn't quite up my alley (I think)
#2: BWC5 is still the front runner, but I'd try some more of these next in line.
#3: Interesting, however I'm not a fan of a really tight draw.
#4: Nice smoke, more my speed for a morning or midday quick smoke.
#5: Seems like a good morning smoke (although I normally aren't a morning smoke person), or something for later on the milder side, but very flavorful.

... and eleven choices:
a) Bolivar
b) El Surco
c) Jose L. Piedra
d) Macanudo
e) Partagas
f) Plasencia
g) Por Larranaga
h) Quintero
i) Rafael Gonzalez
j) Rocky Patel
k) Romeo Y Julietta

Also, where there are duplicate brands, assume the version not currently sold in the USA.

I'm off in a few hours and back on Monday so we'll see how it goes. One set of guesses per person (e.g., 1a, 2b, 3c, 4d, 5e), no editing, etc. Monday night I'll either declare a winner or drop some hints. If I drop some hints people can enter again (one new set of guesses per person).

I must say Will has been guessing on a few them in PM's and has made no mistakes in his choices!

Thanks Will for the reviews!

[Tdre977]

No mistakes, thats a skillfull palate. Thanks for the contest craig, I'll just take a wild stab with....
1-macanudo
2-Boliva
3-partagas
4-rocky patel
5-Jose L. Piedra

[Mangyrat]

1 e

2 a

3 i

4 c

5 h

[big bill]

1F
2H
3C
4G
5A
Thanks for contest Craig!

[WinstonSpencer]

1. C
2. K
3. H
4. G
5. F

Cool Contest!

[craig]

Now that I've recovered from the weekend (and found my misplaced phone battery charger), lessee where we're at:
Tdre977 - none right and none of the brands right
Mangyrat - 1 right and two brands right
Big Bill - 2 right and three brands right
WinstonSpencer - none right and 3 brands right
Ashauler - interesting approach if I had sent 7 cigars. None right and three brands right.

Cigar #3, the plugged one, was a Rafael Gonzalez Panatella Extra. When not plugged, and aged for a few years, this overlooked brand gives an exquisite mild floral taste - that has fallen out of fashion. Unfortunat?y this one was plugged, something else that is much less common these days.

So, another round, everybody gets a fresh start and can guess again (no editing). There will only be one more round, ending about this time next week.Good luck!

[Mangyrat]

1. B
2. I
3. N
4. G
5 .O

Bingo i win

[Mangyrat]

Now that i won send me your info and ill get a prize pack out to you

[badwhale]

1. B
2. I
3. N
4. G
5 .o

bingo i win

now that i won send me your info and ill get a prize pack out to you

lmfao!

[Tdre977]

Jeez, nothing right and none right, maybe my girl is right.....

[craig]

Now that i won send me your info and ill get a prize pack out to you

... and what a nice prize pack it is! Thank-you (and your accomplice, who doesn't want me to make a whale of a public announcement, or anything like that.)

[craig]

My apologies to Tom and the community for the delay in getting the prize out. Prize is going out in the next half-hour, expedited, with tracking.

Tracking number (will work on USPS.com once the package hits the border) CX 227 171 225 CA

[WinstonSpencer]

My apologies to Tom and the community for the delay in getting the prize out. Prize is going out in the next half-hour, expedited, with tracking.

Tracking number (will work on USPS.com once the package hits the border) CX 227 171 225 CA

No worries Craig. The prize pack made the 1,700 mile (2,800km) trip safely. All the cigars are in superb condition. I'll let them rest a while in the wine coolerdor and then I might try to write some newbie reviews. Thanks again for the contest.

[WinstonSpencer]

I smoked the Quintero panetela (5 x 36, BWC#2) this morning on my balcony with a cup of strong, black coffee. I went into this cigar with no intention of "thinking" about it or writing a review. When I went back inside my apartment after smoking I grabbed my notebook just to jot down a few notes and archive the label and I soon found that I had an entire page written about this cigar. (Sorry, no pictures)

This Quintero has been sitting in my tupperdor for 2 months. It began with a firm draw that quickly became "just right". It had a very pleasant aroma. The first inch or two had a sour, albeit not unpleasant twinge. There was a very slight salty flavor to it. The panetela put out ample amounts of smoke and burned quite evenly. It required one purge in the final third. This cigar burned incredibly cool and flavorful down to the very end. The ash seemed a bit darker than BW's pics and the wrapper unraveled just a little in the first third but it turned out to be a non-issue. Overall, I found this Quintero panetela to be an awesome smoke and a great way to start the day.

[WinstonSpencer]

Just smoked the Rafael Gonzalez (BWC#3). It was largely unremarkable. Not bad at all, not great, which is sometimes just what you need. The draw was firm but not bothersome. I was still able to pull enough smoke. There were some unique earthy flavors going on. I think this cigar would grow on me if I had a box to experiment with.

[WinstonSpencer]

I just got done smoking BWC#4, the El Surco. I have to say, this was an ugly cigar. It had a very toothy wrapper with a nice bend in the middle. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much but I ended up pleasantly surprised. This cigar started off with a fair amount of complexity. Sweet smoke with flavors of sweet chocolate and even some fruit. The aroma had notes of cognac. The draw was the loosest of any ISOM I've smoked but not too loose. About midway through it lost its sweetness and some complexity but remained a nice smoke to the end. This cigar put off nice thick clouds of smoke that scared my dog. Damn good way to spend a nickel.