Occidental Reserve Double Maduro Torpedo

[CoventryCat86]

I pulled this out of a pass I participated in on CigarWeekly. It looked like a nice cigar so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Size: This was a "Torpedo" 6 x 52
Cost: A box of 25 goes for $54.95 from CigarsInternational

Here's what CI says about these cigars:

Occidental Double Maduro is made from gorgeous double maduro Broadleaf wrappers grown in Ecuador, along with a Connecticut-grown Broadleaf binder and a long-filler combination of Dominican Piloto Cubano and Dominican Olor tobaccos. Naturally fermented for an extensive period, this wrapper combines to create an exceptionally rich, sweet and creamy taste. Medium-bodied.

Okay here goes:
Construction: A very well constructed and nice looking cigar
Pre light draw: The draw was excellent by my standards, a nice firm, Havana-like draw
Burn: Nice even burn, no tunelling, no stems to screw up the burn. No need for a relight
Taste: Here's where this cigar fails badly. The taste was very flat and while this cigar claims to have a maduro wrapper, you could have fooled me. It tasted like an EMS to me. I did not like the way this cigar tasted at all
Finish: I "finished" it but it was a chore

I would not recommend these cigars nor would I ever buy one or pull one from a pass ever again. There are too many GOOD cigars out there to waste my time with one of these ever again.

On the cA rating scale, I give this cigar an:

84

[VTCrosscut]

My local shop sells these cigars for a between $2.50 and $3. I've never smoked one of the torpedos, but I smoked a fair number of the robusto and churchills when I first started getting into cigars. Like CC said, they burned well and the draw was always very good.

I haven't smoked one in a while, but I really enjoyed them when I was first started smoking cigars. Just my 2 cents.

[Kenyth]

I smoked a couple of the Occidental Reserve Naturals because they were on clearance. Both of them were just as you described. BLAND! They were well constructed, but that's about all you can say for them. There may be some very faint pleasant creamy flavors if you concentrate really hard.

Only the highest quality Marlboro tobacco goes into the making of these babies!

Last time I went to the smoke shop, the owner had put his whole stock of them into the clearance bin at 1/2 price, and they still weren't selling! Everyone I see picks around them, even choosing cheap bundled cigars over them. I'd say from this observation that most people think this cigar maker sucks.

I'd say that this cigar might appeal to those looking for an ultra mild smoke, but no cigar smokers I know of want that.