So first some background on me. 25 years old smoked real cigars, was once a ridiculous member of the swisher crowd, off and on for the past 3 summers. I had my first real cigar to celebrate my godson's birth 3 and a half years ago. I always thought it was too expensive a hobby to get into.

Anyway, getting married and have quite a few other bills do to renovating my house so I try to trade or buy from the fine botl's of this site, thanks CC btw, and pretty much search any online site I can to get the best deals. Now I know how looked down on Thompson's is and I know I'm going to have a hard time living this down but they were the ones who got me into cigars big. You see the adds all the time 10 cigars and a humidor for $39 and as a newbie you think damn can't beat that and really it is a pretty good deal. You check the catalogue of course and do some comparison and find that anything but their samplers is way over priced.

Anyway I find this sampler from them containing quite a few cigars that I have seen reviews here as being good. 20 cigar sampler, 2 of each kind, with 2 names I didn't recognise 1 of which yielded no results in a search of the reasonably priced online vendors. so i say hell with it and buy the thing. The unknown cigar is a La Paloma Vintage Reserve, I can only guess that it is a thompson house brand.

Get the sampler in today and I hate the fact that this thompson brand POS is going to be in my humidor and want to get it out ASAP. At 3:45 am I pour myself a drink grab one of them and go outside to smoke what I am guessing is going to be the crappiest thing I have ever had in my mouth. I was wrong.

It wasn't the best cigar I have ever had. the draw was fairly loose and the wrapper wasn't pretty but, I was suprised by the nice spicy taste of it, it sorta reminded me of being next to a camp fire there was also a pleasent taste I couldn't really pinpoint. Nice thick smoke and the ash stayed on the cigar for awhile, about 2" in, which I love. The cigar also suprisingly burnt evenly. It had no time in my Humi so it was a little dry and I can only imagine after a month it would have been nicer.

Do I want this as an everyday smoke? Probably not. Is it worth the money? not sure I haven't checked it out. Would I smoke and enjoy one if offered to me? yessir I would.

So what I am saying is, and my palette isn't quite developed yet so this will probably change, is that if you have the oppurtunity give one a shot it's a decent mild smoke and unlike some of thompsons other crap it won't make you want to scrub your mouth with a toilet brush. average score

after making a short story long let the flaming begin.