Review These - Reviews

[thepyrofish]

Ooooh, sweet. I completely forgot about my reviews!

[rpcky16]

Cigar #2 - From Pyrofish

The second cigar was about five inches long and about a 40 ring gauge. I would guess that it was a corona of some sort. The wrapper was a light brown almost tan. The construction of this cigar was not as good as the first. The cigar was a little soft. The draw on the cigar was good and that was about the only thing that I liked about this thing. The flavor was not good at all in my opinion. I would give this cigar a two out of ten.

I would like to thank Pyro for resending the cigars and for the opportunity to rate the cigars. I can not wait to find out what the cigars were.

Thanks

Randall

[thepyrofish]

Cigar #1 was a Cacique Miama
Cigar #2 was a Private Stock by Davidoff

The Miami cost around $8 locally, whereas the PS is $10.50

[mauied1101]

So tonight was warm enough that I ventured out on the balcony to smoke these babies (and yet tomorrow we have snow forecasted).

Cigar #2-

Pre-smoke impression
Wrapper was dark, rich, and slightly oily, construction was excellent; firm yet had just a little spring - boxed pressed - loved the smell - strong, fragrant bouquet (sorry, borrowing wine term).

Once lit and consistently through the smoke, it had a great draw, white ash that hung on for a while. Tasted slightly spicy, with the flavor of a nice cup of stronger coffee. Toward the half way mark, got a lot spicier. I really enjoyed this cigar - reminded me of the Torano 1959 but better.

Tomorrow (barring me freezing my fingers off) I'll smoke #1 and post it then.

Cigar #1-

Pre-smoke impression
Natural wrapper, good construction; firm but no supple - boxed press. Smell - I have to admit that I opened both up initially and the #2 smelled better so I smoked it first... this one smelled a little bit more mild - indistinct, but I was curious to smoke it.

Once lit, it started out with a bang - very peppery and strong from the get go. Easy draw - almost like smoking a cigarette, salt & pepper ash. Got more spicy as the smoke continued.

I'd have to say that my preference was #2, just seemed to have more body, more elegant - this one was a bit harsh. Soo.... my guess is that #2 is the more expensive stick. Would love to find out what they were!

This was a fun experience - would have smoked them one after the other but I think I would have burned a hole through my mouth.

Looking forward to hearing the actuals.

Thanks Drew!

[drew_goring]

Nice reviews...a little off in the guesses though.

cigar number 2 you had a good idea of. It was a Torano 1959. I am assuming you though it was better only because it was free MSRP is was about 10 dollars.

cigar number 2 was a Padron '64. Definately one of my top 3 favorite smokes. Obviously the more expensive smoke at about 10 bucks a pop.

This is a great thread. It was a lot of fun picking the cigars to send for the review.

[mauied1101]

Nice reviews...a little off in the guesses though.

cigar number 2 you had a good idea of. It was a Torano 1959. I am assuming you though it was better only because it was free MSRP is was about 10 dollars.

cigar number 2 was a Padron '64. Definately one of my top 3 favorite smokes. Obviously the more expensive smoke at about 10 bucks a pop.

This is a great thread. It was a lot of fun picking the cigars to send for the review.

but but... which one was the real #2?

[drew_goring]

but but... which one was the real #2?

shit, you got me damn typos are owning me today.

Cigar #1 was the Padron '64

Cigar #2 was the Torano 1959.

Hope you enjoyed them

[mauied1101]

So one of the fun things about this is that you *know* one of the sticks is going to be great, and the other one will either be greater or not. Being the sheltered body that I am, just in case I would be wrong on the more valuable stick (which I was), I smoked both of them to a nub. Both were nice sticks (cheers Drew).

[illilli]

I received two lovely cigars to review from mauied1101. Here is my review:

Cigar # 1

5.5 x 38-42

This cigar was very well constructed and firm. It had a nice pre-smoke aroma and looked like it had been stored with the sleeve off. Some of the wrapper at the foot had worn away making me believe that it had been stored in a humidor for a while.

The cigar lit easily and burned evenly throughout its length. It held a nice long ash, which was grayish white. Overall, the smoke was medium, leaning toward the mild side. The draw was perfect and it produced plenty of thick white smoke. The flavor was earthy, maybe leathery, and seemed to change subtely about half-way through where a slight cedar taste emerged.

For my taste, it was an OK smoke. I could certainly smoke one again, but I wouldn't put it ahead of my regular smokes. This is due to it being a little milder than I prefer. I am sure I have not had this brand and size of cigar before. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say RP Vintage "Euro" Corona, but I have absolutely no idea.

Cigar # 2

5.5 x 48ish

This cigar was very smooth and felt solid in my hand. It didn't smell like much before lighting. It had a Claro color and possibly a slight greenish tint to it. It was a torpedo shape.

I toasted the foot and then lit it. It lit quickly and perfectly. While I had expected a light flavor profile; I got a medium to medium-full bonanza! It burned very evenly and held a nice long, white ash. Superb draw and plenty of rich,white smoke. The flavor was wood with slight undertones of a slight nutmeg taste and possibly licorice. I can't quite put my finger on the taste overall, but I liked it very much.

This cigar tasted familiar to me in some ways and in other ways, like nothing I have had before. At first, I thought it was a La Gloria Cubana. Later though, the flavor changed to something unfamiliar. Overall, I liked this cigar better than #1. (I've probably picked the $2.00 Cigar, wouldn't you know it!) I could smoke more of this one. It went very well with my Jim Beam and Diet Coke. This would be a great lake cigar. Again, I have absolutely no idea, but I'll guess that this is an Edge by Rocky Patel.

[mauied1101]

Nice reviews illillillillilli! Good detail. Yeah, I prefer milder cigars - though my taste is growing thanks to the guys here!

OK let's see...

Cigar #1 - Romeo y Julieta ISOM Cedro Deluxe #2- $$ My favorite cigar and most prized. Mild but consistent. Aged over a year.

Cigar #2 - Flor De Ybor City Belicoso - $2.75ish. Introduced by a member of the board, liked them enough to get a five pack online. Good cheap smoke.

Glad you enjoyed them.

[WOXOF]

WARNING: rookie review

Cigar #1 review sent by illilli

vitola: Torpedo about 6"

Pre-light - The wrapper was dark and well constructed, pleasant aroma and average draw. I used a guillotine cut.

Paired with Killian's Irish Red

Lit - The cigar lit easily and the draw remained consistant. I haven't really learned to recognize all of the subtle flavors in a cigar yet. I would say this was a medium smoke that was very pleasing to my devolping taste buds. I enjoyed the flavor very much. The burn was very inconsistant and took away from the enjoyment of the cigar(and the book I was reading). I smoked this one to just under two inches before I threw in the towel on keeping it lit.

Overall good smoke, would be great without the burn issue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~

Cigar #2 review

vitola: 6 x 44-48

Pre-light - Dark maduro wrapper that had a great aroma. The wrapper was well constructed with some slight damage to the foot from storage. I again used a guillotine cut. The draw was more loose than I prefer(possibly because it was a poor cut by me) but not too bad.

Paired with Killian's Irish Red

Lit - The cigar lit easily and continued to have a loose draw. It started off spicy with a good kick to my tonsils. I quickly calmed this down with some help from George Killian. The burn was carefree and even the whole way and it remained spicy throughout the smoke. It did seem to calm down a little in the middle ony to pick up again on the last 1/3 of the cigar. The flavor profile also changed(got better) on the second half of the cigar. I would have nubbed this one, but she quit on me with about an inch and a half to go. I let her die a peaceful death.

Overall this was a slightly stronger cigar than I smoke on a regular basis but I would be interested in smoking this one again.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Conclusion (WARNING - See above disclaimer)-

I enjoyed both cigars. #1 was a more familiar flavor to me, but #2 really piqued my interest and was a more enjoyable experience. I'll go out on a limb here and say that #2 was more expensive. (hey I got a 50/50 chance)

[illilli]

Those reviews were pretty good WOXOF.

Cigar #1 was a Gurkha Legend Aniversario - MSRP: $20 (yeah, right!)

This cigar has a very nice flavor. It IS medium strength. I have also had terrible problems with keeping it lit. It almost always flakes out about mid-way. Noone really pays $20 for these, but they generally get them for $8-$10. I suppose this is because the cigar is NOT worth $20, no way, no how.

Cigar #2 was an Oliva 'O' Bold Omni MSRP: $5.50

This is one of my favorite daily rotation cigars, albeit a little expensive for every day. It is a med-full spicey delight (IMHO). The draw is loose, but so am I; that's why I like it .

Thanks for the reviews.

[WOXOF]

Nice combo illilli. I haven't tried the Gurkha Legend yet. In hindsight, It was too high maintainance for me. I might have to pick up a few of the Olivas for after dinner or when I'm into the bottle.

[Desert Rat]

Cigars sent by WOXOF:
Gar #1-Box Pressed, Maduro wrapper. Pre-light a little hay scent of a young cigar that didn’t continue into the smoke. Looked great, burned ok, great draw. First inch or so was smooth, very light, sorta bready, toasty tasting. Then the rest of the cigar came in and out with a light peppery taste added to the beginning toastiness. Didn’t smoke as full bodied as the wrapper looked, I would call this a med cigar short on finish.

OK smoke, Ill go out on a limb and call it a Nicaraguan that reminds me of Perdomo’s stuff.


Gar #2-Awesome cigar! Burned great, smelled great, tasted great. Made me think of VSG.

Thanks Chris .

[WOXOF]

Great reviews Desert Rat,

Cigar #1 - Gispert Toro with maduro wrapper. A good smoke for under $3.00.

Cigar #2 - Your were right on, Ashton VSG Illusion (round). A great cigar IMHO. I picked up a few from a local B&M for $11 something after taxes.

Thanks for the reviews!

[Newfie]

OK, I may have gone a bit overboard on this, but I had so much fun doing it, I wanted to put the whole thing down.

Cigar # 1
Initial Impressions:
This stick was square or box-pressed and was ~ 5-3/4" long with a 44-46 ring gauge (Lonsdale?). It had a dark wrapper but maybe not as dark as other Maduros I’ve smoked and had a faint but weird greenish tinge depending how it was held to the light. It was very firm to the touch, and a gentle squeeze indicated very little give in the construction. The wrapper was clean and smooth and had one predominant vein running the length. I did notice one small blemish about 1/16" in diameter that was probably a water spot or something. It clipped firmly, but cleanly and the cut indicated a tightly rolled smoke. It had a firm but comfortable pre-light draw with no noticeable taste. There was also no aroma, very light if any that wasn’t picked up by my uncalibrated & untrained nostrils.
Light and Smoking:
The toast gave off a faint and pleasant "woodsy" smell. It lit easily and had an abundance of smoke right from the get-go. The smoke was a little on the mild side at the start, but with-in ½" it got noticeably stronger with a slightly peppery aftertaste and a mild sweetness on the lips. By about 1" I would say the strength reached above mild, but still very pleasant with a pleasant spicy taste. It showed a firm light grey (almost white) ash (with a perfect burn) that held on easily to 1-1/2" when I gently pryed it off in the ashtray.
Past halfway, it was still getting stronger with a strong, unidentifiable aftertaste (cocoa maybe) and soon I was feeling the head rush telling me I was smoking the strongest cigar I’d ever had. At this point, this cigar was giving me an amazing amount of smoke for one of this size.
At 2" left it produced another taste I couldn’t quite identify, but by now, I think my taste buds were pleasantly numb from the strength and flavours of the smoke. I was getting the "nicotene tingle" on my lips and in my mouth and pretty well know I had met my match with this one. While not unpleasant, it was past the enjoyment of my newbie palette.
With 1-1/2" left and 45 enjoyable minutes into it, I laid it to rest as the wrapper started to separate.
General and Overall:
Very nice, very complex cigar, in spite of my being unaccustomed to a smoke of this strength. While this wouldn’t be an everyday smoke for me, it will definitely have a place in my humidor should I ever feel like a strong smoke. I’d cheat it and give it an 8.5 / 10, but only because I don’t feel I’m qualified to give it a higher rating, and because I had another to smoke and wanted to leave room at the top.
Cigar # 2
Initial Impressions:
~6" X 50 ring gauge (Torpedo I assume) with a wrapper almost as dark as a Maduro. The wrapper was not real smooth and had several obvious (but small) veins that only added character to the look and feel of it. It felt firm with some give, and gave off a scent that reminded me of peat moss (is that possible).It clipped easily and at a point where it had about ½ - 5/8" opening. The cut indicated a fairly tight looking roll. The predraw was a little on the loose side, but nice and had a taste similar to the smell.
Light and Smoking:
Toasting and lighting gave off a smoke that was very pungent to the nose. The light was a little off (maybe due to the wind, maybe me) but straightened itself out with no help from a wet finger or a touch of the lighter.
The smoke was immediately mild but abundant, and had a slight hint of spice. The first inch indicated a salt & pepper ash that was somewhat flaky on the outside, but held well. I found the smoke to have a woodsy smell that I couldn’t taste (I found that weird). Past halfway the smoke took on somewhat of a harsh aftertaste with a hint of something sweet once in a while
I let this one die a peaceful death with about 2" left as the harshness was a bit beyond pleasure.
General and Overall:
This is a cigar that a fiver may find it’s way into my stash, and would be a smoke to have while working on a little project in the garage. It was a little bland (I did smoke it 4 hours after cigar #1 so that memory lingered) but all in all, wasn’t really bad. I’d give it about a 7.5 maybe.


I'd have to say that cigar #1 was definately the more expensive stick, and I can't wait to find out what they were!!

[Desert Rat]

Bravo! Your impressions are very close to how I percieve these gars.

Both cigars were aged about 2 years.

#1 Ashton VSG Corona Gorda-you write "complex" and that is what I enjoy about vsg's. They seem to vary flavors a little with every puff. I agree with a mid 80 score .

#2 TTT Trinidad Belicoso- This is a once in awhile gar for me to change pace. The listing is for "Ecuadorian Sumatra wrappers surround a zesty broadleaf binder and a vivid blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican and Peruvian long fillers". I find them a fairly complex smoke also, but something in the blend must not suit you, giving it the "harsh" effect you describe.

I honestly don't exactly remember what I paid for these, but I think the Trini (230/box) was a hair more expensive than the Ashton (200/box), but that is due to the belicoso vitola. Both cigars are similar in price for other sizes.

Well done .

[drew_goring]

Ok, I may have mixed up the order. I smoked them both while playing pool tonight.

Cigar #1 (I think)

Dark wrapper. Robusto size. Very rough looking cigar. Almost scary rough. As in I thought Newfie rolled it himself rough (well, not that bad buy you get the idea). I had very low expectations and it actually impressed me. Although not an amazing smoke by any means, it would be a good daily addition. Burned excellently. I could taste is, but due to my newbishness, I could not pick out the individual flavors. Nice medium simple smoke.

I think due to it's construction it is some sort of seconds or bundled brand. In either event, I would definately smoke it again.

Cigar #2

Torpedo. Lighter wrapper. Nice construction and prelight aroma. Cut nicely with a decent draw. Didn't burn quite as well as number 1, but it was still definately smokable. Medium body with again a nice flavor.

I actually have no idea what it could be, but I will throw this out...RP Edge?

Thanks Newfie for the chance to review these. Let me know if I screwed up the numbers.

[Newfie]

Nice reviews Andrew.

Yes, you did mix 'em up, but they're different shapes so it doesn't matter.

Torpedo - Valle Grande - http://www.cigar-smoke.com/catalog?c...RANDE%20CIGARS The price list here is $19.52 USD each, I paid $17 ea CDN for the ones I bought. The ones I smoked had just about perfect burn. Strength and flavour were good, but I don't think worth the cost (Friggin' Canadian taxes). If these were available in the States for like $80 / box, I'd buy a box

Robusto - It was actually out of a box of Puros Indios Maduro Rothschild (Robusto shape). I bought these after smoking a bundle of Roly's (P/I seconds) to see the difference. Some were nice, and some had a rough wrapper like the one I sent you. For some reason, I like the "rough" ones better. The feel of the wrapper kind of gives the feel some character, if that makes sense. Except for wrapper & construction, I saw or tasted no difference in the Roly's or the P/I, so I'll get the Rolys in Detroit for 1/3 the cost of the P/I's.

Like you, I do enjoy these as a daily smoke.

Glad you enjoyed 'em.

Thanks again.

Newf.

[slcraiders]

Reviews-

Smoked cigar 1 last night. Robusto in w/ a darker maduro wrapper in a cedar sleeve. Good Contruction. Light gray ash. No burning problems throughout. Draw was tad bit tight. Robust Medium strengthed cigar with hints of wood and coffee (couple well with the espresso I was drinking at the time). The smoke picked up in intensity and was slightly bitter midway through. Yet, it finished off with a mild nutty taste. Good and interesting smoking experience.

I just finished cigar 2. Toro in size, with an earthy prelight aroma. Ash light gray. Again with this smoke- I had no burning probs. The draw was slightly better on this one. No real distinct flavors popped out at me. mild-to medium. Consistant flavor throughout. Another good smoke.

Thanks, DG for two good smokes. Tough call, but I will guess #2 was the more expensive of the two?