Review These - Reviews

**slcraiders** · 12-30-2007, 09:03 PM

Notng fancy like WOXOF's review with the time-lapsed photos and all, but I finished #2 tonight and here they are-

Review Stick #1

Toro in size range and box pressed. It had a dark brown, beautiful wrapper with a slight red hue. The construction on this cigar was very good.

The filler tobacco was tightly bunched so the draw was somewhat tight throughout but did open up a bit as I hit the second half. Medium gray ash- not the firmest ash for a box pressed cigar. The burn was extremely even throughout the smoke.

Flavor wise- I would put this at Medium. I had it right after eating a double cheeseburger so it could have been stronger if I smoked it earlier on an empty stomach? Body was Med-Full. The flavor profile stayed fairly consistent throughout with the first few puffs coming off as leathery coupled with and tapering into smoother woody flavors for most of the cigar. I detected a slight pepper taste on the finish.

Good, pleasant cigar all in all.

Review Stick #2

This cigar would be in the Corona to Robusto size category. Slightly fatter than most Coronas, but longer and a little thinner than a typical Robusto. The wrapper is dark natural. It is nowhere near as pretty of a cigar as #1. It appears to have a triple cap- either that or a double with the bottom cap running long? This is a toothy sucker reminding me of a Henry Clay in appearance.

The prelight aroma was just straight up good and earthy. Lighting this up, I was hit with instant full flavored spice. I am loving it! The flavor is much like the spicy yet earthy flavor found in Cubans like the RASS. The ash is med-dark gray. Slight uneven burn correcting itself well at the 1/3 mark. The profile changes to more medium strength from this point to the last 3rd where the stout and spice dominated once again. The draw in this was perfect all the way through.

I nubbed this sucka and would smoke another and another in a heartbeat!

I am going to guess that #2 was the more expensive because I think Chris is trying to fool me with the construction factor. That, and I liked it more!

Although I am stumped, I will stab wildly and guess something like this for actual make-

Cigar #1- Carlos Torano Exodus or Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte?
Cigar #2- Illusione? Cabaiguan? Perdomo ESV? or something Cuban? (farm rolled?)

Do tell………….

**WOXOF** · 12-30-2007, 11:07 PM

Great reviews and exactly my opinion of both cigars.

Cigar #1: Angel 100, MSRP is around $2 but I paid less on Cbid.

Cigar #2: Montecristo EL 2003, MSRP around $10 if I recall. Got a couple more resting still.

**slcraiders** · 12-31-2007, 10:06 AM

Thanks Chris. I have a couple of those Angel 100's (made by Oliva I think) sitting in the tupperdore with loose singles.

That Monte EL was an absolute treat down to the final ash!

**WOXOF** · 01-01-2008, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by slcraiders

Thanks Chris. I have a couple of those Angel 100's (made by Oliva I think) sitting in the tupperdore with loose singles.

That Monte EL was an absolute treat down to the final ash!

I tried to stump you with the wrappers. The Angel 100 construction is great and the Monte is pretty dark for an ISOM. It's good to see your palate was up to the task. You had me worried when you said you had a cold.

The Angel 100 is actually made by NATSA in honor of Angel Oliva with 100% Oliva Tobacco. The one you smoked was the 1961. 1961 was the year that the Oliva family established a tobacco farm in Honduras in anticipation of the U.S. Embargo against Cuba.

Linky courtesy of ashauler.

**ashauler** · 01-10-2008, 03:15 PM

Smoked #1 today on my lunch hour.
This stick is a robusto size, approx 5" x 50 or so. Wrapper is a fairly dark natural, darker than cigar #2, but not a maduro. Construction is good, the stick feels firm with only a slight yield to pressure between the fingers. It appears to have at least a double cap, perhaps a third but I can't quite tell. The cut was uneventful and the pre-light draw was just about right for me, somewhat firm, but not an eye-popper.

It took to the bic pretty well and was easily lit. Initial draws produced some peppery spice and a pronounce leathery flavor. The aroma from the stick was very pleasant. The pepper seemed to dominate the flavor for the first third of the smoke, then the leather seemed to be taking the lead. At about the 1/2 way mark the pepper moved way to the background and the leather flavor with some added earthiness seemed to take over. It remained this way until th end. Very interesting smoke with this change up.

The ash held well and was nice and firm for the entire smoke. It broke off cleanly each time I ashed, and the ember showed only a slight cone, perhaps due to my smoking speed. I would place this in the med-full strength and body categories. I did not notice a significant nic hit.

I'm not even going to begin to guess the manufacturer of this stick, though the profile seemed familiar. It was an enjoyable smoking experience and I would certainly pick up a 5er of this stick for further exploration.

I'm gonna try to smoke #2 on tomorrow's lunch break.

**ashauler** · 01-17-2008, 02:17 PM

First off my apologies to the board for the delay in completing this.

I smoked #2 today on my lunch hour, accompanied by a nice cup of black coffee. This stick was lighter in shade than #1 and was approximately the same size (maybe a bit bigger ring but not alot). On inspecting the cigar, I noticed that the foot was "uneven" with the filler in the middle extending farther out of the end of the cigar than the edges, kind of wedge shaped. The wrap of the wrapper leaf was very evident and the feel of the stick was somewhat "bumpy". It was less firm than #1, but not extremely squishy.

After I cut it, there was a depression in the middle of the cut end....almost as if the bunch was uneven in length...extending longer in the middle at the foot, but short at the head. The light was easy and the burn was even throughout the smoke. The ash was not flaky, however it did not snap off the cigar and crumbled in the ashtray pretty easily. The ash also appeared to be very much whiter in the middle of the ash vs the edges and developed somewhat of a cone.

The flavor was straight up tobacco with some leather overtones. When exhaled through the nose it burned like a

. The flavor didn't change much for me over the course of the stick. The draw as a little loose for my preference, and consequently I had to keep slowing down on my draws to keep it cool. This was a decent smoke, but not as eventful and interesting imho as #1.....therefore, based on that and the construction differences I will guess #1 as the more expensive cigar.

Thank you slcraiders for these two smokes, I enjoyed them both.