Review These Pass II Reviews

[ashauler]

Very nice reviews. But I hate to break the news to ya:

A= AF Short Story 4.60
B= Zino Platinum pudge 7.02

Thanks for playing.

Cigar A:
This was the 2nd that I smoked of the two.

Short perfecto shape; a little over 4 inches, about a 46 ring at the cap and about a 52 ring at its widest. The wrapper was a dark reddish-brown(somewhere in between a colorado and a maduro). The wrapper was rough but without "bumps." The construction was very good and even throughout. The cigar had a very mild sweet and earthy scent.

The cap cut nicely and the pre-light draw was smooth and slightly tasted like coffee. The cigar lit very easily and burned even through out the entire body. Generous amounts of smoke was produced from the surprisingly cool draw. The ash was dark gray with some tints of light brown. The ash held strong; almost the entire length of the cigar.

At first, the taste was pretty simple. Just a smooth rich tobacco taste. About an inch in a sweet, slightly grassy taste came out. That lasted about another inch. After that, about half way through, the smoke became pretty spicy, tickling the tip of my tongue. This lasted until the end of my adventure.

This was an extremely smooth, tasty medium-full bodied smoke. I can't wait to find out what this is.

Cigar B:
I smoked this one first.

Regular straight sided cigar, about 4.5 inches, 52ish ring size. The wrapper was very light claro. It was very smooth and oily. The construction was pretty good, only a bit soft at the foot(which may have just been from shipping possibly). Th smell was very earthy and slightly bitter.

The pre-light draw was smooth but tasted like bitter dirt. The cigar lit pretty uneven. but it think that was only because the foot was loose. The light gray ash held on, but kind of spread apart instead of staying in a single column. When the ash fell off it broke into a bunch of small chunks, instead of one big piece.

This cigar produced a ton of smoke, however, it had a barely noticeable scent. The draw was hot and tasted very bitter. I sat it down for about 3 minutes before continuing to smoke it. After it's rest it burned cooler, but still warmer then I like. The after taste was burnt and bitter. I did not smoke this to the end. The amount of it that I did smoke never changed, it just stayed bitter. My throat felt choked, even though I never inhaled.

I did not enjoy this smoke at all.

I'm going to have to guess that cigar A is the higher priced one, due to its excellent construction and tasty smoke. Also, because I would hate the idea that a cigar as awful as cigar B would be more expensive.


**side note about perfecto shape: I loved how easy this shape was to light. It's the perfect shape for a day out on the golf course where there is little shielding from the wind.

Thanks Ash for running this contest!

[logan37]

Very nice reviews. But I hate to break the news to ya:

A= AF Short Story 4.60
B= Zino Platinum pudge 7.02

Thanks for playing.

Damn. It's kind of funny that B reminded me of a zino I had a few months ago and didn't like(that was stated in a pm between ash and myself). That one was a maduro though. Oh well, at least the AF's aren't seven bucks a pop.

Thanks ash. Was a fun contest.

[derivation]

Here we go.

Both of the cigars I smoked were manduro robustos. About there is where their similarities ended. I smoked them both on my patio on two consecutive nights. It was a little chilly, but not much wind on either night.

Cigar A
The only interesting characteristic of this cigar from the eye was being a bit veiney. The prelight draw was a little sweet.

After lighting the cigar up the sweetness continued, but there really wasn't any flavor to the cigar at all. The smoke had no density to it, and the cigar as a whole really lacked strength or depth. It also tunneled a few times and required relights. To say I was unimpressed with this cigar would be an understatement.

Cigar B
This cigar was a little oily. Prelight I noticed spice and honey.

After lighting the cigar the spice and honey continued. The smoke was a great and I felt like I was really smoking a cigar again. The cigar burned nice and slow with no problems. I found that the flavor of the cigar didn't change much over time, but that didn't both me at all. This was a medium strength cigar. This cigar was a great smoke, and I would definitely smoke more of them.

Obviously, I think that Cigar B was the more expensive cigar. I should note, however, that Cigar B got an extra day in my humidor so perhaps some of the burn issues between cigar A and B could be related to that.

[logan37]

which bag # did yo pick? good luck. hope you did better then me.

[derivation]

which bag # did yo pick? good luck. hope you did better then me.

I took bag #5.

[ashauler]

Here are the cigars you smoked:
A- Padilla 1932 robusto 9.62
B- Cusano LXI robusto 4.57

I'm surprised at the performance of the Padilla, but glad you enjoyed the Cusano. Thanks for playing.

Here we go.

Both of the cigars I smoked were manduro robustos. About there is where their similarities ended. I smoked them both on my patio on two consecutive nights. It was a little chilly, but not much wind on either night.

Cigar A
The only interesting characteristic of this cigar from the eye was being a bit veiney. The prelight draw was a little sweet.

After lighting the cigar up the sweetness continued, but there really wasn't any flavor to the cigar at all. The smoke had no density to it, and the cigar as a whole really lacked strength or depth. It also tunneled a few times and required relights. To say I was unimpressed with this cigar would be an understatement.

Cigar B
This cigar was a little oily. Prelight I noticed spice and honey.

After lighting the cigar the spice and honey continued. The smoke was a great and I felt like I was really smoking a cigar again. The cigar burned nice and slow with no problems. I found that the flavor of the cigar didn't change much over time, but that didn't both me at all. This was a medium strength cigar. This cigar was a great smoke, and I would definitely smoke more of them.

Obviously, I think that Cigar B was the more expensive cigar. I should note, however, that Cigar B got an extra day in my humidor so perhaps some of the burn issues between cigar A and B could be related to that.

[derivation]

Here are the cigars you smoked:
A- Padilla 1932 robusto 9.62
B- Cusano LXI robusto 4.57

I'm surprised at the performance of the Padilla, but glad you enjoyed the Cusano. Thanks for playing.

Yeah, I am extremely surprised too at the 1932 also. Chalk it up to not letting it rest long enough or just getting a dud. I may be more surprised that the Cusano had a sun grown wrapper. I'm usually not a big fan of sun growns, but I did really enjoy that cigar. I'll be looking for more of those.

Glad to have participated.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

All good reviews and good reading.

Rich

[ashauler]

Yeah, I am extremely surprised too at the 1932 also. Chalk it up to not letting it rest long enough or just getting a dud. I may be more surprised that the Cusano had a sun grown wrapper. I'm usually not a big fan of sun growns, but I did really enjoy that cigar. I'll be looking for more of those.

Glad to have participated.

I'm liking the LXI quite a bit myself, at under $5 its a pretty good smoke.

[bigwhiteash]

I chose bag #1 because it contained cigars of the closest match in construction and appearance. Both cigars being of the Robusto vitola, and wrapped in medium brown habano type wrappers.

CIGAR "A"

This cigar was quite firm to the touch, with a few prominent veins, otherwise very smooth.
Good prelight draw, leaving a slight woody/grassy sensation. Burn was as straight as can be, with a very bright white ash left by the wrapper, and holding on about an inch and a half. Overall, this cigar seemed pretty one dimensional, staying with the wood / hay flavors pretty much all the way until the final third, where I started getting the unpleasant ammonia sensation... into the ash-can.


CIGAR "B"

Firm construction, not quite as smooth as "A", but not toothy at all. Again, a good draw and burn, leaving behind a flaky gray ash. Somewhat spicy on the palate, building in strength from medium to medium-full. Smoked this one down to about 1-1/2" when it also became a bit on the bitter side. I did have an issue during smoking where bits of tobacco kept pulling out of the cut head, arousing suspicions of a mixed filler cigar. Later I dissected this smoke, and found it most likely to be the case.

I enjoyed smoke "B" more out of the two, and neither was a bad cigar, but the mixed filler thing leads me to believe that cigar "A" was the higher value.