So, CI was running a promo that looked kind of interesting, a way to "sample" different strengths of cigars. I've got a brother-in-law that had asked me about strong versus mild cigars, and I thought this might be a fun way to answer the question. Plus, the whole sampler of 20 cigars was only $30, so it's no big loss if it's a bomb, right?
There are 5 different "levels" of cigar in the box: 150HP, 250HP, 350HP, 450HP, and Turbo. We started at the bottom and as of this writing have worked our way up to the 250HPs.
I let these sit in the humidor just a few days before trying them. On Saturday I pulled out a pair of the 150HPs and we tried them. The 150s are supposed to be mild and creamy, with a Connecticut shade wrapper. I found the wrapper to be a serious liability: it was thin, dry, and flaky, completely disintegrating in my hand as we smoked. Since there are four of each level of cigar in the sampler, I took the two remaining 150s and stripped them of their celo to let them pick up some moisture before I try these again.
As far as the taste, it's a blended tobacco, I'm guessing mostly Honduran, and I detected no hint of "creamy". Just a sort of weak smoke. It actually reminded me of a Macanudo, and while I know a lot of people like them, that's not a complement to me. Also, the draw on these cigars was inconsistent through the length of the cigar, starting really tight, finishing hot & loose. I believe that's an indicator of poor construction, but I don't know if they'll all be that way or not.
On Sunday we tried the 250HP. This one has a maduro wrapper and is supposed to be "nutty". These looked a lot like the Indian Tabac Deluxe Tubos I've tried (color of wrapper, general look of construction, even the pre-light draw). Unfortunately, where the Tubos have lots of ligero and good, strong flavor, these do not. The flavor is okay, medium (as advertised), and I definitely liked these enough to smoke them again, but they're nothing special.
I'll update this review as I get through the 350s, 450s, and Turbo. So far, I have to say, this was not $30 well spent, but hey, it was a lark. I fell for the gimmick. It's not like Indian Tabac tried to tell me these were a premiere line or something.
There are 5 different "levels" of cigar in the box: 150HP, 250HP, 350HP, 450HP, and Turbo. We started at the bottom and as of this writing have worked our way up to the 250HPs.
I let these sit in the humidor just a few days before trying them. On Saturday I pulled out a pair of the 150HPs and we tried them. The 150s are supposed to be mild and creamy, with a Connecticut shade wrapper. I found the wrapper to be a serious liability: it was thin, dry, and flaky, completely disintegrating in my hand as we smoked. Since there are four of each level of cigar in the sampler, I took the two remaining 150s and stripped them of their celo to let them pick up some moisture before I try these again.
As far as the taste, it's a blended tobacco, I'm guessing mostly Honduran, and I detected no hint of "creamy". Just a sort of weak smoke. It actually reminded me of a Macanudo, and while I know a lot of people like them, that's not a complement to me. Also, the draw on these cigars was inconsistent through the length of the cigar, starting really tight, finishing hot & loose. I believe that's an indicator of poor construction, but I don't know if they'll all be that way or not.
On Sunday we tried the 250HP. This one has a maduro wrapper and is supposed to be "nutty". These looked a lot like the Indian Tabac Deluxe Tubos I've tried (color of wrapper, general look of construction, even the pre-light draw). Unfortunately, where the Tubos have lots of ligero and good, strong flavor, these do not. The flavor is okay, medium (as advertised), and I definitely liked these enough to smoke them again, but they're nothing special.
I'll update this review as I get through the 350s, 450s, and Turbo. So far, I have to say, this was not $30 well spent, but hey, it was a lark. I fell for the gimmick. It's not like Indian Tabac tried to tell me these were a premiere line or something.
