Jeff's quest...

[Kingantz]

I was conversing with my good friend Jeff (Jlada) not long ago, discussing the many facets of cigar smoking, when I mentioned that I was primarily smoking CC as of late. That I really hadn’t found a NC that had that special flavor I so enjoyed in a CC. Yes, the old CC are better line, I said it. And, I said it to the wrong person. :laugh: Jeff is now on a quest, to show me the light with a journey through the senses. Ah yes, a blind taste test.

Several days ago I received six un-banded cigars from Jeff. He has asked that I smoke each one, number one through six, and post my findings on each here. There were several criteria to list, however I’ve put it all into reviews (imagine that). So, without further adieu, Stick No. 1.

Be gentle Jeff, be gentle my friend.

Stick No. 1​

The cigar has a gorgeous, golden brown wrapper that is smooth with noticeable oils and few small veins. There’s a good weight in the hand and firm when squeezed. I punch the cap and find the draw slightly loose, however enough resistance to smoke well. I put fire to the foot, blow the embers to get a good burn, and then take a draw.

I get a nice white pepper spice on the back of the throat in the initial draw. Tastes of toasted nuts, cocoa, and wood come through in the medium bodied smoke. The smoke itself is rather light and somewhat creamy on the palate and has a nice woody finish. It seems to have a slight floral quality as well.

A third of the way in and the burn has been sharp with a strong, whitish gray ash forming. The white pepper spice continues, and flavors remain somewhat consistent of toasted nuts and a nice dark cocoa undertone. There’s a nice finish that I am finding to be a bit short, but full of woodiness. Strength is perfect for my palate with a good medium body. Very satisfying.

Getting into the last third, I unfortunately have a small accident and damage the wrapper. I don’t think the thirty something degrees out helped any either as it seemed very delicate. However, it didn’t hinder the smoking at all. The cigar burned perfectly (other than the damage) all the way down with the same delicious flavors and a good medium body.

This was a very good cigar with an almost spot on draw, perfect burn with strong ash, and very nice toasted almond flavors with cocoa undertones. The finish was very nice as well, not a long lasting finish, however good nonetheless. I could definitely see having a few of these in the humi. I’d say price around $8 - $10 per stick. I’m going to say this was a non-Cuban cigar, possibly Nicaraguan.

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[Fatken]

Great review on a nice looking stick. Now I am interested in finding out what it is. I love these blind reviews

Ken

 

[sinnyc]

Great idea. Greg, I've read many of your posts and reviews of ISOM's and find that we have a lot of overlap in taste on that front so I am quite curious to see what you do and don't like in this blind test. Here's hoping you find a domestic import you love.

- Tim

 

[SPIVY]

I bet jeff pulled out all of the stops for this. Primo smokes. I do enjoy your reviews. I wonder which one that was.

 

[Golfanatic]

Great review! I can't wait to see what this was.

 

[BigJake6904]

My guess, based on the photos and description....Cabaiguan, but, I too await for the beast to be unveiled.

 

[jlada]

Number 1 was a Tatuaje Cabaiguan.

I just happened to grab a Guapos 46 vitola. I was very confident you would nail this one, and you did. I wanted to send an original Guapos or WCD 120, but the pigtail would have definitely given it away.

This marca is a staple of my smoking habit.

This was merely a warm up cigar. They shall get weirder, I assure you.

 

[Kingantz]

Stick No. 2​

This was a fairly rough looking cigar, actually had a slight bend in it with an oval shape in the foot. The medium brown wrapper was coarse with prominent veins and no oil to be seen. It was very firm when squeezed and a good weight in the hand. I punched the cap and found a fairly tight draw, however enough air flowed to hopefully get smoke through once it warmed up.

With the foot torched and burn even, I took a couple of puffs and then a long, even draw. A good black pepper spice hit the back of the throat in a perfect amount. Tastes of dark earth, old leather, and dark cocoa came through in the initial mild to medium bodied smoke. There was a good long, lasting finish that had what seemed to be an undertone of citrus. It didn’t take long for the smoke to turn to a good medium body once warmed up.

The cigar had a perfect burn with a mixture of dark gray and black in the ash that held strong until knocked off about every half-inch or so. There was noticeable tooth in the ash as well. The black pepper spice continued on through the half-way mark and dark flavors of earth and leather with hints of cocoa kept coming. I found a very good, long lasting finish on the palate.

Towards the end the body picked up slightly and the spice was still hitting really good. The finish was quite intense and lasted well after I put it down, delicious to my palate.

This was a very good cigar fitting my palate almost perfectly with perfect spice, medium body, and wonderful lasting flavors of earth, wood, cocoa, and a nice citrus quality. The burn was perfect throughout with a strong gray-black ash. I would definitely love to have a box of these smokes. Price about $8 - $10 per stick. Mmm...tough call. Aged Habanos. Punch?

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[jlada]

Number 2 was a 1994 St Luis Rey Serie A.

This cigar was obtained in 2006 from a box split with a very close friend of mine. Probably overpaid at the time, but it is a fine smoke, indeed. I've only got a few left, and it will be a pity when they are gone.

Not a staple of my cigar smoking habit, but I really, really enjoy this cigar.

Edit: Again, excellent job, Greg.

Edit 2: And to the spectators in the crowd - yes, I assure you, they will get weirder .

 

[BigJake6904]

My guess, based on the photos and description....Cabaiguan, but, I too await for the beast to be unveiled.

Number 1 was a Tatuaje Cabaiguan.

Hell yea, and I didn't even smoke it! This game is fun! :laugh: :thumbs:

Too bad I didn't get a chance to guess the second one fast enough!

 

[jlada]

Hell yea, and I didn't even smoke it! This game is fun! :laugh: :thumbs:

Too bad I didn't get a chance to guess the second one fast enough!

Let's be real here. If you would have guessed 1994 SLR Serie A, I would have straight up shat myself. :laugh:

 

[BigJake6904]

Hell yea, and I didn't even smoke it! This game is fun! :laugh: :thumbs:

Too bad I didn't get a chance to guess the second one fast enough!

Let's be real here. If you would have guessed 1994 SLR Serie A, I would have straight up shat myself. :laugh:

Give me a chance to at least guess. Ages I could have about a 7% chance in random guessing, maybe 20% if I could nail it down to a 5yr. span. Of course, Greg has to be thorough in his reviews.

I'm sure I could had got SLR though, then again, maybe not. I'll try and see my success rate if I can catch his reviews in enough time.

Personally, I think it'd be funny as hell to make you shat yourself. :laugh:

 

[sinnyc]

Hell yea, and I didn't even smoke it! This game is fun! :laugh: :thumbs:

Too bad I didn't get a chance to guess the second one fast enough!

Let's be real here. If you would have guessed 1994 SLR Serie A, I would have straight up shat myself. :laugh:

Give me a chance to at least guess. Ages I could have about a 7% chance in random guessing, maybe 20% if I could nail it down to a 5yr. span. Of course, Greg has to be thorough in his reviews.

I'm sure I could had got SLR though, then again, maybe not. I'll try and see my success rate if I can catch his reviews in enough time.

Personally, I think it'd be funny as hell to make you shat yourself. :laugh:

x2 but you'd have to post pix.

 

[rectifythis]

This is great. I love threads like this.

 

[jayro75]

Very interesting thread by 2 great BOTL's.

Greg you have one hell of a palette on you! :thumbs:

 

[leafsat49]

Very interesting thread by 2 great BOTL's.

Greg you have one hell of a palette on you! :thumbs:

I can only dream of having a palate as great as Greg's one day

 

[Kingantz]

Stick No. 3​

Nice looking cigar with a maduro color wrapper and plenty of oils glistening. It’s very coarse with one prominent vein running the length and very firm when squeezed. I seemed to have left my punch knife on the dresser and didn’t feel like going back in, so clipped the head with my Palio. There’s a good resistance in the draw, possibly a tad bit on the tight side, but good nonetheless.

I put fire to the foot and away we go! First draw is a very mild body with no spice to be found. I’m not getting much flavor out of the smoke either, just a mild tobacco taste to begin with, however after a good half-inch in I start getting faint notes of earth, wood, and maybe toasted nuts. There’s a bittersweet taste on the lips as well, not entirely unpleasant.

The burn is sharp with a medium gray ash forming that is loose and flaky. Plenty of smoke is being produced and continues to be a mild-medium body with tastes of earth and leather with a hint of nuts, maybe a smidgen of cocoa coming through as well. The finish is very short and not too bad on the palate.

Halfway in and the burn continues to be sharp with a loose, flaky ash. There’s a small amount of white pepper spice on the back of the throat. The smoke is still mild to medium and there’s just not much by way of flavor coming through. Small hints of earth and leather with some nuttiness that I can only describe as somewhat lacking. I find nothing in the finish, a somewhat bitter aftertaste coming through.

I have to admit, things didn’t change much in the end. Good burn, flaky ash, flavors just not working out well at all with a sort of bitterness in the aftertaste. I started to put it down at about two inches but kept going, then finally letting it go at about an inch. I have to admit, this was not a good cigar for me. I’m also not sure what this cigar was to be honest. I’d say definitely NC, however what origin I’m completely clueless. Maybe Mexican/Sumatran? Ya got me on this one Jeff. Price point $3 to $4. I probably won’t be stocking up on these.

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[jlada]

Number 3 was a Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 Sungrown from the 2006 release.

Per this link, that means it was rolled in 2002.

Interesting review. I surely hope you didn't get "a dud" as this is nothing like how I would review this cigar.

Anyway, I really enjoy this cigar, but can never get ahold of many of them at once. The price tag is what really sets this cigar apart for me. For under $5, there's only a handful of others I'd rather smoke - maybe a Padron x000 maduro or an Oliva of some sort. I have a few left from 06/07/08 and don't really notice a significant difference between the three. I have them all marked, but if I un-celloed them, I'd probably never know which year is which.

Pity you didn't like it. You were close on the price, however.

Onward we go....

 

[Kingantz]

Wow. Maybe I just have a....weird palate.

 

[Kingantz]

Stick No. 4​

The wrapper is a golden brown, oily, and has a prominent vein working its way through the semi-smooth leaf. There’s only a slight give when squeezed and has a good weight in the hand. I punch the rough looking cap and find a draw that’s a little on the loose side but still has good enough resistance. The taste in the cold draw is of must and raw tobacco.

I put fire to the foot and find a nice spiciness in the medium bodied smoke. There’s a bit of musty flavor with faint tastes of ginger, wood, and leather. Hints of vanilla come through as well. The burn is good with a strong light gray ash forming. I’m not finding much in the finish unfortunately, a hint of nuttiness in the short aftertaste. The draw is spot on.

Halfway into the smoke, black pepper spice is coming through quite strong and still only faint hints of flavor come through; that of vanilla and toasted nuts. Still not much by way of a finish, my tongue is quite dry after exhaling smoke. The burn gets to one side, however corrects itself fairly quickly, and the ash has gotten quite flaky falling off rather easily. Loads of pepper is coming through.

Towards the end, loads of black pepper spice is still coming through with the smoke a medium body. I get a bittersweet flavor and that of charred tobacco. There’s still no finish to speak of, quite bland and dry on the palate. The burn has been good with the ash light gray and flaky. This basically lasted to the very end.

This cigar was full of spice and muted flavors, basically sweet with faint vanilla notes. Extremely short finish that left the palate dry. It did have a decent enough burn, however the ash became flaky and falling off easily. There was a good draw with plenty of smoke produced. Wasn’t a terrible smoke, however not something I will be looking for. I’m going to say this was Dominican, price point around $4 to $5.

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