Swissy
Livin' the retired life!
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2005
- Messages
- 4,610
well, after sitting in the chat room today and talking a little about the Ashton ESG, I got the bug to fire one up! So, here we go...
first off, ambience. Fall day, cool and windy. But spectacular! Wife was sent off to work so it was just the pups and I. Sitting on the back deck, with a Capt'n Morgans and Coke.
Not too bad, hmmm? :laugh:
So I grabbed a ESG and looked at it. Overall, a rather nice looking cigar! The wrapper was smooth, slightly dark, and no cracks, blemishes or other problems. I choose a V-cut for this, and it went smoothly. No loose debris, so a test draw was called for. Nice... smooth draw with no plug, or none too loose either. So flame was made, and the foot toasted. A nice aroma ensued, and that was the first clue to the dogs that something new was afoot! They got interested, but more on this later. Now the flame was put to the cigar, and a test puff. Nice... nice smoke, nice flavor, nice all around. But that was it... just 'nice'. Not 'fantastic'. Not 'Wow'. Not 'Holy Cow'! Just nice... but nice is good!
So I'm still in the chat room with kfj, and later tkoepp and boonedoggle came in. The cigar was quite nice (there's that word again) - but the first inch or so it seemed like there was a lack of smoke- I had to puff, then puff again to get a good volume. That's probably my fault, as it didn't get a lot of time to rest in my humi. But the taste was pretty nice ( :laugh: ) - somewhat zesty, spicy, whatever. Just not a lot, but enough to tell.
The next inch was better- the smoke came easier, and the flavor got somewhat stronger. It was not quite as good as a VSG, or a 858SG, but it was not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination. It was not a strong cigar... more like a medium bodied? I never got a buzz, or any light headedness at all from it.
The ash was nice and tight, and the burn was even and never had to be touched up. It was fairly breezy out, so the ash tended to drop off frequently. After that first inch, the smoke came easier and with more volume, but was never a 'cloud of smoke' producer (I like that in a cigar...)
The middle of the cigar was more of the same... nice and pleasant, but never got any stronger or more flavorful.
The last few inches, I noticed the taste was getting stronger, but with that came a more 'ashy' taste. That subdued itself in the last inch, but by then the wind had picked up, the temp had dropped (more...) and I was ready to go in. I did not nub it, but got to within an inch of the end.
MY opinion of this cigar was that it is a good cigar... probably a very good cigar. BUT... the hype, and the cost, detracted from it somewhat. Is it worth the cost right now? No, I don't think so. Would I buy more? If the price dropped some, yes I would. I also have a couple more of these, and I'll put them away for this summer and later, to see if they improve with any age.
now... my DOGS opinion! :laugh: Well, all I can say is that they behaved the same way they did when I smoked a Casa Fuente awhile ago - they both were ALL over me, trying to get to it. Porter, I know, is a cigar snob... he only like the best, or so it seems. However, Amber has never shown any interest in them. She actually stays away from me most times. But even this time, she was in close trying to get the taste!
So, there must be something to these cigars! So, I'll revisit them with some age and see what happens.
first off, ambience. Fall day, cool and windy. But spectacular! Wife was sent off to work so it was just the pups and I. Sitting on the back deck, with a Capt'n Morgans and Coke.
Not too bad, hmmm? :laugh: 
So I grabbed a ESG and looked at it. Overall, a rather nice looking cigar! The wrapper was smooth, slightly dark, and no cracks, blemishes or other problems. I choose a V-cut for this, and it went smoothly. No loose debris, so a test draw was called for. Nice... smooth draw with no plug, or none too loose either. So flame was made, and the foot toasted. A nice aroma ensued, and that was the first clue to the dogs that something new was afoot! They got interested, but more on this later. Now the flame was put to the cigar, and a test puff. Nice... nice smoke, nice flavor, nice all around. But that was it... just 'nice'. Not 'fantastic'. Not 'Wow'. Not 'Holy Cow'! Just nice... but nice is good!
So I'm still in the chat room with kfj, and later tkoepp and boonedoggle came in. The cigar was quite nice (there's that word again) - but the first inch or so it seemed like there was a lack of smoke- I had to puff, then puff again to get a good volume. That's probably my fault, as it didn't get a lot of time to rest in my humi. But the taste was pretty nice ( :laugh: ) - somewhat zesty, spicy, whatever. Just not a lot, but enough to tell.
The next inch was better- the smoke came easier, and the flavor got somewhat stronger. It was not quite as good as a VSG, or a 858SG, but it was not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination. It was not a strong cigar... more like a medium bodied? I never got a buzz, or any light headedness at all from it.
The ash was nice and tight, and the burn was even and never had to be touched up. It was fairly breezy out, so the ash tended to drop off frequently. After that first inch, the smoke came easier and with more volume, but was never a 'cloud of smoke' producer (I like that in a cigar...)
The middle of the cigar was more of the same... nice and pleasant, but never got any stronger or more flavorful.
The last few inches, I noticed the taste was getting stronger, but with that came a more 'ashy' taste. That subdued itself in the last inch, but by then the wind had picked up, the temp had dropped (more...) and I was ready to go in. I did not nub it, but got to within an inch of the end.
MY opinion of this cigar was that it is a good cigar... probably a very good cigar. BUT... the hype, and the cost, detracted from it somewhat. Is it worth the cost right now? No, I don't think so. Would I buy more? If the price dropped some, yes I would. I also have a couple more of these, and I'll put them away for this summer and later, to see if they improve with any age.
now... my DOGS opinion! :laugh: Well, all I can say is that they behaved the same way they did when I smoked a Casa Fuente awhile ago - they both were ALL over me, trying to get to it. Porter, I know, is a cigar snob... he only like the best, or so it seems. However, Amber has never shown any interest in them. She actually stays away from me most times. But even this time, she was in close trying to get the taste!
So, there must be something to these cigars! So, I'll revisit them with some age and see what happens.
