The Results
I am recapping all of Andrew's reviews here, with the revelation of the actual cigar following after each review in
BOLD.
The Real Cigars!
Cigar #: 1
First 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the first 1/3rd of this cigar? 3/10 -- started off very bitter, which morphed into a sort of a oven cleaner aftertaste. Don't ask why I know what oven cleaner tastes like.
Middle 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the middle 1/3rd of this cigar? 5.5/10 the cigar smoothed out a bit after starting up nasty initially. This makes me think either the cigar is rather old, and has been stored poorly, or the cigar is very fresh. I'm leaning towards the former.
Final 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the final 1/3rd of this cigar? 5/10 -- still has hints of shoe polish, and reminds me of an old Opus X Fuente Fuente that I had which was stored badly and developed a nasty taste to it.
Summary: I could be completely wrong on this one... but it tasted sorta like an Opus gone really, really bad. I did not enjoy this cigar, and I wouldn't smoke it again. It finished better than it started, but that isn't much of a compliment.
Price: $9.50
Age: 8 years or more
Country of origin (optional): Dominican
Marca (optional): Opus X
Cigar #1 was actually a: Dominican Casa Fuente Corona Gorda from 2006. This was in fact the last one I had left from my first trip to Casa and I thought it fitting since you just gave me a box. I was surprised to hear of your thoughts on the cigar as negative, as I assure you they were stored in pristine condition since purchase and I smoked one last week that was excellent. I don't know what to say about that part. BUT excellent job on nailing the origin and even the marca!
Overall Score: 4.5/10
Actual Price: $18
Actual Age: 2006
Actual Country of Origin: Dominican
Actual Marca/Vitola: Arturo Fuente Casa Fuente Corona Gorda
Cigar #: 2
First 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the first 1/3rd of this cigar? 5/10 -- Nice musty, aged prelight smell to it. Initial puffs are a bit on the bitter side. I want to say immediately that it's a Cuban Bolivar, but it has a harsh edge that I wouldn't expect in that cigar. Not really digging the first 1/3rd much... it has potential, but is marred by a bitter aftertaste.
Middle 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the middle 1/3rd of this cigar? 5.5/10 -- Some decent earthy/mushroomy tastes with a slightly bitter anise. It's growing on me a bit, but still isn't something I'd reach for to smoke. It's not ready. I'm getting a bit of the same shoe polish aftertaste on this cigar as well... perhaps Phil stores his cigars in his shine box?
Final 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the final 1/3rd of this cigar? 6/10 -- finish is okay... nothing spectacular.
Summary: This cigar has potential, with some good flavors that are marred by a bit of a nasty aftertaste.
Price: $10
Age: 6 years
Country of origin (optional): unsure.gif
Marca (optional): unsure.gif
Cigar #2 was actually a: Cuban 1492 from the humidor (No 02468). To say I was surprised by your review on this one would be a GROSS understatement. Again, the source of this was 100% reliable and I have no doubt they have been stored perfectly for their whole life. Obviously this was the real reason for this review series. I wanted to give Andrew something he hadn't had, wasn't an easy one to come by AND that I could get him to smoke rather than saving for who knows when. To my knowledge there is NO actual review of this cigar on CP or CF, and I don't know if anyone in history has smoked one blind. Now you have! I doubt you will be buying a humi for 40k though after that review 
Pics below of the cigar and the band.
Overall Score: 5.5
Actualy Price: Priceless? $600+ a stick?
Actual Age: 17 years (1992 release)
Actual country of origin: Cuba
Actual Marca/Vitola: H Upmann Factory - 1492
igar #: 3
First 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the first 1/3rd of this cigar? 6/10 -- Smallish cigar with a dark wrapper, but I don't think it's a maduro. Slightly bitter when first lit, but it didn't have any nasty aftertaste (yay!) Decent cigar, straightforward leatherish taste.
Middle 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the middle 1/3rd of this cigar? 6.5/10 -- Cigar picked up a bit, developed into a decent tasting medium bodied cigar. Nothing exceptional with the taste; I'd hoped this would be a Cohiba Maduro, but it's the wrong size, and doesn't taste like it either. The cigar is just kinda there... not unpleasant, but nothing remarkable either.
Final 1/3rd: 1-10, 10 being the best... how good was the final 1/3rd of this cigar? 6.5/10 -- Again an unremarkable finish... I could take or leave this cigar.
Summary: Cigar seemed balanced, tasted decent... would be tempted to call it a custom rolled Cuban with forgettable tobacco in it, but I don't think that's what it is. Probably some middle of the road regular production cigar.
Price: $8
Age: 4 years
Country of origin (optional): unsure.gif
Marca (optional): unsure.gif
Edit to add: I should add that all 3 of these cigars were smoked while playing poker... they had my attention, but not my undivided attention. I wish the first one wasn't so nasty... the other two were just kinda "meh" for me, but I was losing @ poker, which might have tilted me too. wink.gif
Cigar #3 was actually: A Punch (mixed origin) London Club Maduro. This cigar came out of my first full box purchase and is from late 05 early 06. I put it in there for a) sentimental value and b) hoping it would outshine a 1492 because i am really fuckin sick. I was not disappointed!
Overall Score: 6.3~
Actual Price: $1
Actual Age: 3 years
Actual Country of origin: Dominica, Honduran, Nicaraguan
Actual Marca/Vitola: Punch London Club Maduro (NC)
The highest rated cigar in the test was both the cheapest and easiest to acquire. It was not Cuban, it doesn't come with a fancy band and it only takes maybe 30 minutes to smoke. I really chose the 2 ringer cigars because of sentimental value, this was a lot of fun! And with that I would love to hear any thought Andrew has post-game.
