I got a 10 pack of these a couple weeks ago from CI and have been itching to try these out....after smoking a few of them now,i must say, for the money, they do impress!!
Construction: Freakin FLAWLESS!! I wouldnt hesitate for one second to say the construction on these are that of super premiums and maybe even a little nicer. At 5.0 X 52, its a typical sided robusto. Almost no veins despite being a DARK chocolatly maduro. The label is pretty large, but attractive...almost reminds me of a willie wonka "golden ticket"...lots of gold and black and done fairly classy. The cap was so carefully applied that there was almost no visable seam and it flowed right into the rest of the cigar like some sort of swiss design.
Prelight: Lots of cedar flavor and a little peppery. Most maduros ive had have always never really been spicey on the prelight draw and are usually sweet, but this one had a good bite to it.
Light and first impressions: I dont use a punch cutter that often, but have been using one frequently lately so i put it to it and exposed a good draw...perhaps a tiny bit on the heavy side but not enough to have to put your suckerfish face on. Toasted the foot with my torch and started puffin away. My first thoughts on it are pretty mild for a maduro...not nearly as sweet and chocolaty as most, but still, very smooth with no bitter tastes or harshness at all and it did hang on to a little bit of the cedar from the prelight. LOTS of thick creamy smoke from this bad boy!
On down the line: The halfway mark, things got interesting. It took a complete turn from its beginning...lots of chocolate, sweet with a little bit of a almond finish. Very tasty, very smooth and VERY enjoyable. The first ash didnt fall off till the cigar was nearly at the halfway point despite me being a little bit active while smoking it. A nice light grey and very solid ash was produced that was a little flakey in a couple spots. The draw only got better as the cigar continued to burn. At the halfway point, it was what i would consider the "perfect" draw...just enough to ever so gently put it to your lips and puff lightly. Burn was mostly even all the way to the 1" mark where i let it die...had one spot that started to slow, but corrected it self eventually.
Overall, for the price of these, about 2.50-3 bucks a stick, they are FANTASTIC!! IMO, they put alot of 10-15 dollar cigars to shame not only in taste, but construction and smoking qualities. I would give this a solid 90+ for a rating! These are a MUST try for anyone who loves DARK maduros!
Construction: Freakin FLAWLESS!! I wouldnt hesitate for one second to say the construction on these are that of super premiums and maybe even a little nicer. At 5.0 X 52, its a typical sided robusto. Almost no veins despite being a DARK chocolatly maduro. The label is pretty large, but attractive...almost reminds me of a willie wonka "golden ticket"...lots of gold and black and done fairly classy. The cap was so carefully applied that there was almost no visable seam and it flowed right into the rest of the cigar like some sort of swiss design.
Prelight: Lots of cedar flavor and a little peppery. Most maduros ive had have always never really been spicey on the prelight draw and are usually sweet, but this one had a good bite to it.
Light and first impressions: I dont use a punch cutter that often, but have been using one frequently lately so i put it to it and exposed a good draw...perhaps a tiny bit on the heavy side but not enough to have to put your suckerfish face on. Toasted the foot with my torch and started puffin away. My first thoughts on it are pretty mild for a maduro...not nearly as sweet and chocolaty as most, but still, very smooth with no bitter tastes or harshness at all and it did hang on to a little bit of the cedar from the prelight. LOTS of thick creamy smoke from this bad boy!
On down the line: The halfway mark, things got interesting. It took a complete turn from its beginning...lots of chocolate, sweet with a little bit of a almond finish. Very tasty, very smooth and VERY enjoyable. The first ash didnt fall off till the cigar was nearly at the halfway point despite me being a little bit active while smoking it. A nice light grey and very solid ash was produced that was a little flakey in a couple spots. The draw only got better as the cigar continued to burn. At the halfway point, it was what i would consider the "perfect" draw...just enough to ever so gently put it to your lips and puff lightly. Burn was mostly even all the way to the 1" mark where i let it die...had one spot that started to slow, but corrected it self eventually.
Overall, for the price of these, about 2.50-3 bucks a stick, they are FANTASTIC!! IMO, they put alot of 10-15 dollar cigars to shame not only in taste, but construction and smoking qualities. I would give this a solid 90+ for a rating! These are a MUST try for anyone who loves DARK maduros!
