I'm quite the newb. I've stayed out of reviewing for a while because I wanted to get a lot of smokes under my belt and develop my pallete. I guess it has been long enough, and it's time for me to start contributing a little more.
This was one of the few impulse buys I've made at the B&M. The new guy that works there said it was his favorite cigar of all time, and the somewhat imposing nature of its appearance led me to give it a try. For those that haven't seen these, they are quite impressive looking. This one was a very large ring gauge (around 60 I believe) and about 6 inches long. The wrapper has moderate veins and is very close to the color of charcoal.
The pre-light draw was OK. Nothing really stood out except for a rather strong spice. I lit it up, and was greeted by a suprisingly medium-bodied flavor full of spice and cocoa. The spice settled down quickly, and the cocoa stuck around for about an inch of burn. After the first inch, those flavors became rather subdued. The cigar became stronger, and rather one-dimensional. I don't want to say it was flat, but it definately could have had some more going on considering it was a $13 stick.
The cigar produced plenty of smoke, although it was a little wispy at times. The burn was decent, but nothing amazing. The strength of the cigar snuck up on me. I got up to help the wife around the halfway mark and felt fine. I got up at the end.... and headed straight for the sugar. "Cuban Vertigo" is not a lot of fun, but I didn't get sick and it was no big deal.
Overall, I found that this stick left a lot to be desired in terms of flavor. I don't think it was worth the price of admission, but it was still a decent smoke. There are plenty of other cigars I would readily smoke that come at a price-point half of this cigar's. If you're looking for a very strong, mildly interesting cigar, give it a shot. If you are looking to spend $13 on a great stick, look elsewhere.
D
This was one of the few impulse buys I've made at the B&M. The new guy that works there said it was his favorite cigar of all time, and the somewhat imposing nature of its appearance led me to give it a try. For those that haven't seen these, they are quite impressive looking. This one was a very large ring gauge (around 60 I believe) and about 6 inches long. The wrapper has moderate veins and is very close to the color of charcoal.
The pre-light draw was OK. Nothing really stood out except for a rather strong spice. I lit it up, and was greeted by a suprisingly medium-bodied flavor full of spice and cocoa. The spice settled down quickly, and the cocoa stuck around for about an inch of burn. After the first inch, those flavors became rather subdued. The cigar became stronger, and rather one-dimensional. I don't want to say it was flat, but it definately could have had some more going on considering it was a $13 stick.
The cigar produced plenty of smoke, although it was a little wispy at times. The burn was decent, but nothing amazing. The strength of the cigar snuck up on me. I got up to help the wife around the halfway mark and felt fine. I got up at the end.... and headed straight for the sugar. "Cuban Vertigo" is not a lot of fun, but I didn't get sick and it was no big deal.
Overall, I found that this stick left a lot to be desired in terms of flavor. I don't think it was worth the price of admission, but it was still a decent smoke. There are plenty of other cigars I would readily smoke that come at a price-point half of this cigar's. If you're looking for a very strong, mildly interesting cigar, give it a shot. If you are looking to spend $13 on a great stick, look elsewhere.
D
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