Outlaw special release reviews (Updated 2/26/08)

[insight]

Thanks to the generousity of Smokyballs in this contest, I have been given the opportunity to try a number of the Outlaw special release cigars. I thought it might be interesting to do a running review here of the special releases as I smoke them. The lineup is the Outlaw LFD, Pepin/Padilla Salamone, Pepin/Padilla Figurado, Pepin/Padilla 6x60, the Outlaw Bad to the Bone Fonseca and the Cusano DSG. I am going to try and do one a week so I don't end up rushing through the reviews. I will post the first review later tonight, I decided to start big :thumbs:

 

[SammyP]

The Pepin/Padilla figurado is one fine little smoke. Its big brother, the 6X60, is a different animal entirely. I wish I'd gotten in on some of those LFD's....they look sweet.

Look forward to the reviews! :thumbs:

 

[insight]

Review #1: Bad to the Bone Pepin/Padilla Salomone

I had actually picked up a fiver of the little brother figurado to this cigar a bit back and hadn't brought myself to try one yet so I am really looking forward to this. This big perfecto looks amazing! I clipped off just a bit of the 'cap' with my palio, less than I usually would for a cigar like this. The prelight draw was fantastic, nice and firm but no plugging.

9:50 The Light

This thing lit like a champ, aided in part by the cute little cigar nipple. It started off quite a bit lighter than I was expecting actually. It reminded me of some of my other experience with larger ring gauge pepin's and brown label tatuajes (particularly the unicos).

10:20 First Ash

I lost the first bit of ash now after a couple of inches. The flavor is starting to pick up at this point. I exhaled a bit through the nose and detected a sweet, fruity flavor that I am definitely not used to from the Pepin's I have smoked in the past. It doesn't have the same bite yet that I am used to with Pepin's but it is beginning to remind me a bit of the Padilla Miami 8/11.

10:40

Wow this thing just changed entirely! The flavours got much deeper, lots of coffee and espresso. It sure tastes a lot different now than it did in the first third. Now my laptop battery is about to die so I will review the last third after and post pics.

11:20

What a finish! At about the halfway point this cigar totally changed gears on me. The familiar strength and complexity of the Pepin Garcia line kicked in. It was really like smoking an entirely different cigar from the first half and both parts were very enjoyable. I got it down to the last inch and decided to call it a night, I even got a little buzz at the end!

Conclusions

What a great start this was! I really enjoyed the light flavor for the first half of the cigar and I LOVED the power and complexity of the last half. I had pretty high expectations for this cigar and I was not disappointed. I would definitely smoke this one again and I am really excited now to see how the rest of the lineup is.

 

[cuppajack]

That sounds great, I can't wait to hear how it finished!

 

[davidr2340]

Great review bro!!!
This one should be a blast to watch!!!

Thanks!!! :thumbs:

 

[tkoepp]

Nice on Phil... keep them coming... Looking forward to the next one..

 

[Smokyballs]

I guess I should look over here a bit more often! Nice review! You guys are going to flip in a couple of months. We have a special pack of cigars coming that are going to consist of 8 special cigars that were available at one of our events or never available except for this pack! LFD,Camacho,Rocky Patel,Cusano,Padilla,Pepin,CAO and Fonseca! All unique blends, all Outlaw exclusives!

 

[davidr2340]

I guess I should look over here a bit more often! Nice review! You guys are going to flip in a couple of months. We have a special pack of cigars coming that are going to consist of 8 special cigars that were available at one of our events or never available except for this pack! LFD,Camacho,Rocky Patel,Cusano,Padilla,Pepin,CAO and Fonseca! All unique blends, all Outlaw exclusives!

I like how that sounds bro!!! :love:

 

[wanlail]

oh crap, smokey, can you wait until payday to release it?! :love:

 

[Smokyballs]

oh crap, smokey, can you wait until payday to release it?! :love:

We are waiting on Camacho so you got a little bit! Keep looking in the hot deals, we are going to make these available to everybody on pass!

 

[insight]

Review #2: Bad to the Bone Fonseca

Well I finally have the time to sit down and actually do a thoughtful review of this stick so here it goes. Sorry the pictures aren't to great but I had to hijack my mother-in-law's laptop and camera while smoking on her porch.

9:50 - The beginning

The cigar clipped with my palio with no problems. The pre-light draw is a little loose but nothing too extreme, with a very light nutty flavor to it. After toasting the foot a bit I
lit this sucker up. The burn has started off very even but the loose pre-light draw is persistent. I really don't have much to say about the beginning of this stick.

10:15 - First third

I just had the first bit of ash fall off and at about the same time so flavor finally started to come through. Tastes like very very light cocoa. I exhaled a little bit through the nose and it tasted like.... burning. The cigar is beginning to take on some character so I am interested to see where it will go from here.

10:40 - Second Third

The nutty flavor is back and the cocoa is gone. There is a very earthy flavor to it now but it remains really light. I have had to touch it up a little here and there but no catastrophes. It just began to pick up again at the halfway point, it is becoming more enjoyable although I can't really pick out flavor this or that at this point. It doesn't really remind me of other Fonseca's I have smoked at all, which imo is a good thing =)

11:15 - Final Lap

Yay! The cigar is finally beginning to show a little strength and spice. The flavor is still dominated by earthy and nutty tones but it is beginning to have some body to it. The earlier stages of the smoke were characterized by light, wispy smoke. Now it has gotten more dense, as is to be expected towards the end. At the last couple of inches the flavor has taken on a bitter taste, and even though I haven't been hotboxing the cigar the smoke is getting very hot.

Conclusions

This cigar was alright. Not really my style but not a bad cigar overall. Took just shy of 2 hours to finish it up. It was fairly one dimensional but if this flavor profile does it for you it would be a fine smoke. It definitely was better than the othe Fonsecas I have had but I still don't think I would add it into my smoking rotation. So in summary: Not a bad smoke but just not my style, your opinion may vary.

 

[tkoepp]

Thanks Phil, a good review on what seems a mediocre cigar.

 

[Smokyballs]

Review #2: Bad to the Bone Fonseca

Well I finally have the time to sit down and actually do a thoughtful review of this stick so here it goes. Sorry the pictures aren't to great but I had to hijack my mother-in-law's laptop and camera while smoking on her porch.

9:50 - The beginning

The cigar clipped with my palio with no problems. The pre-light draw is a little loose but nothing too extreme, with a very light nutty flavor to it. After toasting the foot a bit I
lit this sucker up. The burn has started off very even but the loose pre-light draw is persistent. I really don't have much to say about the beginning of this stick.

10:15 - First third

I just had the first bit of ash fall off and at about the same time so flavor finally started to come through. Tastes like very very light cocoa. I exhaled a little bit through the nose and it tasted like.... burning. The cigar is beginning to take on some character so I am interested to see where it will go from here.

10:40 - Second Third

The nutty flavor is back and the cocoa is gone. There is a very earthy flavor to it now but it remains really light. I have had to touch it up a little here and there but no catastrophes. It just began to pick up again at the halfway point, it is becoming more enjoyable although I can't really pick out flavor this or that at this point. It doesn't really remind me of other Fonseca's I have smoked at all, which imo is a good thing =)

11:15 - Final Lap

Yay! The cigar is finally beginning to show a little strength and spice. The flavor is still dominated by earthy and nutty tones but it is beginning to have some body to it. The earlier stages of the smoke were characterized by light, wispy smoke. Now it has gotten more dense, as is to be expected towards the end. At the last couple of inches the flavor has taken on a bitter taste, and even though I haven't been hotboxing the cigar the smoke is getting very hot.

Conclusions

This cigar was alright. Not really my style but not a bad cigar overall. Took just shy of 2 hours to finish it up. It was fairly one dimensional but if this flavor profile does it for you it would be a fine smoke. It definitely was better than the othe Fonsecas I have had but I still don't think I would add it into my smoking rotation. So in summary: Not a bad smoke but just not my style, your opinion may vary.

You need to try another one. I wonder if I know anyone that could make that happen...

 

[insight]

Review #3 Pepin/Padilla 6x60

Ok I am doing this one a little bit differently. I didn't have a laptop with me since I was over at a buddy's place so I have had a little time to contemplate the cigar. I am also just going to review by thirds.

The Beginning

I was both excited for and a little intimidated by this cigar. This is one big ring bastard of a cigar! Let me elaborate: my Palio wouldn't even fit around it. I was able to clip the cap off but just barely. The prelight draw was very easy, a little loose but that is to be expected with a cigar with such a big ring gauge. It had a very earthy tobacco flavor to it with something about it that reminded me of the barnyard elements you often find in habanos.

First Third

The cigar started off with a light woody flavor. There was a little touching up required for the first couple of inches but nothing serious. The woody/tobacco flavor was persistent for the entire first third of the cigar. It was fairly mellow but very pleasant, not at all rough. I was able to exhale through the nose with no harshness. I decided to ease into this one more than I usually would given its size, I wanted to give the flavor some time to develop.

Second Third

The ash dropped just as the cigar moved into the second third. The earthy flavors remained but with a little more punch to them than in the first couple of inches of the cigar. It remained very smooth and started to take on some light coffee flavors. Not like drinking a shot of espresso mind you, more like a latte. Almost like clockwork at the halfway point the flavor changed gears. It took on the dark, rich flavor I am growing very accustomed to in the second half of larger gauge Pepins.

Final Third and Conclusions

The last third, and really the last half, of this cigar was characterized by dark cocoa and coffee flavors. The earth-tobacco overtones remained but they were not dominant. The flavor in general, although milder and not quite as complex, was reminiscent of the Pepin/Padilla Salamone. I smoked it down to the last inch or so and then it just tasted like burning so I let it go. Although it wasn't quite as strong or complex as the salamone, I really enjoyed this cigar. I believe the uniform shape of the 6x60 plays a big part in how my experience with this cigar varied from the salamone. The total smoking time was roughly an hour and a half but I am sure I would have smoked it quicker if I didn't have a massive propane heater (see above) keeping me happy and warm. In summary, I would gladly smoke this stick again and I am definitely looking forward to trying the pepin/padilla figurado next week.

 

[OpusXKC]

This is a nice set of reviews. All of these smokes are great and your descriptions are very complimentary to the experience.

Got to love this. It reminds me of a Ralph Wiggum quote :laugh: :

... it just tasted like burning...

 

[tasman]

Can't wait to see the sampler!! :thumbs:

Just might have to give the shop a phone call a little later!

 

[Smokyballs]

Can't wait to see the sampler!! :thumbs:

Just might have to give the shop a phone call a little later!

The samplers are done and are available. We should be posting something very shortly in the buy/trade section. They are $100. If you want one of these and you can't wait til we post it, PM THEOUTLAWCIGARCO.

 

[jfields]

Now I know where my money keeps going...................................It's due to brothers like Brad & Phil, with these nice reviews and, generous offers. :thumbs:
Ok! I'm gonna bite, PM sent to the Outlaw cigar Co. Sheez, I tell ya! :blush:

 

[insight]

Review #4 Bad to the Bone Pepin/Padilla Figurado

Let me explain something right here. About halfways into this review I lost the document I was typing my notes in. So I am going to skip a little bit of the fluff and get to the point since I hate typing shit twice.

The beginning and First Third

Damn good. I have really been looking forward to trying this stick ever since the salamone. I started with high expectations and hoped to be impressed. The construction on this cigar is great, with a cute little cigar nipple to aid in my clumsy lighting process. The first third of the cigar was on/off spicy and notably strong. It had a woody taste to it and definitely more of an initial kick than its big brother.

Will post this now and edit as I move along to avoid human error

Second Third

Mmmm yummy. This has a lot of familiar flavors in it, fitting well into the Pepin profile. In contrast to the salamone, there was no easing into the strength and powerful flavor of this cigar. The woody flavor is still very much there, but it is accompanied by the deeper coffee-ish flavors I found in the second half of the big boy. This is really a fantastic stick after a week of mediocrity due to a cold. The draw is nice and firm, and the ash held together fairly well considering I was resting it on my palio on and off (about 2 inches before the first dump).

Final Third

When I was talking about this cigar earlier in chat indyrob mentioned Oak flavors, which is something I never really thought of as a way to describe a cigar. I now see what he meant. The cigar has a very deep, dark woody flavor at this point. It needed a little touching up just into the last third but nothing too big. It has taken me exactly 45 minutes to get to the point where I need to take the band off. It feels like it is smoking fairly quickly but the smoke isn't too hot and it is still very pleasant. Because I lack fingers of steel I had to put this thing down at the nub, but I would gladly keep going.

Conclusions

Mmmm good. See the picture above for my opinion. Although I think I would still place the salamone above the figurado in terms of my preferences, this was a fantastic cigar. The flavor profile didn't change all that much but it was a good profile so I don't have a problem with that . I am very glad I picked up a fiver of these a while back and I am looking forward to seeing how age affects them. And then there were two....

 

[indyrob]

:thumbs: on all the reviews bubba!