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Pueblo Dominicano (Serires ll)

Saxjazzman

Active Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
2,505
This thread will review:

Name: Pueblo Dominicano (Series ll)....Belicoso # 1
Size: 6.25 x 52
Wrapper: DR Natural
Binder: DR
Filler: DR
MSRP: 20 cigars in a BOX for $200.00
Price Payed: $52
Stated Strength: Med
Comments: This is a DR puro made by La Aurora Factory and blended by Jose Blanco. This cigar until recently sold for $100+ a box but is now on closeout sale. This is a one time blend until the next in the series comes out. These cigars were purchased 8 months ago.



For original thread discussion see Start Up Thread


To keep it standard, we would rate the cigars in three categories.

A) Appearance--How the cigar looks, how the pre-light smell is, the wrapper, etc.

B) Taste---How is the taste? Spicy, strong, bland, airball, etc. How did the taste progress, etc.

C) Construction---How did the cigar perform in terms of draw, burn, ash, etc.

To rate the cigars we would use a number from 5 to 10, 5 being one you would not even give Fidel to smoke and ten being a damm good cigar. The final rating number would be determined by the following:

A + B + (1.5)C divided by 3.5. This is similar to how Cigar Magazine does it but it is a little different. I realize that this is not perfect and there may be better ways but this would work also. Thanks for the reviews!!
 
After choking down the La Gran Fubar earlier today, I figured that I was primed to try another stick tonight and that odds were that I was probably going to like it--relatively speaking at least.

Appearance/Initial Inspection: It smelled woody to me. It had a few tough looking veins and a couple rough spots in the outer leaf. It was light to medium brown with a remarkably pointy tip. It was uniformly firm to the touch throughout. The band is very much like Padron's security/anti-counterfeiting underlabel. It even had a batch number for authenticity's sake (although I suspect that they all bear this number). This specimen was from batch number 521-529. The band was also reminiscent of a Rocky Patel The Edge band, although not nearly to the degree of similarity to Padron's.

Taste: At 8:59 PM I gave it a snip with the Xicar. Perfect cut. Prelight draw was fairly loose and I still was getting a woody sort of taste.

It lit up uniformly and easily, and early pulls kept on with the wood theme. I can't place it any closer than that. It developed into a good medium-bodied kick early on. I had a few quick stabs of an unknown fruitiness at about the 1" mark, but they were fleeting, never to return. It picked up intensity into a strong medium or weak full bodied profile. Somewhere right at the threshold between the two. It's mildly spitty for a short spell. I'm reminded of some other stick, but I can't quite place it. I've consulted my journal and I just can't put my finger on it. Sorry. Towards the end of the first third it's a trifle spicy in a Mexican food/jalapeño sort of way, but that could have been an artifact of my dinner I suppose.

During the second third, it mellowed out a little bit but didn't diminish in flavor at all, although I can't really describe the flavor as anything other than tobacco. The smoke was a little rough on the nose, but not savage. Later on I got a bit of a rich, coffee-ish aftertaste, and still later a sort of hot, rich creme like the white center of those caramel cream bulls-eye candies.

The last third featured a pleasant, sharp aftertaste which I can't really characterize much better than that, along with some mild numbness to the tip of my tongue. The spittiness cooled off from here on out, which is unusual, at least for me. If a cigar is going to get spitty, it usually intensifies at the end rather than tapering off. I wouldn't go so far as to say I caught a buzz from this cigar, but it's plainly obvious to me that there's a good deal of nicotine involved here. The tip of my tongue intensifies a little more as the butt winds down.

I didn't have a beverage accompaniment, but I think a good, sturdy brown liquor would go perfectly with this cigar. I'd be curious about what a little more down time might do.

Construction: Early on, a little flap from the cap was loose and annoying me. I was walking the dogs at the time, so I didn't want to fiddle with it using my bare hands and risk mutilating it, and by the time I got home, the problem had rectified itself somehow. There was some mild canoeing towards the end of the first third but it self-corrected.

The ash was healthy and firm for the first third until it seemed to almost hit a fault line of sorts, at which point it basically just fell into the ashtray with no effort. In the middle it got a little tough to draw and sort of struggled a bit, but a quick touchup got everything back on track.

The last third saw an evening out of the burn, and a firm butt which was a welcome relief compared to the sloppiness of the La Gran Fubar from earlier. The cut remained exactly as precise and level at the end as at the beginning. I put it down with about 3/4" left at 10:08 for a total duration of an hour and nine minutes.

Grades:
Appearance: 8.0
It didn't make me drool, but I'd say it was better than the middle of the road.
Taste: 8.0 Very rich and flavorful, but fairly straight forward.
Construction: 8.0 Just a few touch ups required. The firmness impressed me, as did the unchanging cut/head.

Total: 8.0 It came as no surprise to me that these were from a well-known source. At $2.60 apiece, these are a great bargain--they'd still be a good deal at twice the price. I wouldn't be surprised if the relative simplicity might get boring after a while, but I'd confidently recommend a four-way box split to anyone who likes a medium/full bodied smoke.

It was 84* F and 82% humidity (heat index of 93) at the time I smoked it, and I don't think I'd advise smoking this stick in any warmer or muggier conditions than that. It was almost a little much.
 
Thanks for this damm good review. This cigar is one closeout sale for a little more than $50 per box. I think some down time would also improve this blend. Again, thanks for the great review!!
 
Great review TGM, thanks. And you might be on to something with that after-taste of jalapeno...did you have any blackened sausage with that? :laugh:
 
Nice review! I'm not sure whether I'm more impressed with your review, or by the fact that you finished this off in 82% relative humidity! Thanks :thumbs:
 
Good review. I've smoked these. First one came from Merkinmullet with a few other smokes. I liked it enough to get a box for driving, etc. I thought that it was really a fine deal at the discounted rate.
I suppose they'll soon be gone for good.
 
Like the Monk and the Monkey said, a quite acceptable $2.50 smoke. They are in the same ballpark as something like a Padron 2000, Patel Sun Grown or Gurkha Ledgend . Maybe eighth in the line up in the mindless daily smoke batting order. This stick bats .280, hits 10 HR, 70 RBI, 23 SB and plays well in the field. A good yard cigar for sure. Needless to say the auction price (a year ago) was substantially below the MSRP. Besides I haven't really had anything from La Aurora that has been schwag.

Oh, great reviews on the two bargain smokes, btw.
 
:rolleyes: Saxjazzman, I think that you got your facts a bit wrong, first of all the Pueblo Dominicano series both of them were limited editions, and to my knowledge they were never discounted, we are working on the new Pueblo Dominicano 111, that to be honest is a power house with a ton of flavor, if youu need any more information please let me know, take care. :D
 
I love these things, they will always have a place in my humidor. Very consistent, very flavorful smoke. It's a "go to" cigar for me. I always know what I'm going to get when I pick one to smoke.

Looking forward to the PD III. Didn't even hear that was coming...
 
A) Appearance: Nice looking belicoso with light brown wrapper that had a few black specks in it. No prominent veins sticking out, quite smooth with a faint bit of oil noticeable. It had a band reminiscent of a padron OR with a “BATCH No” which is the same on all. Foot had what looked like nice bunching and the weight was good in the hand. No real smell to it and pre-light draw was what tasted of stale tobacco. (7.8)

B) Taste: Once toasted and fire put to it, I got a medium, faintly spicy smoke with flavor of light wood, however I was also getting that stale tobacco flavor that I got from pre-draw. It remained medium with a touch of spice through the first third with a faint woody flavor somewhere in there. I was somewhat reminded of a Padron x000 series with this. However, it was just barely missing something. Flavors remained consistent and pretty much one dimensional throughout. (7)

C) Construction: Draw was a wee bit loose, however not so loose as to cause problems. There was a spot right above the band that got missing, no idea how it happened, however again nothing that caused problems. The stick burned well with no running/tunneling throughout and the ash was a light/whitish gray the whole way. It actually held on almost the entire smoke. (7.7)

Overall not a bad smoke. Good as far as strength and spice and although the flavor wasn't bad, I found it to be somewhat lacking. I could almost get that extra something I was looking for, however it just never came through for me.

(A) 7.8
(B) 7
© 7.7

Total 7.53

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:rolleyes: Saxjazzman, I think that you got your facts a bit wrong, first of all the Pueblo Dominicano series both of them were limited editions, and to my knowledge they were never discounted, we are working on the new Pueblo Dominicano 111, that to be honest is a power house with a ton of flavor, if youu need any more information please let me know, take care. :D

Getting my facts wrong is always a strong possibility. I deduced my information from what they were selling for a year a go to what they are selling for now but my deduction could be off base. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. That is what makes this site so strong. By having input from a lot of people we really push out good information on our hobby. Thanks again!!
 
I enjoy the Series II now and then. Find to be a nice change of pace for me. Got them on Cbid for around $40.00 per box. That's about what their worth.
 
Nice reviews guys!. I've had a few of these and really liked them. Smooth, creamy Dominican profile with no off flavors you sometimes find in the less expensive honduran and nic smokes.
 
I finished the second one of these tonight. I wish there was a third or fourth of these...a good cigar!

A) Appearance: The look of this one is pretty simple with a smooth light brown wrapper. Not much texture to the wrapper either, just smooth and clean. I did have some oil on the outside that gave it a nice sheen. The smell was pretty mild to almost non-existent. There were not problems with any of the appearance aspects and this one comes in above average. (8.0)

B) Taste: The pre-light draw gave a simple taste of mild tobacco. Upon lighting this one gave an immediate flavor of earth and light wood. Nothing that is going to knock your socks off but the taste is there. I could stand a bit more spice in this one but the smoke was pleasant. All in all, if you are looking for a decent mild flavor, you will like this one. Also, I should note that the flavor stays consistent from start to finish. I smoked these down beyond the label and they never turned bitter or nasty. I will put this one above average again. (8)

C) Construction: Nice even burn, good firm feel, good hold of ash. The draw was firm and whoever makes these knows what they are doing. Again, just a bit above average. (8)

This is a good smoke. Certainly above average. At the price point this was a steal! I hate that I cannot get my hands on some because the price was right and this was a very nice offering.


A) 8
B) 8
C) 8

Total: 8
 
Finally I get a chance to make good on my promise to SJM. I’ve smoked through all the “budget” cigars once, made my notes, and am now going through them again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Summarizing two reviews into one makes for a shorter review; sorry for the briefness.


Name: Pueblo Dominicano (Series ll)....Belicoso # 1
Size: 6.25 x 52
Wrapper: DR Natural
Binder: DR
Filler: DR

A) Appearance: Good looking cigar with minimal veins and an oily sheen to it. Well-bunched with no soft or hard spots. Light brown with a few scattered dark spots. Appetizing…(8.2).

B) Taste: Pre-light draw didn’t afford much…light woody taste at best. It’s definitely looser than I like (the story of my life :whistling: ). Decent tobacco flavor with a woody/earthier note at the forefront. Good medium body smoke that doesn’t burn the nose at all. Somewhat pleasant to exhale this way.

Halfway through, the flavors began to intensify (not by much) which made me notice the cigar a little more. So far, there hadn’t been much excitement to grab my attention. Great tobacco flavors starting to pick up steam. Thought for a second I had grabbed a Padron 4000 until I concentrated on the aftertaste. Not the greatest but I’ve definitely had much worse. This may be due to the near 110% humidity here in mid-Missouri. Finish wasn’t overly powerful as I had expected; it was rather clean. Impressive…(7.5).

C) Construction: Well-made with no running, tunneling, or cracking. Ashed twice before nubbing and it had a nice looking gray ash to boot. Only downfall was the loose draw. Better than middle of the road…(7.7).

Overall, the taste was much better (and fuller) than expected…I guess I don‘t expect much from a “budget gar“. Both times I smoked this little guy, I thought to myself how strange that I hadn’t heard more about these. Great price point for what you get, IMO. I’d bet that these get much better with age, too.

A) 8.2
B) 7.5
C) 7.7

Total: 7.8 :thumbs:


Derek


PS - Pics in post #10 above
 
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