The first of the "Newbie Reviews" are in, so let's see how they did:
Q The Cop's review
Many thanks to Jack Straw for the chance to do this Newbie Blind Cigar Review. I think it’s gonna turn out to be a lot of fun, and teach me a little humility because I’m sure I know nothing about cigars that I think I do. So here it goes…
Cigar marked as #1
The wrapper on this was a very nice medium brown, with minimal veins. It had a very small pinhole about half way down, but it wasn’t anything to worry over. A very nice looking stick overall. It looked like about a robusto size, though I could be wrong.
The pre-light draw and aroma had a slight tanginess to it. Other than that it had a very faint tobacco taste to it. The draw was great, in part because the whole head was clipped off to hide the cap. I actually had to look closely at it to see which end to light. Time to fire this puppy up!
The first third, I tasted that tanginess… and it was good! A lot spice on the back of the throat and through the sinuses too. I tasted a slight roasted coffee flavor in the background. The ash was nice and whitish-gray, though it was a bit flaky, but it wasn’t a big deal as it didn’t fall all over the place. The burn through the first third was a little uneven but not enough to pull out the lighter. I would describe the strength as medium to medium-full.
In the second third the spice kicked up about 5 notches, and a slight woody flavor crept in to the already apparent roasted coffee and tangy flavor. The burn evened itself out and stayed sharp till the end. Other than that it didn’t really change that much.
In the final third the spice and the body backed off a bit. It felt like it was at a good medium range. But all the flavors remained.
If I had to guess I would say it’s an NC cigar, and the country of origin would probably be Nicaragua. I say this because it almost tasted like a DPG blend of some sort. I’m sure I am WAY off with this speculation, but hey: “My name’s Keith Quattrocchi, and I’m a Newbie!”
pembroke3355's review
I smoked cigar #1 tonight. The cigar was a good looking stick that was silky to the touch. It was very firm with no soft spots. It was a medium brown with the slightest tint of red in the wrapper. There was a pretty good crack in the wrapper near the foot but I got through it. I was drinking ginger ale while smoking this stick(your coffee which is excellent would have had me banging off the walls tonight. :laugh:
I thought there might be a draw problem due to the very firm nature of this cigar. The pre-light draw was good with a woody tobacco taste.
The 1st third of the cigar was a little tough due to the split wrapper had to do a couple of touch ups. I found the first 3rd to be medium to full body with a tangy type of spice to it(very pleasant). The draw was excellent with plenty of smoke. The smell was a pleasant aroma.
The second third became less tangy with more of a woody and rich tobacco taste. The burn became much better also as I finally got past the split. Smell stayed the same very pleasant.
The last third the spice kicked in and was more of a peppery spice. It became more full bodied but nothing to strong. The smell still was pleasant but not as pronounced as earlier.
I found the ash to be a light to medium Grey that seemed flaky but held well.
I would say this was a non Cuban. I would guess it was Nicaraguan. It reminded me of a Tatuaje Havana VI or possibly a Pepin.
I really enjoyed this stick. It is right up my ally a good medium to full bodied smoke without being overly strong.
SPIVY's review
Cigar 1:
The cigar was smoked on a walk with the dog. A few things to note about the cigar: Very smooth with few prominent veins, slight box press, a bit oily. It also smelled very pleasant. The smoke started off very mellow and then hit with a strong punch of spice. Very well balanced cigar. It burned very evenly after the foot was torched. It had a medium amount of smoke for this spicy cigar, but I may be wrong since it was on a walk.
Once I got past the first inch, some leathery characteristics came out, and rounded out till the very end. It had a tight but easy draw, and was easy to smoke. It was a cigar that you can enjoy with some friends. It made me think of a couple Cubans that I particularly like, but something tells me that it may be a Nicaraguan.
I would rank it 7.0/10 and a price of 8-10 USD. I would def smoke more of these.
They all found it to be a bit spicy and probably Nicaraguan, actually it was:
Cigar #1 - an Opus X XxX more commonly referred to as the "Power Ranger" from 2007
Dominican Republic made by Fuente
Rosado wrapper and binder
filler - Opus X blend
I figured this would be an easy one, as that peppery, Opus spice is fairly recognizable, but I have to admit after smoking one the other evening, a couple years of age do mellow them out quite a bit.
Great job guys!! Now on to #2!!
