thechenman
No One of Consequence
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2009
- Messages
- 3,201
Cigar: TRINIDAD REYES
Vitola: Reyes
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Box Code: Unknown – Purchased as a single (likely '07 - '08)
Price: $7.75 (USD)
Ring Gauge: 40
Length: 4.3 inches
Body: Medium
Pairing: Heineken Light
Location: Outdoors – On my front porch.
Date/Time: Saturday, August 29[sup]th[/sup], 2009 @ 10:30pm EDT
Environment: It was a fairly cool evening, probably in the mid-60s (fahrenheit), and less humid than I had expected. I was expecting more rain with a Tropical Storm Danny passing by the Northeast, but that didn't happen. So much the better, as I really hate smoking outside when it is too humid (it really has a negative affect on the flavor and the burn). I sat down on the bench with my two dogs, Max and Minnie, to enjoy by first Cuban Trinidad – a Reyes that I have heard and read a lot of positive commentary on.
Band: What a beautiful green, yellow, gold and black band. I love the logo. The band was properly applied, and was just loose enough that I was able to just slip the band off the head of the cigar when the time was appropriate. I like the 3 "T"'s logo. Three "T"'s for trinity. Gotta love it.
Appearance: The pigtail cap is always the first thing that catches my attention and was applied perfectly. The next thing that will catch my eye is the cigar band. The cigar's wrapper was a beautiful light shade of brown. There were some slight veins, but overall the cigar was very well constructed. It was a bit bumpy, but that did not detract from the sheer pleasure of looking at this small cigar. To the touch the wrapper was smooth and the cigar was firm when squeezed.
Construction: The construction on this stick was near perfect. Firm throughout with no discernable soft spots. The pigtail cap was nicely done.
Aroma: The cigar had a faint grassy and sweet tobacco smell to it. Not unpleasant in any way. I don't know if this is the norm with this marca, as the Reyes is my first Cuban Trinidad experience.
Cut: I cut the pigtail cap off of the Trinidad Reyes with my Xikar Xi3 Zebrawood cigar cutter. It was a perfect cut.
Draw: The pre-light draw was nice and easy, but not too loose, and it stayed this way through the duration of the smoke. In the pre-light draw, there were faint hints of grass and a slight bit of pepper. The wrapper was a little salty on my lips.
Light: I lit the cigar with my Lotus T3 lighter by slowly toasting the foot (which really didn't take very long) then took a few puffs. Simplicity and ease…just the way I like it.
Smoke: The Trinidad Reyes produced a decent amount of blue smoke. It did begin to produce less smoke in the final third.
First Third: The Trinidad Reyes started with a strong taste of grass with an herbal scent. It started fairly mild, but began to build in strength after the first few puffs when a slight bit of pepper began to come through. The grassy flavored smoke coated my mouth and left behind a sweet aftertaste on my palate. So far the cigar was quite enjoyable.
Second Third: Grass was still the dominant flavor during the second third of this smoke, but the profile did evolve somewhat. I began to taste some hints of either wood or mushroom. I couldn't quite decide. If you put a gun to my head though, I would probably say mushrooms. Personally, I hate mushrooms, won't eat them, not even on my pizza, but I have to say that I continued to enjoy the flavors of this little smoke. The sweetness that coated my palate in the first third began to become less intense and faded into the background.
Final Third: The last third of the cigar began to get a bit harsh. The grassy flavor had disappeared, but the herbal scent was still present in the background. There began to develop slight hints of bitterness that grew progressively stronger during the final third. At this point I was no longer enjoying the cigar, and I let it go out with about a little less than one inch remaining.
Burn: The burn on this little devil was spot on. While not razor sharp, the burn always maintained a relatively straight line and required no touch ups during the duration of this smoke.
Ash: The ash was tightly packed and well layered during the first half of the cigar. It held very well. It was nearly 2 inches long before it broke off from the cigar of its own volition. The color of the ash was a mottled gray and white. During the final third, the ash turned a dark gray and became flakey, but held until the end.
Smoking Time: 28 minutes.
Conclusion: This short smoke was an excellent experience. I really enjoyed my first Cuban Trinidad (except for the final third), and can definitely see adding this small vitola to my humidor. The cigar was a bit on the young side (which I believe accounts for the bitterness I experienced at the end), and I think from the flavor profile, it could continue to benefit with some additional aging. It definitely shows promise.
Rating: 90/100
Date of Writing: September 1[sup]st[/sup], 2009
Written by: thechenman
Vitola: Reyes
Filler: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Box Code: Unknown – Purchased as a single (likely '07 - '08)
Price: $7.75 (USD)
Ring Gauge: 40
Length: 4.3 inches
Body: Medium
Pairing: Heineken Light
Location: Outdoors – On my front porch.
Date/Time: Saturday, August 29[sup]th[/sup], 2009 @ 10:30pm EDT
Environment: It was a fairly cool evening, probably in the mid-60s (fahrenheit), and less humid than I had expected. I was expecting more rain with a Tropical Storm Danny passing by the Northeast, but that didn't happen. So much the better, as I really hate smoking outside when it is too humid (it really has a negative affect on the flavor and the burn). I sat down on the bench with my two dogs, Max and Minnie, to enjoy by first Cuban Trinidad – a Reyes that I have heard and read a lot of positive commentary on.
Band: What a beautiful green, yellow, gold and black band. I love the logo. The band was properly applied, and was just loose enough that I was able to just slip the band off the head of the cigar when the time was appropriate. I like the 3 "T"'s logo. Three "T"'s for trinity. Gotta love it.
Appearance: The pigtail cap is always the first thing that catches my attention and was applied perfectly. The next thing that will catch my eye is the cigar band. The cigar's wrapper was a beautiful light shade of brown. There were some slight veins, but overall the cigar was very well constructed. It was a bit bumpy, but that did not detract from the sheer pleasure of looking at this small cigar. To the touch the wrapper was smooth and the cigar was firm when squeezed.
Construction: The construction on this stick was near perfect. Firm throughout with no discernable soft spots. The pigtail cap was nicely done.
Aroma: The cigar had a faint grassy and sweet tobacco smell to it. Not unpleasant in any way. I don't know if this is the norm with this marca, as the Reyes is my first Cuban Trinidad experience.
Cut: I cut the pigtail cap off of the Trinidad Reyes with my Xikar Xi3 Zebrawood cigar cutter. It was a perfect cut.
Draw: The pre-light draw was nice and easy, but not too loose, and it stayed this way through the duration of the smoke. In the pre-light draw, there were faint hints of grass and a slight bit of pepper. The wrapper was a little salty on my lips.
Light: I lit the cigar with my Lotus T3 lighter by slowly toasting the foot (which really didn't take very long) then took a few puffs. Simplicity and ease…just the way I like it.
Smoke: The Trinidad Reyes produced a decent amount of blue smoke. It did begin to produce less smoke in the final third.
First Third: The Trinidad Reyes started with a strong taste of grass with an herbal scent. It started fairly mild, but began to build in strength after the first few puffs when a slight bit of pepper began to come through. The grassy flavored smoke coated my mouth and left behind a sweet aftertaste on my palate. So far the cigar was quite enjoyable.
Second Third: Grass was still the dominant flavor during the second third of this smoke, but the profile did evolve somewhat. I began to taste some hints of either wood or mushroom. I couldn't quite decide. If you put a gun to my head though, I would probably say mushrooms. Personally, I hate mushrooms, won't eat them, not even on my pizza, but I have to say that I continued to enjoy the flavors of this little smoke. The sweetness that coated my palate in the first third began to become less intense and faded into the background.
Final Third: The last third of the cigar began to get a bit harsh. The grassy flavor had disappeared, but the herbal scent was still present in the background. There began to develop slight hints of bitterness that grew progressively stronger during the final third. At this point I was no longer enjoying the cigar, and I let it go out with about a little less than one inch remaining.
Burn: The burn on this little devil was spot on. While not razor sharp, the burn always maintained a relatively straight line and required no touch ups during the duration of this smoke.
Ash: The ash was tightly packed and well layered during the first half of the cigar. It held very well. It was nearly 2 inches long before it broke off from the cigar of its own volition. The color of the ash was a mottled gray and white. During the final third, the ash turned a dark gray and became flakey, but held until the end.
Smoking Time: 28 minutes.
Conclusion: This short smoke was an excellent experience. I really enjoyed my first Cuban Trinidad (except for the final third), and can definitely see adding this small vitola to my humidor. The cigar was a bit on the young side (which I believe accounts for the bitterness I experienced at the end), and I think from the flavor profile, it could continue to benefit with some additional aging. It definitely shows promise.
Rating: 90/100
Date of Writing: September 1[sup]st[/sup], 2009
Written by: thechenman
