jimmythesaint
New Member
Apologies in advance if this is the wrong forum for this - I'm still getting the hang of this site.
So last night, after the wife and kids retired, I sat out on the patio with an Ashton VSG Torpedo. I'm very new to this whole scene, so I am still in the habit of approaching cigars like I do wine or scotch; appearance, scent, flavor, and experience (in that rough order).
Appearance - a pretty dark cigar. The wrapper had two very thick veins - one near the cap, the other running midway through the stick.
Scent - Beautiful. In my mind, this is what a cigar should smell like. Smoky vanilla...reminded me in some ways of what Lagavulin 16 yr smells like.
Flavor - the first 3/4th inch or so was very light, but it picked up steam about an inch in and got rolling with some fantastic dark chocolate/leather/coffee flavors.
Experience - took me 2 hours to smoke this, and I never sat it down. The draw was very smooth and easy, the flavors were great, and sitting out on the patio under the stars in complete peace and quiet was very relaxing.
Now, for some negatives, and some questions.
1 - As I mentioned, the wrapper had some really thick veins. All along those veins, I had trouble with the burn. The first vein, I used a match to even things out a bit. The second vein, out of curiosity, I left alone and it simply didn't burn. In fact, the thickest part of the vein was still unburnt and is still hooked onto the ash now. The cigar just burned around it and moved on.
So that begs the question - is this my fault? Or better yet, how can I prevent/handle this? should I mess with the burns in situations like that, or just let it go?
2 - The first 3 quarters of this cigar were tremendous, a great experience, burn problems aside. The last quarter was like a steamroller. I could not believe how strong it seemed to get. By the time I was done, I had a healthy buzz. Is this typical of the VSG?
I do not have the cash to smoke these every day. What is there that gives comparable flavors/structure that is more reasonable price-wise? My other favorite smokes have been a La Gloria Cubana Serie R #5, and a Padron 1964 diplomatico (which was outrageously good in my uneducated opinion - had a 'baking spices' thing going on that reminded me of some good Rhone wines).
Thanks for the responses in advance, I appreciate it.
So last night, after the wife and kids retired, I sat out on the patio with an Ashton VSG Torpedo. I'm very new to this whole scene, so I am still in the habit of approaching cigars like I do wine or scotch; appearance, scent, flavor, and experience (in that rough order).
Appearance - a pretty dark cigar. The wrapper had two very thick veins - one near the cap, the other running midway through the stick.
Scent - Beautiful. In my mind, this is what a cigar should smell like. Smoky vanilla...reminded me in some ways of what Lagavulin 16 yr smells like.
Flavor - the first 3/4th inch or so was very light, but it picked up steam about an inch in and got rolling with some fantastic dark chocolate/leather/coffee flavors.
Experience - took me 2 hours to smoke this, and I never sat it down. The draw was very smooth and easy, the flavors were great, and sitting out on the patio under the stars in complete peace and quiet was very relaxing.
Now, for some negatives, and some questions.
1 - As I mentioned, the wrapper had some really thick veins. All along those veins, I had trouble with the burn. The first vein, I used a match to even things out a bit. The second vein, out of curiosity, I left alone and it simply didn't burn. In fact, the thickest part of the vein was still unburnt and is still hooked onto the ash now. The cigar just burned around it and moved on.
So that begs the question - is this my fault? Or better yet, how can I prevent/handle this? should I mess with the burns in situations like that, or just let it go?
2 - The first 3 quarters of this cigar were tremendous, a great experience, burn problems aside. The last quarter was like a steamroller. I could not believe how strong it seemed to get. By the time I was done, I had a healthy buzz. Is this typical of the VSG?
I do not have the cash to smoke these every day. What is there that gives comparable flavors/structure that is more reasonable price-wise? My other favorite smokes have been a La Gloria Cubana Serie R #5, and a Padron 1964 diplomatico (which was outrageously good in my uneducated opinion - had a 'baking spices' thing going on that reminded me of some good Rhone wines).
Thanks for the responses in advance, I appreciate it.
