Ok fellas this is the thread to stick the reviews in for cigar #1. Below is the common format for the review:
Time of day smoked:
Inside/Outside
Accompanying drink:
Apperance/Construction of cigar:
Rating 1-10:
Prelight notes:
Rating 1-10:
First third notes:
Rating 1-10:
Second third notes:
Rating 1-10
Third third notes:
Rating 1-10
Summary of experience:
Rating 1-10
Overall rating 1-10 (should be an average of the other scores
LMK if there are any suggestions to add to the format. Each section above should have two components. One is notes and observations, and the second is the actual numerical evaluation. I'll be smoking my #1 tonight and giving it a review using the format above.
Hmmmmmmmmm, looks like "damn that was pretty good aint gonna cut it here"
Haaaaaaaaaa!
Do you mean for us to fill this out for our number one favorite cigar of all-time?
Nope this is for the first week of the blind taste test trade that we're doing.
Here is my review for cigar #1:
Time: 10:00 local time
I'll be smoking this inside and outside, though I'll be relaxing the whole time so will be able to devote my attention to it. I'm not planning to drink anything while smoking, but may get some water if necesary.
Apperance/Construction: This smoke is very unique in construction. Its robusto in size with a pigtail on the cap and at the foot the wrapper has been left long. Overall this cigar is beautiful to look at, very nice wrapper with some light veining, and a great redish colorado maduro wrapper.
10/10 for apperance from me, mostly because of the unique presentation.
Prelight notes: I'm using my swiss army cutter to cut off the pigtail. Cap came off cleanly. Prelight draw reveals a nice woody spice, with some pleasent herbal notes almost like a spicy tea. I believe I'm in for a treat with this one.
9/10 I've had better but this one is great.
First third notes: Upon lighting this smoke my first impresions are of a woody ligero spice. This one is gonna be at least medium full, if not all out full bodied. Theres also a very nice balance here, and the spice comes into line almost immediatley. Very quickly in the smoke develops a nice creamy sweetness to accompany the woody spice. A very rich plesant flavor. About an inch in this smoke really settled down. Still medium-full but with a very refined and smooth blend. Very creamy with an underlying subtle sweet spice. Starting to develop some nice vanila and coco flavors as well. Nearing the end of the first third and the ash is still hanging on solidly. The flavors continue to develop. Now there are loads sweet creamy bean flavors with a great subtle spice (Similar though not the same as ISOM Cohibas), additionaly there are some great herbal tea flavors present. Burn is razor straight.
Rating 10/10
Second Third: This smoke just keeps changing and adding layers to the complexity. The herbal notes have become more pronounced. The sweetness has transormed into more of a honeyed sweetness. The bean flavors have deepend. There are hints of coffee now. The spice has picked up a bit, but it is perfectly in balance with the other flavors. A great richness coats the palate with every draw on the smoke. Strength really starting to pick up towards the end of the second third.
10/10 -again. What a stogie!
Third third: The home stretch. In the begining of the third third the gar has begun to develop a great carmel flavor, and the smoke really seems to be coating the palate. The tea, bean, and woody flavors are all still present though they seem to be getting richer. The strength keeps picking up, and the burn has been great all the way through. The slightest bit of sourness comes and goes, but I assume this is just a result of the gar nearing its end. The comlexity in the blend is fantastic and has kept me entertained the whole way through.
10/10 again.
Summary: A fantastic smoke!!!! I've really enjoyed this from begining to end. Tbe flavor and aroma were remarkable, and the complexity was great. This smoke reminds me of Cubans, most noteably the Cohiba Robusto, Sancho Panza Beli, and Trini. Though its obviously not one of those, I found it to be every bit as enjoyable. I'm looking forward to see what a few years in the humi will do to this smoke. This will be in my rotation for awhile at least.
Final rating: 9.5/10
That's some review! I can't wait til midnight Mon-Tues to try mine!
Quoteemind56 - 3/22/2008 1:08 AM
Nope this is for the first week of the blind taste test trade that we're doing.
Oh, my bad! Sorry.
Any of the rest of you guys going to be smoking this one today? I need to find out what it was. :confused:
Quoteemind56 - 3/22/2008 3:41 PM
Any of the rest of you guys going to be smoking this one today? I need to find out what it was. :confused:
You won't know anyway til 1AM Tuesday at the earliest. Remember? I can smoke #2 a few hours later.
Quoteljlemer - 3/22/2008 2:06 PM
Quoteemind56 - 3/22/2008 3:41 PM
Any of the rest of you guys going to be smoking this one today? I need to find out what it was. :confused:
You won't know anyway til 1AM Tuesday at the earliest. Remember? I can smoke #2 a few hours later.
I'm just anxious.....can't help it that smoke was great....I need more.
Dang I saw this thread and didnt read it...the TTT didnt ring with me.
I will be smoking mine tonight! After I saw what the thread was, I didnt read your review becuase I want to be un-biased on my rating...even though I am a noob and dont know exactly what I am looking for or tasting..I want it to be genuine.
9PM
Oudoors -cold low 40's
H2O
Nice pigtail cap and smooth wrapper. 10.
Light aroma. Open prelight draw. 7.
1/3 Nice mellow/mild with good smoke production. 8.
2/3 Consistant. Required relight. 7.
3/3 Complexity picked up and smoke volume was very full. 9.
In summary the slick looking stick was enjoyable but a little mild. 8.
Average: 8.1
Rack
I sat down outside on our patio furniture and leaned back so I had a nice view of our Love Oak tree with the full moon about sneak behind it and shine through. It was about 8:15PM and about 76 degrees outside with a nice occasional breeze. My wife joined me about 10 minutes in with her glass of Pinot; I was drinking a Bass Pale Ale.
This is a pretty unique cigar, at least to me. I have not seen one like this; it had a sort of pig tail at the cap. Kind of looked like the end of a polish sausage. Very nice color and smell prelight, it had a couple veins and dents but still very nicely constructed. I cut the end and sucked on it for a couple minutes. Soft tastes of cedar and walnut. 8
The cigar lit very nicely, and the first draw was great. I knew I was in for a nice smoke. 10
First third the cigar burnt very even, I tasted Cedar, Walnut, and some Vanilla. Lots of smoke and a very nice taste. Very nice cigar. My wife mentioned that it gave her memories of her late God father, he smoked a pipe. We got to talking about what a great man he was, and some of the things he liked to do. We talked about how we both remembered his pipes, and the smell. The aroma of the smoke was kind of sweet. 10
Second third the cigar kept pretty much the same tastes with some hints of coffee but didn't get much stronger. The ash stayed until the second third, very tight ash with some blackish grey streaks in it. The cigar started to burn unevenly, but then it would correct itself. Still a wonderful taste and great aroma of the smoke. 8
Third third (that sounds weird) tastes got stronger, there were some other hints of things that I couldn't quite nail down...the taste would be there and then be gone and a new taste. Still a very good tasting cigar and wonderful aroma. In the last third the burn would get really snaggle tooth looking and then correct itself. I only ashed this cigar twice. 8
I loved this cigar and would love to try another. My wife actually stuck with me for the whole smoke which has never happened before. The atmosphere was great and the smoke was great. 9
Total score 53/60 average score 8.83
Kgoings you have the makings of a great pallate there brother! Great review, your pallate will be scary sensitive in a few years, keep up the good work
Quoteemind56 - 3/23/2008 2:23 AM
Kgoings you have the makings of a great pallate there brother! Great review, your pallate will be scary sensitive in a few years, keep up the good work
Post #300 in 23 days!! Incredible!!
Thanks, after reading your review it did remind me of a green tea or spiced tea.
So are we waiting for one more review before it is unveiled to us?
yeah one or two more. Larrry will be on Tuesday I think the earliest.
Ok, here goes my review of cigar number one. It was about 6:30 PM, EST when I started smoking it.
I had a couple of Coors lights before I started smoking it to wind down from a busy day. It was snowing outside and fairly cold so I had to lay it down after each stage.
The appearance was very unique with the pigtail and rough cut foot. I thought the smell was like a spicy fruit fragrance. The cap come off almost effortlessly which I liked.
The prelight draw was rather woody, not what I was expecting.
The first puffs had a leathery-bitter flavor which I liked. The draw was effortless which I also liked. This cigar produced a ton of smoke. The bitterness subsided and got creamy the more I smoked it. Brrrrrrrr...had to lay it down and come inside. I smelled my hand and still smelled the spicy fruit smell.
I went out to relight the cigar after about 12 minutes or so...Ha, it was still lit, no lighter required. Im not sure if it was due to me letting it lay for a minute but it turned to a taste like rich coffee with heavy cream flavors. The bitterness came back just a tad and I still enjoyed it very much. I could note a hint of the fruity flavor I smelled at first. The burn was flawless.
Damn, its cold again,back inside for a bit!
After about another 15 minutes or so I went out to finish it, I did have to relight it this time but hey, give it a break. Ok, its quit snowing and the sun is out...thats Tennessee in March. The flavor was still creamy like coffee but picked up a nutty-cocoa like flavor. It still produced a ton of thick chewy smoke. I nubbed it out.
In summary I really liked this cigar. It was different from any smoke I have had before. I would buy them...
Overall Rating: 8 out of 10!
So can Larry tell us what it was now? Was it a CAO Criollo
Quotekgoings - 3/24/2008 7:28 PM
So can Larry tell us what it was now? Was it a CAO Criollo
Me? That wasn't mine. Stay tuned for my review.
I smoked it outside about 11:15 PM Monday night, having been given leave to start early. It was a chilly 60 degrees (for here)and I was drinking a diet lemon-lime soda. The appearance was unusual, but well made. The smell wasn't remarkable. I clipped the twist and found the draw just right. Apperance/Construction of cigar: 8 (includes a point off for uneven burn in last third).
Prelight notes: 9.
First third notes: Cigar tasted very good from the start. Lack of bleeding and wrapper flavor leads me to guess it's a Cameroon. Even burn, good draw, strong head. Points: 9
Second third notes: More of the same. Began wishing cigar were longer. Still no bleeding, which is just as bad as too much bleeding. Flavor remains very good, so I can forgive the lack of juices to swallow. Points: 9
Third third notes: Still no bleeding. After all this time, my patience runs thin with the lack of juices, hence one point off. Cigar begins burning unevenly, preventing me from smoking it down to last inch. One point off for that. The base score of 9 becomes a 7. Score: 7
Summary of experience: Very nice cigar. Would like to explore the whole line in different sizes.
8+9+9+9+7=42, hence final score is 8.4. If I were reviewing it for the group unblinded, I'd give it a 4, only because 4.25 is not allowed and it misses being a 4.5.
Alright I am confused....hasnt everyone reviewed this? Who's was it?
I think we are ready for a reveal on #1 :confused:
Rack
Yea we are ready, everyone (all five) have reviewed it.
I take it emind has a surprise in store for us here?
QuoteBob Cordell - 3/25/2008 8:16 PM I take it emind has a surprise in store for us here?
Yea he has been uncharacteristically absent as of late.
Yeah sorry to leave you hanging...been very busy. When I sent this cigar out to you guys, I was under the impresion that it was only available localy as that was what I was told by the owner of a B&M here in Tucson. Since then, I have learned that this smoke may infact be available to everyone for about half of what we are paying in tucson. I have ordered some offline to do a side by side comparison and will let you fellas know what I find out. Anyway when I sent it I thought that this smoke was called a Cubano Classico, and was a custom blended house brand. Now I'm thinking that this smoke is called a Just For Retailers (JFR) or a Just For Cataloges (JFC). If this is in fact the same smoke they can be had off of CI for around 3.5 apiece.
Whether it is or is not the same I still think it is a phenomenal smoke, And was glad for the opportunity to share it with my BOTL
Ill let you all know what my side by side shows.
That cigar was great! Let us know if you find them on CI I want to buy some!
Quoteemind56 - 3/25/2008 11:43 PM
Yeah sorry to leave you hanging...been very busy. When I sent this cigar out to you guys, I was under the impresion that it was only available localy as that was what I was told by the owner of a B&M here in Tucson. Since then, I have learned that this smoke may infact be available to everyone for about half of what we are paying in tucson. I have ordered some offline to do a side by side comparison and will let you fellas know what I find out. Anyway when I sent it I thought that this smoke was called a Cubano Classico, and was a custom blended house brand. Now I'm thinking that this smoke is called a Just For Retailers (JFR) or a Just For Cataloges (JFC). If this is in fact the same smoke they can be had off of CI for around 3.5 apiece.
Whether it is or is not the same I still think it is a phenomenal smoke, And was glad for the opportunity to share it with my BOTL
Ill let you all know what my side by side shows.
Just For Retailers: Made in Nicaragua. Filler: Nic. Binder: Nic. Wrapper: Nic. Pig-tail head. Looks like it!
Quoteljlemer - 3/25/2008 10:52 PM
Quoteemind56 - 3/25/2008 11:43 PM
Yeah sorry to leave you hanging...been very busy. When I sent this cigar out to you guys, I was under the impresion that it was only available localy as that was what I was told by the owner of a B&M here in Tucson. Since then, I have learned that this smoke may infact be available to everyone for about half of what we are paying in tucson. I have ordered some offline to do a side by side comparison and will let you fellas know what I find out. Anyway when I sent it I thought that this smoke was called a Cubano Classico, and was a custom blended house brand. Now I'm thinking that this smoke is called a Just For Retailers (JFR) or a Just For Cataloges (JFC). If this is in fact the same smoke they can be had off of CI for around 3.5 apiece.
Whether it is or is not the same I still think it is a phenomenal smoke, And was glad for the opportunity to share it with my BOTL
Ill let you all know what my side by side shows.
Just For Retailers: Made in Nicaragua. Filler: Nic. Binder: Nic. Wrapper: Nic. Pig-tail head. Looks like it!
I think its the same, but before I call him (guy at my B&M) out as a liar I want to be sure...what really burns me is that he'll tell anyone who'll listen how he blended the cigar, and how its rolled in Honduras and he flys down there etc....It just seems weird to me that he'd have a cigar in the same exact presentation as the one that is available just for retailers. How many cigars have you ever seen with a pigtail and a rough foot? I suppose it could be a coincidence, what do you guys think? :rolleyes: .....my fiver from CI is arriving tommorow, so by thursday at the latest we will get to the bottom of this mystery.
I hope that its the same cigar becuase its really a great smoke, very complex, and seems like it has some good aging potential. At the B&M these are going for between $6.50-12.50, and on CI they can be had for around 3-4 a stick. That is of course assuming they're the same.
Quoteemind56 - 3/26/2008 1:32 AM
Quoteljlemer - 3/25/2008 10:52 PM
Quoteemind56 - 3/25/2008 11:43 PM
Yeah sorry to leave you hanging...been very busy. When I sent this cigar out to you guys, I was under the impresion that it was only available localy as that was what I was told by the owner of a B&M here in Tucson. Since then, I have learned that this smoke may infact be available to everyone for about half of what we are paying in tucson. I have ordered some offline to do a side by side comparison and will let you fellas know what I find out. Anyway when I sent it I thought that this smoke was called a Cubano Classico, and was a custom blended house brand. Now I'm thinking that this smoke is called a Just For Retailers (JFR) or a Just For Cataloges (JFC). If this is in fact the same smoke they can be had off of CI for around 3.5 apiece.
Whether it is or is not the same I still think it is a phenomenal smoke, And was glad for the opportunity to share it with my BOTL
Ill let you all know what my side by side shows.
Just For Retailers: Made in Nicaragua. Filler: Nic. Binder: Nic. Wrapper: Nic. Pig-tail head. Looks like it!
I think its the same, but before I call him out as a liar I want to be sure...what really burns me is that he'll tell anyone who listened how he blended the cigar, and how its wrolled in Honduras and he flys down there etc....It just seems weird to me that hed have a cigar in the same exact presentation as the one that is available just for retailers......my fiver from CI is arriving tommorow, so by thursday at the latest we will get to the bottom of this mystery.
CI says it's made in Honduras. There are some discrepancies.
It was a good smoke, I dont care if it came from Pango-Pango!
QuoteBob Cordell - 3/26/2008 3:44 PM
It was a good smoke, I dont care if it came from Pango-Pango!
What we care about is how to get more of them affordably. That requires identifying them. Tarring and feathering his retailer for lying is a personal vendetta of emind. Pango-Pango? So nice they named it twice?
I jusrt want to order some!
Already some added interest to the TTT game, pretty nice! :thumbsup:
Rack
Ok I got in the fiver from CI today, as far as CI is concerned it is called JFC. and is available on their site. I smoked one tonight and while I'm not ready to say its the same stick it is damn close. Considering I just got them in today and they had no time to settle in the humi it may in fact be the same. It was close enough for me that I will be ordering a box from CI ASAP.
For the reveal I suggest the info provided by your retailer be used.
Rack
QuoteNewGuy - 3/27/2008 8:54 PM
For the reveal I suggest the info provided by your retailer be used.
Rack
It sounds likely to be the Just For Retailers. The data is posted in a previous post of mine. We just need a bit more verification, like emind extracting the truth from his retailer by using all-American, legal tactics like water-boarding.
I discussed this with emind via PM and noted that the Tobacalara Tropical company offers private labeling for retailers. This may be the same smoke under a dif name. Kind of like the Java, by RP and Drew Estates. If so, I think we need to have the label name as purchased by emind.
Rack
QuoteNewGuy - 3/27/2008 11:29 PM
I discussed this with emind via PM and noted that the Tobacalara Tropical company offers private labeling for retailers. This may be the same smoke under a dif name. Kind of like the Java, by RP and Drew Estates. If so, I think we need to have the label name as purchased by emind.
Rack
What was the label name?