January 24th, 2012 / 10 Comments » / by Tom
Drew Estate… The Acid guys, right? That’s what I thought for years, until I got my hands on the Liga Privada T52. The Undercrown uses the same tobacco as the Liga, but has different primings and vintages. So this is by no means a Liga Privada rip off. It is a completely different cigar. That’s my simplified, dumbed down version. Many other sites out there get in depth about the blend. I’m far too lazy for that. I want to experience it, not blab about it’s background. When I found out Ed had a few of these at his shop, I picked some up immediately in anticipation. Let’s see how it went…
Wrapper: San Andreas
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaragua
Size: Robusto 5 x 54
Price: Around $7.50
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark maduro wrapper had a nice, seamless look with no flaws. The smell of the wrapper and foot was hard to pin down. It was sweet but I can’t compare it to anything. The cigar was evenly and solidly packed with barely a hard or soft spot. The draw was perfect, and the pre-light flavor was unique. It was sort of earthy and sweet, but there was something more to it that I can’t describe.
The burn required no corrections, and the ash held for over an inch.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: cigars, Drew_Estate, Undercrown
January 22nd, 2012 / 2 Comments » / by Tom
Today’s review is an ultra cheap bundle cigar offered by JR Cigars. They offer alternatives to dozens of cigars. My lifelong friend Jay gave me a couple of these cigars, which are an alternative to the Padron Anniversary Series 1964 Exclusivo. He was basically curious of my opinion. So here it is, my opinion of the JR Alternative Padron Exclusivo.
Wrapper, Binder, & Filler: ???
Size: 5.5 x 50
Price: Bundle of 20 – $31.95
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper looked good, with small veins and no noticeable flaws. It had a barnyard smell, and the foot shared the same odor. The cigar was a little spongy when squeezed, with some minor tight spots towards the head. The pre-light draw was free, and had an earthy and woody taste.
The burn required a few decent sized corrections, and the ash held for a bit over an inch.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews, Value Cigar
Tags: JR_Cigars, JR_Knockoffs_cigars, Padron_1962
January 17th, 2012 / 3 Comments » / by Tom
Back for another random cigar review. I spotted this cigar at a local shop, picked some up, and here we are. This cigar is said to have been “Designed to appeal to those tenured smokers demanding a full flavored smoke.” This is simply quoting General Cigar’s website. I paired this cigar with water. Let’s see how it went.
Wrapper: Honduran Claro
Binder: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican
Filler: Connecticut Broadleaf
Size: Crusader 5.75 x 45
Price: Around $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The shiny wrapper had no real flaws. It had a somewhat veiny and rugged look to it though. The wrapper had a cedary and earthy smell, and the foot was more of a plain natural tobacco. The cigar was well packed to a rock solid feel. There were some harder spots here and there, which raised concern about the draw. Luckily the draw was decent. It had some resistance but fell within my tolerances. The pre-light flavor was earthy and woody.
The ash held for under an inch, and the burn required several minor corrections.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: cigars, General_Cigars, Hoyo_De_Monterry_Excalibur, Legend
January 13th, 2012 / 4 Comments » / by Tom
Today’s review is a random cigar that I’ve had in the humidor for a few months. Where I got it and why I picked it up eludes me. I’ll pick up almost any cigar at a shop that I know I haven’t reviewed, and I think this is a result of that. The only thing I know about this cigar is that it is a product of Altadis. It is touted at a “Wonderful smoke that will satisfy cigar connoisseurs time and time again.” That sounds like a challenge, so here are my thoughts…
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: San Andreas Morron
Filler: Honduran & Nicaraguan
Size: Romantico 6.5 x 48
Price: Around $6.50
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark wrapper had a nice somewhat oily appearance with minimal veins or flaws. The smell of the wrapper was woody and earthy. The cigar was rock solidly packed, and had some major tight spots, especially near the head. As expected, the draw was pretty tight, so I clipped off the nipple. This loosened up the draw a bit so I could at least move air through the cigar. The pre-light flavor was a bit chocolaty.
The ash held for just over an inch, and the burn required a couple minor corrections.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: altadis, cigars, Romeo_y_Julieta_Reserva_Real_Maduro
January 10th, 2012 / 4 Comments » / by Tom
I picked up this cigar at Ed’s shop a couple of weeks ago. Gurkha has quite a large following of fans and bashers alike. I sit somewhere in the middle. They have quite a few blends that I like, and some that I’m not so fond of. I haven’t smoked a Gurkha in a long time, so I figured it was time to revisit a cigar I used to smoke from time to time – the Ancient Warrior. I paired this cigar with water as always.
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican republic
Size: Robusto 4.5 x 50
Price: $6.95
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark oily wrapper looked great, with only a ding here and there. The smell of the wrapper was a mild sweet earthiness. The foot had almost no odor at all, perhaps a generic sweetness. The cigar was evenly packed, with slight give when squeezed. The pre-light draw had slight resistance with a mild earthy flavor on the pre-light draw.
The ash held for around an inch, and the burn required several corrections.
Read more…
Posted in: Cigar Reviews
Tags: Ancient_Warrios, cigars, gurkha, K._Hansotia
