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Blind Reviews Part 10

Posted on June 15, 2021 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Over at the Half Ashed forums we have a little “cigar pass” going on. Each person involved sends two unbanded cigars to another person in the “Blind Review Pass.” For the next few weeks I’ll be posting (with permission) those blind reviews. If you have never smoked a cigar blind, or unbanded, I would highly recommend it. Get some friends together and trade cigars with the bands removed, or have your wife take some bands off a few sticks in the bottom of your humidor. You’ll be surprised at how much a band can affect your perception of a cigar.

Today’s review is the infamous Zedman’s second blind review. Again, the review is very brief, must still be a Canadian thing…

Unbanded B

Zed’s second

5×50
Wrapper- very matte
Pre-light- very faint, not much there.
Draw- 4/10

1/3- Dominican like sweetness. Drying. Cedar. Mushrooms.
2/3- Same as above. Almost a rootbeer like aftertaste.
3/3- Same as above. Tobacco taste. Dusty coco. Drying on the palate.

Tat Tattoo maybe, or Torano Vault ?

The Reveal
A J.D Howard Reserve HR50 from Crowned Heads!
This cigar is made in the Dominican Republic with Nicaraguan filler, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. This cigar also has a very cool story behind it centered on the famous outlaw, Jesse James. Check it out at crownedheads.com.

J.D. Howard Reserve

Blind Reviews part 11

Posted on May 11, 2021 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Today’s review is from Quikstryke.

Cigar- 4 7/8 by 50ish with a very dark chocolate wrapper..

Cold smell is very sweet with no spice.

Cold draw is sweet with a bit of hay note

Initial light is milk chocolate and then moves to a baker’s chocolate, which is very drying on the back of the tongue.

1st 1/2 – The dry chocolate continues but is coating my whole mouth. No spice on the retro but a vegital flavor is in the background.. Smoke output coukd be more. I had to do a few touchups to keep it even..

2nd 1/2 – Exactly the same as the first with a little spice thrown in, especially on retrohale. The spice is mild on the exhale but in the retro it kicks up some, along with the sweetness.

Final thoughts.. Very consistant stick flavor-wise. I like a little more transitions, but it was still good. With the dryness I was thinking Honduran, then the sweetness and vegetal flavors made me think Dominican.. I’d be really suprised if it was a Nicaraguan puro. Flavor and appearance-wise I was thinking Torano..

The Reveal
Nice review quick. You nailed a lot of aspects of that stick. It’s a CT broadleaf wrapper over Dominican binder and filler. The stick is the La Aurora 100 anos maduro edician especial, released in 2012.

La Aurora 100 Anos

Blind Reviews Part 9

Posted on April 20, 2021 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Today’s review (after a long hiatus, so sorry) is from the infamous Zedman! This is the first of two cigars, and the review is very brief, must be a Canadian thing…

Unbanded “A”

5×50
No triple cap
Smell- Ecuadorian, maybe Brazilian.
Pre-light- Slight raisin. Almost broadleaf taste.
Draw- 4.5/10 Perfect in my books.

1/3- Very dominican like flavors. Sweetness, cedar, hay, slight light roast coffee.
Room aroma was that cedar and coffee flavor.
2/3- Same as before, but a bit of a sourdough taste crept in.
3/3- The same, but tamed down. There was a chalkiness that crept in and was definitive. I have had that a few times before.

If I were to guess, I might say the Tatuaje Serie P or the Tattoo.

The Reveal
It was a La Flor Dominicano!! Specifically, the Colorado Oscuro.

La Flor Dominicano Colorado Oscuro

Blind Reviews Part 6

Posted on February 2, 2021 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Today’s review is from Your’s Truly!!. I smoked this cigar right before I had my wisdom teeth removed. The second cigar will be smoked post-recovery.

Unbanded Robusto

A mottled, dark brown wrapper covers this unknown robusto. There are several large, pressed veins a triple cap. I get a very faint chocolate aroma off the wrapper and almost nothing off the foot. There are no oils on the wrapper, and the dryness and faint aromas make me think this cigar has some age. The cold draw is slightly woodsy and a little tight.

The first draws are peppery, especially on the retro hale, while the smoke in my mouth is dry with a nice finish. There are some faint earthy flavors in the background that I can’t pick out yet.
Well into the first third I can finally pinpoint some dry cocoa. The burn has a slight slant but keeps up with itself, and the ash is flaking all over my car. Despite the flaky ash, I’m liking this so far.

The second third loses the cocoa and an oak flavor dominates. For some reason it reminds me of rough hewn oak boards. The pepper had dropped significantly, leaving a little bit of white pepper sharpness in my nose. About halfway through I got 2 puffs of deliciously dark leather, but it faded as soon as it appeared. Toward the end of this third the smoke developed a smokey-whiskey flavor that I often get in Nicaraguan cigars.

The smokey-whiskey flavor was short lived, and the final third has resumed the same oak flavor as before. I’ve had to touch up the burn line a few times in this second half, but overall the cigar has performed well. The finish is a little stale at this stage, but that’s to be expected at the end of a cigar. A touch of sweetness that wasn’t present at all in the rest of the smoke shows up briefly at the very end, and accompanying it is the dark leather from earlier.

I would guess this has a broadleaf wrapper based on looks. As for the blend, I thought it was a Dominican pro, but the woodiness and Nicaraguan flavors threw me off. However, I’m sticking with Dominican and I’ll throw in Honduras since the woodiness seemed different from a Nicaraguan wordiness. I’m guessing Camacho or (a really good) Rocky Patel.

The Reveal
Turns out this was a Tatuaje La Casita Criolla HCR 5×50.
This is a Nicaraguan cigar with 100% broadleaf tobacco for filler, binder, and wrapper. Another delicious smoke from the My Father factory.

Partagas Naturales

Posted on December 22, 2014 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Cigars City is an online cigar shop that specializes in same-day shipping, great customer service, and humidity controlled storage of all their cigars. Plus, their prices are great and they only show in-stock stogies on their website, which you can find here. Anthony Welsch contacted me to see if I would do an “honest assessment” of a couple cigars from their humidor, and I gladly jumped at the opportunity. He sent two budget friendly cigars, a Partagas Naturales Robusto and a Diesel Hair of the Dog. Today we’ll look at the Partagas.

Partagas Naturales

-Country – Dominican Republic
-Wrapper – Cameroon
-Binder – Dominican
-Filler – Dominican
-Size – 5.5 x 50 Robusto
-Price – $3.95 at Cigars City

Appearance, Pre-light
The Partagas Naturales has a slightly toothy wrapper with minimal veins and no soft or hard spots. There is a very faint barnyard aroma on the mottled, light brown wrapper, and the foot has a similar but fainter aroma. The cold draw presents almost no flavor, except for a slight dustiness.

First 3rd
The first puff has a sugary sweetness with a shockingly short finish. The smoke is very smooth and light bodied. As the cigar starts to warm up it goes through several different flavors. First, the sweetness starts to fade as the mild spiciness of the Cameroon wrapper starts to come in. After the spice a nuttiness emerges. These three flavors are very mild, and they mingle together for the remainder of the first third.

Second 3rd
The second third develops a flint-like profile that threatens to overpower the rest of the blend. The sweetness has died down a bit and the spiciness, still very mellow, has increased slightly. About halfway through, no matter how careful I watch my cadence that mineral quality infects and affects the other flavors. For example, the nuttiness remains, but is now has an astringent quality to it.

Last 3rd
Unfortunately, the final third continues to decline. The flinty, astringent flavors take over and the finish becomes ashy. As a side note, the delicate Cameroon wrapper cracked, but I blame that on the frigid Montana weather and not the cigar itself. With about two inches left I decided to call it quits on this cigar.

Takeaway
While the first third provided some pleasant and mellow flavors, the rest of the cigar made me forget the nice start. In today’s market it is hard enough to sell good cigars, and I think manufacturers have to actually try to make a bad cigar. If not for the first third, I would call this a bad cigar. However, read below in the “Rating” section to find out some uses for this smoke.

Flavor – Mild
Strength – Mild
Body – Mild
Construction – Good

Rating
Cigar enthusiasts should steer clear of the Partagas Naturales Robusto. However, this cigar could serve as “wedding cigar”, where most guests won’t smoke more than the first third anyway. Another use could be for mooching friends with billy goat palates. Alas, I give this a…

1 out of 5
You can find my rating system here.

1 out of 5
Cameroon
Dominican Republic
Full Reviews
General Cigar Co.
Robusto

Tatuaje Tattoo

Posted on November 17, 2014 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Tatuaje Tattoo

-Country – Nicaragua
-Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano
-Binder – ?
-Filler – Nicaraguan
-Size – 5 x 50 Robusto
-Price – $5ish, $7.50 local

Appearance, Pre-light
The Tatuaje Tattoo sports a dark brown, even colored wrapper. Oils are noticeable, as are the small veins and seams. The foot smells of sweet tobacco and the wrapper smells the same, only stronger. The cold draw offers no sweetness, but is very woodsy. This may be a “perfect” draw in my book; open but not loose, and giving the slightest tug of resistance.

First 3rd
Upon lighting, the first puffs are smooth, sweet, and spicy. The sweeter baking spices coat the soft palate, while the more peppery spice come through on the retro-hale. Smoke billows forth from the foot after taking a pull but slows down when the cigar is resting, making it fun to smoke and not at all annoying when it’s sitting in my hand. The finish fades away nicely, reminding me that I’m smoking something tasty without making me reach for a drink. A plum-like darkness appears about 3/4 of an inch in and the sweetness from that flavor lingers on the palate for over a minute. The burn line wavers quite a bit so far, but the single touch-up has had no adverse effect on the flavors. The pepper in the retro-hale has been replaced by a sweet, cedar-like woodiness coming into the second third.

Tatuaje Tattoo

Second 3rd
Into the second third I notice a big drop off of the sweetness. Instead I’m finding notes of charred oak and some leather, but not an earthy leather. The smoke is still extremely smooth, and unfortunately the burn line continues to wander. Some cinnamon flavors pop in now and then, along with the original sweet baking spice. Well into this third a definite earthiness is showing up. While not my favorite flavor in cigars, in this blend it is balancing well with everything else that is going on. Two inches in and the ash has yet to drop, proving that made by the right people, inexpensive cigars can still be premium works of art.

Last 3rd
The final third of the Tatuaje Tattoo is bringing something to the mix I can’t quite place. It’s something I occasionally find in Nicaraguan cigars, and I default to calling it a “smokey-whiskey” flavor because I find alcohol-like tannins mixed with smoked tobacco notes, all wrapped in this one flavor. It is a very savory flavor, and in this cigar it’s like eating a smokey steak after a sweet pie. The strength is becoming noticeable now, but far from overwhelming.

Takeaway
At this price, there is no reason not to stock up on these delicious, dark cigars. A novice might find the strength a bit overwhelming, but anyone else with a penchant for full-flavored cigars will love this.

Flavor – Full
Strength – Medium-Full
Body – Medium-plus
Construction – OK

Rating
I can’t recommend these enough. If you want a bold, tasty cigar that won’t break the bank, then the Tatuaje Tattoo is for you.

3.5 out of 5

Alec Bradley Nica Puro

Posted on October 27, 2014 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Alec Bradley Nica Puro

-Country – Honduras
-Wrapper – Nicaragua
-Binder – Nicaragua
-Filler – Nicaragua
-Size – 5 x 50 Robusto
-Price – around $7.50

Appearance, Pre-light
I get a mellow chocolate scent off the wrapper, but not much off the foot. Some spice comes through on the cold draw, and there is a touch of resistance that is slightly tighter than “perfect.” The cigar is very firm up and down the length, and the brown wrapper has a mottled look with no veins.

First 3rd
The first few draws open with a creamy, smooth, thick bodied smoke. The flavors are a little muted out of the gate, but I detect some earthiness, a tiny amount of cardamom, and a lot of pepper on my tongue. About an inch in, the cigar takes on a more woodsy profile. Above the wood I can find leather and bitter chocolate. These two flavors dance from background to foreground.

Nica Puro Secondary Band

Second 3rd
The burn on this Alec Bradley Nica Puro is very even so far, and the salt and pepper ash is wavy. I can see every puff I’ve taken so far in the ash, like the suds rings left on a Guinness glass. There’s a dark fruit flavor coming through now that I can’t put my finger on. It has a tanginess to it that is familiar, yet fleeting. The bitter chocolate had morphed into a dusty cocoa that I usually like, but in this case I’m missing the straight up chocolate. That flavor seems to be what was giving the first half its creaminess.

Last 3rd
Coming into the last third, some smokey whiskey flavors are showing up. There is also some harshness that might be fixed with another month or so of aging. Or I could be totally off my rocker. I just realized the band is actually a double band. The cool thing here is that the secondary band has some latitude and longitude numbers on it. When I put them into Google Maps it landed right on La Trinidad, Esteli in Nicaragua. Very nice touch. The strength is more apparent now but not overwhelming, and that flirtatious dark fruit crops up now and then. Much of the spice had dissipated, making the retro-hale all the more enjoyable.

Yumminess

Takeaway
I enjoyed all 95 minutes of this deep, dark cigar. The complexity wowed me right out of the gate, and while I don’t smoke a lot of Alec Bradley cigars, this is one I will definitely be picking up again. This would be a great smoke to give someone who is looking to delve into stronger, more full flavor cigars, but a novice might find it a touch overwhelming.

Flavor – Full
Strength – Medium
Body – Medium-Full
Construction – Excellent

Rating
The Alec Bradley Nica Puro was a very good cigar. A full-flavor treat, this cigar would please any smoker looking to light up their palate and enjoy some typical, yet unique, Nicaraguan flavors.

3.5 out of 5

Joya Red (Pre-release)

Posted on September 1, 2014 by iwinchester Leave a comment

Joya Red

I’ve been eagerly waiting for the Joya Red to come into retailers, so lucky for me I got a chance to weasel a few from the Joya de Nicaragua crew at the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival last August. Poor Richard’s is getting these in, so if what I’m about to say sounds good to you, go pick some up at Bozeman’s best B&M.

-Country – Nicaragua
-Wrapper – Nicaraguan Habano
-Binder – Nicaragua
-Filler – Nicaragua
-Size – Robusto 5 1/4 x 50
-Price – $5.75, probably around $7.50 or $8 here in Montana

Appearance, Pre-light
The Joya de Nicaragua Joya Red is a beautiful robusto. It is covered with a light brown, reddish wrapper that looks and feels like leather, and the tiny veins are spaced about an inch apart. The filler tobacco in the foot has an awesome brindle-like color to it, and it is very easy to pick out the ligero and viso primings of the leaves. When I sniff the wrapper I pick up hay and chocolate, while the foot smells of molasses. The molasses comes through on the cold draw, along with a light woodiness.

The brindle-foot

First 3rd
The first draw is woodsy, dusty, and slightly sweet. Some spice is apparent up front too, but there is no trace of pepper or harshness. About a quarter inch in I’m getting a lot of earthiness and more baking spice flavors. The earthiness is more apparent on small puffs, while the sweetness and spice come out with a bigger mouthful of smoke. So far all the flavor is detectable in the mouth, with the retro-hale serving to augment the overall amount of flavor. The finish is fairly clean, and the smoke has a certain presence in the mouth without coating it.

Second 3rd
The earthiness drops off and returns sporadically in the second third. I’m picking up a sweet bit of twang, and there’s a fruity taste on the finish. At times I get an enjoyably dusty mouthfeel, but every now and then the earthiness gets overly strong. So far there is no hint of nicotine, and the white ash is holding on very well.

Smoking well

Last 3rd
The final third is bringing some cinnamon and cardamom flavors, while the earthiness has moved to the background. On the finish there is a pleasant toast taste that lingers behind on the roof of my mouth. The first two thirds needed a couple of touch ups, but this last inch and a half is burning great. The smoke is getting warmer, but not bitter, and the cigar itself is getting a little squishy. This doesn’t seem like a major flaw in construction, so I would point to the lower priming of leaves in the bunch as the source of this softness. The baking spices are really picking up at the end, and I’ll keep smoking to the nub if they continue.

Takeaway
I have to be honest- earthiness is not my favorite flavor in a cigar. That said, the Joya Red had enough other flavors going on that I could look past that and enjoy the cigar. The burn was good and the room aroma was deliciously sweet, but I just wish more of that sweetness came through on the palate. If I didn’t know this was a Nicaraguan puro, I would have guessed there was a lot of Honduran tobacco in the blend simply because it was so earthy.

Nubbin’

Flavor – Full-minus
Strength – Mild-plus
Body – Medium
Construction – Good

Rating
I personally don’t like earthy cigars, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good smoke. If you like earthiness, this would probably be a 4 on my rating system. The Joya Red is probably not for me, but it still scores well enough for a…

3.25 out of 5

3 out of 5
Full Reviews
Joya De Nicaragua
Joya Red
Nicaragua
Pre-release
RMCF
Robusto

La Antiguedad

Posted on August 4, 2014 by iwinchester Leave a comment

La Antiguedad

-Country – Nicaragua
-Wrapper – Habano Ecuador Rosado Oscuro
-Binder – Nicaragua
-Filler – Nicaragua
-Size – Robusto 5 1/4 x 52
-Price – $7.50, $10 local

Appearance, Pre-light
The La Antiguedad from My Father Cigars, like the Flor de las Antillas before it, is the epitome of beautiful cigars. The band is a gorgeous painting trimmed in gold, and the wrapper is a flawless leaf of chestnut brown. It also has a red footer band for added attractiveness and protection against cracking. The cold draw offers a light cedar flavor that belies the strength of this blend. The wrapper smells of chocolate, and sniffing the foot adds a bit of barnyard aroma to the overall pre-light experience.

First third, great burn line

First 3rd
Right away I get a blast of chocolate sweetness. My Father Cigars are known for being peppery right out of the gate, but the La Antigedad starts out sweet. After the first few puffs the sweetness abates and a dark cedar profile takes over. There is still a sweetness in the background, and the retro-hale is nice and peppery. The draw is very good, just a little bit tighter than I prefer. A dark cedar taste remains constant in the first third, but a little bit of baking spice starts to creep in underneath it about one and a half inches in.

Second 3rd
The ash on this cigar is extremely white and holds on for almost two inches. The burn is wavy and uneven at times, but usually it self-corrects. The baking spice mentioned earlier is turning into a cardamom-like flavor, and the cedar had changed to oak. The sweetness is still present but has lost its chocolate quality. The pepper through my nose has mellowed out, and I’m starting to pick up some leather now that the retro-hale isn’t tingling so much. So far the flavors are noticeable but not bold, and the strength is in the medium-plus range. The body is relatively light.

Mid-point

Last 3rd
Coming into the last third the chocolate note has returned, but it is now presenting itself as a dusty cocoa flavor. I’m also getting a dark-roasted coffee bean taste. The woodiness comes around again towards the end, this time in the background. The finish is a little bit ashy in these last 2 inches, but it must have been nearly perfect for the other thirds as I didn’t even notice it! Leather is the dominate flavor now, and the sweetness has completely disappeared. Strength-wise, the La Antiguedad has pushed into full territory.

Takeaway
While I enjoy the flavors present in the La Antiguedad, for some reason I just don’t love smoking it. That said, I’m definitely in the minority as these have received rave reviews. The presentation is flawless, the flavors are easy to grasp, and the construction is usually top notch. This is a well balanced cigar and even though I’m not a fan, I would still highly recommend it.

Nubbin’

Flavor – Medium
Strength – Full
Body – Medium-plus
Construction – Very Good

Rating
In every respect the La Antiguedad deserves a…

4 out of 5

Full Reviews
La Antiguedad
My Father
Robusto