What cigar recently surprised you?

[yourchoice]

What cigar have you recently had that surprised you with how much you enjoyed it, a cigar that so exceeded your expectations, you were taken aback that you found it that good?

Tonight, I smoked an Alec Bradley Tempus Inceptio that, when I chose it, I thought I'd probably like (I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise :)). Now that I'm finished it, I realize just how enjoyable it was. I've had several other AB smokes, but none were even close to as good as this one. On par with many more sought after sticks...my mind continually gravitated toward Illusione's offerings.

So, what cigar recently surprised you?



If there's a thread dedicated to this topic, I apologize. I searched around pretty good, but couldn't find one that discussed it.

[docdoty]

both the Illusione MJ 12 and the AB Tempus are fanastic cigars. I smoked a '00 Vaqueros SQ that was awsome and I ordered 4 more boxes of them right after smoking the first one

[bscottskangum]

Padilla Dominus

[TheDudeAbides]

LFD Double Ligero chisel Maduro...... from 2004!
Still had the LFD flavor profile, but had mellowed in ways that are very hard to explain.

-Dude

[pinotguy]

Gran Habano Azteca. These things are killer.

[md4958]

Ramon Allones Lusitano Portuguese RE. Amazing flavor for such a young cigar... especially delightful on the retro-hale.

[Ranger_B]

Went to the dog park the yesterday and brought a Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Years Short Churchill with me. In the car I noticed the cold draw had some great flavors. Once I lit it in the park this thing exploded with flavor.

[Bill86]

Viaje - Exclusivo Robusto. Never had a Viaje till this one O_O, I'll be damned if it wasn't the best cigar I've ever smoked.

[Darrell]

The Face.

[gijoey959]

Reserva Miraflor cigars shocked me, I paid so little for a box of 20 churchills that I thought when everyone was saying that they were really good, I wasn't expecting it to be the best I've had

[Goldie]

Candela Holy Lance really impressed me. I've always thought candela wrapper was gimmicky, but it definitely isn't.

[Azaelius]

Nica Libre 1990 Diplomatico. thought it would be sub-par at best, turned out to be absoltely fantastic, especially for the price! I still have not sampled the original which many claim this to be an alternative to (Padron 1964) but I do indeed hope to be able to make the comparison someday. :ss

Same deal on the Tierra del Sol Churchill from Perdomo. Cheap, tasty, complex, and a very long smoke, indeed!

[Martel]

CAO La Traviata. With a few exceptions, most CAO's don't do much for me, but I really like these.

Cheers,
G

[68TriShield]

Gran Habano Azteca. These things are killer.

Maybe not killer for me but pretty darn good.

[yourchoice]

Reserva Miraflor cigars shocked me

I agree, the first time I had a RMF I was surprised how good they were too. That's why I recently bought three boxes. :D :D

[njstone]

5 Vegas Gold I had today.

I used to smoke these a lot, but lately have been into "nicer" cigars. I felt like going old school and lit this up ... man, these still are great cigars, especially for the money! With about 2-years on it, this had lost the grassiness (and sadly, most of the spice), but had become a cigar full of sweet cream. I love sweet cigars, and this was just amazing. Very mild in body, but full of flavor--love that!

[jmsremax]

Oliva V lancero.....for the record I love the Vs (and Oliva) but I was hesistant to smoke any laneros. All I can say is I will be ordering some of these in the near future when funds become available! :banger

[jmsremax]

5 Vegas Gold I had today.

I used to smoke these a lot, but lately have been into "nicer" cigars. I felt like going old school and lit this up ... man, these still are great cigars, especially for the money! With about 2-years on it, this had lost the grassiness (and sadly, most of the spice), but had become a cigar full of sweet cream. I love sweet cigars, and this was just amazing. Very mild in body, but full of flavor--love that!

These are great with a morning coffee.

[JJG]

E.P. Carillo Core line

This one was better than I expected.

The short run didn't impress me, and I think a fair amount of people were disappointed with the Inaugural as well. However, the CL tasted almost identical to a Fuente Don Carlos or Hemingway. sweet, smooth and full flavored.

[madwilliamflint]

I've gotta say, the Vegas Cubana I smoked this weekend shocked me. I haven't had one in six months and I tend to like other Pepin sticks better. But sitting on my Dad's front porch in the Poconos, I drew on this puppy and started giggling it was so good.

[awsmith4]

The Face.

:tpd:

[babybob2k]

Padron Delicias Maduro. I couldn't believe how much more I enjoyed this size than the 3000's I normally smoke.

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

I smoked a fresh Opus X Power Ranger last friday, then a Rocky Patel Decade saturday. I liked the Rocky better than the Opus.:sh

[dannysguitar]

Reserva Miraflor for me as well. I smoked a Lancero a couple weeks ago and was not impressed. Reached for a robusto and it was really great!

[BeerAdvocate]

Reposado '96 Habano - I thought to myself, "why the hell havent I tried these before"

[MarioF]

I bought a 5 pack of Viaje Oro Gran Fuerza without knowing much about them. Just love them, bought 3 more 5-packs since.

[smokinpeace]

Just smoked a Verocu Tubo and I am shocked at how much it has changed in a year. I don't think I have ever seen a cigars profile change so drastically in a year.

[CigarNut]

Berger and Argenti Entubar Robusto (linky (http://www.bergerargenti.com/entubar.php))... Quite a surprise and a very tasty smoke!

[Mr B]

Pepin / Cigar King Exclusive: Havana Soul. The best stick I have had in a long while.

[Beklage]

La vieja Habana, cheap stick but it was actually pretty decent.

[shilala]

I had a Boli Gold Label that I really enjoyed. I was shocked as to how good it was. More that the flavor profile was totally different than I'd imagined, but in a good way for a change. :)

[e-man67]

I was recently on vacation with my kids at Disney World...I figured I could go 5 days without smoking...I was very wrong..day 2 I am looking for a smoke..the Disney gift shop had 3 choices RYJ Habano, Don Diego, and Don Thomas Maduro..$9ea..yikes..I am amazed at how much I tolerated smoking 2 Don Thomas cigars..although I was jonesing big time. :r

[guitar4001]

I have never been a HUGE Patel fan, but I really liked the last few Edge Torps.

[dwoodward]

Gurkha Legend... The blast of black cherry right at the start got me all excited.

[Dunkel]

JdN Fuerte Corona Gorda. I smoked one back in May and thought it was OK. I smoked one the other day while fishing and it was great!

[BnBTobacco]

Graycliff Château Grand Cru.

I purchased a box many years ago, smoked just one and never touched it again until this morning when I randomly pulled a Graycliff from my humidor. I quickly put the cigar back remembering how disappointed I was when I first tried it. For some reason, I picked the cigar up again, lit it, took a few puffs and then told my husband to try it, this time with a huge grin on my face. It wasn't like the first one I tried. The second one was a hundred thousand times better.

I never thought it would make a great tasting cigar after just a few years in my humidor. I definitely would like another one later this evening.

[d'am]

Punch (NC) Gran Puro. I didn't know what to expect from a Honduran puro, but this really impressed me. It had a deep core flavor of soil/earth that I loved. Draw was unfortunately tight though. I've got a couple singles in the mail to do more testing.

[Adriftpanda]

Avo Heritage. These are are damn tasty. Nothing like the regular Avo line.

[thebayratt]

Avo Heritage. These are are damn tasty. Nothing like the regular Avo line.

And a great pice!! I love the short robusto that goes for less than $7 at my shop!


I had a 262 Paradigm the other night.... WOW. It was as good, if not better that the Viaje Satori I had that night. I will deffinately be getting more of these!!!

[njstone]

Had a Monte #4 the other day. I've never had a CC Monte that I loved--liked yes, loved no. But this #4 was fantastic! It was a gift, so no idea on age.

[Martel]

I had about 10 Mayorga maduro robustos languishing in a box of miscellaneous sticks in my cooler. I've had them for maybe 3 or 4 years, don't really remember. Hadn't smoked these for a long time, but I've been going through them for the last couple of weeks, and there's a lot to like here; nice construction and burn, good sweet maduro flavor. As they say, one dimensional, but that dimension is pretty good. If these are still available cheap, I may buy more.

Cheers,
G

[sikk50]

I was surprised yesterday by how BAD my first Drac was! I defiantly will have no problem letting my other Drac sleep for a few years now

[Col. Kurtz]

Carillo Short Run robusto size on the recommendation of a good friend. Much better than I expected.

[68TriShield]

The new Avo Heritage.So good I am picking up a box next week.

[RevSmoke]

A Tat Verocu #5 was outstanding. I thought it would be a decent cigar, but I was impressed.

[weak_link]

Had a Pepin 'My Father Le Bijiou' last night at an event and it was quite nice. I smoked a Tempus on the way there and the Le Bijou blew it away. Haven't been much for NC's lately and it was a refreshing change.

[druturn]

Finally got around to smoking one of my Tat T110's. To be honest, I was not blown away. Don't get me wrong, it was a solid stick and it fit the bill of potent sticks, but it seemed as though it was going for more power than flavor. Maybe it was just because I was stressed and haven't smoked in a WHILE. I will have to give them another chance sometime in the near future.

[KillerCelt]

A Tat Verocu #5 was outstanding. I thought it would be a decent cigar, but I was impressed.

my thoughts exactly :tu

[CoreyD]

Omar Ortez madurro for a $5.26 stick at the B&M i had to break my no more boxes rule for awhile and buy a box of 60
I also had a Cain maduro and habano recently which the first time I had a Cain I was thrown off but lately the Oliva company has been mighty tasty. I must be hanging out with todd and the rest of you inmates to much lately to get my palet the way it is.

[CoreyD]

JdN Fuerte Corona Gorda. it was great!These are 1 set of sticks I always keep in humi but i'm a JdN Fan.

[Adriftpanda]

The new Avo Heritage.So good I am picking up a box next week.

One of my favorite ncs!

[ylo2na]

Rocky Patel Puro Cubano.... very,very nice mild to medium smoke. The writeup says this is a Rocky P's mistake because it differs from the original blend they thought was going to be a full-bodied smoke. Instead a mild to medium cigar blend showed up and voila, another success! I first received this in a sampler (1) and tried it and quickly ordered 2 boxes (that's how much faith I had in the taste and blend). Even right out of the box, they are great but may really improve with a little slumbering...
Ylo2na
OOOPS... cbid and CI offers them.

[Bayou Tiger]

I have been really surprised by the 5 vegas A series. They are a good budget smoke with a bunch of flavor.

[kelmac07]

Two have surprised me recently...

Final Blend Maduro (grabbed a box they were so good...believe these are a Famous exclusive stick)
Padilla Dominus (grabbed a 5er they were really good...not as cheap as the Final Blends, hence the 5er :D)

[lyle23]

Last stick i had that i was surprised by was a brickhouse, i believe it was a robusto. It was $5.99 which was why i stayed away for soo long. I saw it rated at like a 90, in i believe it was cigar aficianado, and went for it. I am glad i did.

[yourchoice]

I smoked a CAO La Traviata Robusto tonight while watching the tournament. Generally I'm not a huge fan of CAO's offerings, so I didn't expect much from it, but was presently surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

(Bumped an old thread...)

[RobR1205]

Was kinda hesitant about the AB Family Blend, but man it was one hell of a smoke!

[RevSmoke]

Quesado Tributo Julio.

[C'garthulhu]

L'Atelier 56 was all sorts of amazing a very solid stick, can't wait to try the smaller sizes :)

[Zane]

L'Atelier 56 was all sorts of amazing a very solid stick, can't wait to try the smaller sizes :)

The Lat 46 Ss is great.

[tsolomon]

The Illusione Rothchildes are a very good cigar at a great price.

[AdamJoshua]

Picked up some Perdomo Lot 23 Punta Gordas on the devil site for a just silly low price, naturally wasn't expecting too much out of them but was pleasantly surprised by this stick, lots of creamy smoke, very nutty taste throughout, the only issue was a bit of cracking of the wrapper about 2/3rds of the way through, a couple more weeks in the winador should take care of that. :tu

[ripper]

Glad this thread was resurrected.
Am constantly impressed by Pueblo Dominicano, an exclusive AJ Fernandez blend from the CI & cigar.com empire.
Got an earthy coffee tang and a glorious Ecuador habano wrapper. My go-to smoke when I've pitched a yucko cigar into the huckleberry bushes. Yinz can nab Pueblo Dominicano for bargain prices at cbid.

[Col. Kurtz]

EPC Cardinal

[kelmac07]

Recently...the Sencillo Blacks and RoMa Craft Cromagnons. Both are FANTASTIC sticks. :dr :dr :dr

[Blocky Patel]

Just joined and grunching...

I attended the Big Smoke in Vegas in November, and was surprised by several cigars, but none more than the Nat Sherman. I had heard of the brand, of course, but only in relation to cigarettes and I thought the brand was only something from long ago. I couldn't believe the quality of the cigar, and have asked my local store to order some.

Also, 3 weeks ago I bought some more Ambos Mundos (Pete Johnson) which I have always loved, especially since I could pick them up for a little over $4/stick. I was not really surprised when these cigars hit the Cigar Aficionado top 25 list 2 years in a row. What surprised me about the recent smokes however, was how horrible they were. Anyone else experience Ambos Mundos inconsistency?

[oooo35980]

CAO Italia, I avoid CAO because the first few I had weren't anything to write home about. My B&M gives a free cigar every month to locker members. I found the Italia in my locker and it was very, very good. It was out of my wheelhouse enough that I found it interesting, but not so much that I hated it. I might spring for a box.

There was also an Arturo Fuente Especialles in there that I wanted to punt across the room after an inch. I usually love AF stuff so I guess that one surprised me too.

[mahtofire14]

La Gloria Cubana Churchill Maduro. Smoked it at a long ash competition but it turned out to be a fantastic cigar.

[Porch Dweller]

Glad this thread was resurrected.
Am constantly impressed by Pueblo Dominicano, an exclusive AJ Fernandez blend from the CI & cigar.com empire.
Got an earthy coffee tang and a glorious Ecuador habano wrapper. My go-to smoke when I've pitched a yucko cigar into the huckleberry bushes. Yinz can nab Pueblo Dominicano for bargain prices at cbid.

I second the Pueblo. I had one a few days ago that I got in a sampler and enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Porch Dweller]

Picked up some Perdomo Lot 23 Punta Gordas on the devil site for a just silly low price, naturally wasn't expecting too much out of them but was pleasantly surprised by this stick, lots of creamy smoke, very nutty taste throughout, the only issue was a bit of cracking of the wrapper about 2/3rds of the way through, a couple more weeks in the winador should take care of that. :tu

The Lot 23 Naturals and Maduros are damned good cigars. I had several of the Connecticuts and was surprised by how little I enjoyed them. They just had very little taste to them at all.

[ScottieM]

Bought a 10 Pack of JDN Antano Dark Corojo El Martillo (Toro) for a cheapie at work. What a great Cigar! Lots of Flavor right off the bat. Definitely worth the $3.20 a Stick I paid for em.

[drjammer]

Bought a 10 Pack of JDN Antano Dark Corojo El Martillo (Toro) for a cheapie at work. What a great Cigar! Lots of Flavor right off the bat. Definitely worth the $3.20 a Stick I paid for em.

+1 Great cigar, especially fro the price :)

[Crownedone]

Had a savinelle and a Nat Sherman. I don't know what they were, both were a small size. Both sweet and took me by surprise. Great smokes each.

[CJS]

Montecristo Open Junior.

I have smoked a couple of Master and Regata from the Open line, and unfortunately they were all somewhat disappointing. They simply had no taste and boring. But this morning, I lighted up a Junior that was thrown in as a freebie when I picked up a box of Siglo-II from my local cigar shop. I believe this particular Junior came from a 2011 box.

The Junior, while still a bit mild, was quite enjoyable. Easy draw, lots of smoke, with typical Montecristo aroma. I'm thinking of getting some more of them.

[dave]

Room 101 (Daruma and Nabakumi in thinner RG's.) Hadn't liked any I'd tried previously (San Andres, OSOK, the one with the extra black lable that says Camacho, fat-assed Daruma.....)

Recently had Daruma in lancero and PC. Both outstanding.
Friday, I tried a Nabkumi Ecuador in PC. Also outstanding.

Must admit that I'm a little frustrated by info currently available on these. Their web site won't work on my computers (maybe a Flash or ActiveX thing?) and comprehensive info on lines, sizes, etc is only obtained painfully from scattered info. Or, I'm just becoming a crappy googler.

[riverdawg]

Probably shouldn't have been surprised but was. The LADC series has been well reviewed but I hadn't gotten around to smoking any of them. Picked up a couple of each blend through the series in the smallest ring gauges available at the shop in Charleston while on a long weekend. Liked them all well enough, with the Mi Amor probably being the best... until I got to the Mi Amor Reserva. Wow, on the first one, Wow on the second one, found a box deal and wow on all of them so far. The Mexican wrapper was the surprising part. Going to have to give mexican wrapper stogies another look.:tu

[Blak Smyth]

'09 VR Familiar

[TJtorpedo]

The Black Crowns have been very good to me. Tons of great flavor at a great price when you score them on the devil site.

[badbriar]

Cusano 18 Paired Maduro - one of the smoothest cigars I've come across. Don't usually care much for milder stogies, but this one is one of my favorites to enjoy on a less than full stomach.
RR