lou2row's blind review taste test cigar #4

[lou2row]

TJcobra

Cigar: Lou’ Cigar Taste Test – Cigar #4

Vitola / Wrapper / Binder: 6 x 50 Toro I believe. Dark wrapper. Maybe maduro. Looks almost like a LP9 but the wrapper isn’t as toothy as the LP’s. Maybe a T52?

Drink / Food: Ate about 2 hours ago. I’m full. Drinking a Harpoon Leviathon Imperial IPA that Mikey1957 gifted me when I bought my store about 5 weeks ago.

Outside Factors: Hot as hell outside. 95+ and it’s 9:30 at night. No breeze. Pretty miserable.

Construction: Cigar looks well-made. Heavy in hand. Very firm and few veins. Looks to be a “premium” made cigar.

Prelight : Getting a little bit of a floral smell on the outside of the wrapper. Also, a bit of sweetness. Clipped with my trusty Palio. The prelight draw is tight and seems strong. Getting ready to light with my Tat Lotus triple flame… It’s lit!

First Third: This is a strong cigar. I like it. A lot of spice on the retrohale. It’s a true full cigar. Getting a leather-like flavor as well as pepper. Not sure about the other flavors…

Draw: Draw is a little tight, but not unbearable.

Burn: Burn is razor sharp

Ash/Smoke: Enough smoke, although not a ton. The ash is a nice white/gray color. For whatever reason, I like cigars with a very light color ash. They are more appealing to me.

Second Third: Still full, but the spice has tapered off a bit. Great flavors that fit my wheelhouse. Wish I could be more specific, but I’m just going to say more of the same from the first third and I like it!

Final third: And more of the same. Smoked it to about 1 inch. Enjoyed this smoke.

Strength: Full Flavor: Spicy and full of flavor

Overall Impression: I liked this cigar. I wouldn’t go out and immediately buy a box but I would definitely keep my eye out for some internet specials. I’d pick one up at the shpo and smoke it if I was wanting a good full-bodied smoke. I estimate this smoke to be in the $7-10 dollar range.

Construction: 10 10
Prelight: 4 5
First Third: 14 15
Draw: 7 10
Burn: 8 10
Ash / Smoke: 8 10
Second Third: 9 10
Final Third: 9 10
Overall impression: 16 20
Total Score: 85 100

Hscmit
Construction: this is a thin wrapper leaf and as a result has some travel damage on the head and foot of the cigar, but overall no hard/ soft spots and a nice looking cigar

Prelight:very clean, no taste or flavor

First Third: lots of cedar, some leather as the 1st 1/3 builds

Draw: good draw

Burn: good burn

Ash/Smoke: lots of smoke, and ash holds well

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p430/hscmit/101_1160.jpg

Second Third: no pepper, but some spice is getting picked up on the retrohale, cedar is still there also some coffee notes creeping in

Final third: final third the cedar is gone and replaced with a more oaky flavor, still some coffee flavors in there also the spice develops into a little pepper

Strength:med

Flavor: med

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p430/hscmit/101_1161.jpg

Overall: I enjoyed this cigar very much.

Scoring

Construction: 8/10
Prelight: 3/5
First Third: 14/15
Draw: 10/10
Burn: 9/10
Ash / Smoke: 9/10
Second Third: 9/10
Final Third: 9/10
Overall impression: 18/20
Total Score: 88/100

Emjaysmash

Cigar: no 4
Vitola / Wrapper / Binder: n/a
Drink / Food:n/a
Outside Factors: nice, a bit breezy
Construction: Excellent! No large veins, consistent dark brown wrapper color. No obvious imperfections. A crack developed in the wrapper at the second third.
Prelight : sweet tobacco
First Third: Begins with coffee, wood, sweet tobacco, slight caramel, and slight nuttiness. Ends with a slight ammonia note.
Draw: Free with a slight resistance.
Burn: Excellent. Razor sharp the whole way through.
Ash/Smoke: solid ash, with thick billowing smoke.
Second Third: same as first. Coffee and nuttiness are the most prominent flavors throughout this third. Crack didn’t affect flavor at all.
Final third: coffee with a rich robust tobacco flavor and roasted nuts

Strength:Medium Flavor: Medium
Overall Impression: Although this wasn’t the most complex smoke, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavors. Best one so far.
Construction: 9 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 14 15
Draw: 10 10
Burn: 9 10
Ash / Smoke: 10 10
Second Third: 10 10
Final Third: 10 10
Overall impression: 19 20
Total Score: 96 100

[lou2row]

Hoyodude

Cigar: Quattro

Vitola / Wrapper / : Nice looking toro with a shiny medium-dark brown
wrapper that looks slightly bumpy.

Drink / Food: Saranac Pale Ale in a can. Diggin' the new canned beers
this summer!

Outside Factors: Just a normal day fraught with the stress of trying
to learn the archane structure of NYS small business start-up torture
procedures...I mean regulations.

Construction: Feels pretty good but a few soft spots.

Prelight : Kind of non-descript with a slight sweetness.

First Third: A little pepper at the start but a semi-sweet woodiness
takes over quickly. It is a pretty light flavor and feel to the smoke
but nice. Not much else to report, just a fairly mild and one
dimensional flavor.

Draw: Good but slightly looser than I like at moments.
.
Burn: A few corrections along the way but no real problems. Ash tended
to be a bit loose and flaky so I had to keep an eye on that.

Second Third: Mostly the same at this point with a little raw tobacco
flavor, sort of like a mediocre burley pipe tobacco, showing up now.

Final third: I let this one die with about 1.5" left on it. There was
an increasing bitterness and the better flavors had gotten kind of
flat.
.
Strength: Mild

Flavor: Mild/Medium

Overall Impression: I think my review makes it sound like I didn't
enjoy this cigar but I actually did. If you are looking for a complex,
rich experience this isn't that cigar. On the other hand, if I had
another I would smoke it in the morning with a couple of cups of
strong coffee and I'm pretty sure it would do just fine.


Total Score: 70/100

Jimbud

Cigar: lou2row’s Cigar No. 3 in 4th (or 5th) Blind Taste Test.
Vitola/Wrapper/Binder: 6 by 50; maduro.
Drink/Food: Seltzer water; after dinner.
Outside Factors: About 80 degrees; patio.
Price: Unknown.
Cut: Cheapo cutter that I have really come to like.
Light: Colibri soft flame.

Construction: Attractive cigar; a few pronounced viens. Found one or two slightly softer spots when I give it the old thumb and finger inspection. Foot inspection reveals a wide variation in tobacco color – from blonde to jet black. Foot smells of pine needles and fish food flakes (the kind you feed goldfish) – not very pungent however.

Prelight: Upon clip, the prelight draw reveals precious little about the cigar. Again, perhaps pine needles.

First Third: Nothing sweet about this cigar’s flavor. A bit of pepper and bit of a soapy taste in the first inch. The burn is a bit off, but she is struggling to self-correct as I type. Must admit – I’m not getting a lot of complexity thus far. Some white pepper. I note the cigar is becoming slightly spungy as it burns. Not interfering with the smoke, however. Ash is primarily white. Burn has mostly corrected itself. Mostly. (Attenuated South Park reference.) Just getting some lighter pepper taste and little else thus far.

Second Third: Flavor profile continues – a bit bitter now; perhaps an onion or rye bread taste as well. Still getting the pepper, albeit a bit more pronounced. Interestingly, the smoke smells quite tasty (although my wife just told me to include the following based on her impression from the family room: “Tell them it smells like a portapotty.”) I give this cigar credit – the burn has become pretty sharp with no need for touchups.

Final Third: A bit more malt coming through with the pepper. This portion of the cigar reminds me a bit of a Kinky Freidman, although still bitter/acidic; think burnt coffee. I like the final third better than the first two, however. Wish I could be more descriptive on this one. Malt; pepper. Significant portion of the ash has turned black. Final third much better than the first two, but not terribly complex. Reminds me of a Cain I smoked. Retrohale is pretty good – a slight bit of cream or sweetness. I may have had this stick before; in fact, I think I have.

Overall: I wasn’t a fan of this cigar. The final third tried to convince me otherwise, but it was rather straightforward with pepper being the predominant flavor. It was well-constructed overall, so it gets points for that. I would give this stick a 72; do not think I’d buy it. If I had to try to name it I’d go with an Oliveros product or, in the final third, even an Oliva Cain. I’m just not digging the peppery sticks these days.

SteveH

I will have to add this review later; can't find it in my email folders.

[lou2row]

Without further a due....................

Cigar #4 is,
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/lou2row/100_4024.jpg
Liga Privada T-52.

[Emjaysmash]

Oooh Baby! I was waiting for the reveal. I really liked this one! Thanks again for doing this for us Lou.

[T.G]

Beats an Independencia.... *cough*cough*

[lou2row]

Beats an Independencia.... *cough*cough*

Quit making it sound like that was the top end stick. I also sent a Coronada and another good one!

I can't help your palate isn't refined enough to pick up Independencias subtle nuances.............:gary:rolleyes:

Speaking of dogging my review cigars, have you heard from your "cuz" lately? How is Tom doing?

[T.G]

Quit making it sound like that was the top end stick. I also sent a Coronada and another good one!


I don't remember if there was a Coronado in there or not, but I do recall the one that I found the most enjoyable was the discontinued Camacho Negro.


I can't help your palate isn't refined enough to pick up Independencias subtle nuances.............:gary:rolleyes:
Wet hay, mildew, pencil shavings, k9 fecal matter...

At least you weren't the one to send me a Gurkha and I thank you for that.


Speaking of dogging my review cigars, have you heard from your "cuz" lately? How is Tom doing?

Haven't heard from Tom lately, although it appears that he's still buying like mad, so that's a good sign. Probably just the increased case load for the two counties, IIRC, he said they cut his funds and he had to let one of his defenders go.

[hscmit]

enjoyed reading everyone's reviews on this one


thanks for hosting this lou