Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Cigar #9
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/pictur...pictureid=2527

Construction: 5x50 solid

Pre-Light Draw: Cedar and peppery flavors, loose draw, bits of tobacco left in my mouth

1st Third: Upon lighting, it doesn’t have any flavor, but is very peppery through the nose. Slight hints of chocolate and cedar arise. Still peppery through the nose. A nutty flavor is present.

2nd Third: Nutty flavor persists and a woody flavor arises. Pepper is still in the nose but has mellowed quite a bit.

Final Third: Nutty flavor has subsided and a sharp cedar flavor has taken control. Pepper is gone completely at this point. The finish has a little bite to it.

Final Thoughts: Not a bad cigar. It didn’t wow me by any means, but it was quite enjoyable. I’d consider putting this one in my rotation. This is not a Reyes cigar.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Andy #9 - Cuba Aliados Miami series .......

I've went through about 2 boxes of these now. I absolutely love them. I admit you got one of the younger ones, as it was all I had at the time, but with even a few months age on them they are even better.

They are literally rolling these non-stop down in Miami right now as demand has been so high for them so any that you get from this point forward are probably going to be a little young still.

BTW - where did Mark go?

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Both of the Cuba Aliados cigars that I've tried have been good.:tu

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I'm still here. :D


CIGAR #8

Robusto with a medium brown wrapper with VERY pronounced veins. I mean I haven't seen vericose veins like this since I ran into Hillary Clinton at the beach. Draw is loose. The head of the cigar is pretty soft. Pre-light draw is sweet grass.

First few draws...hmmm....hey, waaaait a minute. What's the big idea?




EEE -- are you SURE that only 5 of the 10 cigars you sent were Reyes cigars?


Honestly, this does taste like a Reyes cigar. Harsh through the nose, mildewy hay and a sour, chemical-ish finish. The aroma coming from the foot is unpleasant.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I have had 6 Reyes cigars so far.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Lol.... Don't think I ever mentioned how many Reyes sticks were going to be in this. :)

Mark #8 - Cuba Aliados Miami edition. Seriously you are the first person I have heard say bad things about this stick. I would like to send you a couple more just to try out again.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

The original challenge was for 5 PI's and 5 non PI's, but I'm not worried about it. I've had fun participating, regardless.:tu

BTW, I should have my final review completed before tomorrow.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

D'OH!

Aye yai yaiiii.....

This is the first time I ever do a blind review and I screw it up. Yowza.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I don't see a screw up....it's just a way to help get an honest opinion....this has been great reading btw :tu

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

:pu

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

No worries. As long as all of them weren't PI sticks.:tu
You didn't screw anything up in my book.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

hahaha - if I would have put all PI/Reyes sticks in there I would have definitely had you rate some at the top of the list! LOL

I've definitely eaten a little crow on this challenge - but, I'm big enough to handle it. With 1 or 2 left I want to say thanks to Andy & Mark for not only stepping up to my challenge, but not taking my retardedly aggressive approach too seriously and giving me a chance to see what they thought about a few sticks.

I'm good friends with the Reyes peeps and often stand up for their sticks even when people have a good foundation for not liking the PI line(s).

hopefully this moved people to, at minimum, give some of the other Reyes lines another chance.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

This has been a great thread to follow. Thanks for allowing us outsiders to participate in following this adventure. Great work all three of you! :tu

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Eric has more than made up for his first post. Give the man some rep for me.

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Agreed! Way to go EEE!

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Consider it done! :tu One from me to the each of you fellas.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Cigar #10 (Final Review)
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/pictur...pictureid=2528

Construction: 5x50 oily, veiny, dark brown wrapper

Pre-Light: smooth draw w/ cedar taste

1st Third: I taste hay immediately upon lighting, along w/ a trace amount of cedar. Hay is gone, leaving the cedar alone to itself. Ash is flaky, but the burn is good. Almost done w/ the first third and still picking up nothing but cedar.

2nd Third: Still a strong cedar taste, but some mustiness is creeping in. Near the end of the second third I am tasting bitterness. The bitterness quickly turns to a nutty flavor.

Final Third: Three flavors all at once: cedar, nuttiness, and faint traces of chocolate. The final third is the sweet spot; all three flavors mix quite well for an enjoyable experience.

Final Thoughts: This cigar was ok. Pretty lackluster, but ok nonetheless. The finish was quite good. This is similar to some of the other PI sticks I’ve had; lackluster until the finish. This might be a PI stick, but it didn’t carry the grassy mildew flavors that the regular PI sticks have.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Now that I am done with all of the reviews (:( wish it wasn't over), I would like to say thank you, Eric, for the experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed completing these reviews and trying new sticks (even if I didn't like all of them). I now have a new line of sticks to check out, the Cuba Aliados line by Reyes. I liked those, but not so much the PI sticks (although one of the PI naturals was quite good too:tu).

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Thanks man. You don't have to do that.







































Seriously. Please don't. :r

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

CIGAR #9


Robusto with a dark maduro wrapper. Very well constructed, perfect draw. Pre-light draw is faint tobacco.

First few draws...hmmm...Reyes. Not too bad though, the wrapper seems to be taming the moldy hay and rotten milk flavor.

About 1" in...blech. I knew it wouldn't last.

I would guess that this cigar IS a Rolando Reyes cigar.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Andy #10 - cuba aliados corojo dbl maduro

Mark #9 - CAO Black VR

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Really? Man, that thing was nasty. Damn...that's 2 strikes for me. :(


CAO needs to work on their cigars instead of the presentation of their cigars. :r

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

:tpd:
That's what I thought about the VR as well.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Hmmmmmm that sounds like the same sentiment I have towards Gurkha. How anyone smokes cigars from a guy that doesn't smoke his own cigars is beyond me.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

:tpd:
Every Gurkha I've tried have tasted like dirt. I'm sure there's a good Gurkha out there, but I've yet to try it. I don't want to try out 15 different Gurkhas just to find one good one.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Cmon Andy...........

five blind Gurkhas, five blind others.

You got this down to a science, don't quit now! :):banger

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

:hm

You offering the challenge?:r

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Ohhhhhhh snap!

LOL

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:D

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Andy - regarding dyeing (sp?) their sticks.

I said I would ask them, and I did. Because this was the first time I had ever heard someone stating that they had color residue on their hands from a PI/Reyes product I made sure that they (Reyes peeps) knew what was going on here - as far as blind reviews. I did this so they didn't think some random person out there was out there making stuff up because they don't like the line.

Anyway, I was given a very matter of fact, friend to friend, response that Reyes does not, has not, and will not dye their leaves. Rolando Sr. is absolutely against it. They asked if you had any pictures of your fingers, which I didn't think you did. Not that they thought you were lying but wanted to see what it looked like.

They couldn't think of why this happened but (as your review stated) it had so many different issues going on with it - they think you got a different stick. I took that as them saying that the blind, 3 fingered guard, at their facility mistook a wrapper for toilet paper and you were smoking a crap leaf. lol

While I will admit that you were able to call out most of the Reyes products I never noticed any of the cigars (with you or Mark) that had even near the issues that the cigar in question had. Something was seriously amiss with that one.

Long story short - they don't dye their leaves. I trust their answer to me and I hope that that can stand as some sort of comfort on your end.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

No offense to Reyes, but how many manufacturers are going to actually tell a customer that they dye their wrappers. I know Rocky Patel dyes some of his maduros, but has he actually come out and admitted it? (Serious question. I don't know the answer). Anybody got any info on this (how many manufacturers actually make dyed maduros vs. how many actually admit it)?

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

pm me your addy.
EEE, you want in?

edit; don't know if this forum has that feature. Just in case; lou2row AT hotmail. Borndead has herfed with me before, he can vouch for me (I think).

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Andy - understand being leary of the response. Admittedly i'm not a consumer for them. While I don't work for them I do sell their cigars on the side. I have hung out with these guys on numerous occasions. They have been very frank with things that go on in the industry. If you want to talk in more detail I would be more than happy to talk one on one with you. :)

As far as Rocky.... Yeah, you don't have to be an insider to question some of his stuff. How is he getting 15 year+ tobacco when the Boom was going on and even the big guys were struggling to get leaf in?

I don't want to start any conspiracy theories here though.....

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Lou

I don't have anything against the taste of Gurkhas - it is much more of a personal issue of someone selling me something that they don't have any first hand knowledge of.

I will smoke dyed Rocky's because I see him smoking the same cigar. I might laugh at some of the marketing but as long as he is smoking those sticks I can at least try it.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I was a big RP fan when I first got serious about cigars. I still like them from time to time, but I'm not obsessed with them like I was. I don't have a problem with dyed maduros, I smoke the Indian Tabac SF maduros a lot. I don't have a problem w/ them as long as the dye doesn't come off on my hands.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I knew that some of them were dyed, but had no problem with it (RP's) but overall I've always enjoyed a good RP cigar, but like Andy.. i'm not as huge into them as I once was.

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There are very few cigar makers that don't "enhance" their maduro wrappers in some way. I smoked a Padron 80th and my fingers looked like I ran out of toilet paper. Smoked an Anejo that did it too. On the other hand, I've smoked cheapo, pitch black bundle cigars that didn't stain my fingers.

I think it depends on the "dye recipe". ;)

Also, I've found that some cigars will "absorb" some of the dye with time. La Floridita and El Mejor Espresso are 2 examples.

If'n it makes ya feel any better, they don't use shoe polish or anything to color the wrappers.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

:r:r


I figured they used something similar to food coloring. I'm sure it's safe to smoke, but then again...

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

You guys do realize that the oils in tabacco, especially those in Maduroed leaves, can stain and impart color? Just because a leaf leaves a mark is no indication of dying.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

My favorite Gurkha is the His Majesty's Limited Edition Royal Grand Centennial Gold Vintage Triple Ligero Anniversario Reserve Ancient Nepalese Titan Beast Warrior. :D





I've tried quite a few Gurkhas. The Expedition was a decent smoke, there was another one, I think Grand Reserve, in a Connecticut wrapper that was pretty good, and I smoked through a 5 pack of Centurian perfectos that I thought were pretty good smokes. Didn't like the Doble Maduro, the Royal Brigade, Nepalese Warrior, and there are a couple others I can't remember the names of.

My problem(s) with them are the inconsistent construction and flavor of the cigars, and, quite frankly, the hype. I hate hype. Make a GOOD, CONSISTENT cigar. I don't give a crap about the name on the band. I don't care what the box looks like. And I don't wanna see a ridiculous price tag either. A cigar that retails for $30 a stick? $40 a stick? $750 a stick? Who are you trying to fool? My mama didn't raise no sucka!

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I've had one in a Connecticut wrapper. Not bad if you like Connies, but too mild for me. The Doble Maduro and whatever the barber pole one was were awful. They both tasted like dirt (a heavy earthy flavor).



We started this out with PI and Reyes, move on to Rocky Patels, and now Gurkhas. Where did we go wrong?:D

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I've had behind the scenes looks and conversations with more than just the Reyes group and I can tell you this may have been the case 10/15 years ago but not anymore - at least with most manufacturers. Consumers are becoming too educated and expecting better.

I can't speak for ALL manu's but there are fewer and fewer of them that dye their cigars.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Well, Andy took me up on my offer. EEE, you have first shot at the other position since you graciously put on round one. If not, Mark or someone else that has followed this thread can step in.

I'm more interested in which cigars you enjoy more than picking the Gurkhas. My biggest issue with gurks is construction. Several have flavors I've enjoyed, but they have fell apart on me more than any other cigar manufacturer. I always believe that in a blind review without any hype, you are more prone to find what you like.

So, who else wants to play?:ss

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Is this a question for me? What do I like right now?

I'm into strong sticks. I like about anything Nicaraguan at this point. I mellow out with some Padrons and a few CCs that people gift me, but if I'm picking it out, I go for the power and strength. I haven't found much power in Gurkhas yet.

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CIGAR #10


Robusto with an ugly blemished wrapper. Pre-light draw is grass and hay.

First few draws...



I would guess that this cigar IS a Rolando Reyes cigar.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

I meant what you think of the ten blind sticks versus just "gurkha or not" as an answer, but this will help with a lineup.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Mark # 10 - hoya de nicaragua

Very interesting.

This was the only cigar that Andy didn't get because he was the one I was actually challenging to the Reyes part of this. I'm wondering if you psyched out and thought you were smoking a Reyes stick and your brain told you what to taste vs what you were actually tasting. Almost like if were given an Opus X with a Mac label.... Would we still think it tasted like an Opus X? This is very interesting.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Lou - sure, I'm game. I will send over my addy.

Re: blind 10 spot review(s)
 

Very entertaining thread guys. EEE, WTG offering up like you did. Andy and Mark, nice job on the reviews.

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You have great tastes in your baseball team and that you football and hockey choices follow suit.:ss