Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - Vegas de Santiago secretos del maestro torpedo

I used to smoke a lot of Vegas de Santiago cigars but hadn't ordered in a while, so owner Rudy send me a 2 cigar sampler of his latest blend, Don Luis "los maestros del secretos" with a H2000 wrapper to renew my interest in these Costa Rican manufacturers.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...ssecretos1.jpg

This 6 x 53 torpedo has a nice chocolate brown, smooth and oily wrapper with a few thin veins. The cigar has a nice barnyard aroma. The band is nice and simple, black & gold (there is also a Don Luis with a black & white band but that's the Ecuadorian Connecticut version, the black & gold has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper). The construction feels good and so is the peppery predraw.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...ssecretos2.jpg

I taste dry hay and a faint metallic flavor with some freshness and a hint of chocolate. After an inch the flavors change to dry wood with earthy notes and a mild chocolate aftertaste. Halfway the flavors change to a full chocolate flavor with some herbs on the background.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...ssecretos3.jpg

At ⅔ I also get some pepper with the chocolate and herbs. The herbal flavors take over and become dominant. The pepper disappears after purging and the chocolate changes into a mint like freshness.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...ssecretos4.jpg

Smoke time: 1 hour and 45 minutes. The smoke is a bit thin, but I get enough smoke from the cigar so I won't complain about that. The draw and burn are good. The light gray ash is quite firm. This cigar is medium to full flavored and medium bodied.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...ssecretos5.jpg

Would I buy this cigar again? Yeah, these cigars are nice and very friendly priced.

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 6 / 10
Aroma second part: 8 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10