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.