Atabey Spiritus (7.5" x 40)
I consider myself pretty immune to hype, but when I saw people on CC message board saying that Atabey are one of the only NCs they smoke, it piqued my curiosity for sure. A few people even said that Atabey is the NC that comes closest to the flavor of a CC.
First off, tight draw. Really? A $38 cigar has a tight draw? Maybe the guys who think these taste like Cubans meant to say they're constructed like Cubans.
First half, solid medium 'strength', one-dimensional flavor. Not much of a finish to speak of. Flavor is that of a typical medium-bodied CT wrap cigar. Decent burn; a couple of minor corrections.
A bit of a woodsy flavor comes in the second half, but the flavor still lacks any real depth and the finish is very short, with a hint of liquor.
Final thoughts...what an absolute joke this cigar is. And I'm not just saying it's not worth the price (it's not). It's not even a good cigar. It's just an OK cigar. These taste very similar to a $2 CT wrap bundle lancero I got from Cigar Page a while back. I'm not kidding and I'm not exaggerating.
Whoever thinks this cigar tastes Cuban has the palate of a goat, and probably couldn't spot a scammer even as they were cashing his fake checks.