I was warned about the Thompson house blends and their aggressive sales policy, but they had an offer I could not refuse. A travelhumidor with some house blends for a price lower than what I had to pay for the same sort of travel humidor anywhere else, so I jumped the deal. Getting rid of the constant flow of emails from Thompson was a drag and well, due to the bad reputation, I was reluctant to light the cigars. Today I finally got myself to smoke one, to see if it could live up to the bad reputation. I picked the Don Lugo, made from Dominican olor and piloto tobacco with an Indonesian wrapper. This robusto has the standard 5x50 size.
The Indonesian wrapper is quite dark, has some veins and is quite oily. The cigar has a big band. The construction feels good and the predraw is fine. I taste pepper and tobacco and I smell hay and wood.
I taste a nasty and bitter coffee flavor with some spicy harshness. The coffee disappears and I get herbs with the spicy harshness.
Halfway I also taste some sweetness with the herbs. After two thirds the sweetness disappears and I am stuck with the nasty, spicy and harsh herbs again.
The smoke time of this nasty cigar is about an hour and ten minutes. The cigar gave me enough smoke, but the smoke was thin and gray. The ash is dark but not firm at all. Unfortunately this cigar is full flavored, it is medium to full bodied.
Would I buy this cigar again? No, and I warn you: STAY AWAY FROM THOMPSON HOUSE BLENDS!
Appearance: 6 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 6 / 10
Aroma first part: 5 / 10
Aroma second part: 4 / 10
Aroma third part: 4 / 10