This cigar came in a bomb from Shellie. The pretty 6 x 48 cigar, made by Rocky Patel, has a pretty wrapper with some light veins and feels pretty tight. It came packed in cellophane. The tobacco used for this cigar is triple fermented corojo and comes from Nicaragua and Honduras. The predraw is fine and tastes like straw.



I get a sweet coffee like flavor with a chocolate aftertaste. After half an inch the coffee is replaced with wood. At the 2 inch mark the flavors swap again, the wood is gone, the coffee is back. Halfway the chocolate disappears too and is replaced by hay. The chocolate aftertaste returns when I reach the 2/3rd point and I can also taste a light pepper flavor.





The flavors are nice but mild to medium, just like the overall power of the cigar. The burn is perfect, the draw and the smoke are fine.



Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, this is a nice cigar to start the day with.

Appearance: 7 /10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 9 / 10
Smoke & ash: 6 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 7 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10

0 Comments

The feel of this 5 x 48 robusto with the oily Connecticut wrapper with a few veins is silky, and the construction seems ok. The cigar has a slightly pressed fire end, but I blame that on the long trip. The aroma reminds me of standing next to a horse and some hay. Unfortunately, the wrapper tears when I try to make a cut, but it is still smokeable.



After lighting the cigar I taste a woody flavor, pretty mild. After half an inch there is a light hay/straw flavor and the intensity of the flavors increase a bit. Half an inch later the wood has a buttery texture with a very light chocolate aftertaste. Halfway I taste some pleasant pepper.



At the 2/3rd mark I found a dry leather flavor combined with the ever present wood and a hint of nuts. The flavors have a warm texture, comforting.



This is a mild bodied, mild flavored cigar with a perfect burn, a great draw, thick dark ashes and plenty of smoke.

Would I buy this cigar again? I don’t think so. It is a good cigar, no doubt about the quality and if you like mild or medium cigars this is a great pick, especially for the prices Eric is asking, but with my palate and love for the fuller bodied cigars it won’t be in heavy rotation in my humidor.

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

0 Comments

I don’t know much about this blend, except that the cigar is made from Nicaraguan tobacco and has a beautiful dark wrapper with some veins. The cigar has no band. The Taboo Exotic Blend II that I smoked was a 5 x 50 maduro.



The cigar has a weird, acidy aroma which reminded me a bit of urine. I had these cigars for over a year so they aged a bit, and it definitely wasn’t ammonia that I smelled. The predraw was fine and gave me a raisin flavor.



I can taste the flavor of dried hay and chocolate, soon to be joined by my friend pepper. The flavors give me a dry feeling in my mouth. Halfway the chocolate disappears and all I taste is a bitter spice. An inch later the chocolate returns as a supporting flavor on the background. The bitterness slowly fades away and the chocolate grows stronger towards the end.



The draw is very good, the right amount of resistance. I get a lot of white, thick smoke and the ash, which has some dark spots in it, is firm. The burn is pretty straight. This is a medium flavored medium bodied cigar.



Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, I prefer these over the twists that are too mild for me.

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

0 Comments

My cigar buddy Misha gave me this big 5.5 x 60 cigar with a dark, mean looking wrapper full of big veins. The band is tacky, looks more like something you will find on an aftershave bottle then on a cigar. The construction feels good, and I have to stretch my Palio to the limits to cut this monster.



I can taste some leather and the texture of the smoke is very sticky. I need to rinse my mouth regularly. After half an inch the flavors transform to wood. The flavors are mild. After 1/3rd I could taste mild milky chocolate for a while with a burning sensation on the tongue, but the flavor returns to the wood taste again. The burning sensation decides to stick around.



After 2/3rd I taste something acidy through the wood but fortunately it only lasts a couple of puffs. The finale brings me a nutty flavor and the power grows a bit.



The smoke is white and thick to begin with although the amount of smoke decreases the longer I smoke. The ash is light gray, the draw and the burn are good. This cigar is mild bodied, mild flavored. If this is a cigar for men, then it’s probably for men who love other men.

Would I buy this cigar again? Nope, they better rename this cigar “Oliveiros XL for sissies” and throw a rainbow band on it.

Appearance: 6 /10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 6 / 10
Aroma second part: 5 / 10
Aroma third part: 6 / 10

0 Comments

This 6 x 50 Toro was a gift from Dan aka Hardcz. The first thing I notice is the aroma, which is full & strong and reminds me of a barnyard. The wrapper is quite dark and due to the rough looks with the nice veins it is a manly cigar. The predraw is great and peppery.



I can taste the flavor of black pepper, and a lot of it and I get flashbacks to the Oliva V belicoso I smoked some time ago. This is one spicy cigar with an aftertaste of toast. After an inch the flavors are pepper and cedar. Halfway the pepper is less overpowering but still present. The woody flavor and some chocolate are better noticeable now. Toast makes a comeback close to the turning point while the pepper fades away a bit.





No doubt about this cigar, full bodied, full flavored. The smoke is also full and the draw and burn are just great.



Would I buy this cigar again? Maybe, so far I liked other Don Pepin cigars like the black, the JJ and the CI legends yellow better than this one. The pepper was a bit too overpowering in this stick.

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

0 Comments