Blind Smoke
 

today we hosted the 'first annual Dutch Blind Smoke' at a private club in The Hague. The idea was to smoke 3 cigars, all puros, one Dominican, one Nicaraguan and one Cuban.

Let it be clear, even though I am part of the organization, I didn't know what cigars were to be smoked. My employer, who is not only a distributer but also a shop owner, selected the three cigars from the shop, had all the bands replaced with a white band with a number so nobody knew what he was smoking and in which order.

A selection of about 30 cigar enthusiasts decided to be part of the experiment, including the owner of the La Casa del Habano Amsterdam. We judged the cigars on flavor in three parts, construction and looks on a scale from 1 to 10 and then divided that total by 5 to get the end result.

The result:
3) Bolivar Royal Corona (2006 cigar of the year) with an average score of 5.9
2) Flores y Rodriguez Habano magicos with an average score of 6.5
1) Oliva serie V double robusto with an average score of 7.9

Re: Blind Smoke
 

Was the Bolivar an '06, or were they just stating that it has been "Cigar of the Year" in 2006?

Re: Blind Smoke
 

stating it has been cigar of the year, showing that it wasn't a lousy cigar with a crap reputation that was picked to cook up a result.

I wish we had aged cigars in the shops, but unfortunately we can only get fresh Cubans here, all way too young.

Re: Blind Smoke
 

That's too bad, Ferdie, I guess you just have to age your own?

Re: Blind Smoke
 

I love experiments like this

Re: Blind Smoke
 

Yeah, these types of experiments usually yield some surprises to the participants. Nothing like giving a big thumbs up to a blind rocket.

Re: Blind Smoke
 

Blind taste tests are always interesting. The fact this one had thirty participants is especially fascinating.

Ferdie, what's the general European take on NCs versus CCs?

Re: Blind Smoke
 

So because I'm slow & to be clear, the BRC was a '13?

That said, I've enjoyed the BRC freshies....

Re: Blind Smoke
 

Also interested on this...

Re: Blind Smoke
 

The '06 Boli RCs I bought in '06 were magic by 2011....these were apparently freshies, E.J.

Re: Blind Smoke
 

12 of 13 I think, I will get the box code today

Re: Blind Smoke
 

It depends on what part of Europe. For example, Spain and Belgium are very traditional markets with a high "Cubans are better than anything else" attitude but Germany and The Netherlands are on the forefront when it comes to a more open mind on NCs. More and more people start to appreciate the flavors of NCs and especially the better construction of those cigars.

Re: Blind Smoke
 

March 13,

Re: Blind Smoke
 

Where is LCDH in Amsterdam?