Excalibur

[macpappy]

Recently purchased an Excalibur Legend sampler pack that contained 1 Conqueror, 1 Challenger and 1 Crusader. After letting it sit in my cooler for a week I decided to give one a try.

I was totally and completely disgusted by the Challenger.

I did a V cut, lit it and at first I thought this is promising. The flavor was OK and it produce a good volume of smoke. For about two minutes. Then it went out.

As I had gotten a good bit of smoke on the initial draw (I'm trying not to use th "p" word), I was surprised so I relit it. As long as I was drawing on it constantly it produced a good amount of smoke but if I stopped it stopped.

This time I tapped the 1/8 inch ash off and looked at it. I was surprised by a gap in the center between where the ash was and where the filler was.

I'm thinking this was just a bad cigar and plan on trying one of the other Excaliburs when I have time this weekend.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

[Coz77]

Sounds like maybe the cigar was to wet. Let the other ciagrs sit longer, maybe drybox the next one a few days before lighting.

[BlackIrish]

I smoked one of these in a blind tasting and didn't have any of the problems you describe. Here was my review of the Crusader:

I smoked the first of TedRodgersCPAs sample of 5. I started with cigar #4. I'm on a business trip and don't have my camera with me, so I apologize for the lack of photos.

Prelight: This cigar looked to be about 6x48, with a somewhat veiny, colorado wrapper, medium brown with some orange-ish hues, leathery with a nice sheen. From the looks of it, I'm guessing it's a sungrown wrapper. It was will filled, very firm. Aromas of wood, sweetness, caramel. The cap was applied a little bit sloppily. When I sliced it, I got a great cold draw and definite sweetness and spice.

Burn: The burn was excellent, straight with only the occasional wobble that self-corrected. Light gray ash was firm. Voluminous smoke. Smoking time was about 1.5 hours.

Taste: I got a little pepper upon lighting, but it smoothed out quickly. Flavors of leather, earth, and some cedar layered over a background of sweetness and some baking spice (this has to be a sungrown wrapper). Nicely balanced, pleasant flavors. Medium bodied, with a clean finish.

The flavor stayed pretty steady throughout the smoke, though it became a bit stronger in the second half. About halfway through the cigar I began to detect some other flavor notes: some nuttiness, maybe vanilla, maybe almond. It wasn't super-complex, more steady but tasty, and it stayed that way all the way to the nub. It got a bit hot in the last inch or so, and I knew that time was up.

I enjoyed this cigar. It's a well-made, flavorful smoke, not stellar, but straightforward, tasty, honest smoke.

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by Coz77

Sounds like maybe the cigar was to wet. Let the other ciagrs sit longer, maybe drybox the next one a few days before lighting.

I guess that's possible but the sampler box sat in my truck for two days before I got home to put it in my coolerador. I keep my cooler at 65%.

Thanks for the response. I'll move the two remaining into my desktop for a few days before smoking one of them.

[Scottw]

try the epicure maduro, awesome.

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by Scottw

try the epicure maduro, awesome.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[macpappy]

Yesterday I tried the toro size of the Excalibur Legend. This was after I let it rest in my humidor since trying the first one. The extra time did nothing to improve this cigar as it had the same draw/burn problem as the first one. I tried smoking it for about 20 minutes but it kept going out.

This was not a good purchase for me.

[jkstewart1]

Not to renew an old thread, but I just smoked an excalibur legend this morning and it kicked my ass. I still have a little less than half left, but I fell too quesy to go on. Might need to let these sit a while. I enjoy strong sticks, but this is overwhelming for a morning smoke.