Cabaiguan Imperiales

[thebiglebowski]

Well, in another thread yesterday, I posted this:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...393#post177393

So, I thought, what the heck - might as well do a full review of this cigar. I'm not one for pictures, sorry (they really don't do much for me, in terms of reviews, to be totally honest).

As I said in the other thread, after cutting the cigar, the wrapper split. It was split from the cap to the band. I didn't dare try to remove the band for fear of it splitting more. Really disappointed, given the cost of this cigar, $10, and how nice it looks. Pre-clip, it looked just fine. It was stored well in my humidor for over 2 months, which these days is running at about 62-63%...

Draw was fine. Maybe too fine. Couldn't get much flavor. Lit it - it fired up just fine as well, draw was a bit too loose for my liking, but still ok.

Flavor. Very light-bodied. I knew these guys were supposed to be milder than their Tat big brothers, but this was really mild. It tasted kind've sweet, especially when smoked thru the nose. I could taste almonds. But that's about all.

This was the lightest cigar I've had in a long, long time. Not what I typically look for as I prefer more med/full-bodied, spicier cigars. If this line wasn't price-prohibitive, it would be a great cigar to keep on hand for the un-initiated, as I doubt it would make even the lightest of lightweights queezy...

Smoke lasted about 80 minutes, which to me, for the size of this cigar (7x50) is a bit on the short side. For comparison's sake - I smoked a CC Punch Churchill (7x47) the previous Friday and it lasted over two hours! And was pretty darn good, btw... anyway. Also, my yard-gar go-to, the JdN Celebracion Churchill typically lasts about an hour and 45 minutes. This, btw, is a stat I like to see in reviews - the length of time to smoke. I'm in for the long haul, so I like to know if a cigar's going to last a good long time. Cigar needed a few touch-ups during the course of smoking it also. Nothing major - just a bit, here and there.

Bottom line - would I buy again? No. It wasn't a flavor and body I prefer and again, the price... Construction-wise, fortunately, the wrapper behaved itself all the way till i was forced to remove the band and the cigar was pretty much at it's endpoint. As I was smoking this thing down, I thought that i would rather have one my JdN churchills, at 1/3 the price, than this cigar. And at about the same price - the aforementioned Punch from a few days before, most definately! Don't get me wrong - it wasn't bad, it just wasn't that great.

Thanks for reading!