The Griffins XXIII (LE 2007)

[Don Fernando]

I bought a couple of these The Griffins XXIII when they were released in 2007 even though I wasn’t impressed by any of the other The Griffins I smoked in the past. I bought it because I hoped that a Limited Edition would be better than the original releases and because I really liked the carbon look tubes.



This Dominican 5 ¼ x 52 robusto has a nice light colored smooth silky wrapper. The cigar has a mild aroma of dry straw & hay. The predraw is good and gives me a dry, mild spicy wood flavor. The cigar feels well constructed.



I taste a cedar flavor with a dry structure. On the background, far on the background, I can also taste a dry milky chocolate. The chocolate is hard to discover. After an inch I also get a dry grass/hay flavor through the cedar. The flavors slowly come together until they are quite well balanced. There is also a floral flavor noticeable.



Halfway the cedar and the chocolate grow a bit in strength but the flavors are still medium at most. This cigar is quite one dimensional but consistent. It would make a nice morning or lunch cigar. I paid 8.50 euro for this cigar



The amount of smoke is mediocre and it is quite thin. The ash is medium gray and quite firm. The burn and draw are good. This is a medium flavored and mild to medium bodied cigar.



Would I buy this cigar again? No, I would smoke it though it someone gave it to me, it’s not a bad cigar and I enjoyed it, but I think these are sold out and if not I can get better cigars in the same price range.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 6 / 10
Burn: 8 / 10
Aroma (first part) 7 / 10
Aroma (middle part) 6 / 10
Aroma (last part) 7 / 10