DBall's Newb Blind Taste Test #3

[DBall]

Originally Posted by macsauce13

Awesome! Ohh, and I beat DBall before he announced the cigar!

You're the first one in any of the 3 threads. Unfortunate, too... I enjoyed the ordered look of things.

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by DBall

What they smoked:



2009 H Upmann Mag 46

jimmyk26 score: 9.3
Brutus2600 score: 9.9

Aren't these things great? I may have one tonight... but I'm nearly out.

I gave many of these away and then after a few months in the humi and after over half the box was given out, they became MAGNIFICENT. I need more, but they aren't free... unfortunately.

One of my favs!

[Brutus2600]

Absolutely my favorite cigar so far Dan...thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Doing a quick search on these they aren't cheap, but only being from 2009, I have hope that I might be able to enjoy one of these again with similar aging on it sometime in the semi-near future

[macsauce13]

Originally Posted by DBall

You're the first one in any of the 3 threads. Unfortunate, too... I enjoyed the ordered look of things.

:s

[dwoodward]

Wow, how did I miss this thread?

Amazing idea DBall! Just reading those reviews got my mouth watering, and each cigar reviewed I have never heard of before (being new to cigars as well).

I might have to look into those cigars now lol.

[DBall]

Originally Posted by dwoodward

Wow, how did I miss this thread?

Amazing idea DBall! Just reading those reviews got my mouth watering, and each cigar reviewed I have never heard of before (being new to cigars as well).

I might have to look into those cigars now lol.

Did you read the previous two threads just like this that I hosted? Links are on the first post...

[Brutus2600]

Number 7 is done and sent in!

[Riff Raff]

Dan,

As always, these threads are the highlight of my week! It is great to see these reviews! You guys are doing great!

Bill

[jimmyk26]

7 is in for me as well! Only 3 left, this is going faster than I thought it would.

[DBall]

Sorry about the delay... been a bad couple weeks...

[DBall]

jimmyk26 Cigar #7
***************

Here is round #7

Initial impressions - Another long and skinny cigar, this stick measures 6" x 28 and is wrapped with a medium brown leaf that shows a few veins and has a couple imperfections and discolorations. To the touch, it appears well constructed with only one slight soft spot and a slight indentation that shadows the band that was once there. The cap is so well applied that it is hard to make out the three layers. Not a beautiful cigar. The wrapper smells of dark chocolate and sweet tobacco while the foot presents an aroma of hay. The pre-light draw is easy with only a slight hint of hay left on the palate.


Initial puffs - There are rich coffee, chocolate and wood flavors in the first few puffs, with a pepper spice running through the nose. There was a little run away burn that seems to be correcting itself.

1/3 - Wow this is smoking quickly. The rich flavors carry right on through into the first third picking up a bit of sweetness and creaminess. Now the burn line has pretty much corrected itself. The ash is droping every quarter inch or so, probably due to the windy conditions were I am smoking right now. Rich chocolate and earth coating my palate and the spice is nice and strong through the nose.


2/3 - It is almost hard to keep up with the thirds of this cigar because it is smoking more quickly than I am used to. The tip did develop a little bit of tar which I cut off, this doesn't seem to have affected the cigar and I'll try to smoke this a bit slower for the rest of the review. For its size, this cigar has been smoking exceptionally well with a surprising amount of smoke for its ring gauge. While the earth and chocolate have remained steadily since the beginning of the cigar, it has picked up a bit of hazelnut and wood on the finish which seems to linger quite a while. I have struggled a bit with keeping this cigar lit, it seems that if I put the cigar down to type it goes out. It has relit easily and has picked up right where it left off each time.


3/3 - For just a brief bit, the cigar presented a slight metallic taste that seemed out of place. It left quickly and doesn't seem to be coming back. Otherwise, this is cigar has been very consistent from start to finish. A smooth easy draw with rich earth and chocolate flavors that linger on the palate, it has a nice bit of sweetness. Other than the need for attention and relights, this cigar has burnt evenly and smoked very well. The wood and pepper spice through the nose have started to linger on the palate. After the spice became more pronounced the cigar started to get a bit bitter and the flavors faded.


Final thoughts - Although this cigar wasn't overly complex, the earth, chocolate, wood, and spice flavors were quite enjoyable. This makes me wonder if the complexity of the smaller ring gauge cigars have limited potential due to the fewer leafs that make up the cigar. Surprisingly thick and rich smoke indicated that this cigar was well constructed and made for a very nice, if short, smoking experience. I think that I wouldn't have had to relight the cigar so much if I wasn't doing the review. I would definitely smoke more of these if I had the chance, but I think that this cigar lacked the complexity to be a great cigar.


Rating: 8.9 - A good cigar that had an enjoyable, straight forward flavor profile.

[DBall]

Brutus2600 Cigar #7
*****************

I woke up nice and early this morning before the heat and the noise of the day. Made a pot of coffee, got everything all situated, and went to go grab DBall's 7th cigar to review. As I was taking it out of the numbered five finger baggy, I made the sad realization that there are only 3 cigars left after this! However, after that, I made the exciting realization that I was still going to get to experience 3 more great cigars!

Upon initial inspection this cigar looks to be about 6 x 32. The construction is only slightly rough, I wouldn't say the wrapper is bad, nor would I say it was perfect either. It is nice and firm without any soft spots, and has nice triple cap on it, and I think I see a little plume as well.



Initial Light 7:40 - The prelight draw brings the taste of sweet tobacco and is a little loose. Toasted the foot, lit the cigar, and off we go! The first draw brought a little spice, hints of cream, and produced big beautiful amounts of white smoke.



First Third - The initial spice I tasted is now developing into a more peppery taste that hits me on the back of my tongue. I'm also picking up hints of leather and another prominent flavor that I can't pin down. The ash is a dark gray with white streaks, and only holds on for about a half an inch. There is this...soured? Almost bitter flavor that purging isn't getting rid of. It's almost like food on the verge of going bad. Very strange and haven't had that in a cigar before. Thank goodness that seems to be fading though.



Second Third 8:05 - The bitterness is completely gone by now. The burn is fantastic, not what I've come to expect from this RG. It's even staying lit and hasn't required any touch ups. This cigar has been overall very mild, flavors being almost hard to discern. I'm still picking up minor hints of leather and grassy notes however.



Final Third 8:35 - I got distracted and let the cigar go out. After a relight it's right back to it's mild mannered self again. I guess that's kind of telling about this stick. While good, it doesn't captivate me like other cigars do. The wrapper is a little loose around the last part and has created a slightly uneven burn, but nothing significant.



Finish time 8:52 - While this stick wasn't exciting, that's not a bad thing, it just makes this mild stick a great early morning smoke. As Jimmy stated earlier in this thread, this whole experience has really changed my perspective on RG sizes, and I've come to appreciate the smaller RG significantly. Something this size is almost more comfortable to me now than a 50+ RG stick. While I'm not sure if I'd actively seek this cigar out again, it is something I could see myself enjoying if I found a good deal on them.

Appearance and construction: 1.3 out of 1.5
Smoke and ash: 1.5 out of 1.5
Burn: 2.8 out of 3
Overall flavor: 2.5 out of 4

8.1 out of 10

[Montano]

I had the pleasure of herfin' with James (jimmyk26) this past weekend, we had lots of laughs and lots of smokes. I was in the last round of the NBTT, so we were talking about how incredibly generous Dan has been !!

[DBall]

What they smoked:



2002 La Gloria Cubana MdO#4

jimmyk26 score: 8.9
Brutus2600 score: 8.1

I love these smokes... bought a ton of boxes when they were around and seem to be running out at an alarming rate. Still one of my all time favorites, though.

Editing to mention that I'm not as huge a fan of this particular box as I have been of others... not too sure why... maybe the roller was having an off day.

[Brutus2600]

Sorry to hear it's been a rough couple of weeks Dan...no worries on the delay.

First cigar that's matched up with my lighter hehe.

Thanks again Dan, this has been a blast so far. Look for review 8 this weekend

[DBall]

Originally Posted by Brutus2600

Sorry to hear it's been a rough couple of weeks Dan...no worries on the delay.

First cigar that's matched up with my lighter hehe.

Thanks again Dan, this has been a blast so far. Look for review 8 this weekend

Dude... that lighter is incredibly cool... LGC is probably my favorite cuban marca.

You guys are almost done... can't wait to see the last 3!

[macsauce13]

Wow great reviews fellas! The different experiences are so interesting! After the first one I wanted to go find some of these asap, and then the second review calmed me back down.

Nice work guys!

[Brutus2600]

Review #8 incoming in about 30 minutes

[jimmyk26]

Yep, #8 is in...this is almost going too quickly.

[DBall]

jimmyk26 Cigar #8
***************

Initial inspection - This cigar is roughly 6"x 43, another 'big' cigar in this tasting flight. The first thing I notice about this cigar is the peanut butter smell off of the wrapper, it's as if I just opened up a two pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. As I continue smelling, there is also a slight sweet tobacco scent behind the peanut butter. From the foot I am getting more sweet tobacco and cinnamon. The wrapper has a slightly toothy texture and light brown color; it is a great looking wrapper with very few veins. It also has a great triple cap, it almost looks like a quadruple cap (has that ever been done?). I can detect no soft spots so it seems to be well constructed. The pre light draw is easy and there is cinnamon and spice on the palate.


Initial puffs - There is a rich burnt wood with a strong pepper spice right away. After the initial blast of flavor, the cigar picks up a slight sweetness that seems to linger. The smoke is easy drawing and rich.

1/3 - This first third is spicy and woody with a lingering earth and leather. Surprisingly the draw is the loosest draw of the whole tasting flight, which makes me slightly concerned about how it will perform throughout. The burn has been uneven and the ash is fragile. There is a slight spice and sweetness through the nose that makes me think of those peanut butter cups again. The as soon as the smoke hit my palate, the flavor explodes with spicy, earthy, grassy richness. The burn has also evened out.


2/3 - The second third starts off with rich tangy spice that is just fantastic, yep I think I just got giddy about this cigar <insert big smile on my face>. It is hard to pull out the exact flavors that make up the expereince, but there is a wood spice coupled with a slight chocolate and peanut sweetness that makes way for a slight lingering grassiness. The burn is has stayed pretty even and the ash seems to fall off every 1/2' or so. There is even a bit of caramel sweetness on the finish. The cigar is fabulous right now.


3/3 - The spice has settled down a bit in on the palate, but it is still part of the profile. To use a term from Coffee tasting, I would describe this cigar as bright with poignant flavors. Leather has now made itself known. The ash still seems to be weak and falls off with out much warning. Also of note, it has been pretty windy out today so I have had to do some lighter touch ups, but it didn't seem to affect the flavors or the smoking experience. There is even a bit of a metallic taste that isn't bad but rather enhances the whole complex set of flavors. This cigar continues to deliver powerful and complex flavors all the way to the bittersweet end.


Final thoughts - ...mmm....
Well that pretty much sums it up. I felt like this cigar was almost out of my league, I could pick out the flavor profiles, but there was so much complexity that I am not sure I got everything. Not that I couldn't pick out all of the flavors given more time and cigars, but rather this cigar makes me realize that I still have a lot of work to do to improve my palate. It was a flavor experience that I don't think I have ever had before in a cigar. Start to finish there was rich spice, earth, and sweetness. The only small issue was the easy draw, I would have preferred it slightly firmer. Considering how fantastic the rest of the cigar was, the draw wasn't even really a problem.


Rating: 9.9 - I don't know if I could rate a cigar higher.