DBall's Newb Blind Taste Test Thread

[DBall]

2 of our newer members are going to review these 10 cigars:



If anyone has any ideas of what these might be, please don't share... I want this to be as fun and unbiased as possible.

They will review them at least 1 per week and PM their reviews to me. Once I get em, I'll post them in the thread and post the results.

This is gonna rock!

Cigars are going out tomorrow...

[cort]

Cant wait to see the results. Sweet idea Dan.


P.S. I know what all of those are.

good luck reviewers. I wont be helping you!

[MedicCook]

Can't wait to see the reviews.

[TheTraveler]

Subscribed. This will be a fun thread to follow.

Originally Posted by TheTraveler

Subscribed. This will be a fun thread to follow.

Ditto!

Wait..wat?

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by Slavac

Ditto!

Wait..wat?

I like BTT threads. I try to guess from the smoker's description what they're smoking. (I'm rarely right though. )

[kelmac07]

Very nice gesture Dan!!

[DBall]

Kelly:

Delivery Confirmation™ Label Number: 0103 8555 7497 8814 1725

Brad:

Delivery Confirmation™ Label Number: 0103 8555 7497 9862 7486

Let the games begin...

Originally Posted by DBall

Kelly:

Delivery Confirmation™ Label Number: 0103 8555 7497 8814 1725

Brad:

Delivery Confirmation™ Label Number: 0103 8555 7497 9862 7486

Let the games begin...

Dun Dun dunnnnnnnn.

This'll be fun.

This is great!

[Flat4boxer]

Package received. First review will be sent today on cigar #1.

[Flat4boxer]

Review submitted on Cigar #1

[DBall]

Slavic #1


**************************************


Cigar: Mystery Cigar 1
Setting: Back deck on a 70 deg night. Brilliant out.
Drink: Left Handed Brewery Milk Stout

Initial Impressions: Cigar is smaller than my typical cigar and is very veiny. There is some apparent damage on the cigar and obvious weak spots which make me wonder how this one passed QC.



Cut and pre-light draw: Very tight, hard to get any airflow at all with my initial V-cut. Faint taste of English breakfast tea with an even fainter honey sweetness finish.

Lit easily using my tri-torch.

Draw after lighting: Nearly impossible. V-cut failed, re-cut using guillotine in an attempt to get a better draw. This too failed, but what to do. I smoked the stubborn thing.


^You can see how tightly packed this particular cigar is.

First Third: Held its ash through the first third. Tastes of leather, campfire and finishes very very slightly sweet. I got more smoke from the ash end than through my mouth, this cigar was all workworkwork.


^First third. Note the funky ash angle despite the presence of any wind, nor did I set it down which could've bumped it. Weird.

Second Third: Ash fell off at the very end of the First Third. I had to constantly work to keep this cigar lit. The flavor was a bitter throughout. The taste turned to more of a strong leather smell without the aforementioned sweet component. Smoke smells bitter like a campfire after it's been rained on: heavy and acidic. Draw remains next to impossible. The harshness mellowed toward the end of the Second Third. Ash fell off again, and seems the ash wouldn't last for more than 1". Cigar began coming apart at the aforementioned veins and weak spots.


^Second Third. Damage is more evident here.

Dog/helper took a sniff of the cigar, sneezed and promptly left. This should be a sign.

Third Third: Bfargh. The cigar constantly keeps trying to die on me, supposedly from the too tight wrap. The wrapper on this particular day was given 50 yards of leaf to wrap before he could go home and he attempted to put all 50y into this particular cigar. I hate this roller. I imagine his name is Senor Manuel. I hate Manuel.
The cigar now has a heavy tar buildup with an acidic finish and has absolutely no hint of pleasantness. In my notes I have written, "I hate this poor excuse for a cigar."
Cigar has to be re-lit twice in this portion, despite constantly attempting to draw from it.


^Burn was constantly uneven. Note the weak spot + damage.

Final Impressions: This smallish cigar took a solid 80+ minutes to smoke due to its tightly wrapped nature.
Would I buy again: Certainly not.
Would I smoke again: I would not gift this cigar to an enemy nor would I smoke another one even if free.
Overall Rating With 10 the highest possible and 0 the baseline: 1.5/10

Final Thoughts: Avoid this cigar like the plague.

[DBall]

Flat4boxer #1

************

Prelight

This feels like a tightly wrapped stick. Very firm, carmel colored cigar with a nice wrapper that has medium veins.



After clipping, the prelight draw was very tight and I was worried that I'd be putting my lungs to the test trying to smoke this thing.

Light



All is well, the draw is not as tight as it seemed it would be. I'd have to say medium draw with ample amounts of smoke. Just a hint of spice and pepper in the first few puffs.

1/3rd



The burn is a little bit uneven with loose, dark gray ash. It wanted to go out if not tended to every minute. A couple touch ups were required but nothing major. The cigar has a smooth flavor. The hints of spice and pepper are gone.

2/3rd



Flavor is getting better and better, more smooth.....smoke is easy to come by with every puff. Definatley a medium bodied stick. Still working to keep it lit. The loose, flakey ash is still holding on and the uneven burn continues. The ash makes something that reminded me of a Dr. Seuss hat.....

[DBall]

.....and the gray, flakey ash continues.....



3/3rd

The flavor of this cigar continues to be smooth, becoming creamy and buttery. The word "yummy" came to mind over and over. The cigar is now staying lit without me having to puff at it every minute. However, the uneven burn continues.



This cigar was enjoyable despite a few touch ups and initially fighting to keep it lit. It became smoother and the tastes blended together nicely as time went on. I nubbed this thing 'til the very end.



Overall I'd have to give this stick a 9.3/10 Would recommend it again.

Thanks for reading.

[DBall]

What they smoked:



2007 Vegas Robaina Familiar

Slavac score: 1.5
Flat4boxer score: 9.3

Strange that you guys had such differing opinions... I love VRs and, while I've smoked very few out of this 07 box, I've never had any draw issues. Hell... I may need to send Slavac a replacement!

1 down, 9 to go...

PS - a paperclip is a GREAT draw tool...

[Scottw]

I love the BTT threads. Nice work guys.

[Flat4boxer]

2nd review inbound today.

[Emjaysmash]

This is fun.