Ccom threw in 5 purple label robustos on my order, as compensation for a shipping snafu. I haven't tried one, yet, but they'll be my first sampling of the house brand. Sounds like they'll be milder than I like, but maybe handy to keep on hand for one particular friend of mine who can't handle anything that isn't mild. And variety is good. That's why I ordered the R&J Reserva Reals, to complement the Hemingways.
I'll have to snag a few Brazilians on the next order.
Nothing wrong with the Purple label, its a mild stick, but its not bad in my opinion.
I've had a pretty good variety of R&J's over the years -- including some special edition maduros from a certain country that rhymes with "tuba" -- and I've never gone wrong with one. None of them have blown me away, flavor-wise, but they've all been good, solid, even-burning cigars.
To tag on this thread, I recently had a Red label box purchase that had a little over a year in my humidor, and I must say that they age very nicely, and from what my memory serves up it definately got better, though I enjoyed it right out of the box when I bought them. Still have two left
I can hardly wait to try my Brazilians in a year...the cigars I mean. :P
I don't know if I'm just a bit of a cigar snob or what but the only CCOM labels that I really liked were the Brazilian and Red labels. A couple others were OK, and then a couple that I definitely wouldn't care to pay money for. I won't say they were bad cigars, just not any that I personnally cared for. The only one that I have to still is the Corojo.
I got one of the variety samplers, last week. The only one I've tried is still the Purple Label, which I didn't care for. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to trying the others.
I got one of the variety samplers, last week. The only one I've tried is still the Purple Label, which I didn't care for. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to trying the others.
it was just too mild. wasnt BAD, just no flavor. its a good beginners smoke
I like this thread. Nice compliments and some good constructive criticism on the blends. The House Blends are something we really take pride in and put a lot of work into. The trick is making a cigar that is going to be an excellent value and appeal to all smokers.
Let me start by commenting on our different blends and I am sure it will provide some insight as to why some are similar and some are different. Yes all House Blends are mixed filler or are what is called a sandwich. A sandwich is when short or medium length fillers are bunched inside long leaves. This was done on purpose. You see the first blends to come out were the Blue, Cuban, Red, Purple and Cameroon. When we launched these lines, we spent a lot of time looking for a factory to partner with. Ultimately we settled on Tabadom in the Dominican Republic. This is Davidoff Factory. As you can imagine, making cigars at such a nice factory isnt cheap so finding a way to make a 2 - 3 $$ cigar there was a challenge in and off itself. You see when a cigar is made, a rollero will make the cigar an inch longer then trim it down in a big cigar cutter to the intended size. What we do, is buy those ends of the cigars that are cut off and use them in the fillers. Think about the brands made at this factory. It may be scrap, but it is some of the best damn tobacco in the world reserved for some of the most expensive cigars on the market and encompasses filler and wrapper. This short or medium (depending on size) is sandwiched into some premium long leaves and bound. This is the core of the Red, Cuban, Purple, Blue and Cameroon labels in that they all use the same filler and binder. What is different is the wrapper.
Purple = Connecticut Connecticut
Blue = Connecticut Ecuador
Cameroon = Cameroon
Cuban = Sumatra Ecuador
Red = Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Because they share a filler, there are many similarities in the complexity. However, each blend is distinct and is a testament to how much a wrapper changes a cigar.
Now the Brazilian Label and Corojo Label are made at different factories so you are going to get your biggest differences there. The Brazilian is made by AJ fernandez and the Corojo by Pepin Garcia. Both are premiums and also mixed.
Corojo = Natural Corojo Nicaragua
Brazilian = Arapiraca Brazilian Maduro
On to the question I saw about mixed vs short filler. There are such things as just short filler cigars. usually they are machine made but there are some hand rolls that are 100% short filler. Most of the time these cigars retail for less than $1.00 and have consistency problems.
Mixed also called medium or sandwich is a combination of short filler sandwiched in long leaves. There are several ways to do it. Most are a 50/ 50 mix short to long but some of the more premium sandwiches will use a 75 / 25. It is not uncommon for a dishonest factory to try to mask a 75/ 25 as long filler to sell to an unsuspecting customer.
Alex, thanks for clearing up the filler issue. Though I've had a little different explanation given to me by a couple other professionals. I had a B&M owner who has his own blends(some of which are mixed and some are factory seconds) tell me there was no such thing as a hand-rolled short filler cigar. People mistakenly refer to mixed filler or cuban sandwiches(as he referred to them) as short filler. But thats really here nor there thanks for the clarification. He also gave me the same warning about 75/25 cigars even went into the back room and pulled one out that had made it into his shoppe but he pulled from the shelves.
For everyone else I did smoke another purple label last week and thought pretty much the same thing about it as before.
Also I smoked a red label, it like the rest of ccoms burned flawlessly and pretty cool especially considering it mixed filler. The cigar had good flavor and was great. Just one problem I didn't like the combination of flavors. The conneticut maduro wrapper gave it a nice dark chocolate flavor and the filler was very nutty, with hints of leather and cedar. I personally did not like that flavor combination, so I can't recommend this cigar but again it was well constructed.
If you like the dark chocolate flavor with a strong leather finish you will love it. I'm not big on the strong leather flavor it is the ONLY reason I'm not a Davidoff fan.
I recently bought a ccom sampler and have smoked 1 blue and 1 brazillian. Both were well made and good flavored. The blue has a light wrapper while i prefer dark. I hope the rest are as good.
I recently bought a ccom sampler and have smoked 1 blue and 1 brazillian. Both were well made and good flavored. The blue has a light wrapper while i prefer dark. I hope the rest are as good.
That sampler is a nice way to help a smoker discover which cigar type they enjoy at a very affordable price.. I liked the Ecuadorian ,Cuban, Brazilian, and Dominican Maduro. best..
One common theme with the c.com's house labels. They are freaking well made!
True. They are definitely well made and burn quite well. There are just some flavors that aren't really my cup of tea. I really enjoy the red and brazilian labels though.
Ron I agree with that completely. Except I like the Brazilian and Corojo best. All the others have that dominant leather flavor of a Davidoff and to me the wrappers they are using seem out of place with the filler. Thats just my tastes though.
I just had my first ccom blend. The Cuban Label. I will echo the comments about the great construction. The flavor was excellent as well. This thing is worth every penny of $2.50. I got it in the 5 for $5 sampler, and the sampler paid for itself and then some just on this one cigar.
Yeah.. the 5/$5 was awesome. My two faves out of that are two that I never would have tried otherwise (ccom Cuban Label and Camacho 1962). Not that the others have been a bad deal, mind you
ive been looking at the ccom sampler but didnt want to jump into it cause well a brand i dont know and when i looked at them they seemed like they would be bland but im not so sure now after reading these reviews
The Purple Label is pretty bland, to be honest. But the others seem to be quite good, especially the Brazilian, Cameroon, and Corojo. The sampler's worth the price.
Agreed that the purple label is a bit mild in both body and flavor, not bad, just not particularly good. That said, I'd smoke it again if I was looking for a very light smoke that I didn't have to worry about. The brazilian and cameroon have my recommendation... I think you be hard pressed to find a cameroon wrapped cigar this good for the same price.
Comments
I can hardly wait to try my Brazilians in a year...the cigars I mean. :P
For everyone else I did smoke another purple label last week and thought pretty much the same thing about it as before.
Also I smoked a red label, it like the rest of ccoms burned flawlessly and pretty cool especially considering it mixed filler. The cigar had good flavor and was great. Just one problem I didn't like the combination of flavors. The conneticut maduro wrapper gave it a nice dark chocolate flavor and the filler was very nutty, with hints of leather and cedar. I personally did not like that flavor combination, so I can't recommend this cigar but again it was well constructed.