Great cigar. Toothy and oily wrapper in a rich chocolate color. Aroma of earth, spice, and something not quite chocolate. A good bit of kick in the lick and draw.
Sorry for the blurry pic. I didn't notice that I must have moved the camera at the end because I discarded some others that were worse or taken with the flash.
I have to describe this cigar as having a boutique feel. I don't even know what that means except to say that it's not like anything I've had from some larger brands. It does remind me a little bit of the Emilio Draig K and some Ezra Zion stuff. The Jericho Hill puts out a lot of smoke and is very rich and flavorful. Lots of malt and molasses. Just enough spice to keep it real.
I prefer smokes under a 50 rg, but the box press on this made its slightly larger diameter accessible. Burn was a little uneven but never needed a touch up. Ash was flaky but held pretty good. Smoke time from toast to frozen hands and a soft cigar was 1:20. I wish this could have gone on just a bit longer before it got soft; I didn't feel like I was really at the nub stage, yet. The smoke got a little unpleasant though, so I set it down.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
It was a beautiful afternoon at the top of Mississippi. Blue skies and a giant magnolia visible from the back porch were calling me.
Since I didn't get much sleep last night, I really wanted and afternoon pick-me-up. What better to go with my coffee than a connie? Wait a minute, I don't have many standard connies in the humi at the moment. Except for this one Rocky. Not usually a fan, but I thought I'd give it a try.
This was a good, but not a great stick. It had its moments of feeling like sucking on air, but for the most part had a classic CT mix of cream and nuts. A little spice came in here and there. The wrapper was really easy to scorch, btw. Breezy out today so I had to use my torch. I just refilled it recently and had the flame a little high. Still, I didn't think I had the foot anywhere close to it, but one edge got a little dark during my toast. Grrr.
I still say the Oliva Connecticut Reserve is my favorite connie. Far more complex as it develops than this offering from Rocky. And they're cheaper. This did have a good draw and lots of smoke output. Feel and everything were spot on, but the flavors just weren't anything special to me.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Yeah, isn't this your #2 connie after the PL23? I liked it, but there wasn't much to distinguish it from the masses. I have yet to try the Perdomo, but I didn't have much luck from the other wrappers. I certainly don't hate them on principle-I do like the Reserve 10th Champagne a LOT. In fact, it might be my second favorite regular rotation connie...
After Oliva, of course.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I found this in the bottom of a clearance bin as a single for box-purchase price. I recently had the Cx2, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Coming from the bin, it was a little banged up, but not much. It was certainly smokeable.
There were surprisingly mild aromas pre-light. The cap gave me very little flavor. When I cut it, it basically fell off, so I guess I'm not missing much. The cigar never unraveled so I guess I wasn't missing much.
Initially, the dominant flavor was green pepper. This wasn't unpleasant. There was a never-ending finish to this, it seemed and it had a feeling of strength but never felt overpowering.
The vegetation stopped encroaching on other flavors and I tasted a little bit of nuts. The pepper was slight. The feel and body of this cigar was always of strength and on the full side, but the flavors never even skated on the edge. I'm not going to go so far to say they were subtle, but they weren't in your face.
Right after snapping this pic, well two puffs after, the wrapper finally came undone. I actually really liked this cigar. It wasn't as complex or well rounded as an LFD Double Ligero, but it wasn't as gut-punch strong, either. I didn't need to smoke this right after a huge steak dinner, even though I wouldn't recommend it on an empty stomach. I really liked this cigar. It took me about 55 minutes of freezing my knuckles since it wasn't as warm as I thought it was. Well worth it. Burned longer than I expected and never had issues. I suspect in a well cared for state the construction would shine. I'm reluctant to go looking for a box after only one trial, but for a quickish smoke when you want strength I could see running to this one next winter after I move to the frozen North.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I bundled up to brave the cold for this one. I wasn't sure what to try, but thought what the heck. I have a day off work, so if it makes me feel funky, I won't ruin the weekend and it won't affect my job, either.
This was not a typical connie profile. I got a pinch on the roof of my mouth from the smoke. Something harsh/acid that reminds me of all the other Lot 23's I've had. Not what I look for in a connie, and not my favorite profile. This has so much more strength than a lot of connies and I just don't like the finish. Sorry, Ryan. I'll be sticking to Oliva. I'll let the other one rest a while.
By the way, no tummy results, yet, but I felt lightheaded in the final third and now the head hurts a bit.
Light to nub took about 1.5 hours. All of it just felt harsh to me. I prefer smooth. Pepper is fine, but that's about all I got and it was just not my favorite profile. Maybe there's something in the dirt in that Perdomo field that I'm sensitive to.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Sry you didn't enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know what you think about the anniversary when you fire it up, I've never heard anything bad about them. I think I sent the sungrown which I actually prefer over the maddie.
This 5.25x50 cigar is nearly covered in bands, cedar, and ribbon.
Even though it retails for nearly $30 for a single, a ccom March madness deal last year hooked me up for under $7 as part of a sampler when averaged across the board. At any rate, after peeling off the layers, what I'm left with is a very firm cigar with little oil, no veins to speak of, and a uniformly colored Habano Sun Grown wrapper.
The cigar smells good and the lick is a pleasant mild tobacco flavor. After a long slow toast, the cigar lights up beautifully.
In the initial third I get a pleasant cinnamon and vanilla flavor with slight fruity overtones. There's some black pepper on the retro, but only on a retro. The cigar puts off a lot of light smoke. There's a pleasant and full body to the cigar, but its flavors are a strong mild. The finish is pleasant. The worst part of the cigar so far is that the draw is just a shade to firm for my taste, but that's probably because it is so firmly packed. This makes for a slow smoke and strong ash.
The second third adds to the complexity with some leather and cedar. For a little while, there's also a bitter, green vegetable flavor. This is not an ideal addition to the profile for me, usually, but it kind of works here. It's a small enough part of the profile that I just keep going through it and it blends into nothingness, leaving only a slight coffee bitterness to the flavors. Body and finish are the same, even though I'd call the flavors now in the medium-strong level. More pepper on the retro, and the overall feel of the cigar is much stronger. When the cigar ashed, finally, it had some burn issues and got a little bitter and strong because of trying to address it in this middle portion. That didn't last long, however, and won't detract much from the overall awesomeness of this cigar.
The final third smooths out tremendously after the second third, yet still leaves an impression of increasing strength in flavor, body, and overall feel. The cigar is very well balanced at this point. I notice the wood increasing in strength along with some leather, which will continue to increase in this third until the end of the smoke. I also get a kind of tangy bittersweet flavor that I can't place flitting in and out of the profile. After a few minutes in this final portion, I start to feel light headed. I continue smoking to a respectable point, but without threatening to nub the cigar for fear of ruining nearly two hours of pleasure (1:48 for a robusto) by getting some hot smoke.
About 10 minutes after I go inside, the light headedness is still with me and now my stomach hurts. After another 10 minutes, the nic kick has set in so hard that I dry heave. I smoked this cigar a little while after a late but heavy breakfast and finished right before lunchtime. Maybe my stomach was too empty for it, but I really didn't feel any effects from it until the final third, and probably only for the last 15-20 minutes of the smoke. The worst came after I finished. After bowing before the porcelain throne, I dozed off for about 15 minutes, woke up, ate lunch and felt fine. Very odd aftereffect to this cigar. Usually I notice something I don't like in a cigar that does this to me (see Lot 23), but I thoroughly enjoyed this smoke from toast to setting it down. Still, because it hit me so hard, I will probably think twice before picking up another. Three times if I'm paying retail.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Great review, Eric.
I'm encouraged that someone like you that has developed a good palate for cigars, also struggles with the nic-hit as I do at times; makes me feel less of a newb. I'd like to hear more of what causes that, and might start a thread about it, so as not to hijack this one.
Sorry you had this experience man! I had this cigar to celebrate my boy being born two years ago and it ended up being one of the all time greatest cigars in my memory and still is. I wrote up a review on it as well here... Should be listed in my Irish Reviews in this section of Ccom if you are interested in my take on it from a different perspective. I strongly encourage you to try it again but in the evening after a big steak dinner or the like, think it will be a very different and wonderful experience for you!
"When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
that someone like you that has developed a good palate for cigars
Geez, take him to dinner first!
I know, right!
peter4jc:
Great review, Eric.
I'm encouraged that someone like you that has developed a good palate for cigars, also struggles with the nic-hit as I do at times; makes me feel less of a newb. I'd like to hear more of what causes that, and might start a thread about it, so as not to hijack this one.
I don't know about "good palate". It's my palate; remember you might not like what I like or even taste what I taste. I'm a weird and slightly obsessive guy who's good at making stuff up. It's my liberal arts education. I got a B.A. in BS. My language is pretty imprecise, I suspect, as far as describing what I taste to you. I will remember a profile after I read it again, so I mostly write these for my own benefit. I'm happy to share for whatever use they are to you as a snapshot of a particular cigar at a particular place and point in time.
As far as nic poisoning goes. I have no idea. Strong, distinct flavors don't equal a hit. Flavors and even feel aren't a predictor for me, necessarily, although I've only ever been kicked in the gut with medium to strong sticks. Some cigars always get me (Lot 23). Others will get me if I don't have a meal before them (in fact, I pretty much always want something on my stomach before smoking). Strangely enough, I can smoke an airbender in the morning with some coffee after only a piece of toast or an egg. The Double Ligero from LFD will get me if I don't have more, so it's a later in the day cigar. I did a LFD DL Digger once. Never again. It was just too big and it made me feel gross after. I suspect there's a combination of factors that might even come down to the nutrients in the soil in which a particular tobacco used in the cigar was grown. I suspect different primings have different concentrations of nic, but they're not going to be equal from variety to variety of tobacco or even between same varietals grown in different places. Long story short. I suspect there's no way to predict and a lot of it will have to do with your own body chemistry as well.
All supposition to be taken with a grain of salt, btw.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Sorry you had this experience man! I had this cigar to celebrate my boy being born two years ago and it ended up being one of the all time greatest cigars in my memory and still is. I wrote up a review on it as well here... Should be listed in my Irish Reviews in this section of Ccom if you are interested in my take on it from a different perspective. I strongly encourage you to try it again but in the evening after a big steak dinner or the like, think it will be a very different and wonderful experience for you!
It was a great cigar. It just kicked like a mule afterwards.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Sorry you had this experience man! I had this cigar to celebrate my boy being born two years ago and it ended up being one of the all time greatest cigars in my memory and still is. I wrote up a review on it as well here... Should be listed in my Irish Reviews in this section of Ccom if you are interested in my take on it from a different perspective. I strongly encourage you to try it again but in the evening after a big steak dinner or the like, think it will be a very different and wonderful experience for you!
It was a great cigar. It just kicked like a mule afterwards.
Glad you enjoyed it but sorry it made ya sick afterwards man, I despise that feeling it is nasty! I do remember that one being pretty strong but didn't affect me like that, but I also did it at night after a really really big meal so I think that is why. Hope you get a chance to do one again and it treats ya better!
"When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
Sorry you had this experience man! I had this cigar to celebrate my boy being born two years ago and it ended up being one of the all time greatest cigars in my memory and still is. I wrote up a review on it as well here... Should be listed in my Irish Reviews in this section of Ccom if you are interested in my take on it from a different perspective. I strongly encourage you to try it again but in the evening after a big steak dinner or the like, think it will be a very different and wonderful experience for you!
It was a great cigar. It just kicked like a mule afterwards.
Glad you enjoyed it but sorry it made ya sick afterwards man, I despise that feeling it is nasty! I do remember that one being pretty strong but didn't affect me like that, but I also did it at night after a really really big meal so I think that is why. Hope you get a chance to do one again and it treats ya better!
I'll be on the lookout for another deal. Beard's best sampler again for MM, perhaps?
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Sorry you had this experience man! I had this cigar to celebrate my boy being born two years ago and it ended up being one of the all time greatest cigars in my memory and still is. I wrote up a review on it as well here... Should be listed in my Irish Reviews in this section of Ccom if you are interested in my take on it from a different perspective. I strongly encourage you to try it again but in the evening after a big steak dinner or the like, think it will be a very different and wonderful experience for you!
It was a great cigar. It just kicked like a mule afterwards.
Glad you enjoyed it but sorry it made ya sick afterwards man, I despise that feeling it is nasty! I do remember that one being pretty strong but didn't affect me like that, but I also did it at night after a really really big meal so I think that is why. Hope you get a chance to do one again and it treats ya better!
I'll be on the lookout for another deal. Beard's best sampler again for MM, perhaps?
Now THAT would be awesome. I would also love to see something with some Don Arturo's in there since I have always wanted to have a few and smoke em but never had the chance to.
"When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
The words "oatmeal raisin cookie and hot cocoa in a leather shop" come to mind. I even got a little marshmallow.
It all started before the light. Smell was strong of cinnamon and leather. The cap tasted like cocoa. The look of this cigar is interesting. A dark brown mottled with light brown that from a distance takes on almost a slight hint of purple...like a raisin (a flavor I'd get later). After a long toast this lights a little unevenly, still. But it is a rainy, wet day.
Draw is a little tight and burn a little uneven in the first third, but this is an incredibly smooth cigar where flavors are concerned. I've pretty much described everything I'm tasting already. Leather is the least prominent flavor evident, but it is there. Nothing really strikes me as sweet, but all the flavors are ones I associate with sweetness, so I think I'm tricked into noticing it. The only spice is found on the retro, but it's more of an intense cinnamon burn than pepper.
The was a bomb (Randy? Probably). Holy cow, I will thank him or whomever later. This is fantastic. By the halfway point, I am tempted to say its my favorite AJ blend, even edging out the Armada. The only drawback is a really weak and flaky ash. I can't keep any of it on the cigar and it's getting everywhere. Here's the biggest chunk I've had:
In the final third, this went soft really fast. Flavors kind of got muddled. I really want to try another, but I don't think I'll do it on such a humid rainy day.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Nice review. IMO not worth the retail $ and hard to find in deal land for reasonable money. Where would you put it on your $ scale?
Yeah, I had no idea about the price until I started writing. It's the same as the Armada...not worth MSRP, but a good cigar. Dunno. Maybe $8-$10. I'd say less, but I'm a cheap ba...
The first two thirds were fantastic. The final third was above meh, but if it had been as good as the beginning, this might be worth retail. I thought it was that good.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Nice review. IMO not worth the retail $ and hard to find in deal land for reasonable money. Where would you put it on your $ scale?
Yeah, I had no idea about the price until I started writing. It's the same as the Armada...not worth MSRP, but a good cigar. Dunno. Maybe $8-$10. I'd say less, but I'm a cheap ba...
The first two thirds were fantastic. The final third was above meh, but if it had been as good as the beginning, this might be worth retail. I thought it was that good.
I think that's a proper $ range for that cigar. I would pay that.
It was nighttime. That's the best photo you get. I didn't bother with any more.
Pre-light, this doesn't have much aroma or flavor on the cap. The pre-light draw is light in flavor with a straightforward tobacco flavor. After a toast with a torch (I much prefer using a torch at night to the day, although I prefer matches either time if wind allows), this lights evenly.
First third is minimal on flavors. I taste a dusty/sandy note with some pepper. But it's all very mild and has very little classic tobacco flavor at all. The draw is easy. The burn is quick. The ash is flaky. I expect all this from a mixed filler, "cuban sandwich" cigar such as this.
I was getting bored with this, and decided to get something to drink. I really didn't want to ruin the review, but the local grocery store was remodeling recently and was very low on beer. No Lazy Magnolia. No Abita. But there was a sale on Coors Banquet Select, which I'd been getting in bottles on occasion. This time, it was a can. I thought, what the heck? Cheap cigar, cheap beer. It was a match made in heaven. I don't know if the beer helped or if the cigar just picked up, but the second third started to up the flavors. Mostly it was straightforward tobacco, but there were some nice floral notes and pepper on the retro. Nothing to consider premium, but it was not so innocuously offensive by boring my palate. I hate being bored. Here we are now, entertain us. I'm a child of the grunge era. I can't wait for flannel to come back.
Final third continued to up the flavors, and it continued to burn smooth. There really wasn't much evolution in flavors beyond the shift at the end of the first third going into the second when it went from sandy/nothing to a more than halfway decent cigar. For less than $3, I'd keep these around as giveaways and smoke one on occasion, too. One of the local shops had these for less than any place I've found online, recently, and I'd never seen them before. Good value find. Good quick smoke that you wouldn't mind setting down (because of price) if business called or the weather turned south, and you wouldn't mind finishing to the end if you could. Top notch value cigar.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Been waiting for a review of these. I see these as a staple yard gar this year. Can't beat the price, and sounds good enough to enjoy when you concentrate on smoking it. Thanks
Been waiting for a review of these. I see these as a staple yard gar this year. Can't beat the price, and sounds good enough to enjoy when you concentrate on smoking it. Thanks
These would be perfect gars for yard work. But you will ash all over yourself. Be warned.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Been waiting for a review of these. I see these as a staple yard gar this year. Can't beat the price, and sounds good enough to enjoy when you concentrate on smoking it. Thanks
These would be perfect gars for yard work. But you will ash all over yourself. Be warned.
Jeff is the regional sales guy for these brands and has been doing some events at three local shops that share an owner. I've been to Havana Mix in downtown Memphis and thought it was a cool place but a little out of my way. The Rocky Patel Beale Street house cigar was meh. They don't offer it at their newest location in Southaven, MS.
This is a smoking lounge, only. No booze is even allowed due to local ordinance (not sure how Wadfords still gets away with it except having been grandfathered in). I went in a week after opening and the humidor was sparsely filled and a little high. I went looking for a Tatiana infused for my wife in a flavor she'd had at Havana Mix. She really enjoyed it, but I wanted her to try again before investing in a box. This purchase of a single convinced me the prices were way too high. Still, I signed up for their email list, and I'm glad I did.
Arriving on Saturday, they were doing a buy 3 get one/buy 5 get 2 on anything DE or Joya. The humidor was now better stocked and I noticed some reasonable prices. But I was there for the event. It was fantastic. I selected a few sticks and was talking with Jeff. I told him I liked smaller rg's and he gifted me a Natural NDB. I told him I wasn't a huge fan of the Root, but he said this was much smoother. I'll see. I picked out my other freebies after purchase and played a game of shut the box. I have a double shut the box and have completed it once. I got some bad rolls. He kicked my butt. Gave me a hat for the trouble.
I enjoyed my Joya Cabinetta and the MUWAT, neither of which I'd ever smoked before. Might look for the Joya in a smaller size, but I got the double corona to last the evening. I enjoyed the size of the Nightcrawler but might go for the fiver of Bait Fish on my next visit. I don't want to do proper reviews since the environment wasn't ideal, but I'll probably write something up on the JdN.
Hosts catered some good smoking food from TGI Friday's. I had a good time. Jeff was fun to talk to, and I walked out with a few more freebies from a giveaway (a hat, cutter, and cigars.) I gave the hat away since I already had one. I missed out on the grand prize of a KFC barrel art, two bundles of KFC and $100 store certificate. But the event was a success.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Well, if ccom doesn't use the tilde, then I won't either. I picked up this little 4x46 beauty at the event last weekend on the recommendation of the DE rep. It sounded interesting, but I was a little leery of the price so I went for the smallest cigar in the blend. I knew I'd have a busy couple of weeks coming up and might not have many chances to smoke and thought this one would be perfect. So it was last night.
As you can see, even in this pic, the Norteno is wrapped in a dark San Andres Maduro wrapper. This vitola is even smaller than the Acid branded perfect cutter I eventually used to snip the end. It's slightly box pressed, which on this size cigar makes it look squished. The roll on this particular cigar looks loose, like they went light on filler. The band is kind of cool with the olive bird on an off-white label, all of which sits nicely against the wrapper. I understand this is the national bird of Nicaragua. I'm not even going to try to spell it. Guardabarranco-cut and past for the win!
I smell rich tobacco and that's about it. I honestly get very little flavor from the cap, but there's a hint of cocoa and spice from a pre-light draw, which is very easy.
Rather than break it down into thirds, I'm just going to insert my overall impression here. This was a very good cigar. The draw was loose (and I could actually hear crackling sounds during the draw, something I've never experienced before). I was lessening the pressure of my draw and changed my puff pattern to take an easy, long, single draw to adjust for the size. It worked fine, but I still felt I could have slowed this down. As it was it took exactly an hour to finish. And the time flew by. Flavors were interesting throughout. Chocolate, pepper, earth. The Norteno had some similarities with other DE blends I've had, like the Undercrown, but also reminded me of the Oliva V. It's a Nicaraguan taste, I guess. There's power here, but it's deceptive and smooth.
I lived in constant fear of ashing on myself, but that didn't happen. The ash held on strong for a long time and only fell once before I set it down.
I smoked this down until it was only slightly longer than the width of my fingers. It was getting hot and soft by then and while still good, I just don't like hot cigars at all. I'd smoke these again. I liked the vitola, but now I want to try one larger to draw out some more nuances.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
This lonsdale has a rich maduro wrapper and a double band. The larger band is the typical Natural label. The foot band gives the NDB name. Online, a little research says this means "Natural Dirt Blend," but the rep who gave it to me says it means "nobody's damn business." There's probably some truth to both if you ask me. The aroma of this cigar is almost minty or chamomile. It's fairly pleasant, actually, which surprises me. Licking the cap is like licking molasses and Sweettea (it's one word in the South). Hmmm, not sure I dig the tip. The draw is fairly pleasant with more of the herbal tea flavors.
I have to admit, I have my trepidations after smoking the goat **** called the "Root" from the Natural line. I know some people who like the "Dirt" and this is supposedly the lonsdale form of that same blend. Still, I'm leery.
After a slow toast, the draw is a little firm. The burn is a little uneven and once required a touch-up. Still, the ash held fairly strong and the wife said she loved the long and skinny look. (I think that's her way of hinting I need to shed a few pounds. Long yes. Skinny, I am not.)
The flavors of this cigar are so muted by the sweetened tip that I have to score it kind of low. I might actually find it interesting (and far more appealing than the Root) if I didn't have that sugar coated feeling on my lips and the tip of my tongue. There were some pleasant herbal flavors, but it was mostly a mild cigar and pretty straightforward throughout. Except for that tip. Way too much sweetness.
Did I mention this was too sweet? If you like that sort of thing this non-infused "natural" cigar is a nice sort of smoke for someone transitioning into or out of infused stuff. I'll stick with more typical cigars. Or, Jonathan Drew, if you gave me one of these without that sweet tip, I might actually say it's good for anyone.
There is one other thing I want to mention about the cigar. I got a sanshool sensation-very mild, but still evident-in a couple of spots of this cigar. That was actually kind of cool, even though it's not my favorite part of Sichuan food. Don't know what it is? Google it (or read this: http://www.science20.com/anthrophysis/szechuan_pepper_its_electric-120878 .) Better yet, try some.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
...it's been 38 days since smoking the NDB. I really should have followed it in the next day or two with something guaranteed to please. But I didn't. Finally hopped on the horse today to celebrate (prematurely) signing the lease on my new place for at least the next year. Took the dog I'm sitting for the week down to the pond; threw a frisbee in for her to play with, and lit up an MBIII. I've reviewed it before, I think. This one was better with a lot more age on it-close to a year. Some of the harshness I noticed before was gone, but it still packed a good strength, just the edges got rounded out. I only have one more of these left, and I may let it go for a bit to see if anything else happens.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Comments
Sorry for the blurry pic. I didn't notice that I must have moved the camera at the end because I discarded some others that were worse or taken with the flash.
I have to describe this cigar as having a boutique feel. I don't even know what that means except to say that it's not like anything I've had from some larger brands. It does remind me a little bit of the Emilio Draig K and some Ezra Zion stuff. The Jericho Hill puts out a lot of smoke and is very rich and flavorful. Lots of malt and molasses. Just enough spice to keep it real.
I prefer smokes under a 50 rg, but the box press on this made its slightly larger diameter accessible. Burn was a little uneven but never needed a touch up. Ash was flaky but held pretty good. Smoke time from toast to frozen hands and a soft cigar was 1:20. I wish this could have gone on just a bit longer before it got soft; I didn't feel like I was really at the nub stage, yet. The smoke got a little unpleasant though, so I set it down.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Since I didn't get much sleep last night, I really wanted and afternoon pick-me-up. What better to go with my coffee than a connie? Wait a minute, I don't have many standard connies in the humi at the moment. Except for this one Rocky. Not usually a fan, but I thought I'd give it a try.
This was a good, but not a great stick. It had its moments of feeling like sucking on air, but for the most part had a classic CT mix of cream and nuts. A little spice came in here and there. The wrapper was really easy to scorch, btw. Breezy out today so I had to use my torch. I just refilled it recently and had the flame a little high. Still, I didn't think I had the foot anywhere close to it, but one edge got a little dark during my toast. Grrr.
I still say the Oliva Connecticut Reserve is my favorite connie. Far more complex as it develops than this offering from Rocky. And they're cheaper. This did have a good draw and lots of smoke output. Feel and everything were spot on, but the flavors just weren't anything special to me.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Hate
Hate
Hate. . .
Yeah, isn't this your #2 connie after the PL23? I liked it, but there wasn't much to distinguish it from the masses. I have yet to try the Perdomo, but I didn't have much luck from the other wrappers. I certainly don't hate them on principle-I do like the Reserve 10th Champagne a LOT. In fact, it might be my second favorite regular rotation connie...
After Oliva, of course.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I found this in the bottom of a clearance bin as a single for box-purchase price. I recently had the Cx2, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Coming from the bin, it was a little banged up, but not much. It was certainly smokeable.
There were surprisingly mild aromas pre-light. The cap gave me very little flavor. When I cut it, it basically fell off, so I guess I'm not missing much. The cigar never unraveled so I guess I wasn't missing much.
Initially, the dominant flavor was green pepper. This wasn't unpleasant. There was a never-ending finish to this, it seemed and it had a feeling of strength but never felt overpowering.
The vegetation stopped encroaching on other flavors and I tasted a little bit of nuts. The pepper was slight. The feel and body of this cigar was always of strength and on the full side, but the flavors never even skated on the edge. I'm not going to go so far to say they were subtle, but they weren't in your face.
Right after snapping this pic, well two puffs after, the wrapper finally came undone. I actually really liked this cigar. It wasn't as complex or well rounded as an LFD Double Ligero, but it wasn't as gut-punch strong, either. I didn't need to smoke this right after a huge steak dinner, even though I wouldn't recommend it on an empty stomach. I really liked this cigar. It took me about 55 minutes of freezing my knuckles since it wasn't as warm as I thought it was. Well worth it. Burned longer than I expected and never had issues. I suspect in a well cared for state the construction would shine. I'm reluctant to go looking for a box after only one trial, but for a quickish smoke when you want strength I could see running to this one next winter after I move to the frozen North.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I bundled up to brave the cold for this one. I wasn't sure what to try, but thought what the heck. I have a day off work, so if it makes me feel funky, I won't ruin the weekend and it won't affect my job, either.
This was not a typical connie profile. I got a pinch on the roof of my mouth from the smoke. Something harsh/acid that reminds me of all the other Lot 23's I've had. Not what I look for in a connie, and not my favorite profile. This has so much more strength than a lot of connies and I just don't like the finish. Sorry, Ryan. I'll be sticking to Oliva. I'll let the other one rest a while.
By the way, no tummy results, yet, but I felt lightheaded in the final third and now the head hurts a bit.
Light to nub took about 1.5 hours. All of it just felt harsh to me. I prefer smooth. Pepper is fine, but that's about all I got and it was just not my favorite profile. Maybe there's something in the dirt in that Perdomo field that I'm sensitive to.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Long ashes brother!
Even though it retails for nearly $30 for a single, a ccom March madness deal last year hooked me up for under $7 as part of a sampler when averaged across the board. At any rate, after peeling off the layers, what I'm left with is a very firm cigar with little oil, no veins to speak of, and a uniformly colored Habano Sun Grown wrapper.
The cigar smells good and the lick is a pleasant mild tobacco flavor. After a long slow toast, the cigar lights up beautifully.
In the initial third I get a pleasant cinnamon and vanilla flavor with slight fruity overtones. There's some black pepper on the retro, but only on a retro. The cigar puts off a lot of light smoke. There's a pleasant and full body to the cigar, but its flavors are a strong mild. The finish is pleasant. The worst part of the cigar so far is that the draw is just a shade to firm for my taste, but that's probably because it is so firmly packed. This makes for a slow smoke and strong ash.
The second third adds to the complexity with some leather and cedar. For a little while, there's also a bitter, green vegetable flavor. This is not an ideal addition to the profile for me, usually, but it kind of works here. It's a small enough part of the profile that I just keep going through it and it blends into nothingness, leaving only a slight coffee bitterness to the flavors. Body and finish are the same, even though I'd call the flavors now in the medium-strong level. More pepper on the retro, and the overall feel of the cigar is much stronger. When the cigar ashed, finally, it had some burn issues and got a little bitter and strong because of trying to address it in this middle portion. That didn't last long, however, and won't detract much from the overall awesomeness of this cigar.
The final third smooths out tremendously after the second third, yet still leaves an impression of increasing strength in flavor, body, and overall feel. The cigar is very well balanced at this point. I notice the wood increasing in strength along with some leather, which will continue to increase in this third until the end of the smoke. I also get a kind of tangy bittersweet flavor that I can't place flitting in and out of the profile. After a few minutes in this final portion, I start to feel light headed. I continue smoking to a respectable point, but without threatening to nub the cigar for fear of ruining nearly two hours of pleasure (1:48 for a robusto) by getting some hot smoke.
About 10 minutes after I go inside, the light headedness is still with me and now my stomach hurts. After another 10 minutes, the nic kick has set in so hard that I dry heave. I smoked this cigar a little while after a late but heavy breakfast and finished right before lunchtime. Maybe my stomach was too empty for it, but I really didn't feel any effects from it until the final third, and probably only for the last 15-20 minutes of the smoke. The worst came after I finished. After bowing before the porcelain throne, I dozed off for about 15 minutes, woke up, ate lunch and felt fine. Very odd aftereffect to this cigar. Usually I notice something I don't like in a cigar that does this to me (see Lot 23), but I thoroughly enjoyed this smoke from toast to setting it down. Still, because it hit me so hard, I will probably think twice before picking up another. Three times if I'm paying retail.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I know, right!
I don't know about "good palate". It's my palate; remember you might not like what I like or even taste what I taste. I'm a weird and slightly obsessive guy who's good at making stuff up. It's my liberal arts education. I got a B.A. in BS. My language is pretty imprecise, I suspect, as far as describing what I taste to you. I will remember a profile after I read it again, so I mostly write these for my own benefit. I'm happy to share for whatever use they are to you as a snapshot of a particular cigar at a particular place and point in time.
As far as nic poisoning goes. I have no idea. Strong, distinct flavors don't equal a hit. Flavors and even feel aren't a predictor for me, necessarily, although I've only ever been kicked in the gut with medium to strong sticks. Some cigars always get me (Lot 23). Others will get me if I don't have a meal before them (in fact, I pretty much always want something on my stomach before smoking). Strangely enough, I can smoke an airbender in the morning with some coffee after only a piece of toast or an egg. The Double Ligero from LFD will get me if I don't have more, so it's a later in the day cigar. I did a LFD DL Digger once. Never again. It was just too big and it made me feel gross after. I suspect there's a combination of factors that might even come down to the nutrients in the soil in which a particular tobacco used in the cigar was grown. I suspect different primings have different concentrations of nic, but they're not going to be equal from variety to variety of tobacco or even between same varietals grown in different places. Long story short. I suspect there's no way to predict and a lot of it will have to do with your own body chemistry as well.
All supposition to be taken with a grain of salt, btw.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I'll be on the lookout for another deal. Beard's best sampler again for MM, perhaps?
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
It all started before the light. Smell was strong of cinnamon and leather. The cap tasted like cocoa. The look of this cigar is interesting. A dark brown mottled with light brown that from a distance takes on almost a slight hint of purple...like a raisin (a flavor I'd get later). After a long toast this lights a little unevenly, still. But it is a rainy, wet day.
Draw is a little tight and burn a little uneven in the first third, but this is an incredibly smooth cigar where flavors are concerned. I've pretty much described everything I'm tasting already. Leather is the least prominent flavor evident, but it is there. Nothing really strikes me as sweet, but all the flavors are ones I associate with sweetness, so I think I'm tricked into noticing it. The only spice is found on the retro, but it's more of an intense cinnamon burn than pepper.
The was a bomb (Randy? Probably). Holy cow, I will thank him or whomever later. This is fantastic. By the halfway point, I am tempted to say its my favorite AJ blend, even edging out the Armada. The only drawback is a really weak and flaky ash. I can't keep any of it on the cigar and it's getting everywhere. Here's the biggest chunk I've had:
In the final third, this went soft really fast. Flavors kind of got muddled. I really want to try another, but I don't think I'll do it on such a humid rainy day.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
The first two thirds were fantastic. The final third was above meh, but if it had been as good as the beginning, this might be worth retail. I thought it was that good.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
It was nighttime. That's the best photo you get. I didn't bother with any more.
Pre-light, this doesn't have much aroma or flavor on the cap. The pre-light draw is light in flavor with a straightforward tobacco flavor. After a toast with a torch (I much prefer using a torch at night to the day, although I prefer matches either time if wind allows), this lights evenly.
First third is minimal on flavors. I taste a dusty/sandy note with some pepper. But it's all very mild and has very little classic tobacco flavor at all. The draw is easy. The burn is quick. The ash is flaky. I expect all this from a mixed filler, "cuban sandwich" cigar such as this.
I was getting bored with this, and decided to get something to drink. I really didn't want to ruin the review, but the local grocery store was remodeling recently and was very low on beer. No Lazy Magnolia. No Abita. But there was a sale on Coors Banquet Select, which I'd been getting in bottles on occasion. This time, it was a can. I thought, what the heck? Cheap cigar, cheap beer. It was a match made in heaven. I don't know if the beer helped or if the cigar just picked up, but the second third started to up the flavors. Mostly it was straightforward tobacco, but there were some nice floral notes and pepper on the retro. Nothing to consider premium, but it was not so innocuously offensive by boring my palate. I hate being bored. Here we are now, entertain us. I'm a child of the grunge era. I can't wait for flannel to come back.
Final third continued to up the flavors, and it continued to burn smooth. There really wasn't much evolution in flavors beyond the shift at the end of the first third going into the second when it went from sandy/nothing to a more than halfway decent cigar. For less than $3, I'd keep these around as giveaways and smoke one on occasion, too. One of the local shops had these for less than any place I've found online, recently, and I'd never seen them before. Good value find. Good quick smoke that you wouldn't mind setting down (because of price) if business called or the weather turned south, and you wouldn't mind finishing to the end if you could. Top notch value cigar.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
all part of the experience. Thanks
This is a smoking lounge, only. No booze is even allowed due to local ordinance (not sure how Wadfords still gets away with it except having been grandfathered in). I went in a week after opening and the humidor was sparsely filled and a little high. I went looking for a Tatiana infused for my wife in a flavor she'd had at Havana Mix. She really enjoyed it, but I wanted her to try again before investing in a box. This purchase of a single convinced me the prices were way too high. Still, I signed up for their email list, and I'm glad I did.
Arriving on Saturday, they were doing a buy 3 get one/buy 5 get 2 on anything DE or Joya. The humidor was now better stocked and I noticed some reasonable prices. But I was there for the event. It was fantastic. I selected a few sticks and was talking with Jeff. I told him I liked smaller rg's and he gifted me a Natural NDB. I told him I wasn't a huge fan of the Root, but he said this was much smoother. I'll see. I picked out my other freebies after purchase and played a game of shut the box. I have a double shut the box and have completed it once. I got some bad rolls. He kicked my butt. Gave me a hat for the trouble.
I enjoyed my Joya Cabinetta and the MUWAT, neither of which I'd ever smoked before. Might look for the Joya in a smaller size, but I got the double corona to last the evening. I enjoyed the size of the Nightcrawler but might go for the fiver of Bait Fish on my next visit. I don't want to do proper reviews since the environment wasn't ideal, but I'll probably write something up on the JdN.
Hosts catered some good smoking food from TGI Friday's. I had a good time. Jeff was fun to talk to, and I walked out with a few more freebies from a giveaway (a hat, cutter, and cigars.) I gave the hat away since I already had one. I missed out on the grand prize of a KFC barrel art, two bundles of KFC and $100 store certificate. But the event was a success.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
As you can see, even in this pic, the Norteno is wrapped in a dark San Andres Maduro wrapper. This vitola is even smaller than the Acid branded perfect cutter I eventually used to snip the end. It's slightly box pressed, which on this size cigar makes it look squished. The roll on this particular cigar looks loose, like they went light on filler. The band is kind of cool with the olive bird on an off-white label, all of which sits nicely against the wrapper. I understand this is the national bird of Nicaragua. I'm not even going to try to spell it. Guardabarranco-cut and past for the win!
I smell rich tobacco and that's about it. I honestly get very little flavor from the cap, but there's a hint of cocoa and spice from a pre-light draw, which is very easy.
Rather than break it down into thirds, I'm just going to insert my overall impression here. This was a very good cigar. The draw was loose (and I could actually hear crackling sounds during the draw, something I've never experienced before). I was lessening the pressure of my draw and changed my puff pattern to take an easy, long, single draw to adjust for the size. It worked fine, but I still felt I could have slowed this down. As it was it took exactly an hour to finish. And the time flew by. Flavors were interesting throughout. Chocolate, pepper, earth. The Norteno had some similarities with other DE blends I've had, like the Undercrown, but also reminded me of the Oliva V. It's a Nicaraguan taste, I guess. There's power here, but it's deceptive and smooth.
I lived in constant fear of ashing on myself, but that didn't happen. The ash held on strong for a long time and only fell once before I set it down.
I smoked this down until it was only slightly longer than the width of my fingers. It was getting hot and soft by then and while still good, I just don't like hot cigars at all. I'd smoke these again. I liked the vitola, but now I want to try one larger to draw out some more nuances.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I have to admit, I have my trepidations after smoking the goat **** called the "Root" from the Natural line. I know some people who like the "Dirt" and this is supposedly the lonsdale form of that same blend. Still, I'm leery.
After a slow toast, the draw is a little firm. The burn is a little uneven and once required a touch-up. Still, the ash held fairly strong and the wife said she loved the long and skinny look. (I think that's her way of hinting I need to shed a few pounds. Long yes. Skinny, I am not.)
The flavors of this cigar are so muted by the sweetened tip that I have to score it kind of low. I might actually find it interesting (and far more appealing than the Root) if I didn't have that sugar coated feeling on my lips and the tip of my tongue. There were some pleasant herbal flavors, but it was mostly a mild cigar and pretty straightforward throughout. Except for that tip. Way too much sweetness.
Did I mention this was too sweet? If you like that sort of thing this non-infused "natural" cigar is a nice sort of smoke for someone transitioning into or out of infused stuff. I'll stick with more typical cigars. Or, Jonathan Drew, if you gave me one of these without that sweet tip, I might actually say it's good for anyone.
There is one other thing I want to mention about the cigar. I got a sanshool sensation-very mild, but still evident-in a couple of spots of this cigar. That was actually kind of cool, even though it's not my favorite part of Sichuan food. Don't know what it is? Google it (or read this: http://www.science20.com/anthrophysis/szechuan_pepper_its_electric-120878 .) Better yet, try some.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.