Review: Cigar.com Purple Label
matthewjmichael
Posts: 41
Size: Robusto, 5X50
Wrapper: Connecticut
Filler: Mixed Dominican
Strength: Mild
Price: 20 for $45.95 at Cigar.com
Score: 9.1
With the birds chirping, a sleeping baby inside, and a nice breeze after a rainy day, it was the perfect time to fire up a cigar on the back porch. Ive chosen to smoke another House Blend from cigar.com tonight. So far in our series, weve reviewed the Blue Label and the Corojo Label. Tonight I fire up the Purple Label, the only Mild stick in their line. A very nice Dominican produced at the world-famous Tabadom Factory in the Dominican Republic, Cigar.com has produced this stick to rival such cigars as Macanudo, Montecristo, and H. Upmann. As youll see below, theyve succeeded.
Appearance, 1.6:
This stick has decent weight and is firm to the touch throughoutnot
one soft spot was detected. The Connecticut shade wrapper is simply and
elegantly wrapped in a purple and silver band and has only slightly
noticeable veins. The foot is very tightly rolled with a nice circular,
un-flattened shape to it. The head is fairly clean with a slightly
jagged cap and an odd roll that culminates at the cut line.
The pre-light draw seems a bit tight, but the stick cut very well and the flavors in the draw were excellent; very creamy with hints of hazelnut and a backnotes of earthiness; surprisingly there is also a bit of pepper in the aftertaste.
Burn, 1.7:
The Purple lit perfectly with a medium draw. The smoke has a great
aroma to it, though it is light and airy with few billows of thick
smoke. The ash had a superb hold and fell only at my encouragement;
however, it wasnt the prettiest ash and was mixed with dark greys. The
burn on this smoke is not hot but moved up the stick very fast; this
may have been in part due to my fear of placing the stick down and
having it go out because of the draw. The draw did finally open up into
the halfway point of the smoke.
Flavor, 2.9:
Excellent! This is the creamiest smoke Ive had, exceeding that of the
Romeo y Juliete 1875, the Perdomo Lot 23, and the 5 Vegas Originalmy
three go-to smokes. Typically in mild smokes you sacrifice flavor and
profile for consistency and smoothness, but the Purple Label delivers
both and far exceeds the flavor of Macanudos Hyde Park. I now have a
fourth go-to. The flavor of this cigar matched that of the pre-light
draw and reminded me of hazelnut flavored coffee creamervery thick and
very sweet and it coated my mouth throughout the smoke. At the 2/3 mark
a barnyard flavor arrived for the first time and mixed very well with
the creaminess. At 3/3 the flavor profile moved from barnyard back to
the thick creaminess and this remained to the nub.
Overall, 2.9:
At around $2 a smoke you will be hard pressed to find a better value;
in fact, I would choose this stick if it were priced the same as some
of the others theyve sought to match. The experience of the smoke was
dampened for a bit until the draw opened up and I felt the liberty to
place it down and read inbetween puffs. This is a box-worthy smoke to
be sure and the next time you place an order from cigar.com pick up a
single and see for yourself.
(Total: 9.1)
Comments
That was an excellent review my friend! I believe this is the first time I've read one of your reviews (if you've done others), and I was very impressed. I quite thoroughly enjoyed a Perdomo Lot 23 just last night, and upon your recommendation I will make sure to make the Ccom Purple Label one of my next choices.
Thanks!
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
I love the Lot 23 and the 5 Vegas Red, and I think the Purple ranks w/ those for creaminess, though it lacks the pepper. Definitely worth the money...
The sampler is supposed to be robustos, but I've heard of people getting various sizes in their sampler, so I guess I'll find out soon enough. ^_^