The Evil Dr. Moki's Group Blind Taste Test #2

insight said:

I am not totally surprised by this one either honestly. Pepin products are so hit or miss for me that I have come to anticipate some level of mediocrity. This was certainly not a bad cigar, just not one I would stock up on.

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Exactly how I felt. I'm a bit disappointed as I was looking to try some. Now I can save my money!

Awesome experience you guys have in this blind review. I must say, I am a big fan of the My Fathers. Like moki stated many times before, taste is subjective. I personally believe that. Nice work guys keep it coming.

David

What I find interesting is one of the first things noted by most of you is the spice. I've had a lancero and the spice was notable to me as well. Enerjay, Phil and Josh didn't even mention spice in their review. Phil has said he likes spicy food and can take it pretty spicy. Do the rest of you enjoy spicy foods? I'm just wondering if this played into it at all.

Size matters. I haven't tried the robusto, but I've had the belis and the lanceros. I'm a big fan of the belis, not so much the lanceros. I am a bit surprised at the low average rating.

It's so interesting how different everyone perceives the same cigar.

I've only had the Lancero and I'd have to say for some reason I exspected more from it.

Brian

stlboarder said:

It's so interesting how different everyone perceives the same cigar.

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Yeah I think that's the most important thing that you can get from these blind taste tests... it's amazing how widely people's perceptions vary. It's also important to note that even the same person can have a different opinion of a cigar based on their mood, the setting, etc, etc. See here:

http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pos=-1037

The points made on that page are of course just my opinion, based on what I've observed over the years.

Thanks Andrew! I've been wanting to try one of these and now I have! I wonder if age would do anything to this cigar as it seemed to have the potential to be good. As stated, to me it tasted like it just wasn't ready yet.

It's nice to see I'm not the only one that has had bad experiences with the My Father. I've had two and both were too young and full of ammonia, and both were smoked fresh from different shops.

I was gifted a third by a BOTL, so we will see if I change my opinion in a few months, however, I never really saw the hype behind these....glad others feel the same.

tsmckenney said:

Size matters. I haven't tried the robusto, but I've had the belis and the lanceros. I'm a big fan of the belis, not so much the lanceros. I am a bit surprised at the low average rating.

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I picked up 5 of the Belis, in a group buy and found the profile much different from the robusto. I have this same experience with the JJ line from DP.

I question myself on the blend and how it is applied from size to size. Also when I have too much time on my hands like I do these days I find myself smoking 3-5 sticks a day.

However perception always plays a big part in ones own experience. Having smoked it with a band I wonder if I would have given it a better ratting.

Looks like I will have to be more subjective with labeled cigars. I have always felt the DP line was a dollar or two over priced anyway.

enerjay said:

tsmckenney said:

Size matters. I haven't tried the robusto, but I've had the belis and the lanceros. I'm a big fan of the belis, not so much the lanceros. I am a bit surprised at the low average rating.

Click to expand...

I picked up 5 of the Belis, in a group buy and found the profile much different from the robusto. I have this same experience with the JJ line from DP.

I question myself on the blend and how it is applied from size to size. Also when I have too much time on my hands like I do these days I find myself smoking 3-5 sticks a day.

However perception always plays a big part in ones own experience. Having smoked it with a band I wonder if I would have given it a better ratting.

Looks like I will have to be more subjective with labeled cigars. I have always felt the DP line was a dollar or two over priced anyway.

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I'm not seeing the problem...

Not surprised by the second review. Sounded just like a Pepin. Spicy.

Thanks for reassuring my taste buds.

Cigar #3 review



ELittle said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 8/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 9/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8/10 - Overall: 8.3/10

Price: $14.00

Review: The first third of this cigar was impeccable. It has a superb draw, and starts right off the bat with a nice creamy profile, and a slightly spicy and toasty nutty flavor develops about half way through the first third of the cigar . It's delicious.

The second third is even better. The flavors are really starting to mellow out and are working well with each other. A nice creaminess is still present and the cigar has a nice razor sharp burn.

The final third wasn't quite as good as the middle third, but it was still fantastic. It seems to have picked up in strength a little bit. The last third is a lot like the second third but a little spicier. Around the time I was getting to the nub it got a kind of bitter taste, but that was to be expected considering how far down I smoked it.

This cigar was awesome. From start to finish it didn't disappoint and i would gladly smoke more.

I'm guessing this cigar to cost around $13/$14

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insight said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 7/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 8/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7.5/10 - Overall: 7.5/10

Price: $15.00+

Review: First third: The cigar has a mellow pre-light draw. The start is very mild, with a subtle, woody flavor. Nosing the cigar is totally effortless, I can't even tell the smoke is there. A bit of cocoa creeps in but most of the taste is ebb and flow (and pleasant).

Second third: The body of the cigar picks up a bit and the smoke gets heavier. There is a nuttiness to the smoke and it becomes less wispy and more creamy. This was definitely my favorite section of the cigar.

Final third: The nuttiness transforms into a more raw earthiness as the density of the smoke picks up more still. There is a much more pronounced leathery finish/aftertaste than in the earlier parts of the cigar. There are slight hints of coffee but right when they onset the wrapper blows up (just under 2 inches left). I smoked it for another 10 minutes or so but the wrapper was falling apart and the flavor was lost at that point. I definitely enjoyed this cigar and I would smoke one again, although it is in a bigger RG and length than I usually smoke.

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Kingantz said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 5/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 5/10 - Overall: 5/10

Price: $12.00

Review: I’m thinking from the paleness of the medium brown wrapper, this cigar has a little age on it. There’s a nice oily sheen with noticeable veins, slightly coarse. It’s very firm when squeezed and has a good weight to it. I try to smell the foot, however I believe due to the cold in the air, I’m unable to ascertain anything at all. With the cap punched, the draw has good resistance, maybe a little too good. Hopefully it will open up once lit and warmed up. Cold draw I get a short taste of what seems to be matured tobacco.

Beginning 1/3
With the foot torched, I begin the journey. The draw is good and the burn is perfect, however even with making a few starter puffs there’s just not much smoke coming through. What does come through is mild and has a nice toasted nut flavor to it. I’m hoping that the body does pick up. As mentioned, the burn is sharp with a medium gray ash. There’s a somewhat lasting, clean finish that is light but good with a toasted nut taste. After about an inch into the first 1/3, the smoke continues to be mild, however I’m beginning to actually “feel” the smoke. Flavors of toasted nuts with a hint of sweet honey come through, and it seems possibly a faint touch of cinnamon spice.

Middle 1/3
The burn continues to be sharp with a medium gray ash forming. I was typing the ash held strong until I ashed about every inch or so, however as I went to take a pic, the damn ash fell right in the middle of the laptop keys. Crap! Anyway, the ash is loose and falls on its own. There’s not much difference in the middle 1/3 as the beginning 1/3. The smoke has a mild body, however has a good, nutty sweet flavor and a decent finish. There is a very slight amount of cinnamon spice on the back of the throat.

Final 1/3
Finally in the home stretch! The smoke is still mild with toasted nut and sweet honey flavors. I find that the spice on the back of the throat does pick up a notch, and the finish continues to be good. I’m not sure if I would call it a long, lasting finish, but good nonetheless. The burn remains sharp with the ash, a medium gray, falling rather easily.

Summary: This was a nice cigar for someone that likes a mild smoke. It however, did not match my palate well as I tend to enjoy medium to full bodied cigars. The burn was great throughout with the ash being quite weak, falling at any given time. I did enjoy the nutty, sweet taste that came through and the finish was decent enough. If the body had been there, I would have very much enjoyed this cigar.

Beginning 1/3: 5
Middle 1/3: 5
Final 1/3: 5

Price Point: $10 - $15

Off the record: NC Partagas 160/150??

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bfisher88 said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 8/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall: 7.3/10

Price: $20.00

Review: This cigar had a course might brown wrapper which was fairly veiny. Very well and tightly constructed. Burn was razor sharp all of the way through and burned and drew perfectly. Smoked fantastic. Very smooth nutty flavors which were consistent throughout.

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enerjay said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 4/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 4/10 - Overall: 4.3/10

Price: $2.00

Review: First 1/3rd: 4, four, EARTH,WOODY flavor and real mild. Pine and grassy flavor is what I picking up. Really white ash hint of gray.


Middle 1/3rd: 5, Five again much the same as the first third. How ever the cigar looked good and the BURN has been PERFICT.

Final 1/3rd: 4, FOUR, Burn was good however this cigar was FLAT.

Summary: I AM HOPING THEY ARE GOING TO GET BETTER, this cigar is in the had out to the lawn more guy cigar category. Flat not much flavor to speak of
good burn and construction, however that is really all I can say about it.

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Napa_Smokes said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 8/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 4/10 - Overall: 5.6/10

Price: $10.00

Review: Prelight: Beautiful wrapper, very few to no veins, triple cap. No soft spots on the cigar. Tightly rolled. Pre light draw a little tight.

First 1/3: Cigar burns razor sharp. Good amount of flavor with medium body. I get a lot of toasted nutts and coffee off the start of this cigar. Very good flavor. 8/10

Second 1/3: Cigar is starting to go flat. A little cocoa flavor has been added and a sharpness to the cigar as well. Draw has become tighter and more difficult to get a lot of smoke out of. 5/10

Final Third: The final 1/3 is pretty much the same as the second third. Not impressed with how this cigar finished up. It had so much potential in the 1/3 that it was a little disappointing. 4/10

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jfields said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 6/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7.5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8/10 - Overall: 7.2/10

Price: $14.00

Review: 1st Third: (6) Initial light has a slight sweet and creamy taste. Nothing that makes me say "WOW!", but this is a pleasant cigar with some wood and nut flavors tied into a short finish.

2nd Third: (7.5) Wrapper explodes revealing a very thin fragile wrapper. Smooth and mild smoke thus far (Which may just seem mild due to my coming off a sinus cold). Still creamy, nutty, woody, and very earthy. All despite the draw not being up to par with the split wrapper/binder. The richness and flavor start to pick up a bit toward the end of the second third.

3rd third: (8) I'm guessing from the ever present sweetness that the wrapper is Cameroon. These tend to be hit or miss with me depending on the blend. If this is in fact the wrapper I'm guessing, then I say "Hit!". The flavor and spice pick it up a notch. I notice a little black pepper and leather mixed in with everything else at this point. This finish is noticeably longer as well. This could be the cigar, or my taste buds just kicking in. Smoked it down to the last inch until it unraveled completely.

Summary: Aside from the wrapper issues, I really found this cigar to be very enjoyable. Started off slow, but quickly became something I enjoyed. I'm interested to see what this one is so that I may try it again. I know just because I enjoyed this does not mean it is an expensive one, but I am still going to guess a DCM Standford's 90th as the cigar.

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grateful1 said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 6/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 8/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall: 7/10

Price: $15.00

Review: This smoke was on the edge of being 7-8-7...but the consistency, albeit a very nice one, was just that...constistent. Maybe I'm use to a profile changing...and maybe they are not suppose to change!
Very nice smoke. I sorta reminded me of the Double R I had Sat....only in the 'consistency' part. The Davi seemed to have more depth...but this was close.

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BlindedByScience said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 7/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall: 7/10

Price: $10.00

Review: Summary: Pre-cut, the wrapper has almost no scent or aroma whatsoever. Maybe some hints of spice or pepper, but very subtle. Gave the end cap the “score and lift” treatment with my Xikar. Draw was very nice; some restriction but not bad at all. Pre-light draw give up some dusty flavors….perhaps this one has some down time on it?

From start to finish, this was a very mild, very smooth cigar. The taste started out mild and intensified slightly as it progressed. Even at the nub, it was still a very mild, very nice smoke. Not a lot of complexity but a very nicely aged, refined tobacco taste. Very smooth, very creamy smoke and tastes. It would be tempting to call this cigar “plain” but the overall taste profile was very pleasing. This would be a nice cigar to have in rotation; a nice change from the zippy, spicy cigars I seem to smoke occasionally.

Price: $10.00

Thanks again for an interesting smoke, Andre

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Seanholio said:

Rating: First 1/3rd: 8/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 8/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8/10 - Overall: 8/10

Price: $10.00

Review: This cigar was well-constructed, with a good wrapper lacking any significant veins. The prelight draw was smooth, with exactly the right amount of resistance for me. Upon lighting, I encountered a very nutty, slightly chocolaty flavor, with nearly-subliminal hints of berry underneath. This remained consistent through the entire cigar, and I noticed no significant changes in the flavor profile. The berry would come and go, and I think this was tied to my drinks of cold water, which tend to numb bits of my palate when I drink. The cigar was a treat from beginning to nub, and I had to put it down only when my fingers started getting burned at the burn line. Yes, it was that good. The ash held firm for 1.5 inches each time, was a consistent white color, but was very flaky, causing unwanted wardrobe accessorization

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Lowest rating: enerjay 4.3/10
Highest rating: ELittle 8.3/10
Average rating: 6.7/10

7 - good cigar, I'd buy more of these cigars and smoke them regularly
6 - pretty good cigar, I'd smoke it if it was given to me, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it

Lowest price: enerjay $2.00
Highest price: bfisher88 $20.00
Average price: $12.20

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Cigar #3 is actually a...



Cuesta-Rey Stanford's Cameroon Reserve Churchill No.1 (2008) - price*: $5.70

Commentary: Cuesta Rey cigars are one of the great "unknowns" in the cigar world. They are very well made, tasty cigars... and are very affordable. I tossed this one in here because I was curious to see what people thought of it... and other than Enerjay and KingAntz (who really disliked this cigar), most people seemed to really enjoy it.

I even heard one person, who shall remain nameless, privately tell me that it tasted like an aged Cuban cigar. Interestingly, everyone was way off on the price, with the average price being more than double the MSRP for this cigar. Note that again, someone who didn't like the cigar rated the price very low; this is human nature, and says something about how we equate price and quality. NB: I actually paid more than $5.70 for this cigar, because I bought it locally in NYS, and we have very high tobacco and sales tax (but unfortunately I threw out the receipt, so I don't know exactly how much it was... close to $9 per cigar)... but it can be had online for $5.70 per cigar.

For those of you who enjoyed the cigar, congrats, you've found an inexpensive cigar that you enjoy. I would also suggest that people try Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sun Grown cigars as well... they are quite tasty.

The observant will note that once again, the reviews are all over the map in terms of ratings, flavors tasted, etc. This doesn't reflect on anyone's acumen in reviewing cigars, but rather just the natural variance in personal tasting/enjoyment. Did everyone smoke the same cigar? Yes they did.

This is (so far) the highest rated cigar in the blind taste test, rated almost a full point above the others.

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* Denotes the price I paid for this cigar, not necessarily the MSRP

This was a great surprise actually. Never really held Cuesta Rey in high regard but it was a very high quality cigar. Now I need to get me some of the sungrowns to try out. Thanks Andrew!

Very interesting/entertaining as usual. I'm going to keep my eye out for this cigar and try one when I have the opportunity.

Hmmm. I'll have to revisit this cigar. I love the Cameroon characteristics, but it just didn't have any bite.

tsmckenney said:

Hmmm. I'll have to revisit this cigar. I love the Cameroon characteristics, but it just didn't have any bite.

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Yeah people who like stronger cigars may not enjoy this cigar... Stanford wasn't a fan of very powerful smokes. It does have some very nice medium bodied flavors, though... and is very smooth and well made. Try the Cuesta-Rey SGs for a little more oomf.

I've had a few of these in the pyramid no. 9 and really enjoy this cigar. It is a milder cigar than I usually smoke, but the flavors are fantastic. Glad to see you put it in here, and to see it get good reviews for the most part.

What a great surprise! I tried one of the smaller ones a while back and wasn't impressed but this was definitely a different animal.

moki said:

Cigar #3 review

ELittle said:
Review: toasty nutty flavor.
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insight said:
Review: First third: mild, with a subtle, woody flavor. Nosing the cigar is totally effortless, I can't even tell the smoke is there.
Second third: There is a nuttiness to the smoke and it becomes less wispy and more creamy.
Final third: pronounced leathery finish
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Kingantz said:
Review: medium brown wrapper
Beginning 1/3
making a few starter puffs there’s just not much smoke coming through. What does come through is mild and has a nice toasted nut flavor to it....faint touch of cinnamon spice.
Middle 1/3
The burn continues to be sharp...has a good, nutty sweet flavor...slight amount of cinnamon spice on the back of the throat.
Final 1/3
still mild with toasted nut and sweet honey flavors. I find that the spice on the back of the throat does pick up a notch

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bfisher88 said:
Review: Very smooth nutty flavors.
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enerjay said:
Review: EARTH,WOODY flavor and real mild. Pine and grassy flavor is what I picking up. Really white ash hint of gray.
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Napa_Smokes said:
Review:
First 1/3: I get a lot of toasted nuts and coffee off the start of this cigar.
Second 1/3:little cocoa flavor has been added and a sharpness to the cigar...more difficult to get a lot of smoke out of.
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jfields said:
Review: 1st Third: slight sweet and creamy taste. ...with some wood and nut flavors.
2nd Third: Wrapper explodes revealing a very thin fragile wrapper. Smooth and mild smoke... creamy, nutty, woody, and very earthy. All despite the draw not being up to par
3rd third: (8) I'm guessing from the ever present sweetness that the wrapper is Cameroon. ... The flavor and spice pick it up a notch. I notice a little black pepper and leather mixed in with everything else at this point.
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BlindedByScience said:
Review: Summary: ...very mild, very smooth cigar.
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Seanholio said:
Review: ...nutty, slightly chocolaty flavor, with nearly-subliminal hints of berry underneath.
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Cigar #3 is actually a...

Cuesta-Rey Stanford's Cameroon Reserve Churchill No.1 (2008) - price*: $5.70

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Cameroons is my favorite wrapper on a cigar. I have been searching and trying all different Cameroon cigars out there.
This one was definitely good. I liked it so much, in the Pass I am currently in, I traded for one.

Are they mild? Yes. I normally have these early in the morning with not much in my stomach.
The characteristics I would describe a Cameroon is almost exactly what people said above.
toasty nutty flavor, woody flavor, nuttiness, leathery, sharp and spice.

A couple of the reviewers mentioned the almost non-existence smoke coming through the cigar when they puff.
Why is that? I have no idea, but Cameroons do not seem to have the ability to make billows and billows of smoke.

To date the Cameroon that had the biggest bite IMO was the CAO L'Anniv.

Edit: One other note is the thin and fragile wrapper. These crack easy. Might think about getting wet before lighting.