Ok, for those of you who don't know, I have been on the look out for more info on these things. Here is the linky to the initial thread I started on this.
Here is the story Paul Magier told me at the Quad State Herf II (paraphrased due to bad memory).
Paul "No one really tried to grow an African Cameroon outside of Africa before, let alone in Ecuador. Well, we tried and it took us 8 years to finally get it the way we wanted it, and then we made these."
I asked him "So, does 'Lucky 8' stand for the number of years it took your company to finally get this final product?"
Paul "Not so much. 8 is supposed to be a lucky number in the Chinese culture." (Paul is correct by the way, my parents confirmed this, yes I am Chinese.)
On to the review.
First, here are some starting pics:
My beverage, good old water.
The said torpedo to be torched. Look at that near vein free wrapper :whistling: Yes my phone sucks (still a RAZR phone cam, cigars eat up too much of my disposable income :sign: ) Disclaimer - this is not the gold foil one.
The foot for all who are interested. Uniform in every way.
On to the review...
The prelight ritual
The feel - firm, has a definite spongy feel. The wrapper is nearly vein free. Smooth as silk, and the reddish hue is reminiscent of a cameroon found on GOF Carlitos. No blemishes, the head is finished with perfection.
The cut and draw - used my guillotine V-cutter
Took some initial prelit draws. Loose, definitely not tight. I'm already liking this. The smell and taste is similar to old socks (as Tim/tigger's girl would describe it). There is also a hint of something in the cigar that made me salivate a bit. I didn't know what it was until I actually smoked this baby.
The lighting - used my zippo torch to fire it up. Seemed good for now.
Puff puff, this stick produces A LOT of smoke (I like that too.) I puff some more to get the embers going, fire starting, engines revving. Initial flavors that hit me... if I had to describe it, it is comparable to an oreo cookie at first.
The smoke - A lot of smoke. Consistently a lot of smoke. The color off the stick is a bit of an cloudy white/gray. I think I saw some orange in there as well, but that could just be the sunsetting. The smell of the trail smoke is very pleasing, it had a cedary aroma to it.
The herfing - This smoke lasted me around 50 minutes. I will break it up into thirds, because this cigar deserves more detail than my pitiful words can describe.
First third - Like I stated earlier, reminiscent of an oreo cookie, but that subsided into a creamy buttery texture. As I smoked it, I thought of what it would be comparable to at this point, and there is only one answer... Tatuaje. Yes, blasphemy!!! No seriously.
Second third - Ok, this is where the burn issues started.
The flavors are still there, and will be underlying the entire cigar. There is a build up of a slight peppery tingle, but it compliments the smoke very well. As I kept on smoking, the flavors evolved. There is a sweetness to it that reminds me of another cigar. Along with the change in the smell of the trail smoke, it started tasting like an Anejo to me. That certain sweetness wasn't very strong, but there, just not as concentrated as it is in the Anejo. Was this cigar cured in cognac barrels?
The ash held on firm, tried an ashstand, but that failed.
Burn problems continued, and I touched it up somewhat. This cigar could definitely use some dry boxing.
Final third - This cigar is ever evolving. That chocolately/coffee taste is building up, flavors are cooking, and it is still smooth, creamy, buttery, and the peppery notes are fading in and out. There is also a slight woody undertone, more oaky than cedar. Very mellow. Needless to say, I nubbed this sumb!tch, I am just glad my fingers were too numb from the cold to feel the burning pain.
Throughout the cigar, the ash held up very well, despite the flowering effect due to the burn problems and touch ups.
Overall - Going to look for more of these. No, I am not endorsing this cigar, I am not endorsing Paul Magier nor Puros de Armando Ramos, but this cigar has captured a spot in my heart. Definitely would burn better if it was drier, apparently 65% is a bit too wet for this cigar, the flavor was definitely top notch though.
My personal thoughts - Full flavored, medium strength. I feel the euphoric buzz after nubbing this stick. To me, this cigar is definitely worth a try. Another BOTL on this site (whom will remain anonymous) has smoked the maduro robusto and found it to be dissappointing. They found the same problems as I did as far as burn issues (possibly due to not letting it rest nor dry boxing it). They also found it burnt too hot and fast, which I can understand. The draw and construction of the torp is very loose, so more heat would travel faster through the stick rather than be dissapated if it was a tighter bunched stick. The maduro robusto I have not smoked yet, but if it is constructed the same way, that would explain a lot about the heat problem (plus it is a shorter vitola). Hopefully, I can smoke the maddie robusto tomorrow when my palete is refreshed and the weather is good is again. To me, this was a complex cigar that combined the sweetness of the Anejo and the buttery creaminess of the Tatuaje with a dash of peppery spice (like I mentioned earlier, not a lot of spice).
After effects - you just have to smoke it to see for yourself. Now I am seriously dissappointed that none of my local B&M's carry this particular stick. Definitely one of the better smokes I have had :love: . Your mileage may vary.
edit - Caveat emptor, know Paul Magier and the infamous PINAR company before making a purchase. If you are fine with buying the product, then feel free to do so. Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
Here is the story Paul Magier told me at the Quad State Herf II (paraphrased due to bad memory).
Paul "No one really tried to grow an African Cameroon outside of Africa before, let alone in Ecuador. Well, we tried and it took us 8 years to finally get it the way we wanted it, and then we made these."
I asked him "So, does 'Lucky 8' stand for the number of years it took your company to finally get this final product?"
Paul "Not so much. 8 is supposed to be a lucky number in the Chinese culture." (Paul is correct by the way, my parents confirmed this, yes I am Chinese.)
On to the review.
First, here are some starting pics:
My beverage, good old water.
The said torpedo to be torched. Look at that near vein free wrapper :whistling: Yes my phone sucks (still a RAZR phone cam, cigars eat up too much of my disposable income :sign: ) Disclaimer - this is not the gold foil one.
The foot for all who are interested. Uniform in every way.
On to the review...
The prelight ritual
The feel - firm, has a definite spongy feel. The wrapper is nearly vein free. Smooth as silk, and the reddish hue is reminiscent of a cameroon found on GOF Carlitos. No blemishes, the head is finished with perfection.
The cut and draw - used my guillotine V-cutter
Took some initial prelit draws. Loose, definitely not tight. I'm already liking this. The smell and taste is similar to old socks (as Tim/tigger's girl would describe it). There is also a hint of something in the cigar that made me salivate a bit. I didn't know what it was until I actually smoked this baby.
The lighting - used my zippo torch to fire it up. Seemed good for now.
Puff puff, this stick produces A LOT of smoke (I like that too.) I puff some more to get the embers going, fire starting, engines revving. Initial flavors that hit me... if I had to describe it, it is comparable to an oreo cookie at first.
The smoke - A lot of smoke. Consistently a lot of smoke. The color off the stick is a bit of an cloudy white/gray. I think I saw some orange in there as well, but that could just be the sunsetting. The smell of the trail smoke is very pleasing, it had a cedary aroma to it.
The herfing - This smoke lasted me around 50 minutes. I will break it up into thirds, because this cigar deserves more detail than my pitiful words can describe.
First third - Like I stated earlier, reminiscent of an oreo cookie, but that subsided into a creamy buttery texture. As I smoked it, I thought of what it would be comparable to at this point, and there is only one answer... Tatuaje. Yes, blasphemy!!! No seriously.
Second third - Ok, this is where the burn issues started.
The flavors are still there, and will be underlying the entire cigar. There is a build up of a slight peppery tingle, but it compliments the smoke very well. As I kept on smoking, the flavors evolved. There is a sweetness to it that reminds me of another cigar. Along with the change in the smell of the trail smoke, it started tasting like an Anejo to me. That certain sweetness wasn't very strong, but there, just not as concentrated as it is in the Anejo. Was this cigar cured in cognac barrels?
The ash held on firm, tried an ashstand, but that failed.
Burn problems continued, and I touched it up somewhat. This cigar could definitely use some dry boxing.
Final third - This cigar is ever evolving. That chocolately/coffee taste is building up, flavors are cooking, and it is still smooth, creamy, buttery, and the peppery notes are fading in and out. There is also a slight woody undertone, more oaky than cedar. Very mellow. Needless to say, I nubbed this sumb!tch, I am just glad my fingers were too numb from the cold to feel the burning pain.
Throughout the cigar, the ash held up very well, despite the flowering effect due to the burn problems and touch ups.
Overall - Going to look for more of these. No, I am not endorsing this cigar, I am not endorsing Paul Magier nor Puros de Armando Ramos, but this cigar has captured a spot in my heart. Definitely would burn better if it was drier, apparently 65% is a bit too wet for this cigar, the flavor was definitely top notch though.
My personal thoughts - Full flavored, medium strength. I feel the euphoric buzz after nubbing this stick. To me, this cigar is definitely worth a try. Another BOTL on this site (whom will remain anonymous) has smoked the maduro robusto and found it to be dissappointing. They found the same problems as I did as far as burn issues (possibly due to not letting it rest nor dry boxing it). They also found it burnt too hot and fast, which I can understand. The draw and construction of the torp is very loose, so more heat would travel faster through the stick rather than be dissapated if it was a tighter bunched stick. The maduro robusto I have not smoked yet, but if it is constructed the same way, that would explain a lot about the heat problem (plus it is a shorter vitola). Hopefully, I can smoke the maddie robusto tomorrow when my palete is refreshed and the weather is good is again. To me, this was a complex cigar that combined the sweetness of the Anejo and the buttery creaminess of the Tatuaje with a dash of peppery spice (like I mentioned earlier, not a lot of spice).
After effects - you just have to smoke it to see for yourself. Now I am seriously dissappointed that none of my local B&M's carry this particular stick. Definitely one of the better smokes I have had :love: . Your mileage may vary.
edit - Caveat emptor, know Paul Magier and the infamous PINAR company before making a purchase. If you are fine with buying the product, then feel free to do so. Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
