This weekend I went out of town to visit a friend who is a fellow BOTL. We spent the weekend talking, training, and of course smoking good cigars. While I'd brought a number of my favorites with me, we didn't end up smoking any of them. It made me only a little sad because what we did smoke was very good. I decided that I would write a short review of each based on my recollection (since I didn't take notes while smoking). Sorry no pictures for these.
First, I started out with a Rocky Patel Renaissance during my drive. This was a Churchill size. The pre-light draw was all chocolate. I remember thinking, "wow, this tastes like a candy bar." I would have to say that chocolate was the dominant flavor throughout this cigar. It was fairly one dimensional with the strength never getting over a medium. I also tasted cream and tobacco, the aftertaste was chocolate.
When I arrived, we talked for a while and then my friend invited me to check out his new stash. He grabbed a couple of sticks for us to go and sample. First was a Partagas Lusitania. This stick had a tight draw, but I still was able to get a lot of smoke through. My pre-light draw was a straight forward tobacco. This was a medium to full strength cigar, building throughout. I found mostly a straight forward tobacco with a nice spice throughout. While there wasn't much of an evolution I found this quite enjoyable.
After that we moved on to a Saint Luis Rey Regio. This robusto sized smoke had a much more open draw. Pre-light was a faint tobacco. Once I got the foot burning nice and even with my torch, I took a few puffs and a good draw. Mmmm, citrus. I also got a faint tobacco but the sweet citrus was the dominant flavor in the first third. As I reached the middle of the cigar, the citrus faded and some mild spicy notes started to kick in, with a good tobacco being the dominant force. I was pleased by the difference in flavor from the previous stick because it allowed my palette to pick up on some of the different flavors. As I reached the final third the citrus returned. It was also a medium strength but by the end of our little herf, my head was swimming a bit. After that, it was bed time.
The next day we trained most of the day, took a soak in the hot tub, and grabbed a couple more sticks for our evening smoke. The first was something that I had wanted to try for quite some time. It was the Partagas Serie D #4. I was glad that this didn't disappoint. The pre-light draw was spot on, and I got a light tobacco flavor. After torching the foot and getting the smoke flowing nicely, I took my first long draw. I detected notes of tobacco along with a nutty flavor that lasted the first third. As I moved into the second third, the nutty flavor subsided and was replaced by a nice tobacco and spice. As I moved into the final third the nutty flavors returned and the spice also remained. A very enjoyable smoke.
It was getting late, and I was getting tired so I grabbed a Monte #5 to finish my night. I like these quite a bit. There were notes of chocolate, leather, and cedar. A nice spice is also present throughout. Not much evolution in this small stick but there doesn't need to be. A nice way to finish out the evening.
After another long day of training, I hit the road a bit behind schedule. Oh well, I'll pass the time with a Monte #2. Most everyone here is familiar with this stick so I won't go into details, but I will say that this one was plagued with burn issues (not something you want while driving). The flavors were good but I had to let it go by the final third because of the trouble it was giving me. It went out, and I said "screw it!"
I can't wait till our next get together. Hopefully he tries the sticks I left for him, they were some good ones.
First, I started out with a Rocky Patel Renaissance during my drive. This was a Churchill size. The pre-light draw was all chocolate. I remember thinking, "wow, this tastes like a candy bar." I would have to say that chocolate was the dominant flavor throughout this cigar. It was fairly one dimensional with the strength never getting over a medium. I also tasted cream and tobacco, the aftertaste was chocolate.
When I arrived, we talked for a while and then my friend invited me to check out his new stash. He grabbed a couple of sticks for us to go and sample. First was a Partagas Lusitania. This stick had a tight draw, but I still was able to get a lot of smoke through. My pre-light draw was a straight forward tobacco. This was a medium to full strength cigar, building throughout. I found mostly a straight forward tobacco with a nice spice throughout. While there wasn't much of an evolution I found this quite enjoyable.
After that we moved on to a Saint Luis Rey Regio. This robusto sized smoke had a much more open draw. Pre-light was a faint tobacco. Once I got the foot burning nice and even with my torch, I took a few puffs and a good draw. Mmmm, citrus. I also got a faint tobacco but the sweet citrus was the dominant flavor in the first third. As I reached the middle of the cigar, the citrus faded and some mild spicy notes started to kick in, with a good tobacco being the dominant force. I was pleased by the difference in flavor from the previous stick because it allowed my palette to pick up on some of the different flavors. As I reached the final third the citrus returned. It was also a medium strength but by the end of our little herf, my head was swimming a bit. After that, it was bed time.
The next day we trained most of the day, took a soak in the hot tub, and grabbed a couple more sticks for our evening smoke. The first was something that I had wanted to try for quite some time. It was the Partagas Serie D #4. I was glad that this didn't disappoint. The pre-light draw was spot on, and I got a light tobacco flavor. After torching the foot and getting the smoke flowing nicely, I took my first long draw. I detected notes of tobacco along with a nutty flavor that lasted the first third. As I moved into the second third, the nutty flavor subsided and was replaced by a nice tobacco and spice. As I moved into the final third the nutty flavors returned and the spice also remained. A very enjoyable smoke.
It was getting late, and I was getting tired so I grabbed a Monte #5 to finish my night. I like these quite a bit. There were notes of chocolate, leather, and cedar. A nice spice is also present throughout. Not much evolution in this small stick but there doesn't need to be. A nice way to finish out the evening.
After another long day of training, I hit the road a bit behind schedule. Oh well, I'll pass the time with a Monte #2. Most everyone here is familiar with this stick so I won't go into details, but I will say that this one was plagued with burn issues (not something you want while driving). The flavors were good but I had to let it go by the final third because of the trouble it was giving me. It went out, and I said "screw it!"
I can't wait till our next get together. Hopefully he tries the sticks I left for him, they were some good ones.
