Jeff's quest...

[jlada]

This doesn't surprise me much. I don't smoke much VR. Profile/flavor is just "meh" to me. The Don Alejandro is my preference.

Not a "bad" smoke by any stretch. Just lacked a "wow" factor.

 

[Golfanatic]

This is an excellent thread. Thanks for sharing all of this publically as I don't think I will ever be this in tune to my cigar pallet.

edited for spelling.

 

[jlada]

Cigar Number 5​

Preconceptions:

Between 4" - 5".
Probably mid/upper 40's gauge.
Couple veins, medium brown.
Good construction externally speaking.
Wrapper is rather smooth, not oily.
Pigtail cap, very flat head.
Odd looking cap. Looks like a double cap leading into the pigtal.
Medium weight in hand - generous give on squeeze, couple soft spots.

Pre-light:

A nice woody aroma and taste. Very nice draw. A small note of spiciness.

Beginning:

The cigar lit very evenly and very quickly, perhaps a bit dry... but nothing to be too concerned about.

Immediate wood flavor. Such a unique flavor to start off with. I usually don't taste something so profound this early in a cigar. The best way I can descibe is wood or tree bark. There's a slight bit of spice coming through that warms the nostrils a bit on exhal. A bit of grassy flavor is present on the finish. Also, I must say this cigar somewhat dries my mouth for whatever reason. It leaves me wanting to take a drink of water. Pretty tasty and it's definitely a good start. Oak, very smooth.

Draw is flawless - requires just the perfect amount of effort. Ash is very firm.

In the middle:

Wrapper slightly cracks for no apparent reason... nothing major that affected the burn. Spice is starting to fade. That unique woody flavor is definitely the most prominent. Straight tobacco flavor is also present, but is not paramount to the oak with maybe a bit of dry nutty flavor. There's a slight note of spice remaining, but it wanes and is overwhelmed by the wood aroma/flavor. Medium bodied, very smooth, but leaves the mouth dry.

Ash remains solid as a rock. Draw is great, burn is flawless. I like this cigar. Ash stand succesful!

The end:

Smoke remained cool and smooth. Spice completely gone. The woody flavor is still present, but I don't note nuttiness... more like peat. The finish reminds me of drinking a peaty scotch. Near the end, it gets a bit acrid so I decide to let 'er go. The body doesn't pick up and remains medium body.

Guess:

Pretty confident I have never smoked this cigar. Had a very unique profile that I can't quite chacterize well. The flavors truly didn't "remind" me of anything I smoke much of. Also, the flavors/profile didn't remind me of any certain region that I normally attribute to certain tobacco regions. Definitely a good cigar, though. Wouldn't mind having a 5er for a chance of pace. The only thing that somewhat bothered me was the definitely dry sensation that coated the mouth.

I definitely don't smoke these that often, if at all. The pigtal makes me think of Trinidad, but this tastes nothing like any Trini I've ever smoked. The pigtail also makes me think of a Pepin/Pete stick... but this cigar had none of the usual Pepin/Pete flavors. You've got me stumped. I believe this may be a custom roll - something like a Johnny-O.

I enjoyed this cigar. Gonna say $8-$10 a stick, medium-bodied, no more than a couple years old, custom roll? Origin unknown... the profile was just so unique that I'd be crap-shooting, and not making an educated guess. Wouldn't be surprised if it was Johnny-O, simply because I see his sales quite a bit and Greg's reviewed a ton of 'em. If this is what I can expect from him - sign me up :thumbs: !

Thanks for the experience, Greg -- whatever this is!

Pic 1
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Pic 8
Pic 9 Those are trimmings from my Bonsai tree! No comments from the peanut gallery :laugh:!
Pic 10
Pic 11

 

[Kingantz]

Cigar Number 5​

Preconceptions:

Between 4" - 5".
Probably mid/upper 40's gauge.
Couple veins, medium brown.
Good construction externally speaking.
Wrapper is rather smooth, not oily.
Pigtail cap, very flat head.
Odd looking cap. Looks like a double cap leading into the pigtal.
Medium weight in hand - generous give on squeeze, couple soft spots.

Pre-light:

A nice woody aroma and taste. Very nice draw. A small note of spiciness.

Beginning:

The cigar lit very evenly and very quickly, perhaps a bit dry... but nothing to be too concerned about.

Immediate wood flavor. Such a unique flavor to start off with. I usually don't taste something so profound this early in a cigar. The best way I can descibe is wood or tree bark. There's a slight bit of spice coming through that warms the nostrils a bit on exhal. A bit of grassy flavor is present on the finish. Also, I must say this cigar somewhat dries my mouth for whatever reason. It leaves me wanting to take a drink of water. Pretty tasty and it's definitely a good start. Oak, very smooth.

Draw is flawless - requires just the perfect amount of effort. Ash is very firm.

In the middle:

Wrapper slightly cracks for no apparent reason... nothing major that affected the burn. Spice is starting to fade. That unique woody flavor is definitely the most prominent. Straight tobacco flavor is also present, but is not paramount to the oak with maybe a bit of dry nutty flavor. There's a slight note of spice remaining, but it wanes and is overwhelmed by the wood aroma/flavor. Medium bodied, very smooth, but leaves the mouth dry.

Ash remains solid as a rock. Draw is great, burn is flawless. I like this cigar. Ash stand succesful!

The end:

Smoke remained cool and smooth. Spice completely gone. The woody flavor is still present, but I don't note nuttiness... more like peat. The finish reminds me of drinking a peaty scotch. Near the end, it gets a bit acrid so I decide to let 'er go. The body doesn't pick up and remains medium body.

Guess:

Pretty confident I have never smoked this cigar. Had a very unique profile that I can't quite chacterize well. The flavors truly didn't "remind" me of anything I smoke much of. Also, the flavors/profile didn't remind me of any certain region that I normally attribute to certain tobacco regions. Definitely a good cigar, though. Wouldn't mind having a 5er for a chance of pace. The only thing that somewhat bothered me was the definitely dry sensation that coated the mouth.

I definitely don't smoke these that often, if at all. The pigtal makes me think of Trinidad, but this tastes nothing like any Trini I've ever smoked. The pigtail also makes me think of a Pepin/Pete stick... but this cigar had none of the usual Pepin/Pete flavors. You've got me stumped. I believe this may be a custom roll - something like a Johnny-O.

I enjoyed this cigar. Gonna say $8-$10 a stick, medium-bodied, no more than a couple years old, custom roll? Origin unknown... the profile was just so unique that I'd be crap-shooting, and not making an educated guess. Wouldn't be surprised if it was Johnny-O, simply because I see his sales quite a bit and Greg's reviewed a ton of 'em. If this is what I can expect from him - sign me up :thumbs: !

Thanks for the experience, Greg -- whatever this is!

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Pic 7
Pic 8
Pic 9 Those are trimmings from my Bonsai tree! No comments from the peanut gallery :laugh:!
Pic 10
Pic 11

Cigar Number 5 - Johnny-O! Coronas Extra Pigtail '07 - $6.60 per stick​

Jeff is on a roll!! Pun intended. This particular bundle was actually smoking fantastic when they first arrived, and for a few weeks after. They've been down for probably a good year, but still haven't come back around quite yet. It's really hard to age John's smokes as I just can't not smoke them, however I have smoked a couple that were from '06 (lonnies) and were downright fantastic smokes. Another excellent review and spot on guess Jeff!

 

[jlada]

Sorry, Greg... can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.

 

[jlada]

I'm going to be reviewing this cigar a bit differently.

Cigar Number 6​

Preconceptions:

Between 6" - 7".
Mid 40's gauge.
Couple large veins, medium-dark brown.
Kinda rough lookin'.
Not oily.
Looks like a double cap?
Medium weight in hand - not too much give on squeeze.

Pre-light:

The aroma is outstanding - rich, somewhat sweet. Fantastic. Earthy tobacco.

The whole darn stick:

Balanced, refined, creamy, smooth, phenomenal. Rich flavor that was remarkably potent, but not fulled bodied and a spice bomb.

Just... so balanced and smooth. The smoke effortlessly flows out the nares, leaving an amazingly pleasant warmth. The flavor lathers the mouth like a wad of peanut butter.

Complex... so much that my palate can't pick out individual things. I am floored at this cigars smooth character.... just... WOW. The finish is sweet, long, and leaves you wanting to take another drag. I have to constantly remind myself not to hotbox it.

Draw was flawless. Ash was so solid you could pick it up and play with it.

I nubbed the absolute crap out of this.

Guess:

I hope this stick isn't an incredibly rare, expensive, or HTF cigar. I don't care where it's from, to be honest - I just want some more. Absolutely outstanding cigar. Easily the best I've smoked in 2009. This cigar has an extremely unique character. I'm also going to say it has some downtime on it. Again - quite frankly, I don't care if I'm wrong .

I enjoyed this cigar VERY much. Could be $2, could be $20, but I would lean towards $10-$14. The unique character makes me think it's another custom roll. Medium-bodied, fantastic, probably has some down time on it. Origin unknown...

Nice play, Greg, even if it is a yard gar. My favorite thus far by a mile.

Pics coming soon.

Edit for pics:

Pic 1
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Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Pic 7

 

[Kingantz]

I'm going to be reviewing this cigar a bit differently.

Cigar Number 6​

Preconceptions:

Between 6" - 7".
Mid 40's gauge.
Couple large veins, medium-dark brown.
Kinda rough lookin'.
Not oily.
Looks like a double cap?
Medium weight in hand - not too much give on squeeze.

Pre-light:

The aroma is outstanding - rich, somewhat sweet. Fantastic. Earthy tobacco.

The whole darn stick:

Balanced, refined, creamy, smooth, phenomenal. Rich flavor that was remarkably potent, but not fulled bodied and a spice bomb.

Just... so balanced and smooth. The smoke effortlessly flows out the nares, leaving an amazingly pleasant warmth. The flavor lathers the mouth like a wad of peanut butter.

Complex... so much that my palate can't pick out individual things. I am floored at this cigars smooth character.... just... WOW. The finish is sweet, long, and leaves you wanting to take another drag. I have to constantly remind myself not to hotbox it.

Draw was flawless. Ash was so solid you could pick it up and play with it.

I nubbed the absolute crap out of this.

Guess:

I hope this stick isn't an incredibly rare, expensive, or HTF cigar. I don't care where it's from, to be honest - I just want some more. Absolutely outstanding cigar. Easily the best I've smoked in 2009. This cigar has an extremely unique character. I'm also going to say it has some downtime on it. Again - quite frankly, I don't care if I'm wrong .

I enjoyed this cigar VERY much. Could be $2, could be $20, but I would lean towards $10-$14. The unique character makes me think it's another custom roll. Medium-bodied, fantastic, probably has some down time on it. Origin unknown...

Nice play, Greg, even if it is a yard gar. My favorite thus far by a mile.

Pics coming soon.

Edit for pics:

Pic 1
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Cigar Number 6 - Graycliff Chateau Gran Cru Presidente (Purple Label) - $18ish per stick​

I had a feeling this one would getcha! I actually got this box off of.....drumroll......C-Bid! :0 It was one of those "ssssshhh private" auctions like a year or so ago. The box was marked 10/2005, and I believe I paid right at $180 or so for a box of 24, roughly $7.40 per stick. There's a pic posted of the box somewhere in the "Latest Purchase" thread, but I couldn't find the thing. I've sold pretty much all out of the box, got maybe three or four left now. I agree with you 100% on your review, these are downright fantastic cigars with some of the richest, smoothest smoke I've had. Glad you enjoyed it man! Now, time to hit the 'ol Devil site! :laugh:

 

[jlada]

Big surprise there! I have about 7-8 of these laying around, but not with 4 years on them.

Good smoke, indeed!

 

[rectifythis]

Very nice. I was dying to know what stick Jeff happened to love so much. Low and behold, I have a couple of these at the bottom of the humi. One of my old favorites that I have not smoked in at least a year. Thanks Greg.....because of you I have to dig into the humi again.

 

[MoeCizlak]

I've only had one of these, but it was almost as good as your review. Very rich is how I would describe it. It's truly a pleasure watching this, thanks guys.

 

[yogismo]

Wow... I just found this thread and spent 30 minutes reading through it and looking at all the pictures. Definitely a good read and I look forward to the rest. Thanks guys!

 

[Kingantz]

Stick No. 8​

It’s my baby girl’s birthday! Three years, boy time flies. I took a half-day from work to come home and have a nice little party for her with all the works. Cake was mighty good! It didn’t take long for her to get worn out from all the fun, so nap time ensues.

It’s a beautiful day with the temp on the back porch (my man cave) reaching over 75F. The smoke I’ve picked out is Jlada’s stick no. 8, which is about time as it’s been getting close to a month that I’ve done any reviews. I’m still not 100% sure my smell/taste is back to normal, however I’m going to give it a try anyway.

The cigar is well constructed with a slightly dark brown wrapper with not much by way of oils, and a few veins throughout. Squeezing on the cigar I find it to be a bit spongy with a good weight in the hand. Looking at the foot, I can visibly see the wrapper, binder, and filler tobacco with the filler fairly darker than the binder. Interesting. I punch the cap and find the draw loose, however there’s still enough resistance to hopefully smoke well. I get a raw tobacco taste with a hint of peat.

I put fire to the foot and blow on the embers to get them going, repeating this step until I’m happy with the burn. There’s a salty sweetness on the lips as I take my first draw. A blast of black pepper spice hits the back of the throat. I’m getting a nutty sweetness coming through in the medium bodied smoke with what is possibly a hint of ginger in there as well. There’s a somewhat short finish on the palate with not much flavor.

Approximately a third in I started having trouble with the burn. I was puffing away and nothing but hot air was coming through. I knew it had to be a huge tunnel and after ashing the cigar my thoughts were confirmed. A huge hole ran down into one side of the ash. I continued puffing to keep the fire going and things really got crazy. I finally did some major touching up and got past the tunnel.

Halfway in and the spice is just crazy, blasting the back of my throat and nostrils while exhaling. There’s not much by way of flavor, just a straightforward tobacco with no noticeable finish. I continued on and the burn straightened out well with a medium to dark gray ash forming.

I trudged through as far as I could with this smoke making it a little over the halfway mark, and finally just put it down. I didn’t get much flavor out of it, and what I did wasn’t very good at all. I pulled a nice sized stem out the head right as I was putting it down. Sorry Jeff, but this one was just blech!

 

[jlada]

Cigar number 8 was actually an Illusione CG4.

Very surprised. I love almost all the smokes in this line. Maybe you just got an "off" smoke. This review sounds nothing like my tasting notes, except the spice.

Sucks.


Oh, my cigar #7 will be coming soon. I've been sick, busy with work, busy with school, etc.

 

[mu mike]

Great job guys! These kinds of things are so enjoyable and interesting to read, I love 'em.

It makes me want to sponsor one of these...in fact I just may.

 

[Kingantz]

Stick No. 9​

Stick no. 9 is a rather rustic looking stogie with a Colorado shade wrapper that is coarse with a patchwork of veins throughout. I find not much by way of oiliness, and there’s a good weight in the hand with a slight give when squeezed. With the cap punched, I find the draw a tad bit on the tight side, however enough air is flowing through to hopefully work well.

With the foot torched, I take a few puffs to get the initial burn going good and take my first draw. A perfect white pepper spice comes through in the medium bodied smoke. Delicious flavors of roasted nuts, cedar, and a very familiar orange zest slide across the tongue. There’s a fantastic lasting finish once exhaled through the mouth and nose.

The burn is sharp with a compact, strong ash forming that is a medium to dark gray in color. The draw has turned out to be perfect to match the medium strength coming through. Delicious flavors continue to come through, that of a perfect roasted nut with a nice woodiness leaving a long finish on the palate.

I hated for this cigar to end, but end it did. The burn remained sharp throughout with a good draw that did seem to want to tighten up a bit towards the end, however with a bit of rolling around it remained spot on. The smoke continued to be delicious to the very end with excellent flavor and a long, lasting finish. I’m going to say this was definitely Cuban, possibly Partagas.

Fantastic smoke Jeff, thank you very much sir!

 

[jlada]

Cigar number 9 was actually a Punch Royal Selection No. 11 1999

Ya. I like aged Punch. Not a huge fan of fresh, but over 6ish years, and I'm liking 'em.

I'm very glad you got a good one from this box. They're somewhat hit and miss.

 

[Kingantz]

Cigar No. 10​

Stick No. 10 is a very nice looking stick with a dark maduro shade wrapper that is quite oily with a couple of prominent veins and a large, flat cap on top. There’s not much give when squeezed and the weight is a bit light in the hand. I punch the cap with the largest ring on my Swiss Army and find very little resistance in the draw.

I torch the foot with my Z-Plus Zippo, getting a nice, even burn going, and then take a long draw. A perfect amount of white pepper spice comes through in the mild to medium bodied smoke. There’s a sweetness to the smoke, that of raw honey and brown sugar with a pronounced dark roasted nuttiness. I’m also detecting a smidgen of cinnamon spice along with a very nice woodiness and delicious vanilla. The finish is superb, long and lasting on the palate.

Moving into the first third, a strong, dark gray ash is forming and smoke is flowing freely in the loose draw. A perfect amount of spice continues to come through with a delicious twang in the mild to medium bodied smoke. This is a very good cigar, I must say. The finish is incredibly good and lasting. Roasted nuts and sweet honey continue to come through amongst a host of other flavors that are quite balanced and complex.

I’m amazed at the amount of smoke that’s literally pouring from this cigar. The burn continues to be good with the thick wrapper taking its time in certain spots. The ash is a very dark gray, almost black in color. The final third was a good full medium body and started to literally kick my arse, whew! Flavors continued to be incredibly good with very dark roasted nuts, vanilla, and a nice twang in the mix.

Okay, so I’m completely stumped with this smoke. I would say it’s non-Cuban, possibly of Nicaraguan origin, however I’m just not sure on this one. Very good cigar though!

 

[jlada]

Cigar #10 was actually a Gran Habano Corojo #5.

Insanely cheap, underrated, and an awesome knock-around smoke that you don't mind panning if something comes up. Nice review, Greg! I really enjoy this cheapy.

Don't tell anyone, though. I like the beauties that fly under the radar - much like the Padilla 68.

 

[MoeCizlak]

Would you shut up about the Padilla 68s? People will hear you. :angry: :laugh:

 

[Sportsdls]

Awesome thread guys, I don't want the reviews to end!