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.
#11 was actually a Wolter's Bolivar Gold Medal.
Glad you liked it . Unfortunately, gonna be a little hard to get any more. I really enjoy BGM's - great medium smoke.
I've been extremely busy for the past month. Plus, I've had some nasty congestion/cough/bleh going on. I'm finally over it and have a couple days off. Time to review some cigars!
I grabbed a fresh cup of Medellin Madman from Mr. Jerry and off I went.
Cigar Number 7
D'oh.
I got about 3/4" and spilled my cup of coffee on it. Not even enough time to get into the good part of the cigar. Initial thoughts were smooth, creamy, medium bodied. Reminded me of a nice Dominican.
Sorry, Greg
Cigar Number 8
Preconceptions:
Between 5"-6"
Probably a mid 40's ring gauge.
Light brown, hairline veins. Smooth.
Triple cap.
Light in the hand - some give on squeeze.
Pre-light:
Woody, musty, twinge of sweetness.
Beginning:
Mild. Smooth, bit of sweetness. No spice at all. Very woody. A dry finish that doesn't last very long.
Draw is a bit tight, but not enough to be annoying. Burn is very even.
In the middle:
The sweetness dissipates towards a more pronounced wood/earth profile. The body DEFINITELY picks up, but not abruptly. Its a rather slow, casual change towards medium bodied. Quite a nice finish in the middle - very smooth and it coats the mouth with a somewhat musty wood character. Exhaling through the nose offers a pleasant warmth.
Ash is very solid, burn even.
The end:
The sweetness makes an encore on the wood/grass profile. Still reminds me of a campfire. I get a slight bitterness at the end, but nothing overpowering.
Guess:
The mildness and musty character I noticed at the beginning made me think it had some down time. After smoking it through, I am unsure. The body DEFINITELY picked up - but it snuck up on me. I will say that the flavor profile didn't evolve much, but the amount of flavor/body definitely changed.
I liked this cigar, but wouldn't go out of my way to find a box. I'd say this is Cuban, nothing incredibly fancy. Maybe $5-$7. Gonna throw out Monte and HdM as marcas it reminds me of the most. Pretty enjoyable stick. I'm going to stick to my intial thoughts and say it has a least a few years down time.
Thanks, Greg! Good stick.
Edit for pics:
Cigar 8 Picture 1
Cigar 8 Picture 2
Cigar 8 Picture 3
Cigar 8 Picture 4
Cigar 8 Picture 5
Cigar 8 Picture 6
Waiting... I'm confused. You said 7 was a RASS and posted VR?
???
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
I'm going to review the last two cigars a bit differently, because I was out in the yard doing work and whatnot. Sorry, I only got pics of the cigars, no progression. My camera isn't cooperating with turning on (fresh batteries and everything... I'm confused...) so I'll upload them later.
Cigar Number 9
Preconceptions:
Rough looking.
Probably between 5"-6". Low 40's gauge.
Very light in hand.
Seems a bit box pressed.
Very flat head, triple cap.
Light brown wrapper.
Pre-light:
Musty paper, but mild.
How it smoked:
Mild. Very musty paper/cardboard profile in the first 1/2" or so. Got some straight tobacco in the middle, but still very musty. No spice, no sweetness throughout the entire cigar.
Pretty straight forward through out the whole stick. Musty/cardboard/bit of grass profile. Got somewhat acrid in the last 1.5" so I panned it.
Guess:
Everday Cuban. I'm guessing with some serious down time. Perhaps a bit past it's prime? If it's not old, I'm guessing it's an "off" stick or simply something I'm not a fan of. I couldn't fathom a guess on marca. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this stick that much. The finish left my mouth rather dry, the flavors were muted/musty, and there wasn't much change in the profile.
Cigar Number 10
Preconceptions:
Probably 5".
Upper 40s gauge.
Medium brown - smooth wrapper. Construction is amazing.
Very odd looking cap - almost looks like a quadruple cap - there seems to be a triple cap and then a patched cap over it. Very bulbous, almost goofy looking.
Firm roll, medium weight in hand.
Pre-light:
Very smooth straight tobacco with a twinge of sweetness.
How it smoked:
Medium, remarkably smooth, billows smoke. The profile is incredibly unique with many different flavors, but nothing dominant. There's no spice to be noted, but wood/sweet tobacco/nuts. I normally don't say I taste weird stuff - but I could of swore I tasted raisins.
Flavor profile switched up a bit as it came down the middle/end, but it remained incredibly smooth, never got acrid.
Burned very even.
Guess:
Great smoke! The profile reminded me of nothing I have smoked before. I would definitely like to have more of these, but my guess is it's a custom roll. The profile was just too unique for me to peg a marca I'm familiar with.
What a lovely smoke to wrap up the blind cigars! I'd rate this near the top of the 10 I've smoked, but number 9 near the bottom.
Very, very odd tasting Opus. Tasted nothing like the last couple years of Opus I have. Excellent smoke, though. Interesting that thought it was one of the best and I much enjoy Opus when I know what I'm smoking.
Ready for the next 10, Greg?
Edit: Also interesting to note that I specifically mentioned raisins, and that should have set off the alarms for me - I taste raisins in a lot of Fuentes - Anejo/Opus/DC EdA. Lemme know if you ever wanna get rid of some of those .
I'm ready for the next 10, definitely! You?