Cigar #7, non-Cuban Davidoff Millennium Blend Lonsdale, 2006 (6" x 43) - premium
Image courtesy of enerjay
bfreebern said: Nice reddish brown wrapper, no major veins. Prelight draw was good, with earth coming through. Black cherry, spice and leather are what I got from this one. Full bodied.
bfreebern guessed: Origin: Nicaraguan -
Price: Super Premium -
Age: 1 year -
Marca: Tatuaje -
Rating: 8/10
BlindedByScience said: A little rough looking, but not too bad. Nice, rich dark brown wrapper; pre light draw is a bit on the tight side and the wrapper on the cut end is coming loose…..not good. Pre light tastes are very earthy, making me think this one has some down time on it. Really rich, really nice. Ring is a little more than a 40 and the length sans cap is about 5 5/8” The pre light tastes have piqued my interest and I’m anxious to give this one a go.
Very dark, very heavy, but a nice smoke. Basic, aged tobacco tastes, some spice, some musty, almost dusty flavors, but overall, a nice enjoyable smoke. Seemed to have a lot of nicotine “oomph” to it but I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. The tight draw didn’t affect how it smoked; no burn issues at all. I fought the split wrapper a bit but got through it just fine. Nicely floral, aromatic smoke.
BlindedByScience guessed: Origin: Cuban -
Price: Premium -
Age: 10 years -
Marca: Bolivar -
Rating: 8/10
Brickhouse said: Tasting notes: Another solid smoke that was very tasty and earned a spot in the humidor. Very creamy cigar, which surprised me because of the color of the wrapper. Really had a "Cuban" taste to it, though I hate using that description. What I'm saying is that all the qualities of it; the way it smoked, the amount of smoke, the hints of creamy vanilla, some hints of cherries, and a rich robust full bodied flavor with smooth delivery all said Cuban to me. But I'm not going there. No, I think this one is a wolf in sheeps clothing. So then I went to the Marca that makes great Cubans but also manages to make great Non-Cubans with their label.....Davidoff.....Davidoff Millennium Blend.
Brickhouse guessed: Origin: Dominican Republic -
Price: Premium -
Age: 4 years -
Marca: Davidoff -
Rating: 7/10
enerjay said: This is my kind of smoke. Full flavor but not to full body. Smooth cigar with hints of coffee, really light pepper and some woodsy flavor. Well balanced from start ti finish.
enerjay guessed: Origin: Dominican -
Price: Premium -
Age: 2 years -
Marca: Arturo Fuente -
Rating: 9.5/10
insight said: From the prelight draw I instantly thought Opus. I tasted the unique spice and flavors I associate with Opus. Initially there was a somewhat sweet, nutty flavor but none of the bite common to Opus, which had me wondering if my initial reaction was correct. Coming into the second third of the cigar a rich peppery flavor developed. As the cigar progressed some grassy flavors crept in that I would usually associate more with a Cohiba than an Opus, but the Opus flavor continued to creep in and out. The finish was a combination of leather and berries, with much more notable spice and a nic punch. I believe this is an Opus, and the variation in flavors is a result of age. I also think it has to be significantly old for my guess to make sense because it had some flavors that I have not commonly found in even the ~2000 Opus I have smoked. I really enjoyed this cigar and hope I get made to look the fool so I can get more of these on the cheap, because I have enough of an Opus problem as it stands.
insight guessed: Origin: Dominican -
Price: Premium -
Age: 12 years -
Marca: OR Opus X Fuente Fuente -
Rating: 9.5/10
grateful1 said: Nice cigar. Just OK. A little 'bite' to it at first. Good roll with a nice draw. A lot of smoke. Chocolate wants to come thru, more earthy than spice. It seems like I've had this blend before but can't nail it down. It's a dry smoke . This is a tough one.
grateful1 guessed: Origin: Nicauraguan -
Price: Everyday -
Age: 4 -
Marca: Dominican Cohiba XV -
Rating: 5/10
NorCalCigarLover said: 5 7/8 inch, 45 ring. An interesting two tone effect with this cigar, the bottom portion was a darker earthy brown graduated to a head of lighter brown. A rough wrapper, silky, with veins and possibly stems showing through, a lot of soft spots as well. Pre-light aromas of floral and a slight farm smell. Initial tastes of char broiler, woody, very little spice with a medium to full strength. Middle was stronger, mostly wood with more spice coming through but still not big. Burned nice with the wrapper curling under and hugging the burn the entire length, but did not have a long hanging ash. I'm thinking perhaps a machine made A/T.
NorCalCigarLover guessed: Origin: Cuba -
Price: Everyday -
Age: 15 years -
Marca: H. Upmann -
Rating: 6/10
sinnyc said: This firm Lonsdale has a smooth, rich, chocolate brown wrapper and a fine pre-light draw. It is medium in strength and led off with straightforward tobacco flavors and, oddly, a burst of anise. As the cigar gets going it presents a sort of earthy, cedar/woodsy base with hints of bitter chocolate and still that tinge of licorice. It's an interesting cigar and I don't think I have never tasted one before. It's not particularly strong but it is sort of stomping on my taste buds a bit. In the second third the anise and chocolate are gone and the cigar is now primarily a woodsy tobacco taste although there is now something acrid going on which is a bit of a bummer. My taste buds are getting fairly torched now which I find strange since it really doesn't seem to be that strong of a cigar. The promise it showed in the beginning is fading fast. Now in the last third the flavors have kind of petered out altogether and all I am getting is an acrid tobacco taste. I am well and surely stumped on this one.
I woke up this morning still trying to figure out what #7 was and just now, as I was about to grab a bite to eat at work, it hit me - that could certainly have been an Illusione. Either a cg:4 or an f9. I have had a couple of the larger sizes that seemed to flatten out taste-wise almost immediately and that is basically what happened with #7. It got quite "plain" and I could attribute the acridity I tasted to smoking it too fast.
sinnyc guessed: Origin: Dominican -
Price: Everyday -
Age: 1 year -
Marca: Illusione -
Rating: 4/10
Smokyballs said: Tanic, tart start for the first half inch. Mellowed out to a really smooth smoke. Nice white ash. Lots of smoke. Became very bland. Very light chocolate flavor at the back of my mouth. Flavorless is almost to nice of a comment. Incredibly mild with little or no flavor. Back to tart at the end. The cigar became to soft and hot to smoke any further. No aftertaste.
Smokyballs guessed: Origin: Dominican -
Price: Everyday -
Age: 3 years -
Marca: Romeo n/c Cedros -
Rating: 2/10
tone-ny said: This cigar had darker wrapper with prominent veining and a clean draw to it. The ash on this cigar was light grey and burn was even. I did have to re light this cigar twice and mid way and almost at the end.
Overall this was a strong cigar through out as well as the nose. Having a strong taste of the tobacco itself and bordering on a leather profile. The cigar was never bitter, but a strong cigar that did not disappoint. I enjoyed smoking the cigar as it reminded me of a Romeo y Julieta Cazadodres. This was a cigar that I first tried last year courtesy of Wilkey. I have since have obtained some more for aging.
tone-ny guessed: Origin: Cuban -
Price: Everyday -
Age: 2 years -
Marca: Romeo y Julieta -
Rating: 7/10
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Results Summary
Origin: 3 Cuban, 7 non-Cuban
Price: 0 budget, 5 everyday, 4 premium, 1 super-premium
Age: High: 15 years, Low: 1 year, Average: 5.4 years
Marca: Arturo Fuente: 2, Tatuaje: 1, Bolivar: 1, Davidoff: 1, Dominican Cohiba XV: 1, H. Upmann: 1, Illusione: 1, Dominican Romeo y Julieta Cedros: 1, Romeo y Julieta: 1
Raiting: High: 9.5/10, Low: 2/10, Average: 6.6/10
Cigar #7 was actually a:
non-Cuban Davidoff Millennium Blend Lonsdale, 2006 (6" x 43) - premium
Who nailed it: Brickhouse!
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Commentary
While most of the testers got that this cigar was not Cuban, the marcas were once again all over the map, with 9 different marcas represented, and only Brickhouse getting it right... well done, sir, it is indeed a Davidoff... a Davidoff Millennium Blend Londsale!
From some of the early ratings, I really thought this would be the highest rated cigar... but a few really poor ratings once again brought this cigar down into the consistently mediocre ratings that seem to be the norm in this blind taste test.
The perceived age varied widely on this one too, from 15 years to 10 years, down to 1 year.
Once again, the only pattern I can see to the reviews is the consistent some loved it, some hated it, and some were in the middle. The verbiage used to describe the cigar was likewise consistently inconsistent. Consider me flummoxed again.
Well done folks... another very interesting cigar review! #8 is coming up quick... seeya then!
