Cigar #9 review
ELittle said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 7/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall:
7/10
Price: $9.00
Review: First third: This cigar looks delicious. It has a nice sandy colored wrapper, and the prelight draw shows a nice draw. This cigar was kind of dry though, when I clipped the cap off there was dust, but it still smoked very well. It starts out medium in strength with a noticeable nutty flavor and a slight amount of spice creeping up at the end of the first third.
Second third: There is a very mild creaminess and a slight spice developing now, as well as a very pronounced nutty flavor, almost pecan like, it's actually very delicious. It seems to have mellowed out nicely in this third.
Final third: The flavor is mellowing out a little bit more now. It's nice and mild with that pronounced nutty flavor still. The cigar has started to tunnel a bit towards the end and is requiring a few touch ups.
This was a very consistent and good cigar. It had perfect construction and a minor burn issue near the end, but overall this was one of the best i've smoked so far.
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insight said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 7.5/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7.5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8/10 - Overall:
7.7/10
Price: $20.00
Review: Summary: be as long or as short as you like, describing what you tasted when you smoked the cigar, your impressions of it, etc.
First third: The prelight draw is firm and spicy. The smoke starts out 'hearty', characterized by spice and leather. The first third was very robust and pleasant without much variance from the initial flavors.
Second third: The body of the smoke lightens up a bit and takes on an earthy flavor. Some of the characteristics remind me of some of what I noticed in a JL Obus I smoked a while back, but the finish is different. Again, there isn't much variation but the smoke is consistently enjoyable.
Final third: Into the home stretch the flavor gets a bit rough and the rustic leather flavor from the initial portion returns. The strength really picks up and I notice more of the nic punch than before. Just as I get to the end (like right about an 1 1/4 inches left) a creamy nutty flavor creeps in that is very rich. I enjoyed this despite not personally detecting a lot of complexity to it. There is something familiar about the cigar but I can't pinpoint it for some reason.
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Kingantz said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 7/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall:
7/10
Price: $7.00
Review: Another nice looking belicoso cigar with a Colorado shade wrapper that is somewhat coarse with veins throughout and noticeable oils. The weight is good in the hand and a slight give when squeezed. I clip the cap at an angle and find a spot on draw.
Beginning 1/3
I put fire to the foot and get a good white pepper spice on the back of the throat with taste of vanilla, cocoa, wood, nuts, and dark brown sugar. The smoke itself is a medium body with a lasting finish. There’s a salty sweetness on the lips that is quite good. The burn is fairly sharp with a medium gray ash forming.
Middle 1/3
Halfway in and the cigar still has a good burn with a strong whitish gray ash that is holding strong. Tastes of vanilla, cocoa, and roasted nuts continue to come through with a nice spice on the back of the throat. Towards the last part of the middle third, the finish seemed to turn slightly short, but still very good on the palate.
Final 1/3
The burn wanted to go to one side, however corrected itself well. The spiciness seemed to pick up a notch and had a good burn when exhaling from the nose. Flavors darkened slightly to a nice charred wood with earth undertones and a good dark cocoa taste. The finish wasn’t as long as in the beginning, but still very good. I’m finding my mouth to have a bit of dryness after exhaling.
Summary:
Another very good cigar with lots of creamy, light smoke that was medium in body. There was a perfect amount of spice coming through and a nice finish on the palate. The burn was sharp throughout with a strong light gray ash. Lots of good flavors came through with vanilla, cocoa, and roasted nuts and then turning darker towards the end.
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bfisher88 said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 6/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 6/10 - Overall:
5.6/10
Price: $5.50
Review: Summary: From thr start this thing was pretty boring imo. Good construction and burn but the flavors were just meh and didn't really do it for me. No real complaints about this one just wasn't a big fan. Had some grassy tones and seemed fairly mild. Just really didn't impress me.
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enerjay said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 7/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 7/10 - Last 1/3rd: 7/10 - Overall:
7/10
Price: $5.00
Review: First 1/3rd: #9 Cigar first 1/3 burned well, taste of woody (pine) and earth (tea)
Middle 1/3rd: #9 Once again the cigar is burning perfect, wood and earth are still present and flat.
Final 1/3rd: #9 very much the same as the first 2/3 of the cigar just not much there.
Summary: Cigar number NINE, just did not do it for me. Earth and woody flavor were present (I looked at the tasting wheel).
The burn was very good. However I just did not pick up much flavor. I smoked this one early in the day I wonder if that has anything to do with it?
Price: $5.00
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Napa_Smokes said:
Rating: n/a - has bowed out of the blind taste test
Price: n/a - has bowed out of the blind taste test
Review: n/a - has bowed out of the blind taste test
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jfields said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 8/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 8.5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8.5/10 - Overall:
8.3/10
Price: $9.00
Review: 1st Third: Lots of smoke on a somewhat loose draw. I don't know if it's because I worked out just prior to sitting down with this, but this is an extremely salty tasting cigar. I also taste toasted nuts. Turns into a creamier profile after the first 3/4 of an inch. A fantastic profile that I really an enjoying. The draw becomes perfect in the last part of this third. (8)
2nd Third:This part evolves into very strong wood flavors, and gives off a scent/taste that reminds me of musty old leather bound books. Several other flavors that I just can't seem to identify. Towards the end of this third I start tasting some leather on the finish. A very complex cigar so far. (8.5)
3rd Third: Leather becomes more predominant entering this part of the smoking experience. Pepper and spice on the finish, picks up along with some tea notes that quickly go away. Goes back to leather and hay along with other flavors that I still can not pick out. (8.5)
Summary: Excellent complex smoke in my book. Performs well from beginning to end. I'd love to put some of whatever these are away in my humi. I'm going to guess that it might be a Bolivar Beli Fino and at least that it is Cuban??
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grateful1 said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 3/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 3/10 - Last 1/3rd: 0/10 - Overall:
2/10
Price: $4.00
Review: The looks and feel of this cigar where nice. The draw was even good...the taste was AWFUL.
I wanted to puke from the after taste....are we all smokng the same cigar - I hope not!!!
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BlindedByScience said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 4/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 5/10 - Last 1/3rd: 4/10 - Overall:
4.3/10
Price: $6.00
Review: Summary: Another nice looking Beli. This one is (as I remember) a bit lighter in color than the last one. Slight notes of white pepper on the wrapper when smelled closely. The draw is much like the last smoke – very open, and almost flavorless. Did I get two #8’s…?? Nope – they do look different. Let’s see how this one smokes….
Not much to see or taste here. This one was bland and flat. Disappointing. Nothing evil or obnoxious, but very, very little flavor to be had. Burned OK, looked like it had potential, but nothing going on in the flavor department. Start to finish, this one was a sound asleep.
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Seanholio said:
Rating: First 1/3rd: 4/10 - Middle 1/3rd: 6/10 - Last 1/3rd: 8/10 - Overall:
6/10
Price: $12.00
Review: The cigar started out with a nice leathery taste, but not great. Hints of coffee and cocoa teased me, but it was a frustration rather than a good tease. In the second third, the coffee became more prevalent, balancing the leather nicely. After a purge, the last third revealed an excellent balance of all three tastes, each one coming to the fore and then transitioning to the next. Near the end, it got hot and ashy. The Sweet Spot didn't last long enough, but then, it never does.
I'd put this as a $12 cigar, and I'm guessing it is Cuban in origin.
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Lowest rating: grateful1 2/10
Highest rating: jfields 8.3/10
Average rating: 6.1/10
6 - pretty good cigar, I'd smoke it if it was given to me, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it
5 - okay cigar, enjoyable enough, but nothing special
Lowest price: grateful1 $4.00
Highest price: insight $20.00
Average price: $8.60
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Cigar #9 is actually a...
Juan Lopez Obus RE France (2006) - price*:
$21.00
Commentary: This cigar is by far the most expensive cigar in the blind taste test thus far. It's a Cuban cigar, and one of the "shiny second banded" regional releases. Even so, it didn't fare much better than some of the much less expensive and more pedestrian cigars in the taste test.
I put this cigar in on purpose because it's a brand and release that I figured most of the testers probably have not tried. My theory is that people are good at identifying cigars they've had before, but not very good at determining much of anything about cigars that they've never had in terms of origin, etc.
In any event, Grateful1 absolutely hated this cigar... tossing it before even finishing it... and BlindedByScience didn't seem to care for it at all either. Yet we had a number of people who really liked it. Standard.
Insert cliché line: Did they all smoke the same cigar? Yes they did.
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* Denotes the price I paid for this cigar, not necessarily the MSRP
