The Cigar Thread. Smoke em' if you got em'.

[Joe13]

Macanudo 1968 yesterday and torano exodus 50year today. The Macanudo was a little strong for early morning. Exodus 50year is creamy and earthy. Live the aroma of that one. View attachment 735659
View attachment 735660

agreed, that Toraño 50 year is a very good medium cigar.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Another punch rare corojo for me today. Trying to use them up cuz I don't like them really.

Anyway I think I figured out the deal with this cigar but I also have a lingering q about humidor time's effect on it. It has a slightly bitter and dark taste to it and slightly tangy also. It's a flavor profile that is not for me really but might be great for someone else.

I will say that it's smooth and I like the aroma on this one. It's been in humidor a long time and that might be a factor also. I've seen reviews on nub and oliva in particular where reviewer smoked one and it was sour and terrible. But then after about a year in humidor the same reviewer thought it was excellent. So that could be the case here. I would say the first three I had I would give a score of 2/10 max. This one I would give 7.7 out of 10. Same batch of cigars only difference is humidor time. I tried previous ones after 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months approximately. Level of sourness and also aroma are quite different with this one vs the first three so that leads me to believe humidor time might be the primary factor here.

This one is certainly softer than previous 3 I tried fwiw. That supports my earlier theory that x months in humidor is not the indicator to use for when it's ready, feel of the cigar is the only reliable indicator (ie when all tobaccos including filler are the right humidity it will feel right - slightly soft but firm overal and rebounds, not squishy and outside is not hard/too firm).

 

[Joe13]

Man'O'War Salomon today before it gets too hot out today.

If I could only have 2 sizes they would be Robusto and Salomon.

Anyway, I like the Ruination better but the original is still a very good smoke

 

[Steel Head]

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 connecticut 2nd for me today. Many of the seconds from various brands taste almost identical to the non-2nd versio but this in one where there is a bigger drop off in terms of taste. Burn and construction seem the same. but the normal version of this cigar is a bit unique in that it has a strong almond/marzaipan flavor. In this 2nd version the flavor is way way more muted. Still a good cigar for the $ but this is one where if you pay the higher price for the normal version it is quite a bit better. I would give it a 7.8/10 which is ok for the cost I would say. These are about $2.25 vs regular version can be $5 or more.

 

[CountryGent]

Been smoking a lot of Arturo Fuente cigars lately, so decided to mix it up with a CAO and Rocky Patel. I believe I'll smoke the former after dinner.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Ramon Bueso the genesis project for me today. My favorite of the Ramon bueso cigars. Earthy and nice aroma. U used to be able to get these for around $1.75 but now they are around $3 which puts it in competition with some other great cigars and makes it less attractive for me. I would give it a 8.2/10. Good cigar but some of the man o war offerings I like better and are also cheaper. Good cigar though and nice maduro connecticut broadleaf wrapper.

 

[Joe13]

My last RP Broadleaf today - good smoke for my tastes.

Slowly making room in my humidors....

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Cohiba black for me today. 3rd one of these I've tried and this one is quite a bit better, mostly due to more humidor time (3mo) but also im getting used to the taste a bit. Aroma is much better and stronger. flavors r stronger and it's smoother overall. Med full body. Conn broadleaf maduro wrapper. Dominican polito binder. Mexican and Dominican Filler.

Flavors are meat (hamburger), must, earth, barnyard. Pronounced metallic (copper to me) and oil in first third. Slightly sweet on the lips. Mostly reminds me of barbecue hamburger with lots of char in 1st third. Chocolate aroma and taste coming in heavily on 2nd third and aroma is primarily chocolate now. No pepper at all really and minimal mouth presence for me.

Really much, much better than before. I would give it an 8.8/10 at this point which is much higher than earlier. Overall I would say heavy, meaty, barnyard and chocolate taste but smooth.

regarding similar taste and body cigars, I like it a bit better than Macanudo black and Partagas heritage, about the same as man o war ruination, torano 50 year, Partagas cifiuntes maduro, and less than punch icon (chocolate bomb). The aroma alone makes this cigar worth it imo. Burn, draw, construction all excellent. Slow burning and won't go out on u. Needs plenty of humidor time to be good.


I think this cigar would pair nicely with a black powder shotgun or lever action in 44-40 (kidding!) ...love all the "pairs with" opinions on reviews. Where do they get that stuff? Btw, all the review videos on this cigar are completely worthless. Sorry to say it, but they really r complete crap.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

HC white for me today. Excellent value cigar and never had any issues with construction etc with any of the hc line. I find all of the hc series cigars to have a hint of bitterness though (similar to walnut's slight bitterness note in this one).

Flavors of hay, walnut, vanilla, brown sugar. Some type of wood, maybe chestnut? Dry, not sweet overall. I would give it a score of 8.1/10 which puts it higher than other similar cigars such as the griffins, Davidoff 3x3 tubo, RP Renaissance conn., and just a hair less than Macanudo cafe, Kristoff connecticut (not shade grown). From a value standpoint it's hard to beat at 40% the cost of 3x3 tubo or Macanudo cafe etc. A more flavorful alternative would be Macanudo gold with its sweetness and almond or the more complex cohiba conn. which would still cost 2x as much on sale, but great cigars.

Slight bitterness likely from Nicaragua filler and in that type of cigar (conn. shade wrapper with Nicaraguan filler) the outstanding montechristo platinum and great Macanudo inspirado white would be great choices but at 2x (inspirado), 4x (Montechristo)the cost. The Kristoff shade grown has some similar tobaccos and is my #1 or #2 cigar at 9.5/10. Kristoff for me is in a different class though flavor, complexity, and construction wise.

edit: a note on construction, I'm getting some pieces of tobacco in my mouth (similar to mixed filler) as I get into the second third of the hc white. I don't recall that before but I wonder if a person unraveled it whether there may be some mixed filler in there. My gut tells me it's probably just this one cigar but might be worth checking out someday. One time I took apart a torano noventa cigar which is advertised as long filler and the vast majority of the filler was little pieces (mixed filler) So the marketing info is not always accurate.

 

[Joe13]

Oliva V Maduro today to start. Only one left which makes me a little sad cuz I absolutely love them but it will force me to keep grabbing my 4/5 stuff as I make room in the humidor till I only have the stuff I like and the stuff I love

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Partagas cifuentes maduro this morning and Macanudo icon this evening. Beautiful day for it. Love this type of weather

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Punch icon for me today. Quickly becoming one of my favorites. 1st third is like a chocolate chip cookie with the big square chocolate chips but someone doubled the amount of chocolate chips. 2nd third is more like a chocolate mousse minus the creaminess. Only slightly noticeable black pepper twang on tongue which also gives it a medium mouth presence.

In terms of tobaccos used, this is pretty close to ideal for me. Ecuador sumatra wrapper plus connecticut broadleaf binder both add sweetness, earthiness, and chocolatey aroma/flavor. I would give it probably a 9.3/10. Aroma is wonderful. Not spicy. Med to med full body. Excellent burn, construction, draw. No relights.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Man o war ruination for me today. This has been discussed before and only difference is that this one is Gordo (60 ring size). I would say that so far Gordo has same chocolatey aroma as thinner ones but not nearly as much chocolatey taste. However this could be due to not enough humidor time. So jury is still out.

I like it but not as much as thinner one. I would probably give it a 8.5/10 or so but that might change as I get to 2nd third. Also it doesn't feel as if it's quite ready even though they have Been in humidor for 2 months or so, so that might be a big factor too.

If they made this cigar in a lonsdale or panetela size that might really be something special due to more influence from wrapper and binder. I would say they are all excellent values as they can be had for around $2 online on sale. I like both ruination and regular man o war. Damnation i like less but it's still pretty good. Dont like virtue (the cigar I mean ha ha) at all. Haven't tried any of the others such as armada, legion, or the various side projects.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Kristoff Criollo for me today to celebrate the new steel frame Jericho Pistol. Criollo tastes a lot like a good Cuban. Deep must flavor. Mild-medium bodied.

 

[Joe13]

Kristoff Criollo for me today to celebrate the new steel frame Jericho Pistol. Criollo tastes a lot like a good Cuban. Deep must flavor. Mild-medium bodied.View attachment 744929

A worthy reason to celebrate

Congrats on the new pistol

 

[Joe13]

Man O War Legend this morning.

my least favorite of the line but heck you gotta get the lesser ones smoked at some point .

Honestly they aren't bad they just don't fall 100% under my flavor preferences.

I got a handful of packs of 3 (1-Original, 1-Legend and 1-Ruination).

I try to finish a 3 pack before opening another. Otherwise I'd smoke all of the Ruination then the Original and be left with a handful of Legends lol.

My gen3 G17 in the background as it's a constant companion these days...

 

[CountryGent]

Kristoff Criollo for me today to celebrate the new steel frame Jericho Pistol. Criollo tastes a lot like a good Cuban. Deep must flavor. Mild-medium bodied.View attachment 744929

I'll have to try one of those cigars. And 'gratz on the new piece.

 

[CountryGent]

Hey, this is the cigar thread ... how'd you get in here?

 

[Joe13]

View attachment 748193

Hey, this is the cigar thread ... how'd you get in here?

I have a few pipes and a couple different selections of tobacco but I rarely break them out.

It's probably from lack of frequency that I find them a little higher maintenance then just grabbing a cigar and really prefer a meaty flavor and smoke.

I do like them in the winter when it's pretty cold outside and can half pack a bowl for a shorter smoke before I freeze