Arturo Fuente King B Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar from Thompson Cigar; all reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Rosado | Binder: Dominican | Filler: Dominican | Box of 18: $118.23; Six Pack: $39.41 | Torpedo | 6″ x 55
0/3: I have had this cigar sitting in my humidor for about a year. Oily and slightly rough to the touch, the wrapper is marred by a couple of minor veins. These cigars come wrapped in a cedar sleeve with a black cloth band at the foot. It’s a beautiful cigar to look at and I’m hoping that the flavors are as good as the looks.
1/3: Spice, light cedar, nuts and some other nice flavors. The burn gets a little ragged but is quickly corrected. Medium bodied.
2/3: Sweetness starts coming through during this third. Cedar and nuts are still major factors.
3/3: Chocolate comes along during the final third. The flavors seem a bit washed out but, underneath that, there’s a decent amount of flavor variety.
4/3: Medium bodied with a good draw and a decent burn; this cigar wasn’t as good as I had hoped. It had breadth of flavor but those flavors were average. Decent cigar.
3 out of 5 points – Good cigar
Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery 2012 Maduro BP Cigar Review
If you look at the bands on this cigar in a darkened room you would be forgiven if you thought they were just plain, black bands. But they’re not. These bands have the same logo replete with skull and cross bones along with the necessary titles on them as all the other Viaje Skull and Bones cigars; they’re just a different shade of black than the rest of the bands. It’s interesting and a little different, so that’s cool.
In the past I have reviewed a couple of cigars from the Viaje Skull and Bones line including:
The cigar is box pressed and short but fairly thick. It has an aggressive, sweet tobacco aroma about it and the wrapper is fairly oily. As far as I can tell there aren’t any but the slightest cosmetic imperfections and it looks like it is well made to me. I’ve smoked a couple of these in the past and I can’t recall having a problem with any of them.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: robusto
Length: 4 ½”
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $254.00/Box of 25 | $10.25/Single
Limerence Torch!
Very complex from the beginning with notes of hot peppers, chocolate, earth and, generally, a smoky presence to it. There is a little bit of a kick present here and I would nominally put it in the full bodied spectrum; but that’s not this cigar’s point. Its major point is its complexity (at least during the earlier stages).
The second third of this cigar takes on more of the savory and sweet notes. Earth, chocolate and some charred meat flavors have come on during this third. Very dark flavors that keep me interested.
The flavors do begin to flag a bit during the final third but I think part of that can be attributed to the fact that the flavors were pretty consistent during the final two thirds and, perhaps, my palate just got a bit too familiar with them. That’s fine if the flavors are good and they are good here.
Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn; this cigar features a very dark flavor profile. During the beginning the flavors were bolder and during the final two thirds the flavors were richer. Personally, I did enjoy the beginning more because of the presence of that hot pepper flavor. It added a bit of variety and spiciness almost always improves chocolate and earth flavors for me.
This is a very tasty cigar with a decent amount of complexity, especially in the beginning. There are enough different flavors present throughout to keep you interested and this kind of cigar should appeal to a wide swatch of the cigar smoking public. The price tag, on the other hand, probably won’t.
91 points
Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar from Cigars Direct – purveyors of premium cigars. As always, all reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 20: $189.00; Single: $10.50 | Toro | 6 ½″ x 52
0/3: This cigar has received a number of accolades from a variety of different media outlets. Supposedly, it’s one of the better offerings from Rocky Patel. Let’s see.
The Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary is box pressed with the flat top and bottom being about 1.5 times as wide as the flat sides. The edges are a bit rounded, the wrapper has a bit of oil on it, the wrapper is a fairly dark brown and there is this network of superficial veins crisscrossing the wrapper.
1/3: It starts out very understated with flavors in the wood, mild cotton candy sweetness and some nutty flavors as well. Loose draw.
2/3: Sweetness is gone. Nuts and dry wood are the main flavors. The draw is better. Medium bodied.
3/3: Floral sweetness comes on during the final third. Wood and nuts are still present. Pleasant.
4/3: Medium bodied with a decent draw and a good burn; this cigar is good. None of the flavors were very strong but they were all good.
3 out of 5 points – If you are looking for a pleasant cigar with flavors that won’t overpower you then this is the cigar for you
CroMagnon Aquitaine Cigar Review
Back in the summer of 2011 I reviewed the first offering from a brand new cigar company now called RoMa Craft Tobac (I don’t think that’s what it was called back then but my memory may be faulty). The cigar was the CroMagnon and it was an excellent cigar; a robust, flavorful example of what can be done with tobacco. Now I’m going to review the CroMagnon Aquitaine.
From their site:
The Aquitaine contains the same long-filler, full-bodied blend found in the US Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapped CroMagnon, including its unique Cameroon binder. However, the Aquitaine features a beautiful Ecuador Habano Ligero wrapper…
So, different wrapper. And this different wrapper looks fairly rustic with a number of medium and small sized veins running along the surface. It’s an oily wrapper, for sure, and the general feel of this medium-dark brown wrapper is that there is a little bit of roughness to it.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: gran corona
Length: 5 ¾”
Ring Gauge: 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $172.80/Box of 24 | $80.00/10 Pack
Vsauce Incineration!
Flavors start out vibrant with a granular consistency to the smoke. A bit of sweetness, savory notes resembling steak, spice and hickory. There’s a lot of complexity early on and it’s barely a full bodied cigar.
The second third has much of the same flavors just in a different configuration. The spice and sweetness have created this amazing mixture of flavors that is extremely enjoyable. Sweet spice, when done right, is one of the more enjoyable mixtures of flavors for me and it is done right with this cigar. Savory notes are still present but to a lesser degree than in the first third. Hickory is gone.
The final third features the same sweet spice nexus and the savory flavor has been ramped up a bit. Very flavorful end to a great cigar.
Full bodied with a good draw and burn; the CroMagnon Aquitaine is a pleasure to smoke. Very expressive flavors from beginning to end with excellent smoking characteristics. If you haven’t tried it you should try to find some. And, yes, I do like this version slightly more than the original.
93 points
Olivia Serie V Melanio Cigar Review
Previously, on The Perfect Draw, the original natural Oliva Serie V earned a 94 rating. It was a cigar I immensely enjoyed and I still pick up a few here and there. This means two things:
- I have high expectations for the Melanio version
- I want to smoke this cigar
Fortunately, I have the second point covered as there is a nice, uncut Melanio sitting on one of the stirrups of my Stinky Ashtray. In both length and ring gauge this is a smallish, box pressed cigar with some imperfections on the wrapper. However, the look of this wrapper is pretty fascinating in that the color ranges from medium brown to much lighter shades of brown around the veins. It’s also a fairly oily cigar.
Now onto the first point…
Cigar Stats
Vitola: petit corona
Length: 4 ½”
Ring Gauge: 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $80.00/Box of 10 | $40.00/5 Pack
Zombies Can Happen Light!
If you were thinking that there’s something special about the wrapper, maybe it’s some kind of new leaf code named “Melanio,” you would be wrong. Melanio Oliva is believed to be the first person in the Oliva family to grow tobacco (link) and that is where the name comes from. Maybe it is a special leaf, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in some marketing materials you would find that the wrapper is described as being special because that is pretty much de rigueur for cigar marketing.
The flavor profile starts out with dry spice that lingers in the nose, cream and oak. Not a very strong cigar strengthwise but the flavors are nice and mix well together.
During the second third there is a subtle change in the flavor profile as it moves away from the spice and more towards the cream spectrum. Oak is still present and there is a little bit of chocolate in the background as well. It’s tasty and more than a bit different from what you would expect from an Oliva Serie V.
The final third is pretty much the same as the second with the cream and oak. But, the chocolate is gone and in its place is a meaty flavor.
Medium bodied with a good draw and burn; this cigar is enjoyable. What is really interesting about this cigar is that it really illustrates the importance of the wrapper as a component of the overall flavor profile (even though I’ve heard that there are some slight changes to the filler tobaccos used in the Melanio from the blend in the original V I think what I said holds true and comparing the original to the Melanio would still be an interesting exercise for you).
Whereas the original V features a plethora of robust, even aggressive, flavors the Melanio is much more reserved. Personally, I like the original a lot more but I can see how this cigar would appeal to those who like more medium bodied cigars. I’d assume that if you pick up one of the thicker vitolas the flavor profile would be more reminiscent of the original V because the ratio of filler/binder to wrapper tobacco would be greater.
90 points
