Ave Maria Short Cigar Review
Full Disclosure: I received this as a sample from Cigars Direct. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Brazilian Habano Oscuro | Binder: Nicaraguan Habano Ligero | Filler: Nicaragua (Esteli, Condega & Jalapa) Habano | Box of 12: $195.00 | Single: $20.00 | Torpedo | 7″ x 54
0/3: It comes in a coffin. The fact that some cigars come in “coffins” has always been a little disconcerting for me. Who wants to smoke something out of a coffin? But it’s a cool coffin because when you lift the lid there is this little piece of wood attached to top that raises the cigar from its slumber so that you can easily pick it up.
The cigar itself looks really nice. Very dark brown wrapper, almost mahogany. Looks well made and is very oily to the touch. There are some veins but what you will probably notice first about this cigar is its ostentatious band. It’s a mishmash of heraldic symbols from the Crusades. I wonder if this has gone over well with many of the brick and mortar cigar stores that are owned by people of Arab descent?
1/3: Very refined flavors hit my palette immediately. Slight black pepper on the retrohale that sticks around for a while, dry oak and a general warmness of flavors. It’s quite good.
2/3: During the second third a smoky woodiness starts to come through. The black pepper starts to fade into nothingness and there is a mild sweetness bordering on floral lurking in the background like a stalker (a fun one, if there is such a thing).
3/3: There really isn’t much of a change from the second to the final third. It’s still tastes very good.
4/3: Medium bodied with an excellent draw and a fairly even burn; this cigar is very good. Standing in your way is the fact that this is a fairly expensive cigar. The matter of value I leave up to you as I review only the cigar and not my perceived value of the cigar. All I can say is that I absolutely enjoyed it and thought it was a very worthy cigar.
4 points
G. De Graaff ‘S-Gravenhage Short Cigar Review
After my grandmother came back from her most recent sojourn, this time to see the Continentals amongst them a certain former foreign exchange student from Germany, she brought me this cigar for my birthday. As you can tell by the title of this review the cigar’s name is quite a mouthful. It looks like it is a house blend but beyond that I don’t have much information on the cigar. What I have found can be seen here.
Here’s a little bit of information from that site:
De Graaff cigars have been hand-made for generations by the old established house of cigar makers De Graaff, using only the highest grade tobaccos from Brazil, Cuba and Indonesia. The tobaccos are blended in their factory according to old family recipes which conscientiously are kept a secret. One of the advantages of their cigars is that no artificial tobacco is used, another that each cigar has its own particular sophisticated composition, resulting in an unique balance between fragrance and taste.
With all that being said I cannot vouch for the makeup of this cigar nor can I seem to be able to find the vitola that I smoked on their website. Here’s the basics: it’s a thick cigar measuring in at more than a 55 ring gauge I’m sure. The length is about 5 ½” and the only reason why I don’t know the exact length is because I was sure I would be able to find the vitola on their site, but I didn’t.
The cigar did get a little smashed in transit but there was no tearing of the wrapper and I do not think it had much of an affect on the performance of this cigar. It has a triple cap and the wrapper is medium brown with some smallish veins.
Friedman Flame!
Honestly, this cigar is starting off awesomely. Spice, grass and earth make up the core. Immense flavor in the early goings. Pretty intense though, hopefully it will mellow out a little bit as it progresses.
Burnt toast and sweet spice come on during the second third and they are tasty. The intensity has yet to flag, which I’m actually liking now with the new flavors on board. I would peg this as a medium bodied cigar.
Taking the band off of this cigar is proving to be a pain because the band does not reach all the way around the cigar and, to make up for this fact, the manufacturer has decide to use tape to bridge the gap instead of making a larger band. This is a problem because the tape has stuck to the wrapper. I am only able to remove the band at the expense of the wrapper, which has now been torn.
Charred meat is coming on strong in the final third, which is a flavor that I really like. There is also the sweetness but without much of the spice that was ever present during the first two thirds of this cigar.
In retrospect, my favorite third of this cigar was the first third where the flavors were perhaps a little wild but they were interesting. The second third offered a more well rounded experience that most anyone would enjoy. The final third took a step back in terms of f lavor and enjoyability but, overall this was a very good cigar and I bet many people would enjoy it.
4 points
Padron Cigar Review
I like Padrons for the simple reason that they taste good; it’s actually more than that but that is the best place to start. But, for whatever reason, I just don’t smoke that many of them. That’s a failing on my part but thanks to Thompson Cigars sending me a Padron Londres Maduro I have the opportunity to revisit Padron cigars.
Wrapper: Nicaragua | Binder: Nicaragua | Filler: Nicaragua
Vitola: Londres (Corona) | Price: $86/Box of 26
0/3: As I look at this cigar I find myself saying in my head “Looks don’t matter, looks don’t matter.” But looks do matter and this cigar, while obviously well made with its slight box press, which I like, isn’t the cigar version of Megan Fox. It’s more like the the cigar version of Hillary Swank. Some discolorations, bumpiness and streaks.
1/3: Fortunately, this cigar is performing more like Swank than Fox. Flavorful, I think, is one of the highest compliments you can give to a cigar and this one is surely flavorful. More spice than wood – almost too much during this third (and I like spice).
2/3: Flavors start to refine themselves. Wood gets stronger and the spice moderates. A flowery sweetness enters the mix.
3/3: Spice and wood present in nearly equal amounts during this third, which is great. Nuttiness comes on while the sweetness has nearly disappeared. There has been some earthiness present in this final third as well.
4/3: Solid cigar. Flavors are interesting but could have been a little bit better if they were more in harmony. Medium-full bodied cigar with a good draw and burn.
4 points – definitely worth it
Cu-Avana Intenso Short Cigar Review
When Cigars Direct sent me this cigar I did not know what to think. Is this a joke? Intenso? Did Opera Man name this cigar?
0/3: It actually looks like a well made cigar. Some veins, but none too pronounced. A small amount of oils on the wrapper and the cigar is a little hard to the touch. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to like this cigar since the Cu-Avana Intenso cigar is so cheap.
1/3: Wild is the first word that comes to mind. Wild spice leads the way. And then it calms down. I get a little bit of plum in the retrohale.
2/3: The burn goes a little off. Not a full bodied cigar, more medium-full bodied. Wildness is all gone now. That plum flavor has grown. Good draw.
3/3: Plum, leather and earth are evident. Good finish.
Conclusion: I don’t know why but I was surprised that this was a good cigar. Good flavors all the way through.
4 points
Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
The construction looks to be well above average. It is a little loosely packed near the foot and there are a number of veins, which are not too pronounced. Some oils, feels powdery to the touch, smells like robust leather and just looks good.
I am smoking the Nobles vitola, which is 5″ x 50. This is a Nicaraguan puro that features a natural wrapper and is made under the supervision of Jose Pepin Garcia. Finally, even though this is a boutique brand, none of the cigars from this line will break the budget costing anywhere between $5.50 and $8.00. The Nobles vitola retails for around $7.00.
Smoke
It starts off well enough. Spice, leather, a lurking sweetness in the background. The draw requires just a little tug now and then, which is no big deal. The burn is uneven and will probably need a couple of touch ups. This is just a bit stronger than medium bodied – medium-full bodied.
What really impresses me about this cigar is that the flavors are definitely alive. They start out strong on the inhale with the leather and the sweetness, which is a close approximation of caramel, and then the spice (warm spice, like cinnamon) explodes out the nose. At the very least it is an interesting cigar.
After about two-thirds of the way through a salty flavor starts to come through.
After-Smoke
The Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles is an above average cigar. Good, vibrant flavors. The salty flavor near the end didn’t take much away from my overall enjoyment of this cigar.
4 points
