Camacho Diploma Corojo Cigar Review
With just a quick glance it is fairly evident that this is not one of the best looking cigars ever made. It is dotted with a couple of pinprick-sized holes, a number of bumps that runs from foot to cap and a number of veins mixed in as well. There is not much oil covering this cigar and it feels like it may be too loosely packed; which is something that happens frequently with Camacho cigars. This cigar’s wrapper is made with corojo tobacco but also comes in a maduro (which has received some pretty bad scores).
According to the Camacho website, the Camacho Diploma is comprised solely of Cuban seed corojo tobaccos. The leaves come from the fifth priming, which is important because these are the leaves at the top of the tobacco plant and they are the ones that receive the most exposure to the sun and the elements. This means the leaves that make up this cigar should have a lot of flavor packed into them. Oh, and it should also be a full bodied cigar. Let’s see.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Price: $30.50/5 Pack | $191.00/Box of 21
Contagion Conflagration!
Cutting the cigar reveals a good pre-light draw that is accompanied by a slight molasses sweetness and a mildly spicy tingle that lingers for a moment on my tongue. The smell is akin to a robust barnyard (think more hay than excrement).
Lighting the cigar confirms some of the pre-light flavors right away. Barnyard is prominent but it is perceptibly lighter than I thought it would be. Spice is evident in both the inhale and the retrohale but it is not overpowering; it is a soft and warm spicy flavor. That molasses sweetness is not present, however.
In addition to those flavors there is a strong oak presence. It starts out dark and smoky but then the oak starts to gradually become sweeter. Of course, this is no pushover of a cigar, so sweeter is a relative term.
Another flavor, which I can only identify as tobacco, is a major flavor in the beginning. I like it because it provides an edge to the flavor profile of oak and barnyard hay.
So far (about an inch in), this cigar is a very good cigar. It is a full bodied cigar with a lot of hearty flavors – I’m loving this cigar. The draw is a shade below effortless and the burn is even. Also, at around this point, a fleeting anise flavor is present on the back of the tongue. It is nice and adds to the complexity (and to my enjoyment as well).
If billowing clouds of smoke was the mark of a great cigar then this would truly be one of the best that I have ever had. While I can’t say it is one of the best that I have ever had it is still very good. The flavors are very alive and are enjoyable.
Over halfway through now and the anise flavor has only grown in prominence. That doesn’t mean it is the major flavor in this cigar, not by a long shot. The main flavor profile is still the smoky tobacco and oak mixture. Burnt hay is also a major flavor as well.
I really want to peg the Camacho Diploma as this dark and brooding cigar. One that is full of force and in-your-face flavor. But it isn’t that at all. It is much more refined than that. Yes, it has some strength to it but the flavors are a melodious mix of farm, oak, spice and a touch of sweetness.
The end of this cigar is an uninterrupted continuance of the middle segment. Barnyard flavors may increase a bit – so have the oak flavors – and the anise fades just a touch but it is basically the same. The strength has grown somewhat.
I can call this a delicious cigar. And that is what this cigar is: delicious.
91 points
Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo Cigar Review
I have had one last Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo sitting in my humidor for about a year now. Looking back on my notes I can see that I generally liked the ones that I had before so let’s see what a year’s worth of aging has done to this cigar.
For whatever reason, probably a combination of the dark wrapper and the torpedo shape, this looks like a menacing cigar. It looks like it is just going to kick you in the butt the second that you touch foot to torch. Beyond the fact that if this cigar were a person you would probably cross the street if you saw it coming your way, it is a good looking, well made cigar. Not very many veins, sufficiently packed from tip of torpedo to foot and the wrapper is fairly oily.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $10.00/Single | $150.00/Box of 20
Marauder Torch!
After a year or so in the humidor this cigar is somewhat better than it was before. There is more nuance to the flavors, which, by the way, are led by chocolate followed by bitter coffee and generally earthy flavors. After a while the body gradually increases into the full bodied spectrum. One nit to pick is that the draw is a bit too loose and I think that is muting the flavors to a degree or two.
Gosh, this is an extremely slow burning cigar. I think it’s been nearly an hour, probably more like 45 minutes, and I can just now see the second third around the proverbial bend. At this point there has been some evolution in the cigar and that evolution is more towards the spicy side of the flavor spectrum. It’s a good twist because the main flavor other than the spice, which is fiery and long lasting (it never really leaves your palate actually), is chocolate. It’s a nice milk chocolate that goes well with spice.
The transition from the first third to the second third gets firmly set in and lasts through most of the second third. The final third is much the same with one notable departure. Chocolate becomes less of a leader and in its place there is this sweetness accompanied by toast. Almost as if you were smoking toast with a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. And then….
It takes an unexpected turn and the sweetness becomes floral. Fortunately, it is not that fruity kind of floral flavor but it is the heartier kind, the deep, flavorful kind rather. And the spice has gone away. It’s a great way to (slowly) end a cigar that could have otherwise become too heavy on the spice.
If you were to gently prod me into saying something negative about this full bodied cigar I would quickly respond with this: the draw is too loose, which leads to the cigar being a bear to keep lit. This is all weird to me since there is a copious amount of smoke when it is lit and the flavors are excellent. It’s a pain but it’s got to be like the pain one feels when trying to keep a classic car up and running. Sure, there is a lot of maintenance required but it’s more fun than bagging your limit of yetis.
93 points
CAO Lx2 Cigar Review
Imagine, if you would, that the world of Middle Earth described by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien was true. In this world there are little people, some call them halflings, which is rather discriminatory and insulting, but they call themselves hobbits. Hobbits, as everyone knows, are a race of humanoids about half the size of men and are rather impish (is that racist?). One of the little known facts about these hairy-footed creatures is that they loved to smoke pipes. I would like to think that if cigars were around then they would smoke the CAO Lx2 Razor, a 4 x 38 hobbit-sized cigar.
It is a well constructed cigar but with a distinctly rustic bent. Not being perfectly shaped it is still an appealing cigar and, due to its very small size, is a very short smoke. The wrapper does exude some oils but the real attraction of this cigar is the fact that you can easily smoke it during a lunch break.
Cigar Stats
Length: 4″
Ring Gauge: 38
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan Pueblo Nuevo & Dominican Republic
Price: $10.95/Tin of 5 | $84.00/50 Cigars
Hobbit Name Flame!
My biggest concern when buying these cigars is that they would like size because they are so diminutive. But that has not been the case for me. This cigar is starting off pretty well with heavy and wet earth flavors and a light, cutting spice to freshen things up.
Even though the flavors are pretty powerful for this cigar there is not a ton of evolution to it. The second half brings on a bit of maple sweetness, deep and dark though it may be, there isn’t much else new to find. It is a very heavy cigar in terms of flavor and that is most likely attributable to the fact that it’s a CAO Lx2. With a small cigar like this I feel that it is probably better to go with a stronger cigar since both the flavors and the strength are somewhat hampered by the small size of these cigars.
Nearing the end of this cigar now and I can safely say that this is a full bodied cigar with a good draw and burn. While the flavors aren’t anything special they are very good and if you are looking for a cigar that smokes very quickly and packs some strength and intensity of flavor then you should check this cigar out. One note of caution about this cigar is that there is a bit of an aftertaste with this cigar, especially nearer the end. It’s flat and the closest I can come to describing it is: wet wood. Not very appetizing but not a huge drawback either.
Ideally, this cigar should be smoked on a drive, if you do smoke in your car, on a walk or during a short window of time like a lunch break or while waiting for a table at a restaurant. While it is good enough to enjoy while sitting down and concentrating on the cigar the best time for it is while doing something else.
90 points
PS: I was actually pretty shocked when I first tried these cigars. I never thought that such a small cigar could be enjoyable but this thing definitely was. Part of me thought that they were too small to pack any flavor and another part of me thought they reminded me a little too much of cigarettes, which isn’t a great comparison – especially after smoking these cigars. By all means, give these little sticks a chance and, for that matter, give some of the other dinky (I’m sure there’s a correct term for this vitola but dinky still fits) cigars a chance.
Perdomo Lot 23 Cigar Review
I received this cigar from Cigars Direct. My opinions are my own.
Even though I am sure that there are a lot of people who love Perdomos I cannot say that I particularly like them. It’s not that they are horrible cigars; they aren’t. They are usually constructed and burn well. For me, they tend to not have flavors that I love. But maybe this one is different.
It looks like a really nice cigar. No raised veins, just a couple minor discolored spots, oily and packed perfectly. Let me just say that the torpedo vitola is one of my favorites and I’m happy to be smoking another one for this review.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 5 ¾″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $100.00/Box of 13
The Wall Sizzle!
The prelight draw is wide open and gives off hints of wet wood. After being lit there are flavors ranging from sweet wood to burnt wood. Those flavors quickly transition into a meandering deep sweetness. It’s not a bad flavor; it’s actually kind of nice.
And then, like a rabid mongoose after a snake, the sweetness blossoms into this earthy bitterness with a hint of chocolate. Bitterness is a great addition when it is offsetting sweetness.
Both the draw and the burn are great. This is a medium bodied cigar but the flavors are in full force.
Sweetness all but departs after the first half. The earthy, bitter and chocolate flavors take over. It is a good grouping of flavors. I really like this cigar.
I just looked over my previous short cigar review of this cigar and everything is adding up. It is a good cigar and is a credit to the Perdomo line of cigars. But is it a great cigar? Yes, but just barely.
90 points
It looks like a really nice cigar. No raised veins, just a couple minor discolored spots, oily and packed perfectly. Let me just say that the torpedo vitola is one of my favorites and I’m happy to be smoking another one for this review.
Lizard Torch!
The prelight draw is wide open and gives off hints of wet wood. After being lit there are flavors ranging from sweet wood to burnt wood. Those flavors quickly transition into a meandering deep sweetness. It’s not a bad flavor; it’s actually kind of nice.
And then, like a rabid mongoose after a snake, the sweetness blossoms into this earthy bitterness with a hint of chocolate. Bitterness is a great addition when it is offsetting sweetness.
Both the draw and the burn are great. This is a medium bodied cigar but the flavors are in full force.
Sweetness all but departs after the first half. The earthy, bitter and chocolate flavors take over. It is a good grouping of flavors. I really liked this cigar.
I just looked over my previous short cigar review of this cigar and everything is adding up. It is a good cigar and is a credit to the Perdomo line of cigars. But is it a great cigar? Yes, but just barely.
90 points
Urbano Corojo Cigar Review
Full disclosure: I received two of these cigars for the purposes of this review from Urbano Cigars.
It’s a gnarly looking wrapper. There are some raised veins, black colorations in both the line and spotted variety and a couple of small holes on the wrapper. As I have said before, I don’t care so much about the look of a cigar as long as it tastes good.
The feel of the cigar is oily, a little spongy to the touch but evenly packed. The band reminds me of a coat of arms with the fleur-de-lis, which I thought was a big no-no nowadays (maybe not). Let’s do this.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Dominican Republic Corojo
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $115.00/Box of 24
Weaver Torch!
The first one I had started out well – this one is starting out really well. It has that spiciness that I like, pretty strong but well balanced, and the texture feels powdery. The spiciness is pretty close to black pepper and it sticks around on your palate, the back of your throat and in your nostrils for a long time.
Black pepper is good but there needs to be more to a cigar than that and, thankfully, there is some evolution during the second third. The spice takes on a softer presence and there is also a floral note that is not very sweet, but good nonetheless.
The final third is much like the second third, which is fine. The spice is soft and has a bit of sweetness to it and the floral presence is still there. This cigar has a good draw and burn and I would put it in the medium-full bodied range. It’s a really tasty cigar that you should consider if you like black pepper and spice in general.
91 points
