Cigar.com Corojo Label Cigar Review
In my quest to find a good cigar for very little money I have decided to do some testing. Due to Cigar.com’s easy form of delineating their house blends (colors, wrapper variety or Cuban) I decided that would be a good place to start. After trying all of these cigars I can safely say that none of them are excellent but that is not much of a surprise since the purpose of these cigars is not to wow people but to provide them with a quality alternative for an everyday type of smoke.
That is why I am going to change the format here a little and either give the Cigar.com house blends a PASS or FAIL. To keep things fair, all the cigars sampled are in the 5″ x 50 robusto vitola. Now onto the cigar.
Here is what Cigar.com has to say about their budget Corojo Label:
Like all Cigar.com House Blends, the Corojo Label is an extraordinary value, utilizing only the finest tobaccos to blend a cigar worthy of bearing the Cigar.com name. Full-bodied with a long and pronounced finish, the Corojo Label is a bit dry on the palate and features a robust, spicy aroma that rounds out into a complex mix of wood and earth tones.
These cigars come in four different sizes: churchill (7.5″ x 50), corona (6″ x 42), robusto (5″ x 50) and torpedo (6″ x 52). As of the publishing of this post, they cost less than $3.00 when individually purchased and can cost less than $2.50 when purchased in a box of 20. That is pretty cheap.
Having already reviewed the Sun Grown and Cuban varieties I can tell you that there are some worthwhile smokes in the Cigar.com stables. This cigar is more tightly packed than the Cuban variety and it has a different look to it as well. Being both smoother and less veiny than the Cuban line it looks like a very well made cigar. The wrapper is a normal brown.
Offa Blaze!
It starts off with not much more than a dud. Flavors? Well, there is wood and a minute amount of sweetness. But both of those flavors are very watered down. It is not an unpleasant cigar it just isn’t much of a cigar.
The second third does take a good turn. With flavors picking up and becoming richer this cigar is evolving into something respectable. There is a bit of spice on the fringes and the core is a mixture of rich dirt and charcoal. Maybe a little meaty as well.
It took a bad turn during the final third. The flavor became burnt and harsh. Very little redeeming qualities during this third. For the price it is not a terrible cigar. Medium bodied with a good draw and burn and there is some flavor. Just not good enough flavors in my opinion.
FAIL
Cuba Libre Short Cigar Review
This is a cheap cigar; $2.50 per stick or less when you buy it by the box. As long as cheap cigars are tasty they are worth it. If they aren’t tasty, well, I think you get the picture.
Very nicely made box pressed cigar. It is probably a little too tightly packed bit it does have a good amount of oils on the wrapper. No blemishes on the wrapper that I can see which is a good omen.
Thanks go out to Cigars Direct for this cigar.
Cigar Stats
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $50.00/Box of 20
Krish Krush Flame!
Earthiness is the first flavor to greet my palate. There is a slight coffee flavor there as well. Nothing spectacular with this cigar though. Good draw and burn, medium bodied.
Slow burning cigar with some good flavors. It’s not exactly the most memorable cigar though. The flavors aren’t boring, per se. They just are not all that lively.
A hint of charcoal starts creeping in near the beginning and takes on a more substantial role as the burn progresses. It’s a pretty good cigar.
Now that I have finished this cigar I can say that for $2.50 a cigar it might well be worth it. Don’t expect much from this cigar as it does not have much to give. Average is the best way to describe this cigar.
3 points
Chubbys Ultimate Cigar Review
Now I present to you the Chubbys Ultimate. Made by Cuban Stock Cigar Company (formerly Crown David International Cigar Company), this cigar, along with a few others, were given to me by Cuban Stock. (HERE is the page for the cigar that I am reviewing).
Here is a little taste of what they have to say about this cigar:
After years of trying to find the best tobacco for the Ultimate, we finally decided to grow our own tobacco. Using cuban seeds in a very unique area in the Dominican Republic, we managed to get a full flavored tobacco. We ferment the tobacco for two years in wine barrels, resulting in a very smooth, but strong tobacco.
Obviously, the first thing that you notice about these cigars is that they are very thick. A 60 ring gauge will do that to a cigar. The construction looks great, no raised veins and it is oily. It is packed full to the brim with tobacco but the pre-light draw is effortless.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 60
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $125/Box of 20
Speaker Flame!
There is a bit of strength to this cigar; basically full bodied. Flavors are good. Sweet wood, mild cherry, warm spice and some other goodness make up the flavors early on.
Draw is good throughout; the burn requires a couple of touchups. The flavor takes an interesting turn toward charcoal. Cherry is still the dominant flavor nearing the halfway mark but its supremacy is being challenged by this charcoal flavor.
What I really love about this cigar is the fact that once you light it you have about two hours of cigar smoking joy. I won’t claim that this is a “can’t miss” kind of cigar but it is worth the time, in my opinion.
That charcoal flavor progressively takes over on the flavor front. It is not an altogether bad flavor but it does leave much to be desired. To put it succinctly, I find the charcoal a bit too abrasive for my tastes.
There are times during the final third of this cigar when the charcoal, for all intents and purposes, disappears. In fact, the charcoal becomes scarcer nearer the end. Awesome!
This cigar reminds me of the Punch Rare Corojo quite a bit. On the whole, I liked this one about the same as the Punch.
87 points
Diesel Cigar Review
This near-jet black beauty of a cigar is made by A.J. Fernandez who has made cigars for Rocky Patel, Padilla and the Man O’ War lines as well. I must be honest, this is one of the better looking cigars I have seen. In addition to the jet black wrapper it is a rather smallish torpedo that absolutely glistens with oils. There are no seriously raised veins either.
It is rough to the touch, though. And the cigar is tightly packed. Based off of my previous experiences with this cigar neither of those things should hurt the flavor at all.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: USA/Pennsylvania
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega, Esteli)
Price: $6.00/Single | $100/Box (30 cigars)
Funny Flame!
As expected, the draw is very good. Not too tight, not too loose. Also, as expected, the Diesel has a ton of flavor that runs smack dab through the “dark” flavor profile. Lots of espresso/coffee beans, earthiness/grassy and some charcoal. There is a little bit of spice but not a whole heck of a lot to speak of. Oh, and chocolate – milk chocolate to be precise – is a fairly prominent flavor with the Diesel.
The flavors coat the mouth and just won’t leave, which is a pretty good thing here. It’s a very good cigar throughout the first half and shows no signs of slowing down.
Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. One of the previous Diesels I smoked had the flavors drop off around the halfway point but, with this one, the flavors are sticking through – so far.
For the most part the flavors are staying strong even as the burn line crosses the three-quarters mark. There is some complexity with this cigar and, overall, I am liking it a lot. This isn’t to say that this cigar is special but it is above average for sure.
Leather starts to come through during the second half along with some spice. Further on, within a half inch of the nub, the flavors take a bad turn but, as long as you don’t smoke it way too far down, it’s a very good cigar. The bad flavors revolve around salt, which isn’t a horrible flavor but does diminish my enjoyment to a degree.
What amazes me about this cigar is that if you buy it by the box it is less than $3.50 per cigar. That’s amazing for a cigar that tastes this good. While the flavors are not mind blowingly great they are well above average for the majority of the stogie. If you can buy a box I would strongly suggest you do so; after all, Christmas is just around the corner.
89 points
Man O’ War Ruination Cigar Review
I get it, the marketing whizzes behind the Man O’ War’s branding really want to get across the point that they are extremely bad ass by calling their newest creation “Ruination.” Well, it’s either they want to position their cigars as the bad boy of cigardom or their Ruination line is an ode to America’s economy. Alright, now that I have done the requisite mocking of the bad boy image thing I can actually get to reviewing this cigar.
Two bands adorn this dark and oily cigar. It is very hard to the touch and has some imperfections (veins, minor holes, discolorations) but, based on the other cigars from this line I have smoked, those negatives do not translate into a bad cigar.
One thing that I do have to mention is the sheer size of this cigar. I am smoking the Robusto No. 1 that measures 5 1/2″ by 54 ring gauge, which is fairly substantial, to say the least. Cigars of this magnitude will almost always take longer to smoke than their smaller brethren and, when you also factor in the price, which is north of $10.00, you would be well advised to take your time with this cigar.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador grown Habano-seed ligero
Binder: ???
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran long-leaf ligeros
Price: $10.00
Legion Flame!
While the draw is definitely too tight with this cigar, it’s not to the point of being unsmokable by any means. Flavors are definitely rolling through. A phalanx of warm spice is followed up by a cacophony of other flavors ranging from leather to herbal notes to sweet wood.
After about the one inch mark the draw does noticeably open up so that it is no longer a problem. The burn is very consistent and the strength of this cigar is definitely in the full bodied range.
This is definitely one of the best cigars I have smoked in a couple of months. With robust flavors and some strength this cigar is definitely growing on me – and I’m still in the first third of the cigar!
The second third of the cigar features a smokier flavor profile that features leather and a slight hint of charcoal. There is also a vein of sweetness that runs throughout the flavor profile.
Nearing the last third and it this Man O’ War Ruination is still great. What is really great about this cigar is the shear number of flavor layers. Sweetness, spice, leather and a couple of other tasty layers make up what is a great cigar.
Near the end a blend of salty and meaty flavors come through.
93 points
