Rocky Patel Decade Short Cigar Review
I received the cigar for this review from Cigars Direct. All Reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra | Binder: Honduran | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 20: $200.00; 5 Pack: $50.00 | Torpedo | 6 ½″ x 52
0/3: This is definitely one of my favorite Rocky Patel cigars. It is a beautiful looking box pressed cigar with a good amount of oils and nary an imperfection. Solidly packed.
Cue video of Rocky talking about this cigar:
1/3: Spice, cherry and oak. The flavors are clean and tasty. Medium bodied during the first third. Very good so far.
2/3: This third has the same components as the first, save the oak, but also has this bitter, gritty earthiness too. Medium bodied still, maybe a little more.
3/3: Earthiness takes over during this third. There’s definitely a darkness to the flavor profile now that would have been improved if there was a bit of sweetness added in.
4/3: Medium bodied with a good draw and burn, this cigar is pretty good. From my recollections of this cigar I was expecting a lot more spice, which would have been nice. Still, the flavors are tasty and there’s nothing bad I can say about this cigar.
3.5 out of 5 points – Above average cigar
Illusione Ultra Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 20: $216.00; 5 Pack: $60.00 | Double Corona | 6 ¾″ x 54
0/3: Finding out information about this cigar is a bit of a trip. When you go to the Illusione website you are first asked for a password (write anything in) and then it takes you to some documents about Area 51. Perhaps there is some hidden meaning here but I didn’t dig. I’m done with conspiracies for tonight.
This is a fairly large cigar with an exquisite wrapper and a slight box pressed shape to it. Not a lot in the way of veins or imperfections. Slightly oily and very smooth to the touch.
1/3: Flowery notes, cherry, peppery spiciness and a little leather. Very good mix and the flavors are light and nimble. Medium bodied in this first third.
2/3: Those cherry and floral flavors are the main ones at this point. There’s also some green tea going on.
3/3: Floral notes, the spice makes a bit of a resurgence and there’s also licorice.
4/3: It’s a damn fine cigar. There’s evolution to the flavor profile and the flavors are clear and concise. Medium bodied with a good draw and burn this is a cigar that I think most everyone would enjoy.
4 out of 5 points
Viaje Skull and Bones Red WMD 2012 Cigar Review
While catching up on the humanity versus aliens drama “Falling Skies” I decided to smoke a cigar whose name may provide a solution for Dr. John Carter, I mean Tom Mason, and his band of brave humans who are fighting those pesky genocidal aliens. Of course, the cigar I am talking about is the Viaje Skull and Bones Red WMD (2012). A weapon of mass destruction worked for Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum after all, so why shouldn’t it also work for Noah Wyle?
I have smoked one of these short and stubby cigars previously and I wasn’t very impressed. Truth be told, I don’t know much about this cigar other than that it’s extremely limited and that it’s billed as a strong cigar (for more information on the line check out halfwheel). My previous experience with this cigar contradicts the “strong cigar” billing and from a short perusal of other reviews I find that I am not alone here. However, when I previously smoked one of these it was at the end of a day of herfing and I had been drinking some – so my perception may be a little off.
This cigar is not the cigar version of Michelangelo’s David; there are small bumps and veins aplenty. Also, it is not perfectly cylindrical with a bit a waviness noticeable on the profile of the cigar. None of these shortcomings are, I believe, bad omens. Cigars are handmade delicacies and, while the way a cigar looks does matter, I have smoked a lot of ugly cigars that ended up being more enjoyable than great looking cigars. Oh, and this cigar does have a slight sheen of oils coating the wrapper and it is a tightly packed cigar.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: short robusto
Length: 3 ¾”
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua Criollo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $225.00/Box of 25
Falling Skies Nuclear Holocaust!
It’s awesome! Basically, what you get in the beginning is an onslaught of bright spice. Buttressing this flamethrower-like intensity of spice is a healthy dose of oak.
Going into the second third the flavor intensity has not flagged. What is most surprising about this cigar is that with this strength, which has noticeably moderated, it is still a very smooth cigar. There is some evolution in the flavor profile as well. While the spice has scaled back to half strength there is a sweetness that has come on with the slightest hint of cherry in the background.
During the final third there’s a bit more evolution as the flavor profile morphs into sweet spice. Overall, it is a very enjoyable cigar.
While this is a full bodied cigar it is by no means uncomfortably so. Both the draw and the burn are great. If you are looking for a smaller cigar that last for about an hour that is as much of a firecracker as the “noisy cricket” from Men in Black then this is definitely the cigar for you.
A couple notes of caution must be said. This cigar does not have strength to spare, which is fine but it was billed as being super strong. Don’t be expecting that when you light one up for the first time. Furthermore, it is a rather short cigar so while I do like the flavors and I did find enough evolution in the cigar to keep me interested, that is just me. This cigar’s flavor profile fell into my wheel house and if it doesn’t fall into yours you will be disappointed. If you don’t like spice you probably won’t like this cigar all that much.
92 points
Illusione f9 Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Nicaragua | Binder: Nicaragua | Filler: Nicaragua | Box of 25: $158.00 | Single: $7.50 | Lonsdale | 6 ¼″ x 44
0/3: This one is known as the f9 Finesse, which can lead to some lame joke making like “this cigar looks like it was made with a lot of finesse” or “there’s a real finesse to these flavors.” But you’ll get none of that here!
The cigar looks adroitly made by someone with a skillful hand. It’s oily, dark brown wrapper conceals filler and binder tobacco that is less densely packed than most cigars. A webwork of veins crisscrosses the wrapper.
And a big thanks to JJ for gifting me this cigar.
1/3: Yes, there is a reason why most other cigar smokers like these cigars. Salty leather, cherry and graham cracker. It’s a medium-full bodied cigar with very forceful flavors.
2/3: With flavors much like the first half the second half is continuing on in its goodness.
3/3: More of the same during this third. The only difference is a faint sweetness on the retrohale but it isn’t much.
4/3: I liked this cigar because of the leather and graham cracker flavors. The burn was pretty even but the draw at times just disappeared because it was too loose. That probably hurt this cigar more than I realized at the time. When it was going well it is definitely a very good cigar.
4 points
Punch Cigar Rights of America Cigar Review
This one has been in the humidor a while; just sitting on its tray minding its own business… until now! Being part of a CRA sampler I got a long time ago it’s slightly oily, wonderfully constructed, maybe too tightly packed but it does look like a great cigar. Plus, it is a Punch, so I’m sure it will be, at the minimum, a solid cigar. This is in a toro size.
Spartacus Flame!
Definitely more than a “solid” cigar, this one is. Forthright spice, fleeting cherry and a few woody notes make up the flavors in the beginning of this cigar. I’m going to go ahead a peg it as a full bodied cigar, but just barely.
There is this smoky flavor that creeps its way into every nook and cranny of my taste buds. It is a nice extra dimension of flavor; it complements the other flavors well.
While the flavors are above average what I like the most about this cigar is that there is an edge to it. I like it when a cigar has a little edge to it.
In the beginning it was a full bodied cigar but after the first inch it dialed the strength down to the medium-full bodied range. After the halfway point I noticed a certain amount of earthiness creep its way through. This cigar has a good draw and a good burn.
As is the case with all the other cigars from the Cigar Rights of America sampler I will abstain from giving it a score. It suffices to say that this was a great cigar and well worth the price that I paid for it. If you haven’t already done so I would like to urge you to join CRA and help them stem the tide against those anti-smoking zealots that are becoming ever more brazen.
