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.
Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Cigar Rights of America Cigar Review
Like that ring in that book by Tolkien this cigar had been lost for years in my humidor. Resting safely in the bottom of a humidor, long forgotten by time this dazzlingly beautiful cigar has been preparing for this moment when it will get the torch to its feetses (it’s from Lord of the Rings; I think it was Gollum who used that term).
It is a little ragged by the cap, the wrapper is torn a little, but that is probably due to the fact that it’s been hiding for so long. The wrapper itself is an amazing deep dark brown and it is absolutely glistening with oils; it kind of reminds me of one of those penguins in a Dawn commercial getting oil wiped off of it.
As you probably noticed by the title of this review this is one of those Cigar Rights of America cigars from one of their earlier taster packs (maybe the first one, can’t remember). For the last couple of years these guys have been doing some good things to fight back against over-regulation of the cigar industry. If you can you should seriously consider donating some money to them or buying one of their holiday samplers (oops, already sold out).
I cut it, take a prelight draw, which is nice and open, then light it. It’s great from the start with strong willed spice that takes off like a rocket booster and a combination of hickory, hay and meat keeps this cigar in orbit. To me, it seems like this cigar is vacillating between a spicy and an earthy flavor profile. Basically, the smoke comes in spicy and the lingering flavors are those earthy flavors.
There is this almost minty flavor lurking in the background at around the transition into the second third. I’m not quite sure if it’s really there or if it is some phantom flavor. Is there such a thing as phantom flavors?
Ghost flavors probably aren’t real but that minty flavor mellows during the second third into vanilla. It’s not one of the top three flavors but it’s easily recognizable. The spice, which was very strong in the early goings, has relented some of its strength but not its force of flavor. Other flavors worth noting include oak and cream. This cigar is shaping up to be more like a crisp violin solo than a powerful, resonating tuba.
Sometimes I think about which cigars fit with which fictional character. For example, Seth Bullock from Deadwood would smoke a Joya de Nicaragua Fuerte Serie B because it’s a solid smoke with some good heft but without any pomp or grandstanding. Swearengen, on the other hand, would smoke some very expensive cigar even if it tasted like a wet dog just because it cost a lot. This cigar, the Padron 1964, would be smoked by someone like Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence, someone with great taste and an eye for a true gem.
While I have been going off on musical and fictionalized historical characters and their hypothetical cigars of choice this cigar’s flavors have been receding into the background. It’s a shame that they had to go this way when this cigar started out so well. Maybe this is a product of over-aging this cigar; I don’t know for sure but that would be my bet. Still, this cigar was awesome for the first two thirds and for a little ways into the final third. That is more than can be said about most other cigars.
Now, if you have read some of my previous reviews of these Cigar Rights of America cigars you know that I will not be giving this cigar a score. I think that’s fair for two reasons: first, we don’t know if this cigar is ever going to be made again in this vitola and second, the purpose of these cigars isn’t to grade them, they are meant to support the cigar smoking cause. So, even though I truly enjoyed this medium-full bodied cigar with a ton of flavor and a good draw and burn there will be no 92 point score to go along with it.
Litto Gomez Cigar Rights of America Cigar Review
Large cigar (5 ¾” x about 53) with a fairly dark, chocolate brown wrapper. There are a couple of instances of large veins with this specimen. One of those veins intrudes upon the cap and seems to me like it portends something bad.
On the bright side, and this side does have a considerable size to it, it is an oily cigar that is packed nicely. The shape looks and feels almost spot on and there are no bumps, dips or valleys to speak of. My pre-light draw is effortless and reveals a hint of spice followed by what I’m taking as cocoa. I like this combination of flavors so my hopes are high.
I need to also mention that this is one of the Cigar Rights of America Special Edition cigars.
At first, there is a grassy flavor that floods the palette. This is superseded by a chalky cocoa flavor that is a fairly good flavor in my estimation. Spice isn’t a major player in the beginning. And then, almost like this Litto Gomez is playing a trick on me, a pleasant spicy flavor burns at the back of my throat and through my sinuses. The spice is there, it just takes a minute or two to introduce itself.
Around the two inch mark the cigar gets plagued by some poor burn issues. I have to do some major touchups and the ship is righted, for now. On the flavor front, it’s pretty much the same. Spice is still present (it’s a screeching, in your face kind of spice), the chalky cocoa flavor is still kicking and the grassy flavor is mulling around in there.
After the halfway point the chalky cocoa flavor morphs into a clay-like earthiness. The burn is still being stubborn, one side acting as the hare and the other the tortoise. The draw continues to be excellent. Grass is the dominant flavor I’m getting on the retrohale. It’s really a nice cigar with a decent amount of complexity to it.
Sometime during the last third of the cigar a floral flavor starts to come through. It is not sweet as is the case most of the time when I experience this flavor, it’s just floral. The earthiness has gone but the spice has picked up. Spice is especially present in conjunction with the grassiness during the retrohale. This Litto Gomez is a nice, medium-full bodied cigar with a goodly amount of flavor.
This Litto Gomez was a good cigar with some enjoyable flavors. As is the case with all the other cigars from the Cigar Rights of America sampler I will withhold a rating because I am only smoking one.
Tatuaje Cigar Rights of America Special Edition Cigar Review
Note: This cigar came from the CRA Sampler Pack #1.
It looks old, worn. Older than Clint Eastwood, an Afghan goatherd and the Sahara combined. Leathery valleys are punctuated by veiny mountain ranges that jut upwards harum-scarum. The excess tobacco is not cut off at the foot but is folded over completely hiding the filler tobaccos.
Even though the picture looks bleak I am holding out a lot of hope for this cigar. It’s a Tatauje, which is usually a good thing. It’s oily, which is, again, usually a good thing. And it smells like it is going to be a robust cigar.
The rough outward appearance and texture suggests, to me at least, that Pete Johnson’s crew used an older wrapper that grew at the top of the plant. More sun exposure may mean a meaner look but it also usually leads to a lot of character as well. Hopefully that comes through loud and clear.
A syrupy sweetness is the high note for the pre-light draw. It’s also a surprisingly open draw as well – with tobacco hanging over and covering the foot I expected a lot more resistance than I got. There is some spice that reveals itself in the aftertaste but it is not a lasting flavor. The sweetness is low in acidity and reminds me of a darker, fruity flavor.
I decided against circumcising my cigar before I lit it and that did not cause any problems. The initial flavors run the gamut from plum, which bears little resemblance to the “syrupy sweetness” of the pre-light draw, to dried out leather. In a way it does taste like it looks – complex.
In between plum and leather there is spice, salt and a saccharine sweet aftertaste that lingers on the tip of my tongue for way too long. Other than that last flavor this cigar is very enjoyable. It will probably reach the full bodied spectrum, or at least barely so, as the cigar continues to burn. And the draw and the burn are relatively good (the burn being the better of the two) an inch in.
While I was smoking this cigar (and writing this post) I decided to go online and see what others were saying about the Tatuaje Black Label and I found this thoughtful review from Matt’s Cigar Journal. Great review.
At the halfway point and I don’t think my prediction of a full bodied cigar is going to come true. No bother, it is medium-full bodied and tastes great. The big change from the first half is a strengthening of spice – black pepper. A nutty flavor also presents itself. Sweetness disappears.
It ends with an intermittent raggedness maybe even some harshness. Taken in its totality, this cigar is still a very good one. Well worth the price of the CRA sampler. (No score given to CRA Sampler cigars.)
Avo Cigar Rights of America Cigar Review
One of the reasons I like writing is because you never have to pronounce any of the words. Take, for example, this cigar. Is the “A” in “Avo” a hard or soft “A”? I don’t know which it is but, if you absolutely need to know how I’m pronouncing it in my head, I am pronouncing it with a soft “A” in my head: Ah-vo.
Now let’s get into the part that you actually care about. This Avo is part of the Cigar Rights of America sampler that I purchased a number of months ago. I’ve liked all the cigars, some better than others, and I have high hopes for this cigar.
It feels a bit on the dry side. The construction is mostly good but there are some issues with the cap. No serious drawbacks that I can make out in the construction. The prelight draw, on the other hand, feels a little tight. Even so, I am getting a distinctly peppery flavor.
I Scream Light!
Oak is the first flavor that I can discern. After that there is dry prairie and after that a hint of cherry comes through a little bit.
Medium bodied cigar and the flavors are okay. There just isn’t that much interesting going on in this cigar during the first half. Part of the problem is that there is this off note that makes this cigar a little harsh.
And then, with the commencement of the second half, this Avo becomes smooth. That doesn’t mean the flavors are amazing or anything like that but it is better.
Oak is the dominant flavor followed by cherry and that dry, grassy flavor (that aforementioned pretentious sounding prairie).
Not much changes throughout; it is a fairly consistent cigar. There’s some complexity to the flavor profile but not a whole lot. It’s a good cigar and worth a smoke or two.
Like all the other cigars from the CRA sampler I will not give this one a score. If you haven’t done so already you should head over to the CRA website and become a member before smoking cigars is outlawed.
