Graycliff Double Espresso Cigar Review
This cigar hales from the known cigar Mecca of the Bahamas – created by a guy who owns a five star restaurant and so on. Basically, the whole Graycliff line of cigars came about because this gustatory maestro didn’t think any other cigar in the world could stand up to his blue plate specials. My first encounter with these cigars came with the Graycliff 1666 Pirate. My opinion of that cigar can be stated thusly: It’s a lot less Black Beard than it is Somalia youth with an AK.
But I held out hope for this cigar nonetheless. I was told that it was quite good and that it warranted a smoke or two. Well, after a few more smokes I can safely say that it is nothing extraordinary. While it is better than the other Graycliffs that I have smoked I cannot say that it’s worth the exorbitant amount of money that it costs.
Anywho, let’s give it another shot. Maybe months in the humidor will have imbibed it with some extra flavor that I haven’t tasted before.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves here I should mention that this cigar doesn’t look special. It is very veiny but it is oily. Other than that, it does look like a fine cigar. The pre-light draw is open.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 4.5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Costa Rica
Binder: Costa Rica
Filler: Cuban Seed Corojo & Ecuadorian Ligero
Price: $18.00/cigar
Expectant Flame!
The initial round of flavors centers on chocolate and coffee, which seems, to me at least, to be fairly run of the mill. What makes this cigar more run of the mill, like all the other Double Espressos that I have tried, is that the flavors are watered down. Think hot chocolate laced with a healthy helping of river water.
Another thing about this cigar is that it is billed as being full bodied. It’s not. I have to seriously wonder whether or not the retailers I’ve seen call it “full bodied” to trick people into buying this cigar. It’s a medium bodied cigar. Maybe a little stronger than that but not much more.
On the bright side the draw is very good. Resuming the parade of ill feelings now. The burn needs the occasional touch up. And the flavors only get further watered down.
Honestly, this is a ho-hum cigar.
86 points
For another opinion check out the Stogie Guys’ Review.
PS: For those of you who think I am being overly harsh on this cigar I have my reasons. It just wasn’t that good of a cigar. The flavors were lacking and for the price that they are charging for these things I expected something a lot better than what I got. That’s all.
Graycliff 1666 Pirate Cigar Review
What is a man to do who has created the first five star restaurant in the Caribbean and has one of the world’s largest wine collections? He obviously creates his own high priced (dare I say overpriced?) cigar! It comes with a lot of exotic tobaccos, a maduro wrapper and the guy credited with the creation of the Cuban Cohiba as its maker. What could go wrong?
Just looking at it I have to admit that it looks good. It’s oily, packed firmly and the wrapper is just awesome, I am a sucker for maduro wrappers. It isn’t in the least bit veiny but the wrapper is a little rough to the touch.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Jaltepec maduro
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Peru, Columbia, Brazil and Mexico
Price: $14.50
Church Torch!
It starts off nicely. There is this floral and grassy flavor at first. Maybe a little bit stronger than medium bodied but not much stronger than that. I am also getting a little hint of coconut with this cigar. The draw is pretty good but the draw is not even.
Very creamy smoke. Weird cigar though. Yeah, sure, it’s refined and all that good stuff that you would expect from such a lofty upbringing. But there’s just something missing from it. There is no real complexity to it; no intrigue. Solid cigar? Sure. But at this price you would expect something much better.
Light and airy is how I would describe this cigar. There isn’t any bite to it and, well, it’s kind of a boring cigar after the halfway point. Instead of this cigar you can buy so many different cigars for a lot less money that are much better.
87 points
Another, more charitable take on this cigar from The Stogie Guys.
Graycliff X-Factor
Graycliff’s new cigar, called the X-Factor, actually has no name yet. They are letting the retailers come up with the name for the cigar and the winning name will get a trip. Here’s the video from the IPCPR.
The Espresso versions of the Graycliff are good but the others are not great. Hopefully, this new one is more like the Espresso versions.
Graycliff 1666 Presidente – Cigar Review
Very dark cigar; it is long and on the thinner side. When I first started smoking Graycliffs I had very high expectations. Unfortunately, they never seemed able to live up to the hype. So I’m not expecting that much from this cigar – just a well balanced smoke that is enjoyable.
This cigar smells awesome before I lit it. The color is odd though; it looks spotty. There are dark patches all over the cigar. I doubt that this will adversely affect the flavors of the cigar but thought you should know. Besides the discoloration of the wrapper there is a little triangle of tobacco leaf missing. Points off for that stuff.
Ze Light!
Alright, it is a very good cigar. The flavors are not blowing my mind at all but what is there is perfectly balanced. There is a harmoniousness to this cigar.
The predominant flavor for this cigar is sweetness. Not sickeningly sweet but it’s there. The draw is good and so is the burn. It’s an interesting cigar and I hope it stays that way.
About halfway down, it went out. It really is a shame because I was really enjoying this cigar. After I finally got it re-lit it burned hot for a while (which is to be expected) but quickly got back to the way it was.
Even though I personally enjoy full-bodied, spicy cigars the most I really was enjoying this medium-bodied, sweet cigar. I was going to give it an 89 or even a 90 but then it went out. And it’s not like I even left it untended. It just went out. Still, I can’t knock the score down too far because the flavors were good.
86 points
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