Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Maduro Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar as a sample from Cigars Direct; my reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 24: $100.00 | 5 Pack: $24.00 | Robusto | 5″ x 50
0/3: To me, Don Pepin Garcia is the Samuel L. Jackson of the cigar industry. You know that he is great but he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves from some people. Don Pepin Garcia makes some delicious cigars and the DPG Series JJ Natural is one of them. But what about this cigar?
Well, it feels tightly packed and it looks good enough with only a couple of largish veins marring the appearance of the wrapper. A fair amount of oils gives the dark brown wrapper a nice sheen. The triple cap (just like the Cubans do it!) looks solid.
1/3: I like puros not because I’m some sort of tobacco supremacist – far from it – but because it gives you a better idea about how the tobacco from a certain area will normally taste. Sure, I know, there are many variations within countries and the kind of tobacco leafs you get from one farm can be significantly different than the leafs from another farm a few miles away. But, still, I think that there are some trademark differences between countries; like with this Nicaraguan puro with its bold spicy notes that relentlessly remind the nerve endings in my nasal passages that they recently blew by.
There are also notes of nutmeg, barley and maple. The first parts of the beginning third were amazing but it begins to slide backwards a bit by the end of the first third.
2/3: Even though it has regressed somewhat from the beginning the plateau from which it started was very high. Spice is still the main flavor but now the biggest supporting flavor is a sweet floral flavor. And then at about the halfway mark my enjoyment of the cigar picks up again.
Deep, soulful flavors centering around maple with a fringe of spiciness that sticks around all over. It has a lot of complexity to it – other flavors include floral notes, earthiness and cocoa – and the flavors work extremely well with each other.
3/3: And there is a change back towards that floral flavor, which, while disappointing, still isn’t a bad flavor. But that floral flavor is not all there is. There is mesquite, which is not a flavor I get all that often. It doesn’t end amazingly though, with the flavors dying somewhat.
4/3: “Perplexing” is the best word to describe this cigar. One moment I am in love with it and the next I am confused. Alternating between the great and the merely good is something that I have not encountered too much but, still, this medium bodied cigar with a good draw and burn is a cigar that you should try. Personally, I think the version with the natural wrapper has the edge.
3.5 points
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
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
Cigar.com Cuban Label Cigar Review
Alright, here’s the deal. A couple of months ago I got curious about the quality of some of the private label cigars that are out there. Thanks to their easy and mostly color coded naming system my sights quickly acquired Cigar.com’s stable of cheap private label cigars. After smoking all of the different varieties that Cigar.com has to offer I realized that none of the cigars were really excellent and by that I mean something that I would give 90+ points to. But some of them are definitely passable cigars.
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. I have already rated the Sun Grown Label and gave it a passing grade. Now onto this cigar.
Here is what Cigar.com has to say about it’s Cuban Label house blend:
For this blend we use a high quality Nicaraguan filler and binder. However, the Cuban Label gets most of its character from the special Cuban/Sumatra hybrid seed sun grown in Ecuador. With the perfect blend at hand, we depend on the expert cigar makers and rollers at Tabacalera Fernandez to put the finishing touches on the Cuban Label. This Nicaraguan factory has an esteemed reputation for making flawless cigars. The result is a peppery and earthy full-flavored cigar with a medium to full-body. The Cuban Label is complex and balanced with a long pronounced finish.
These cigars come in five different sizes: churchill (7.5″ x 50), gordo (6″ x 60), corona (6.5″ 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 except for the gordo vitola which costs $4.00 for a stick and $60.00 for a box of 20.
Beautiful this cigar is not. Dull brown is the color and there are some veins and bumps all over the cigar. A sizable soft spot can be found from the foot to about an inch down from the foot of the cigar. With that being said I have smoked this cigar a couple of times before this review and I have liked it… pretty much… well, mostly.
Laundering Incineration!
What the Hell? I cut this cigar and as I am doing some maintenance to the cut, you know, making it look good and functional, and I see what looks like a very light brown stem sticking out. Alright, that is no big deal but then I start pulling it out and, honest to God, it doesn’t look like it is tobacco. It looks like it is a piece of paper! That is weird and I can say that has never happened to me with all of the cigars that I have smoked. Not a good omen.
The sensible part of my brain is having this inner dialogue about whether or not it is smart to smoke this cigar but, while debating with myself, the sensible part of my brain realizes that I have already lit the cigar and am smoking it. As the sensible part of my brain slinks off to whatever dank corner of my skull that it calls home I am struck by the fact that this is actually a pretty good cigar. The spice is good and is the dominant flavor. Like the description on the site says this is definitely a peppery cigar. There are also notes of cedar and some grass (I’m trying to pin that flavor down but the best I can come up with is that it has a Chinese food flavor to it). No paper flavor yet.
Entering the second third and the spice, while still enjoyable, has become a little bit overbearing and has a certain amount of harshness to it. By no means is this a deal breaker, especially for a cigar that is meant not for greatness but just for smokability. Still no paper flavor yet.
Nearing the end now and it’s still spicy. The spiciness, if you like that flavor in a cigar, is something that I think you would enjoy in this cigar; as long as your expectations are not over the top. It’s a good cigar but it is not very well rounded, especially after the first third when it becomes a monochromatic spice machine. But, since I appreciate spice, I enjoyed this cigar. Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. Never tasted paper, which means I probably pulled it all out.
PASS
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
