Cuban Stock Royal Selection Cigar Review
This cigar was sent to me by the Cuban Stock Cigar Co.
Alright, this is the third one of these that I am about to smoke. I really liked the first two so I have high hopes for this one as well.
This cigar has a pretty severe box press to it, which is aesthetically interesting. The thing about this Cuban Stock Royal Selection is that the wrapper looks, for lack of a better word, like an old man’s face. It’s got wrinkles, some holes in it and it just plain looks like Clint Eastwood’s face after a week of shooting in the desert. Well, to be fair, a darker complexion Clint Eastwood but I think you get my meaning.
But then you touch it. The wrapper is smooth and sturdy. There is a good helping of oils on it as well. And, if it performs as well as I think it will, the appearance will be of little import.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $25.00 for five cigars
Witching Hour Light!
Spice is one of those flavors that I have come to cherish with all these Cuban Stock cigars I have smoked, this one included. It isn’t the most robust spice out there but the flavors are very enjoyable. It’s a warm spice.
Raisins and leather are strong supporting flavors in this cigar. I am also getting a little bit of coffee as an aftertaste, which is nice.
The draw is open and the burn is good. It is a medium-full bodied cigar, almost in the full bodied range, which is fine by me.
There is some complexity apparent with these cigars. Spice takes on an increasingly stronger roll as the cigar progresses.
91 points
For another take head on over to Beer Review Dude
Carlos Toraño Signature Collection Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
The Carlos Toraño Signature Collection features a sun grown Brazilian maduro wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder and the rest of the tobacco is Cuban-seed ligero from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Very good looking cigar with tons of oil. This cigar is truly a fine piece of craftsmanship. I am smoking the toro vitola (6″ x 50) for this review and it retails for a little more than $7.00 a stick.
Smoke
Earth and cocoa are the first flavors I get. Most of the flavor is evident in my mouth and not when I exhale out my nose, which is different than my normal experiences with most cigars.
There is an almost tart flavor on the tip of my tongue. The burn is basically even, the draw is good and this is turning into a tasty medium bodied cigar. The flavors are moderately above average.
Sweetness is apparent in the immediate aftertaste associated with the cocoa and then fades. On a side note, the cocoa becomes watered down.
After-Smoke
If I had to teach the “law of diminishing returns” I would have my pupils smoke this cigar. It starts out as a solid example of earth and cocoa. But then it progressively got weaker. Still, at its low point, it is a decent cigar. For the most part… I liked it.
3 points
Alec Bradley Maxx Traditional Toro Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
The most obvious difference between the original Maxx line and the Maxx Traditional line is that the Traditional line has smaller ring gauge cigars. Other than that, the traditional cigars are suppose to impart the same bold flavor as the oversized Maxx cigars.
I am smoking the Alec Bradley Maxx Traditional Toro (6″ x 50), which costs around $5.25, for this review. The wrapper has a good sheen of oils but it also has a number of veins. Furthermore, the wrapper color is not consistent but rather a mottled assortment of milk and dark chocolate colors with the occasional black spot.
Smoke
Coffee flavors without any of the bitterness. There is a lot of chocolate, it just coats my mouth and won’t leave – not necessarily a bad thing. As this cigar progresses I’m afraid that coffee and chocolate will be all you get from it (and the coffee is relegated to a minor role in less than half an inch).
On the bright side it is a mostly sound cigar. The draw is great but the burn is somewhat uneven and the flavors (um, flavor – so far) is strong. It is a medium bodied cigar. This is all up to the halfway point.
After that point a saltiness comes on. It’s definitely a negative flavor but it is in no way overpowering or even a large enough part of the flavor profile to significantly take away from my overall enjoyment of this cigar. In conjunction with the saltiness a meaty flavor starts coming on. The chocolate is still the major flavor though.
After-Smoke
Now that I have finished this cigar I feel let down. Chocolate is a fine flavor as long as it is, at most, a secondary flavor. Making it the leading flavor, for me at least, is a mistake. It is a decent cigar but could have been much better considering its lineage.
2.5 points
Arturo Fuente Chateau Series Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
Full disclosure, I like Fuentes. They are quality cigars and some of the upper level Fuentes are good. Hopefully, this one is great as well.
This cigar comes with a cedar sleeve, which means something or another. After taking off the cedar a very nice looking cigar is revealed. There are a couple of minor veins but that is the only thing wrong with this Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Fuente Natural (6 3/4″ x 50). Not very oily.
Smoke
Spice, creaminess and some burnt wood are the first flavors. The draw is good and the burn starts out evenly but then begins to stray. It is a medium bodied cigar with some above average flavors.
A sweet spice flavor starts to develop after about the one inch mark. The burnt wood flavor has shed its burnt-ness and is now more of a clean oak flavor. The flavors are nowhere near exceptional but it is an enjoyable cigar. There is a foul, almost bleach-like aftertaste that comes in after the halfway mark.
After-Smoke
It’s a good cigar with some good flavors. That foul flavor that comes on after the halfway mark takes away any shot it had at 4 points for me. But it isn’t enough of a big deal to make this a bad cigar. As long as you focus on the flavors when inhaled and the ones you get after exhaling out your nose it is quite enjoyable.
3 points
Price: $6.00
Another take from Cigar Inspector
Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Barcelona Cigar Review
I recently posted a Sancho Panza review and I thought it was a good cigar. It got 88 points. This will be my first Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte review and this one is better than it’s conventional brethren.
It has pretty good construction. Box pressed cigar with an imperfect cap. Deep, chocolate brown wrapper. Supposed to be a really full bodied powerhouse of a cigar from what I’ve heard. We’ll see. Drinking Wild Turkey and a Cherry Coke.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Price: $4.00
Late Night Fire!
It is not overly full bodied – not nearly as strong as I was led to believe. Draw is a little tight but not too bad. Mellow maple syrup flavor. Smoky flavor as well.
Not burning evenly. Some kind of licorice tinged spice coming to the fore in this cigar.
A third of the way through and there is a mild sweetness to it. It really is beginning to smell like a barnyard. The burn has thankfully evened out though.
Two-thirds of the way through now and I have found that retrohaling it makes it a lot better, much more enjoyable. I was already retrohaling it (blowing the smoke through my nose) but now I’m concentrating on it more. When I retrohale I get mocha and some spicy notes. I’m glad I concentrated on retrohaling this cigar.
Nearing the end and I am getting chocolate notes when I retrohale. Very complex flavor profile. The flavors, individually, are not great but when you add them all up it becomes very, very good.
90 points
I had a hard time giving this cigar 90 points. But, after careful consideration, the total grouping of flavors added up to something special. The imperfect burn and draw prevents me from going any higher than that.
Here’s what others have to say:
A Cigar Smoker’s Journal: This was actually a guest reviewer on Barry’s blog, who went by the name of TriMarkC (either a nickname or he had some mean parents, just kidding). He found that the cigar had pepper and leather notes. It was medium-full bodied for him and he gave the cigar, the Madrid, 87 points mostly because it had a horrible burn to it. “A lot of variety in flavor as you progress through the cigar. The inconsistent burn was an issue, and the constant relighting might have added to some of the bitterness I tasted at the end.” Great review, you need to read it.
Cigarfan: He noted the spice and “It starts out with a nice woody bang and a pungent aroma, like being next to a camp fire. The flavor is slightly sweet and quite woody with very little aftertaste.” He also said that it was kind of a boring smoke. He was smoking that Pamplona (robusto).
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