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.
La Aurora 107 Short Cigar Review
This sample comes from Miami Cigar & Co. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuador | Binder: Dominican Republic | Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua | Box of 21: $114.00 | Single: $6.34 | Robusto | 5 ½″ x 43
0/3: This is the La Aurora 107 corona, a cigar that I have smoked a number of times but only feel like doing a short review for right now. I have reviewed the La Aurora 107 before and I liked it. They are good cigars and I can honestly tell you that I have not heard anyone say anything truly negative about these cigars.
This cigar feels a little soft to the touch. A little veiny but not too pronounced. The wrapper is a little oily to the touch and it is pretty obvious that these cigars are well made.
1/3: One of the things that I like about smaller cigars is that it seems, to me at least, that the flavors are more concentrated and that is what I am getting with this cigar. While I liked the other vitolas that I tried the corona seems to be the best fit for me. Spice, buttered toast and some woody notes make up the bulk of the flavors for me.
2/3: This cigar seems to be a little stronger than the other vitolas as well. While not full bodied I would peg it in the medium-full bodied range. The flavors are still very strong during this third and it is a very enjoyable cigar.
3/3: While the final third stays pretty much the same as the previous two thirds I am not disappointed because the flavors were very enjoyable. Add to the mix the fact that this cigar has a good draw and burn there is nothing negative that can be said about it.
4/3: Very solid cigar, definitely my favorite size of the La Aurora 107s. And they smoke quickly too. So, if you find yourself with a lot of 30 minute to hour long gaps of time fill it up with one of these cigars.
4.5 points
Gurkha Crest Short Cigar Review
I received this sample from Cigars Direct, which does have a good selection of rare cigars.
0/3: Ah, another Gurkha. How many different lines do they have now? At least a couple dozen. I guess it is a sign of the times. Cigar companies, just like every other company out there, needs to do things in order to stay relevant and for many that means either line extensions (new vitolas or a different wrapper) or new products.
Back to the cigar now. It is a good looking torpedo. The wrapper is a little dry to the touch, the feel of the cigar is uniformly properly packed with just the slightest give and the wrapper looks mottled – vacillating between medium brown and dark brown. The prelight draw is a little tight.
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 10: $100.00 | Single: $28.00 | Torpedo | 6″ x 52
1/3: The first third is enjoyable with soft spicy notes and bread. While the draw is a little tight it does not hamper the flavors all that much. There is also a bit of sweetness that is trying to punch through.
2/3: Spice continues with a small helping of sweetness that borders on cherry flavored. The tight draw is beginning to hamper the flavor development somewhat. There is a sharpness that is borderline unsavory to the flavor profile at this point. Wood is an addition during this third.
3/3: The final third sees a great increase in the intensity and the enjoyability of the spice. I would have to peg this cigar in the medium-full bodied range and it has a good burn with a somewhat tight draw.
4/3: Overall, I cannot say that this cigar justifies it’s very expensive price tag. The flavors, while good, are somewhat muted due to the fact that there is a tight draw. Additionally, the flavors are not all that complex and leave much to be desired. However, if this cigar is available in a sampler pack with some other sticks that you like do not be discouraged because it is a good cigar overall; just nothing special.
3.5 points
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
CAO Lx2 Cigar Review
Imagine, if you would, that the world of Middle Earth described by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien was true. In this world there are little people, some call them halflings, which is rather discriminatory and insulting, but they call themselves hobbits. Hobbits, as everyone knows, are a race of humanoids about half the size of men and are rather impish (is that racist?). One of the little known facts about these hairy-footed creatures is that they loved to smoke pipes. I would like to think that if cigars were around then they would smoke the CAO Lx2 Razor, a 4 x 38 hobbit-sized cigar.
It is a well constructed cigar but with a distinctly rustic bent. Not being perfectly shaped it is still an appealing cigar and, due to its very small size, is a very short smoke. The wrapper does exude some oils but the real attraction of this cigar is the fact that you can easily smoke it during a lunch break.
Cigar Stats
Length: 4″
Ring Gauge: 38
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan Pueblo Nuevo & Dominican Republic
Price: $10.95/Tin of 5 | $84.00/50 Cigars
Hobbit Name Flame!
My biggest concern when buying these cigars is that they would like size because they are so diminutive. But that has not been the case for me. This cigar is starting off pretty well with heavy and wet earth flavors and a light, cutting spice to freshen things up.
Even though the flavors are pretty powerful for this cigar there is not a ton of evolution to it. The second half brings on a bit of maple sweetness, deep and dark though it may be, there isn’t much else new to find. It is a very heavy cigar in terms of flavor and that is most likely attributable to the fact that it’s a CAO Lx2. With a small cigar like this I feel that it is probably better to go with a stronger cigar since both the flavors and the strength are somewhat hampered by the small size of these cigars.
Nearing the end of this cigar now and I can safely say that this is a full bodied cigar with a good draw and burn. While the flavors aren’t anything special they are very good and if you are looking for a cigar that smokes very quickly and packs some strength and intensity of flavor then you should check this cigar out. One note of caution about this cigar is that there is a bit of an aftertaste with this cigar, especially nearer the end. It’s flat and the closest I can come to describing it is: wet wood. Not very appetizing but not a huge drawback either.
Ideally, this cigar should be smoked on a drive, if you do smoke in your car, on a walk or during a short window of time like a lunch break or while waiting for a table at a restaurant. While it is good enough to enjoy while sitting down and concentrating on the cigar the best time for it is while doing something else.
90 points
PS: I was actually pretty shocked when I first tried these cigars. I never thought that such a small cigar could be enjoyable but this thing definitely was. Part of me thought that they were too small to pack any flavor and another part of me thought they reminded me a little too much of cigarettes, which isn’t a great comparison – especially after smoking these cigars. By all means, give these little sticks a chance and, for that matter, give some of the other dinky (I’m sure there’s a correct term for this vitola but dinky still fits) cigars a chance.
