Cigar No. 135
“I have never had this cigar, though it has been on my “to try” list. Overall this cigar was good, but along the lines of average for something with these blend characteristics. I enjoy the classic Nicaraguan earth, leather, and pepper profile so I think this cigar is worth trying if you enjoy that style of cigar as well. I would smoke this again, but it falls in that category of something I probably wouldn't buy more of. This is because I am the kind of cigar smoker that would rather buy and try a “new to me” cigar with a similar blend as this cigar, as opposed to buying another one of these since it didn’t necessarily stand out to me.”
Cigar No. 136
“Wowza. I haven’t had one of these in a few years. In fact I smoked quite a few of these back then. I thought the first half was recognizable. As for the second half, this was nothing like the ones I used to smoke. I am going to assume (and hope) this was an anomaly and not some kind of blend change through the years. Anyway, I thought the cigar started off super good. There was a lot of flavor that was presented in an interesting and nuanced manner. From about halfway to the final third was even pretty enjoyable with the pepper and tannic wood taking center stage. However, the final third was a mess. My blend predictions in the first half were near perfect (just the wrong country for the wrapper leaf). I am definitely going to revisit this cigar to see how the final third acts in another sample or two. If the final third of those samples is more like the first or second thirds, then I would smoke more of these and recommend them for sure.”
Read the full tasting here.