I think I bought this budget cigar in Antwerp, at Huis Verloo, but I am not too sure anymore. I know a friend of mine advised to give it a try, and so I bought this cellophane wrapped 5x50 cigar from Honduras with the nice, Zorro like, band.



The cigar has an oily wrapper with a few big veins. The cigar has a strong barnyard aroma. De construction feels good but the predraw is a bit tight. I taste dry and spicy tobacco.



I taste a mild sweet coffee and after half an inch some nutmeg with wood and a little splash of cinnamon. The flavors are dry and nice.



There isn’t much development in the flavors until two thirds, when I only taste a dry wood flavour which is nice but a bit boring.



This cigar lasted me for seventy-five minutes. The draw is good and I got a lot of smoke. The ash is white with some black spots and firm. The burn is straight. This cigar is medium to full flavoured and medium bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? I might

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 8 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 7 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10

0 Comments

I guess we all know the Diesel Unholy Cocktail, which stormed the cigar world with a blizzard. What a great cigar for a great price that is. Well, A.J. Fernandez decided to branch out, first with the Diesel Shorty and now with the Diesel Unlimited. I smoked a 5 3/4x54 torpedo.



The cigar has a nice foot band and a mild oily, chocolate brown wrapper with some thick veins. The construction is quite hard but the predraw is easy and sweet. The cigar has a wood and straw smell.



I taste sweet coffee with some sweet wood. After a third I also taste some cinnamon. Halfway I taste wood with some hay, some nutmeg and some cinnamon.



After two thirds I taste more spices with a splash of red pepper.



This cigar lasted me for an hour and twenty minutes. The draw is great and I got a lot of thick smoke. The ash is white coloured and reasonably firm. The burn is pretty and the cigar is full flavoured and full bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? I’ll stick to the Diesel Unholy Cocktail

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 8 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10

0 Comments

Dona Flor is a Brazilian cigar brand and this 5x52 Selecao robusto got a 92 score in Cigar Aficionado a few years ago. It is a Brazilian puro and it is rolled softer than the average cigar so the subtlety of the flavors are enhanced while smoking this cigar. I got this cigar at Intertabac 2011 from the producer of these Brazilian puros.



The cigar has a chocolate brown and rough wrapper and a double band. I smell leather and wood and the cigar feels well constructed, a bit soft but that's the way this cigar is supposed to be. The predraw is fine and I taste a fresh flavor.



I taste lots of leather with some wood. The cigar is mild spicy and after half an inch I also taste herbs. This cigar lacks the typical Brazilian sweetness I expected to taste. The wood flavor grows a bit in strength. After an inch I taste pepper with an earthy flavor and herbs.



Halfway I taste leather again with wood, that earthy flavor and herbs. The feeling in my mouth is dry and I get a little sparkle on the tip of my tongue. After two thirds I taste spicy herbs with some earthy flavors and a very mild acidic flavor.



This cigar lasted me for just an hour, which is a short time for a slow smoker like me. The draw is great and I got a lot of smoke. The ash has a salt and pepper color and is quite firm. I had a few minor issues with the burn. This cigar is medium to full flavored and medium bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? No. It is not my cup of tea

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 7 / 10
Aroma third part: 6 / 10

0 Comments

A friend gave me some Cuban piramids, including this 6.1x52 Hoyo de Monterrey piramid, a vitola that is not in regular production. It was released in 2003 for a 'seleccion piramides', a box with 5 piramids, the mentioned Hoyo de Monterrey but also Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Partagas.



The wrapper is dark for a Cuban cigar and oily with a few veins. The cigar has a strong barnyard smell. The construction is a bit inconsistant. The predraw is great and I taste tobacco with a spicy aftertaste.



I taste a peppery spice on the tongue but also mild fresh and some wood, but the wood tastes different than anything I ever tasted before in a cigar. After half an inch I also get some citrus and sweetness.



A few puffs later the cigar turns peppery again with a sour flavor on the background and that strange wood flavor. After an inch I also get some chocolate. Halfway I mainly taste citrus with a very spicy aftertaste. This flavor is what sticks with me till it is time to rest the nub in the ashtray.



Even though this is a six inch cigar, it only lasts me for sixty-five minutes. I got a decent amount of medium thick smoke. The draw is good, just like the burn. The ash is silvergray, coarse, frayed and firm. I got a huge flame when I purged. This cigar is full flavored and medium bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? No, Hoyo just ain't my marca.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 6 / 10
Aroma second part: 6 / 10
Aroma third part: 5 / 10

0 Comments

Room101 is made by Camacho, who uses Honduran and Dominican tobacco for the Room 101 blend. The cigars are made for designer Matt Booth, who is the owner of the company. The wrapper is a semila 101, from an exclusive seed especially created for the Room 101 cigars. All the artwork, both on the boxes as on the bands is based upon original Japanese tattoo art. Like Illusione, all Room 101 cigars have a number instead of a name. I smoked the 323, a 6x50 toro thanks to a Belgian friend who traded a few with his American friends.



I must admit, the band looks awesome. The wrapper is dark chocolate colored, oily and shiny and I see a few veins. The construction feels good. I smell a peppery chocolate smell. The predraw is loose and I taste tobacco with some pepper.



I taste a full and spicy coffee flavor with soil. After half an inch I taste a full spicy earth flavor with some herbs, some sweetness and pepper. The flavors are dry and a little burned. After an inch I taste spicy herbs that burn a little on the back of my throat. I also taste pepper and toast and far on the background some musty chocolate.



Halfway I taste herbs, a little burned, with toast and earth. After two thirds I taste smooth wood with mild herbs and a hint of macadamia nuts. The wood becomes stronger with some herbs and spices. The wood is the main flavor now. Near the end I taste nuts with herbs and black pepper.



This 6 inch cigar lasted me for almost two hours. The draw was way too loose. The smoke started out poor and thin but grew to be plentiful and thick. The ash is ugly, dark and coarse but firm. This cigar is full flavored and medium to full bodied. I had to correct the burn once.



Would I buy this cigar again? I won't buy a box, but I wouldn't mind getting a few singles

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 6 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 7 / 10
Aroma third part: 8 / 10

0 Comments