Rocky Patel Edge Maduro

I got the Rocky Patel Edge 4 pack, which included this.  It was $25.95 (in Colorado) for the 4 pack, which I consider a pretty good deal.  The 4 pack also has an included humidi-pak, so it would make a good one to mail to someone overseas or a gift or stocking stuffer.  The cigars come in 6 X 52, which is a little bigger than I usually smoke, but a size I still enjoy.  The maduro smells great, most an earthy dirt aroma with a hint of cocoa.  The wrapper is obviously a Maduro and Rocky’s website says it has a Nicaraguan binder and the filler is listed as “secret.”  The wrapper is very dark and oily with a few veins in it.  The cigar feels good, but it has one very hard spot just below the wrapper.  The cut and light went well, and the first thing I noticed was the difficulty of the draw.  This stuck around for most of the cigar and proved to be a huge downfall of it.  I don’t have a draw enhancer at home, so I couldn’t give that a try.

The cigar has some definite spice characteristics.  I must say that it tastes pretty mild for a big maduro cigar.  I drank a Lagunitas seasonal and the sweetness of the beer offset the spicy characteristics of the cigar nicely.  The cigar had good flavor, but the draw definitely took away from it.  The cigar also had some burning issues and I had to straighten out the burn so many times that I lost count.  I wonder if this doesn’t have something to do with the cigar sitting in the package with one side against the humidi-pak the whole time.  I could see that humidifying one side more than the other.  It seemed to get a little spicier going into the second third, with the earthy dirt taste remaining throughout.  The draw did get a little better, but never what it should be.  The flavors stayed about the same throughout the cigar, but they did seem to get a little mellower towards the end.

I feel like this is a good cigar that was plagued by problems.  If it weren’t for the very tough draw and very uneven burn I think I would have enjoyed it much more, but given these problems it made the cigar un-enjoyable.  I have had an edge before that was not in the 4 pack and I don’t remember having these problems, so it makes me wonder if it’s not something with the 4 pack.  I am definitely going to pick up the same cigar from a box because it was enjoyable minus the problems.

Macanudo Cru Royale

Macanudo Cru Royale
Poco Gordo 4X60
Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican with Brazilian Mata Fina
Retail Price: $7.00 (in Colorado)

We just got this cigar in at Old West Cigar and I’ve been quite excited to try it.  The Poco Gordo size reminds me of a Nub cigar, which I am a big fan of.  The first thing I noticed about this cigar is how attractive it looks.  I try not to let things like the band design affect my opinion of a cigar, but this one just looks good sitting in the box.  It has a dark brown wrapper which has a decent amount of oil on it.  It is not at all toothy, and has a few veins running through it.  It smells very earthy and the construction feels great.  I can feel one or two very minor soft spots, but nothing that concerns me.

The first thing I notice when I light it is the volume of smoke put out by this cigar.  The initial flavor is that of earthiness, which stays throughout the first third.  occasionally I get a hint of spice and wood, but earthiness remains the dominant flavor.  It burns incredibly slow, and is going to be a longer smoke than I expected from the size.  There is a bit of harshness in the first third that goes away as you transition into the second third.  The woody flavors come out a little more in the second third.  The ash builds up to over an inch on the cigar before I knock it off.  The spice notes remain throughout the entire cigar, but never become a dominant flavor.  The final third has a combination of earth, wood, and a hint of leather.  There is a little harshness to the final third, but nothing that makes the smoke any less enjoyable.  The spice starts to come out a little more towards the finish and the cigar becomes more full-bodied the closer you get to the end.

I would say that this is a great cigar for 7 dollars and one that I will definitely be smoking again in the future.  The harshness at the beginning and end detract slightly from it, but by no means does it make it a substandard cigar.  This is one that I will definitely recommend to my friends.

Sun Grown Perdomo Exhibicion

Perdomo
Sun Grown

This was another gift given to me from the show.  I like cigars that are given to me because if you are disappointed it’s not a huge loss.  This cigar was definitely not a disappointment.  It felt very solid in my hands and the wrapper looked great.  It is a light brown/tan with no visible seams.  There were no veins worth mentioning and no soft spots.  It smelled incredibly earthy with a mild, earthy dry draw.

I cut a standard cut in it and toasted and lit it with my Xikar Stratosphere.  My first impression was that it had very good flavor. The dominant flavors were that of earthiness and wood with a spice note below that.  Leather flavors came and went as I smoked this cigar.  The draw is nice, and the resistance you feel tells you that this is a quality cigar that is rolled very nicely.  It burned a little uneven at first, but levelled itself out without my intervention.

The second third provided in a way more of the same.  There was not a ton of complexity, but it works very well here.  The spice note comes out a little more in the second third, then quickly steps back to earthiness.  The leather and wood flavors are still there, and all the flavors seem to trade-off in the second third.

The final third finds the spiciness coming out a little more.  The background flavor is mostly woody and at times trades off with the spice.  The cigar seems pretty mild when it comes to flavor, but is definitely more medium-full when it comes to body.  I think this is largely due to how much tobacco they have packed into it.  The cigar is never harsh and is, in my mind, a simple, delicious cigar. 

Zino Platinum Z Class

Zino Classic
Zino Platinum Z Class
Robusto

This cigar was great out of the cellophane. Construction felt great. The wrapper was medium-brown and was slightly toothy and had a couple of very small veins. The cigar had a great pre-light aroma that was very strong with earthiness and tobacco. The cigar felt very tight. There were no soft or spongy areas. The cap snipped of easily and the cold draw produced a great draw with great tobacco flavors.

Light: The cigar lit fairly easily. The flavor was a little light with some low lying spicy flavors and earthiness being the dominant flavor. There were some underlying leathery notes throughout the first few draws. Very minor woody notes were also noted during the first third of this cigar.

The cigar burned quite slowly, with a little unevenness noted. I only had to straighten it out once though, which is not that big of an inconvenience with this cigar. This cigar definitely has a full body, with the flavor being medium to medium full. It produces a dark grey to black ash that easily hangs on for well over an inch before falling off.

The second third showed some spicy notes showing through. The cigar also retains it’s woody, earthy, tobacco flavors, making this a very complex cigar once you get into it. The flavor starts to lighten up a little in the second third and the draw proves to be a little easier. The spicy flavor noted a moment ago disappears quickly and leaves way to an earthy flavor with the leather notes standing out a little more.

In the final third the flavor seems to lighten up a little more, but the body seems to get a little heavier and let you know that you are definitely smoking a big boy cigar that should not be taken lightly. The cigar produces a lightly colored, very dense smoke. There are a few hints of sweetness in the final third, with the flavors mentioned before still lingering. This is definitely a complex cigar if you pay enough attention to notice all the minor, underlying flavors. The cigar has an excellent mouth feel, and it seems to fill your entire mouth with both smoke and flavor. It is starting to bring on an almost creamy flavor, with underlying spice notes. The body remains very full and it seems to have a lot of underlying flavors with no single one really dominating and pushing the others out.

The cigar finishes with the full body starting to come through. This is not a cigar you will soon forget smoking. The spicy flavors seem to come out a little more during the finish and the flavor starts to become fuller, much as the cigar started. The earthiness steps up a bit during the finish of the cigar with the flavors seeming to become more complex. The ever so slight creaminess and sweetness carries on right to the ending, with all the other flavors remaining in the background.

This cigar is definitely worth the 14 dollar price tag on it. You are going to want to pay attention to the minor flavors that are held throughout the smoke, as if you stop paying attention you will likely miss the many complex flavors. I would not recommend this cigar to a novice smoker, as you will not truly appreciate it.