I was warned about the Thompson house blends and their aggressive sales policy, but they had an offer I could not refuse. A travelhumidor with some house blends for a price lower than what I had to pay for the same sort of travel humidor anywhere else, so I jumped the deal. Getting rid of the constant flow of emails from Thompson was a drag and well, due to the bad reputation, I was reluctant to light the cigars. Today I finally got myself to smoke one, to see if it could live up to the bad reputation. I picked the Don Lugo, made from Dominican olor and piloto tobacco with an Indonesian wrapper. This robusto has the standard 5x50 size.

Image

The Indonesian wrapper is quite dark, has some veins and is quite oily. The cigar has a big band. The construction feels good and the predraw is fine. I taste pepper and tobacco and I smell hay and wood.

Image

I taste a nasty and bitter coffee flavor with some spicy harshness. The coffee disappears and I get herbs with the spicy harshness.

Image

Halfway I also taste some sweetness with the herbs. After two thirds the sweetness disappears and I am stuck with the nasty, spicy and harsh herbs again.

Image

The smoke time of this nasty cigar is about an hour and ten minutes. The cigar gave me enough smoke, but the smoke was thin and gray. The ash is dark but not firm at all. Unfortunately this cigar is full flavored, it is medium to full bodied.

Image

Would I buy this cigar again? No, and I warn you: STAY AWAY FROM THOMPSON HOUSE BLENDS!

Appearance: 6 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 6 / 10
Aroma first part: 5 / 10
Aroma second part: 4 / 10
Aroma third part: 4 / 10
[Reply]

You are a brave, if somewhat masochistic, man for hanging in with that review.
[Reply]

I want to say great review... because you're on the money with this one, however I don't want people to see my comment without reading your review.

This was one of the first cigars I smoked, as it came with my first humidor... I only smoked one. That's all I could handle.

I call this Don's Lugy.:-)
[Reply]

HAHAHA a blast from the past! I got a whole bundle of these when I bought a humidor from Thompson. I think I smoked 1.5 of them...

If you look through their catalog, almost every single one of their bundle house brands is the same thing: Dominican short filler, Sumatra wrapper. I don't understand how they stay in business. I would be willing to bet that 50% of their sales are to first time customers.
[Reply]

I got a bundle of these as well when I bought my humidor a few years ago. Hilarious but accurate review, Ferdinand!:-)
[Reply]

Are they still resting--I wonder if they get better:-)
[Reply]

Thompsons constant flow of emails...at least you are protected from them calling you everyday. :-) :-) :-)
[Reply]