Probably just thinking too hard about it :-)

My simple suggestion: Clip the cigar, try to draw, if it draws well, then smoke it. If it doesn't draw well, dry box it for a day and smoke it then.

I keep my cigars at about 63% and I still see occasional draw issues that I need to fix with a bit of dry boxing. So, might be better to keep them closer to 60%, but 65% isn't bad :-)
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I think the cigars arrived to both parties at this point...


...and so it begins!

:-)
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If it's a Boveda, it should be a two-way packet, meaning it'll let out humidity if it gets to dry in there, but will also absorb extra if it gets too wet. So if it is in fact a Boveda, go ahead and close the bag, the packet will regulate the rH for you.
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I'd be more concerned with the Boveda losing it's RH before you get done smoking them. I like Brutus's suggestion, clip it and take a draw, if it draws well smoke it, if not dry box it. Really can't get much easier than that.

Although if you have a draw tool, you could keep it at 65 even and just poke it before smoking.
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Indeed I did Dan. I just want to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to try this. This ought to be fun and interesting.

I will have lots of time on my hands saturday morning-noon. I will start my first one then and report in!

:-)
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Just looked over the 4th one. Really neat idea!
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ApexAZ Cigar #1
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4/2/2012

Today I will be reviewing the first cigar from dball's 10 cigar blind test taste sampler. I am pairing it with an Americano coffee with cream made from my stove-top moka pot.

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Pre-light
The blind taste test cigar #1 appears to be about 5 x 42 in size. Some google search results suggest that this would be a petit corona. The wrapper is a light natural color that is soft and velvety to the touch. Some minimal veins give it some some added texture. Interestingly, there appears to be tiny glittery copper specks all throughout the wrapper that glint in the sunlight (Insert team Edward joke here lol). It's almost as if there are mineral deposits within the leaf. I don't know that I've ever seen this in a cigar before. The construction appears to be very good and has a nicely rounded and symmetrical double cap. There is a spot about 1/3 from the head where the wrapper is slightly torn and exposing the binder. It's fairly small and I hope that it doesn't cause any issues. The cigar feels slightly spongy and there aren't any noticeable soft spots.

I wet the head and snipped the cap with my Xikar xi2. Pre-light, the flavor and aroma are a very light and sweet tobacco flavor. On the prelight draw I taste mainly sweet tobacco with some very slight hints of some flavor I can't quite place. I want to say it's similar to cinnamon, but it isn't tingly on the tongue like you would expect cinnamon to be. The draw is a little tight, but seems to be okay to smoke.

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1st Third
After lighting the cigar, one of the first things I noticed is the smoothness right from the start. Most of the cigars I'm used to smoking have that in-your-face punch for the first several draws after lighting before they start to settle. That wasn't the case for this cigar as it was pretty smooth right off the bat. The draw is perfect and the body is mild to medium and very smooth. The strength seems to be pretty mild as well. Flavors I'm getting are sweet tobacco mixed with some mild charred wood-like flavors. The cinnamon-like flavor that I got from the pre-light draw is not detectable. It's a very windy day here in Phoenix, but the burn is staying pretty sharp. The ash is a salt and pepper color and seems to want to give way on it's own after only 1/3 or an inch or so. I also noticed that the aroma coming off the cigar is very pleasing.

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2nd Third
About 15 minutes in I start to get into the 2nd third. The cigar is now more of a medium body, light strength and really starting to get tasty. The draw and burn both continues to be perfect with the ash dropping on it's own after about 1/3 of an inch. The wood flavors have disappeared and I get mostly a creamy sweet flavor. A muted caramel or toffee flavor is the only way I can describe it.

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Final Third
I'm now about 32 minutes into the cigar and on the final 3rd. The cigar remains medium in body with the strength picking up, which is now medium as well. I'm starting to get a mix of pepper and cinnamon flavor that leaves a slight lingering tingling sensation at the back of my tongue after I exhale. The caramel/toffee flavor that I was getting before is now closer to what I would describe as being more like butter and anise. It almost tastes like a smokey, buttery pizzelle that is ever-so-slightly spiced with cinnamon. Despite the intense wind, the burn continues to be razor sharp and the ash drops after about 1/3 of an inch. With as predictable as the ash has been, you'd think I would have known better not to let it drop on my laptop, as you'll see in the photo.

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Conclusion
This was a great little cigar. When I first smelled the tobacco and found very little aroma to it compared to the Nicaraguan leaf I'm so used to, I was a little skeptical as to whether or not I would enjoy it. As it turns out, the cigar happened to have loads of flavor that evolved into a somewhat complex experience over the course of the smoke. The cigar was much sweeter than I had anticipated and I ended up nubbing it down to about 1/2" before needing to call it quits. Overall it was very enjoyable and I look forward to BTT #2. Thanks, DBall!

Score: 8/10

Total smoke time: About 48 minutes
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smitty81 Cigar #1
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This stick was definitely different than anything I have ever tried before. I first want to talk about the wrapper used for this cigar. It had what seemed to be golden glitter all over it. Not kidding, If you hold it and turn it in the light, the wrapper sparkled like glitter. Don't know if that's just how the wrapper is or what but I found it kind of amusing.
These are pictures from my cell phone and I was on the road so they aren't the best quality pictures.

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The construction seemed good, triple cap, no soft spots, some small veins in the wrapper. The cigars I have smoked usually smell like horse manure but this one had the distinct smell of cow manure. I live in rural Nebraska............I can tell the smells apart.

The cap fell apart in lots of pieces when I cut the cap. I thought it was maby short or loose filler? The draw was VERY TIGHT. I didn't really pick up much flavor on the draw before the light.

Ok now into the first third.

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When I lit it, there was a TON of smoke. It seemed to burn fairly well at first. The smoke smelled of a lite tobacco/manure. The taste of this cigar was very interesting to say the least. I couldn't place a flavor to it. At first it caught me off guard because of it's sweetness. I wasn't expecting sweet. Having trouble placing the sweet though. Maby taste like a sweet bread or a hay?? The taste is still boggling my mind and then after about 10 minutes it hit me. It has a sweet slightly green taste like fresh snow peas right from the garden. The taste wasn't as sharp as the peas but the flavor was there. The ash held on for about 1.5 inches.

On to the 2/3rd

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The smoke is starting to let up. Smoke now smells of a musky aftershave. The flavor turns from snow peas to more of a wood flavor. I think I even picked up a grahm cracker flavor a few times. I'm thinking to myself what an awesome smoke this would be if the tight draw wasn't killing the experience. I had a barqs root beer with this smoke but I think it would go well with a Late or cappuccino if your into that sort of stuff. The burn has started to go a little jagged.

After I was thinking about the draw I was thinking to myself, wish I had one of those draw tools. I finally stopped the truck to find something to put in there to try and loosed it up a bit. I found a ground marker flag and shoved that up there. It loosened it up a good bit.

This is where things really started going downhill.

The last third.

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I succeeded making the draw easier but the flavor of the smoke instantly changed. It went to a deep earthy and heavy wood flavor. I don't know if that was just by coincidence the flavor changed to that or of it was my trying to unplug the smoke. It wasn't a bad flavor and the sweet flavor was still picked up here and there.

The burn started out real sharp and even and I was wondering why I hadn't tried to unplug it earlier. I think it started burning better because the draw was easier?

Towards the end the flavor jumped around from a deep oak and back to snow peas if I purged it.

I started having problems about 30 minutes after I tried to loosen up the draw. The cigar started tunneling, got harsh and went out. This was with about two inches left. I had tapped the ash out, re-lit and purged. I had to repeat this about 4 time within the last 2" before I had enough and gave up. I don't know if trying to loosen up the draw made it tunnel or what?

This smoke lasted about an hour and a half.
I took the last inch or less and tore it apart to see what was inside. Looks like it was loose filler like I had thought.

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Isn't the long filler suppose to be better?? Not that it mattered, it was a decent smoke either way.

I would have rated this cigar around 8.5 or so if it wasn't for the tunneling and tight draw. I feel the tight draw took away from the enjoyment of the smoke and the tunneling was a real PITA.

With all that said I give this smoke a 7.8/10
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:-) looking good guys
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What they smoked:

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2011 Por Larranaga Panetela

ApexAZ score: 8

smitty81 score: 7.8



First off... I'm glad this is underway!

Second, snapping pics and reviewing cigars at 63MPH may not be the best idea. These things work better if the participants are focused (and alive, for that matter). :-)

Anyway, smitty was onto something... these are Tripa Corta (not long filler). The "glittery specks" thing is something you see on PLs due to the band.... funny that you both noticed that and commented on it.

I've heard a couple people compare these to vanilla lattes and, as far as cheap cigars (and recent production cigars) go, I really enjoy the hell out of these.


:-)

Great reviews, guys!
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...and already someone posts between the reviews and the revealing of what they smoked. :-)
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:-):-) at the bold red.
I'll have to check these out
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Well done fellas! I had that glitter effect happen with a Camacho Tripple Maddie too.

x3 about the driving while reviewing part. I find I get so much more out of a stick if not in conversation with a friend or doing something else that requires concentration. And it is very unsafe too. But great reviews fellas.
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Great job guys :-) Keep it up, can't wait to read the next one!
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You and I both... after I send these cigars out, I promptly forget what I sent until they review it and I have to upload the picture.... :-)
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Good reviews gentlemen!

I would have guessed it was something in the PL line since they described a caramel/toffee taste. Need to get me some of these
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Lol, I knew it was a Por Larranaga because of the stripper glitter :-)
Great little tripa corta.
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I had wondered about the bad but I thought there is no way in hell a band had that much glitter. :-)

It was a pretty good cigar though.
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I could see the vanilla. It was a sweet cigar. The short filler explains the short ash too.
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Nice reviews! Looking forward to the next reviews.
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