Interesting for #1. Good job, guys. Still disappointed by no mention of hot biscuits.
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Cigar #2 review concluded & Pm'd to Dan. Stay tuned. :-)
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So I thought, without bias or review, I would post 3 pics of my Cigar #2. No clue why they appear stretched. But then a technology advanced shutterbug I am not.
:-)
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Nice work on round one
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The thumbnail preview get's crammed into a ridged box, clicking it again opens it in a window without the distortion. :-)
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Bump for Adam...:-)
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Hey it was one per week :-) Review is in, even before I saw this!
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AdamJoshua Cigar #2
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Start time: 1: 45
Finish: 2:50

Size: 14cm 44rg

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Drinking water and coffee

Wrapper appears to be a bit thin and with a rustic quality, defiantly not a Cohiba quality to it, that perfect look and construction, this seems to have a much more "hey it's a cigar" quality to it that brings to mind RyJs or JLPs with a few years on them.

Straight cut and there is a nice easy draw, the cigar is well filled but no tightness to the draw.

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As you can see the beetle holes were expertly repaired, just funnin, you can tell here that there are more than a few years on this stick and that it has a thinnish wrapper.

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Temp 78.
Humidity 35

First impressions. Very strong out the gate. Lots of pepper on the snork. Interesting the spice has mellowed within the first half dozen draws.

Really worried about the cigar vs this low humidity, keeping fingers crossed.

I'm confused 6 pulls in and the cigar has totally changed for me.

So far a lot of oak and earth, still some spice but nothing to make your eyes bleed on the retro hale.

Man I have a real love hate thing going for blind reviews.

The first third gives me a bit of nuttiness … phrasing … going with those strong earth notes.

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This is a great example in the difference between nc and cc, while this is medium to strong, the strength comes from earth and wood rather than pepper and dirt.

2nd third. Still holding true to itself. I'd call this "every Cuban cigar". There is a familiarity with the predominant flavors, hopefully that will make some sense to someone other than me.

Ash breaks off fairly easy making me think this is a short filler stick, actually I have no real clue if that makes a difference.

Pretty one dimensional, but it's not a bad dimension, I'd call it a good honest smoke with a lot of wood and earth.

At this point I gave it a tiny touch up with the torch, not because it really needed it, more because I was being anal.

Final third lots of spice picking up

The only thing I get from snorking at this point is watery eyes and a runny nose.

Staying true to itself the finish was very earthy with a lot of wood, one thing I noticed is I never got any kind of sweetness or even fruitiness from this cigar.

Overall enjoyable, would hold it’s own with a cup of strong coffee and would be a good everyday kind of smoke in the rotation.

6.5 out of 10 smileys
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Ripplingh20 Cigar #2
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Initial Observations - 42 x 5.50" Maduro or Cameroon wrapper.

Being more accustomed to Robusto size cigars, this Corona (as well as cigar #1) felt somewhat pencil-like to hold but holding isn't akin to smoking. Precut aroma lent to wisps of cocoa (or something chocolatey). Excellent firm composition (trying to feel for any hard spots (after cigar #1's plugging issue)). Nice dense construction. Made another clean straight cut just above the shoulder. Pre-light draw left a slight tingle on my lips. Pairing with a 2nd cup of black coffee out in the garage. It's a balmy 41 degrees this morning; toasting began at 9:50 am.

First 1/3 - So we have plenty of rich smoke emanating from a splendid draw. The prelight tingle has become a mild peppery taste (especially thru a retro (or I think "snork" as Adam referred to it)). Finish isn't long lasting. Seems to pair nicely with my rich black coffee. Nice white/gray ash with black burn lines throughout. Reminds me of a wasp nest I had in the backyard last summer (which I evaporated with 1 shot from a 12 gauge) but I divest... Time to tap the ash before it becomes a design on my sweatshirt.

2nd 1/3 - Draw & smoke output continue to be excellent. The peppery note (or is it a nuance?) has subsided (even via a snork). I mistakenly inhaled in prep for the last retrohale & that was a slight jolt (but not in a bad way). Seems this stick is certainly full bodied or at least moreso than my familiar Connecticuts. Burn is razor sharp (another term I've learned). Sipping, as suggested to me, reveals something but unfortunately I can't put my finger on it. Kinda reminds me of the BBQ'd ribeye I had for supper last night. Very good cigar... Looking forward to the final third.

Last 1/3 - Noticed a portion of the wrapper has released but I'll smoke past it. I'm hoping to pinpoint a taste or flavor or two soon but am sure this stick will continue with excellence. Ash, burn, draw, & smoke remain steadily consistent. Seems rolling the cigar while keeping the slow burn edge on the bottom enhances a sharp burn (I read that somewhere). Retro has become equally pleasant. Burning thru the released wrapper now, so its become slightly jagged. I hate to touch it up with my torch so chose not to. Aroma continues to be rich as is the overall flavor. The cigar seems to be burning faster now on its own & a second piece of wrapper is beginning to gently peal away.

Overall rating - This stick was very enjoyable. To me, with my minimal experience, was rich, full bodied yet relatively mild. Hopefully it will be a cigar I will be able to buy in the future & I hope it comes in a larger Robusto size. Discounting the slight canoeing as it burned thru the unravel I'll rate it an 8.5. Smoke time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Kudos again to Dan. Looking forward to cigar #3!! :-)
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What they smoked:
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Le Aurora 1495 Corona

AdamJoshua Rating: 6.5/10

Ripplingh20 Rating: 8.5/10

I love that this was described as "every cuban cigar" and, also, this is why I love blind taste tests. Adam was 100% certain this was a Cuban cigar, but this is Dominican. Luckily for Robb, these do come in Robustos, and can be had pretty cheaply from CI (under $3/stick).

This was the first premium cigar I ever had, I think (it was a long time ago), but I vividly remember going to the B&M and buying these. I recently picked up a couple boxes of these as I find myself smoking a lot just to smoke and not to really 'enjoy a good cigar'... having an indoor cigar lounge in my house is a gift and a curse!

Keep 'em coming, guys!
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Nice curveball Dan :-)

I've always said I thought certain La Auroras have a cubanesque profile to them, glad they made their way into this tasting
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I scrolled up from the bottom of this thread and saw the pic of the cigar, first. I immediately thought that someone was going to praise on about how wonderful that "cuban twang" was. :-)
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Nice reviews, gents! And a nice change-up from DBall. :-)

This is why I enjoy these blind tests.
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Cigar #3 is done; PM'd to Dan. Stay tuned. :-)
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See and it had that earth and wood to it that I always pull as Cuban, it's that one constant. so **** you guys. :-)

I would still put it on course with a JLP (looks like I took that comparison out of the review) for an every day kind of cigar with coffee. That being said I will be looking for them. :-)
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Great reviews, Guys. I've heard those La Auroras can throw you for a curve, though I thought from the picture of the foot that it looked more like an NC roll. Easy to say after it's already been identified, but that's what I thought. So **** me, Adam. :-)
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Never really thought of that, I have to dig out some NCs and do some comparisons, learn something new every day.

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Can't wait to see these final cigars! Robb already finished #3 and Adam is keeping us in suspense (yet sticking to the proposed schedule of 1/week, so no complaints here)...

Man, I forgot how much I enjoyed these things... :-)
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... funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ****ing amuse you?
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The proposed schedule as I understood, said "at least one per week". Didn't want to extend this to a 5 week episode.
:-)
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