Cigar #9
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Construction: 5x50 solid

Pre-Light Draw: Cedar and peppery flavors, loose draw, bits of tobacco left in my mouth

1st Third: Upon lighting, it doesn’t have any flavor, but is very peppery through the nose. Slight hints of chocolate and cedar arise. Still peppery through the nose. A nutty flavor is present.

2nd Third: Nutty flavor persists and a woody flavor arises. Pepper is still in the nose but has mellowed quite a bit.

Final Third: Nutty flavor has subsided and a sharp cedar flavor has taken control. Pepper is gone completely at this point. The finish has a little bite to it.

Final Thoughts: Not a bad cigar. It didn’t wow me by any means, but it was quite enjoyable. I’d consider putting this one in my rotation. This is not a Reyes cigar.
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Andy #9 - Cuba Aliados Miami series .......

I've went through about 2 boxes of these now. I absolutely love them. I admit you got one of the younger ones, as it was all I had at the time, but with even a few months age on them they are even better.

They are literally rolling these non-stop down in Miami right now as demand has been so high for them so any that you get from this point forward are probably going to be a little young still.

BTW - where did Mark go?
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Both of the Cuba Aliados cigars that I've tried have been good.:-)
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I'm still here. :-)


CIGAR #8

Robusto with a medium brown wrapper with VERY pronounced veins. I mean I haven't seen vericose veins like this since I ran into Hillary Clinton at the beach. Draw is loose. The head of the cigar is pretty soft. Pre-light draw is sweet grass.

First few draws...hmmm....hey, waaaait a minute. What's the big idea?




EEE -- are you SURE that only 5 of the 10 cigars you sent were Reyes cigars?


Honestly, this does taste like a Reyes cigar. Harsh through the nose, mildewy hay and a sour, chemical-ish finish. The aroma coming from the foot is unpleasant.
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I have had 6 Reyes cigars so far.
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Lol.... Don't think I ever mentioned how many Reyes sticks were going to be in this. :-)

Mark #8 - Cuba Aliados Miami edition. Seriously you are the first person I have heard say bad things about this stick. I would like to send you a couple more just to try out again.
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The original challenge was for 5 PI's and 5 non PI's, but I'm not worried about it. I've had fun participating, regardless.:-)

BTW, I should have my final review completed before tomorrow.
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D'OH!

Aye yai yaiiii.....

This is the first time I ever do a blind review and I screw it up. Yowza.
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I don't see a screw up....it's just a way to help get an honest opinion....this has been great reading btw :-)
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:-)
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No worries. As long as all of them weren't PI sticks.:-)
You didn't screw anything up in my book.
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hahaha - if I would have put all PI/Reyes sticks in there I would have definitely had you rate some at the top of the list! LOL

I've definitely eaten a little crow on this challenge - but, I'm big enough to handle it. With 1 or 2 left I want to say thanks to Andy & Mark for not only stepping up to my challenge, but not taking my retardedly aggressive approach too seriously and giving me a chance to see what they thought about a few sticks.

I'm good friends with the Reyes peeps and often stand up for their sticks even when people have a good foundation for not liking the PI line(s).

hopefully this moved people to, at minimum, give some of the other Reyes lines another chance.
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This has been a great thread to follow. Thanks for allowing us outsiders to participate in following this adventure. Great work all three of you! :-)
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Eric has more than made up for his first post. Give the man some rep for me.
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Agreed! Way to go EEE!
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Consider it done! :-) One from me to the each of you fellas.
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Cigar #10 (Final Review)
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Construction: 5x50 oily, veiny, dark brown wrapper

Pre-Light: smooth draw w/ cedar taste

1st Third: I taste hay immediately upon lighting, along w/ a trace amount of cedar. Hay is gone, leaving the cedar alone to itself. Ash is flaky, but the burn is good. Almost done w/ the first third and still picking up nothing but cedar.

2nd Third: Still a strong cedar taste, but some mustiness is creeping in. Near the end of the second third I am tasting bitterness. The bitterness quickly turns to a nutty flavor.

Final Third: Three flavors all at once: cedar, nuttiness, and faint traces of chocolate. The final third is the sweet spot; all three flavors mix quite well for an enjoyable experience.

Final Thoughts: This cigar was ok. Pretty lackluster, but ok nonetheless. The finish was quite good. This is similar to some of the other PI sticks I’ve had; lackluster until the finish. This might be a PI stick, but it didn’t carry the grassy mildew flavors that the regular PI sticks have.
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Now that I am done with all of the reviews (:-) wish it wasn't over), I would like to say thank you, Eric, for the experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed completing these reviews and trying new sticks (even if I didn't like all of them). I now have a new line of sticks to check out, the Cuba Aliados line by Reyes. I liked those, but not so much the PI sticks (although one of the PI naturals was quite good too:-)).
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Thanks man. You don't have to do that.







































Seriously. Please don't. :-)
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CIGAR #9


Robusto with a dark maduro wrapper. Very well constructed, perfect draw. Pre-light draw is faint tobacco.

First few draws...hmmm...Reyes. Not too bad though, the wrapper seems to be taming the moldy hay and rotten milk flavor.

About 1" in...blech. I knew it wouldn't last.

I would guess that this cigar IS a Rolando Reyes cigar.
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