Picked up one of these at random out of the singles drawer in the Aristocrat to try out in my "new" man cave. I was impressed with the presentation first of all. It had a nice attractive looking band and the construction looked A-OK. It sports a medium brown, Honduras wrapper and the cigar felt and looked very well constructed throughout with a nice triple cap. I clipped this baby with my new Xikar V-cut which I'm liking very much, so far by the way.
First light yielded a perfect draw and very smooth, woodsy and leathery taste. This cigar has been producing a fair amount of smoke throughout and the taste is very consistent. Wood, tobacco, leather, and maybe a hint of cocoa. No complaints here. Just a pleasant all around smoke and no burn issues at all. I'm into the last third right this second and not one single touch up has been required. A little uneven at times, but it corrects itself rather well.
It looks like these run about $8 bucks a stick which is a stretch to be considered a great value. Will I be buying a box? Nope, but definitely a fiver. I wouldn't mind having more of these in my humidor at all. An overall pleasant smoke that is definitely worth a try.
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Just read another review of this cigar where it was almost an overload of pepper/spice, but this one had absolutely none of that. No idea how long I've had it, but it's been in my humidor at least several months. Given that I quit banding all my cigars, there's no telling. If you pick any up, it appears that these definitely benefit from a good rest.
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