What cigar have you recently had that surprised you with how much you enjoyed it, a cigar that so exceeded your expectations, you were taken aback that you found it that good?

Tonight, I smoked an Alec Bradley Tempus Inceptio that, when I chose it, I thought I'd probably like (I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise :-)). Now that I'm finished it, I realize just how enjoyable it was. I've had several other AB smokes, but none were even close to as good as this one. On par with many more sought after sticks...my mind continually gravitated toward Illusione's offerings.

So, what cigar recently surprised you?



If there's a thread dedicated to this topic, I apologize. I searched around pretty good, but couldn't find one that discussed it.
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both the Illusione MJ 12 and the AB Tempus are fanastic cigars. I smoked a '00 Vaqueros SQ that was awsome and I ordered 4 more boxes of them right after smoking the first one
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Padilla Dominus
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LFD Double Ligero chisel Maduro...... from 2004!
Still had the LFD flavor profile, but had mellowed in ways that are very hard to explain.

-Dude
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Gran Habano Azteca. These things are killer.
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Ramon Allones Lusitano Portuguese RE. Amazing flavor for such a young cigar... especially delightful on the retro-hale.
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Went to the dog park the yesterday and brought a Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Years Short Churchill with me. In the car I noticed the cold draw had some great flavors. Once I lit it in the park this thing exploded with flavor.
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Viaje - Exclusivo Robusto. Never had a Viaje till this one O_O, I'll be damned if it wasn't the best cigar I've ever smoked.
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The Face.
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Reserva Miraflor cigars shocked me, I paid so little for a box of 20 churchills that I thought when everyone was saying that they were really good, I wasn't expecting it to be the best I've had
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Candela Holy Lance really impressed me. I've always thought candela wrapper was gimmicky, but it definitely isn't.
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Nica Libre 1990 Diplomatico. thought it would be sub-par at best, turned out to be absoltely fantastic, especially for the price! I still have not sampled the original which many claim this to be an alternative to (Padron 1964) but I do indeed hope to be able to make the comparison someday. :-)

Same deal on the Tierra del Sol Churchill from Perdomo. Cheap, tasty, complex, and a very long smoke, indeed!
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CAO La Traviata. With a few exceptions, most CAO's don't do much for me, but I really like these.

Cheers,
G
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Maybe not killer for me but pretty darn good.
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I agree, the first time I had a RMF I was surprised how good they were too. That's why I recently bought three boxes. :-) :-)
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5 Vegas Gold I had today.

I used to smoke these a lot, but lately have been into "nicer" cigars. I felt like going old school and lit this up ... man, these still are great cigars, especially for the money! With about 2-years on it, this had lost the grassiness (and sadly, most of the spice), but had become a cigar full of sweet cream. I love sweet cigars, and this was just amazing. Very mild in body, but full of flavor--love that!
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Oliva V lancero.....for the record I love the Vs (and Oliva) but I was hesistant to smoke any laneros. All I can say is I will be ordering some of these in the near future when funds become available! :-)
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These are great with a morning coffee.
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E.P. Carillo Core line

This one was better than I expected.

The short run didn't impress me, and I think a fair amount of people were disappointed with the Inaugural as well. However, the CL tasted almost identical to a Fuente Don Carlos or Hemingway. sweet, smooth and full flavored.
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I've gotta say, the Vegas Cubana I smoked this weekend shocked me. I haven't had one in six months and I tend to like other Pepin sticks better. But sitting on my Dad's front porch in the Poconos, I drew on this puppy and started giggling it was so good.
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