Post
by Zedman05 » Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:21 pm
Thanks Michael for the time and honor of donating these cigars.
I did not smoke these cigars all at once, nor did I smoke them on the same day, but I did enjoy them.
First off I will say that apart from one of the cigars having a small tunnel that only lasted for about an inch, the rolling overall was spot on. There was a bit of softness in one spot on one of the cigars, but overall I think Mr.S has mastered his rolling technique.
The burn for all was just fine. I have never been one to ever really complain about a burn unless it won't stay lit. I don't "touch up" a cigar unless it is not burning on one side and it's causing an issue; which I had no occurances of.
#1- Habano
My favorite. This was a wonderful pairing of wrapper to body. It mingled and played well with whichever innards Mike threw in there.
Started with a nuttiness that I cannot pinpoint. A bit of that Habano zing that I personally love. The spiciness that came off this Habano is very lightly salt and peppered. Almost halfway in it started changing from that salt and pepper spice to a more baking spice treat. Hazelnuts in the background, slight leather and a tiny touch of coco. These flavors were present until I let it go out.
Very good home rolled cigar. I would actually buy these cigars for the right price.
#2- Ecuador Maduro
I was surprised by this cigar. I was expecting lots of chocolate/dusty coco. There was only a bit of that throughout. It never changed later on, but remained the same flavors throughout.
Light toasty tobacco dominated the profile. Throw in some earthiness ( not like dirt, leather or moss but more like light mushroom"y" vegetal profile to bring down any spice). This was the only cigar I caught a citrus zest character in all the samples. I would have expected it more from the Corojo or Habano, but I got it from this darker cigar (surprised the hell outa me). Like stated before; there was a vein of coco that ran through this cigar. I am ok with it in slight doses, I just don't like it when it's a dominant flavor ( Padron maduros, San Andres wrappers).
I would rank this as my second favorite.
#3- Corojo
I have said it for a while now that I too love Corojo when done right. I would define too much Corojo as the older Camacho Corojo's. Great flavor, but they just stuffed it full of that one profile and went to town ramping it up.
This cigar was a mystery for me. On one hand I would get an unbelievable puff, then the next while it was muddled and mingled so much that I had a hard time picking out flavors. When it was good, it was really good. I would get a tangy almost orange marmalade flavor. It was great, but honestly trying to pick flavors for this review was hard. Of course it had a roasty tobacco flavor, but you guys aren't reading this far for that dribble.
If it wasn't for the muddled flavors I would have given this high praises. Now it's not to say I am not, it was just weird and as such would rank 3rd.
#4- Ecuador Shade
I was expecting Stewmuse to pull off some miracle with this wrapper for me. I have blended it with a myriad of innards myself, and never liked anything that I had rolled. This cigar to me was the least favorite. I LOVE the wrapper itself; it rolls well, hydrates fantastic, looks great and seems like the best thing out there....but it just didn't work for me with my blends or this one. Now this is not to say it's bad, just that I don't prefer it.
There is a spice that came along with this cigar: non-spicy paprika mixed with white pepper in a paste form. White pepper for me is what I look for in NC cigars. Love it. Can't get enough of it, but the two combined do not work well. A drying profile a mossy earthiness kept this cigar from being in my "can I have more" rotation.
I would not reach for this blend if I had the choice. The wrapper seemed to fight the innards too much.
Thanks again M.S. this was a blast. I was amazed at how much a wrapper changed the profile of the cigar. As you can read; I believe there were substantial changes.
P.S.- Craig I hope you have read all this at work and are now getting in trouble for not doing your job. Slacker. I kept this long just for you....