Cigar Weekly

Published Monday, July 02, 2001

Pre-Smoke Comments

Bruce Harrod (Arkie_VI): One on the samples had a large hump in head. Both of the samples had large veins. The were no soft spots and cigars had nice feel in the hand.

Jon Adams (spiridon): These are what I would call "rustic" torps. Both had dark brown wrappers with a rough leathery texture to them, a little like some Henry Clays I have seen. Overall, they were both fairly firm to the touch, but one had what appeared to be water spots on the wrapper.

Juan Hervada (Pharmr): I found these cigars a bit on the soft side with a few lumps and a rather rustic maduro wrapper...they had a few medium sized veins, a bit of tooth, and were nicely capped...they had a nice scent to and the predraw was just right..not to tight, and not too loose.

Keith R. Celia (rookie139): Both had beautiful dark brown maduro wrappers that had a slight oily sheen. Slight odor of ammonia (indicating young tobacco) observed in 1st sample. Both samples (torpedos) had slightly irregular caps which did not detract from the overall appearance. Both were a little rough in appearance with somewhat veiny wrappers and no blemishes or water spots observed. Both were firm and appeared to be well rolled by an experienced torcedor.

Nolan Curtis (Nolan): Cigar #161 is a torpedo with a dull, rough looking, mottled, dark brown wrapper that covers a firm bunch. The wrapper had more veins than one of Doc Johnson's products, but was finished with a nice cap. The pre-light aroma was a rank, barnyard smell which made me wonder if the leaves were fermented properly. I only hope that the flavor is better than this cigar's rough exterior. The burn was even with a light gray ash and good draw. The aroma was not as bad as the pre-light smell, at least I didn't get any complaints from the other patrons at the bar.

Robert Smith (SalBO): This cigar has a rather rough feeling wrapper with some tooth to it. The color is pleasing being a dark brown EMs, almost maduro color. This torpedo shaped cigar has a nice aroma to it before and after lighting with a satin sheen to the wrapper. The point of the torpedo isn't as pretty as most I have smoked or seen on the market due to maybe a little undefilled in that area. The rest of the cigar is firm and feel well filled. I think a torpedo shaped cigar should come to a sharp point and this one does not.

Tom Mosser (Thomkm): Both samples were a very dark maduro, very veiny, and rather irregular in shape. They had a firm bunch with no soft spots and a pleasant "barnyard" aroma. The prelight draw was easy, bordering on loose, with a very slight musty tart flavor.

Smoke Comments

Bruce Harrod (Arkie_VI): Nice medium to full flavor. The burn was excellent no re-lights or corrections. The ash was firm and held for a good 2 inches.

Jon Adams (spiridon): Here we go...after clipping the end and torching the foot, I was anxious to see what this baby tasted like. The flavor reminded me of eating a baked potato, and accidentally getting some aluminum foil mixed in there. This was my first experience smoking something with a metallic taste. The draw was very good, easy enough, but with a little resistance. I did notice neither one of these cigars produced a lot of smoke. The burn was uneven, with both runners and tunneling problems, along with a tendency to go out(re-lit twice)...I had stored these for a week 1/2 @ 65% RH. The ash was gray, and flaky. I would consider these to be mild to medium in strength, without much change in strength or flavor throughout the smoke.

Juan Hervada (Pharmr): Both of the cigars performed almost identically..The cigars lit easily and evenly, and the draw provided plenty of smoke....It started off with some classic maduro flavors of cocoa/coffee, and a earthy finish...the body was on the mild side and about halfway, a nice deep tobacco flavor mixed in and the earthiness got a bit stronger...my only problem was that the veins caused a slight uneven burn that needed correcting and then at about the 2/3 mark both cigars tunneled a bit and wanted to go out..this made me have to pick up the smoking pace, and both cigars ended up heating up and turning a bit bitter....I liked the flavors before this, and have to think it was just a construction problem.

Keith R. Celia (rookie139): Both had a nice light grey, very solid ash. Perfect draw on both. Both seemed medium in strength. 1st sample had a somewhat "campfire" aroma to it (which is a plus in my book!) Second one did also but less pronounced. 1st sample had very little flavor, while the second was somewhat better. Nutty, pleasant flavor (although initially light) which did intensified (along with the aroma) at the 1/2 point. Burn was fairly even in both. Ash was very solid. No problems other than little flavor to report in either. The aroma was the best experience I had with both of these enjoyable cigars. Even with one inch left, the cigar didn't get as harsh as I expected. Definitely a finger-burner.

Nolan Curtis (Nolan): This cigar tasted better than it looked which is not to say that I enjoyed it. It had a grassy, vegetal overall flavor with a slight sweet, maduro finish. It reminded me of a Dominican made with young tobacco. Both samples smoked well all the way past the ¾ mark with a medium body, but I kept waiting for flavor that never developed. Perhaps more age would develop some character and subtlety in this cigar.

Robert Smith (SalBO): This is a good cigar. It starts out average and builds flavor after the first inch or so to a good flavored smoke. I was not overly impressed with my first impression but as the flavor grew, so did my satisfaction with this cigar. It finishes very well and leaves the smoker with a rewarding taste.

Tom Mosser (Thomkm): Looking at these cigars you would think you were in store for a powerful smoke, but to the contrary they were very mild (almost to a fault) with only a subtle hint of a mild "shoe polish" maduro sweetness. The flavors were very muted. The cigar had an excellent burn with a solid gray ash. It seemed to be a well-constructed cigar.

Summary Comments

Bruce Harrod (Arkie_VI): Good cigar. The appearance on the cigar was misleading. Depending on the price I would smoke these regularly.

Jon Adams (spiridon): I must say I enjoyed the review process, but cannot say I enjoyed the cigar. The taste(what little there was) had a definite "metallic" edge to it. Both cigars had constant burn problems, and was an effort to keep them going. Normally I would say this was a storage problem, but I've never experienced these combined problems before, and made sure that these two sticks had time to settle before lighting them up. Again, thank you for the opportunity to register my opinion.

Juan Hervada (Pharmr): While the cigar had a nice appearance, I found it a bit on the mild side for my tastes...I'd like something like this in the morning with a cup a coffee possibly but I don't think I'd stock the humidor with them...if you like a mild cigar, it did have some nice flavors...but I also found the burn problems a bit frustrating....while it was a nice cigar, it just didn't jump up and grab me.

Keith R. Celia (rookie139): Overall, I enjoyed this cigar and would recommend it to fellow herfers and club members. Very fragrant with a flavor and strength that would satisfy the beginner as well as for the experienced smoker to enjoy occasionally for a nice change of pace. Medium bodied. I would have to rate this as a good cigar, but not great (because of the light flavor) I am almost definite that I've had this same cigar about two years ago in a sampler pack of torpedos but cannot recall the name (El Rico Habano or St. Luis Rey maybe?)..Thanks to Dan for letting me be a part of this review! I really enjoyed the experience!

Nolan Curtis (Nolan): Maybe you can judge a book by its cover. If I came across this smoke at a smoke shop, I would not make the buy based on appearances, especially with the barnyard pre-light aroma. The vegetal flavor is not to my liking and was prominent in the samples. Perhaps with some age, the grassy flavor may lessen, but because of it I rate this cigar below par.

Robert Smith (SalBO): This is a good cigar. I believe I would buy a box, and probably more after. It isn't a powerhouse by any means but a good medium strength cigar with loads of flavor. With some work on the appearance, it would most likely be a great hit on the cigar market. I enjoyed this cigar very much.

Tom Mosser (Thomkm): The cigars were well rolled but a bit rustic looking. The lack of any distinct flavors disappointed me, but by the same token I gravitate to the full-bodied smokes. At best I would classify this an average "morning" smoke.

Scores

 Review Results
Final Score: 29.6 out of 50

3 Stars -- Average

This was a classic split decision, with 3 of the reviewers giving the cigar a 4 Star score and the rest enjoying it much less. The biggest complaint seemed to be that they were too mild. I'm not sure the rustic Brazilian Maduro wrapper adds much to this blend; I've smoked other Leyendas that were much more flavorful. These might be good as a morning smoke, but I would definitely try the Sumatra and CT Shade wrapped versions.

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