Cigar Weekly

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 12:50 PM

For different reasons, if someone could identify and smoke a few different <$5 sticks that they really enjoyed, I'm sure some would take that opportunity. I'm aware of some trusty lower-end sticks like the Tatuaje Series P, the Padron 2000, etc. My goal with this thread is to try a bunch of different sticks, whether unknown or popular that fall in that price range, give my review, and hopefully find some hidden treasures that don't break the wallet.
Enjoy and thanks for lookin'.

I'll keep all the reviews on this thread and link them all to this opening post.

Quintero Robusto Box Pressed Natural
REO Robusto
Benchmade Cazadore
Jose L. Piedra Cremas
La unica #600
Tatuaje Series P P4
Onyx Reserve Churchill
Oliva Serie V Lancero
Oliva Serie G Maduro Churchill
La Floridita Maduro Corona
Cerdan Chamberlain
Cupido Criollo Doble
La Carolina Gran Robusto
Cardenas Belicoso Maduro
Cigar Factory Outlet (CFO) Cheap-Ass Corojo
Tio Pepe Torpedo
Por Larranaga Panatela
Perdomo Lot 23 Churchill
Sancho Panza Glorioso Natural

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 12:52 PM

Quintero Robusto Natural Box Pressed
Wrapper: Honduran Cubano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan
MSRP $4.00
Medium-Full bodied

The construction wasn't great, but the taste really made up for it.
It had a pretty rough cap, but other than that the appearance was fine.
The band itself is definitely visually appealing and adds to the appearance.

Pre-light, it had a somewhat tight draw with a taste of tea and pepper.
After torching the foot, the draw opened up slightly to reveal hints of tea and wood, and a decent amount of pepper.

A third into the cigar, there was a hint of chocolate that really added to the complexity of it. The burn was nice and even, with a flaky white ash. The draw was still a bit tight, but not bad.

Halfway though, the woodiness disappeared and was replaced with a hint of grass. Burn was still really even, and the draw opened up perfectly.

The last third maintained the chocolate and hint of grass, but it started to burn hot and the pepper became more intense. It was still a nubber and kept the good draw and burn to the end.

Overall, this is a fine smoke, that kept a nice balance (until the over-powering spice last 1/3) and complexity. Definitely a good everyday smoke IMO.

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 12:57 PM

REO Robusto
Wrapper: Costa Rican/Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran/Nicaraguan
MSRP: $5.00 (commonly sold for $2-3 online)
Length: 5.00
Ring Gauge: 52
Strength: Full-bodied

The construction on this one was pretty solid, with a nice cap.

Pre-light, there was a bit of a tight draw with a taste of rich tobacco and pepper.
After torching the foot, the draw was perfect, revealing pepper and earthiness. A few puffs in, the burn was uneven.

A third into the cigar, the pepper mellowed out, leaving flavor of earthiness and a hint of coffee. The burn evened out, with a spotty white ash.

Halfway , the hint of coffee was no longer just a hint, the earthiness was no longer existent, and there was a hint of chocolate.

Last third, the richness and intense coffee flavor gave it a bit of an unbalanced bitterness. It definitely left an undesirable after taste.

Overall, this is a decent smoke, that wasn't complex and was a bit one dimensional after the coffee flavor started to take over. I wouldn't use this as an everyday smoke, but for the going rate of these (not msrp), it's worth it.

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 12:58 PM

Benchmade Cazadore (Ashton cigar made by Don Pepin Garcia)
Size: Corona Grande
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
MSRP: $2.50
Length: 6 1/2
Ring Gauge: 46
Strength: Medium-bodied

This one had a slightly rough cap with a pigtail, small veins, and a nice wrapper.

Pre-light, there was a good draw with a hint of pepper.

After torching, the draw stayed perfect, revealing a small amount of pepper with earth and woodiness. The burn started out even, but the ash was pretty fragile, falling to its demise after a half of an inch.

A third into the cigar, the pepper and earthiness lightened up, while the woodiness became more intense. A hint of sweetness popped up every few puffs. The burn became slightly uneven with a spotty white ash.

Halfway through, Spice strengthened a bit noticeable at the back of the throat. Woodiness and creaminess intensified, drowning out the earth flavor. The sweetness was now detected in every puff.

Last third, spice, and creaminess are thick, with a thick smoke (but not burning hot), a tiny bit of woodiness, and spots of sweetness. The wrapper started to unravel a bit, but was burned over after a few puffs. The draw became uneven and I had to relight once.

Overall, this is a good smoke that's balanced and complex with different flavors jumping out at each third. The sweetness could be described as almost a coffee creamer taste. Bold flavor, with a lot of flavors typical to Pepin cigars. A great everyday smoke, well worth the price.

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 01:00 PM

Jose L. Piedra Cremas
Size: Petit Corona
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban mixed/short
MSRP: $2.00
Length: 5 3/8
Ring Gauge: 39
Manufactured: machine made
Strength: Medium-bodied

The Cremas had a rough cap and small veins. The overall appearance of this stick was pretty beat up.

Pre-light, the draw was tight with a hint of pepper on the lips.

After torching the foot, the draw was still pretty tight, but whatever I was able to get out of it produced a thick smoke. The burn was even, and like the Benchmade, the ash wouldn't hold for more half of an inch. As for the flavor, there was a hint of pepper with a big taste of earth and rich tobacco.

A third into the cigar, the earthiness and tobacco stayed consistently dominating, a bit of creaminess rolled in, and the hint of spice was still there. The draw had opened up, but was still tight with a light gray ash.

Halfway , the spice and creaminess pretty much disappeared, while the earthiness and rich tobacco flavors stayed. The draw was still slightly tight, but I wasn't fighting to draw anymore.

Last third, earth and rich tobacco were virtually the only flavors standing out.
The draw finally opened up all the way, but it started to burn hot and uneven.

Overall, this cigar is pretty one-dimensional, but it's a good, balanced, everyday cigar. I was expecting to end up chewing on some of that short filler, but luckily, that didn't happen. It had it's drawbacks such as the draw through most of the smoke, but again....$2.00! For the price, it's a solid Cuban smoke and I'd say it smokes better than a few $5-10 sticks.

Thanks for lookin'.

wavescrashing · 01-05-2009, 01:01 PM

La Unica #600 Natural
Size/shape: Toro
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic (long filler)
MSRP: $4.95
Length: 6
Ring Gauge: 50
Manufactured: handmade
Strength: Medium-bodiedmild-medium

The wrapper construction was a bit rough overall, but it had a nice double cap with small veins.

Pre-light, the draw was tight with hints of creaminess.

After torching the foot, the draw opened up perfectly with an even burn. The flavor started out with a ton of cream and hint of earth and woodiness.

A third into the cigar, the earthiness became a bit stronger slowly overtaking the majority of the flavor which was barely shared with cream and woodiness. The draw was still good, but the burn became uneven. The spotty gray ash held for about an inch at a time.

Halfway through, harshness started to appear a bit from the overpowering earthy flavor. At this point the burn was still uneven.

The last third was pretty harsh with earth and a tiny bit of cream, but that went away right before I put it out. At that point, the earth lightened up a little and you could taste a hint of grassiness and more creaminess. The burn was even from this point until the end of the smoke.

Overall, it was somewhat complex, but not balanced at all past the halfway mark. The harshness at the second ½ left a bad taste in my mouth (literally). I might recommend trying one with a little age as this was straight from a B&M and was only there for about 1 month. IMO this wouldn't be an everyday smoke....or once a month smoke.

SporkD · 01-21-2009, 12:09 AM

amazing reviews! thanks so much for doing this!

wavescrashing · 01-21-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sporkd2

amazing reviews! thanks so much for doing this!

Happy to do them. Stay safe out there!

01-05-2009, 12:50 PM	#1
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	Poor Man's Cigar Review thread For different reasons, if someone could identify and smoke a few different <$5 sticks that they really enjoyed, I'm sure some would take that opportunity. I'm aware of some trusty lower-end sticks like the Tatuaje Series P, the Padron 2000, etc. My goal with this thread is to try a bunch of different sticks, whether unknown or popular that fall in that price range, give my review, and hopefully find some hidden treasures that don't break the wallet. Enjoy and thanks for lookin'. I'll keep all the reviews on this thread and link them all to this opening post. Quintero Robusto Box Pressed Natural REO Robusto Benchmade Cazadore Jose L. Piedra Cremas La unica #600 Tatuaje Series P P4 Onyx Reserve Churchill Oliva Serie V Lancero Oliva Serie G Maduro Churchill La Floridita Maduro Corona Cerdan Chamberlain Cupido Criollo Doble La Carolina Gran Robusto Cardenas Belicoso Maduro Cigar Factory Outlet (CFO) Cheap-Ass Corojo Tio Pepe Torpedo Por Larranaga Panatela Perdomo Lot 23 Churchill Sancho Panza Glorioso Natural Last edited by wavescrashing; 02-03-2009 at 10:48 PM.

01-21-2009, 12:09 AM	#7
SporkD Club Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Morrisville, North Carolina Posts: 4,980	amazing reviews! thanks so much for doing this! __________________ "Growing up is inevitable, growing old is optional"

01-05-2009, 12:52 PM	#2
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	Quintero Robusto Natural Box Pressed Wrapper: Honduran Cubano Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan MSRP $4.00 Medium-Full bodied The construction wasn't great, but the taste really made up for it. It had a pretty rough cap, but other than that the appearance was fine. The band itself is definitely visually appealing and adds to the appearance. Pre-light, it had a somewhat tight draw with a taste of tea and pepper. After torching the foot, the draw opened up slightly to reveal hints of tea and wood, and a decent amount of pepper. A third into the cigar, there was a hint of chocolate that really added to the complexity of it. The burn was nice and even, with a flaky white ash. The draw was still a bit tight, but not bad. Halfway though, the woodiness disappeared and was replaced with a hint of grass. Burn was still really even, and the draw opened up perfectly. The last third maintained the chocolate and hint of grass, but it started to burn hot and the pepper became more intense. It was still a nubber and kept the good draw and burn to the end. Overall, this is a fine smoke, that kept a nice balance (until the over-powering spice last 1/3) and complexity. Definitely a good everyday smoke IMO.

01-05-2009, 12:57 PM	#3
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	REO Robusto Wrapper: Costa Rican/Sumatra Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Honduran/Nicaraguan MSRP: $5.00 (commonly sold for $2-3 online) Length: 5.00 Ring Gauge: 52 Strength: Full-bodied The construction on this one was pretty solid, with a nice cap. Pre-light, there was a bit of a tight draw with a taste of rich tobacco and pepper. After torching the foot, the draw was perfect, revealing pepper and earthiness. A few puffs in, the burn was uneven. A third into the cigar, the pepper mellowed out, leaving flavor of earthiness and a hint of coffee. The burn evened out, with a spotty white ash. Halfway , the hint of coffee was no longer just a hint, the earthiness was no longer existent, and there was a hint of chocolate. Last third, the richness and intense coffee flavor gave it a bit of an unbalanced bitterness. It definitely left an undesirable after taste. Overall, this is a decent smoke, that wasn't complex and was a bit one dimensional after the coffee flavor started to take over. I wouldn't use this as an everyday smoke, but for the going rate of these (not msrp), it's worth it.

01-05-2009, 12:58 PM	#4
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	Benchmade Cazadore (Ashton cigar made by Don Pepin Garcia) Size: Corona Grande Wrapper: Nicaragua Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua MSRP: $2.50 Length: 6 1/2 Ring Gauge: 46 Strength: Medium-bodied This one had a slightly rough cap with a pigtail, small veins, and a nice wrapper. Pre-light, there was a good draw with a hint of pepper. After torching, the draw stayed perfect, revealing a small amount of pepper with earth and woodiness. The burn started out even, but the ash was pretty fragile, falling to its demise after a half of an inch. A third into the cigar, the pepper and earthiness lightened up, while the woodiness became more intense. A hint of sweetness popped up every few puffs. The burn became slightly uneven with a spotty white ash. Halfway through, Spice strengthened a bit noticeable at the back of the throat. Woodiness and creaminess intensified, drowning out the earth flavor. The sweetness was now detected in every puff. Last third, spice, and creaminess are thick, with a thick smoke (but not burning hot), a tiny bit of woodiness, and spots of sweetness. The wrapper started to unravel a bit, but was burned over after a few puffs. The draw became uneven and I had to relight once. Overall, this is a good smoke that's balanced and complex with different flavors jumping out at each third. The sweetness could be described as almost a coffee creamer taste. Bold flavor, with a lot of flavors typical to Pepin cigars. A great everyday smoke, well worth the price.

01-05-2009, 01:00 PM	#5
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	Jose L. Piedra Cremas Size: Petit Corona Wrapper: Cuban Binder: Cuban Filler: Cuban mixed/short MSRP: $2.00 Length: 5 3/8 Ring Gauge: 39 Manufactured: machine made Strength: Medium-bodied The Cremas had a rough cap and small veins. The overall appearance of this stick was pretty beat up. Pre-light, the draw was tight with a hint of pepper on the lips. After torching the foot, the draw was still pretty tight, but whatever I was able to get out of it produced a thick smoke. The burn was even, and like the Benchmade, the ash wouldn't hold for more half of an inch. As for the flavor, there was a hint of pepper with a big taste of earth and rich tobacco. A third into the cigar, the earthiness and tobacco stayed consistently dominating, a bit of creaminess rolled in, and the hint of spice was still there. The draw had opened up, but was still tight with a light gray ash. Halfway , the spice and creaminess pretty much disappeared, while the earthiness and rich tobacco flavors stayed. The draw was still slightly tight, but I wasn't fighting to draw anymore. Last third, earth and rich tobacco were virtually the only flavors standing out. The draw finally opened up all the way, but it started to burn hot and uneven. Overall, this cigar is pretty one-dimensional, but it's a good, balanced, everyday cigar. I was expecting to end up chewing on some of that short filler, but luckily, that didn't happen. It had it's drawbacks such as the draw through most of the smoke, but again....$2.00! For the price, it's a solid Cuban smoke and I'd say it smokes better than a few $5-10 sticks. Thanks for lookin'.

01-05-2009, 01:01 PM	#6
wavescrashing Starting Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 58	La Unica #600 Natural Size/shape: Toro Wrapper: Connecticut Binder: Dominican Republic Filler: Dominican Republic (long filler) MSRP: $4.95 Length: 6 Ring Gauge: 50 Manufactured: handmade Strength: Medium-bodiedmild-medium The wrapper construction was a bit rough overall, but it had a nice double cap with small veins. Pre-light, the draw was tight with hints of creaminess. After torching the foot, the draw opened up perfectly with an even burn. The flavor started out with a ton of cream and hint of earth and woodiness. A third into the cigar, the earthiness became a bit stronger slowly overtaking the majority of the flavor which was barely shared with cream and woodiness. The draw was still good, but the burn became uneven. The spotty gray ash held for about an inch at a time. Halfway through, harshness started to appear a bit from the overpowering earthy flavor. At this point the burn was still uneven. The last third was pretty harsh with earth and a tiny bit of cream, but that went away right before I put it out. At that point, the earth lightened up a little and you could taste a hint of grassiness and more creaminess. The burn was even from this point until the end of the smoke. Overall, it was somewhat complex, but not balanced at all past the halfway mark. The harshness at the second ½ left a bad taste in my mouth (literally). I might recommend trying one with a little age as this was straight from a B&M and was only there for about 1 month. IMO this wouldn't be an everyday smoke....or once a month smoke.