GCC (Good Cigars Cheap) Review – Excal 1066 Merlin

[Heavy Metal]

As promised, here’s the first GCC (Good Cigars Cheap) review:

The HdM Excalibur 1066 Merlin is a nice Honduran with a cammie wrapper. The price is downright CHEAP – $65 for a box of 20. Quite good.

This smoke is at the top of the HdM line. It sports a nice tan cammie wrapper with a minor vein or 2. Pre-light aroma and taste are nice woody mild tobacco. Draw is a bit easy, but not annoyingly so. In fact, the only negative to this smoke is the roll could be tighter.

Lights easily after toasting and produces ample smoke with a nice toasty tobacco flavor and a hint of cammie spice. The toast, wood, good tobacco, and cammie spice flavors are the core of this smoke and continue to build throughout. This is not a complex cigar with shifting flavors, nor can one expect it to be at the price. It is, however, a very satisfying cigar with excellent flavors that intensify without turning monotonous or bitter.

By half way this cigar builds into a very flavorful smoke with its core of toast and woody tobacco. The sweet and cinnamon spices also become quite intense, tingling the mouth. A bit of honey sweet on the finish rounds out a very enjoyable flavor profile.

I always keep these on hand. Highly recommended.