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My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes

My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes

Vitola:  Grand Corona - 5.62 x 46 Strength:  Medium/Full Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano Criollo

Binder / Filler:  Nicaraguan / Nicaraguan Blender:  Jamie Garcia Time in Humi: 3 weeks Cigars smoked for review: 2 I can't seem to get enough of the My Father cigar line!  I came across the Cedros Deluxe at my local shop and swooped up a few to sample.  I have professed my love for My Father here, so when I found these I did not hesitate.

Prelight:  Just a fantastic looking cigar.  The ornate bands are a favorite of mine and added the ceder sleeve didn't cramp their style.  It certainly has the high end cigar lounge look.  I removed the ceder sleeve and found a pretty clean wrapper.  There was one prominent vein, but that was about it.  I used my BRAND NEW Xikar V-Cutter.  I got

this as a Christmas gift from a fellow BOTL.  I have to say that I love the cut.  The draw it produced was perfect and the volume of smoke was amazing.  I toasted the foot with a single torch and found that she lit up without incident.

Beginning:  The first puff was full of flavor.  Pepper, ceder, a little more pepper and some leathery notes were preset right off the bat.  I was worried that I'd be swimming in ceder all afternoon, but my fears died away after a few puffs.  The strong ceder notes were replaced by a more earthy leathery note that melded exceptionally well with the pepper.  We're off to a REALLY nice start.  It's everything I was ex

pecting.

Middle:  A few new characters joined the party.  A slight coffee flavor showed up.  It wasn't bitter at all, but more of a clean coffee taste.  It was bright and dry.  By that I mean that it showed up, announced itself and disappeared.  There was no lingering coffee bitterness that can sometimes be off putting.  The other note that appeared was a citrusy finish.  A mild orange zest or Cointreau note that was quite unexpected and VERY pleasant.  I'm about 35 minutes in and not prepared for this to end.

End: More of the same.  The citrus note has subsided.  It literally lasted for one inch and disappeared.  So we're back to the peppery leather notes from the beginning.  The pepper was not a prominent as I anticipated, which was a let down initially.  But once we got going, I didn't miss it at all.  Flavors came and went in this smoke, but they left no vacancies.  When one flavor subsided, something else stepped in to take it's place. The flavors never missed a beat.

Construction:  Spot on.  One thing you can count on from My Father is a well constructed smoke.  Great burn, strong ash, smooth wrappers, lots of smoke and perfect draw.  This baby has it all. Final Thoughts:  I don't think the boys over at My Father Cigars are capable of failure.  Everything they produce makes me smile.  This is yet another great smoke that brings something new to the table.  I think it's time to invest in another 300 count humidor and fill it with nothing but My Father goodies!

Scores:

Smoke Time: 65 minutes

Price point: 9.5 - These beauties retail in the $7-8 range and that is on the cheaper end if you ask me.  For what they produce, I'd expect to pay around $10.

Appearance: 10 - Exactly how I want a cigar to look.  Ornate, elegant, even a little sexy.

Construction: 9.5 - Other than the one vein, there were no issues.

Draw: 10 - Perfect.

Flavor: 9.5 - Maybe the most complex cigar I've ever had.  There is enough here to satisfy a noob and a vet.  It's almost perfect, but I can't think of a way to make it better.

Overall: 9.5 - Man, I am REALLY tempted to give this a 10, but I don't think a 10 really exists. Same old story from the Garcia's.  Another borderline perfect smoke.  I don't know how you guys do it, but please keep doing it!

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Rocky Patel Ocean Club

Ocean Club - Rocky Patel Wrapper: Cuban Seed Nicaraguan Binder: Mexican Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan Vitola: Torpedo - 6.5 x 52 Time in Humi: 3 weeks Rocky Patel is the energizer bunny of the cigar industry. Every few minutes he releases something new. The Ocean Club is an exclusive cigar and can only be found at Holt Cigars. Ok, I'm done with the pre-game show. Prelight: It's a good looking smoke. The wrapper has a nice oily look, but for the life of me I cannot find any info on it other than it's a Cuban Seed Nicaraguan wrapper. So that's what I'm going with. The wrapper gives off some leather and earthy notes prelight. I clipped the cap with my Xi and found a PERFECT draw. I mean, it was the best draw I've had. Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust right. The prelight draw gave me some sweet tobacco notes as well.

Beginning: I fired it up with my Colibi hybrid and the fist puff was a yawner. I really got nothing out of the first few puffs. After about 10 minutes it started to get going. The flavors were very subtle. Some creamy and toasty notes were the main things I noticed. Absolutely no pepper. It was devoid of pepper, if you will. The retorhale was super smooth, but didn't offer up much. The first inch or so was Mild and kinda boring. Middle: But I've learned to be patient. I grabbed my book and took a seat. The burn was pretty straight throughout and the smoke seemed to get a little thicker as we went. The flavors built up as well. Nothing too huge, but they got to a nice level and I was reminded that I was smoking a pretty solid cigar. It is the kind of smoke I would give to someone who was new to the hobby. It had some nice things happening and there is no way it could overpower you. It's was really perfect for what I was doing, which was sitting in the sun on a winter afternoon and reading my book. End: So this turned out to be a nice little smoke. Nothing fancy, but it held my interest and even sruprized me toward the end. The last 2 inches were really nice. It had kicked things up to a mild/medium body. the flavors were more pronounced. The creamy texture held strong and the sweet tobacco notes really took off. For me, the main players were tobacco and ceder. Throw in some tasted bread and nut flavors and you're smoking something that is pretty nice. I keep saying nice, but that's the best word for it. It was a nice smoke. Not earth shattering or life altering, but just a nice smoke. Kinda reminded me of a less potent Morrow Castle.

Construction: Perfect. The look was great, the wrapper was pristine, the draw was godly, the burn was crisp. I couldn't complain about the construction even if I wanted to. Spot on. Final Thoughts: Here it comes. It was a really nice smoke. If I had someone who I wanted to turn on to smoking, this would probably be the stick I'd share with them. It looks good, smokes good, tastes good. It's a great first smoke. But it also has it's place with seasoned smokers. It's not quite a "yard gar", but it's something you can smoke and enjoy while reading a book or cleaning the gutters or taking the dog for a walk. Actually this would be a GREAT golf smoke! Oh, that just hit me. You could go through 2 of these in 18 holes without wanting to puke. I like that!

Scores: Smoke Time: About 95 minutes Price point: N/A - This cigar was courtesy of my buddy Mike, but I think they are like $5, which is just about right. Appearance: 9 - The only issue I had here was the band.  It's a little early 90's for me. Construction: 10 - Dead. Ass. Perfect. Flavor: 8.5 - Simple notes that gained strength from the start. Overall: 8.75 - This cigar impressed me by the end. I think I found my new golfing stick!

I'm not sure I can think of a better cigar to enjoy on the golf course.  Bring two, one for the front 9 and one for the back!  Thanks for reading!

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La Herencia Cubana Core

La Herencia Cubana Core - A.J. Fernandez Cigars Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero Vitola: Box Pressed Robusto - 5 x 52 Time in Humi: a little over 3 Months I love me some AJ. I'll just get that out of the way here and now. I picked this stick up awhile ago and it got buried in my humidor. Basically I forgot about it. That is how I managed to go 3 months without smoking a stick that I have eagerly been awaiting. Ok, on to the review.

Prelight: Everything looked good to go. The wrapper is a very dark Ecuadorian Habano Ligero. The cap offered a lot of pepper prelight and there seemed to be a cut in the cap as I was able to draw air through before I cut it. I used a punch and the cut was perfect. The draw was REALLY loose prelight. This caused some concern on my end. I don't like a really loose draw, but it ended up not being a problem. It took a bit to light this baby and get it going, but once she was fired up there was no looking back. Beginning: I was underwhelmed. It stared out very mild and started to show some wrapper issues. There were splits all over the place, but it was purely cosmetic and didn't really effect my experience. The flavor notes were a toasty spice. There was some pepper, but nothing overpowering and there was an intermingling sweetness. Middle: This stick really got into it's groove. The intensity began to build into more of a medium-full body. The complexity of flavors grew as well. I started to notice a sweet cream undertone that was lovely. Lay some toasted bread, earthy spice and rich tobacco on top of that and you have a flavor to pay attention to. End: The strength began to pick up as we got into the home stretch. I started to feel it. The flavors held strong and stayed in the med-full range. The pepper on the retrohale really kicked in toward the end. It really ended nicely. Construction: There were some wrapper issues, but as you can see from the pics, the ash held strong and was a nice medium grey. The burn was fine. It wasn't perfect but I never had to relight and didn't really bother touching it up. Final Thoughts: Outside of the San Lotano line, this was easily the most complex AJ Blend that I have had. It wasn't a flavor or power bomb, which I liked. It was blended to get your attention and keep it and I feel it did just that. It started out a little bland, but after the first 1/2 inch or so it got moving. I feel like a lot of the flavor came from the wrapper and that may have slowed the flavor build in the beginning. Scores: Smoke Time: 90 minutes Price Point: 8 - These are pricey at $10, but can usually be found for a good price if you look. Appearance: 9 - It's good looking. The Ecuadorian Habano has a nice mahogany color and the band is nicely designed. Construction: 8 - Wrapper issues were probably specific to this particular stick. Draw: 8.5 - A little loose for my taste at the beginning, but it wasn't too bad. the smoke was nice and thick so it worked. Flavor: 9 - It started a little too mild for me, but really got going and transformed into a med-full flavor profile. Overall: 8.75 - Will I buy more of these? Probably, if I find a nice deal. But, will I go looking for that deal? Probably not. If they fall into my lap, I'll be thrilled, but I'm not gonna break my back (or my budget) to get more.

Overall: 9 with chance for growth - I think some age will do wonders for this stick.  I've picked up a few more and I plane to smoke then in six months.  I'll do a compare and contrast on the flavor notes.  It looks like another winner for AJ!

I love AJ. And I do enjoy the LHC line. I think this is a great compliment to that line. Much better than the Original and much more complex than the Oscura Fuerte. Thanks for reading!

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Informative Reviews

Great reviews Rob, looking forward to reading more.

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La Gloria Cubana Artesansos Retro Especiale

La Gloria Cubana Artesansos Retro Especiale Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Seed Vitola: Grand Corona 5 3/4 x 47 Time in Humi: 2 weeks I want to start by saying that I haven't had too many La Gloria Cubana cigars yet, but the ones I've had I enjoyed.  The core Sumatra is one of my go to sticks.  I never have fewer than 10 on hand.  I also enjoyed the Serie R Maduro.  That's just a great smoke.  And with all the great Connecticut Shade wrappers I've had lately, my expectations were pretty high.

Prelight:  This is a great looking smoke.  I love the Art Deco look of the band and the Claro color of the wrapper.  It just looks like something that you'd smoke on an island, if you follow.  The wrapper has a bit of pepper to it and the cap offered little flavor.  I used my 007 Xi punch and found a really nice draw.  The prelight draw offered floral notes and some ceder. Beginning: I decided to stay retro and used some long matches to fire this one up.  The first puff was clean, but didn't offer much flavor.  The second puff was about the same.  The third puff made me say Wow!  All the flavors hit me at once and really caught me by surprise.  There was a little pepper, some sweetness, some floral notes and some toasty wood notes.  Quite a menu of flavors.  The smoke was nice and this as well.  It's really turning into a nice experience. Middle:  This cigar really represented itself well in the beginning.  From that point on it kind of mixed things up.  Sometimes the floral notes would take the lead.  Then it would be the toasty wood.  Then it would be a slight sweetness.  The pepper played a supporting role and often disappeared entirely.  Personally, I thought that was a great thing.  The peppery notes were unnecessary, but added a nice note every now and then. End: Ok, I keep reading that this is a medium to full bodied smoke.  I can't disagree more.  For me, it was pretty light-medium until the halfway point.  Then it became more of a medium smoke.  As for the flavors, everything stayed pretty much the same.  I REALLY babied it at the end and didn't get any bitterness.  I'm learning!  I nubbed this baby out after about 75 minutes or so.  All in all it was pretty enjoyable. Construction:  A really well built stick.  The wrapper was ultra clean.  No blemishes or veins.  Just clean Connecticut beauty.  The burn was pretty straight and the draw was perfect.  No complaints. Final Thoughts:  I've had more Connecticut smokes than I can count lately.  That is a change for me.  They were all pretty nice.  I enjoyed the Retro Especiale.  It was missing some of that creaminess that I look for in a Connie, but other than that it was pretty darn good.

Scores: Smoke Time: 75minutes Price point: 8 - This size was $7.50, which I guess is about right. Appearance: 9.5 - A great looking stick. Construction: 9 - Spot on. Draw: 10 - Perfect. Flavor: 8.75 - I liked the subtly of the flavors.  They do a nice job of keeping you on your toes. Overall: 8.75 - I liked it.  I was kicking back, smoking and reading my book.  This stick is perfect for that. Another LGC smoke that I enjoy.  They are rapidly making their way up my list.  I have some Serie N's and R's resting and I'm really looking forward to them.  As always, thanks for reading!

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Camacho Triple Maduro

Wrapper: Honduras - Maduro Binder: Honduras - Maduro Filler: Honduras - Maduro Vitola: Robusto 4.5 x 50 Time in Humi: 6 months The www.Cigar.com description of the Triple Maduro says, "The Camacho Triple Maduro is the first cigar in history to utilize 100% maduro tobaccos in its blend." I had no idea that this was the case. In truth, I never really thought about it, but an interesting factoid nonetheless.

Prelight: The wrapper on this baby is almost black and smells strongly of pepper. I used my Xi 009 punch on this one and the perfect draw revealed more pepper accompanied by a slight bitter sweetness. Beginning: This was one of the more difficult sticks to light in my limited experience. I'm sure the borderline stormy conditions didn't help. But I finally got it going with a single flame torch. The first draw was sublime. Big, chewy maduro sweetness combined with strong pepper and slight espresso/cappuccino notes. It was a warning. "Strap in, it's gonna be a fun ride." The pepper notes were big in the beginning. The chewy maduro sweetness was present (duh!) throughout. Middle: So the pepper gave way about an inch or so in. This is were it got REALLY interesting. Smores. Yep, marshmallow, semi-sweet chocolate and graham cracker. There was also a nutty note in there, almost like walnut, but more savory. This was one of the more enjoyable 1.5 - 2 inches of cigar I have ever smoked. End: Another note presented itself and once I pinpointed it, I realized it had been lingering in the background the whole time. It was a very subtle anise (black licorice) flavor. It was never the focus, but always floating around in the background. Like the guy who always shows up to ESPN College Gameday with the Washington State flag (what's his deal?). The smoke stayed cool all the way to the very end. A clean coffee bitterness was my signal to put this baby down, though I really didn't want to. Construction: Pretty close to perfect. The wrapper is coal black and oily, as one would expect. The burn never got straight and required 2-3 touch ups. One thing I noticed and enjoyed was the smoke production. When resting, the cigar itself produced very little smoke, but when I puffed I was greeted with luxurious thick smoke. Final Thoughts: I can't say that I am a huge Camacho fan. The brand is obliviously very popular and they are doing very well. But for some reason, this is the only blend I truly enjoy. And I really really really enjoy it. I've decided to explore more of the Camacho line to see what I'm missing.  Now this is not an everyday smoke, at least not for me. The price point and the flavor (full body and full strength, although the strength didn't blow me over) dictate that for me, but it is prefect to sit down by the fire pit and BS with a few buddies. If you want a big fat maduro smoke to warm you up on a cold Autumn afternoon, fire one of these up. An added benefit is the robusto is only 4.5 inches and smokes in about 65 minutes!

Scores: Smoke Time: Just about 70 minutes (I kinda babied the second half) Price Point: 9 - They are listed here for $11, but they show up on deals all the time. I got this as part of a $25 five pack. At $5, the price point is a complete 10! Appearance: 9 - The cigar itself is nothing special to look at, but the band is easily one of my favorites. Throw in the foot band and you have a very sophisticated look. Construction: 9 - The burn never got straight for me, but it never went out. Draw: 9.5 - Close to perfect. Flavor: 9.7 - I rank this just below the Anejo and just above the La Aurora Preferido. Borderline brilliant. If you've had this stick, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and grab one right now  Drop everything and go buy one. Then drop everything again and go smoke it. You won't be disappointed. And, as always, thanks for reading. I look forward to your feedback!

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Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero

Tatuaje Black Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sungrown Criollo Vitola: Petite Lancero 6 x 38 Blender: Pete Johnson Time in Humi: 80 days - Thanks to raschnuts for the gift!  Accompanying Beverage: Water So here is my Tatuaje confession. I got caught up in the hype of the Wolfman and this has led me to accumulating a decent collection of Tats. The confession is this, until yesterday, I had only smoked the Nobles and that was like 18 months ago. So I went out and got all these sticks on impulse. I'm a sheep. Although this stick was gifted to me by raschnuts, so that makes it ok.

Prelight: This thing looks like an ice pick, so of course I was thinking about a young and hot Sharon Stone while I was smoking it. The Sun Grown Criollo wrapper has green tinge to it. There is one pronounced vein in the top left, but that was purely a cosmetic issue. The wrapper has a very peppery nose with a subtle sweet & sour note as well. The cap offered little flavor beyond the pepper. I clipped this with my Xi cutter and found a clean draw with yet more pepper. Notice a trend? Beginning: I fired this up with my Colibri Hybrid lighter (did I mention I love this thing?). I tend to go with a soft flame on the smaller ring gauges for no particular reason. It fired up without issue and the first puff was like a blast of what? That's right... Pepper! Pepinesque, if you will. Anyway, the pepper was the dominating note in the first inch to inch and a half. At this point I'm not all that impressed. I had VERY high expectations going in to this and so far, I'm a little let down. Middle: BUT, I never leave a movie early, cuz you just never know. And thank GOD I hung around for this one. The pepper subsided a little, but remained a key player in this game. A dark chocolate note started to creep in pretty early in the smoke, but it gained momentum as we went on. It was joined by a dark roast coffee flavor. The middle 2 inches were really nice. The smoke got thicker, the burn evened out and it basically turned into the smoke I was expecting. End: What a great finish! I picked up on a nutty note mixed in with the chocolate. It reminded me of Nutella butter, which is a good thing. The smoke stayed remarkably cool through the last half inch. I haven't had too many small ring gauges like this but my experience is they tend to heat up at the end. I was able to smoke this down until I couldn't hold it anymore. Considering this is one of my initial Tat experiences and the high expectations I had, this cigar had a lot to prove and it really did so. Construction: All to the good. The vein was a little off putting, but but it didn't cause any issues. I've noticed in the past they can cause soft spots and weak smoke/flavor through that soft spot, but not this time. The ash was strong considering the gauge and the burn was pretty crisp. Final Thoughts: Nice job Pete! After the first inch or so, this baby really took off. I had high expectations and they were met, if not exceeded. I think it may have needed a little more rest, though. Get these babies with a year on them and you're a happy camper. I actually have a Torp from last Xmas last year that I want to smoke now. I will hold off thought, maybe next year. These are in regular production now and even my wack-ass B&M has them, so just about anyone can get them. This means a few more will find their was into one of my humi's at some point.

Scores:

Smoke Time: ~50 Minutes

Price Point: 8 - $8.50 for a stick that lasts only 45-50 minutes is a bit steep for me. Appearance: 9 - The ice pick look is cool an the simple "Tatuaje" black band has a classic yet aggressive look. Construction: 9 - Nothing to complain about. Draw: 9 - all good. Flavor: 8.8 - Nice smoke, but the first few inches almost scared me off. With some rest this will jump into the 9's for me, but as it was it missed a top rating for me. Man I have been smoking some good stuff lately! I'm going to revisit some of the stuff I first reviewed and see if my opinion has changed based on comparison. I've since revisited the Quesada Espana and I completely stand by that score. Probably my favorite non-maduro cigar, at least for now. But back to the Tat's. It's a fun line that people really love. I'm excited to check out more of their stuff as I have a lot of it resting. This was a good start thought. Thanks for reading and...

Charlie says HI!

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CAO OSA SOL

OSA SOL - CAO Cigars Wrapper: Olancho San Agustin - Habano Binder: Connecticut Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua Vitola: Robusto 5x50 Time in Humi: 3 weeks Accompanying Beverage: Water I'm a fan of CAO.  The Mx2 was the first maduro that I really loved.  The Brazilia was the first cigar that I ever designated as my favorite.  The Sopranos Edition is just awesome.  The L’Anniversaire Maduro is brilliant.  The La Traviata is great.  So yes, I'm a fan.  So when the OSA (Olancho San Agustin referring to the wrapper) came out I had to have it.  Well it took me about 6 months, but I finally had it.

Prelight:  The wrapper has a reddish color to it.  It's a nice wrapper and it gives off some slight peppery notes.  The cap gives off some bitterness, bit nothing major.  I clipped it with my Xi as usual and found a clean and rather perfect draw.  Oddly, I picked up zero pepper on the prelight draw.  I did taste a nice toasty sweetness, like honey on a piece of toast. Beginning:  I toasted the foot and fired this one up with a single flame torch.  The first puff was a blast of creamy smoke laced with some sweetness and ceder.  The feel of the smoke was similar to the Brazilia.  They are not similar cigars by any means, but one of the things I love about the Brazilia is the thick, creamy smoke.  The OSA has that same characteristic.  We're off to a good start.  Side note: I fired this baby up at 9:30am the day after Thanksgiving.  I was drinking water at the time, but I think I'll have a coffee with cream and a little sugar next time.  Definitely a smoke that can be enjoyed before noon. Middle:  The flavors and the body picked up a little.  It went from a mild+ to a medium-.  The strength was just about right for a medium- stick.  Since it was so early I could feel it a little.  If I smoked it after lunch, it would have been perfect.  So if you go with it in the AM, be sure to have a decent breakfast.  This is not a complex stick and I think that is a very good thing.  The flavor profile was so perfect for what this stick is, that I didn't want a lot of movement. End:  I got about 70 minutes out of this baby.  I probably could have gotten another 20 or so, but my dog was going nuts (he was chasing and barking at the neighbor dog and I lost patience) so I decided to wrap it up.  There was little change in the flavors.  They may have been a slit uptick in the bitterness, but I think some of that can be attributed to user error.  I'm still perfecting the nuance of smoking the last inch. Construction:  As usual, the boys at CAO have there stuff together.  Razor sharp burn, thick creamy smoke, spot on flavors and a great draw.  Can you tell I liked it? Final Thoughts:  Another winner for CAO!  But I will caution you to make sure you smoke it at the right time.  After a turkey sandwich - yes.  After a turkey dinner - no.  It has great mild+ to medium- body to go along with a great look and feel.  If you want a flavor bomb, then you need to look at something more along the lines of the Brazilia, L’Anniversaire Maduro or the Sopranos.  BUT, if you want a brilliant, toasty, sweet little firecracker, then this might be just what you're looking for. Scores: Smoke Time: 70 minutes Price point: 9.5 - I paid $5 and the experience far outweighs that price tag. Appearance: 9 - The wrapper has a clean look and the band is pretty cool as well. Construction: 9 - Spot on. Draw: 9.5 - It was pretty much perfect. Flavor: 9.25 - I really loved it.  It's different than what I usually enjoy, so that's saying something. Overall: 9.25 - I loved what this cigar was.  It's really a unique cigar for me.  It's not mild and it's not quite medium. To sum up, it's a winner!  Thanks for reading!

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San Cristobal Elegancia

San Cristobal Elegancia - Don Pepin Garcia & Ashton Cigars Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan Vitola: Pyramid 6 1/8 x 52 Time in Humi: 1 week Accompanying Beverage: Water Like most of you guy (and gals) I am a sucker for anything new. I gotta have it. Whether it's a new stick or a new line or even something that I was just not aware of before. So when San Cristobal released the Elegancia, I was on the prowl.

Prelight: The wrapper has the claro color (look at me, expanding my vocab!) common to most Connecticut wrappers. It offers the spicy smell which I have come to expect from Don Pepin Garcia. It's a flawless looking wrapper with no visible veins and is smooth and light to the touch. There is one slight imperfection in the wrapper, but it looks to have happened in transit (aka, it's my fault). The cap is clean and offers little taste before clipping. Beginning: My expectation level for this cigar is growing. It's a nice outside, the wrapper is giving me indications that this isn't going to be too mild in the flavor department and I'm done working for the day. My Xi Cutter clips the cap cleanly and I find an even draw waiting for me. Toast the foot and fire it up with a single flame torch pretty simply. The first draw offers up some spice, but not the pepper I was expecting. There is a light floral note in there as well. The blend has a very unique flavor to me. It's much bolder than I had anticipated. Definitely a medium body. Middle: Things get creamy. The flavors have mellowed a bit. Less of the spice is present and it seemingly has been replaced by a light leather and earthy flavor. The leather notes are more luxurious than overpowering. The smoke feels thicker in the middle and has a much smoother creamier texture. It's really settled in nicely. Still medium bodied for sure, but it's on the mild side as far as strength is concerned. So far, it's a really nice early afternoon smoke. End: So the pepper returns a little at in the end. I say pepper, but it's more of a spicy note. Not sure what to call it really. It's not your normal pepper flavor, it's more muted. Anyway, it's a nice compliment to the existing flavors. There is little change the rest of the way out. Construction: Spot on. The size and shape were nice and allowed the flavors to mesh nicely. I'd be curious to try this in a smaller ring gauge. No burn or draw issues. The triple cap was well constructed as well. It has a nice, classic cigar look. And I dig the band design as well. Final Thoughts: Pretty flingin' flangin' good. I had high hopes and was not disappointed. The flavors were unique and they played off each other well. The floral note in particular was pleasant. I picked it up right off the bat, but it took me some time to put my finger on it. Even now I'm not too sure what to call it. "Floral" is a bit of a vague description. Think of it this way, it's like smelling a bouquet of flowers without the flowers. Make sense? It's something between cut grass and dry leaves with a slight citrus note. Whatever it is, I liked it. It gave the flavors a clean crispness that I found refreshing. Scores: Smoke Time: 97 minutes Price point: 9 - I think I payed $6.50 which is just about perfect. Appearance: 9.5 - I really like how the green and gold of the band plays off the claro of the wrapper. Construction: 9 - Spot on. Draw: 10 - It was so good that I actually took note of it. Usually you only notice the draw when it's bad. Flavor: 9 - Unique flavors. It's like a Connecticut Wrapper remix. Overall: 9 - I really enjoyed it. I had high hopes and they were met. Well done.

So, I'll admit it. I was WAAAAY too quick to write off DPG. I still don't like the Cuban Classic that everyone loves. But man, I am coming around on him big time. Thanks for reading!

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