Thursday, September 27, 2012

Victor Sinclair-Series 55 Maduro

Brand: Victor Sinclair
Blend: Series 55 Maduro
Vitola: Churchill (7x48)
Paired with: Sprite
TV/Movie/Other: Reddit

I purchased this cigar on a whim on the CigarBid website. It had been sitting for about 2 weeks before I smoked it. It has a nice dark maduro wrapper, and aside from a vein or two, it's pretty smooth. I cut this cigar with my dual blade guillotine (a rarity for me) and lit it with my single torch lighter. Upon first draw, I'm met with deep earthy notes. The burn is even, and it puts off a fair bit of smoke. The ash is a light gray and not flaky at all. The cigar feels fairly firm and hefty. As I pass the first inch of the cigar, a very slight hint of charcoal floated into the smoke; however, this only occurred when deep draws were taken.

After about an inch and a half, the burn went way off kilter, but a couple quick puffs fixed it. The ash fell off a bit after that. I began to taste some slightly spicy flavours along with the lingering heavy earth tones. This is a fairly steady cigar, in terms of taste. It's not changing much, but yet it's not bad flavours to begin with. I am an hour into the smoke at this point, and only about 3 inches in. I like the pace that this stick burns at.

A word about the band before I go on. It's a nice gold and blue colour with a large '55' on it in blue. With about 3 inches left in the cigar, the taste is the same. The burn is going a little bit strange. I had to correct it a bit with my torch. Unfortunately, when I pulled off the band, a bit of the wrapper came with it. With two inches left on this guy, it began to get bitter, and that's when I set it on my cutter's holder and let it die.









Final verdict: full of dark, earthy flavours and occasional spice. Simple cigar. A few burn problems and a bitter end after a 1:31 smoking time. Not a bad smoke for the price, but not one I'd buy a box of. 73/100

Sunday, September 16, 2012

La Flor Dominicana-Double Ligero

Brand-La Flor Dominicana
Blend-Double Ligero
Vitola-Chisel (6x54)
Paired with: Vitamin Water Power-C
TV/Movie/Other: Reddit

I received this cigar in a trade with one of my fellow Redditors. I will admit, it is a rather strange cigar, looking more like some sort of, well, chisel! However, the wrapper had maybe one noticeable vein, and upon feeling, it is rather firm but still has a bit of give. I cut the end with my trusty v-cutter, and lit it up with matches. This LFD did put out a fair amount of smoke, but not as much as something like a Liga Privada Undercrown. Upon lighting, spicy notes immediately met my palate, and a dark wood smell and taste were coupled with the spice. There's also a strange salt note I cannot completely pin down as to what it is, but it's not bad in the least.

The burn at about an inch is a little bit wonky. I straightened it out with a match. The ash is kinda flaky, something I don't like much in a cigar, but perhaps that will change. At this point, the cigar is still very spicy, and the strength is something else: I'm a bit dizzy, and I'm sitting down! I'm having issues with the wrapper though; even though I straightened the burn out once, it still is going crazy on me. After straightening out the burn once again, a bloom of flavours hit my palate out of nowhere. A different kind of spice, cedar, and a touch of bitter chocolate were the ones I could pick out the best. The strength of the spice is also kicking my salivary glands into high gear.

There's almost a meaty flavour going on in the second third of this cigar, which is a bit odd, but I don't mind. Even as I type this, however, the spice is coming back like...I could insert a million metaphors for women here, but I won't. The burn has stopped with the constant canoeing, which I am very happy about. Weirdly enough, the cigar has actually gotten quite squishy in the middle as I approach the final third of the smoke. It began to grow hot and a touch bitter, and I let it die after that.


Final verdict: spicy, very strong, and full of flavour. A few burn issues, and a slightly bizarre shape. Nothing to be sneered at. 86/100