Gispert Natural Churchill
Size – 7 x 54
Age – 1 month
Cost – $3.00 single
Wrapper – Connecticut (Ecuador)
Construction – Good construction with a great wrapper and no flaws. The cigar is a bit soft to the touch but this has been the case with every Gispert I’ve had, and does not detract from the smoke.
Burn – Mostly even and slow.
Ash – Medium to dark grey and slightly loose. Ash held for 3/4 – 1″
Draw & Smoke – Draw was just right with a good amount of white smoke per draw.
Flavor – The Gispert natural has a very nice, mild flavor profile. Flavors include earthy wood and a hint of grass produced by the wrapper, with a compliment of peanut, wood and sweet tobacco flavors and aromas. These flavors are all mellow, and the result is a very creamy and smooth cigar. The room aroma is excellent.
Strength – Mild
Rating – 9/10
Value – 9/10
Drink – Blackberry tea
Notes – Gispert was one of the very first cigars I ever smoked, and I still love them to this day. There are a lot of reasons to keep some of these in your humidor: they make an excellent cigar to give to non-aficionado friends, a great daytime cigar, or a perfect way to follow up a lighter dinner. At around $2 each by the box, they are one of the best values around. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that these get even better with 6+ months of aging.
Reviews
54 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Gispert, Mild
Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Epicure
Size – 5.25 x 50
Age – 2 Months
Cost – $4.50
Wrapper – Connecticut
Construction – An exceptionally well constructed cigar with great symmetry and cap, and just a few more veins than I would expect from a Connecticut shade wrapper. (9/10)
Burn – Slow and almost dead even (9/10)
Ash – Very light grey mottled with some charcoal colored ash. Firm and compact.
Draw & Smoke – The draw was a little bit snug on this cigar but each puff resulted in a nice volume of smoke.
Flavor - This cigar is a bit of a surprise, because lurking under the pretty Connecticut wrapper is actually a nice hearty blend of tobacco from 3 countries – Honduras, DR and Nicaragua. The Excalibur started with a silky smooth woody flavor and a clean finish, which progressed into the second third with a heavier sweet and woody flavor but almost no spice or pepper. About halfway through, I began to pick up just the slightest nutty flavor of cashew. The aroma was very nice, somewhat sweet and light.
Strength – Medium
Rating – 9/10
Value – 8/10
Drink – This was a daytime cigar so I enjoyed it with a Pepsi.
Notes – It was a little difficult to get the full story on this cigar as it’s not even mentioned on General Cigar’s website – the label does indicate it is a limited edition. I found it to be a really good blend of light and crisp flavors from the Connecticut wrapper and binder, mixed with the more assertive and full bodied filler. This is a real treat of a cigar that can be found at a good price. There is a maduro version of the Excalibur which I think would be a bit less interesting but still tasty. I’ll be picking a few of the maduros up when I see them.
Reviews
50 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Hoyo de Monterrey, Medium
Victor Sinclair Primeros Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age - 2 months
Cost – $2 online
Wrapper – Connecticut (Ecuador)
Construction – This is a very well constructed cigar with a nice firm springy feel, a pretty connecticut wrapper with very few veins and a well made cap. The label and matching ribbon on the foot are nice. (8/10)
Burn – Burn was even and slow. (9/10)
Ash – Ash was very light grey but loose and a bit flaky. Ash held for 3/4-1″ at a time.
Draw & Smoke - The draw was slightly firm and produced a medium volume of smoke per puff.
Flavor – I’m not sure if it’s a limitation of my still-developing palate or just a characteristic of mild cigars but I have a difficult time identifying individual flavors in some mild-med sticks, especially those with connecticut wrappers. This cigar has a pleasant flavor with a woody and creamy taste and a buttery mouth feel. The mouth feel does become a bit heavy and I found myself drinking more of my beverage than I would with most other cigars. The aroma was nice with a bit of sweetness and a smooth tobacco smell.
Strength – Mild/Med
Rating - 7/10
Value - 7/10
Drink - Hot English blend tea. Would go well with iced tea as well. For an alcoholic drink I’d pair this with a gin and tonic.
Notes - One of my pet peeves is cigar ash that is not compact and winds up flaking off bits of ash all over the place, particularly on my laptop. I nearly knocked this smoke down another point due to the unruly ashes in the first half, but it’s really a pretty nice value cigar and one that you can share with your newbie friends. Once the weather warms up I can see myself on the porch with this cigar, a cold drink and a book.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Mild/Med, Toro, Victor Sinclair
Victor Sinclair Connecticut Yankee Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age – Less than 1 month
Cost – $2-2.50 online
Wrapper – Connecticut
Construction – Good construction but a very rustic looking wrapper with pronounced veins and a somewhat uneven shape. (7/10)
Burn – A rocky start but evened out fairly well. (7/10)
Ash – Very light grey, held tight for 1-1.5″
Draw & Smoke – Nice easy but not loose draw, yielding a good volume of smoke per puff.
Flavor – The first minute of this cigar was pretty bad. I was almost ready to write it off as the first few draws delivered slightly sour and cheap-tasting tobacco flavor, like a gas station cigar. This very quickly disappeared, thankfully, and was replaced with a satisfying toasty tobacco flavor with some cocoa and a nice creaminess on the palate. Room aroma reminded me of a corojo leaf, a pleasant sweetness and toasted tobacco smell. Not a whole lot of changes between the first and second halves.
Strength – Mild/Med
Rating – 7/10
Value – 8/10
Drink - Since this was a daytime cigar, I just had a regular Pepsi to go along with it. Nothing special.
Notes – The Connecticut Yankee Toro is part of a pretty big sampler of VS cigars that I picked up recently, and based on the first couple I’ve had, I think they make a nice addition to the humidor. Another stick that you’re not worried about giving to a friend and having them set down and forget, but you wouldn’t be hesitant to hand to someone who enjoys good cigars. The construction was an issue but the flavors were tasty and satisfying.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Mild/Med, Victor Sinclair
Don Tomas (Classico) Maduro Robusto
Size – 5.5 x 50
Age - 4 months
Cost – $3.39 local, less than $2 online
Wrapper – Connecticut Maduro. Oily and fairly smooth with some veins.
Construction – Mostly well-constructed and firm, a slightly flared foot and a small unravel after punching the cap. (6/10)
Burn – Mostly even and slow with no relights or touchups. (8/10)
Ash – Medium grey and compact, with a nice 2″ of grab.
Draw & Smoke - Firm draw. Not a lot of smoke but enough for an indoor cigar.
Flavor – This cigar starts with a nice bit of spice and rich chocolate. The spiciness quickly fades into a somewhat mild chocolate flavor with a bit of cedar and, in the second half, a spicy finish. The room aroma is the usual smell of sweet maduro tobacco – very nice.
Strength – Medium
Rating – 8/10
Value – 9/10
Drink – Pepsi. It was all I had in the fridge 
This drink pairing was not remarkable.
Notes – Don Tomas is my favorite value brand. The Maduro is a part of the Clasico series, and could command a price that is twice what you will pay for it. A great everyday handmade that you will be happy to hand to a friend or enjoy yourself. I have smoked about two dozen of these and while the consistency might not be up there with Rocky or Pepin, it’s a no brainer for the cost and something you should not hesitate to try. I believe the 4-5 months that this spent in my desktop humidor improved the cigar.
Reviews
50 Ring, 8/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Don Tomas, Maduro, Medium, Robusto
Today I found this cigar lurking at the bottom of my desktop humidor. It’s the last of a 10-pack I bought about 6 months ago and so I figured I’d fire it up and review it on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Gurkha Symphony Robusto
Size – 6 x 50
Cost – $6 – 8 online
Wrapper – Connecticut
Construction – Excellent construction with a perfect cap, almost no veins in the smooth wrapper. The foot was slightly chipped from being moved about in my humidor. (9/10)
Burn – Dead even from light to put down. (10/10)
Ash – Very light grey with a smattering of darker grey. Held firm for 2″
Draw – A bit tight but not annoyingly so.
Flavor – I lit this cigar up expecting the grassy, slightly acrid taste I have begun to associate with Connecticut wrappers, but I thankfully found nothing of the sort. What I did get was very mild and creamy flavors – so mild it was tough to distinguish them at first. Then a soft creaminess and woody, almost pine tree-like flavor and aroma developed. The finish was peppery around the back of the palate. The aroma really helped this cigar’s character; a slightly sweet nutty smell helped bring out the nearly nonexistent flavors in the first two thirds.
Smoke – A nice large volume of smoke from every puff.
Strength – Mild
Rating – 7/10
Value – 6/10 At MSRP this, like most Gurkhas, is a pretty poor value. Those who are interested in picking up a few of these at an auction site or on special should be able to do so as low as $3 a stick.
Drink – Hot earl grey with cream and sugar. A nice compliment for this smoke. If it was evening I’d pair it with an assertively hopped beer such as Sierra Nevada or ESB.
Notes – Overall the cigar was a bid too mild for me but it did have some enjoyable complexity. I think 6 months in the humi helped this stick out. My tasting notes from when I bought them noted more harshness and a more uneven burn. Seems like a good candidate for aging.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Connecticut, Gurkha, Mild
Rocky Patel Connecticut Churchill
Size – 7 x 48
Cost – $2.50 – $4 (I picked up 10 for $22.50 from a JC special)
Wrapper – Connecticut
Construction – Flawless. A very pretty cigar (10/10)
Burn – Very even with no tunneling or touchups (9/10)
Ash – Very light grey, nearly white. Held for 2-3″ at a time.
Draw – Firm but not difficult.
Flavor – A clean and enjoyable hit of grassy and tobacco flavors with a very slight citrus note. Not a whole lot of change throughout the smoke but some sweetness entered about halfway and remained throughout.
Smoke – A large and satisfying volume of smoke from each draw.
Strength – Mild/Med
Rating – 8/10
Value – 9/10 I believe I read somewhere this was a CI exclusive but I’d happily pay $4-5 for these in a local shop.
Drink – Diet cola – not a great match. Come spring/summer I think this smoke would pair up beautifully with a nice true pilsener such as Urquell while you’re sitting at a warm afternoon barbeque or tailgate.
Reviews
48 Ring, 8/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Mild/Med, Rocky Patel