Syrinxx’s Cigar Shack

Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso

Size – 6.25 x 54
Age – 1 month
Cost – $6
Wrapper – Colorado (Nicaragua)
Construction – Very well constructed with a slightly uneven tip.  The cigar feels soft but not squishy.  The feel is even from point to foot.
Burn – Burn started out a bit uneven and mostly stayed that way throughout.  It did not stair-step or canoe and needed only small touchups.  This cigar burns slowly; plan for a nearly 2 hour smoke. It did tar up a bit and required purging twice.
Ash – Ash was a medium grey and held tight in solid 1.5″ pieces.
Draw & Smoke – You can pretty much clip a belicoso to achieve whatever draw you like.  With my normal torpedo/belicoso clip leaving about a 40 to 45 ring hole in the cap, I was rewarded with a nearly perfect draw -  not too loose or tight.  The amount of smoke produced per puff was a bit above average and quite satisfying.  The foot streamed a good amount of aromatic smoke when resting.
Flavor – Holding this cigar in my mouth for a prelight taste yielded lots of tingling red pepper, the flavor of which imediately settled at the back of my palate after the light.  The profile is very earthy and peppery but smooth, and a tiny hint of caramel and coffee in the finish and aroma.  I also caught a bit of black cherry in the first third that didn’t stick around for long.  The second third saw the pepper flavors muted and brought a big helping of body and more intense earthy flavor with less sweetness and hints of tea (surely enhanced by the fact that I was drinking tea at the time) and leather.  The final third brought new flavors of mocha and honey, punctuating a complex, layered and interesting journey from start to finish.
Strength – Full
Rating – 8/10
Value – 7/10

Drink – Iced tea
Notes – This is a different vitola of the Colorado line – the robusto won Cigar Aficionado’s 2008 Cigar of the Year award.  Whatever your opinion of magazine reviews, rest assured that the two experts behind Casa Magna, Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia, have crafted a very good cigar.  Like the pros, I prefer the robusto size to the larger belicoso; I found it to be more complex and a better overall experience.  However, this remains a fine smoke and a great value at less than $6 at your local shop.  It may also be your only option in this line as the robusto’s high marks have left it in short supply.

Reviews 54 Ring, 8/10, Belicoso, Casa Magna, Cigar Review, Colorado, Full

Partagas (Black Label) Prontos

The Pronto from Partagas is a very well constructed small cigar with a dark natural wrapper.  They are sold in tins of 6 for $10-14 and last upwards of 40 minutes despite their diminutive size.  Flavors are rich tobacco and earthiness with a sweet aroma.  The cigar packs a punch with powerful ligero tobacco leading to a full body smoke.  Burn was good and the ash was extremely light grey.   A great way to spend your lunch break.

Mini Review Grade: A-

Mini Review Full, Grade A-, Mini Review, Natural, Partagas, Small Cigars

La Gloria Cubana Serie R #4 (Rothschild) Maduro

Size – 4.875 x 52
Age – About 1 month
Cost – $5.50
Wrapper – Maduro (Ecuador)
Construction – A beautiful, dense cigar dressed with a very dark brown maduro wrapper.  Nearly perfect construction.
Burn – An uneven start quickly settled in to a slow and fairly straight burn.
Ash – Ash was medium grey and held tight in 3/4″ pieces.
Draw & Smoke – The draw was firm and the amount of smoke was about average.
Flavor – The prelight aromas of wood and coffee turned into the same flavors immediately after lighting this smallish cigar.  Spicy black pepper arrived shortly after the light and stayed throughout.  The maduro wrapper provided a nice bit of sweetness in the aroma; unfortunately that characteristic maduro sweeness was not found in the cigar’s variety of flavors.  The second half remained rich and spicy but smooth and balanced, with a very interesting malty note when retrohaled.
Strength – Full
Rating – 8/10
Value – 7/10

Drink – Dr. Pepper.  I really wish I had a single malt to enjoy this with after I caught that malty flavor and aroma.  Next time I won’t be out of scotch!
Notes – This is a brand that most of the cigar smokes I know love, but I’d never visited.  I’m really glad I grabbed this cigar on a whim at my local shop – it’s a powerful but balanced smoke that deserves a spot in the humidor.

Reviews 52 Ring, 8/10, Cigar Review, Full, La Gloria Cubana, Maduro

Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Corojo Toro

Size – 6.5 x 52 boxpress
Age – 3 months
Cost – $11 online
Wrapper – Corojo
Construction – Very well constructed with a single noticeable vein in the wrapper and an attractive label and paper sleeve on the foot.
Burn – Quite even throughout the cigar.  The wrapper did begin to come unraveled in the last third.
Ash – Very light grey and compact.  Held firm with no flyaway ash on the laptop keyboard (my pet peeve)
Draw & Smoke – A slightly stiff draw produced a copious amount of smoke per puff.
Flavor – The Olde World Reserve is not exactly a dainty cigar.  This is a full bodied, full flavored smoke that starts off immediately with layers of rich flavor including wood and earthy tobacco.  I was expecting just a bit more sweetness on the finish from the corojo wrapper, but the maduro version of this cigar better provides that.  The finish was dry and had just a hint of black coffee.   Despite the body of the cigar being full, I was interested to see the absence of the typical black pepper tingle on my whole palate, although a small amount was there tickling just the back of my tongue and throat.
Strength – Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 4/10

Drink – The first half of the cigar was accompanied by a hot earl grey tea.  The second half, Meyers dark rum.  The rum made a good pairing.
Notes – I think I was expecting just a bit too much of this cigar simply due to its $11+ price tag.  While I liked the core flavors, the finish was not quite as smooth as I would have liked.  If you get an OWR in a sampler or as a gift, by all means enjoy it!  However, I wouldn’t make a special trip to the local shop for this one.  The maduro version of this cigar is excellent.

Reviews 52 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Full, Rocky Patel

Victor Sinclair Triple Corojo Toro

Size – 6 x 50
Age - About 1 month
Cost – $2.25 online
Wrapper – Corojo (Dominican Republic)
Construction – Construction was fair with no wrapper tears or holes.  There was a significant vein in the wrapper leaf.   (5/10)
Burn – The first third was uneven but it leveled up and burned reasonably well for the rest of the cigar.
Ash – Dark grey and held for 1″ at a time.  There was some flowering and bits of ash falling from the medium-to-loose ash.
Draw & Smoke – Draw was firm but not difficult and produced a moderate amount of smoke per puff.
Flavor – This cigar is named because the filler, binder and wrapper are all corojo leaves.  This results in a powerful spicy and earthy flavor that is fairly well balanced by some creaminess and a bit of sweet spice in the finish.  Prelight moistening gives a tingly zap to your lips and you know you’re in for a pretty full-bodied smoke.  The red pepper zing hangs on the back of your palate throughout the smoke and I found it to be just a bit annoying by the end.  Overall this is a rich,  flavorful cigar with a nice room aroma but not a lot of complexity in flavor.
Strength – Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 8/10

Drink - Hot herbal tea – a nice refresher between puffs of this cigar.
Notes - I’m a big fan of corojo wrappers but I didn’t think a cigar made entirely from corojo tobacco would be a nice experience.  However, I found the VS Triple Corojo to be a solid value with some nice bold flavors and a great room aroma.  Anyone looking for a new and interesting corojo (and willing to accept a few burn and construction inadequacies) can do a lot worse than the $2-3 the Victor Sinclair Triple Corojo will cost.

Reviews 50 Ring, 7/10, Corojo, Full, Toro, Victor Sinclair

Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Toro

Size – 6 x 50
Age - Less than 1 month
Cost – $7 online
Wrapper – Corojo (Nicaragua)
Construction – Good construction except for 2 small tears in the wrapper edges and a slightly splayed foot.  (7/10)
Burn – The burn started uneven and stayed that way.  While there was no tunneling or relights, the ash was defined by a fairly scraggly line around the cigar.  (7/10)
Ash – The ash is medium to light grey and very compact; it held snug for 2″ and would probably have gone longer had I not bumped it off.
Draw & Smoke – An somewhat tight draw yielded lots of billowing white smoke in each puff.
Flavor – The Blue Label starts of with a nice shot of peppery spice.  Strong but balanced flavors then layered on: leather, coffee and sweet spice.  This is a cigar with plenty of flavor and a lot of body.  The corojo wrapper produces a nice rich, sweet room aroma.  The second half did not differ much from the first; the Blue Label starts off strong and follows through.
Strength – Full
Rating – 9/10
Value – 6/10

Drink - 12-year Glen Livet  scotch, neat.  A great pairing as the earthy flavors complimented this full body cigar quite well.
Notes - There’s not much new to say about the DPG Blue – there is a reason this line has generated so much discussion online (and most certainly in local shops).  It’s a great showcase for one of the all-star blenders in the cigar world – a tasty, rich full bodied cigar that’s a wonderful way to spend an evening.  I was a bit disappointed by the construction and burn issues.  Hopefully this is only the case with the one cigar I picked out of the coolidor for the review.  I’m guessing some time at the bottom of the humidor will make this smoke even better.

Reviews 50 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Don Pepin Garcia, Full

NUB Habano 460

Reviews 60 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Full, Habano, Nub