PerpetualNoob
Young Ape
I don't see a lot of mention of these on here. Maybe they're just "old hat" to most of you guys, I don't know. Anyway, I sparked up a Churchill natural last night. It was the first of five that I got in a combo-pack. What a perfectly pleasant experience!
I'm a slow smoker, so I generally favor toros and robustos. A churchill takes me about two hours, and that's usually more time than I'm willing to devote to a cigar, but it turned out to be just about the perfect amount of time to also watch Black Snake Moan, which I hadn't seen before. I really liked the movie, and the soundtrack, and thanks to the Miracle of Time, I can now look at Christina Ricci without feeling like a complete perv. Like, only 90%, now!
Back to the smoke... Beautiful cigar, great wrap, perfect construction. Lots of thick, smooth smoke, firm white ash, 1-1 1/2 inches. I used a punch on it, and the prelight draw was easy but firm, and stayed that way all the way through. The burn was great, I never had to touch it up or relight. I lit it a little crooked, but it evened itself out within the first 3/4 inch. I also liked the little pull-tab thing on the band, which made it very easy to peel. It wasn't enough to convert me to a full-time Churchill guy, but if the Toros are this good, and I could find them at a reasonable price (two very big ifs, I realize), I could see myself smoking a PILE of these things.
I've had a few irritating, semi-serious burn issues lately, which I've discussed in another thread, so any cigar that I can just light up and smoke without fighting it is going to get a couple steps on the rest of the pack, right out of the gate.
So, I'm curious. Are these so good they no longer even need to be mentioned, or are they just too boring to be worth smoking? Overpriced for what you get? What's your opinion of the Retreat line, in general? Have the Retreats been discontinued? CI, cigar.com, Famous, and JR don't even list them. They have other AB lines, but not the Retreats.
I'm a slow smoker, so I generally favor toros and robustos. A churchill takes me about two hours, and that's usually more time than I'm willing to devote to a cigar, but it turned out to be just about the perfect amount of time to also watch Black Snake Moan, which I hadn't seen before. I really liked the movie, and the soundtrack, and thanks to the Miracle of Time, I can now look at Christina Ricci without feeling like a complete perv. Like, only 90%, now!
Back to the smoke... Beautiful cigar, great wrap, perfect construction. Lots of thick, smooth smoke, firm white ash, 1-1 1/2 inches. I used a punch on it, and the prelight draw was easy but firm, and stayed that way all the way through. The burn was great, I never had to touch it up or relight. I lit it a little crooked, but it evened itself out within the first 3/4 inch. I also liked the little pull-tab thing on the band, which made it very easy to peel. It wasn't enough to convert me to a full-time Churchill guy, but if the Toros are this good, and I could find them at a reasonable price (two very big ifs, I realize), I could see myself smoking a PILE of these things.
I've had a few irritating, semi-serious burn issues lately, which I've discussed in another thread, so any cigar that I can just light up and smoke without fighting it is going to get a couple steps on the rest of the pack, right out of the gate.
So, I'm curious. Are these so good they no longer even need to be mentioned, or are they just too boring to be worth smoking? Overpriced for what you get? What's your opinion of the Retreat line, in general? Have the Retreats been discontinued? CI, cigar.com, Famous, and JR don't even list them. They have other AB lines, but not the Retreats.