Initial Impressions: This was nice looking corona gorda here with a dark Ecuadorian wrapper. The wrapper had some small bumps here and there, but was free of any blemishes and other imperfections. This cigar gave off a faint pre-light aroma.
Pictures: These are thumbnails. Feel free to click to see some hi-def pictures
Smoking: This cigar began with a very nice draw, but got plugged somewhat about half-way through the smoke. I had to cut off the head a little there. The burn was nice and even throughout the whole smoke, no adjustments were needed. The burn was also very nice and cool. There were no issues with the wrapper cracking or coming undone either. This seemed somewhat tightly rolled and except for the draw issues about half-way through the cigar was well constructed.
Taste: This cigar was full-bodied and smooth, no trace of harshness here at all. This is not a cigar that I would have on an empty stomach. The taste began with a very full tobacco taste with some sweetness, the finish was peppery and spicy and stayed on the palate for a moderate amount of time. After it was ashed and the draw was fixed (the fifth picture) the flavor began to develop some coffee-like characteristics and had some sweetness mixed into it as well. The finish became deep and sweet and stayed on the palate longer, the spice all but disappeared here and was pretty intermittent from here on out. For the rest of the smoke the cigar retained a very full tobacco flavor with some coffee-like taste mixed in and the finish remained very full.
Conclusion: A very solid cigar here, however, this is not the first time that I've had some draw issues with the VSG, they seem to be somewhat tightly rolled. The taste was very smooth despite the fullness of the cigar and was very pleasant. This smoke didn't exactly WOW me, but was still pretty darn good. The value on these is pretty adequate I would say, a lot of people really love these and they are somewhat difficult to find online (at least in my experience) and are a B&M type smoke. I bought this one at the local B&M for $9 about 3 months ago. I would probably keep two or three of these in my stash, but probably not keep it in the "regular" rotation. Still, a very good smoke.
Final Grade: 9/10, A- on the Mr. Ed scale
Thank you for reading :ss
Pictures: These are thumbnails. Feel free to click to see some hi-def pictures
Smoking: This cigar began with a very nice draw, but got plugged somewhat about half-way through the smoke. I had to cut off the head a little there. The burn was nice and even throughout the whole smoke, no adjustments were needed. The burn was also very nice and cool. There were no issues with the wrapper cracking or coming undone either. This seemed somewhat tightly rolled and except for the draw issues about half-way through the cigar was well constructed.
Taste: This cigar was full-bodied and smooth, no trace of harshness here at all. This is not a cigar that I would have on an empty stomach. The taste began with a very full tobacco taste with some sweetness, the finish was peppery and spicy and stayed on the palate for a moderate amount of time. After it was ashed and the draw was fixed (the fifth picture) the flavor began to develop some coffee-like characteristics and had some sweetness mixed into it as well. The finish became deep and sweet and stayed on the palate longer, the spice all but disappeared here and was pretty intermittent from here on out. For the rest of the smoke the cigar retained a very full tobacco flavor with some coffee-like taste mixed in and the finish remained very full.
Conclusion: A very solid cigar here, however, this is not the first time that I've had some draw issues with the VSG, they seem to be somewhat tightly rolled. The taste was very smooth despite the fullness of the cigar and was very pleasant. This smoke didn't exactly WOW me, but was still pretty darn good. The value on these is pretty adequate I would say, a lot of people really love these and they are somewhat difficult to find online (at least in my experience) and are a B&M type smoke. I bought this one at the local B&M for $9 about 3 months ago. I would probably keep two or three of these in my stash, but probably not keep it in the "regular" rotation. Still, a very good smoke.
Final Grade: 9/10, A- on the Mr. Ed scale
Thank you for reading :ss
