Duc
12-30-2000, 09:32 PM
Here is a rating of a cigar I smoked this morning while on a walk along Puget Sound with my wife and dog. I am using the To25Cigar "Rate Your Cigar" page as a guide, so here goes.
Cigar Brand: Neptune. Hey it was free. All you have to do is go to the neptunecigar.com website and sign up as a member. Besides, I was curious. I did see two ratings on this brand in T25C and they rated the brand as a good value.
Cigar Name: Oceanide
Cigar Shape: This was a corona at 42 ring and 5 ¾ in length.
Cigar Price: This was a freebie.
Overall Appearance: 7 Good appearance. Very light shade wrapper. It had veins but nothing really out of the ordinary. You would not think, "Wow this cigar is going to have a stroke with the way its veins are bulging."
Quality and Construction: 7 Again pretty good. It did get a little flattened in the mail and the cap was a little loose. I chalk that up to them shipping this sample in a USPS bubble wrap envelope. It probably got smooshed somehow. Firm with not soft spots that I noticed.
Aroma: 6 Average. Nothing that would make me say…Hey this is one great smelling cigar. The aroma was OK. Mild like a Dominican. After sitting in the humidor for about 3 months these cigars have a tendency to pick up all the other aromas and it truly is an eclectic mix. I tried to get a good smell but when I am smoking I really don’t have much success. Usually I get a major league snoot-full of smoke it just gives me a headache.
Flavor and Aftertaste: 7. Good. Very mild and no real strong aftertaste. That taste which is still remaining (about 6 hours) is not offensive and rather nice. Maybe to the sweet side but nothing like an Ashton Number 20 Maduro which I call sweet…if that helps.
Burn and Ash: I would give this a 7 BUT I did have to relight it twice. So lets call it a 6.5. The ash was a light gray with some sprinkling of white and held on for almost an inch. Once it fell off…I had to relight. It looked like it was starting to tunnel a bit but for the most part the burn was even. It then burned fine for about another inch, and then the same story. After the second relight it stayed lit until about ¾" below the ring. At that point our walk was over and I tossed it before getting into my truck.
Overall Smoking Experience: 7. It was a good cigar. The overall taste was very consistent until about the ¾ inch below the ring. So it became pretty harsh with a "not so good" taste at this point. I chalk this up to it being a corona and they burn a little hotter than a larger ring gauge. For me they are worth sampling a few other sizes to get a feel for the larger ring gauges when I am in the mood for a mild cigar and don’t want to break out my last Diamond Crown.
Comments: If you are looking for mild at a reasonable cost this could be the ticket. I don’t know if I would buy a box at this time; however, a sampler of robustos and torpedos could be a possibility.
One final recommendation I do have for Neptune…get a different ring. Wow…this band is weak and looks like a piece of green dental floss that has been put on as an afterthought.
Cigar Brand: Neptune. Hey it was free. All you have to do is go to the neptunecigar.com website and sign up as a member. Besides, I was curious. I did see two ratings on this brand in T25C and they rated the brand as a good value.
Cigar Name: Oceanide
Cigar Shape: This was a corona at 42 ring and 5 ¾ in length.
Cigar Price: This was a freebie.
Overall Appearance: 7 Good appearance. Very light shade wrapper. It had veins but nothing really out of the ordinary. You would not think, "Wow this cigar is going to have a stroke with the way its veins are bulging."
Quality and Construction: 7 Again pretty good. It did get a little flattened in the mail and the cap was a little loose. I chalk that up to them shipping this sample in a USPS bubble wrap envelope. It probably got smooshed somehow. Firm with not soft spots that I noticed.
Aroma: 6 Average. Nothing that would make me say…Hey this is one great smelling cigar. The aroma was OK. Mild like a Dominican. After sitting in the humidor for about 3 months these cigars have a tendency to pick up all the other aromas and it truly is an eclectic mix. I tried to get a good smell but when I am smoking I really don’t have much success. Usually I get a major league snoot-full of smoke it just gives me a headache.
Flavor and Aftertaste: 7. Good. Very mild and no real strong aftertaste. That taste which is still remaining (about 6 hours) is not offensive and rather nice. Maybe to the sweet side but nothing like an Ashton Number 20 Maduro which I call sweet…if that helps.
Burn and Ash: I would give this a 7 BUT I did have to relight it twice. So lets call it a 6.5. The ash was a light gray with some sprinkling of white and held on for almost an inch. Once it fell off…I had to relight. It looked like it was starting to tunnel a bit but for the most part the burn was even. It then burned fine for about another inch, and then the same story. After the second relight it stayed lit until about ¾" below the ring. At that point our walk was over and I tossed it before getting into my truck.
Overall Smoking Experience: 7. It was a good cigar. The overall taste was very consistent until about the ¾ inch below the ring. So it became pretty harsh with a "not so good" taste at this point. I chalk this up to it being a corona and they burn a little hotter than a larger ring gauge. For me they are worth sampling a few other sizes to get a feel for the larger ring gauges when I am in the mood for a mild cigar and don’t want to break out my last Diamond Crown.
Comments: If you are looking for mild at a reasonable cost this could be the ticket. I don’t know if I would buy a box at this time; however, a sampler of robustos and torpedos could be a possibility.
One final recommendation I do have for Neptune…get a different ring. Wow…this band is weak and looks like a piece of green dental floss that has been put on as an afterthought.