Humidor English John

A nicely constructed cigar that burns evenly despite my initial uneven lighting! It rectified itself from the first ash drop. The wrapper had a few visible veins but they were well smoothed down. I found this one quite peppery from lighting and it got stronger as it neared the end. The leather was more obvious in the scent of the exhaled smoke than the taste but it was a very fragrant burn.

This is my short smoke of choice. Don't be put off by the low price or the fact that they are machine made. These are perfect to take out when you know you don't have long to enjoy the luxury of a full sized cigar. They burn very well and you can smoke them almost all the way down with no deterioration of flavour.

I can't believe I paid for this nasty little cigar, ten minutes in and I binned it. This small corona from Panama comes in at just over 4" and at first inspection looks good. The feel is nice and springy and indeed it lit easily and burned perfectly. The wrapper was a light brown with a slight sheen to it and has a clean tobacco smell. Being quite small I cut it rather than punching it and the cold draw was dry and slightly earthy. Once lit it was peppery and had a slight tar like taste to it. It reminded me a lot of the RyJ purito and I don't like those either. I ended up having a mint to get rid of the taste, one to avoid.

With its oscuro wrapper and chunky shape this cigar is a butch little tyke. Coming in at 4.5" x50 it contains a combination of Mexican and Dominican fillers with a US wrapper. Mine was very firmly packed almost to the point of being hard and smelled earthy. What my lovely wife describes as dung. Once cut the draw was tight and tasted as it smelled. It lit nicely and burned dead straight and even but I just couldn't grow to like it. The overall taste was dry and earthy and to my amazement it had a hint of beetroot! Where the fuck did that come from, not my favourite vegetable I have to say. This cigar was turning me green at the gills so I just let it go out and looked for something else.

Having not enjoyed the RyJ Puritos I wasn't expecting much from this little 4" x 30 stick especially as the fill felt soft and loose. Nothing off the wrapper except a mild tobacco scent but then what a pleasant surprise. Once the initial burst of pepper from lighting it subsided it settled in to nice pecan flavours with a long creamy finish. The burn was perfect and it gave 25 minutes of smoking pleasure with plenty of smoke and nice fruity aroma when exhaled. The last inch got a bit warm and peppery but what do you expect from a little stick like this. Overall not bad at all and better than some big ones I've had.

You may recall I was less than impressed with the petit corona I had from this range but encouraged by my friend's enjoyment of the one I sent him I decided to give the toro a go as it was sitting in my humidor. One review I read said that the Indonesian wrapper is dyed but I don't know how I would tell. The dark brown wrapper is almost rustic in appearance and has the strongest smell of earth I have had from a cigar, that's why I kept it in the cellophane as I recall. This toro is 6 inches long with a ring gauge of 50 and is supposed to last 70 minutes, mine lasted an 105 minutes without a relight and would easily have lasted 2 hours if I wanted to smoke it to the nub. This was a well packed and firm cigar and cold draw was not as loose as some I've had and tasted mildly of that earth flavour I described. The binder is also Indonesian and the filler Dominican. This is not a complicated smoke, it is smooth, mild and creamy all the way to the end with a couple of peppery moments dispersed by blowing back through the cigar. As I mentioned it burned slowly and steadily with an even edge and required no relights at all. About an inch from the foot the wrapper started to lift a little but I ignored it and the burn just went straight through it with no problem. If value for money = cost + enjoyment + duration then this cigar really hits the nail for an every day smoke.

The wrapper is a very dark chocolate brown and smelt strongly of mocha, very nice indeed. It was as hard as a bullet and I was concerned when I punched it as it went through with a distinct crack of the cap. The draw was very free but I couldn't put my finger on the cold flavour. It lit somewhat unevenly and the initial hit was very peppery for the first five minutes till it went out. I relit and the taste settled down to mild and woody with a pleasant aromatic exhaled smoke that lasted till 19 minutes when it went out again. It needed another relight and touch up at 35 minutes when it got peppery again. The second third settled down to a dry earthy taste but the final third surprised me by becoming mild, fruity and spicy. I hadn't expected to take this one all the way to the end but I kept it going till the last inch when it was getting a bit warm. This stick was supposed to last 48 minutes but mine lasted a good hour and a half. it also had a very clean aftertaste that I am beginning to associate with the bigger nicotine loads as it had that too.

The dark brown maduro wrapper looks nice and has a definite mocha scent but if you smoked this blind you would be hard pressed to guess that's what it is. It felt firmly packed with a slight softness just before the cap but once cut the draw was free flowing and tasted slightly earthy. It lit easily enough but it needed one relight at 27 minutes. The flavour was mild and woody and generally one dimensional until the last third where it got bitter and warm. If you were prepared to put up with that you could get and hour out of it but I left it there at 45 minutes. Its alright if you've nothing else to smoke but it was cheap and won't be replaced. I'm beginning to find I'm getting quite selective now and more critical which has to be a good thing when essentially one is burning money!

They say you should never judge a book by its cover and this would appear to apply to cigars too. This all Nicaraguan cigar looks gorgeous, the wrapper is a rich cocoa colour with a smooth matte finish that feels great in the hand and the band is very tasteful. In fact the band was so well applied I struggled to find the end to release it. Gently feeling it, it felt quite hard to the touch and very well packed. The scent of the wrapper was pure cocoa as was the cold draw, this appeared very promising. Lighting her up the first draw was a little peppery but that soon went away and it settled into a dry and very mild woody taste with a fruity and aromatic exhaled smoke. I settled in for a nice session but to my surprise it went out after 17 minutes. I relit it and it went out again ten minutes later. In between relights it produced masses of smoke but I just couldn't put it down because it went out again at 52 minutes in. At about the quarter mark I got a little burst of chocolate flavour but it started to get peppery almost immediately after that. It lasted till the 90 minute mark and then died again and I felt that it wasn't good enough to persist with so I left it with over half of it unsmoked. The smoking time of this cigar is supposed to be 69 minutes but if it had stayed alight it would have gone well over two hours. Its quite ironic that on the inside of the band it says 'Drew Estate, the rebirth of cigars'. Rebirth? This thing needed reanimating not a rebirth. Not one I can recommend.

This is a lot smaller than it looks in the photos, in fact it is tiny at 2.5cm high and 2.5cm long but I bought it as an easel to support my cigars when I take photos for reviews on a forum so for that it is perfect.

The wrapper had a couple of raised veins but it smelled delicious and almost caramel, one good reason for keeping the cellophane on Mark because that could be lost if bared to the humidor. The stick felt quite firm for the entire length but when I punched it the cold draw was very free and light with no discernible resistance and tasted of coffee. It lit easily enough from just one long match and produced good smoke, the taste was mild and woody, in fact papery would be a more accurate word as it was very light. All went well for 45 minutes when the ash dropped and it went out. Relit it lasted for another 15 minutes before needing attention again. This was where it all went wrong and started to unravel from the head so I was left smoking an unwrapped stick. I couldn't follow the advice of leaving the band on as it is enormous. As you'll know if you've tried it they soon start to become a bit ragged in your mouth so I only gave it another 10 minutes as it wasn't remarkable by any means. The taste was starting to get a little bit harsh so I left it at 70 minutes, it could have gone to 2 hours if it hadn't disintegrated. I'm guessing it doesn't happen often with this brand else they wouldn't have got to a 10th anniversary in the first place. Despite the mild taste this one had a slight nicotine kick to it so I was grateful for my soft drink and chocolate.

This little cigar from the Dominican Republic actually costs more than a Quorum Robusto but thank goodness mine was free because I won't be buying any that's for sure. It is hand and machine made and measures 10cm with a diameter of 1.34. The wrapper is Connecticut Shade and the best thing about it. It has a delicious chocolate smell and the cold draw is similarly chocolaty. It lit very easily and from the start all I got was tobacco, it produced loads of smoke and tasted like a big cigarette. It burned very tidily and the end always kept a healthy glow but this was not what I took up cigars for. Strangely enough the exhaled smoke had a quite pleasant fruitiness to it but that was where it ended. It got peppery and rough after the first third so I abandoned it and had to have a mint to clear my mouth of the cigarette taste. Reckon on getting about thirty minutes worth if you want to try one but why would you bother if you could have a Quorum?

Having enjoyed the Romeo Milles Fleurs I was very much looking forward to this one but my example was a disappointment. It burned very unevenly down one side and even when I corrected it the same pattern was repeated. It produced plenty of smoke and the flavour was acceptable but half way through it started to go out and needed a good draw to keep it going. The cigar lasted about half an hour whereas the Romeo lasted over an hour and was much more solidly packed.

Being a fan of Romeos I decided to give these a try. When they arrived I noticed that they were identical to Quintero Puritos in size and shape but there ends the similarity. Right away I noticed that the cigar felt loosely made with hollows inside the construction. They burned very fast lasting only ten minutes and the smoke was harsh and soon became hot. Not recommended.