Humidor Tripa larga

Standard, darkish-brown mareva (129 mm). Looks were a bit sloppy: a few bulky ribs and some flappy edges in the wrapper. Cold: Chocolate, nut and soil with hints of manure. Hot: Heavy soil, leather, pepper, licorice and wood with hints of Citrus and vanilla. I also found traces of nut in the mix. After 20 minutes pepper wood and nut takes the lead. 35 minutes into the sitting, wood and nut became quite sharp and dominating. Combustion, draw and smoke development was close to perfect. Ash was dark grey with a flaky 'layered' look and medium firm (25 mm). The over all impression: a complex and interesting cigar with a harsh finish (it may have some aging potential). The smoke lasted 60 minutes. July 18th 2014

Optically a beautiful cigar; long elegant with a flawless wrapper. Cold: Predominantly stable (manure). Hot: notes of pepper, leather and licorice. hints of vanilla. The licorice notes become faint towards the last two thirds of the smoke. The stick is way too firm, which leads to uneven burn issues. Ash is firm and slightly flaky 3 cm. The draw is WAY to bad and ruins the experience .., 70 mins December 20th 2013

Decent looking, medium brown cigar. A few bulky ribs in the wrapper but the edges were tucked in nicely. Cold: Chocolate and nut with hints of manure. Hot: licorice, vanilla, straw, soil and wood. I found hints of pepper and a trace of wood. Draw and smoke development was ok, but there was a tendency to uneven burn and it had to be corrected twice (had some impact on the quality assessment). Ash was a slightly dark speckly grey with brownish patches and a firm structure (32 mm). The combination of wood and pepper felt quite sharp during the first 10 minutes but mellowed a bit after that and lingered as a mild sharpness throughout the rest of the smoke. The overall impression was acceptable but it will probably not be a repeat experience. The smoke lasted 55 minutes. December 19th 2014.

Decent looking Medium to light brown little cigar. A few bulky ribs in the wrapper but the edges were tucked in nicely. Cold: Manure chocolate and nut with hints of Licorice (ammonuim chloride?). Hot: Straw, wood, licorice and vanilla. Traces of pepper citrus and nut with hints of chocolate. Construction was a bit firm putting a slight strain on draw and smoke development. Towards the end there was a moderat tendency to uneven burn which provoked a minor correction at one point. None of this was too serious but it did influence the quality assessment. Ash prdominantly a speckly, light grey and firm in construction (25 mm). Overall a pleasant and slightly complex experience. The price/value ratio was decent but considering that Romeo no2 is less than a euro more i suspect that this will be an unfrequent visitor in my humidor. The smoke lasted 50 minutes. December 28th 2014.

Not exactly a pretty cigar: Dark brown wrapper with bulky ribs and flappy edges. Cold: Earthy. Hints of chocolate and nut with suggestions of manure. Hot: Leather, soil, wood. Hints of vanilla and traces of licorice, chocolate and nut. Combustion, draw and smoke development close to flawless. Ash an uneven, speckly dark grey. Flaky appearance but firm construction (35 mm). Overall a heavy and unmistakeably cuban experience without much development in flavors. This one was not one of the Cuban greats but it ihas been a decent smoke. In my experience it rarely disappoints. I think this one is my favourite cheap cuban. The smoke lasted 65 minutes. April 10th 2014. NB! The cigar was shortfiller and only partially made by hand.

a Medium brown mareva. The wrapper was smooth and firmly tucked in, but it had a few fermentation spots. Cold: Soil, straw, nut, ammonium chloride and a hint of manure. Hot: Vanilla, pepper, straw, chocolate and nut with a hint of licorice and soil. 10 minutes in: The dominant flavours changed to licorice and wood, but the latter never became sharp. Draw, combustion and smoke development was flawless. Ash was light grey and firm (30mm). The overall impression was very positive. This one was slightly complex, very enjoyable and very RyJ. At the price it was a very good deal. The smoke lasted 55 mins. August 17th 2014

Looks were decent: Medium brown, a few minor ribs in the wrapper and the edges fitted nicely. Cold: Traces of manure chocolate and nut. Hot: Chocolate, nut and wood with traces of vanilla, pepper straw and licorice in the first half hour of the cigar. After five minutes there was a short burst of pepper that quickly mellowed out. The second half hour of the experience was dominated a bit by straw and wood with traces of nut and licorice but the total impact was never sharp or unpleasant. Sweet vanilla notes never became too overwhelming (as the "flowery" name could suggest) and the cigar remained fairly complex in expression. Smoke development, draw and combustion was flawless. Ash was dark grey, speckly and firm (30 mm). This cigar (affordable and thoroughly nice), has had the best value for money ratio in my experience and is, in my opinion, somewhat superior to the RyJ 'Milles Fleurs'. The smoke lasted 60 minutes. July 11th 2014

looks: medium Brown wrapper with a few bulky ribs and some fermentation spots. Edges were tucked in nicely. Cold: licorice and pepper with a hint of manure and a trace of ammonia. Hot: pepper, licorice and straw with hints of Wood, leather and soil. After 7 minutes: pepper mellowed out a bit and a hint of Vanilla showed up. Construction was a bit firm - Draw, smoke devolpment and combustion subsequently suffered a bit. During the last half there was a slight tendency to uneven burn, but only a single correction was needed. Ash was dark-grey and very firm (35 mm). Overall this Little thing was medium to strong in flavours and somewhat heavier than the rest of the partagas tubos cigars. Not a cigar for every occasion, but very far from bad. The smoke lasted 45 minutes. July 25th 2014

A very slim cigar. The wrapper was light Brown with quite a few bulky ribs and flappy edges. Cold: A mild scent of manure, chocolate and nut. Hot: Licorice and pepper with hints of chocolate, nut, Vanilla and Wood. I also detected traces of straw. After 20 minutes a Sharp combination of pepper and Wood took the lead. It lasted about 10 minutes then mellowed to blend with straw, licorice and nutty flavours again. Combustion, Draw and smoke Development was untroublesome. Ash was speckly medium grey and semi-firm (25 mm). Overall the experience was surprisingly nice, and considering the Price i think this cigar showed a very decent price/value ratio. The smoke lasted 55 minutes. July 20th 2014

This was given to me as a freebee from Cigarworld. It was a dark brown cigar with a wrapper, showing a few bulky ribs and some flappy edges. Cold: leather and traces of manure. Hot: Leather, grass, tea with hints of licorice and vanilla. Furthermore it showed discrete traces of pepper and chocolate. In total maybe a trifle milder than Conservas and Cazadores, but all-in-all a very Jose-L.- Piedra-like experience. Smoke development, draw and combustion was flawless. Ash was dark grey flaky and semi-firm (22mm). The smoke lasted 60 minutes. The cigar didn't develop or change much during the experience but it was pleasant and with reference to the very affordable price Jose L. Piedra will always have a very decent price/value ration. NB!! The Cigar was short filler and only partially made by hand!! March 8th 2014

Looks: the wrapper was close to perfect and the edges were tucked in nicely but the medium brown cigar was slightly boxpressed. Cold: Manure and hints of chocolate and nut. Hot: Wood, leather, vanilla, chocolate, licorice with hints of pepper. The overall impression was moderately complex. Draw and smoke development was flawless, but 20 minutes into the sitting the cigar developed some minor burn issues and had to be corrected. The incident was quickly resolved, but it did influence the quality and combustion score. Ash was medium grey, speckly and a bit loose (10mm). In my opinion a very decent cigar with good price/value ratio. The smoke lasted 50 minutes. July 6th 2014

Looks were close to perfect, a few minuscule ribs in the wrapper, but the edges were fitted snugly to the light brown and slender cylinder. Cold: manure with discrete hints of leather nut and chocalate. Hot: Leather soil and straw with hints of licorice pepper and vanilla. I also found traces of wood cream and nut. The peppery notes gradually mellowed out. Construction was a bit firm, putting a slight strain on the draw, but smoke development was adequate and combustion untroubled. Ash was dark grey, flaky and speckly. 30 mm. The overall impression was heavy and a bit sharp, but much less so, than the coronas senior tubos. Among the standard (small/cheaper) Partagas tubos cigars, I prefer this one. The smoke lasted 50 minutes. June 27th 2014

Looks appealing, Medium brown with two small cream coloured stains and a few minute ribs in wrapper. Edges folded neatly. Cold: Stable (manure) and hints of chocolate, nut and pepper. Hot: Wood (sharp teaky), soil and straw with hints of pepper and licorice, There are traces of vanilla, leather and cream as well. No significant changes in flavours. Flawless draw and medium smoke development. Burn is slightly uneven but untroublesome. Ash is firm, light grey and slightly flaky (2 cm). The main impression is a bit sharp (with the woody flavours) and i believe a spot of aging would be appropriate. Overall not a bad cigar with good value for money. The smoke lasted 45 minutes. May 28th 2014.

Looks a bit sloppy, box press, edges of wrapper sligthly flappy in places and there are a few large ribs showing. The cigar is medium brown. Cold: Stable (Manure), Leather and a hint of nut and chocolate. Hot: The beginning is somewhat promising; notes of licorice, vanilla, soil and straw with hints of wood, pepper and leather. There are traces of nut and chocolate as well. Suggestions of a very complex experience. Unfortunately this sample was very firm in construction, making draw difficult and smoke development unimpressive. After 10 minutes burn was rather uneven and had to be corrected. After 15 minutes the cigar had to be relit. The rest of the smoke was dominated by corrections and relighting - after 35 minutes i gave up. I will have to try this one again as the flavour seems to be there. I just hope I can find a better specimen. May 9th 2014