Staff Reviews

For the past 5 days we’ve seen nothing but rain here in Bath, PA. Flash flood warnings bombard the airwaves, while local residents can be seen paddling down the streets on the evening news. Craziness. Yesterday, there was a break in the rain and a few rays of foggy sunshine before the day came to an end. This was my chance to go outside and enjoy a cigar, and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to make it last. I reached into my desktop here at the office and pulled out the biggest cigar I could find (5 Vegas Gold No. 1) and went on home.

The No. 1 is a new size within the Gold series that measures 7.5” x 54. The fine folks at 5 Vegas were kind enough to send us a sample box of 20, which was quickly ravaged by our merchandising team. And so, here is my review, just days before our shipment hits the dock.

Characteristic of the more traditional sizes, the No. 1 opens with a creamy, nutty burst of flavor. Almost like cashews. There’s some pepper on the aftertaste, but not much. Just enough to keep me interested in between puffs. Throughout the burn, the cigar is notably smooth and balanced, offering a refined bouquet of flavor that’s far from overwhelming, yet hardly one-dimensional. Once the peppery note subsides, a natural sweetness kicks in, complementing the cashew-like flavors quite well. The smoke is cool and slow, providing a long-lasting, enjoyable break from reality. I find myself studying the cigar and clouds of smoke around me, forgetting about the creamy flavors that coat my palate. To me, this indicates that I am enjoying the cigar (if you find yourself thinking about a cigar too much, chances are you’re probably not enjoying it). Even the charcoal ash impresses me, requiring a few taps every 2 inches. Roughly 90 minutes later - about 30 minutes after my second Weyerbacher Quad was finished - I place the nub in the ashtray one last time, completing a perfect smoke on a not-so-perfect night.

For some reason, this review took an extensive amount of "research"...

Monday - "ok, Bob E. from Wyomissing, PA said that I need to spark up one of these Victor Sinclair Vintage Selects, haven't had one for a while, but that was when it was a pricey jobbie.  Whoah, not bad, easy draw, good looking box press, fires up easily, this is primed for a Gonz's Pick."

Tuesday - "ok, one more VS Vintage Select that tickles my fancy, and I'm making it a Gonz's Pick.  Yum, yum, damn that's too deelish to quit, wow I nubbed that one fast.  Maybe one more to make sure."

Wednesday - "I have to play hoops with the CI team tonight, and I can't let a cigar slow down my prowess on the court, just a quick few puffs on a VS squared....whoah I nubbed that fast!"

Thursday - "I'm ready to write this review, I can get inspired if I just spark up one more Vintage Select.  Doh, my water bill is 3 weeks overdue, crapola!  2 Vintage Selects later and the bills are paid."

Friday at 6:31pm - "Finally, just a little peace and quiet time!  Let me put my phone on "Do Not Disturb" and the "Go Away!" sign on my door."

Seriously, I'm a 1/2 box into this cigar and I can't get enough of it.  It's been consistent and creamily delicious all along the way that I simply can't put it down once I start smoking it.  I've asked other guys around the office and they've said things like "nice" or "not bad" or "surprising" or "never had one" and while I'll say that it's perhaps not something to do cartwheels over (not that I could anyway), but it definitely deserves a good ol' fashioned "Dude, you gotta try this!".  Plus, I think my brain is so fixated on price that my flavor expectations fall in line.  For example, if a Fuente Opus X cost $3.00 a stick, I'd probably say "wow! great cigar."  But, at $30 a stick, my reaction is "ehh, not bad".  Seriously, I'm not sure if you guys are the same, but give me value and I'll give it a fair chance.  Well at $2 and a few pennies per stick for the Vintage Select, they're so damn good that I'd welcome anyway to prove that there's a better quality to price ratio cigar out there.

The sharply box-pressed nature of the cigar makes it unique, and that gets me nervous sometimes with the draw.  Not so here, I find the draw effortless, an expertly rolled cigar.  The flavor profile is uniform throughout the cigar, but hey, it's summertime, and I don't need a hot rollercoaster screwing up my ketchup and chili covered hotdog.  Soft to slightly medium in body the smoke is rich yet smooth with a creaminess (which is almost buttery) and subtlety that doesn't linger on the tastebuds.  Well constructed the speckled gray ash will hang appropriately. 

A well made smoke that will have you dragging for more.  I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar and I'm going back for more.  A perfect mid-summer special.

Spark'em up,

- Gonz
 

While I was away on vacation, the guys here at the office decided to clean out my humidor. Considering most of my favorites have become their favorites, most of my favorites have become missing. So, I had to dig deep to find some enjoyable smokes to burn while working this past week. Underneath a handful of samples I’ll never want to smoke again, I discovered 4 Oliva ‘O’ Classic cigars in the Oasis size, the survivors from a 5-pack purchased long ago.

As usual, the cigars look and feel great. Oliva uses some beautiful, oily wrappers and always fills each cigar with copious amounts of Nicaraguan tobacco, leading to a solid roll free of soft spots. Just before lighting I enjoy the aroma coming off the foot: sweet cedar. Despite a tight draw, an initial hint of spice smacks the palate and lingers on the tongue. Almost immediately, the spice fades and the flavors mellow considerably. Due to the draw, it’s hard to determine the flavors, but there’s a definite woody note and something that I can only describe as earthy. About ¾ of the way through, the flavors became harsh, probably because of my furious puffing over the past 40 minutes. Round 2 immediately followed the first and, to my dismay, I realized the lack of ‘robustness’ was not a result of the tight draw. The draw was just fine. The cigar, well, just isn’t robust like its inspiration, the original Oliva ‘O’.

From what I remember, the original had a bold, meaty backbone riddled with complex, leathery flavors and full-bodied character. The Classic…not so much. Rather, a smooth, toasty, woody smoke that sits squarely within the medium-bodied realm. It’s a good performer, but apples to the original’s oranges, and I was in the mood for oranges.

El Mejor, literally translated means “the best one’ or, “the great one”. Truly a fitting moniker in this case because the El Mejor Espresso is an excellent cigar no matter how you “cut” it. Nicaraguan cigars are most often likened to the Cuban cigars of old. They are typically stereotyped as being medium to full-bodied and spicy with a rich and robust flavor profile. While these kinds of smokes are still readily being produced and exported from Nicaragua it is, in my opinion, unfair to blindly label all Nicaraguan cigars as full-bodied and peppery because it just ain’t true. Case in point, El Mejor…

These gorgeous smokes are indeed rolled in Nicaragua but they are anything but spicy. Comprised of a select blend of Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers and finished off with one of the most oily Mexican maduro wrappers you are ever likely to see, these cigars just scream “smoke me!” Pick one up and you’ll see what I mean. I’ve become very accustomed to the 6.5X54 Torpedo size which starts off with a mellow, chocolatey burst and then quickly transforms into the roasted coffee-like flavor not unlike a heavily roasted espresso bean. I’ve come to enjoy this particular flavor very much and as a result it has become my new “go-to” cigar. Interestingly enough, the El Mejor is not an overly complex cigar. At the half-way point and even approaching the nub, the flavors are very much the same as they were an inch in. The ash is as solid as cement and requires a firm strike to break it loose; clear evidence of the quality and care put into the creation of each cigar. Lastly, at between $2 and $2.25 per stick these cigars are nearly addictive….but in a good way I assure you!

Bottom line: If you’re a fan of rich and creamy maduro cigars, El Mejor is a “must try”. Shake up your magic 8-ball if you must but even it will agree that “all signs point to yes”.