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Last post 22 years ago by hegemonic. 17 replies replies.
Sportsman's Reserve
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Orv Offline
#1 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 7:25 AM EST
Joined: 10-03-2001
Posts: 71
I recently got a 5 Pack of these. I looked back in the archives and found a couple of folks that thought these were quite good. I had one last night and thought it was either appropiate or ironic that they have the paddles on the band. This thing really turned into a canoe. Now I did smoke it the day I got it in from CB and I am having to wait 6 days for delivery. I selected Friday shipping and UPS takes to the following Thursday to get to the Midwest. I bet you guys out on the west coast really have to bring these things back to life. I asked CB's customer service for Monday shipping and it seemed they are pretty inflexible about it. Either daily, (which makes buying 5 packs and samplers not very cost effective) or weekly, with no choice but Friday to ship with a six day wait. But I digress, back to the Sportsman.


Before I lit it I thought this thing smelled a lot like cigars my dad smoked when I was a kid. I certainly don't remember him having a humidor or buying anything fancier than drug store cigars. I really didn't get a good draw till almost 3/4 through this thing. Not that it was plugged, it just seemed hard to get a good satisfying draw from it. There was also an odd smell from it that reminded me of perfume or incense. Perhaps that stuff they used to call hash oil. Not that I would know anything about it. I smelled some people smoking it once at a party. It was chilly out on the back porch and I was kind of in a hurry to get back inside. The almond hot chocolate loaded with Bailey's had run out and the sportsman was getting hot.

Since I have 4 more of these I'll give it a chance again after it's been in the 'dor for a while. At first impression I wasn't impressed. I was wondering if any of you that bought bundles a few months ago that liked them are still enjoying them.

joedayan Offline
#2 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 8:12 AM EST
Joined: 04-19-2001
Posts: 261
good cheap smoke. Don't expect too much out of these. People who like mild cigars really like these
Orv Offline
#3 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 8:55 AM EST
Joined: 10-03-2001
Posts: 71
Well if it's just a good cheap smoke that I wanted, I find Perdomo's Cuban Bullets to really fit the bill. I like them much better than sticks costing 2 and 3 times more.
RobertParrott Offline
#4 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 1:30 PM EST
Joined: 06-27-2001
Posts: 344
Orv, It sounds like you had a small hole in the cigar about 3/4 the way down. The torpedos taste great while doing the yard work but not worth more than a buck a stick, at less than that, they are a good cigar.
mmay Offline
#5 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 6:33 PM EST
Joined: 06-10-2001
Posts: 121
I have some of the belicosas and torpedos - never had any draw problems and always get plently of smoke. Not a powerful smoke, but it has some flavor. Maybe the perfume taste came from the "almond hot chocolate loaded with Baileys"!
RICKAMAVEN Offline
#6 Posted: Fri, Nov 9 2001, 7:58 PM EST
Joined: 10-01-2000
Posts: 33,248
i won (bought) a five pack. just another inexpensive cigar.
tailgater Offline
#7 Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2001, 4:11 AM EST
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
Good post Orv. You'll find that the flavor won't change much after some humidor time, but the draw problem should correct itself. I've had several and found the draw to be very good. Flavor, however, was weak. Most appropriate was your comment about this thing smelling like your old man's smoke. I thought the same thing. Can anybody say Garcia Vegas?
Charlie Offline
#8 Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2001, 6:32 AM EST
Joined: 06-16-2002
Posts: 39,751
Garcia Vegas!
cruiser Offline
#9 Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2001, 10:44 AM EST
Joined: 06-15-2001
Posts: 739
sr hyped them up, not even worth a buck,you may as well smoke el duque another burner!IMO
hegemonic Offline
#10 Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2001, 3:32 PM EST
Joined: 01-17-2000
Posts: 1,294
I'll give up cigar smoking before I smoke another Cuban Bullet. Those things suck, flat out suck.
tailgater Offline
#11 Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2001, 6:12 PM EST
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
Tell us how you really feel, Hege's !
Steve*R Offline
#12 Posted: Sun, Nov 11 2001, 2:58 PM EST
Joined: 07-23-2001
Posts: 1,858
Hey, now. I bought a five pack at CBid and several bundles elsewhere at an extremely low price. I've never had a draw or burn problem. Like any cigar, they need to stabilize after shipment. Remember these cigars are quite a few years old. There's a reason they didn't fly off the shelves when they were first released, but at about a $1.00 each, or less, I think they are an excellent smoke. I always remind myself that cigar trends change over time. When Sportsman's Reserve was intended to hit the market, the "boom" was on, and Macanudo-mild was in vogue. Based on recent releases with increased ligero, intended to add more power, the Sportsman's Reserve does, certainly, seem pretty tame. For most cigar smokers, and Macanudo is still the #1 best seller in the U.S., these Sportsman's Reserves are plenty strong. The people who frequent the cigar BBSs, in my opinion, have cultivated tastes which tend to want stronger cigars over time. For the guy who frequently smokes Bolivar Fuerte, Ashton VSG, Mayorga High Octane, La Luna African Fuerte, etc., yes, the Sportsman's Reserve is pretty mild, but then so are most of Perdomo's lines that were produced before the early spring of this year. I stand by my opinion. Steve*R
rookie139 Offline
#13 Posted: Sun, Nov 11 2001, 8:26 PM EST
Joined: 03-02-2000
Posts: 2,149
I definitely agree with Steve 100%...I also bought several bundles at an unbelievably low price (from CI, but at another unnamed site) and damn...for the $0.35 cents per stick (you do the math), I got a helluva deal...The sticks IMHO are worth two or three bucks each, plus they're good for some aging,,,Hell, I just paid $7.00 for a stick that was just released and the thing was a POS...Very mushy head, hot smoke from the first puff to the last...Nice flavor, but the extremely poor construction pretty much ruined it
RobertParrott Offline
#14 Posted: Tue, Nov 13 2001, 3:00 PM EST
Joined: 06-27-2001
Posts: 344
Rookie, what was the name of the POS so we can all stay away from it.
Todog Offline
#15 Posted: Tue, Nov 13 2001, 8:44 PM EST
Joined: 05-05-2001
Posts: 804
My wife said the same thing about me on our wedding night!
Todog Offline
#16 Posted: Tue, Nov 13 2001, 8:45 PM EST
Joined: 05-05-2001
Posts: 804
I always thought that the Cuban Bullet was a descent inexspensive smoke!
rookie139 Offline
#17 Posted: Wed, Nov 14 2001, 12:38 AM EST
Joined: 03-02-2000
Posts: 2,149
Believe it or not, it was a Cuban Parejo...The maduro...I had the rosado and it was excellent!..Didn't want to name the stick because I only had one of that particular kind (maduro)..I'm sure it was a fluke..After all, cigars are a handmade product and there is a tendency to occasionally get a bad one..Perdomo is one of my favorites!
hegemonic Offline
#18 Posted: Wed, Nov 14 2001, 4:38 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2000
Posts: 1,294
I like Perdomo too, but those Cuban Bullets are better left to the Garcia y Vega crowd. Cuban Parejos are well made, and I wouldn't officially call them dogrockets, but they're not my cup of tea. Too close to Puros Indios for me to enjoy (I don't like the Puros Indios).
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