Did a blind review send with some guys back in the fall. #3 was the 5 Vegas limitada 2010. Thought some of you might be interested in how it came out.
JPotts review:Cigar: Lou2Row Blind Cigar #3
Vitola / Wrapper / Binder: Habano (?)
Drink / Food: Beer
Outside Factors: Chilly autumn day.
Construction: As far as construction goes, this is either average, or above average. Not solid as a rock, but not soft either.
Prelight : Flavor on pre-light was a mixture of dark chocolate and black pepper, and the draw was just about perfect. The cut on the tip of the cigar cracked the wrapper at the head, which wasn’t a big deal. The moisture would keep it in place.
First Third: Starts out slightly sweet with a fifty-fifty split between leather and oak. There is a black pepper component that is slightly muted. Ample smoke on each draw.
Draw: Just about perfect – not too tight, not too loose.
Burn: Started out jagged and angular, but turned smooth by the end of the first third of the cigar. Burn was off, but consistent, and I made no attempt to correct it.
Ash/Smoke: The cigar had a beautiful silvery ash which was well-packed. The smoke aroma was pretty standard for a cigar in that there was nothing striking about it.
Second Third: Flavors morph from leather and oak to a grainy / toasty character with moderate pepper and just a hint of sweetness. Burn is now even but angled. Things start to go horribly wrong with the wrapper, which splits and then shreds.
Final third: Due to the splitting and unraveling of the wrapper, the last third never happened. The wrapper just plain fell apart, and I extinguished the cigar. This is the first time that I have never finished a cigar after a wrapper split – and that says quite a bit.
Strength: Medium Flavor: Medium with a moderate and pleasant finish.
Overall Impression: Given the wrapper just plain disintegrated, my overall experience was terrible. The odd part was that while this wasn’t a cigar that had my preferred flavor profile, I was really enjoying up until the first split on the wrapper. There is obviously something seriously wrong with the wrapper, or (even after three weeks in a humidor) moisture problems in the body of the cigar. A split cigar was bad enough, but a shredded wrapper made it a literal disaster.
Construction: 8 10
Prelight: 4 5
First Third: 12 15
Draw: 9 10
Burn: 8 10
Ash / Smoke: 7 10
Second Third: 5 10
Final Third: 2 10
Overall impression: 10 20
Total Score: 65 100
JTokash's review:Cigar: Lou’s Blind Review #3
Price: unknown
Vitola / Wrapper / Binder / Filler: Torpedo / unknown (natural) / unknown / unknown
Drink/Food: Coffee
Cut: XiKar Xi1 double guillotine
Outside Factors: 60 degrees with 85% RH on a cool and breezy evening.
Construction (10/10): this cigar was damaged in shipping with the wrapper getting cracked for half the length of the cigar, but otherwise it looks like a high quality cigar. The wrapper looks to be oily and the cap is nicely formed. There are a few medium sized veins, and the filler bunch looks good. This cigar has nice weight to it and feels evenly filled with no hard or soft spots.
Prelight (5/5): after taking off about 3/8” of the cap the draw is great – it is easily a clear draw but with some resistance. The prelight flavors are leather and oak. The wrapper aroma is leather and cedar (stored naked in my humidor), and the foot aroma is leather and black pepper.
First Third (15/15): after a soft flame toasting, this cigar opens up with a complex blend of leather, black pepper, cocoa, and coffee. The finish is long with flavors of leather and coffee remaining the longest. The flavors are creamy and complex and I have the impression that this is a well-aged, high-end cigar. After the first half inch has passed, the black pepper edges out leather as the dominant flavor. This cigar produces tons of drawn smoke with pepper through the nose and a significant volume of resting smoke. The strength and body are both medium in this third. The burn is good considering the wrapper damage, which is rather impressive, and the ash is firm and light-to-medium gray in color. At the end of the first third, the flavors are leather, cocoa, and oak, with the same flavors on the finish. This reminds me of a mixture of a Padilla ’68 and a Man O’ War Ruination.
Draw (10/10): the draw is perfect throughout the entire cigar. It is slightly tighter in the second and final thirds compared to the first third, but it is still great.
Burn (9/10): in the first third the burn is great considering the damaged wrapper, then as the burn catches up the end of the crack in the second third it is just slightly off and needs one quick touchup, and in the final third there is a slight run for half an inch that needed a second touchup.
Ash/Smoke (8/10): this cigar held the ash for an inch and a half and produced tons of drawn smoke and ample resting smoke in the first third, then in the second third there was a bit less smoke volume with the same solid ash, and in the final third there was still a little less smoke with the same solid ash.
Second Third (9/10): in this third, leather and black pepper are always mixing around to be the dominant flavor with cocoa, oak, and coffee also present. This is a rather complex cigar with creamy flavors that are almost buttery since they are so thick on the palate. The ash, burn, and smoke are hardly changed, with just a minor touchup as the burn reached the end of the cracked wrapper. At this point, the pepper flavor is going from a black pepper to a green pepper, which is a nice variation to the mix. The strength and body both remain at medium in this third. Sadly, at the end of this third the complexity starts to fade a bit.
Final Third (8/10): once again the flavors are altered slightly from before with leather and pepper staying at the front and now there is a nutty tone sneaking into the mix. The finish is creamy with tones of leather, pepper, and hints of cocoa. The flavors aren’t as pronounced as before, likely due to the high outdoor humidity finally affecting the cigar and making the flavors slightly edgy (it is now 90% humidity outside). The burn had a half inch run that needed a quick touchup here, and there is just a bit less smoke volume in this third while the ash remained solid. As before, the strength and body are both medium throughout this third.
Overall Impression (18/20): this was a fantastic cigar, and even with the damaged wrapper it still held up and burned like a champ. The flavors were quite complex, creamy, refined, and deep, making me think that this is a high quality cigar. The huge clouds of smoke, nice burn, and solid ash also support that thought. The only down side was the drop off in complexity in the final third, which was likely due to the high humidity outside, so I’m not taking off any points for that.
Strength: medium
Flavor/Body: medium
Total Score: 92/100
And though mine was not blind, I reviewed alongside the other guys to see how my "biased" review would compare:Cigar: Blind sent #3; 5 Vegas Limitada 2010
Vitola / Wrapper / Binder: Torpedo
Drink / Food: Fat Tire
Outside Factors: After work in the shop; nice day
Construction: Toothy wrapper well wrapped with some small veins. Torp end is very symmetrical, with one lump between it and the band. Bunching is consistant, with one large stem. Very firm throughout. A beautiful cigar.
Prelight : Wrapper has strong rich scent of straw and cocoa. End smells of rich tobacco and mint.
First Third: Cigar kicks off with mouthfuls of thick smoke that packs a spicy punch. Nothing descript to my palate, but with some bite to the tongue, throat, and on the finish. Not harsh, but definitely present.
Draw: Very good, did not get hard later on as many torpedos do.
Burn: Burn holds very straight.
Ash/Smoke: Solid salt and pepper ash that holds over 1” easily. Actually needs coaxed off by bumping against ashtray. Smoke has good volume and is creamy.
Second Third: Wood takes lead, but cracked black pepper rides on the finish. Beer is a poor pairing, but isn’t washing out the flavors of the cigar.
Final third: Pistachio and creamy wood oakiness. Some cocoa and pepper on finish. Body continues to build throughout without becoming harsh. Cigar has smoked cool and slow. Buzz never develops but nicotine hits stomach and kicks in as the cigar is about done.
Strength: medium full Flavor: medium full
Overall Impression: I think this cigar has great aging potential, as many of the previous limitadas have. Though the flavors were hard to describe, they came and went and evolved with great complexity. The pepper volume was over what I care for, but I thought this would be one for the smokers looking for something a little fuller. At the price point these can be had at, a purchase is a no brainer, and I recommend throw a couple in the bottom of your humidor and forget them for a couple years.
Construction: 9 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 13 15
Draw: 9 10
Burn: 10 10
Ash / Smoke: 10 10
Second Third: 7 10
Final Third: 9 10
Overall impression: 17 20
Total Score: 89 100
