This has been a week for checking out smokes I haven't thought about in a while. When I first got into cigars I saw the Aristoff blacks, and got a good vibe from them, but never got around to getting any. Lately I've been seeing them go quite cheap and have thought again about getting some. I did some research, and the consensus seemed to be that the old version (with Brazilian wrappers) was good, but the new version with Sumatra wrappers were crappy. So I pretty much resigned myself to having missed the boat. I came across a local that had some robustos at a decent price and decided to try one anyway. I'm pretty sure it was the new version, the box looked recently opened, and the wrapper was super-toothy (pretty sure that is a strong Sumatra hallmark). First off, the construction was beautiful, with a perfect draw (maybe Triki didn't roll this one). I generally like picking out flavor notes in a cigar, but have never encountered black cherry before. Now I have. Overall there were cherry, charred oak, and maple syrup flavors through most of the cigar. I say most because I didn't expect it to last nearly as long as it did, it was a very slow burner. I had an appointment, and realized I was watching the clock and trying to smoke it faster. Consequently, it got harsh and sour, so I put it out. I'm very glad I decided to ignore the reports and try it for myself, as I definitely would like more of these. Smelly, this is the one I thought was very similar to the la Floridita. The main difference being the cherry tone came across more like an indistinct sweet flavor in the la Flor. Even the little toothy oil bumps would pop and crackle like the la Flor.

a big amen to that.

i know there are folks who will refuse to even consider smoking some brands of cigars -- strictly because it's not a well-known brand, or it's rumored to be a dog rocket. now, sure, there are some that are just poorly constructed, crappy tasting cigars. but i've been very pleasantly surprised by some of the cigars others turn their noses up at.

the montegue is one. i wasn't aware of just how frowned upon this cigar is. i was given one, and i smoked it, and i enjoyed it quite a bit. maybe it's because of the age it had on it; i don't know. but it was damned good. i've tried others, mixed fillers, that were pretty bad, but the long fillers i've tried are decent smokes.

a veteran cigar smoker (has smoked probably 50 years) recently bought up a bunch of these because they were so cheap. now he's smoked just about everything out there and tends to stick to high-end brands. but he, too, felt that this was a smoke worthy of keeping in his humi. sure, it's a yard gar kind of smoke, but it's hardly the swisher sweet that some make it out to be. *shrug*

i enjoy a high-end smoke as much as the next guy. but there are a lot of cigars out there that really are NOT as bad as they're made out to be. now maybe rick gave me a particularly good batch of these -- i don't know. i'm just glad that i don't automatically turn up my nose at these "lesser" cigars. i've found some of them to be quite tasty.

Good to hear Andrew.

I smoked a Floridita today and loved it. Were the ones you gave me maduro or natural wrapper?

Dave

Definitely maduro. I had a robusto in natural, and it was a completely different cigar. Also, I must correct myself, the Aristoff natural is Sumatra, while the black is Ct. broadleaf. But dang, it's toothy like a cats tongue. And now that I look, the Master of the Universe is it's own blend unto itself. I guess don't call me proffessor just yet. 😉

Just proves that one mans dog rocket is another mans premium! Great thread Red.

My dog rocket of the week was the bohemian... somebody else try it, it might be your premium like dave said. If it goes proportionally opposite, it might even be a super premium. That's how bad I hated it.

Charred oak?

I've noticed charred oak tones in a few cigars. The one I could never figure out was pencil lead. Then one day, I was smoking an AF double chateau green lable. There was something about it that nagged my brain that I couldn't place. Then I had a flashback of sitting at my desk in elementary school, banging a number 2 pencil between my teeth. So I guess it was really tones of pencil lead, red cedar, and yellow paint.

Hey MACS(SW), to which Bohemian do you refer. I've been experimenting with a couple of the Victor Sinclairs since Rick sent me one in the football pool. I like the Ginsburg and a couple of the Dos Capas are OK too.

White label = nasty

There it goes again. The white label was by far my favorite. I was assuming you were talking about the black label -bleah.