Just got back from vacation...my mystery cigars trading partner, gummy jones, sent his PACKAGE last week, just before I left. Besides the three mystery smokes, the box included a Tatuaje Black petite lancero, EG Family Series (Pennsylvania shpo house blend), Bolivar petit corona, and a Montecristo Media Corona...plus several Sarris Candies chocolate confections (best chocolates ever) and a bag of pistachios (I considered sending them to FGM, but ate them while I was thinking about it)

Review: Mystery cigar #1

4 3/4" x 52, medium brown wrapper with a matte appearance, thick wrapper leaf with similar hued fillers; solid cigar with very little give when pinched; smelled of barnyard, earthy cocoa and veggie mix pre-light. Paired with ice water.

First few puffs and the flavor profile immediately said Cuban cigar, with the distinctive sweet, smooth, mild grassy, tangy, floral, boutique tea mix flavors. The smoke was dry, and the flavors became apparent only when retrohaling. Seems my tongue/mouth does not taste cigar smoke well, so I always push the smoke out through my sinuses and nose. The draw was about medium, which produced ample smoke.There was an initial slight spicy/pepperiness that disappeared after half an inch. The sweet floral grassy tea flavor remained solid and was joined by some citrus peel. The burn got uneven and needed a touch up after about 1 1/4" and the next puff caused the solid ash to finally drop, onto my lap.

The flavors popped after the burn correction, tasting sweet, floral and fruity mixed with the grassy veggie mix and tea. The smoke left my mouth feeling dry with a slight burn/spiciness, but a sip of water solved that. The mild flavor allowed a full retrohale...what a tasty cigar! Though I wanted to smoke faster, the cigar performed better at a slower pace...about a puff every minute or two. Half way in, and the strength of the tobacco appeared. Getting the warm jitteriness that happens when I have a strong cigar, but this is unusual because the flavors are so mild and mellow. After about 2+ inches, there was a minty flavor that came on, replacing the floral flavor. The sweet veggie, grassy tea mix remained strong. Needed another correction with about 2" left.

The final third, I kept thinking "great cigar!" The draw opened up here. The slight spiciness/peppery flavor came back for awhile, but the sweet minty veggie tea flavor stayed strong. The flavor in my mouth near the end was of mild tobacco with a slight burn. Had to do a last correction of the burn line with one inch left. An even burn line produces the best flavors...

Nubbed to about half an inch, and regretted putting it down. Total time was an hour and 25 minutes... quite a while for a smallish cigar...proof that it was solidly constructed. It was a strong yet mild flavored cigar with complex flavors which were difficult to describe. Despite a few burn corrections, this was a great cigar...guessing it was a high end Cuban, not sure which, though.

Thanks for the great cigar, gummy!


edit: please wait until I review all 3 mystery cigars before revealing what they were....

Reveals and final thoughts:

I tried my best to base these price guesses on appearance, construction, and complexity instead of what my palate enjoys the most. Not knowing how many of each price level really made it a lot of fun too. Thanks again to kombat for the great selection.

Mystery Cigar #1: My Father The Judge
My guess: Above $10
I thought this was the most complex and unique cigar of the bunch. And the strongest.

Mystery Cigar #2: Avo Syncro
My guess: Under $5
The construction is what led me to believe it might be under $5. This is one of maybe two different cigars that I’ve gotten a “clean linen” taste from and forgot about it until the reveal. Would’ve been awesome to guess this one blind.

Mystery Cigar #3: La Boheme
My guess: Medium $5-$9
Smoked a few of these in the past and really enjoyed them. I didn’t recognize it and wasn’t thinking dominican cigar when smoking it. This makes two years in a row now that I’ve picked a dominican cigar as my favorite. Trend or coincidence?

Mystery Cigar #4: Roma Craft Cromagnon
My guess: Medium $5-$9
Great cigar. I’ve had a few different Roma Crafts and they’ve yet to disappoint.

Mystery Cigar #5: Tatuaje Black
My guess: Under $5
The tight draw was the main reason I decided to go with under $5. In hindsight, I was probably a bit too critical with this one.

Package received. Will check it out later tonight and post. It's decievingly heavy. Excited

Glad you liked the selection. Tried to get you a variety.

Plebian Palate Reviews – Precursor

I had concerns about running through these this quickly having only received the cigars this past Monday. However, opportunity presented itself with an early day Thursday and Mrs. Beach having to work all weekend. Opportunity like this does not arrive often, so full speed ahead and damn the torpedos.

All reviews were conducted with a side of water. My usual beverages in order of preference are black coffee, a nice stout or porter, and Arizona Green Tea w/honey (something amazing about this. Not sure why). My choice of water was due to my fear of influencing the taste I was getting from the cigars. My second fear was my mind, desperate to identify flavor notes, would make some up, but my mind’s been f$%king with me for 43 years and I have yet to discover proper mitigation. I mention this because I tend towards the “I know good when I taste it” frame of thought as opposed to “I taste morning dew from a daffodil blooming on the north slope” sense of taste. In other words, take all of the following tasting notes with a big ‘ol whopping block of salt. Did you notice the review title? Believe it.

I’ll be foregoing a description of all the sniffing I did on all of these, my sniffer’s apparently worse off than my tastebuds. What’d I smell? Tobacco, every time. Sometimes some cedar. Point covered.

Having given you all fair warning, away we go.

Plebian Palate Review #1 – Cigar #3

I attempted, based off looks, to grab the yard-gar first, and work my way up to the high end. I chose this one because I thought I detected some rougher seams through the cello. Closer examination proved this to be inaccurate. Seams were tight. There were a number of smaller veins and about 3 branch sized ones running the length of the cigar. The cigar was firm throughout with only the slightest give when squeezing. I can’t locate a third cap, but the little bastid could be hiding. The wrapper was smooth to the touch with some slight bumpiness. It was a lighter brown color, if not a full-on connie by appearance. It had about 5” in length and I’d put it at about a 54ish gauge.

Clipped the cap and did a cold draw. Draw was excellent with just the right amount of resistance. Tasted like tobacco with maybe a hint of pepper. The light went smoothly and we were on our way. Initially flavor had a sweetness to it with a little peppery bite on the tongue. There’s also the presence of a woodsy tone to it. What type of wood? I don’t know. I haven’t gnawed on much bark in my day. The finish is about medium, not immediately dissipating on exhale, but neither hanging around long after. Strength seems to be a consistent mild, possibly medium.

The ash is a very light grey and very solid. The burn is pretty tight. It goes off one side or the other a little, but returns with some light encouragement (a.k.a. corrective saliva). Smoke output off the foot is not tremendous, but there’s plenty on the draw, no need for double puffing.

At about an inch in, the pepper has disappeared and a creaminess has developed. The sweet and woodsy taste remains. Finish is decent but not overly long. For much of the remainder of the smoke, the profile holds to the same theme, with only the woodsy note moving in and out on occasion.

With about 2-2.5” left changes occur. Pepper returns. What kind of pepper? Peppy pepper. Don’t ask me these things. Along with pepper there’s some saltiness in the draw. The adjustment shakes me out of the lull that the creamy sweetness has brought me to. Aside from the flavor, a crack appears in the wrapper at the foot, and the burn has officially gone wonky. No amount of slobber can fix this. I kill it with fire. The remainder of the smoke is uneventful until I finally toss it with about a half inch to go. I felt a general contentment afterwards making me question whether a little more vitamin N didn’t sneak in there somewhere unbeknownst to me.

My gut judgement on this was that I was correct in thinking this was a yard-gar. Further reflection, and consequent mystery smokes had me elevate this one to the medium range. It was a good smoke. It just wasn’t the flavor and strength I tend to gravitate towards. It reminds me of an HDM Excalibur I ashed early on in my cigar discovery journey.

Plebian Palate Review #2 – Cigar #1

After some comparison and slight wavering between the final two, I pulled this one out of the cello. On one side it looked fairly smooth with little in the way of prominent veins. Turning it over I found what looked like the work of a 1st year medical student reconstructing a face that had flown through a windshield. Lots of veins with a couple prominent ones. The cigar seemed packed well and was firm with a little give during some exploratory squeezing. Seams were very tight and appeared triple capped. The wrapper was a solid dark chocolate in color and looked to be about 6” in length and 52ish in gauge.

One clipped cap and a cold draw later, I taste tobacco, cedar, and I think I detect a hint of dark chocolate. Is it actual or a figment placed in my imagination by the wrapper color? I dunno. Draw was good on this one as well with just the right amount of resistance.

The light goes smoothly and I’m hit with some immediate sweetness. There’s also a touch of spice involved that blends well with the sweet flavor. No sign of the anticipated, possibly imagined chocolate. Oh well. I can work with this.
Ash is acting very flaky from the onset. This puts me in fear for my at the moment unburned genitalia. The color’s looking blotchy as though it can’t decide whether it wants to be light or dark grey.

At about an inch in there appears to be a toasted quality to it. Some type of nut per chance (timing of this relative to the genitals comment above is entirely coincidental). The original spicy sweetness remains and a hint of dark chocolate rears its head. My only complaint with the profile is that all of these flavors feel muted, like mere whisperings of potential. The finish is very short.

The burn tries to go sideways on me several times. I attempt to curse back into line to little effect. Fire being the only resolution to this dilemma. The ash droops menacingly, continuing to shower me in bits of burned leaf reminding myself of Tommy Lee Jones at the end of Volcano. I tap it to prevent catastrophe but it hangs on with a desperate need for unification. Finally I force the issue against the side of the ashtray and it collapses into an loose pile on the bottom. My continued unburned loins cheer in triumph.

Smoke production from the foot is ok, and excellent at the draw. On oddity I’m noticing during this is that there is a sponginess developing about 3” ahead of the cherry. I’m familiar with it doing so closer to the foot, but not used to it traveling so far. This may be a factor in my next issue. About 2.5” left in the cigar, a crack develops near the head. I wipe the ash from my eyes and lock it down with nature’s own oral adhesive.

About this time the flavor intensity increases, excepting the spice which has made a run for the hills. Same toasted, sweet, slightly chocolatey notes just stronger. Despite the missing spice, I become intrigued. My intrigue is met with a return to their thin, muted forms, like a demonic game of peek a boo.

The cracked wrapper reopens with a vengeance with about 1” left to smoke. I cannae hold her together Cap’n. Abandon ship.

In spite of the negative tone of this piece, the smoke was in and of itself, ok. The burn and consruction issues had throughout along with a minimal amount of flavor leads me to believe this cigar would be better served on a lawnmower or while pulling weeds in the flower bed. This one reminds me of some of the Gurkhas tried in an effort to discover a diamond in the rough. Not the case today, so I must dub thee the yard-gar.

Plebian Palate Review #3 – Mystery Cigar #2

We are in the home stretch now and I examine the final specimen. This smoke has a milk chocolate appearance with some darker mottling and a hint of a reddish hue to it. Veins are very small excepting to larger branches. Seams on this are near invisible and it has a nice triple cap on it. The cigar is firm throughout with very little give. It appears to be 6” in length and 50ish for the gauge.

I behead the condemned and take a draw which I find to be very tight. Armed with a poker by which I am not sponsored and therefore won’t name, I clear a plug just past the cap making the draw Perfec. Cold draw reveals some tobacco (shocking I know) and some pepper.

The light proceeds without issue and I’m started off with some sweetness and pepper. It’s not a blast per se but blends well with the sweetness. On the retrohale I distinctly note chocolate. Excitement stirs in my loins. I do get a kick out of actually identifying something. A salty note comes into play, complementing the sweetness. Pepper recedes and hangs out in the background with toasted something (no, not nuts this time. IDK) which has popped in as well.

The ash is looking tight and beautiful. Lighter ash on the outside with striations revealing an almost black ash underneath. I couldn’t handle this chit on some quality shrooms. The burn starts to go off a little. This is not the cigar’s fault. I blame the operator getting a little too excited like a teenage boy on prom night. I slow my roll and it sorts itself out. Then I go too far the other way and it goes out on me. Oops.

The relight brings the salted chocolate into play. Pepper smacks me in the face and tells me to stop fugging this up. Then it steps aside as some creaminess comes in and, I know this sounds odd, but I swear I sense carbonation on my tongue. Sweet baby Jaysus, I am now smoking cream soda. The finish is so long, I spend the entirety between each puff licking my lips to catch every last bit of it.

The ash resumes its former artistic quality and I can see a face frowning in disapproval at having fouled up its initial efforts at a masterpiece.

Flavors have now become bored with teasing me and have officially gone batchit crazy. Everything mentioned earlier is still in and out along with some caramel and a few other things I can’t pinpoint. Each sip of water I take riles them up and they scramble like kindergarten class let out for recess.

My elation at this experience is tempered with outright terror that it all has to end. Once the remainder gets too hot to handle, I use the PerfecDraw (oops, now they have to sponsor me, right?) to create a nub kabob. This extends the experience until there’s not enough tobacco left to spear. At about an 1/8” I call it quits and mourn its loss with a single tear. Though that might be the smoke in my eye.

This cigar was awesome. I firmly believe it to be the high end smoke, but if I’m wrong will be immediately funneling my savings to Rick that he might procure me a lifetime supply. I have nothing in my mind’s catalogue to compare it to and eagerly await the reveal.

Plebian Palate Reviews – In Summary

For the TL/DR folks – I apologize and I don’t blame you. I babble on occasion. My formal education was in literature wih a minor in creative writing. If pressed I could probably do a solid 5 pages on bathroom mold.

To review: Cigar #3 – A good enjoyable smoke, even if it didn’t hit the profile I tend to seek out. Guessed to be the mid-range cigar.

Cigar #1 – A decent smoke with some issues encountered throughout. Good for keeping occupied while knocking out the to-do list. Guessed to be the Yard-gar.

Cigar #2 – An amazing experience I would happily repeat ad infinitum. Guessed to be the high end smoke.

Rick, thank you for the selection. I had a great time going through all of them even if my tone didn’t reflect that throughout. I request a favor. Due to a wide variety of bolt holes I’ve created throughout the house, I’ve temporarily lost track of the envelope. I know I’ll find it eventually, but please let me know what I just smoked.

Kombat, seeing that I was sent this along with a number of others that were, I feel I’ve done you a disservice in not sending an envelope with the mystery bands. If you’re a band collector, I still have them and can send them your way.

Dan, thanks for running this exercise. It really does urge you to focus more closely on the cigar you’re smoking is a different experience. I’ve definitely had a lot of fun with it.

I'm ok. I'll post by the weekend and u can give me the answers then.

Great job on the reviews Dan=d> very entertaining to read...Ok, here's the breakdown

#3 was the Gilberto Oliva Reserva Blanc rob. The yard gar, available here (on c-bid), for a couple dollars with shipping, but not half bad for when your fishing or fooling around outside.

#1 was a Crowned Heads 2015 TAA-MMXV toro. The high end...sorry to hear it gave you problems. I've only smoked one of them myself, and all I can say is...Mine was better than yours🇨🇮

#2 was an LFD Coronado Corona Especial. The mid range. I'm glad you enjoyed it

Great job on the reviews...I haven't even started my reviews yet, I'll probably get started smoking and reviewing next weekend. Little cold hanging on for the last week or so, but seems to be on the downward slide now...

Nothing left for you to do now but wrap your lips around that Fighting Cokk and enjoy...8-[

Huh, 0% accuracy. Go me.

Everyone in this forum is now dumber for having read it. I am awarded no points, and may God have mercy on my soul.

On the bright side a) found the envelope, and b) didn't compare the LFD to a Gurkha on a site full of LFD fans

#-o

good job on the reviews Sunoverbeach...entertaining reads...

you're so right about this forcing you to concentrate and focus solely on the cigar...

Ok, the heavy package was full of smokes and beer.

Some white oak Jai alai by cigar City brewing. I recall having a green Jai alai that I enjoyed so looking forward to this. Complete with city city brewing sticker and coasters.

The unbanded smokes, torpedo, toro and Churchill

A Herrera esteli miami

A tuxes and tails nh of this (Robbie from a Tampa charity event, cigars always provided by fuente or Newman)

And a blendland rq 444 - it looks like a Hemingway short story. I had something similar to this, but don't recall the blend. If it's the same one thou, super excited about it.

Thanks Tampa

=d>

Review: Mystery Cigar #2

6" x 48...Total time was 1hr and 12 minutes. This cigar had a dark brown veiny wrapper, with a dull dry sheen, around some dark brown and lighter brown fillers. I shouldn't have washed my hands with an aromatic soap, which interfered with my ability to notice any pre-light aromas, other than tobacco and barnyard. There was a noticeable give along the length of the cigar, when pinched, except for the solid last inch at the head of the cigar.

After toasting the foot, the first puff had a dry cocoa taste, which quickly gave way to an earthy peppery burnt wood and toasted bread combination of flavors. There was a hint of sweetness. The cigar had an easy to medium draw, resulting in a good amount of smoke that was easy to retrohale. The smoke left a dry tobacco taste in my mouth and in my sinuses. At 1/2 inch, the burn got a little crooked, but a couple of puffs blown through the cigar corrected it, without the flame, and the burn remained straight. The flavor in the first part was a mild sweet pleasant taste of burnt wood, like the smell of sharpening a pencil, with dark toasted bread. The pepper disappeared. The solid ash was light gray.

The flavor of the smoke remained consistent in the next third. It was a pleasant slightly sweet toasted bread and burnt wood. There was a hint of bell pepper for a few puffs, but it left after a puff or two. The sweet burnt wood got stronger and the toasty bread faded a bit. The burnt sugary sweetness remained also. My impression about halfway through was that the cigar was pleasant, mild, and slightly sweet. A bitterness in my mouth caused me to salivate some.

In the final third, the flavor of burnt wood and toast was pretty consistent, but the sweet wood over-matched the toasty bread at this stage. The cigar was very consistent throughout, with few changes. There were some vegetal notes in the last 1 1/2 inch, which combined well with the sweet burnt wood. The cigar got hot and harsh in the last inch, and I put it out with about 3/4 inch left.

This was a good solid, consistent cigar, possibly a mid-tier smoke. I'm going to hedge a bit, until I review the Mystery Cigar #3, but my initial impression is this was a mid-tier cigar. Not sure if I've had this one before, but it seemed familiar, reminding me of an Illusione.

Thanks for another good enjoyable cigar, gummy!

uh oh....I just took a close look at gummy's mystery cigar #3...it has a unique fan-tail cap that is attached to a 5 1/2" x 52 dark skinned cigar...I've smoked at least 2-3 boxes of these, if it is what I think it is...because of this, I'm gonna have to adjust my assessment of cigar #1 and cigar #2....I'll be smoking this baby later tonight and will have the final review done along with edits to the guesses of rankings of the previous two reviews...

Had to give you one gimmie...

I'm an idiot for not checking them out before starting the reviews...the post-it with the number on it concealed the fan-tail...#-o

Review: Mystery cigar #3

5 1/2 x 52...total time was 1 hr and 40 minutes. The cigar had a fan-tail cap (kind of a giveaway for someone who's smoked many of them) with a dark brown wrapper that had darker brown, almost black splotches. The wrapper leaf was rough, thick and dull looking, with some minor veins. There was a slightly sweet, barnyard and fruity aroma. Pre-light flavor was dried fruit and cocoa. The cigar was very solid with almost no give along the entire length, when pinched. I paired the smoke with iced water.

The first few puffs had a sweet chocolatey cookie taste with strong tobacco. There was a pepperiness on the finish when retrohaled. Moderate to easy draw produced a high volume of smoke and the cigar gave off a lot of smoke at rest. The volume of smoke made it difficult to do a full retrohale, so I expelled some smoke through the mouth before sending it up through the sinuses.The flavor was robust, full of meaty, sweet, woody notes.There was a lot going on in the first third as secondary flavors came and went. The burn was nearly straight, and the solid ash was a light gray color. The smoke made my nose run, even though the pepperiness was gone. The initial third finished with more sweetness, strong tobacco and a complex blend of flavors. The ash stayed solid until I tapped it off at about 1 1/2 inch.

This was a great cigar so far. The flavors changed some from the beginning: much sweeter and milder tasting. There was a sweet minty tobacco taste with a moist feeling in the mouth. It is still producing a lot of smoke, so much so that I still can't do a full retrohale comfortably. In this portion of the cigar, the dominant tastes were sweet, fruity and meaty with a strong tobacco backdrop. Some saltiness joined the show near the end of the middle third, which added a savory quality. The smoke was milder, mellower and sweeter than how it began.

In the final third, I'm still thinking this is a great cigar. The blend of flavors is like a well executed broth of multiple flavors that are hard to distinguish. Have to get some more of these. It needed a minor correction at 1 1/2 inch left. The strength kicked in. With an inch left this was a full flavored full strength cigar. I put it out with a half inch nub left, and enjoyed every minute. My guess is that this was a Liga Privada UF 13. I've smoked through 2-3 boxes, but it's been a couple of years since I smoked the last one. It had less pepper than I remember, but the full complexity of smoke and several transitions are the same.

This was the high end.

I've had to re-evaluate the guesses I made about #1 and #2. Number 1 now is considered the middle tier, a very good Cuban, which I found familiar, but can't identify. Since I guessed it was a high end, it is an excellent mid-tier cigar. So cigar number 2 is now my sub $5 cigar, and at that price, it is a very good cigar, one that seems familiar, like an Illusione, but I can't pinpoint what it was.

Thank you gummy, for sending an excellent selection of cigars. I thoroughly enjoyed each of them.