too bad he didn't send himself too. So much fun!
It's impossible not to like him...did I say that right?

My vote is blind folded on acid 😂

en route danmdevries

9405503699300337758581

Blind Tasting #2

Pre-Light:
5” by 52 box pressed robusto. Chocolate brown wrapper. Very smooth, leathery texture. Light chocolate sweetness on cold draw.

First Third:
Smooth smoke so far. Woodsy notes. Bit of a spicy pepper on the retro. Surprisingly, the ash is grey instead of gray. Burn is razor sharp so far.

Second Third:
Smooth smoke continues, medium body. Earth and Chocolate are the most prevalent flavors I’m picking up. Burn is still sharp, and the ash , incredibly, has turned gray.

Final Third:
Still burning straight as an arrow. The flavors have not really evolved or changed as far as my palate can tell.

Final Impression:
I enjoyed this cigar. This reminds me of an Oliva Serie V Melanio. I have purchased a few boxes of the Melanio, and would do so again. I would do the same for this cigar. Construction was flawless, burn was flawless. It wasn’t the most complex cigar, but it sure was enjoyable. Placement to come after the final blind smoke.

Nice review, Jason. I'm trying to get to the write-up of #2

Well here's LeeBots damage........I been slacking,these landed one day last week

Three unbanded beauties of course................then the damage begins.

Punch Champion(NH)
Ashton Aged Maduro #20.......I love Ashton's
Ashton 898......did I mention I love Ashton's
Oliva Gilberto cedar wrapped(NH)
La Aurora Cameroon Preferido
La Aurora Cameroon Preferido(the jr version)
Fire Robusto{NH)
La Palina Bronze(NH)
Alec Bradley Prensado
Chief Cool Arrow
3X3(NH)
Indian Tobac Natural....been a looooooooooooooong time
Oloiva Grand Maduro(NH)
Carlos Torano Signature.......another been a loooooooong time
Oliva Red Robusto
Partagas Black....great little morning coffee stick
REO Robusto
Fuente Don Carlos Personal Reserve(NH but I do love me some DC's)
Monte #2............another been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time

Last but far from least

Herr's Baked Cheesey Puffs.....................wifey loved them,she even gave me a few

Thanks Lee....................waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the top Brother

CBID MOTTO: "Never follow the rules"

lol

It's almost like it's a rule in it's own right

^^#226^^


smh

LeeBots-------->🐴 <---------Whistlebritches

#1 in LeeBots blind lineup

Bout a 5.5"X44 ish,I'd call it a corona.Nice barnyard aroma

Started out with decent flavor,kind of minty,little to no complexity,ended the same.I'm gonna say this was the everyday smoke.Not a clue as to it's identity


This was a review,their was a cigar in the review........so that makes this a cigar review

After reading the great reviews, I'm ashamed to post mine but...here she goes.

#1, 4/3/21, 5:20pm-6:15pm
Drink - local IPA, water and bourbon.
Appearance - 4.5"x50, tanned leather.
Smell - Spring flowers, grass, hint of barnyard.
Dry draw - toasted tobacco, earth.
Light up - sweet, warm tobacco. Mild cinnamon and pepper on the retro...drink of IPA.
Warmer cinnamon coming through on the retro, pepper faded. Molasses and spice on the tongue, like a buttery pancake that has been dusted with cinnamon sugar...drink of water.
Drink of IPA...cinnamon increasing, a slight tingle on the tongue. Sweetness fading, spice becoming dominant, retro burns pleasantly.
Water, IPA, water...dark walnut, more pepper on the tongue, still sweet. Had to roll the ash off, 2+" long, won't fall on its own. 1/2 way in and loving it.
Strength increasing, pepper stronger and harder to retrohale. Drink of water, sip of Buffalo Trace...thanks Z! Tobacco sweetness increases, or is it the bourbon?
Braced for a nic kick, but it's not there. Strength has remained, solid medium. Sweet cinnamon has developed into sweet black pepper. Black walnut has taken center stage. Pepper is hot but enjoyable.
Performance - no touch-ups or relights. Wavy burn line. Gray ash with dark black rings, drooped but wouldn't drop.
Great cigar! I'm thinking Nicaraguan, probably a puro. The size tells me that it may be an Illusion Rothchildes?
Guess - Illusione Rothchildes, daily smoke.
Now, back to the bourbon.....

#2, 4/6/21, 5:40pm-7:10pm
Drink - dark roast coffee, light cream.
Appearance - 6.2"x50, milk chocolate with prune purple shades.
Smell - honeysuckle, cherry, sweet chocolate.
Dry draw - toasted sugar, raisin, cherry, earth.
Light up - appearance had me thinking strong but it's super smooth. Mild, sweet tobacco, light citrus, buttery cashew, whole cream. No retro burn.
2" in and the flavor is building to medium, toasted cashew, brown butter, hot caramel and cherry coke. Tingle on the retro now. Ash drops at 2".
So much going on, can't discern between sweet or buttery, caramel or brown sugar, almond or cashew and cherry or dr pepper...every draw is different from the last. Salivating, wanting more!
Ash drops again with 2" left. Mild pepper begins to transform to sweet cinnamon, now nutmeg, now pepper again. Caramel and brown sugar still trading places, hints of dark tree nuts and the cherry has transformed to a sweet raisin note.
Roached it with a half inch remaining, only because it was about to scorch my lips! I want another one of these!!!
Performance - couldn't ask for better!
So many flavors to enjoy. First I thought Dominican then Nicaraguan then Honduran...multinational? Nah, maybe, idk.
Guess - Viaje Nic Leaded Maduro Toro <--right or wrong, I'm pretty sure this is the premium.

#3, 4/5/21, 11:45am-1:15pm
Drink - dark roast coffee, light cream.
Appearance - 6.75"x48, 7" if you count the pigtail. Splotchy black and red raisin tones.
Smell - dark dank wood, brown sugar/caramel, smells like LFD...sinuses a little off, mowed Saturday and inhaled too much pollen.
Dry draw - sweet corn, raisin, mushrooms, chocolate.
Light up - sweet peppercorns, caramel, blast of dark chocolate with a mild minty retro.
Caramel and raisinets has taken over at around 2", has me salivating profusely! Retro is mild and peppery.
Halfway and the pepper is increasing, tongue tingling, caramel has given over to bittersweet chocolate, raisin gone...make a run for a fresh cup of coffee and a roach clip, not wasting any of this one!
Sip of hot java, then another...ahhh! Pepper decreased significantly on the tongue, still burns the nostrils. Sweet, warm tobacco with a hint of licorice and earth, nice!
Down below the 2" mark, time to clip it...clip cracked the cap, dammit! Still smokable, still delicious.
Hits the ashtray with 1/2" remaining and doesn't go out, smokes itself down to 1/4" before giving up the ghost.
Performance - beautiful dark ash, nice lines with an occasional curve, silver highlights. Ash consistently breaks at 1-1.5", smacks the deck with a thud and doesn't fall apart. No touch-ups or relights. Perfect, smoke billowing draw.
Delicious treat! Appearance has me thinking a LP Rat but the pigtail is short and tight, unlike any Liga I have seen in person and I can't match the size to any Unicos. Flavor and smell, Dominican? LFD Oscuro... probably not, but that's what I'm going with.
Guess - LFD Oscuro Churchill, quality/medium smoke.

All three, thanks to ZRX1200, a great lineup!

I can't get to the bands tonight, I gave the envelope to my son and he locked it in his safe. I'll have access to them tomorrow, unless Z wants to post them now.

Really enjoyed this, made me realize how little attention I pay to a lot of the cigars I smoke.

Yeah I can tell ya what they were....but you really did a bang up job on the reviews, not just describing but explaining and guessing!

#1 Perdomo Small Batch 2005 maduro (everyday)

#2 2007 Tatuaje Westside (premium)

#3 LFD La Volcada (medium grade)

Good luck finding another Westside!

Damn, I can honestly say, I have never smoked a Tat that impressed me that much...seriously, awesomely good smoke! I coulda guessed forever and never got that one. Thanks for the experience!
The Perdomo tripped me up too, I thought for sure it was Illusione. I guess I got half-lucky with the LFD, something about the smell of their leaves makes them hard to disguise.
Thanks again!!!

...the cigar is gorgeous; I think we’ve saved the best for last. 6 x 46 maybe, enrobed with what may very well be an identifiable wrapper, an intimation of pleasures to come.

“I say Watson, I believe we may have our first clue.”

“What did you call me?” Keith responds.

“I called you Watson.”

“Like the light bulb guy?”

“The light bulb guy?” I’m growing indignant. “No, not the - there’s no lightbulb guy named Watson. I was doing like a Sherlock Holmes mystery thing, but never mind. You ruined it Keith.”

A silence consumes the car and my attention is paid back to the cigar in hand; naked and cut, she’s ready for the night.

If this cigar was a woman, she’d be a Nicaraguan princess; her royal skin - perfect shades of mottled carob and mocha; her fragrance - sun kissed tobacco; her taste - an enigma to unravel.

“Can I be Shaggy instead?” Keith interrupts.

“What are you talking about, Keith?”

“You said you were doing some kind of mystery thing and if I’m gonna be a part of it I think I should have some say and I say I want to be Shaggy.”

“The ‘wasn’t me’ guy?” I ask with disgust.

“No, the Scooby Doo guy. Shaggy!”

“That’s terrible, Keith. That makes no sense” I protest. “I was doing like a follow the lead thing, where I would maybe talk about the wrapper having a unique mottling and decidedly oily texture that I find most commonly amongst Liga Privada cigars, and I thought maybe I’d talk about the suspected nation of origin and thought maybe I’d even write about us traveling to Central America, but I’m not doing that now because you ruined it. I’m describing the cigar like it’s a beautiful woman, so a little quiet, please.”

I light the cigar; the first puff is a clear combination of hay - like a peasant woman who toils in the campo de hierba; and black pepper - like an Amazonian princess who -

“Your mujer is en llamas.”

“SHUT - UP - KEITH!”

By the third draw, the pepper has both smoothed itself out and taken center stage in the talent show of flavors. If this was the swimsuit portion of the competition, she would be a tame leopard-skin, 2-piece number; no sequins. Sequins are for the girls who try too hard; like Ms. Paraguay… and Ms. Kentucky.

I have very, very limited experience with LP’s; I’ve maybe smoked 4. I don’t remember any of them, it was so long ago, but when I went to my local to get something for Stinger’s box, I looked through the LP selection.

It’s extensive - 10 to 20 boxes of each vitola of each cigar kind of extensive.

Though I’ve not had one, I noticed a box of Velvet Rats, and decided to grab one for the non-blind portion of Stinger’s package. This cigar has a striking similarity to the Velvet Rat, but a bigger ring gauge.

When I was talking to my good friend and all of yours, the one and only Corey Sellers, I mentioned the Velvet Rat. He said he didn’t have any, but he did have a box of Ratzillas. He didn’t have them on hand, but I described the length, ring gauge, and appearance of this cigar to him, and he said it sounds like a Ratzilla. I haven’t done any further research, but Ratzilla is the official guess.

“You know, if I was going to do a mystery thing and not use the obviously greatest of all time mystery team of Sherlock and Holmes, there’s no way I’d go with Scooby Doo, Keith” I said searingly. “Maybe - MAYBE - Nancy Drew and Pals. Maybe” I reemphasize.

“You still doing the woman description thingy?” Keith inquires softly.

“I don’t think so” I respond, as the air between us thins and the tension slacks. “It’s not really coming together.”

This is a very good cigar; very good. I’ve never had a high opinion of LP; regardless of who may or may not have made it, this is a respectable cigar. There are some intricate spices evolving on my palate. I can’t pick them out, but a pleasant cinnamonesque dryness has enrobed my mouth.

A slight touch up is required - I’ve resisted thus far, as I know the coolness of the smoke is contributing heavily to the intricacy in flavor. The ash falls.

“We could do, like, a Power Ranger thing.”

“How old are you Keith?”

“No, I’m serious” he insists. “We could do the costumes, and, like, go after and defeat the evil Nicaraguan Emperor who’s holding captive the Princessa del Tobacco.”

I stare at Keith long enough for him to sense my condemnation. He’s either too high or not high enough, and since we can’t unsmoke that which is already in us, we venture down the emerald detour.

The vapors of cannabis and tobacco mingle; they marry; they mate. Their offspring is a body of smoke, with a head of florally pine, hands of Christmas spice, and feet of rich tobacco oils.

Passing the halfway mark, the cigar picks up a charred flavor. It’s less pleasant than what was previously happening, but enjoyable still. Lots of nicotine - like a truck full of nicotine. I’m almost certain I’ve never had this cigar before and I’m really excited to know what it is.

The flavors are abundant and near chaotic at times - mostly meshing but nearing the border of a clash. I definitely pick up some of the spices I associate strictly with Honduran tobacco, but the black pepper coupled with a full volume of bodied smoke provides more punch than Dominican tobacco typically can, indicating a heavy Nicaraguan presence.

Keith has muttered something about the Boxcar Children, but I’m too involved in the cigar to indulge either one of our delusions.

“The Boxcar Children didn’t even solve mysteries, Keith. They were just orphans who hid out in a broken down train car in their angry Grandpa’s backyard!”

“According to Wikipedia” Keith begins to read “and I quote ‘After the first novel, the children become amateur sleuths, and the subsequent series involves the children solving various mysteries and occasionally traveling to other locations as they do so’ end quote!” he exclaims as he slams the book closed.

“Where did we get a wikipedia book?”



The last third of the cigar is powerful. Many of the delicate flavors I was experiencing have been steamrolled by a parade of still-enjoyable black pepper and nicotine. The volume of smoke has increased and it’s a delicate walk on a tightened rope to keep the cigar burning but heating at a proper temperature; I rather enjoy a delicate walk now and then; it’s a practice never to master but always enjoy while attempting to do so.

I smoke a lot of strong cigars, but the nicotine punch of this one is surprisingly powerful. I need a cookie and a juice box, so I offer the last few inches of the cigar and the reigns of the review to Keith.

“Isn’t that kind of - “

“Don’t say ‘gay’ Keith.”

“I was gonna say ‘gross’.”

“It would only be gross if one of us wasn’t real” I reply smugly as I hand him control.


The cigar is good I guess. I like it and it tastes like it’s probably a good cigar. I’m tasting what I imagine could be tobacco and - okay listen, if you’re reading this, you have to help me! This crazy guy has been keeping me hostage in the attic above his garage for years. He drugs me up with all kinds of stuff that makes me see all kinds of crazy and feel all kinds of weird and he makes me go on all kinds of scary adventures and pick up creepy hitchhikers and .





Poor Keith is all tuckered out, slumped over in the passenger seat like a sack of potatoes. The wee chap is so tired, he dropped off mid-sentence and nearly lost the cigar. Well we’re pulling into the driveway now. It’s been a long adventure for both of us, and seeing as how I’m probably gonna have to carry this weary little guy up to his bed in the attic, I’ll have to leave off here.

Great cigar. Has to be the premium. I’m sticking to my Ratzilla guess, but that’s a shot in the dark.

Stinger, from both Keith and I, a sincere thank you for putting this together this time around! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing these reviews and reading the reviews of others. Not sure Keith can wait a whole year for another adventure. Thanks again!

Awesome reviews mrjburn! If I could review cigars like you can, I wouldn't have to write rambling hallucinogenic tales to disguise the fact that I don't know what I'm doing... seriously, very enjoyable and very well done reviews!

I feel the same about your reviews. If I could write like that I'd quit my day job...you should write a book of short stories! I want the first copy.
Great job Opel, very entertaining reads and nice reviews! 🍺

Just got the opportunity to catch up on reading everyone's reviews, so far. So many different ways of describing what you're all smoking but it's as though I completely understand every one of them and got to experience it with you...awesome reviews fellas!
Thanks to stinger for organizing this!

Opel, you have the envelope for the answers. Great, imaginative reviews. Pretty fun reading all the reviews. It makes you start a list of other cigars to check out.