After a hard day of yardwork, I sit down and and stoke up the Superstroke from Shaun's package. Never had or heard of this so sorta another blind test.

A Corona Grande it seems. I have no pressure to write a review so I light it up and open up a Boom Merigue - An imperial cream ale. Tastes like lemon merangue pie. It pairs perfect with the Superstroke. It has an effervescent flavor. Dont know how else to describe.

Sitting in my courtyard on side yard. Surrounded by palms and tropical vegetation.

Total relaxation. This ash is unbelievable. I think I might smoke the whole thing. Before it drops.

I decide to stop and run the blower one more time but I gravitate back to the cigar and the comfortable chair. As I relight my fountain ( on a timer) kicks in and i pop open a big wave. Another nice pair.

Taking this to the nub. Thanks Shaun.

David I am waiting myself. Yes I did send you the Press Box challenge.

🇨🇮

Press Box Challenge: my guesses Howard Cosell, Red Barber and Harry Caray

Alrighty here are the results.

#1 Fallen Angel Torpedo (Low...can’t say yardgar)
#2 AVO Synchro (Mid)
#3 AF Don Carlos Reserva Torpedo (High end)

Pretty close on my guesses.

Nice reviews and good guesswork sir

Got one of these from Shaun in a trade - maybe last year. I enjoyed it greatly.

Me to great smoke

Was the Avo Synchro the Nicauragua version? Though upwards of 9 or more retail, I like to pick these up when I can get them for sub 5 which you can do on line if you shop around.

Yes it was the Nic version.

#3 is AF Eye of the Shark.

the fallen angels are good. I got for $2 each... Best $2 Smoke

Mystery cigar #1 from delta [third and final review]

Beautifully constructed Churchill that screams mid to high end. Shiny and chocolatey brown wrapper with a fine oil. Triple cap and firm. Chocolate covered raisins on foot and a tobacco and faint pepper on the pre light.

1/3 - this opens as the fullest of the 3 cigars imo. Slight pepper, tobacco, and cedar. Seems Nicaraguan. Finish is medium, flavor is full. There is a really nice semi tart, semi sweet fruit note I'll call green grape. The smoke output is adequate but I would like a little more. Ash is white and burn is good. Retro gives some pepper and almost a little buttery Danish. This is a good cigar and I'm fairly certain I've had it. It is clearly the most complex out of the three I was sent. Time for a sip of this Guinness to see how the cigar changes if at all. Im sure i could hallucinate quite a few more flavors. Finish is not long and tastes of sweet tobacco, faint cayenne and pleasant white pepper. Guinness is good. I think I'll zone out until the second third and just enjoy this lovely cigar.

2/3 - ash started wonky but held on until I decided to tap it off. Smoke output slowly fell off so I touched up the light. Burn is near perfect. The fruity sweetness really seems to be ramping up and is intertwined with a sweet barbecue taste. The finish has lengthened and just when I think the pepper has faded I get a touch. Very nice. I could see how some could distinguish an espresso note here. The mouth feel is slightly chewier.

3/3 - touching up the light was a good call. The performance is really nice. The overall flavor is consistent with subtleties that we come to expect out of cigars in the boutique market. I've had more complex sticks but this is really well done. Just the right amount of changes to be interesting without being overwhelming. I'd label this medium to full and expect it to be full by the end.

The first cigar I reviewed was my least favorite and I feel strongly that it has the lowest MSRP. That is not to say it was bad. Im back and forth as to which of the next two was the high end and which the middle. The cuban may be a monte double edmundo. Today's offering was pepin-esque, but most of the good Nicaraguan cigars seem to gravitate towards that end. A great sampler from my brother on the left coast. I've enjoyed and appreciated everything you've ever sent me. Thank you so much! Okay delta, make me look stupid...

great job on the reviews gummy, very enjoyable read...=d>

Dan, they are on the way.

nice reviews gummy...your descriptions of each cigar are more precise than I can usually muster.... and you have them ranked in the right order.

The first one you smoked (#2) was indeed the lowest MSRP. It was a Gilberto Oliva Reserva. Every year, my son and I look for a sub $4-5 cigar that exceeds our expectations. The Gilberto did that for both of us last year, and at about $3.50, it is a great bang for the buck.

The second cigar you reviewed (#3) was the mid-tier, and as you thought, near the top of that price range. It was an Illusione Epernay with quite a few years of age on it....the age does impart some cubanesque qualities to the smoke. That is my fave Illusione, especially so given how well they age... c3s sent them my way...

Finally, cigar #1 was the high end. It was a Tatuaje Le Verite 2013...a Nicaraguan made at the Pepin My Father factory, just as you surmised. They are among my fave Tats, but I think the 2009 Le Verite might've been a tad better...however those are long gone, while the 2013 are still available...


Great job on the reviews and the guesses, gummy...I enjoyed this trade.

i really dont smoke many illusione cigars and i was pretty confident it was from the isom. even the ash looked cuban! it was just so mellow and seemed to start off so grassy. maybe, as you say, it was the age. or maybe youre just being nice.

oh well, 2 out of 3 aint bad.

thanks for the great selection
that was a lot of fun

Stinger's box landed yesterday. As he said in PM, he forgot the twist part. Did include a Navarre Beach can coozie, and a couple "semi local" cigars from an island a wee bit south of Florida.

3 unbandeds

DPG blue

Tat TAA 50th

ERDM CC

Cohiba Maduro CC

Viaje Summerfest

Kinda tempted to dig into the unbanded right now, but I've been up for too long and I tend to fall asleep in my garage recliner when smoking after work so I'll wait till I'm more alert.

Thank you David

Glad hey made. Enjoy them. The Tat 50th is wonderful.

Cigar #3

I got back from a 3 day work trip to Cleveland a few days ago and had about an hour until the family got back from various practices so I decided to smoke the smaller cigar.

4x46 - unsure wrapper

Prelight - a bit of cocoa on initial smell, tobacco smooth and soft, construction very good. Draw is a bit tight, but not annoyingly tight. Hints of sweet and pepper

1/3 - Right from the light this thing produced a subtle, complex spice. It wasn't overpowering and hit the back of the throat. This is very tasty like a good dessert. Ash is darker than normal and it's not producing a ton of smoke. Burn is perfect and slow.

2/3 - There was really not much change. I'm thinking back to my review last year on the high end cigar and how I underestimated the subtle nuances and I'm getting a lot of the same feeling from this but I thinking I'm picking up on it better. I feel that this is too sophisticated for my palate and just enjoy the cigar thinking I'm smoking something special.

3/3 - Was quite underwhelming actually. With the pepper that I was getting straight from the light I figured by the time I got to the end this thing would be packing a punch. The last bit of the cigar was less intense. I remember this feeling last year on the high end cigar too. There was no bitter finish.

There was no real buzz from this cigar but it was one of the most flavorful and tasty cigars that I remember having.

I'm thinking this is the high end as I felt like I was smoking very fine tobacco and enjoyed the overall experience.

I plan to smoke Cigar 1 tomorrow and I'm very intrigued by it.

Starting with Stingers number 1. A short corona shape, double cap, closed foot, medium-brown cigar with a very nice looking wrapper. Dry aroma is very muted cedar/humidor. Cold draw is heavy on the cedar, sweet.

First light as expected from a closed foot was very strong with more cedar. After a couple puffs it dies down. Predominantly cedar with a sweet mild vanilla finish. I like it. It's a familiar flavor profile but I can't place it.

Kid came out to the garage to have me air up his bike tires so I got distracted and it went out.

Relit and got back in. Inch of ash knocked off.

Less cedar and spice up front but still on the retrohale. Sweet vanilla finish remains. It's not a very Smokey cigar. Burn is slightly uneven but that's likely my fault.

Halfway, it's still one dimensional. Cedar/vanilla. Seems right in the middle of strength and flavor. A nice short smoke.

Wrapped up at 35 minutes. About an inch and a quarter left but don't feel the need to nub it, tasting some tar buildup. It's decent, nothing terribly special. I've had these before but can't place it.

Calling number 1 the yard gar. Nice short smoke, relit without drama, and carried the same flavor throughout.