Box of 20 purchased in early 2014 -$40.

This was the last Genesis purchase I made, based on smoking one of these 6 months or so later, to go with a couple Robusto fivers and tenskis which were less than good.

I’d smoke one every now and again over the years, they were getting better, but not near as good as the OR.

Smoked one yesterday........it’s been a long while.

Preflight aroma has faded considerably.......used to have a very strong lemon flower aroma.

Noticed a hard spot under the band that was likely going to present a problem.

Traditional cut ended up with a snug draw........just loose enough to not bother trying to fix it.

Burn and the snug draw was perfect, tons of smoke, until it hit the plug well into the last third, then things went south a bit, so I put it down.

Flavors were nutmeg, licorice like, other bakers spices with occasional espresso notes.

Medium body and strength.

No transitions, but just enough different flavors to keep it interesting.

Still not as good as I remember the OR being, but a huge improvement after a 5.5 year nap.

Maybe the next one will be better yet, especially if it doesn’t have a hard spot.

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"Huge improvement" after 5+ years. I have had MANY other experiences just like yours, too.

So much for the "OnLy (or mOsTLy) CoOBaNs beNEfiT frOm agInG!" claim.

Pretty sure that misconception arose from the simple fact that the commies basically don't age anything, they roll and ship immediately (or almost). Tobacco aging is a diminishing-return process meaning improvements are front-loaded in the process, so if an NC manufacturer ages 2 years pre-ship, and the CC manufacturer ages 0 years pre-ship, then the consumer upon receiving both from the retailer decides to age them both for 2 years, OF COURSE the CC will have more improvement at the end of that period than the NC will have. But it doesn't mean CCs and NCs age in two significantly different ways. Similar tobaccos of related strains grown in similar soils and climates. No magical difference in how they react to age, just pre-sale aging amount differences.

A good rough analogy would be two brands of cars, call them Brand A and Brand B. They both make very, very similar models of cars, not much difference at all. However, consumers notice that, when parked outside, Brand A cars tend to rust much sooner after purchase than Brand B cars do. Consumers conclude that, despite both brands being made of the same steel that undergoes the same treatments and being overall basically the same product, somehow, perhaps magically, post-purchase "aging" of Brand A produces radically different results than post-purchase "aging" of Brand B.

Then it comes out that Brand A has a policy of making cars five years in advance and storing them in large outdoor lots exposed to the weather before sale, while Brand B sells cars immediately after making them.

All of a sudden, the "magical difference" disappears and it all makes perfect sense. The two car brands react to outdoor "aging" identically after all!

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Still have at least 2 torpedos from early 2015. Every time I see them I say --- not yet. I think that was the last I bought of them with the exception of an Olancho which I didn't particularly like.