I won a couple last year and let them sit for a bit. Ashed one up in December and thought it was a pretty decent smoke. I was expecting more sweetness given the Penn BL wrapper but for a $3 seegar I couldn't / wouldn't complain. Don't recall the need to double brush and rinse but maybe the taste did linger but I just don't remember. In any case, I'll need to re-visit this later on as well as torch up the QB-5552's that I have.

ZT-6560

Now HERE is why you buy a sampler, getting a stick you would never have thought to try. Connecticut's are not generally my cup 'o tea and at 60 ring gauge (actually a little bigger I think - the blendlabs seem to often be a bit off on exact sizing) This is larger than I like, but it came in the Blendlab sampler pack from the Mothership, so fired it up yesterday afternoon on my porch as going over some work stuff.

Here is a great mild but very flavorful cigar. Coffee with lots of cream -cafe aul lait-ish was my first impression, woody notes as well which got a bit more prominent about halfway in. Throughout it all there a mild spiciness that is hard to place (very mild white pepper/very very weak cinnamon/teeny tiny bit of salt??? really hard to place). Never prominent, but it is there nonetheless, surprising you when you suddenly notice it.

Sharp burn and huge ash that would not fall off. Lasted almost 2 hours. Lots of cool white smoke. Careful, this is one you could inhale easily! The ring gauge did bother me at first but got over that pretty quickly

Only downside was, down at the nub, the wrapper started to unravel, which was too bad since I would have smoked it down to the fingers if it hadn't. Also the price at $7 on CI is steep, you can get a lot of great cigars for that!

That evening had a stronger,spicier, stick out my usual rotation and, yes, if had I to choose, I would still pick the fuller spicier one over a Connecticut 9 times out of 10

But we go to Lake of the Ozarks often in the summer and like to have a long leisurely breakfast on a porch overlooking the lake. This would be a perfect cigar then. So, if the price is ever right on this one, will pick up a couple.

Out of Stock individually as of this review, but I assume still part of the 10-pack sampler

Well I guess inconsistency is a GOOD thing -- at least when the first two you had of a stick were not good.

I had reviewed the QX-6542 above (post #4) and both of the ones I got in a sampler box from the Superstore had severe construction and draw problems. So much so that you could not enjoy the cigar. Thus, in my recent 10-pack sampler purchase, when I saw one of these in there i immediately thought "Yup, here is a stinker to keep the price down..."

Well i pulled it out of the humi this afternoon and the first thing I noticed was a very-very "yellow-cello" that was also hard and crinkly. This one has been sitting around for a while. After taking it out of the cello, what to i see? Tiny white sparkly spots the length of the cigar. Yes its Bloom/Plume! And yes, I know the difference. Anyone interested I can PM you a link to another site that has good photos of real bloom that were exactly what I had here.

Wonderful aroma and, unlike the ones I had gotten from the Superstore, this was properly packed, not to firm, not to soft, from top to bottom.

Lighting it up you got wonderful flavors. Salty spice under flavorful tobacco, smoky wood and toast. Very rich, very "meaty" Actually reminded me somewhat of the little Papas Fritas although the listed blends are quite different. Draw was just right and lasted a very long time for this size.

Not to say it was perfect. There were burn issues again. started to get uneven and needed some touch ups but never "canoe'd like the others did, Did tunnel a bit at the very end and needed a relight when it did that. But in this case, it was worth it.

So given its personal history with me and the 2 out of 3 disasters, I will not be looking to buy this one (unless I see ones at the superstore that look as aged), but at least I won't be upset if it winds up in another sampler purchase. If it doesn't already looked very aged, it will go in the "deep rest" humi for a long, long, nap.

Given that on CI the few reviews (including mine) are pretty negative, I am guessing these have not been moving, hence its inclusion but it was a very pleasant surprise.

JH 6748

Another one from the 10 pack sampler. This one is is mysterious. They call it a Churchill. Beautiful dark brown. Closed foot but not a twisted cap. I always test first, then look at descriptions, but this is the only Blendlab I have seen that has NO information on the Mothership about the blend. Nothing about wrapper, filler, nada.

Lit perfectly which is sometimes an issue with a closed foot, and at the start it was quite nice, a bit peppery but not overpowering, nice pleasant smoke. My first thought was perhaps this was an Ecuadorian habano-ish wrapper. Then an inch or so in, all flavor stopped. Wasn't that it tasted bad, just that there was nothing, smoke but didn't taste at all of anything, very strange.

Then, just a bit later, flavor came back but it was different. much milder, almost like a Connecticut at times, a few times reminded me a bit of a RyJ 1875 at best, but was not consistent.Although there were good spots, just not enough there in the second half to keep me interested.

Obviously this is just one stick, so may have had an unlucky one, and less than a month of humi rest, but this is the first one from the sampler that I am disappointed in.

KD 5552

This one went from "meh" to "huh???" after I first tried it then checked out the description.

Stared out a bit spicy/peppery but that went away pretty quick. After that it was fairly mild for my tastes, a bit "creamy" at times but nothing really prominent. I was assuming with the taste and color it was a Connecticut wrapper with some mixed filler. It wasn't bad, but not outstanding in any way. Would have been better in the morning over coffee than when I had it in the afternoon after a big meal.

So then I checked out the description and CI says it is a "Criollo '98 wrapper and 100% Nicaraguan filler and binder. NEVER would have guessed that. Have had several Criollo cigars and none really tasted like this, and Nicaraguan tobacco is my bread and butter smoke but this was nothing like the Nics I usually have. Description did say "toasty tobacco" and looking back I guess I can see that, but was not something that jumped out at me at the time before reading the description.

Nevertheless, sure would never pegged this as a Criollo/Nic stick. Won't NOT buy a sampler knowing that this is in there, since it would probably be good to have in the morning or to give to someone that isn't into strong cigars, but would not buy this one outright.

Won 2 of these at $1 apiece recently gonna try one soon,hopefully no construction issues!

Be sure to post your thoughts once you fire them up

For the several folks that have said how much they like the YH-542s, You should try out the CAO Pilon. Only smoked one so far but it was very very similar. The Corona size is a bit bigger than the YH (CAO = 5.5x44) but I think if you like one you will like the other.

Also they come in really cool boxes and are on sale at the Mothership as of this post, making them (if you buy a box) cheaper than the YH-542s

RH-5554 vrs. Kristoff

Up above (post #101) I speculated that, based on both the look of the cigars and the descriptions of the blends and flavors, that the Blendlab RH-5554 might be a Kristoff stick in disguise.

Well, yesterday I had a smoke off between an RH-5554 and a Kristoff I got from a B&M. Both have been sitting in the Humi since last Thanksgiving and it was a nice day yesterday so...

Just like the photos I posted, the cigars LOOK very very similar, twisted cap, shaggy foot, even the way the wrapper is on and the vein structure all look similar. The Kristoff was just a little bit darker but if you had these unbanded in your humi, you would not be able to tell them apart easily at first glance.

I started off with the Kristoff. It was a great smoke. Exactly like the Kristoff blurb I quoted above from the Mothership and almost exactly like my review of the RH-5554. Great spice and tobacco flavors that changed and evolved throughout the stick. Lots of lovely smoke, strong ash, etc.

I smoked the Kristoff to just a bit past halfway, then cut off the cherry and blew out to clear the smoke and set it aside.

Cleared my palate as best as I could with some water, and crackers and then fired up the RH-5554. The big difference was the RH-5554 was, very noticeably, not packed as tight as the Kristoff. Although almost the same size, clearly less tobacco in this one. Consequently, the cigar was squishier, draw was much looser, and the ash not as firm.

Other than that, however, I could have been smoking the same stick. The flavors were almost identical. I would say that the Kristoff was just a bit stronger (from more tobacco?) and the RH produced a bit more smoke. But I could not really point out any flavor difference between the two - even the very noticeable pepper at the start that slowly changed about an inch in was just the same.

Smoked the RH down to the nub then fired up the left-over Kristoff. Now a re-lit cigar like that is never going to be quite as good , but i wanted to go straight from one to the other and, sure enough, my initial impressions held.

So, after the taste test I am more convinced than ever: If the RH-5554 is NOT from Kristoff, it sure as heck must be coming from the same factory/farms/rollers or whatever that does produce the Kristoffs for Kristoff!

So, if you are a big Kristoff fan but the price is too high and you see some RH-5554 here going cheap, give them a try and let us know what your think.

Blendlab Bidding Mania!

Been lots of blendlabs up for bid recently and some crazy bidding. Great deals one day, high bids the next. Sometimes high bids on one lot and low-low bids on the exact same cigar in a different lot! I grabbed some of my favorites at really low prices so happy camper here, including a 5-pack of RQ-444s that I got for $5 when, in another lot open at the same time, people were bidding more than twice that for the exact same 5 pack.

One interesting item that has been up for bid several times is the VB-6744. This is the stick made by Drew Estate and "Infused with a special recipe of herbs and botanicals." They have been selling wheels of 50 (50!) of these on Cbid and the winning bids have been in the $75-$90 range. A good deal if you like them and have room since on the Mothership they are $6/per.

While I am generally not an infused cigar person, I would love to try one and review it but I'm sure not going to buy 50 of them! Has anybody jumped on this deal and have an extra one they would send my way? Yes this is a semi-mooch but its for a good cause and I would be happy to over-reciprocate either to the sender or to whoever the sender would like bombed.

Also, if you do like these, my guess is you want to jump on them. Selling bunches of 50 here at under $2 per when they list for $6 sounds to me like they are clearing out inventory! Either they have not been selling well (unlikely IMO given the several good reviews on CI and how many people are bidding on them here) or, perhaps, DE is planning on making this a regular release of theirs soon so they want to move out the inexpensive blendlab versions. In either case, my advice is stock up if you like them.

Anybody that likes Blendlabs, be sure to contact your Senator and Rep about exempting cigars from the new FDA regulation as part of the Farm/Agriculture bill. While much of the cigar industry would survive this mess, there is no way the blendlabs could continue.

Indeed, I am not sure how ANY new blend would ever be worth the hassle of FDA approval and as for the boutiques... well, those issues are for other threads, here its to save the Blendlabs!

Ok, bit the bullet and ordered a VB-6744 retail from the Mothership.

Was not going to bid on a wheel of 50 and keep getting outbid on smaller lots such that with shipping not worth it. But the way so many people are bidding on this Drew Estate made infused stick, figure I have to try it, so since I had a big enough order for free shipping today, I tossed a single into my cart.

So stay tuned!

UPDATE QE-654

Reviewed one ROTT in post 119 above. Although good,it did get a tad harsh and bitter briefly a couple time. Pulled one out that has been resting for two months at 65% and i would say i guessed right on this one. The rest has made a nic difference.

So now it is all of the good things i said above with no real negatives. Perhaps not quite as strong as when first arrived but no harshness or bitter spots.Very good full smoke. Will be moving it up to the "would buy again" catagory.

VB-6744

Well I finally got what, at least on C-bid, is by far the most popular Blendlab. Whenever they are listed the bids go big and quickly. Wheels of 50 get snapped up without hesitation. Even knowing from the description this was an infused cigar ( with "botanicals") which is not my usual cup of tea, I thought it needed to be reviewed in the Blendlab thread.

The first thing you notice is that the banding is significantly different from the other Blendlabs. This cigar has "Drew Estate" right on the band and has a separate band right at the foot. No other blendlab has that treatment. Also the "number" is printed instead of hand-written on the band.

With the bands off this is a beautiful cigar. Dark, no flaws, shaggy foot. Very interesting "classy" size 6.7 inches x 44 gauge. You will look super-cool with this in your mouth

Huge pre-light overpowering clove aroma, so I guess this is a Kuba-Kuba test stick? Anyway my wife could tell it was cloves right away.

Throughout the smoke it burned flawlessly and had a nice firm ash.

Now to the taste. How can I describe it.......YUCH, GAG, RETCH!!!!!!

OMG, I have never put something that sickly-sacchariney sweet in my mouth ever before. If you want an approximation, take a Swisher Sweet, soak it in Karo syrup overnight, then - just before you light up - put a packet of Sweet-and-Low in your mouth. That should get you to about 50% of how sweet this thing was. Indeed, despite the strong pre-light smell, I could not taste any cloves, botanicals, or even tobacco at all because of the sweetness. If i had not been determined to review this thing (and paid $6 retail for the privilege) i would have tossed this away after about two puffs.

Finally, after about 2/3 of the way in, the sweetness finally was used up just enough for me to taste the cloves a little bit. very very sweet cloves but still I could tell it was there. I took it as far as i could go then got a fresh beer and fired up a Room 101 Uncle Lee (pretty good stick btw) to get the taste out of my mouth.

Now I am not a DE hater. I love some of their offerings. The Ligas are outstanding IMO and I have enjoyed several Undercrowns. I also have had a couple of "infused"cigars over the years that I was fine with. But, dang, this was -for me - one of the worst things i have ever tried to smoke, and that is saying something.

If you like them sweet, however. I mean very very very sweet. Then don't mess around with anything else - put your dentist on speed-dial and head straight for this one.

Wooo-boy! Been pretty slim pickin's for me on Cbid for Blendlabs recently. Plenty to bid on, but all going for above what I would pay for them in general. I do like many of the blendlabs a lot, but I am only going to pay so much - above that I head for the brand names I love and trust and/or those that I am worried might not be around.

Well recently scored 25 of my favorites for $2 a piece and very pleased! At that price can make sure the new coolidor stays nice and full. Hope it keeps up.

Also picked up a couple extra singles of ones that I have not reviewed yet, so I will try to try at least one of these tomorrow to report on.

A demotion!

The MY-6552 was a pretty good but not great smoke and one I thought at the time was worth buying again. I have won some here now and then since the review. The last several batches, however have been inconsistent. Still some good smokes in each batch, but run into some in every now and then with burn and flavor issues. Sometimes they are good, sometimes just nothing, blah. Its like it was a bad batch somewhere along the way that got spread around the shipments. Not all of the, but enough that its an issue.

This was the "mysterious" blendlab as it has never, to my knowledge, been listed on CI. Not even with "out of stock" or "back-ordered." It seems to have been only every offered here on Cbid.

In any case, moving it down to the "would buy again when the price is right" category since, with all the great Blendlabs out there, only going to risk the Blendlab budget on these if the price is pretty low, say, $2.25 at most with shipping factored in.

Had a private message that asked a good question. Basically it was "Isn't the first letter of the Blendlab Number the maker of the cigar and the second the type of wrapper?" Here is my slightly edited response

.....

I am also pretty sure that the first letter is the manufacturer. For example, the RQ-444 and the RY-444 are clearly made by the same people. There is ONLY ONE cigar identified as made by Drew Estate (the VB-6744) and that is the ONLY "V" cigar there is.

As I put in the first post, the numbers are the size of course.

The second letter, however, seems to be more complicated.

There are some second letters that, at first, seem to be consistent. - there are a lot of Cameroon wrappers where the second letter is a "C" and there are a lot of Broadleaf wrappers where the second letter is a "B."

But then there are things like the vB-6744 which is from Nicaragua with Brazilian wrapper but the qB-552 is from the Dominican Rep. with a Conn. Broadleaf wrapper. And the JO-6550 is also listed with a Broadleaf, but is an "O" not a "B." Also MOST of the Habano wrapper Blendlabs seem to have an "H" as the second letter - but not all of them - and the WH-554 is not listed as a Habano wrapper. Every Oscuro wrapper I have seen, has an "O" as the second letter, but that JO-6550 clearly doesn't have that.

Likewise, both the xJ-4554 and the xV-654 are both from Nicaragua with Habano wrappers.

There are Ecuador Connecticut wrappers with the second letter of both T and L, BOTH with Nicaraguan filler.

Lastly, there are some weird ones like the G2-6050 which, like a whole bunch of the Blendlabs, has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and Nic. filler.

So either there is a much more complicated coding system in place, they simply let the manufacturer decide OR, it might just be a semi-random designation as a cigar comes in from the manufacturer. Perhaps its as simple as some guy just sitting there deciding what letters to put on.

" This is a Broadleaf from manufacturer J? Do we have a "B" in this size from J yet? If not, then this will be the JB-650! What? We already have a JB-650? well have we used the letter "W" for them yet? No? OK, then JW-650 it is!"

WC-554

I picked this one up because it had a Cameroon wrapper (with Nicaraguan filler). I had not had a Cameroon in a while and typically with what should be a milder cigar, I'm not wanting a huge stick, so this fit the bill.

Yesterday was headed to the pool so as rushing out the door, dropped this one in my pool bag and headed out for some sun and smoke!

As you may know a Cameroon wrapper is very thin and does not have a lot of natural oil and therefore prone to dry out, making it, perhaps, the absolute WORST choice to throw into a pool bag where it was going bang around and sit out in 95 degree heat for several hours before I get around to smoking it! Especially since this one had no cello.

As a result when I did get around to firing this one up, it was a bit worse for wear already, some of the wrapper was starting to peel a bit. Yes this was a bad way to treat a cigar, but my travel humi was at work, I was in a rush (wife calling me from down the steps) and, overall, just wasn't thinking.

Nevertheless, the review shall go on! Lovely pre light smell. It's what I call a "humidor" fragrance of cedar and tobacco, like when I open my my humi lid.

Lit right up and burned straight throughout despite the wrapper issue. Very easy draw. Cigar not packed very tight but not unpleasantly soft or squishy. Lots of very cool smoke.

VERY flavorful stick. Yes it was milder than I usually smoke, but unlike some mild-medium cigars, this one had lots of taste. Cedar, coffee, tobacco all blended together in a delightful smoke. A lot of people (especially Connecticut wrapper folks) would probably say that, for them, it was closer to "medium." I don't think it was quite all the way to medium, but that's me. Make it a "Mild+"

Fans of Oliva G would know what I am talking about as this one has a lot of similarities.

In all, this is likely going to be the first "mild" stick I am putting in my "will buy again category" The only thing holding me back, is I do want to smoke some others in case the wrapper issue was NOT because of my abuse, but because of construction issues.

KX-648

Pulled this one out of the humi to take to the pool thinking it was a different blendalb - one that I liked, but not in my top "must have again" tier. Didn't even pay much attention as lit it up then - wow! This was totally different. Had to check my orders to even see when I got this one. Turned it was just a single I added to a big order a while back and had forgotten about

Bad news off the bat - this one is "backordered" on the Mothership. Good news, one of the best new cigars I have had in a long time. Not just best Blendlab, but best new cigar.

Its a Habano wrapper, Honduran binder, and a mix of Honduran, Nicaraguan, Peruvian filler. As I think is a common problem, the better the cigar, the harder it is to describe. The blurbs at CI are all correct, it IS "unique, hearty and rich" toasty, a bit of spice some coffee notes at times. A bit milder than you would expect at the start, but built up to a solid medium++ but never harsh or overpowering.

All of that is accurate, but none of that really describes how good and complex this stick is. Very cuban-ish at times and, if you gave it to me unbanded and told me it was a mid-range Cuban, I would have believed you. Likewise if you told me this cigar retailed at $10 or so, I would have believed that as well, yet it was only $4

VERY easy draw despite not being squishy or loose-packed. Never burned hot even at the very end and never needed a touch up.

All in all, perhaps the best Blendlab of the bunch.

More on this unusual stick. After the amazing one I reviewed above, I got on the Mothership email notice for when in stock again. When I was told they were on sale again I went to CI as fast as I could and ordered quite a few at $4 per. However, even though it said in stock when I ordered and even though I got a confirmation email, it turned out they had run out of them before "pulling" them for my shipment, so got back-ordered.

Well so much for that until yesterday when a box arrived with my back-order! (free shipping as well, thanks, CI) I rushed to the website and saw that they were in stock again so I ordered a few more. Today when I look, it says out of stock but my order still looks like it is being processed so we will see.

IF you like these and ever see they are in stock, you obviously need to grab them right away.