Has anyone smoked one of these yet and could give an honest opinion on this cigar. At $81 and rising it is in the same price league as Fuente Fuente Opus X Lost City, FFOX, Ashton ESG, God of Fire, and God of Fire Sirie B This is a CI made cigar you can only buy them here CI or one of many sister sites. 3 packs on CI go for $49.99 I have had the regular line and it was just ok not bad well made thought it was a bit flat IMO.

Talked to several botl I know from another place, and there is a recurring theme......

It's a decent $5 cigar.....nothing more.......

I have been underwhelmed by the Ave Maria line in general..... good cigars........but not at their usual price point imho.

So, I'm going to fire up a Reconquista over the holidays, and maybe I'll get lucky and it will blow my mind!

FWIW: I really liked the first few Ave Marias I smoked early last year. It could be me, but the flavors of the ones I've had since have not been the same. I don't taste the sweet musky flavor that attracted me in the first few.

Good luck. I can't seem to find them for less than $16 a stick.

Like I said in post #2, glad I paid less than $5.

For now, based on the one that I did smoke.....I wouldn't pay $5 for one, let alone $10.

Plenty of other cigars I'd buy at $5 or $6 before even considering a Reconquista.

I'll reserve final judgment until I've smoked at least one more.

=d> , spot on

could be time for me to do a bit of "back-peddle" now....kind of like a Michael Jackson moonwalk while I eat my words a little.

I'm coming off a 5 day cigar break, and worked long and hard today....so that may have played into this a bit..

Started off with the fact that a piece of wrapper, about 1/2 the size of a stamp was missing on the stick at about the mid-point....not a big deal (but it did play in later)

Cigar opened with almost sweet, somewhat fruity notes, very smooth, and tasty.

Unfortunately (for me) that went away after an inch, and was replaced with cedar and leather, not my favorite flavors.

Still very smooth, but smoke production was also less than I like, or would expect from a cigar this size.

This went on until the mid-point, and I was getting bored.

When it got to the point where the wrapper was flawed, it unraveled a bit, but nothing too serious.....but then the fruity, sweetness returned, and smoke production increased 200%....and it suddenly became very enjoyable again, and remained so down to the nub. Also has an interesting finish, which I can't describe, cause I suq at reviews.

So, my opinion of this cigar has elevated somewhat.

Would I pay $8 to $10 for one? No.

But if little sister has them on the "march-madness" deal next month (5 San Lotano Ovals and 5 Recons for $49.50 - delivered)....I'll bite.