Mentioned the PuroEx Bespokes in a CC thread a while back and a couple of people have messaged me for a review (and they went on sale recently) so here it is:

First of all there are two different PE Bespokes. One is a Nicaraguan. The other used to be clearly labeled a Cuban, but they no longer do that although the reviews on other sites state that it is still a Cuba,n but they dropped that designation do to some issues with the manufacturing.These are custom made for PE (that is what "Bespoke" means - custom made) and not a "Recognized" cigar by the authorities or some such thing. It might be that its Cuban tobacco that is rolled outside of Cuba, but I am not certain. One good thing with this, if you are worried about importing CCs, this gives you some "plausible deniability"

In any case be sure you get the correct ones.

As to the cigar itself, it is first-rate outstanding construction. Heavy, well packed. Just feels great in your hand. Covered foot which is interesting in itself. No doubt a high end roller does these wherever they are made.

Prelight wonderful tobacco and hay aroma. So good to hold and smell this almost dont want to light it!

Lights well and a perfect draw in my opinion.

Overwhelming taste at the start is Cuban tobacco flavor (you know it if you know it) with some dark chocolate flavor that gets more prominent as you go further in. A bit of nut and leather pops up at times but mostly the slightly sweet tobacco/ dark chocolate flavor. Lots of nice smoke. Burn it down to the nub which takes a good while!

Well worth it IMO as they are priced well. And if you want to be able to say you never knowingly ordered a CC, well then, there you go! (just clear browser cache so this review doesn't show up!!!!!)

Received the following info from a reputable source regarding the Bespoke and PE in 2013. I personally would not buy anything from PE.

For example, Puro Express sells Bespoke custom rolled cigars. Initially they said they were from Cuba, now they say they are not. Why? Because LCDH called them out and that inventory was never documented. Mercer also had a bad clash. They said they were getting custom rolled from Robaina. I do not doubt they were. Nino called them out and asked Robaina (on film) if they were supplying Mercer. Robaina denied it, said well maybe a couple. Now Mercer looks like a fool and that was a bad move on Nino's, because Robaina looks bad as well. So this may be a something that is culminating for a while.

checkout cigarinspector.com/puroexpress. There you will see a couple of years of reviews. You will see a lot of Yay's in the beginning and a few nay's. Pay attention to the timeline; the Chicago Customs fiasco and the arrest of Manuel Garcia plays in here. Everything is great, and it starts to go downhill. Notice the continued pattern of: "very young" cigars that aren't supposed to be young, mold, wet, cracked, dry, green. The introduction of Bespoke Custom rolls after Manuel Garcias arrest. What is happening? The original owners sold the company somewhere after the Chicago seizures/Manual Garcia arrest. Took too many hits on the seizures and Garcia stopped supplying them. So they went into "grey market" cigars. Cigars that can't be verified, because the serial #'s are cut out. I don't think they had serial numbers in the first place, they just cut out the box to make you think they do.

The reviews on PE are certainly mixed but still looks to me the positives outweigh the negatives. Defiantly something happened with the Bespokes but as I say, wherever they were made they were top notch. Have ordered from PE and CoH and the Monte #2s both appear and smoke the same for me. IF they are Grey-market (which is what I always assumed) you are going to have quality control issues. I have had good luck with them so far but i go in with eyes open.

That's not saying nobody has issues with them but its what I have experienced.

I've bought 150+ boxes from there and 3 had mold. 2 were in Petacas and the other was Tubos.

That's 3 more with mild than I have received from my other spots combined. The lesson I learned was to not buy Tubos or Petacas from them.

Received the info back in 2013 when Habanos was pulling all the in house LCDH rollers out of the stores. Many things have changed since then. Hopefully Santos hasn't completely retired, but it has been more difficult to get certain vitolas. Have a pair of custom Hamlets won from FOH back in 2013 that will be enjoyed on my 50th this April.

From late August of 2013:
"I can't see them pulling all of the rollers, especially in Partagas or LaCorona factories. Its kind of sad and I think it started with Leyva. He was the house roller at the airport. Rolled every summer at the King of Spains castle for parties and royal functions. Then he was doing nothing as far as sales went in the airport. They sent him home. Santos will retire this month, but that is officially. He will freelance in Malaysia, Phillipines and some other asian countries this summer. He will be in and out of Cuba mostly doing Big Smoke type events. Not sure if this is a Altadis move to change things. In the Havana Libre Hotel (Havana Hilton) the house roller is there less and less. The table is there but no roller. Don't know what they are going to do with them, these guys are like royalty and have been for years. But I will be able to get most of what I want, Santos has traveled a lot before and we have been able to work things out. They may freelance the other big names to other countries for the summer and bring them back for the winter."

Would love to hear current info on the rollers situation now! There's little news in the forums I read. Can you enlighten Pro?

Ordered the Bespokes back when first released. Sadly, none left, but I thought they were quite a good smoke. Medium to full bodied, solid tobacco flavor through & through. Very glad to have had them... But I can't comment on current production...

I went through 2 boxes when 1st released and thought they were very good and a good value. I ordered a 3rd box about 6 months later and could not taste any of the Cuban "twang" that was present in the 1st two boxes. They were solid smokes but tasted like Nicaraguan baccy to me.

Have not ordered since.

DED

Any updates on these? 🇨🇮

ya ive been on the edge of my seat