Weekend review; January 17 and 18, 2009

Cold weekend in South Carolina! I made our first fire in the fireplace for the winter on Saturday. Made another one Sunday. We don't have many cold days so it was nice to sit by the fire. I also found several cigars to review this weekend. (big shock)

Here they are:

• Gato (from a cigar shop in Key West, FL)
• Camacho Corojo Gigante
• Torano Signature Churchill
• Ashton Torpedo
• Perdomo Reserve La Tradicion Maduro Series 'E'

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Gato (5x50)

This cigar was picked up in Key West in 2007 on our cruise. I have forgotten the name of the shop. It is named for Eduardo Hidalgo Gato and the influence of the cigar industry on Key West. The factory is gone now but this cigar is made in tribute to him.

This cigar is very mild with some spice, but not much. There were faint hints of vanilla. The cigar was very unremarkable and mild. WAY too mild for me. It may be a good cigar for a beginner. I can't remember what I paid for this cigar but I hope it wasn't much!

Score: 81

Camacho Corojo Gigante (6.5x54)

The cap was rough looking on this cigar but the rest of it had good construction. The initial draw was quite spicy and peppery. Vanilla notes are strong. This is a fat cigar with an effortless draw. Medium bodied. Very good corojo cigar. Camacho has, in my opinion, the best corojo cigars on the market.

Score: 91

Torano Signature churchill (7x48)

Very dark, well made cigar. Nice spice with pepper. The sweetness of maduro is noted. You can feel the pepper on the back of your tongue. The finish is long and sweet. Vanilla notes are mixed in with maduro sweetness. The pepper makes this a nice cigar. It may be better with a touch more maduro sweetness but it's a decent cigar the way it is.

Score: 89

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ashton Soverign (torpedo) 6.75x55

Good spice with vanilla notes. There are touches of pepper. Very good draw. A quite mild cigar but it has a nice flavor. There were some caramel notes at midpoint. Very good, even burn. The spice stayed fairly strong at midpoint. This cigar is too mild for my tastes but it was an enjoyable cigar.

Score: 87

Perdomo Reserve La Tradicion Maduro Series 'E' (6x54)

Apparently Perdomo is revamping this cigar with new packaging, etc. I'm not sure if they are changing the blend or not. This cigar is from the original blend and packaging. Right from the first draws you get great spice, nice pepper, and maduro flavor and sweetness. The pepper is felt on the back of the throat. You also get a lot of pepper when you blow the smoke through your nose. Very nice pepper! (in case you didn't get that already) The finish is long and sweet with vanilla tones. Tight ash. Good draw. Medium to full bodied. I noticed a little decrease in the maduro sweetness at the end but this was still a very good cigar.

Score: 92