Thanksgiving weekend reviews: 11/25 - 28, 2010

Nice Thanksgiving weekend, and a long weekend which means...lots of cigars! There is a nice list of the cigars I'm reviewing this weekend:

• H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Figurado
• Montecristo Edmundo (August, 2005)
• Punch Uppercut toro
• Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Piramide no. 2 [purple label]
• Montecristo No. 2  (January, 2006)
• La Aroma de Cuba churchill
• Montecristo 75th Anniversario Edmundo
• Oliva Serie V Torpedo 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Figurado (5 3/4x52)

A nice looking figurado with a dark Cameroon wrapper. The cigar comes wrapped in cedar. Here is the cigar without the cedar wrapper.

This type cigar requires you cut the head and the foot. After making the proper cuts I tested the draw. It was fine. The cigar had rich, tangy spice with notes of vanilla and almonds with a nice amount of black pepper. The finish is long with sweet vanilla and notes of raw almonds. This cigar has so much deep richness to it. The cigar is pretty full bodied. It's no secret that I love a good Cameroon cigar and this is a great Cameroon cigar! Rich, rich, rich flavor. It's almost like dessert!  Lovers of rich Cameroon flavor, get it!

Score: 89

Montecristo Edmundo [August, 2005] (5.3x52)

Named after Edmundo Dantes, hero of Alexandro Dumas' famous novel "The Count of Montecristo", the Edmundo is the first size to be added to Montecristo's standard range since 1971.

It is the second new 52 ring gauge, parejo size to be introduced by Habanos, SA within a year.

Very nice accordion filler.

This Cuban cigar started with sweet notes of citrus and pepper w/ light vanilla. There were notes of cinnamon noted after 1/4 inch. The finish is long with sweet raw almonds and a touch of vanilla. The cigar had very rich spice. Medium to full bodied. The draw was perfect.

After 1/2 inch the citrus spice and pepper is extremely good. Just past 1/2 point and still consistent. The finish is just amazing. It absolutely makes this cigar great! 5 years of age really made this cigar pop! Fantastic cigar. Great!

Score: 96

Friday, November 26, 2010

Punch Uppercut Toro (6 1/2x54)

It started with a very nice tangerine spice with vanilla tones and lots of black pepper. The finish was long with sweet vanilla notes. This cigar has a lot of black pepper which I like very much. It blends nicely with the tangerine and vanilla spice to make a very rich flavor. I previously reviewed the Grand Corona version of this cigar and gave it nice marks. This cigar is equally as good but I believe it has more pepper. The cigar does not change much which is good because it's very nice as it is. Medium bodied. This cigar has a good price point also and can be found at any local shop for around $5. This is a nice addition to the Punch lineup. To me this is the best tasting Punch cigar.

Score: 92

Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Piramide no. 2 [purple label] (6x52)

This cigar now comes double banded. Mine, as shown, only has one band because it's several years old. This cigar started with sweet notes of grapefruit and light vanilla with a very nice amount of pepper. This Graycliff cigar runs around $21 apiece.

The finish is fairly long with lightly roasted almonds. Very nice flavor combination. Fairly full bodied. At the midpoint the strength seemed to decrease. Still had nice spice and the flavors were pretty consistent. The finish had some added light vanilla notes. I had a few burn issues with the cigar but with a little time they evened out. Just past the midpoint there were some almond notes in the spice. Tight ash. One of the most full bodied Graycliff cigars. Very nice spice. Very much enjoyed this cigar and plan on getting more when I'm at the factory in 2 weeks! Plenty of pics will follow. I also want to try the new burgundy label cigar. I plan on buying more purple, white, and burgundy labels.

Score: 91

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Montecristo No. 2 [January, 2006] (6.1x52)

This is one of only 3 remaining cigars from a box of Montecristo No. 2's that I bought on my trip to Cancun in 2006. They were purchased at the Cancun LCDH, which was the first city to have an LCDH in the world. The cigar started with lightly sweet notes in the orange citrus and very light cinnamon and vanilla notes. The cigar has a nice amount of black pepper but not overpowering. The finish is a thick vanilla taste with a dash of lingering pepper. As with the Edmundo reviewed above, the finish on this cigar is simply amazing. The flavor of the smoke is great but the finish absolutely makes this cigar. At the midpoint the vanilla notes became a little more prominent. Great cigar that, in  my opinion, was a tick less than the Edmundo that I reviewed this weekend. Still, a very, very good cigar.

Score: 93

La Aroma de Cuba churchill (7x50)

This is the new blend by Don Pepin Garcia for Ashton Cigars. A dark cigar that has a nice test draw. The cigar started with semi-bitter notes of citrus with black coffee and pepper. After a couple inches the citrus took on some semi-sweet notes. There were faint vanilla notes also. The finish is fairly long with lightly sweet notes of vanilla. At the midpoint the citrus notes really came out. The deep, black coffee notes are always present. The cigar is full bodied. The cigar is well made and produced a lot of smoke. There are a ton of deep, dark notes in this cigar. This would make a good after dinner smoke.

Score: 88

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Montecristo 75th Anniversario Edmundo (5 1/2x52)

One of the special edition cigars from Montecristo commemorating their 75th anniversary. It started with semi-sweet/bitter grapefruit notes with raw almond spice and decent pepper. The finish was medium in length with light raw almond notes. I noticed that this cigar was triple capped. That surprised me. At the midpoint there were slightly more sweet notes in the spice but not significantly more. Mild to medium bodied, at best. I have the utmost respect for the Montecristo brand and love the Cuban Monte's but this special edition cigar just does not do it for me. The second half of the cigar really improved with much more spice but not enough to make much difference in it's final score.

Score: 85



Oliva Serie V Torpedo (6x56)

The final cigar reviewed this Thanksgiving weekend is one that I really thought I had reviewed before but after checking the blog I found I have never reviewed the Oliva Serie V cigars. This is the torpedo version and is very dense feeling. It starts with notes of citrus, cinnamon, some coffee, light vanilla and almonds, and a ton of black pepper. Notes of oranges in the citrus spice. The finish is rather short with notes of roasted almonds. The burn is very even but the draw was a bit firm. After an inch the spice is an even mix of citrus and cinnamon with the coffee notes mixed in. I notice the finish is getting longer at this point and has some light vanilla notes. This cigar has a lot of ligero which makes it full bodied. At midpoint things have not changed much and it didn't change much the rest of the way. The burn stayed very even.

Score: 92