Review: Illusion Rothschilds

I have smoked Illusion cigars before, and I have always liked them, but somehow I have never had this cigar. This is surprising as a lot of people really rate them, and as I am a fan of Robusto sized cigars, I cant work out how I have not tried one before.

Still now is the time to rectify that, I recently got one as a gift, and I am pleased to say I am yet another person who rates these cigars.

Appearance 8.5/10

The cigar is a nice chocolate brown, it has some tooth and looks a little rustic in its construction, but the overall effect is nice. The band is simple and effective, and gives an overall classy, if uncomplicated air to the cigar, which is a pretty good way to describe this stick.

Construction & Draw 8.5/10

This cigar was heavier than expected, and when I squeezed it there was a little bounce but I would describe the cigar as firm, so I was a little worried about the draw. As mentioned the wrapper is a chocolate brown and had a slightly oily feel to it, the construction is good if not spectacular, there are quite a few veins and a little tooth. The cap construction was good and I got a nice clean cut from my Palio cutter.

I need not have worried about the draw, it was pretty much perfect, as was the burn line, this is a well made stick.

Flavour 9.0/10

Pre-draw had an earthly and slightly sweet taste to it, once lit the initial flavours were some pepper, the earthy component, and a touch of cocoa. As I progress other flavours were added, I detected some leather, and the cocoa flavour picked up, later on I detected some vanilla, and towards the end of the stick there were some strong roasted nut flavours.

I would say this cigar was medium to medium-strong.

All in all the flavours changed nicely as I smoked the cigar, slowly building in complexity as you got further into the stick, what more can you ask for…

Value 10/10

If you shop around, or buy a cab of 50 cigars, then you can get these for around the 4 USD mark, for this price this is a great Robusto sized cigar, and one of the best value for money sticks I have come across.

Summary 9.0/10

This is a great cigar, and at around 4 USD per stick I think this offers extremely good value for money, its well constructed, its packed with tobacco, had a good burn line, and really nice flavours. Would I have this cigar again, absolutely, would I get a box, absolutely, but as they are cabs of 50 I would probably need to do a box split..

This cigar deserves to be in your humidor.

 

Review: Bolivar Royal Corona

This is my new absolute number one cigar (well until the next one)!

Its amazing how my palette has changed with time, when I first started a full strength cigar like this would have knocked me for six, but now I enjoy strong cigars with a good kick.

Appearance 10/10

The wrapper is a lovely light brown, and is very well constructed. The cigar has a perfect aroma to it, and smells fantastic before you light it, then once you do.. ohh perfect

Construction & Draw 9.5/10

Construction is excellent, a firm cigar well packed with tobacco, but the burn is uniform and clean. As you would expect with such a well constructed cigar the draw was very good, and the cigar supported about and inch and a half of ash before it dropped.

Flavour 10/10

The cigar starts of peppery and spicy, with a delightful woody undertone. As you get further into the cigar the flavour picks up and becomes richer and more full bodied, but never harsh, you will also taste hints of vanilla and honey.

The last third of the cigar builds on this richness and adds the pepper and spice back in, and is and absolute joy to smoke,  you will keep saying to yourself  “just one more puff”.

Value 9.5/10

The flavour, construction, and sheer sophistication on this cigar, coupled with the fact that it retails for £13.00 makes this stick great value for money.

Summary 9.5/10

As I previously said, this is a new favorite cigar, its a good size, has amazing flavors, perfect draw, and I cant think of a better way to spend an hour and forty minutes

Review: Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva 77

This cigar was a gift from a very generous friend in the United States. Until he sent it to me I had not heard of the 77 “Shark”, so I had no idea about its odd shape, and that it is only released a couple of times a year so can be hard to find. I knew even less about the very positive reviews this cigar seems to get.

Appearance 9/10

This is a quite an odd looking cigar, the shape around the cap is that of a torpedo, but by the time you get to the foot its heavily box pressed (basically square). Its called the “Shark” because this shape is similar to a sharks tooth. I am not sure the shape really appeals to me, but that’s purely personal so I will not let the shape influence the review.

The wrapper is a deep chocolate brown, this was a new cigar so there was not a lot of oil’s present on the wrapper, and it did feel a little dry, but that was probably due to me not leaving it to rest long enough in my humidor (I have very poor willpower!).

Construction & Draw 9/10

The construction was excellent, it was tightly packed but still had some give when squeezed, there were some veins in the wrapper but these were relatively small. The cap construction was very good, and my cutter sliced off the end cleanly and easily.

The pre-light draw was perfect, easy but with some resistance, even before it was lit I could smell a sweetness and a strong smell of cocoa/chocolate. The burn was pretty even throughout the life of the cigar and did not require any touch ups.

Flavour 10/10

This cigar is velvety smooth and creamy, it really took me by surprise. The cigar starts off with a very strong and smooth flavour of cocoa with no spice at all, about an inch in this changes to hints of vanilla with a nutty tone, but still stays smooth and creamy.

As you get further into the cigar the vanilla is joined by spicy and peppery flavours and the strength begins to pick up, however the cigar never gets overpowering.

The thing that stands out for me is that I could clearly pick out each flavour, and they transitioned throughout the cigar, as one backed off the other came to the front, so at no time was any flavour clashing. For me that makes this a special stick.

Value 8.5/10

As this was a gift its a little hard to give an accurate value rating, for me as it was free its superb value! I believe that in the UK if you can get your hands on a 77 it will set you back around 22 GBP. Whilst this is not cheap I think that it stands up well against the price of Cohiba’s etc, and it is such a good cigar you have to say the price to enjoyment ratio is good.

Summary 9.5/10

I really enjoyed this cigar, I knew very little about it so smoking it was an unexpected and surprising pleasure. Not only does it have a number of different flavours, the balance, and segregation of the flavours is exceptional.

This is not a cheap cigar, but I would absolutely add more to my humidor, and I would imagine if you could leave some in the humidor for a while (you will need excellent willpower) these will get even smoother.

If you can find one, get one, you wont regret it.