Firstly sorry about the picture, for some reason I did not check it before smoking the cigar, so by the time I came to write this review and looked at the picture it was too late. I have infact had a couple of these sticks but at no point did I think about checking if I had a good picture…. idiot!
As you know I am a fan of Robusto sized cigars, and I was hoping this well priced stick from CGars would be a good cheap alternative to Cuban robusto’s like the BRC.
Appearance 8.5/10
The wrapper is dark brown, and quite well constructed. There were some small long veins in the wrapper, cap construction was very good. Pre-light aroma was mostly tobacco and a hint of leather. The band is quite plain being just red with gold writing, but its well printed, and not too flashy.
Construction & Draw 9.0/10
The construction of this cigar is very good, especially for the price, its well packed, and the stick was firm with no soft spots. The pre-light draw was similar to the pre-light aroma, however I also detected some sweet notes.
The draw on these cigars has been excellent, with just the correct amount of resistance, the burn line is good, a couple of small wobbles, but they soon corrected themselves without my intervention.
Flavour 8.0/10
This is a medium to full flavour cigar, which to my taste was strong and rich. It has a good tobacco flavour, and as the pre-light draw suggested had a sweet leather taste to it, there was also a slight peppery spice to the cigar as you would expect from a Nicaraguan stick, but it was well controlled and never harsh.
The flavour profile was pretty static until around the second half of the cigar, when a tasty nutty note came through which was a nice addition.
Value 9.5/10
This cigar is exclusive to CGars, and at 7.99 GBP I think it represents excellent value for money in the UK market. Okay its not quite a BRC, lacking some of the strength and change in flavour profile of that cigar, but at almost half the price its a great cigar and is excellent value.
Summary 9.0/10
You cant argue with the value on offer here, this is a great cigar for the money, its well constructed, with a controlled and rich flavour, and after having had a few of these sticks the consitant quality for a cheap cigar is impressive.
I was going to give this cigar an overall 8.5 rating, but the great price of these sticks requires me to give them an extra half point.
I think these will get better the longer they are in the humidor, I certainly plan to get a few more so I can see, and I advise you to do the same.
UK Cigarnewbie 