That is correct. Labelled as "Brazil Maduro." However the flavor is not as intense as one might think. I would have to say a mild to medium smoke with an initial tight draw, loosening up in the second third to near perfection. Starts out with a bit of woody tones, to be replaced as the burn progresses to a coffee flavor. Even burn throughout, with a dense ash. Maduros are not my preference - I usually will have some variety of a Cuban or Dominican filler with a Connecticut wrap, such as a Macanudo Crystal Cafe - but this Victor Sinclair is a very palatable smoke...and at a reasonable price.
For a good while, I preferred maduros for the most part - then when I quit smoking cigarettes, I found myself reaching for lighter (or at least more moderate) sticks. My guess is that after the cigs quit killing my taste buds, I was getting more out of my cigars. In recent months I've found myself enjoying the full range of wrappers again, and I've always liked that Brazilian wrapper tobacco. Good sweet stuff.
Keeping with the maduro theme... I'm wrapping up my weekend with an RyJ Reserve Maduro Churchill, first time I've smoked one. I often find it difficult to really pay attention to - and detect specific flavors in - the cigars that I smoke regularly; but when I smoke something new, it's much easier to focus on it and pick it apart, so I'll do it again tonight. Pre-light - Wrapper is smooth with a leathery feel and no tooth at all. Not the darkest maduro out there, but fairly dark and unevenly colored, with some areas darker than the rest. 1st third - Slow and even burn, toasty and sweet, and the flavor really lingers on the lips and tongue. Good amount of smoke, with a really sweet aroma. Not overpowering, and not overwhelming with a bunch of distinct flavors, but a good mellow flavor overall. This smoke is really encouraging me to slow down and relax, and enjoy it. Solid chunk of ash falls off at about 1 inch. 2nd third - Maybe developing a bit more body, but otherwise still the same smoke - not one-dimensional by any means, but more of a "staying true to itself" kind of burn. Smoke has a bit of that "cool" sensation to it that I love so much. Flavor not lingering on the taste buds as it was before, but that's probably because I've now spent some time becoming acquainted with it. Ash still falling in solid chunks, now at half inch intervals. 3rd third - or is it third 3rd? Call me crazy, but my favorite pairing with a good cigar is a generic light beer - usually Nattys or Bud Light. Tonight is a Natty night. I like dark beers and fine liquors too, (and I've come to really love a good single malt Scotch,) but I rarely drink them, because I enjoy the act of drinking, but I don't really like getting drunk. (The college-aged me of 15 years ago would be so disappointed...) With light beer, I can drink a few and maintain my faculties, and it doesn't affect me the next day. Also, makes it easier to really taste my stogie, when it's not competing with my drink. Which reminds me, this is supposed to be a cigar review, so - this stick is still staying true to what it's been offering all night, which is beginning to feel like quite a long time... It's developing maybe a light spicy flavor, and the cooling effect is still definitely there, but for a big old Churchill to keep burning down slow and steady like this is a real treat. As the stick nears its end and I let it rest a little longer between draws, the sweetness returns to remind me of what it was when we first met, a couple hours ago... Overall - I've smoked a few varieties of the RyJ, but none of them ever really stood out to me before, until I met this one. This Churchill was a marathon of a smoke that I wouldn't want to do every day, but I look forward to doing it again.
Thanks for the bump. This a good thread. I have a few posts i could add to it. I'll try to make time to update it.
Actually I was getting ready to do a review of a new brand I found that I really like. They were out of my normal Cohiba Genios so the salesman recommended another brand. Partagas, which of course I have tried before but never really struck a chord with me. But he recommended the Series E, number 2 and I have to say they are one of the finest cigars I have ever smoked. Very good smoke, long ash, mellow flavors with a nice mild lingering finish. They are my new favorite. Cuban of course, I don't know how another available in the US would compare. Which brings up another topic I was going to post on. I read an article, in a real magazine so no link, but it was about how US cigar makers are not worried about the influx of Cuban cigars because the quality control is not what the American consumer is used to and that they are over rated and will be just a novelty for awhile then people will come back to their normal brands. Yeah OK, sounds like they ARE worried and worried big time. I am here to tell you that there is a BIG difference in Cuban grown compared to other tobaccos. I used to smoke Nicaraguan, and some Honduran "Cuban Seed" brands and I can tell you they are not the same by a long stretch. I was skeptical at first, I thought "There can't be that much difference, it's just like wine snobs" But man was I wrong. There is a big difference. As fr quality control it's true that you get the occasional tight draw, but I have had those in other brands as well. And I have got a few "runners" that won't hold a steady burn. But, again, I have found those in others as well. I haven't noticed in the last 5 years that I have had Cubans available, having any more than normal for any brands. Another topic.... I have a couple of friends who are Scotch drinkers. I have never liked the taste of it. I was always told that it was an acquired taste. My response was I couldn't drink enough of the nasty stuff to acquire it. But in the last couple of years it is all that's been available a lot of the time. When I would go to a friends house for dinner that is all they would have or especially on the airlines they would never have bourbons only scotch. To sum it up, I finally acquired the taste for it. It just seemed to happen. Now I have found a whole new world. It is a lot like wine, in that there is so many varieties and makes. It has different characters depending on where it was distilled and how etc. I have been sampling different ones. The single malts are fantastic. And I have always drank my bourbon with a shot of cola or at least water. I never could enjoy it straight up. But I have found with Scotch that is the only way I enjoy it. With just enough ice to put a slight chill on it. And it is the perfect companion to a good Cuban cigar!!!
Since I have been living abroad I have been smoking almost exclusively Cuban Cigars but during a layover at Istanbul airport I found these in the duty free shop. I haven't had a Gurkha in probably 6 years or more. I am looking forward to sampling these. The "Beast" is aptly named, it has to be at least a 60 ring gauge! There is also a "Ninja", "Assassin" and a "Beauty".
Love the humidor!! And RP's are good smokes. As for the Gurhka I can honestly say that I don't remember ever smoking a bad one. I bought another box of these on my way back to the sandbox last week. I can't really say I have a favorite. If pressed I would have to say I like the Beast netter than the beauty. I like a darker, richer smoke.
Darker, richer smoke you say? Try a Gurkha Black Dragon Imperial Presidente. Open some windows, unbelievable smoky cigar. You'll see. I do like all the Gurkha offererings. Another good one to try is the Ave Maria Lionheart box pressed. Use a plunge cut or v cut on that one.
Funny I never saw this thread before. After 30 years of cigarettes I quit back around 2007. I picked up cigars (and briefly fiddled with pipes) because I didn't want to become one of those "zealot" anti tobacco jerks. Basically taught myself with internet reading to help. Don't smoke with anybody. I never did like smoking indoors. Even when I smoked cigarettes I still hated being in a room full of smoke.When we bought our most recent house we decided it was going to be smoke free, we smoke out in the garage. I still hurry through cigar shops where people are smoking. I don't want to tell them they can't, but I don't want to be there any longer than necessary either. I would still call myself a beginner as far as knowledge goes. My favorite for a couple years now has been the Tinder Box "Hoyo seconds" which are actually "HB" brand. I mostly prefer natural/EMS but some maduros have been good. My biggest gripe is a tight draw. Only Gurkha I ever went back for more was "Nepalese Warrior", can't find em any more. I guess I consider myself fortunate that I can't properly appreciate expensive cigars. I try one here and there but I don't get what makes them worth it. Had a few gifts from the ISOM and did like a couple of them, but can't swear they weren't counterfeit. I usually like a punch over a clipper, I have much better luck with cheap lighters, I've graduated through several humidors, currently I think it's a 300 count. I'd like to smoke on weekends but many weeks when weather is nice I smoke every day, but always only one per day except rarely I might have a "little" one if being outside is what I'm doing anyway. Cigar smoking is not a habit, it's a hobby.
I like that, It's a hobby not a habit. I smoked cigs for 20 yrs and quit about 20 yrs ago. I was very hesitant to touch any tobacco products for fear of getting hooked again. But with cigars I have found that it is indeed a hobby. I enjoy it but can easily go without. I work for 4 weeks at a time on a drilling rig in the Arabian desert. I generally smoke one a day while I am on the job. I have a report to submit every morning at 5 am. I then take my coffee and a cigar outside and watch the sun come up and plan my day. Sometimes I will have one at night as well to unwind after a long day. But when I go home I might only smoke one a week, if that. I have gone two months without one. As for the more expensive ones. I have enjoyed a good $3 Cigar and a good $30 cigar. A few years ago Cigar Aficionado magazine had for their top cigar of the year, in a blind taste test, a $5 smoke that was the second cheapest one in the 100+ survey. It beat out dozens of $20 and $30 brands. I have found that there is certainly a big difference in the pure Cubans compared to the "Cuban seed" varieties grown in Honduras or Nicaragua. I t is a lot like wine. You develop a pallet for it. But to be honest I still can't differentiate the flavors of one from another. If I read a review of it and see where it has hints of chocolate, berry etc. then I can say "Oh, ok I taste that". Maybe it is more physiological tho. I rate them by smooth, rich, creamy, bitter etc. I know the ones I like and the ones that I don't. And I agree, nothing ruins one more than a tight draw. When you suck your eyeballs back in your head to get a drag it ruins the experience. I don't feel satisfied after one like that. Many times I throw it away and get another. I like the ones that roll smoke off of them. I use a clipper and like to cut about 80% of the cap. I have one that has a back on it and you get the same depth of cut every time. As I said in the OP I believe that luxury items are an important part of a persons overall survival preps. It is the rule of three's, you can survive 3 months without hope. Hope and your mental state is greatly improved if you have a small comfort item to indulge in on occasion. Be it chocolate, whiskey or a good cigar. When a group of friends and I were preparing for Y2K among the freeze dried foods, medicines and gear in my store I had cases of whiskey and wine. I hadn't started smoking cigars then. And also a few buckets of hard candy. After Y2K I didn't set foot in a liqueur store for probably two years.
My last cigar smoked was back in May on a solo fly fishing trip. The friend who gave me the flask got me going on Acid Kuba Kuba.
Shutterstock Old, single-malt scotch has long held pride of place among discerning consumers of alcohol. After all, a finely aged Scotch is both delicious and dripping with Swanson-level class. Unfortunately, that means a lot of people drink it, and that means it’s running out fast. There are two problems at work here. The first is that we’re in the middle of a long whiskey boom affecting suppliers across the world; simply put, two decades ago, nobody was expecting nearly the demand of whiskey that’s out there right now. But thanks to sinking or even eradicated liquor tariffs, countries around the world are importing more booze than ever. Which leads to problem number two, that this stuff is really, really hard to make. For something to have “single-malt Scotch whisky” on the label, it needs to be made exclusive with malted barley, distilled in pot stills in one distillery, and aged in oak barrels no larger than 180 gallons for at least five years. Oh, yeah, and you also have to be in Scotland. Unless they invent time machines, Scottish distilleries can no longer create more of their more finely aged products than they could point you in the direction of Hogwarts. Not that they’d want to, since, after all, the entire idea is to drive up demand while keeping supply low. The good news is that this won’t affect your day-to-day consumption of brown liquor, nor will you be forced to consume “diet whiskey” instead. Distillers can do most of this stuff anywhere else, with some delicious results, you just can’t call it “Scotch.” But if you want the really good, finely aged stuff, you’d better be prepared to pay its weight in gold. A Single-Malt Scotch Shortage Is Imminent
I almost bought a bottle of 21 yr old Scotch last time I was home. It was Glennfiddich, one of my favorites but it was nearly $500 for the bottle. I may buy it and save it for a special occasion. Anyone want to come to Cyprus for cigars and Scotch by the sea?
You'd be welcome anytime. By the way, a good friend of mine is working with me now, he was 82nd Airborne and he likes your posts in the Motivational Poster thread. He always asks me if you've posted any new ones.
