Waste of a Good Cigar

This one was a bit of an experiment, there are some harder-to-find/expensive Cohiba - this one was available to get with the others and at $18 retail price I was hoping for something next level in the Cohiba line. It was really really good, but for that price -- I need something amazing.  There was a pleasant sweetness that at one point was reminding me of a state fair barbeque sweetness.  The construction seemed solid, but the burn was uneven the whole way through despite multiple repairs. Probably the last Cohiba I will purchase ... and the excitement I had after finding such a great Arturo Fuente just became a bit more nervous as I look at some other series to experiment with.

This was one of the Cohiba that I was really looking forward to.  In reviews on Halfwheel, he called this one "the best of the line".   It didn't go for the super cheap price, so I'm assuming it wasn't as bulk produced as the earlier, plus the foot looks like it's not smashed - so it's been stored better. Taste was actually quite nice.  Again, probably not something I would come back to but we are definitely getting into a better quality cigar.   I lost interest about halfway through when it started feeling a bit too peppery.

Now I'm getting into a couple of the Cohiba that were not "cheap" on the auction site that I got the others, which leads me to be they are less ... bulk produced than the others. This one has a decent taste that lasted well.  It wouldn't be a go-to cigar for me by a longshot but it was definitely way better by comparison to the previous few.  Wouldn't buy it again, but I wouldn't throw it out.  

I'm confronted by a certain reluctance to try this stick ... even though it should be better than the other cheapies, perhaps its because the wrapper has a similar look to the connecticut. I think my tastes tend more towards a Dominican cigar profile because this one was more in my favor profile.  It definitely wasn't great, good at most - but certainly the best of the cheapie Cohiba so far, but still - would not smoke again.

Well if there was one I was looking forward to less than the cheapie connecticut, it was this - a cheapie red.  This seems to be another of their main basic brands by cost and gauging by previous experiences I bet the tubed version is probably better... It smelled like a firecracker fuse burning, taste was pretty offensive burning paper initially but levelled out to a "okay".  Life is too short to waste your time on "okay" cigars, so I left it a little over an inch in - 20-30 minutes. 

Cohiba Connecticut was not a cigar I wanted to smoke all the way through.  Based on the previous two experiences, I am assuming that the tubed is going to be much better than the cheapie, so this time I started with the tubed one.  It was the shorter of the two, lit cleanly and burned well - but it's a blehhh taste to begin with, a yardgar at best.  I'm not a huge fan of many connecticuts, because they remind me a bit of gas station cigars. The cheaper one was a very similar experience, didn't feel like repeating it so I gave up an inch in. This is one to donate ...