Skip to main content

Cohiba Black

This is an experiment I've wanted to do for a while -- I enjoyed the first Cohiba Black I got as a random choice at a local show.  Bought because of the fancy tube packaging and name recognition, which receives a lot of hate for using the Cuban company name, "not as good" still sounded pretty good so I wanted to try it.

It has a super dark wrapper, one would think a pepper stick - but it was like the Guiness of cigars, deceptively smooth as I recall.

I saw these same cigars on an auction site for like $3.  I have heard rumors that auction sites get seconds or these somehow didn't pass final inspection.  So I bought a few to compare with one in the tube.  Visually they are almost identical with the exception of the non-tubed being a lot more compressed, from the foot it looks like the same amount of tobacco in a smaller ring gauge.  

I used a PerfectDraw on the cheapie to get the draw a little looser.  The flavor seemed to match that which I remembered from the tubed, but all in all it was unexciting - no great tastes but a decent burning aroma.  It also got a little peppery on the back of the tongue, enjoyment lessened as the cigar progressed .. bad sign IMHO I've had plenty of cigars go the opposite direction.

Even though the tastes are similar, the tubed one seems to be a more enjoyable pleasant smoke, even tastier I would say, I wonder why that is...  the tightness of the cigar seemed to be the only difference, but these were from two different places completely.  The tubed could have been aging for who knows how long, and perhaps the looser wrap and tubing caused a better fermentation?   I wonder how these tighter wraps will react over time in that case -- maybe fermentation is slowed in these bulk packages, I wonder if they will loosen up in a normal humidor environment...    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arturo Fuente - 858 Double Chateau NT

 I'm not sure entirely sure what this one is called, I'll have to guess 858 Double Chateau Natural (6.7"x47) by size?   This gets me thinking about what a great effect vitola has on the flavor of a cigar.  I'm thinking about it like wrapping a burrito; a chubby burrito tortilla barely stretches around, a thin burrito might have multiple layers of tortilla wrapping.  Not only will there be more wrapper and binder in a section, but with whatever filler there is being smaller - more of your flavor is dependent on these leaves. Maybe this explains why I enjoy a thicker vitola flavor more.   This started out kind of on the unpleasant side and then settled in for a nice "normal" Fuente.  Longer sizes also annoy me for a variety of reasons, they only fit vertically in my trays - but mainly longer cigars tend to develop a crack or a problem or burn problem.  This was no exception, great burn but something started messing up the draw - like there was ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arturo Fuente - Rosado Sun Grown R56

Now that I've had a few, I can say that this cigar is hands down my favorite cigar for taste and vitola (so far).  Every time it hits my taste buds just right. I had this one in a dry box just overnight.  I think my target is going to be 24-48 hours in advance I'll put them in the box, the burn was clean through the whole cigar and no need to touch up.   As far as "tasting better" from the process I couldn't really say because this one is just lip smacking delicious to begin with. I wish I could adequately describe the flavor actually.  I took a look at a few cigar muckity-muck reviews that talked about chocolate and nuttiness and sweetness.  I just don't think that's what I tasted ... I need to try again maybe now that I've read.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Very First Post

The hunt for the perfect cigar. This last year I have discovered the pleasure of taking the time to smoke a cigar.  I imagine I will go into all the nuances that have made it such a pleasurable experience in my future musings, but since this is the very first post I wanted to sort of lay down my purpose for this in the first place. I've tried a broad selection of cigars bought from local shops and online stores, buying those names that I recognized from recent forum chatter or choosing them based on cool label design or perceived rarity.  Needless to say I was all over the place - no idea about what anything meant Agnorosa, Ligero, Nicaraguan, Dominican - and the results were as expected all over the map. I found some I preferred more than others - but sadly the one thing I really 'learned' in these months, is that I can tell there is almost a plateau-like difference between normal cigars and WOW that's a good cigar.  Much like wine, price can point you in the right dir...
Post a Comment
Read more