Just finished my first Czar cigar

[Guest robusto101]

I just finished my first smoke from the czar shop. A Monte PE with a box date I believe of Sept 10. This was my first Monte PE ever so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'll try to give a brief review but I'm new to cigar smoking and I'm quite certain I don't have a developed palette just yet.

Anyway, visually, the cigar looked great. I posted pics on the forums when I received my box, which was close to three weeks ago. Dark brown wrapper, very full and almost heavy feeling. Certainly felt like a hefty cigar. Very oily wrapper too. I think this was the first time I've personally experienced that.

After cutting the cap, I noticed the draw was a tad bit tight. I lit the sucker up and got loads of spice. I could definitely discern that in the back of throat. Almost like a black pepper taste. Not overwhelming as the cigar maintained smoothness throughout. But quite obvious.

It decided to mellow out a bit shortly after that; maybe about five minutes into it. From there on out I didn't perceive much complexity. The spice came and went, but never returned like the opening. And I was fine with that.

Moments of smoothness and rich tobacco flavor maintained much of the duration. I did have to relight several times which was annoying. This caused the usual hot burning tobacco and slight bitterness until it got going and I was able to let it mellow out.

This particular stick didn't produce much smoke but the aroma was nice. As I was smoking on my patio outside, at one moment, the wind picked up ever so slightly and pushed a bit of smoke towards my face. As I sat there with my iPad reading the news I thought, "what a great smell".

It was definitely a stronger cigar as a felt a tad bit light headed afterwards but nothing uncomfortable. Just enough to notice. I never got the creaminess that many talk about. If I had to really sum it up I would say it provided sufficient spice and rich tobacco. Didn't get too much else but again, perhaps it's my inexperience that doesn't allow me to identify all the flavors.

Despite lacking the complexity that I expected, it was still an enjoyable smoke. It was my first in a box of ten so I think I'll wait a couple months before trying another one and see how that shapes up.

I do like the size as it seems perfect for a "hey, I'm suddenly in the mood for a cigar, how bout a quick one on the patio" type of smoke.

I'm still awaiting my order for a box of Famosos. I do hear those are quite nice. I definitely look forward to smoking more PE's for sure. It "feels" like it has great potential. We shall see...

[DinoCop05]

Good review. I have a box of PE's, I really enjoy them.

[NitrousPurger]

Never had a PE. Have a box of monte 4's from czar and they draw tight too. I have had cubans that draw perfectly but being used to the light fill of NC's, cubans are usually more of an effort. I notice that they always seem to be filled with a lot more tobacco when looking at the foot. The aroma off a cuban is great in my opinion

[Guest robusto101]

Nice review, thanks for sharing. I've never tasted black pepper from a PE and very few have had that nicotein kick to knock me down. Its always interesting to hear what others experience when smoking the same cigar.

Hey Shlomo, what flavors do you usually pick up with these sticks? The peppery spice was the most noticable trait but like yourself, other opinions are quite interesting.

[markmurase]

Hi Robusto 101,

I also dislike having to relight. Unfortunately, it is a common problem in reasonably young cigars. With a few years age, it generally improves a lot.

To reduce the bitterness I recommend that you 'purge' the cigar after every relight. To do this, take a deep breath and breath out through the cigar.

Cheers,

Mark

PS: The Robusto vitola is one of my favourites. I guess you're the same.

[Rushman]

Good choice on the famosos. I'm a big fan of the Robaina line and although the Unicos are my vitola of choice from that marca the famosos are next in line after that. Nice review. Thanks for sharing.

[Strick28]

Thanks...Will have to give these a try...

[Len]

The PE's just sound a bit wet and need some additional time to settle. Give them a year before sampling them again.

[Guest robusto101]

Thanks for the replies, folks. My humidor has been around 67RH lately; not sure how to bring that down. Maybe some beads or something? I haven't any experience with that but I'll look into it. I think I'd like to try to keep them closer to the low 60's if that makes any difference. But I'll try dry boxing next time. Yesterday was a spur of the moment decision after a hearty steak dinner and I needed to coat my palette with Cuban tobacco

[Guest robusto101]

So are beads the way to go to bring down humidity? Anyone know of a good source? Thanks!

[cloganplatt]

Heartfelt industries is a good place to get em. Quick and good service.

[KarlJ]

So are beads the way to go to bring down humidity? Anyone know of a good source? Thanks!

I dont have experience with bringing humidity down so my following answer is based on assumption. The RH specific beads are supposed to maintain the set humidity by releasing OR absorbing moisture until the specified humidity is obtained (I wouldnt expect them to be dead on, but should be within a reasonable +/-). If your RH is higher then the beads are rated for then you would want to add dry beads(they will appear white when dry and clear when wet) to absorb the excess moisture.

I use heartfelt beads and have been happy with the companys service and their beads. The beads come in 70%, 65% and 60%.

-Karl

[chrisguinther]

Love the Monte PE. I remember getting several boxes of the initial release about five years ago and burning through them in record time. Wish we would see this format as regular releases in other marcas rather than as RE's.