WINNER ANNOUNCED!! 2019 Christmas Sampler Reviews......in your own time

[El Presidente]

2019 Christmas Sampler Reviews......in your own time  

You don't have to review your Christmas sampler......it's December/Christmas vacation time........you don't have to do a damn thing 

However.....if you have poured yourself your third drink and your inner Blake is wanting to come out, pick a cigar from your sampler, fire it up and scratch down a few notes while taking a pic or two. Post them in this thread. 

When I am back in mid Jan....I will put all reviews into a draw for a special little sampler. 

Enjoy 

[Hookmaker]

8 hours ago, El Presidente said:

2019 Christmas Sampler Reviews......in your own time  

You don't have to review your Christmas sampler......it's December/Christmas vacation time........you don't have to do a damn thing 

However.....if you have poured yourself your third drink and your inner Blake is wanting to come out, pick a cigar from your sampler, fire it up and scratch down a few notes while taking a pic or two. Post them here. 

When I am back in mid Jan....I will put all reviews into a draw for a special little sampler. 

Enjoy 

Uhhh, that’d be breaking your own rule of 30 days ( at least ) of rest ?

[Deeg]

The issue for me is that while all of these cigars would no doubt benefit from some age - I’m sure the Tainos and Winnie would keep improving for a decade or more - smoking the singles is a path to decisions on box purchases.  That’s why a review database like this is great, because it gives an idea of what’s most likely to represent well with only a little rest, and what just needs more time.

[El Presidente]

15 hours ago, Hookmaker said:

Uhhh, that’d be breaking your own rule of 30 days ( at least ) of rest ?

it's Christmas.....rules go out the window 

[Hookmaker]

16 hours ago, El Presidente said:

it's Christmas.....rules go out the window 

....the man from Downunder said YEEEESSSS! 

[GavLew79]

Sampler arrived today!!! Yay!

The Sir Winnie was battered though ?

Might as well smoke him first! Review in a week or two when he's settled!

[Deeg]

Thinking I might pop one of these guys pre-Xmas too - which is the way to go, I wonder? Leaning towards the RA Silver Jubilee.

[Chas.Alpha]

The only one I will try this year is the QdO 50...

[Deeg]

Well, I caved so I may as well kick this off...

I was jonesing to try something from the sampler, and the buzz on the RA Silver Jubilee seemed to be that they were smoking well.  So I fired one up tonight,  Beautiful slightly ruddy colorado wrapper, modestly oily.  Definitely not one of those RE/LE mottled wrappers that says "Nice try - let's talk in 2027".  Slightly spongy, good construction, altogether a very inviting appearance.  Prelight aroma of sweet spices and a hint of barnyard.

Perfect draw after a very slightly tight start, tons of creamy smoke.  Frankly, I was wowed straight off the bat.  While there's nothing that screams Ramon Allones in the profile for me - not much fruit - it was a fantastic experience right from the light.  Tasting it blind I might have guessed Hoyo - cedar, brown sugar, a bit of vanilla, some leather.  Medium-bodied throughout the smoke.  A delicious sweetness that alternated between dark brown sugar and a hint of butterscotch at times.  I love Ken's description of a "comfortable" cigar - this was a classic older Cuban profile for me.  Frankly I don't think there's any way these were rolled six months ago - I recall Rob saying they might have been waiting for packaging since 2017 and after smoking one, I can believe it.  By pure luck happened on a perfect pairing, Springbank 10 - the soft peat, gently oily sweetness, tart fruit and "sharp corners" in the spirit fit the cigar perfectly.

Burn was very good through most of the cigar, only a couple of mild touch-ups needed.  Firm, salt-and-pepper ash that again brought back memories of the Cubans I was smoking 15 or 20 years ago.  The only downside was that a split developed in the wrapper, which I chalk up to the fact that I didn't let them rest long enough.  C'est la vie - I got a glorious hour out of it so no complaints.  I'm thinking about 92-93.

 

[PaulPower]

@El Presidente could you post the list of what was in the samplers? Normally I save it but this time it looks like I forgot to.


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[Chibearsv]

13 hours ago, PaulPower said:

could you post the list of what was in the samplers? Normally I save it but this time it looks like I forgot to.


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I found this in an earlier post:

-- Christmas Sampler --
Punch 898 Asia Pacific Regional 2018 
Lonsdale
UBM JUN 19
Al I can say is “wow”. Medium full bodied, roast peanuts rolled in chocolate. Not a hard edge to be seen.  

Bolivar Silver Jubilee Asia Pacific Regional 2018   
Gordito con Cabeza Tumbada
LGR JUN 19
Fantastic cocoa, licorice and a touch of leather. Some sweet woody notes ….chewy sweet.
Medium bodied.

Ramon Allones Silver Jubillee  Asia Pacific 2017 Regional.
MONTESCO
ASR JUN 19
Fruit toast? Raisin and walnut bread? These are going to develop into a powerhouse fruit and nut combination

H. Upmann Sir Winston
Churchill
EOS JUN 19
Legend
Cake, shortbread, coffee, cinnamon. Elegant, smooth yet rich, ages supremely well. legend.

Quai d’Orsay No 50
Petit Robusto
MSA May 19
Sponge cake dipped in milk coffee. Mid to just under mid bodied. Rich flavour.

Quai d’Orsay No 54
Edmundo Grueso
TOU MAY 19
Mezzo coffee with a beautiful crema. That is what this cigar tastes like to me.

Cohiba Esplendido
Churchill
UAO JUN 19
Milk coffee, touch of Cointreau/citrus, honey on the fringes. Pure class in all aspects. They really have been gorgeous in the aesthetic and the smoking even at this age.

El Rey Del Mundo Taino Regional Release Formosa . 
Churchill
BRO JUN 19
They taste like young Tainos use to taste and that is a good thing.  Light honey and cake in a medium bodied profile.
  
Trinidad Fundadores   
Laguito Especial.
ARS JUN 19
Deep coffee and tea cake flavour.. Medium bodied
You will enjoy the coffee, cocoa, shortbread bursts.

Bolivar Belicoso Finos  
Belicoso
MSU MAY  19
God I love them! Creamy stout goodness with a touch of liquorice, leather, coffee biscuit.
Big on flavour and they can be enjoyed young as long as you don’t mind a touch of mongrel.
Liquorice, cream, leather.  Medium full and tasty as hell.

Romeo y Julieta Churchill  
Churchill
BUP MAY 19
Spiced cherries, unsweetened cream with some sweet spices of nutmeg lilting in and out.  

Cohiba Robusto   
Robusto
UAO MAY 19
The aroma at cold is a perfume of tobacco, citrus and sweet spice. Sheen, aroma at cold, construction.
Coffee, cream, orange peel, honey, sweet spices, cake 

[slowsmoke]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:53 AM, Deeg said:

Well, I caved so I may as well kick this off...

I was jonesing to try something from the sampler, and the buzz on the RA Silver Jubilee seemed to be that they were smoking well.  So I fired one up tonight,  Beautiful slightly ruddy colorado wrapper, modestly oily.  Definitely not one of those RE/LE mottled wrappers that says "Nice try - let's talk in 2027".  Slightly spongy, good construction, altogether a very inviting appearance.  Prelight aroma of sweet spices and a hint of barnyard.

Perfect draw after a very slightly tight start, tons of creamy smoke.  Frankly, I was wowed straight off the bat.  While there's nothing that screams Ramon Allones in the profile for me - not much fruit - it was a fantastic experience right from the light.  Tasting it blind I might have guessed Hoyo - cedar, brown sugar, a bit of vanilla, some leather.  Medium-bodied throughout the smoke.  A delicious sweetness that alternated between dark brown sugar and a hint of butterscotch at times.  I love Ken's description of a "comfortable" cigar - this was a classic older Cuban profile for me.  Frankly I don't think there's any way these were rolled six months ago - I recall Rob saying they might have been waiting for packaging since 2017 and after smoking one, I can believe it.  By pure luck happened on a perfect pairing, Springbank 10 - the soft peat, gently oily sweetness, tart fruit and "sharp corners" in the spirit fit the cigar perfectly.

Burn was very good through most of the cigar, only a couple of mild touch-ups needed.  Firm, salt-and-pepper ash that again brought back memories of the Cubans I was smoking 15 or 20 years ago.  The only downside was that a split developed in the wrapper, which I chalk up to the fact that I didn't let them rest long enough.  C'est la vie - I got a glorious hour out of it so no complaints.  I'm thinking about 92-93.

great read, thanks for sharing

[GWG]

I'm just sitting here crying in my beer because I missed out on The Xmas samplers?I really do try and catch each days release but, there have been a few days where life just got in the way and yes I do have regrets. However I am vicariously enjoying thr sampler through the myriad of fine reviews. Thanks one and all!

[CampDelta369]

The QD 50 smoking real well off the sampler. A lot of creaminess and under medium body. Construction excellent as the draw and burn produce gobs of smoke on the pallet. Retro Hale is wonderful.

[nKostyan]

QdO no.50
On a cut I see very dense rolled from thin tobacco, but draw appeared normal.

1/3: the cigar starts with woody-creamy with a hint of nut flavor. A little spice, but not peppery. In the aftertaste there is charcoal, I think it's youth.

2/3: there was a spicy tingling of the tongue-residual harshiness. The taste is dominated by roasted hazelnuts. The smell in the room - peanut butter cookies, fresh out of the oven.
3/3: profile unchanged. The taste is not spoiled, you can smoke until you burn your fingers.
Conclusion: a good in all respects cigar. I have two boxes at home. I have nothing to complain about, but this cigar is not mine, it is more suitable for women and beginners-a universal cigar for General consumption.

[GavLew79]

Smoked the Sir Winnie that suffered some damage in transit. All I can say is...Waw! What a smoke. It's only been a couple of weeks resting but it was sweet, smooth, woody and nutty to the nub. Not a hint of youth. I really am a believer that 2018/2019 tobacco is well fermented and ready to rock. I shall stock up in 2020 when budget allows. Bingo Bango! 94/100. 

[GavLew79]

I caved again and smoked the Qd'O Fiddy! Yumm. Mouth watering all the way through. Dense, creamy smoke with hints of sweetness and a fruity tang. Better filled than my box of the same, and over an hour smoking time. Mine are 30-40 minutes. Delicious once again. 92/100. ?

[Deeg]

13 hours ago, GavLew79 said:

I caved again and smoked the Qd'O Fiddy! Yumm. Mouth watering all the way through. Dense, creamy smoke with hints of sweetness and a fruity tang. Better filled than my box of the same, and over an hour smoking time. Mine are 30-40 minutes. Delicious once again. 92/100. ?

That's one that's calling out to me as my possible second cigar out of the sampler, nice review.

[Hammer Smokin']

I had to move my sampler cigars out of sight in my humidor.

they were calling loudly!

 

[PaulPower]

12 days of Christmas sampler review

QdO 50

Call draw hey and toasted tobacco

First puffs sponge cake dipped in coffee with light milk chocolate

Absolutely killer pull! Just the right amount of resistance!

 

Kind of a messed up burn line; never really cleared up.

 

Notes of hay and leather, Slight undertone of nutmeg (Merry Christmas!)

 

Second and third: really enjoyable!. This is my first quai, and I have to say, I’m enjoying the flavor of sponge cake with very mild chocolate and coffee, and the classic Cuban twang. All in all a mild and delicious cigar that I was not expecting.

 

Construction leaves something to be desired, as I’m noticing a rather bad burn line and possibly some tunneling. But it produces absolutely huge Dragon-like clouds of smoke, and no hint of ammonia yet (which Inormally when cigars tunneling) so I’m not angry.

 

Final third: tunneling got significantly worse, so I had to cut off the cherry and relight.

 

Upon relight, ammonia showed its ugly head. Had to put it down. Shame

 

4/10

 

 

 

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[Islandboy]

I’ve got most of the Christmas sampler cigars in 2+ year boxes, aside from the RE’s, so smoking them all in the twelve days of Christmas is an opportunity to see how 2019 stock compares to the 2017-2018 offerings.

Much speculation exists regarding 2019 stock smoking better young than previous years. So far, this has not been the case for me. I had the RyJ Churchill tonight. Started with some vibrant mongrel flavors, but persistent burn issues, and bitterness in the final third suggest my 2017 sticks were actually better ROTT. 

So far I’ve had the Sir Winston, the BBF, the Tainos, and the bolivar RE, and now the RyJ Churchill.  The Tainos absolutely shined, no BS, beyond expectations. The rest were ok, but any thought that 2019 cigars smoke better young than recent previous years just isn’t there for me. Not that they’re any worse by far, but certainly no advantage is seen. 

Looking forward to sparking up the Espy and Coro in the coming days! I absolutely love this opportunity for comparative reference! 

And the sunset lit up for a few glorious moments, always best with some perfectly timed incoming weather  

 

[PaulPower]

Bolivar Beli

Cold Draw hay, earth and shortbread

1/3

Café au lait And tons of leather. Smooth and mild with a little bit of licorice on the back end but not as many toasty flavors as I would prefer. The Cuban twang is noticeably lacking.

 

2/3

The coffee is coming out more and the licorice is all but faded away. Stronger to toasted tobacco. Burn line not perfect but not terrible. Honestly this is the first cigar I’ve had that doesn’t pair well with bourbon. they just sort of clash.

 

1/3

Spices into the picture, like nutmeg & allspice. And licorice is back in full force. I’m also getting notes of earth and the cream is fading away into the background. The twang finally made an appearance. Ash is holding on like a champ.

 

Towards the middle of the final third that cream I was looking for came back. I don’t know if it was the cigar my perception, but it was welcome.

 

This bad boy really opened up. Strong twang, café au lait, unsweetened whipped cream, and just a hint of shortbread and licorice. I wish it was an inch longer (that’s what she said)!

7/10 only because I didn’t enjoy the first half as much as the last.

 

 

 

 

 

[PaulPower]

QdO 54

Cold draw: All toasted tobacco and hay

1/3
Creamy coffee and lightly spiced biscuit. Chocolate starts to come out after a little bit and the cream really amped up!

2/3
Not much of a development but that’s OK, still getting strong creamy coffee, a little bit of milk chocolate, some indistinct spice in the back and the twang is really made a showing. All in all a reminds me of a mildly sweet biscuit dipped in coffee with lots cream. And just big old puffy clouds of smoke!

This is only my second Quai, and I find it mild and enjoyable. May make a point to get um.

3/3
No development but all the flavors have intensified. Really enjoyable

Ammonia start to come out at the end, leading me to believe that these need to be aged a little bit longer.

6/10 I don’t like a weak finish.


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[Diabolicalpherpher]

Smoking from the box I split with the members of the US sub forum. The box code is same as the sampler so decided to smoke them since it’s more rested than my sampler.  
 

Earthy leather and hints of cocoa. Very good example of bolivar IMO.  Construction was good and I love this vitola; it smoked very well. Little rough in the final third but I can see it developing into a stellar smoke with more age.
 

 

[nKostyan]

QdO no.54
This cigar is very tightly stuffed with thin, delicate tobacco. It looks great, great quality.
1/3: I have to compare it with the younger sister - no.50. The cigar starts off with a softer gentle smoke than no.50, but in this format is not surprising. Relaxing slow Smoking. At the start, the cigar has a creamy woody taste. After warming up, the taste becomes more complex. There is a play of shades of cedar, cream, light spices, coffee, white bread, almond nut. A fairly rounded mix is a sign of a noble expensive cigar.

2/3: At about half the cigar begins to rapidly add to the body. Wow, great evolution, now it's not inferior to no.50.

3/3: Powerful delicious smoke. I will not try to define the components - just enjoy.
Conclusion: This cigar suited for me much better than no.50. Definitely it's 5/5 stars