Cohiba Talisman *** *** 17 (MPRW)

[ndhaon91]

Apologies for forgetting the box code. I just brought two of these on vacation. I will update the review with the box code when I get home in a couple days. But they are OR from fall 2017.

Understandably, I've been very excited to try these for the first time after 3+ years of rest. It was my wife's birthday yesterday and we're on vacation in Siesta Key, so it seemed the perfect time. 

We cracked open a bottle of  The Prisoner, Cuttings 2017 Cabernet as well. 

Examining the feet of both cigars before lighting had me a little concerned. There were the signs of slightly uneven packing consistent with underfilling. My concerns were magnified when the cigars proved resistant to toasting and required far more heat than I care to apply to get fully lit. 

The difficulties lighting detracted significantly from the ability to develop a first taste impression, but my first thought was this cigar is the flavor love child of a CoRo and RASS. 

Both cigars continued to have major burn issues right out of the gate. Examination of the ash confirmed my fears: despite the gorgeous aesthetics of the roll, both cigars were significantly underfilled. 

The notable squish of an under filled cigar was present throughout the entire lower two thirds of the cigars. They both struggles to stay alive and required far too frequent puffing. This remained the case until the final third, when the smoking tempo could finally be reduced without risk of the cigars going out.

By this time, the damage was done. What started as decent flavors had become hot and bitter. The cigars were done by the 90 min mark. 

At its best, just rated on flavor, I'd give these an 88. 

Overall blind rating would be an 84.

Rating taking into account cost and expectations: F. 

 

 

[RDB]

Honestly. Bloody Cohiba.

[ndhaon91]

On 10/29/2020 at 9:48 PM, Lrabold89 said:

What a shame ...Did you not notice the underfilling in your initial inspection when you bought them/when they were delivered ?


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Initial inspection was when I grabbed them out of the box to pack the morning we left for vacation. They'd been sitting in my FOH locker for the 3ish years since purchase, and I'd only had them shipped out a couple months ago. So basically they were with me just long enough to have 60 days down. I still haven't mustered up the courage to go examine the other 8 cigars.