Popular Post StogieSteve23 Posted November 8, 2020 Popular Post Posted November 8, 2020 HDM Escogidos – RAT-NOV-19 (FTRW) Opening Remarks: The first Sunday in months that I’ve been able to relax and not do anything. It’s been full steam ahead recently working on our tournament which ended last weekend. A great finish with Darren Clarke winning with a birdie on the 18th to edge our Furyk and Langer by one shot. Here is a pic of our staff with DC after his win. Couple this with Tropical Storm Eta approaching and it was a recipe for naps on the couch followed by a nice cigar. Having read @Lrabold89 thread about the HDM DC’s vs Escogidos, I decided to dig into one of the latter boxes I purchased and give it a go. The box of these isn’t by any means an excellently constructed bunch of cigars, but not terrible at the same time. I picked a stick with a few wrapper imperfections and a slight slice by the foot. Clipped the cap with a perfect straight cut but yielded notes of dry hay and wax with very little airflow from the cold draw. Used the PD a few times which helped a little but still wasn’t to my overall liking. Chalked it up to not dry-boxing the cigar at all before taking it out. Despite the imperfections, the wrapper is a beautiful golden sheen with small veins that feels smooth in the hand. First Third: My first thought after lighting up is blah. Terrible draw that I had to work for the entire first third. Muted flavors of unsalted tortilla chips with a slight dusting of paprika. A waxy taste overpowers my senses on the retrohale. The smoke coming off the foot however is a sweet smell of freshly baked bread. Something that gives me hope for the rest of the stick. Burn line was a little wonky which I think was because of the slice at the foot but never needed to touch it up. Second Third: Draw, combustion and burn have turned more favorable after approaching the beginning of the 2/3. Notes of buttercream and hay are persistent but there is still a weird underlying waxy note on the retro. It has subsided a bit from the 1/3 but still remains constant. The draw is perfect with just the right amount of resistance and ample smoke production. Burn line is sharp as a knife. Ash cone is thick and sturdy with no flaking which is something I like in a cigar. There is a little gingersnap taste creeping in just before entering the final third. Final Third: Draw, combustion and burn remain excellent. The slight gingersnap note has dissipated but made way for a lovely dry roasted chestnut flavor. Finally, the waxiness on the retro has gone away and left a burnt cedar note. Milk chocolate and lemongrass take over for a few puffs. Interesting combination that I was not expecting. Whipped cream with caramel are the key flavors that shine into the final third. The wrapper started to split with about an inch and a half left which led me to chuck the rest. Closing Remarks: I probably wont revisit one of these for several months. I started out hesitant on how I would like the cigar judging by my cold draw and first third experiences, but it turned out to be a pleasant smoke. Great combustion, burn and draw starting in the second third going through the rest of the stick. Some typical HDM flavors but not as much as normal. I enjoyed most of the flavors once I could taste them after the first third. Burn: 4/5 (Wonky in 1/3 then excellent the rest of the way) Construction: 4/5 (Good draw/combustion after 2/3) Flavor: 3/5 (OK – hay, lemongrass, nuts, cedar, ginger – a weird wax note on the retro) Smell: 4/5 (Fresh baked bread) Wrapper: 3/5 (Golden brown with no large veins – a few imperfections and a slice near the foot – split in the final third) Overall Score: 18/25 14
mprach024 Posted November 9, 2020 Posted November 9, 2020 Great review. I’ve been curious myself about these.
StogieSteve23 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Posted November 9, 2020 13 hours ago, Lrabold89 said: thanks for the excellent review brother! ....seems like these may have some promise Yes! I think they certainly do. A couple days of dry boxing and a little more age and they should start to shine.
GVan Posted November 9, 2020 Posted November 9, 2020 Nice review and even better picture from the Tournament! Looks like a good crew. While you were working hard - I smoked a few of the CC's you gave me (posted on FOH) - the star was the Punch Short De Punch. Glad your back !!! 1
Connoisseur Kim Posted November 9, 2020 Posted November 9, 2020 Sorry to hear it didn't meet your expectations @StogieSteve23. I never had Escogidos, so can't tell more about it for now. BTW, I haven't seen ya on Zoom for while. Hope we can meet there in someday buddy! ?
david9985 Posted November 9, 2020 Posted November 9, 2020 Excellent mate! I wasn't expecting to see Darren Clarke mentioned within a review! Great photo. DC is fond of a cigar himself, you didn't get the chance to offer him a stick?!
StogieSteve23 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Posted November 9, 2020 8 hours ago, GVan said: Nice review and even better picture from the Tournament! Looks like a good crew. While you were working hard - I smoked a few of the CC's you gave me (posted on FOH) - the star was the Punch Short De Punch. Glad your back !!! We have a great hardworking group of people between our core staff and traveling staff from other events that come to help out. SdP is fantastic! I love the flavors of them but am a big fan of the Punch marca in general. Glad you've enjoyed it! 8 hours ago, Connoisseur Kim said: Sorry to hear it didn't meet your expectations @StogieSteve23. I never had Escogidos, so can't tell more about it for now. BTW, I haven't seen ya on Zoom for while. Hope we can meet there in someday buddy! ? They can't all be winners, but I think the Escogido will shine with a little more rest! I haven't been on the forum, let alone Zoom for a couple months now. Work has been too busy but I plan to be back at it soon enough. See you around! 1 hour ago, david9985 said: Excellent mate! I wasn't expecting to see Darren Clarke mentioned within a review! Great photo. DC is fond of a cigar himself, you didn't get the chance to offer him a stick?! Lol, a first for everything! He does enjoy his stogies but also too many cigarettes. To each his own. I didn't get the chance unfortunately but shared several stories with him about Cuba and good Habanos the last time we were together back in January. He had recently smoked a Cuaba 20th Aniversario that he was raving about. 1
Connoisseur Kim Posted November 10, 2020 Posted November 10, 2020 6 hours ago, StogieSteve23 said: They can't all be winners, but I think the Escogido will shine with a little more rest! I haven't been on the forum, let alone Zoom for a couple months now. Work has been too busy but I plan to be back at it soon enough. See you around! Thanks @StogieSteve23! Hope that I can get a box of Escogidos to see how long resting period needed for Escogidos. See you soon! ?
Hoepssa Posted November 10, 2020 Posted November 10, 2020 I had one box, if you don't really like the flavor Hoyo brings, you won't be fan of Escogidos.
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