Festive Season Review of 5 CC’s by complete newbies. HUHC, ERDM Demi Tasse, San Cristobal El Principe, and Trini Reyes! (XNY23)

[DennyPaul]

Hello all!

First, big thanks to those that run the site and the store. This community has been crucial in getting me involved with CCs starting just a few months ago, and wow I really didn’t expect to be dive so deep so quickly. But here I am with a 300 count humidor that’s no longer big enough. 

My short experience pales in comparison to some of the veterans I see here who post. @PigFish, @El Presidente, @JohnS, I know you don’t know me, but your insightful posts scattered throughout these forums have helped me tremendously. I have been able to set up my humidor correctly, find a good selection of cigars to start with, and really appreciate some of the factoids and history surrounding my new hobby. I’m sure my gratitude is matched by many silent guests who never make a post. Big thanks to you guys.

Anyway, on to the review. Here’s my proud papa moment: I revealed a selection of my first CC’s bought for my friends in grad school.

We’re just about to be white-coated, an initial ceremony held for some going into the medical field. This intro to CC’s was my way of adding to the celebration. It was well received to say the least.

We headed back to the house, and I went to my humidor to pull out what I thought would be better for a sampling for us all. Lit up one of each: HDM epicure no. 2, HUHC, ERDM Demi Tasse, San Cristobal El Principe, and a Trinidad Reyes. Took our time with each, then passed em to get more variety. Maybe this sounds strange to some, but we didn’t mind sharing at all. For a lot of people this was their first exposure to cigars ever, so they didn’t want to commit to a whole one, even if they’re smaller. Below are some paraphrased thoughts from all of us newbies.

 

HDM Epicure No. 2 - ETA APR 23

“Sweet-ish and smoother than all the rest.”

“Kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what it taste like, but whatever it is, it’s real good.”

“Stays about the same each time it comes around, not in a bad way”

“Clean, light, nice!”

“Hey, lemme trade you for it”

 

H. Upmann Half Corona - OBS MAY 23

“Not as smooth as the HDM”

“Haven’t tasted much this whole time from it, but then all of a sudden I got a strong taste of like graham crackers or cake, absolutely delicious. Just as fast as it came on it was gone. Makes me want to keep trying but I can’t find it again.”

 

ERDM Demi Tasse - PGM MAR 23

“Is this a cigarette?”

“Harshest so far, by far” (my guess probably he was smoking too fast)

“Not good, not bad, but not as satisfying as the rest maybe because of its size”

 

San Cristobal El Principe - BRM Nov 22

“Tastes like Mexican hot chocolate. Started out really sweet and smooth, cocoa-y too, then later in the middle I got some spicier pepper and those flavors together take me back –real nice.”

“Kind of a contrast happening here, tastes dark and light at the same time. Dark like the flavors are burnt sugar and cocoa, but light cause it’s not punching you in the face with it, you have to keep chasing it”

 

Trinidad Reyes - ESM Dec 22

“WOOOOOOO! Shit! Mmm!”

“It tastes like straight tobacco and with a bit of honey, what more could you want?”

“I get it, I still like the HDM over it tho” (this guy could not be swayed off the epi 2, but the reyes came closest to it)

With nubs smoldering, I took a quick poll to see which was each person’s favorite: 4 votes for the HDM e2, 1 vote El Principe, 1 vote Trinidad Reyes.

Of all the cigars, the HDM was the crowd favorite. People liked how the robusto size felt in their hand over the smaller cigars, even though they wouldn’t be close to finishing a whole one themselves. In addition, I think because it was the most mild, it led people to conclude it was the “smoothest” of them all. That sentiment came up often. 

My personal favorite was Trinidad’s Reyes. I can’t say for certain if it’s just confirmation bias of me trying to justify the higher cost or prestige, all I know is that they’re damn tasty. My personal scores for each are as follows:

1 to 10, 10 being perfection.

9 - Reyes

7 - Epicure No 2

7 - El Principe

6 - HU Half Corona

5 - Demi Tasse

All were enjoyable, but clearly there was a stand out I liked most.

I know this review is different than most in depth ones, but since I’m newer I don’t feel able to really pull apart nuances yet. I hope our light take on a few cigars helps others new in the hobby feel better about being new too; you don’t have to take it too seriously to enjoy CC’s. 

Cheers all! Thanks for reading!

If you have any general advice for us, or maybe some recommendations for what to buy next, please share!

[Sportfish87]

What a great post, this site has also taught me a ton about CCs and like you, my humidor has filled up quickly! HdM epicure 1 was my gateway drug, then I found the graham cracker and honey present in the Upmann regalias. Since then I’ve been trying all the marcas I can get my hands on and have really fell in love with Bolivar. They have a smoothness that is just otherworldly to me and I get the honey notes that I loved from the Upmann line. Another one I’ve found to really bang is the HdM petite robusto, they have an amazingly soft/smooth profile with tons of sweetness and baking spice. It’s a slippery slope as now I have boxes of Connie 1s, Punch 48 lcdh, HDM elegantes lcdh, RyJ wide churchills, and Monte 3s resting in my humidor that I haven’t even touched. Gonna give them a solid 3-4 months at 67f/62rh before I start dipping in. 

It’s been a fun journey learning about these cigars and I can’t thank everyone who contributes on here enough! Would really like to dip into the nudie line as I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews on here and the other forums I frequent. Could anyone recommend a vitola based on my aforementioned tastes? Thanks guys and appreciate all of the insight. 

[MickVanWinkle]

Great post - thanks for sharing!  Congrats on the milestone. Your celebration was more up my alley than my wife’s a few years back.  

As someone who initially had difficulty articulating what I was tasting, I’ve found that reading reviews of what I’m smoking helped me better bridge that gap. It is scary how quickly I was able to start picking out notes on my own and understanding how my palate relates. Thanks again for including us!

[DennyPaul]

On 12/23/2023 at 11:39 AM, Sportfish87 said:

HdM epicure 1, Upmann regalias, Bolivar.

Connie 1s, RyJ wide churchills, and Monte 3s resting in my humidor that I haven’t even touched. 

I’ve got examples of all these resting in my humidor! What a coincidence! Please let me know what your favorites are so far; I’m all ears. Very excited to try the upmann regalia’s as a cheaper option to the connoisseur’s, which are fantastic. 

On 12/23/2023 at 8:29 PM, MickVanWinkle said:

I’ve found that reading reviews of what I’m smoking helped me better bridge that gap. It is scary how quickly I was able to start picking out notes on my own and understanding how my palate relates. Thanks again for including us!

Yep! Totally agree. I’ve noted the same thing here, but once the tasting notes are revealed it’s hard not to just agree with what you’ve heard. So I want to note my own tastings first, then I’ll go to cubancigarwebsite to see if I have any idea what I’m talking about. Sometimes I’m on the mark, but sometimes not at all. It’s part of the fun of it, just testing out our blind and untrained palates. 👍

[DennyPaul]

Another thing I'd like to share too, I can be a bit of a data head, and this is the spreadsheet I have to organize my current collection. Thought I'd share. Above is just a quick look screenshot. The link for the full thing is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZNmIbH3YbKkyEIXdvuQxQSfiOlCcLtThSJr0Sjj0JZ0/edit?usp=sharing

• you can filter and sort any column you like by whatever parameter you're looking for
• I enter most information manually from cubancigarwebsite.com --big thanks to whoever runs that site too.
• if you enter the box date in column F, it will calculate the age in column G. enter box date in the xx/xx/xxxx format for it to work
• if you put the shipment received date into column E, it will turn red for the first two weeks, then yellow for an additional 2 weeks. This is to represent the time that is ideal for cigars to rest upon getting a new shipment (some say 3 months is best, but i'm less patient i suppose)
• Column D is the current count. How many sticks you have of each. At the top of the column there's the total count for your whole collection, i've got 255 now and growing rapidly.
• Column C is just my subjective score
• Various columns are color coded in hopefully an intuitive and non-seizure inducing way. 

If you like it, feel free to make your own copy and edit it as you see fit. If not, no worries. I personally find this helps me figure out what to buy next, but also gives me another thing to pour over. Much like a car enthusiast would continue to buff his already shiny car.

I'd love it if someone told me where I have gaps in my collection! Trying to find the best representatives of each marca, so if there's a gem you're a fan of lemme know!

Thanks!