Churchill....?

[Guest cohiba]

Hey Guys !!!

Happy New Year. Hope the holidays treated everyone special. My Family and i just got back from our annual carribean vacation. Wife is from Puerto Rico, so we stay with her family every winter.

Nice relaxing time. Sheilla and I were furtunate enough to esape alone ( no toddler ), for a couple excursions. 1. St. Thomas, a little overrated !!!! Nice time was had. 2. Havana, Cuba !!!!!!! WOW what a cultural experience. Many thanks to Rob for hooking us up with the right people ( Habanos S.A ), right restaurants, and of course good places to walk, stop, drink ( in Robs words )!!!!

Many thanks !!!

Well my question.........? What are your opinions of cuban churchills. Thanks to the Czar crew, i have all to try. However i find myself more disappointed than satisfied.

RyJ Churchill......inconsistant

Esplendido.........extremely inconsistant

Partagas.....dont know

H Upmann Sir Winston.......dont know yet

Hoyo............dont care for at all

So, i have a box of esplendidos resting for more than a year. I think they are 2003? Maybe 2004? I will clarify that. I also have RyJ tubos resting for close to a year, and assorted singles of the rest.

I enjoy the churchill size, especially when the time allows for the correct drinking cosumption, to go with the stick. What do you feel is a good consistant smoke?? Whn i sit down i want to be satisfied ( like all of us), to the point that if it starts off bad, more likley than not i will put it down and choose another !!!!!

Your input would be appreciated !!!!

Thanks guys !!

Cohiba ( Stan )

[Colt45]

First off, welcome back - sounds like a great vacation. Here's my opinions on a few

Churchills.

My favorite, for me the king of Churchills, is the Bolivar Coronas Gigantes.

I also enjoy the H. Upmann Sir Winston, SLR churchill, and LGC Tainos - though I

haven't smoked enough of the SLR or LGC to form a final opinion.

I have mixed feelings regarding the RyJ and Cohiba, but the ones I've tried were

fairly young.

The Punch Churchills I've tried have shown great promise, but have suffered from

very tight draws.

Good luck, and post some reviews.

[Mel]

» Churchills.

» My favorite, for me the king of Churchills, is the Bolivar Coronas

» Gigantes.

» I also enjoy the H. Upmann Sir Winston, SLR churchill, and LGC Tainos -

»» The Punch Churchills , have

» suffered from

» very tight draws.

» Good luck, and post some reviews.

Damn right mate Boli is fine and Punch suck! Upmann makes nice churhills and the LGC are great. If you want Partagas or R&J choose another vitola as the Julieta 2 are not the best of the marca.

[Professor Twain]

I happened upon a box of 98 Hoyo Churchills, I have only smoked two to date and they are outstanding. I am preparing a review...

I too have been generally disappointed with Churchills compared with the smaller cigars within the associated marcas.

Maybe the big fellas need a longer time to age.

[bassman]

Bolivar Coronas Gigantes are fantastic. Look for 03s or early 06. SLR are excellent, but considerably milder. RyJ- very inconsistant. I've yet to have a 98 I enjoyed, but many people swear by them. However, I have a JUL 04 box that has been very good. Esplendidos are good, though expensive. These need age to shine. My 01s are consistantly good. If you have any younger than 03, I'd save them for a while.

[jqmunro]

» Bolivar Coronas Gigantes are fantastic.

I second the vote on the BCG's... if you like full flavor, these are THE ticket

[madurochris]

» » Bolivar Coronas Gigantes are fantastic.

»

» I second the vote on the BCG's... if you like full flavor, these are THE

» ticket

Although I have yet to try one myself I have read rave reviews on the Ramone Allones Gigantes.

Love the Bolivars! Just about any size Bolivar is excellent!

[Tampa1257]

» Although I have yet to try one myself I have read rave reviews on the Ramone Allones Gigantes.

»

» Love the Bolivars! Just about any size Bolivar is excellent!

Technically, the Ramón Allones Gigantes is a Double Corona and not a Churchill, but they are a favorite of mine.

Just an observation, but I have found that many people that have been smoking Non-Cubans for a while have a belief that the bigger the cigar, the more powerful flavor comes from a larger cigar. With a Cuban cigar, this is just not the case. Cuban Churchill's for the most part are much milder than their smaller counterparts. I personally have to agree with you about the Cohiba Espléndidos, the cigar has been so very inconsistent for me that I just do not buy them any more because I have found that when they are "ON", wow, what a great cigar! BUT, I have found that they are usually "ON" about 25% of the time, so 75% of the time, they are inconsistent as hell for me. At the cost factor, I am not going to risk only being correct and a great smoke 25% of the time.

The best Churchill in my opinion is the Bolivar Corona Gigantes.

The rest of the cigars that I smoke on a usual basis are Belicoso's, Robusto's, Lonsdale's, Corona Gorda's, Petit Coronas, Coronas, Minutos and Connaisseur sized cigars because to me, they provide the most flavor, complexity, and satisfaction levels of what I seek when I smoke a Cuban cigar.

[Jimmy2]

Bolivar Corona Gigantes

[shrink]

For me, the most consistent Churchill is the Sir Winston.

When you find a good aged Punch, oh boy, what a treat!

Romeos are hit-and-miss, but I've had some great '98s.

[COJ]

» Hey Guys !!!

»

» Happy New Year. Hope the holidays treated everyone special. My Family and

» i just got back from our annual carribean vacation. Wife is from Puerto

» Rico, so we stay with her family every winter.

»

» Nice relaxing time. Sheilla and I were furtunate enough to esape alone (

» no toddler ), for a couple excursions. 1. St. Thomas, a little overrated

» !!!! Nice time was had. 2. Havana, Cuba !!!!!!! WOW what a cultural

» experience. Many thanks to Rob for hooking us up with the right people (

» Habanos S.A ), right restaurants, and of course good places to walk, stop,

» drink ( in Robs words )!!!!

»

» Many thanks !!!

»

»

» Well my question.........? What are your opinions of cuban churchills.

» Thanks to the Czar crew, i have all to try. However i find myself more

» disappointed than satisfied.

»

» RyJ Churchill......inconsistant

» Esplendido.........extremely inconsistant

» Partagas.....dont know

» H Upmann Sir Winston.......dont know yet

» Hoyo............dont care for at all

»

»

» So, i have a box of esplendidos resting for more than a year. I think they

» are 2003? Maybe 2004? I will clarify that. I also have RyJ tubos resting

» for close to a year, and assorted singles of the rest.

»

» I enjoy the churchill size, especially when the time allows for the

» correct drinking cosumption, to go with the stick. What do you feel is a

» good consistant smoke?? Whn i sit down i want to be satisfied ( like all

» of us), to the point that if it starts off bad, more likley than not i

» will put it down and choose another !!!!!

»

» Your input would be appreciated !!!!

»

» Thanks guys !!

»

» Cohiba ( Stan )

My 2 cent...

RyJ Churchill is great but need age...5yrs at least and if they are in closed tubes...add another year or two...in a 60-65%RH envirenment...they need to get rid off exess water...when the band is to big for the cigar they are ready...

H.Upmann Monarcas

Same as RyJ...age is everything...but with age this is IMHO the best Cuban Churchill.

YMMV

[anacostiakat]

DCs and Churchills are my favorites for relaxing with a beverage or two...

The Boli CG I have had from'03 are great. Wish I had more as they probably are my favorite. :-(

RyJ Churchills from '99 are magnificent. They do indeed need age.

My '04 Esplendidos have been excellent. But I have not had a great quantity of them.

SLR Churchill A/T from 2000 are excellent as well.

Sir Winstons from '03 are good but need more nap time.

[El Presidente]

Welcome back Stan!

You could make the case that the Churchill Vitola is weakest of the Cuban lineup. I have had exceptional Churchills from each of the Marques but also have had many many disappointments. The 1998 HDM Churchills are exquisite when on...cream and coffee filled marvels. R&J....the right R&J with that red hue wrapper is a joy. Winstons can be great and are closer in flavour to a SLR DC than any other upmann...without the SLR DC consistency.

Esplendido's...what a connundrum. Suffers from the Madonna or ***** complex. Almost a religios experience when all is right to a soul destroying sense of being cheated when the all to common average esplendido shows itself.

I do enjoy the Boli Corona Gigante but prefer the Punch Churchills when they are on and from a cab.

However the cigar I reach for most in this format, and it is not perfect is the La Gloria Cubana Tainos. It is so close to being perfect that I persist and persist. Immense complexity in the first 2/3 rds before being lost in a sea of bitterness. It is the cigar equivalent of twisted genius.

[Little Steve]

For me, I enjoy with consistend resualts

LGC tianos

RdM tianos

Punch Churchill

HU monarchas

SP CG

Cant go wrong with those.

[broozer]

everyone pretty much always talks about the bolivar corona gigantes, RyJ churchills, esplendidos, etc...............

for me there is one churchill that is the tops..........the SLR. it's absolutely my favorite and the box i have almost finished off from '01 has been out of this world good.

bruce

[Mel]

Let me rag on the churchill a little more. I have had more tight/plugged churchills than any other vitola including the thin panatelas and lonsdales. The sleeping darling of the bunch is the LGC. It get very little mention but has some real complex flavors.

[stever]

ERDM Tainos from '97 and '98 are definitely worth acquiring. Subtle in flavor, but sophisticated and demanding of attention. Smoke them on their own, or after a light meal.

A well-aged Upmann Monarch with a good draw can be exquisite. Have heard that the Tubos are even beter.

Have had some excellent Partagas De Luxes from '98.

Never turn down an Upmann Sir Winston with a few years of age.

[kjellfrick]

I agree with the Partagas Churchills de Luxe (and they agree with me). Apart from that cigar I've only smoked a few sticks of most other churchills so far and the only ones that I've really liked are Cohiba Esplendidos and SLR Churchills.

[El Presidente]

» Let me rag on the churchill a little more. I have had more tight/plugged

» churchills than any other vitola including the thin panatelas and

» lonsdales. The sleeping darling of the bunch is the LGC. It get very

» little mention but has some real complex flavors.

Mel...its been a while since I have heard you "crack a spak".....so go on.....let loose :-D

[anacostiakat]

» Welcome back Stan!

»

» You could make the case that the Churchill Vitola is weakest of the Cuban

» lineup. I have had exceptional Churchills from each of the Marques but

» also have had many many disappointments. The 1998 HDM Churchills are

» exquisite when on...cream and coffee filled marvels. R&J....the right R&J

» with that red hue wrapper is a joy. Winstons can be great and are closer

» in flavour to a SLR DC than any other upmann...without the SLR DC

» consistency.

» Esplendido's...what a connundrum. Suffers from the Madonna or *****

» complex. Almost a religios experience when all is right to a soul

» destroying sense of being cheated when the all to common average

» esplendido shows itself.

» I do enjoy the Boli Corona Gigante but prefer the Punch Churchills when

» they are on and from a cab.

» However the cigar I reach for most in this format, and it is not perfect

» is the La Gloria Cubana Tainos. It is so close to being perfect that I

» persist and persist. Immense complexity in the first 2/3 rds before being

» lost in a sea of bitterness. It is the cigar equivalent of twisted

» genius.

Looks like I'll be looking for the Punch and the LGC next. . . :cool:

[Guest cohiba]

Wow guys lots of input !!!!

Well i agree with Rob. I have had outstanding results from the esplendido. More disappointents for sure, but that 2-3 that were "on" just keep calling me back. Same with the RyJ, fantastic, bt cant seem to duplicate it. OK,OK i'll try not to hold on to the past forever. ime to move on, let the boxes i have rest and like a toddler they BETTER wake up in a good mood. LOL

So i tried one of my H Upmann Sir Winston.

Nice construction, light greyish brown wrapper. After i felt her up, no hard spots. She felt ripe for the picking. I got excited. Cut her head off, and torched her foot.

Nice amount of smoke, perfect draw. Flavor reminded me of a Mag 46, not a bad thing. She had a little "dirty" taste about her, like a dirty blonde!! Nice up front but was worried about going all the way!! LOL

I sucked her down anyways. The strength and flavor maintaned through the end. Didnt pick up on much cream, coco, sweetness, or any of the nice "perks" we all love. I think she was a little young. Got 4 or 5 from Rob almost a yer ago, so i think it safe to say 1-2 years of age. Typical "dirty blond", she'll come around with more age.

wont stock up on these at the moment, curious to see wehn thay come around.

This is frustrating, we all wait to see when our favorites come around, and when they do........we dont have enough, we buy more and wait again !!!!! Damn ( i dont think im alone )

Next stop ........need to order some Bolivars, and then wait! MRN stated that the Boli NEVER DISAPPOINTS....we'll see.

Got that storage system ready Rob?

Thanks guys

Cohiba

[Mel]

»

» Mel...its been a while since I have heard you "crack a spak".....so go

» on.....let loose :-D

Let me tell you there Oz the magnificent, I tie strings on my Punch churchills and let the oled lady use them for tampons. Them dry tight bastards will suck up three days worth. If you ever find a Punch that draws and taste better than **** send me on. As to the Partagas Churchhills de lux cat bombs they are not much better but only laste two days on the aforementioned duty.;-) Those LGC you sold me are the great so I still love you.