Trinidad Reyes

[thechenman]

Cigar: TRINIDAD REYES

Vitola: Reyes

Filler: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Wrapper: Cuba

Box Code: Unknown – Purchased as a single from Czar (likely '07 - '08)

Price: $7.75 (USD)

Ring Gauge: 40

Length: 4.3 inches

Body: Medium

Pairing: Heineken Light

Location: Outdoors – On my front porch.

Date/Time: Saturday, August 29th, 2009 @ 10:30pm EDT

Environment: It was a fairly cool evening, probably in the mid-60s (fahrenheit), and less humid than I had expected. I was expecting more rain with a Tropical Storm Danny passing by the Northeast, but that didn’t happen. So much the better, as I really hate smoking outside when it is too humid (it really has a negative affect on the flavor and the burn). I sat down on the bench with my two dogs, Max and Minnie, to enjoy by first Cuban Trinidad – a Reyes that I have heard and read a lot of positive commentary on.

Band: What a beautiful green, yellow, gold and black band. I love the logo. The band was properly applied, and was just loose enough that I was able to just slip the band off the head of the cigar when the time was appropriate. I like the 3 “T”’s logo. Three “T”’s for trinity. Gotta love it.

Appearance: The pigtail cap is always the first thing that catches my attention and was applied perfectly. The next thing that will catch my eye is the cigar band. The cigar’s wrapper was a beautiful light shade of brown. There were some slight veins, but overall the cigar was very well constructed. It was a bit bumpy, but that did not detract from the sheer pleasure of looking at this small cigar. To the touch the wrapper was smooth and the cigar was firm when squeezed.

Construction: The construction on this stick was near perfect. Firm throughout with no discernable soft spots. The pigtail cap was nicely done.

Aroma: The cigar had a faint grassy and sweet tobacco smell to it. Not unpleasant in any way. I don’t know if this is the norm with this marca, as the Reyes is my first Cuban Trinidad experience.

Cut: I cut the pigtail cap off of the Trinidad Reyes with my Xikar Xi3 Zebrawood cigar cutter. It was a perfect cut.

Draw: The pre-light draw was nice and easy, but not too loose, and it stayed this way through the duration of the smoke. In the pre-light draw, there were faint hints of grass and a slight bit of pepper. The wrapper was a little salty on my lips.

Light: I lit the cigar with my Lotus T3 lighter by slowly toasting the foot (which really didn’t take very long) then took a few puffs. Simplicity and ease…just the way I like it.

Smoke: The Trinidad Reyes produced a decent amount of blue smoke. It did begin to produce less smoke in the final third.

First Third: The Trinidad Reyes started with a strong taste of grass with an herbal scent. It started fairly mild, but began to build in strength after the first few puffs when a slight bit of pepper began to come through. The grassy flavored smoke coated my mouth and left behind a sweet aftertaste on my palate. So far the cigar was quite enjoyable.

Second Third: Grass was still the dominant flavor during the second third of this smoke, but the profile did evolve somewhat. I began to taste some hints of either wood or mushroom. I couldn’t quite decide. If you put a gun to my head though, I would probably say mushrooms. Personally, I hate mushrooms, won’t eat them, not even on my pizza, but I have to say that I continued to enjoy the flavors of this little smoke. The sweetness that coated my palate in the first third began to become less intense and faded into the background.

Final Third: The last third of the cigar began to get a bit harsh. The grassy flavor had disappeared, but the herbal scent was still present in the background. There began to develop slight hints of bitterness that grew progressively stronger during the final third. At this point I was no longer enjoying the cigar, and I let it go out with about a little less than one inch remaining.

Burn: The burn on this little devil was spot on. While not razor sharp, the burn always maintained a relatively straight line and required no touch ups during the duration of this smoke.

Ash: The ash was tightly packed and well layered during the first half of the cigar. It held very well. It was nearly 2 inches long before it broke off from the cigar of its own volition. The color of the ash was a mottled gray and white. During the final third, the ash turned a dark gray and became flakey, but held until the end.

Smoking Time: 28 minutes.

Conclusion: This short smoke was an excellent experience. I really enjoyed my first Cuban Trinidad (except for the final third), and can definitely see adding this small vitola to my humidor. The cigar was a bit on the young side (which I believe accounts for the bitterness I experienced at the end), and I think from the flavor profile, it could continue to benefit with some additional aging. It definitely shows promise.

Rating: 91/100

Date of Writing: September 1st, 2009

Written by: thechenman

[ipfoley]

Nice review! I also admire the Trinidad band, very nice looking.

[aavkk]

28 Minutes

It would be almost impossible for even a cigar this small to not burn hot. Maybe try smoking a little slower and see if you arent able to pick out some additional flavors. Nice review and thanks for sharing!

[zuma]

28 Minutes

It would be almost impossible for even a cigar this small to not burn hot. Maybe try smoking a little slower and see if you arent able to pick out some additional flavors. Nice review and thanks for sharing!

For me, 28 mins for this vitola would be a tad quick... I had a Reyes (Jan 07, dry boxed overnight) on the weekend that was truly scrumptious, espresso with a hint of dry-grassy vanilla (if that makes any sense) and sweet mushroom notes, on the fuller body side of medium... it took me about 3/4 of an hour to nub.

[Kangaroo495]

Cigar: TRINIDAD REYES

Vitola: Reyes

Filler: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Wrapper: Cuba

Box Code: Unknown – Purchased as a single from Czar (likely '07 - '08)

Price: $7.75 (USD)

Ring Gauge: 40

Length: 4.3 inches

Body: Medium

Pairing: Heineken Light

Location: Outdoors – On my front porch.

Date/Time: Saturday, August 29th, 2009 @ 10:30pm EDT

...

I really like your style of reviews. What's stopping you from putting them on the forum more often?

If possible I would request you review a Montecristo next time. E.g. Edmundo or Especial #2...

Cheers.

[thechenman]

I really like your style of reviews. What's stopping you from putting them on the forum more often?

If possible I would request you review a Montecristo next time. E.g. Edmundo or Especial #2...

Cheers.

Kanga,

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I do plan on posting more of my reveiws on the forum going forward. Hope you and the other BOTLs on FOH will enjoy them. The issue for me is the amount of time it takes, but I do hope to be able to post reveiws on a more regular basis. What I would like to do in incorporate pictures, but my photography skills leave much to be desired. I smoke outside at night (after dark), so I am having some difficulties with the lighting and camera flash. Anyway, expect to see some pics once I get this issue worked out.

[thechenman]

28 Minutes

It would be almost impossible for even a cigar this small to not burn hot. Maybe try smoking a little slower and see if you arent able to pick out some additional flavors. Nice review and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the insight. I will definiitely try doing that. I know I have the bad habit of being a fast smoker. I enjoy cigar smoking and do it to relax, but have a habit sometimes of burning through them wanting to get the full smoke in before the baby wakes up, or the wife calls me in to do something, or sometimes just to get back in and get some more work in before bedtime.

[thechenman]

I really like your style of reviews. What's stopping you from putting them on the forum more often?

If possible I would request you review a Montecristo next time. E.g. Edmundo or Especial #2...

Cheers.

Kanga,

Don't have any Especial #2s at the moment, but do have several Edmundos. I will put them on my cigars to review list.

[lemmycaution]

Thanks for taking the time to do your detailed reviews. Looking forward to more.

[Torpo]

Thanks. I've been smoking the Reyes regularly when I don't feel like a larger vitola. Classy little cigar.

[samb]

The Reyes is a very delicious smoke, and your right about the burn. Good review.

[Ellery]

Thanks for the great review...I too enjoy reading the format of your reviews

[MIKA27]

Fantastic review mate, really love the format and detail.

28 minutes...WOW (I know its already been said).

[android]

Nice job on the review

[EricM]

Wonderful review and pretty much spot on to what I experienced. Thanks

[Wil]

Great review! Have just been reading through some reviews of the reyes, as I just smoked my first, and this is spot on. Loved the sweetness in the opening third - really reminded me of the Fundadores. Would have loved that to continue. Still, a very nice cigar!

[Zacapa]

Thanks for the review chenman!

One of my go to PCs when im looking for a bit of class, and IMHO I think worth the bit extra mark up.

Also, say no more about the quick smoking, in that situation its always a trade off: quick cigar vs no cigar. But as others have said when you get that bit extra time puff a bit less frequently and I think youll enjoy it even more, I'll usually take at least 45 min on these.

[Guest robsmith000]

Yeah this review pretty much sums up my tasting experience.

It is a fantastic cigar however I was very disappointed with the construction, There was a definite knot in the middle even for such a small cigar also the shop where i bought it had it completely dried out when I purchased it and severe flaking ensued!! That being said it was certainly a great smoke otherwise. Recommended!

[Wang]

Same here.... These puppies are def in my next CC purchase

[tkhu888]

Waiting on an order...agonizing to say the least, and the weather up here is finally cooperating!

[jessehung]

Nice review! Trinidad very delicious

[mf83]

I had one of these last night. The first few draws were glorious with hints of Japanese tea and a fennel/aniseed character. HOWEVER after that the cigar refused to stay lit and was very hard to keep going, disappointed but maybe will try again. :-(

[galtline]

I ordered these from up in Canada. Currently they are selling stock from 2008. All I can say is WOOOOW !

[stargazer14]

I read this review a few months back and ordered 2 boxes. So far the experience has been good, the construction is beautiful and the flavors subtle and earthy elegant ( I made that up). After about 6 sticks I am not sure if I would order more but time may change that.

[zepp69]

Great review! Have smoked a couple aged ones and thought they were amazing.