CI's Top 25 Mega-Sampler II

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Perfect construction all the way through. Some complex flavors, and a nice strength kick in the last third. I smoked it way too quickly on a walk. There was a very nice almost perique rappé snuff flavor to the retrohale

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

3 - Buy a five-packer Im not ready to commit to a box just yet but this cigar was great. A little spice on the retro, but the stick was so smooth the whole way through. Medium + body, thick smooth smoke. Barley needed to touch it up, only once. Great experience. 1 - End of Days (98 -100) 2 - Buy a box (90 - 97) 3 - Buy a five-packer (74 - 89) 4 - Bargain-buy (55 - 73) 5 - One & done (35 - 54) 6 - Life is too short (15 - 34) 7 - Strait to jail (0 -14)

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Another outstanding Quattro smoke.

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

A mocha pairing made this cedar smoke a great 👍 experience. There were a few wrapper issues, though nothing that caused issues with the smoke. Fantastic. Love the Quattro!

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

Amazing cigar, great flavor with lots of depth but a little dark for my taste. Awesome draw and constriction.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

Always a pleasure. Smooth smoking and greater drawing and smoke from.

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Just a really good smoke all around. Construction draw burn and smoke production were fantastic. Flavors or cocoa and spices. Definitely in the rotation

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Boxed-pressed torpedo. Notes: Spicy, peppery, earthy. Smooth draw. Burns evenly.

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Recommended 👍 1+ year aged ⏳️ Cedar core, light cocoa, almond and a bit of background spice. Always a great smoke.

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Recommended 👍 10 mos aged ⏳️ Cedar core with dalliances of light cocoa and almond.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Smooth in the beginning but the last 1/3 became earthy.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

In every way earns its 95 rating. Outstanding.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

TL;DR - definitely has a core flavor of coconut milk 😋😋 Easily one of the most unique and finest cigars I've ever had. Highly recommended 👍 Aged 15 mos, dry-boxed 5 hours ⏳️ Pre-light is nougat candy bar. Wow. Oily appearance. Light-up is easy 👌 Starting core is creamy maduro spice. Goldilocks construction and draw. Initial impressions: it definitely develops a core of clove-spiced coconut milk 🥥 A little Cocoa arrives at the beginning of the second third. Seems like this one wants to be a journey cigar. Halfway through the Cocoa develops a pleasant bitterness. So I don't forget to say it, these cigars smell exceedingly good from just being in the room. Great aroma. Burn 🔥 is perfect and forgiving. Medium flavors and strong nicotine. Pairing ideas: yes, to creamy drinks like a craft mocha. I think spiced rum could pair well. Pecan or pistachio ice cream; that's the ticket. I also think most other liquors would overpower this creamy spiced experience.

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

Cedar core, light Cocoa and almond. Consistently one of the greats.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Smooth and flavorful. Creamy.

Rocky Patel Decade

I've previously liked this cigar but as my palate has expanded it has decreased on my list. It's ok. Really open draw and a cool burn but the flavor just isn't what I want.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Alec Bradley Prensado 7 x 48 Churchill Wrapper - Corojo Honduran Binder - Nicaraguan Filler - Honduran/Nicaraguan Construction - Beautiful wrapper.. silky and oily… strong construction and masterfully wrapped. Draw - Excellant draw with lots of smoke. Effortless pull from the draw. Burn line - Good burn line, ash went a little crooked at times but that could have been me. Had to touch up the burn line 2-3 times, but again, that could have been me. Nice white ash, but delicate, made an inch easy but collapsed early, mostly because of the semi-crooked burn lines. 1st 1/3 - Leather forward, especially in the mouth. It’s not a negative by any stretch, but the leather sets the tone throughout the cigar. This was maybe the smoothest cigar I’ve ever tasted thus far in my life. The retrohale had a literal non-existent burn. No heavy spices on the pepper scale early, but the retrohale brought in some subtly sweet and faint baking spices (think nutmeg/cinnamon/ ginger). Slight remnants of cocoa powder found their way into the last portion of this 1/3. 2nd 1/3 - The leather stretches out a little in this 1/3, and becomes more of a combo undertone with some other flavors. The retrohale is still so smooth… easy like Sunday morning. Baking spice is still the subtle marker in the retrohale. But now we were separating into four flavor profiles as a combined undertone. Leather, baking spices, malted chocolate, and some subtle Earl Grey tea were building a complex profile. The foundation of its construction held strong, and the oily wrapper added nice cedar notes into the pot. Final 1/3 - The retrohale was still so smooth, which was a pleasant surprise. I know this cigar is considered a medium-to-full-bodied cigar, but I just didn’t get any of that. This cigar was so elegant in its approach, with a light airiness that could only be described as fluffy. Leather comes back to the surface again, and adds some tones of earthiness and vegetation. The baking spices are still noticeable in the retrohale, but they take more of a backseat in the final 1/3. Cedar starts to mix into the leather for a bourbon barrel like finish. The Verdict - This offering from Alec Bradley was so buttery and velvety smooth. Even when I took in a bit too much smoke and back-ended a hard retrohale, I still had no peppery burn. I know people may get more red pepper spice and chocolate from this cigar than I have, but maybe the difference is in the size. A toro, gordo, or robusto may offer more strength, chocolate, and spice. However, this Churchill was more leather-bound with other sweet and earthy ensemble undertones. If this is a medium-to-full-bodied cigar, then it certainly fooled me. It smoked like a light-medium to mild cigar, with a consistent leathery profile throughout. It wasn’t as vibrant or strong in sweet and spicy flavors as some other cigar offerings, but it certainly wasn’t flat either. It’s a multi-faceted cigar with consistent tones and wonderful construction throughout. This cigar excels with a smooth and excellent draw.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

Just a good cigar. Smooth creamy burn and draw nearly perfect.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Multiple reviews and very consistent. This is a good cigar. No transitions if that's your thing, but great construction burn and draw every time. Cocoa and coffee flavors. Price point is attractive on certain sites to make it an everyday cigar on a budget.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Very dependable budget smoke.