Lets go Canoeing

Alright I have held off long enough and I apologize to whatever readership I might have lol. I promised in my last blog that I would be evaluating a cigar from a wholesale online outlet the next time I posted. Well I have smoked about a half a dozen of them since and have been sorely disappointed. I really wanted not to be because they came highly recommended from a trusted source.

Let’s start with the facts. I purchased the rusbostorama sampler pack from a little boutique cigar website. The sampler contained 12 sticks with a bonus which were comprised thus:
4 #7 Robustos (the classic #7 blend)
2 #7 Special Fuerte Robustos (#7on a whole other level)
2 C98Maduro Robusto (the best maduro wrapper we grow)
1 CC Robusto Medium color, medium body
1 ARS Maduro Robusto (dark licorice flavor in a VALUE cigar)
1 EP SunGrownMaduro Robusto (the same wrapper&blend as the perfecto)
1 SmootheJazz Robusto--super creamy
BONUS 1 HHBarberPole Robusto

Being the cheap bastage I am I opted to double the package and saved a couple extra dollars. Besides if you will notice that a good amount of the different cigars only have one sample and who can truly say that they would invest in a larger purchase by just smoking a single cigar?

I smoked six of the eight #7, their “classic #7 blend” and one of the #7 Special Fuerte (sp?) so far. Of the six all were extremely mushy, soft, feeling under filled. Basically something I would expect from a second or a cigar advertised as being rolled by student/apprentice rollers. All of them canoed to one degree or another, which in of its self can be attributed to numerous problems not discounting over humidification, poor filler bunching, overly thick wrapper, etc. Positives were that the wrapper was a beautiful shade of medium brown with a wonderful spicy, earthy, tobacco aroma. Pre-light taste left a spicy tang on the lips with more earthy tastes, draw was very very easy/loose.

Smoking the cigar was a chore with all the touch-ups from the canoeing and puffing just to keep the thing lit I really didn’t get much flavor out of them besides burnt wrapper or just plain hot smoke. Every now and again you could catch a spicy, tangy earthiness that hinted at how good the cigar could be if constructed better. Overall I personally wouldn’t purchase the classic #7’s again.

Actually working on the cigar so distracted me to the point that it was hard to enjoy the company I was with thus ruining a nice lunch time herf. Couple this with the guy trying out his calypso renditions on his electric keyboard in the apartment by the pool side and you might as well have put a bullet in my head.

Next week I will be smoking one of the Smooth Jazz rustbos from this very same sampler pack and hopefully it will go much more smoothly. Happy herfing!