Wrapper: Dominican Corojo ‘06
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: 7.25 x 52 “Churchill”
Body: Medium
Price: $7.00

This is a brand new cigar you probably haven’t heard of yet. It is made by the people who make Swisher cigars. Yep. Those stinky little liquor store cigars you tried when you turned 18. And then quickly gave up. Royal Gold is a subsidiary of Swisher International. Swisher is the largest manufacturer of cigars in the world.

These cigars made their debut at the 2013 IPCPR trade show by Royal Gold Cigars. Actually, there were two cigars that made their debut by this company: Kismet and Casino Gold.

All of the big online stores are just now beginning to carry them. You can even find them on Cbid. And you can get them for around $4 instead of $7. Shop around if you intend to buy these cigars because the prices are all over the place. I checked CI and they want $129 for a box of Churchills while Famous Smoke wants $141.

The Kismet is made by the Augusto Reyes family and is a Dominican puro. The Casino Gold is made by Plasencia in Honduras. They are also making a sandwich style cigar called Gold Strike produced in Nicaragua. Here is the Royal Gold press release for the Kismet:
“Produced by the Augusto Reyes Family at Corporacion Cigar Export in Santiago, DR – Kismet is a true labor of love. It is a Dominican Puro using six different tobaccos grown by the Reyes family at various locations in the Dominican Republic. The blend takes full advantage of the varied climates and rich soils of this beautiful country. Kismet is an Urdu word meaning fate or destiny.”

Royal Gold has big plans to produce a big line of premium blends. The Kismet comes in six sizes:
5.5 x 46, 6 x 50, 6.25 x 54 Belicoso, 7.25 x 52, and 6 x 60.

The cigar has two bands. The main band is simple and elegant. Underneath the word, “Kismet,” it says Dominican Republic. I need a magnifying glass to see a bunch of strange symbols buried in the gold band. They have an almost holographic look. The gold foot band is simple with the words, “Royal Gold” written on it in gold lettering.

Construction of the cigar is solid. No soft spots. Single cap. The wrapper is light brown in color. Lots of small veins. And the seams are clean. There is some oiliness and the wrapper feels very smooth.

I want to thank Royal Gold for the samples. I am going to give you my summary at the wrong end of the review. I smoked on yesterday and this is an excellent cigar. But I review first thing in the morning when my palate is fresh so I am looking forward to dissecting this cigar.

I remove the cap and find aromas of cocoa, cedar, leather, coffee, sweet tobacco, fruit and something exotic I can’t identify that I hope shows up as a flavor.
Time to light up.

I smoked one last night and I remember that the first third was unexciting. But today is a fresh day with a fresh palate.

The first puffs are filled with eye watering smoke. There is a spicy element that makes me sneeze twice. A delicious smooth creaminess appears almost instantly. A cocoa element shows up as well. So much for last night’s burned out palate review.

The char line is funky but doesn’t need a fixer up but I do so anyway as the funky part is on the side of the cigar band photos. And we want to look bright and shiny for the photographs.

I gave up Churchills a long time ago. Used to be the only thing I smoked. And then a revelation came to me that I will get a more intense flavor experience with a robusto, or smaller, cigar.

This is the first Churchill I’ve smoked that will reach flavor bomb status shortly.

More flavors arrive. A chewy, creamy stick to your teeth caramel appears. The body starts off at classic medium from the get go.

I have only had these two cigars less than a week. Less than a week. Did you hear me? And both have blossomed into the land of Oz. The green sparkly place, not the doc.

As this is jam packed, the cigar smokes slowly. A very distinct leather element appears. New leather, like in your Ferrari.

The first third is all about introduction of flavors. In descending order, we have: creaminess, caramel, cocoa, leather, sweetness, and apricot. But not fresh apricot. You know those little strips of juice sweetened fruit strips you can buy at Trader Joe’s? They are about 2” x 5”. And it is sticky and sweet and you tear it with your teeth. That kind of apricot.

The sun is out and shining bright. Most of the leaves have been shed from our giant trees out back. And it’s cold but we have beaten the curve here in Wisconsin for not getting any snow yet and it’s already November. Maybe we are in for a mild winter. My back pleads it so.

As I approach the end of the first third, the cigar is friggin’ delicious. CI brags about this in the description of the cigar with an I told you so sort of thing. That this is cigar is going to be very popular. I think the lying bastards are right about this, for a change.

And then I get a big wallop of creamy, sweet coffee. Like “Nip Coffee Candies.”

I need to take a break from typing because this is easily a two hour cigar.

I am well into the second third and near the halfway point. The creaminess is the driving flavor. The spice has moved to the background. The cocoa and coffee are strong. The sweet caramel is somewhere in the middle.

This is a luscious cigar. I would love to try the robusto size. I bet that baby just oozes with flavors.
Just like yesterday’s smoke, I am having some minor burn issues. Nothing so erratic that it is frustrating, but I would have preferred a sharper char line.

I can taste something fruity in there. Fortunately, the cigar has a very long finish and it gives me lip smacking time to help discover it. Sipping water helps too so I will discover it. And this is in addition to the apricot.

The coffee really stands out at the halfway mark. It is a Starbucks Caffè Mocha Caramel Latte.

The char line is spot on now. And the body remains at classic medium. In an effort to get an artsy-fartsy smoky photo, I huff and puff on the cigar several times and the only result is that I get a huge kick of nicotine that makes me dizzy. Who says that cigar reviewers don’t suffer for their art? Feels like a 1967 flash back.

I have decided to make this an R rated review and end with an anecdote about the first time I dropped acid…1972. Wow. 45 years ago.

The last third is the real sweet spot. It is a bona fide flavor bomb now. The cigar’s character is perfect. The balance is spot on. A nice long, smooth finish. And the flavors….
“They’re all, bold as love.
Yeah, they’re all bold as love.
Yeah, they’re all bold as love.
Just ask the Axis.”
I threw in some Jimi to make a point.

The cigar finishes out beautifully. Never harsh or bitter or hot. Flavors zinging past my palate like a laser show.

This stick is a comer. My advice is to grab some of these sticks on Cbid while they are still cheap. In a few months, everyone will want some and there goes your discount.

And now for something completely different:

My buddy, Mike, came over to the house I rented with two other buddies. We were in college. And I was alone. It was a grand era. We had decided to save up every shekel we could so we could go to Europe. And the grand adventure was in front of us.

Mike whipped out some blotter acid. I was scared. I was always scared of drugs even though I was a habitual pot smoker. But it was the only illegal substance that I did.

An hour later, it kicked in. Here are some highlights.

My right arm was in a cast. I broke it in a foolish moment of bravado. We were absolutely frying when Mike started to freak out on me. He was worried that I was going to hit myself in the head with the cast and the cast would slice a big wedge in my head.

So he insisted on holding my arm to make sure it didn’t happen. At first, I laughed. But then, as we sat on the floor listening to albums, Mike started to push and pull my cast causing great pain. So I pulled the arm away and hit him over the head with it. Not a great idea as being in pain while on acid just intensified the discomfort.

We were listening to the band Focus. Famous in their day. They were one hit wonders with the song, “Frankenstein.”

There is a part in the song where it got really psychedelic and it was too much for us to bear. Mike screamed at me to turn it off. I went to the sound system but I realized I had no idea what it was, let alone turn it off. The two of us kneeled in front of it trying to figure out all the knobs. It was useless. We were too high.

The house cat walked over to us and we petted it and played with it and then it became some sort of demonic critter. It was as if the cat knew it was time to screw with us. We ran around the living room, screaming like little girls while the cat chased us.

A friend dropped by to show us his new sports car and took us, one at a time, for a ride. We told him that we were high and didn’t want to do it. Too scary. So Matt got me into the car and drove like a maniac in the streets of Santa Ana, CA. He took corners like a race driver. I was screaming for him to take me home. But he was having fun.

10 minutes later, he returned me home and Mike got in. When Mike returned from his Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, he was covered in his own vomit. Yuck.

After cleaning up, Mike thought it a good idea to play some music. He brought his Les Paul and I had my Gibson EBO bass. Just like Jack Bruce’s of Cream.

We played for a few minutes and then both of us forgot how to play but we continued anyway. We began to laugh the hardest I had done in my life. Mike joined in.

And then the coup de grace. Mike had to take a dump. Do you remember one of your friends back in the day that every time he came over he had to take a shit? This was Mike.

I hear him scream and I ran towards the closed bathroom door.

I heard him moan that all of his senses were focused on his asshole and he didn’t like it.
I rolled on the floor laughing. And then I talked him through it.

Eight hours passed and Mike suggested we smoke a doobie. Me, being an idiot, said hell yeah.

It made the acid kick in once more and off we went.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, kismet by royal gold cigar review, kismet cigars, royal gold cigars