Wrapper: Honduran Habano
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Size: 5.75 x 54
Body: Mild/Medium
Price: $3.50 by the box
It is a very rustic looking cigar. There are open seams. Lots of veins. Inconsistent caps; some of them terribly sloppy. But they do have the exact right amount of tobacco in the cigar. I have chosen the best looking stick for this review.
I clip the cap and find aromas of strong vanilla bean. A creamy buttery element, spice, cocoa, and leather. And frankly, the vanilla is so strong; it almost blots out the aromas.
Time to light up.
The cigar starts off with a barnyard taste followed by a spot of spiciness. This is followed by natural tobacco sweetness and a nutty component.
The draw is good but the char line begins to go haywire on me pretty quick. I will give it a few minutes before correcting it.
The PR machine is fairly biased about the cigar as this snippet from the web site portrays:
“Very densely packed without any soft spots to speak of, this puro offers a dark, smooth, vein-free cigar.”
Surprisingly, there isn’t much spiciness. Only a tad bit of pepper shows itself. The body hits medium right from the start. The ash is delicate and doesn’t last long.
The first third ends without much flavor to speak of. There is the sweetness, earthiness, leather, and cedar. So far, this stick does not remind me of a Camacho blend. It reeks of any online store’s typical, inexpensive house cigar blend.
The second third sees the spiciness make a resurgence. The vanilla aroma transitions to a flavor giving the cigar a bit of help. The char line corrects itself nicely. It is still wavy but no fear of a canoe.
I close in on the halfway point and find myself disappointed. 6-7 weeks in my humidor should have been enough to get the blender’s intent, and at the moment, I have no idea what that is. It is your typical yard ‘gar, nothing more, nothing less.
Here is another snippet from the CI PR machine:
“Gradually, just as you’d begin to contemplate nubbing it out, the peppery notes return, building to a crescendo – offering a robust and heady finish to this extraordinarily flavorful cigar.”
Wow. Talk about not even being close to the truth.
I begin the last third and the vanilla, sweetness, spice, leather, and earthiness become stronger but no other flavors are on the horizon. Except for a woody taste near the end.
I’m sure you knew the outcome of this review before you read it. Either the cigar is old school and needs 6 months of humidor time; or isn’t a very good cigar. During the last third, I see no reason to finish it. It has showed me what it has to offer and it offers nothing.
There is nothing in this blend that has an inkling of Camacho character. I am finally forced to correct the foot. The cap just falls apart causing frequent spitting of loose tobacco. This is not a well made cigar. And the flavor characteristics are just plain boring.
I wish I could have reported with a more upbeat review but I couldn’t. I would avoid this cigar unless you are able to marinate it for 6-12 months in your humidor. And then, no guarantees.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Well thanks for the honest review. I’m starting to get pissed off at these big cigar companies that have back shop rollers making cigars for them and slapping big cigar brand bands on them. I read somewhere that after big brands discontinue a line that the retailer has a shot at buying the rights to the band of the line. Which then gives them the right to sell what ever cigar they want to slap it on. That’s why I have stopped buying discontinued cigars. A great example of this is the Murcielago cigar which was made by Espinosa and Ortega when they where with EO cigars. And now sold by Famous smoke shop. The Famous version is nothing what this cigar was. There wrapper is paper thin when the original had a wrapper so thick it was like cheese cloth thick! The original had thick chewy flavors. Now all you get is garbage! And this one of many examples I have come across. What I don’t understand is why would a famous cigar company allow there name to go on garbage. Making a novice smoker or someone not familiar with there brand to think this is the kind of product they represent or make. This practice is an injustice to the cigar smoker!
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Thanks Marco for your comment.
I agree with you 100%. All of the EO Brands have changed. Pepin Garcia is no longer involved in blending them. And now they sell for less than half price. Because they’re junk.
The only redeeming factor is that Erik Espinosa came out with the La Bomba Warhead.
Back when dinosaurs roamed, I tried lots of overruns, seconds, and house cigar brands. After the light bulb came on, I discontinued that practice.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Atlantic Cigar has 8 different blends and sizes of My Father Factory Overruns and they are good. Give them 3 weeks in your humidor and they are good to go. I figured out that one of the Oscuros was the Le Bijou 1922 and the belicoso rosados are the original My Father.
Bundles average around $55. I’ve been buying them for a year.
Thanks again, Marco.
Phil
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Thanks for the tip. I’m a big fan of Atlantic Cigars. Especially because of there direct pricing policy. I think they offer some of the best prices on the internet.They are my go to guys when I cant find a particular cigar at the auctions. (I know they hate this ) but when you smoke a box to 2 boxes a week auctions are the only way to go. I love tasty full strength cigars! Liga T52’s, God of Fire series B, San Lotanos Maduros and Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor have been my fav’s lately. I have been reading a lot of your reviews and purchasing some, hoping to find some new fav’s. I will definitely take you up on your recommendations from Atlantic and drop you a line to let you know what I think. Keep up the good work. And keep the leaf burning.
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Everybody take a deep breath and relax…That’s it, exhale slowly and focus on your breathing…Now…I really enjoy the CI Legends Copper Label by Drew Estate…I’ve been smoking these bad boys for about a year and they are my go to Cigar of choice with morning coffee…I punch the cap, so there aren’t any problems with the cap falling apart…Burn is excellent and I have never had to touch up…Mostly medium with a vanilla coffee flavor, and a hint of spice and nuts throughout…Tons of smoke although the flavor recedes instead of ramping up at the finish..This is a mildly infused stick, with a sweetened cap, similar to Acid, but with a much milder infusion…A nice morning Connie that required only a couple weeks humidor time…I like this stick and it makes me feel happy inside…I think CI along with DE did a good job with this guy…Just my opinion and I’m stickin to it…Can’t Help Falling In Love is my favorite Elvis song ,because I’m such a romantic…Makes me want to slow dance Phillip.
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A Legends playoff! Was thinking about pulling the trigger on these. Had my verdict set via Kohn’s assessment until the Guse chimed in. Man those Drew Estate guys can do no wrong.
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CI is known as being one of the biggest scoundrels in the business. When the DE Legends cigar came out, maybe 8-10 years ago, I tried and liked it. But it was nothing special nor did it come close to their better cigars.
There was something very odd about the description of that cigar. It changed on a regular basis. It started out as hazelnut, then it changed to black cherry, and now CI calls it flavors of amaretto, hazelnut, coffee, and spice.
I may have stuck with it but it is too mild for my tastes. Now if DE made it a much stronger cigar, I may have stuck with it. Except the construction on the entire Legends line is not very good. It looks like they were are rolled at the same place by the same guy.
In summary, the DE version is probably the best of the lot. I cannot find a single positive review of the other cigars. AJ Fernandez has his own blend in the lie now. But that may not bode well as AJ has made his share of duds for CI such as the Estd 1844, La Herencia Cubana, Diesel, Red Lion, San Bajito, and Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet. Not to mention his AJ Overruns. God knows what those are.
I forgot what the question was….
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Marco,
Your taste in cigars and mine are muy simpatico.
Kat
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