Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 56 “Toro Gordo”
Body: Full
Price: $6.70 MSRP

Photos courtesy of Duran Cigars.

Today we take a look at the Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon from Duran Cigars. Formally known as Roberto Duran Cigars.

BACKGROUND:
The Neya line by Duran Cigars was introduced at the 2014 IPCPR trade show.
There are two blends under the Neya line: Neya Classic and Neya F8.

From Cigar Aficionado web site:
“After resurrecting Azan, a pre-Castro Cuban brand that was once owned by a Chinese immigrant, Roberto Duran is expanding with two new cigar lines, one of which is his most expensive yet.

“Additionally, the company is unveiling a new line called Neya, which is a blend of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos, save for an Ecuador Habano wrapper that was not grown on Duran’s farm.”

My buddy, Jack Torano, left Torano Cigars and joined this company as Regional Sales Manager & Marketing & Public Relations.

DESCRIPTION:
This is a stout hearted cigar. Looks like a tree limb due to its mammoth size. The new fad of making cigars 7 x 70 and 8 x 80 blows me away. What do you do? Get tweaked and stay up all night to finish the 14 hour cigar?

OK. Seriously, nice looking stick. A marbled, mottled, oily dark coffee bean brown wrapper that has a small bit of sandy-like toothiness.

Seams are nearly invisible. Lots of small and big veins. I believe it has a double cap.
For such a big cigar, it seems a little light in the loafers. I find several soft spots. I don’t think this cigar is jam packed with filler.
The double cigar bands are quite ornate. I like the cameo type main band. It harkens back to the old Cuban brands.

And the secondary band merely states the line: LIGERO F8 TYPHOON.
Something I don’t understand…on the main band, it says: “Neya Cigar Co.” I find nothing telling me that this is a separate company from Duran Cigars. Merely another line. If you hit the drop down menu on the Duran Cigars web site, the title says: CIGARS. And then it gives you a choice of 5 different lines. Not a separate company.

SIZES AND PRICING:
5 x 52 Patriot $6.00 MSRP
5 x 58 Gringo $6.50 MSRP
6 x 56 Toro Gordo $6.70 MSRP
6 x 60 Yankee $7.70 MSRP
6 1/2 x 54 Loyalist $6.50 MSRP
7 x 70 Big Jack $8.00 MSRP
Cigars can be had online for about a buck less.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell barnyard, sweetness, cinnamon, spice, chocolate, coffee, and cream.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell barnyard, spice, strong element of mixed roasted nuts, pine, and cedar.
The cold draw presents flavors of chocolate, spice, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, light coffee, and cedar.

FIRST THIRD:
I carefully torch the outside perimeter of the foot’s wrapper a sixteenth of an inch at a time. Slowly expanding to a total of 1/8”. This way the foot burns inwards instead of outwards maybe causing some burn issues. I then let it rest for a couple of minutes so it can cool down and reduce the chances of a V burn.

There are a couple imperfections in the foot caused by the roller and it is at those exact places that the foot starts to waver. I attend to them and let the cigar rest once again.

The draw is a bit too airy.
But then I am rewarded by a smackeroo of red hot pepper to the palate. What a great start!
Other flavors: Chocolate, creaminess, black walnuts, malts, maple, coffee, a honey sweetness, butterscotch, and cedar.
The burn line is exceedingly wavy. I smoked one prior to this review and had the same issues.

I decide not to touch it up and see if it self corrects.
The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon is a tasty morsel. I like it.

It bolts from the gate with big flavors. It already finds some transitions and has a wonderful balance and long finish.
Strength is medium/full.
The ash is flaky and loose. Another criteria proving that the Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon could use some more filler.

I get a nice perfumey, floral aroma from the cigar and in the flavor element. I don’t know flowers but this is something I’ve never experienced in a cigar before today. Pretty cool.
The cigar goes out. Drat.

With 1-1/4” burned, the flavor profile takes off. Nice.
Now we have some complexity. Transitions. Balance. Finish. All aligned with the universe.

There is a candy nougat component that really gives the whole flavor profile a big boost.
And then a mint element shows itself. Very minor but enough to complement the other flavors.

Flavors are becoming like a Pink Floyd laser show. Back in L.A., the Los Angeles Griffith Park Planetarium would have these shows about once a month. All the stoners came out for this. The aroma of weed could be smelled by a nose deaf horse it was so strong. Lot of people on acid. I went a few times but never took acid. But a doobie was the de rigueur for this show.
There is nothing I can do about the never ending wavy char line. Just grin and bear it. Fortunately, flavors make up for this annoyance.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 25 minutes.
Here they are: Chocolate, creaminess, black walnuts, nougat, malts, maple, spice, floral notes, coffee, peat, honey sweetness, caramel, and cedar.
The malts kick in big time: Special B Malt, Smoked Malt, Coffee Malt, Cara Munich Malt, Peated Malt, and Chocolate Malt. (See Malt Chart).
For $6, this is helluva cigar blend.

The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon is a giant step after the Azan line. I went back and read my reviews of the Azan blends and they were not to my liking. I had a lot of construction issues and the flavor just wasn’t there.
But this baby, now that’s another story.

Due to the lack of this being a fully packed cigar, it burns quickly. Based on its size, I was ready for over a 2 hour marathon. But so far, I’m guessing this will only be a 90 minute excursion.
But for a big cigar, it is exceedingly flavorful. And very wallet friendly. I’d like to try the other blends: Roberto P. Duran Signature Line ($9-$22.60 range), Neya Classic ($4-$6 range), Baracoa, and the Nicatabaco Factory Blend No.2. See the Duran Cigars web site for more info. These prices were taken from CI and below MSRP.

I reach the halfway point in 40 minutes.
With each puff, the Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon becomes more complex and flavorful.
Despite the under filled stick and the wavy burn line, the wonderful flavor and character more than make up for those issues.

The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon will definitely make the “The Katman’s List of 156 Great Cigars in the $5.00-$8.00 Range.”
This is a keeper.

I keep getting blown away with each puff. A true flavor bomb. Kudos Duran Cigars.
The upper half of the cigar seems to be better filled with tobacco and the smoke time begins to slow down.
The char line is less wavy.
The spiciness returns.
Strength is now full bodied.

CI sells the Neya F8, the Neya Classic, and the Signature Line which means they should show up on Cbid. Check it out.
The cigar goes out again. Double drat!
What a shame. The construction of the Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon is less than perfect while pumping out spectacular flavors. An enigma.

I do believe this is the first time that construction issues haven’t tainted my enjoyment of a cigar.
The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon is super smooth.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 10 minutes.
The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon is blasting away on all cylinders.

The $6.70 MSRP is well worth the price. And the $6 CI sells them for is even better. And the $5 Cbid price is an out and out steal.
While having char line issues, not once did I have trouble with the wrapper. That’s a good thing.

None of the flavor profile has changed except for it being a very spicy cigar now.
A bit of nicotine shows up but nothing I can’t handle.
The Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon finishes calmly. No harshness or bitterness or heat.
I highly recommend this cigar.

Yeah, I wish a couple of things. First, I wish there was more filler leaves. Second, as a result of a lack of being properly filled, the draw is a bit too airy. Third, the constant minor touch ups to the char line.
But all in all, if you can discard those problems, this is a wonderful blend.

Note: (1-1-2016) I went back and smoked another F8 yesterday and discovered that in just a couple of weeks since the review, the F8 had become incredible. Really blew me away so I am revising my rating from 90 to 93.

RATING: 93

And now for something completely different:

I watched a documentary on HBO last night called “The Wrecking Crew.” I had seen it before but it was months ago. And with my Alzheimer’s, I forget a lot. I can now watch movies from my large DVD collection and it is like watching them for the first time. LOL.

Anyway, two friends were highlighted in this doc. First, The L.A. Wrecking Crew was a group of studio musicians used over and over and over by just about every producer on the planet.
They account for hundreds of No.1 hits in the 1960’s.

My mentor, Hall of Fame drummer, Hal Blaine was prominently discussed and one of the talking heads discussing the subject at hand.
And my bass teacher, Carol Kaye, was another.

One thing hit home. Hal and Nancy Sinatra discussed her Ed Sullivan special that was an hour of Nancy’s Las Vegas show in which Hal got top billing on the marquee of the casino.

When I had my TV show in L.A. in 1983, I got Hal and Darlene Love together. The Blossoms were on the Nancy show as well. And Darlene was part of that all girl group.

Hal brought this up to me a couple weeks before shooting my show. He told me he had the whole thing on reel to reel video. This was around 1969 and no such thing as Beta Max’s back then.

So he went out and bought a $2200 Sony reel to reel video player/recorder. He had it stored away and gave me use of it so I could have a Hollywood facility transfer it to ¾” video tape.
Now this machine weighs at least 30lbs. Man, it’s heavy.

Hal made me lug it from his yacht in Marina Del Rey to my car. And then to the tape facility and when I brought it back to Hal, he asked if I could hold on to it for a while as it was a real pain in the ass.
Over the years, I kept bringing it up that I still had this thing and he just kept telling me to hold on to it.

So now, over 30 years later, I still have the Sony Video Recorder. It sits in the dining room right underneath where I take my cigar photos.

I got my ¾” VHS tape made and we did the show…using clips from the Sinatra special to show off Hal and Darlene. Hal even had a solo that he was very proud of. Sinatra had a full orchestra behind her.

Carol was the first big time female bassist in Session World in L.A. She came up with some of the most famous bass riffs in rock n roll. The list is too long. She was the bassist on all of the Beach Boys’ hits (“Pet Sounds”. Played on albums from Simon & Garfunkel, Joe Cocker, The Righteous Brothers, Count Basie, and she came up with the riff for the “Mission Impossible” theme. Check her out on Wikipedia.
You can check out Hal Blaine on Wikipedia as well. Or “The Wrecking Crew.”

No. They never mentioned me by name. LOL.
But I have kept in touch with Carol over the years.

Back in the day, when other musicians discovered I was a student of Carol, they literally bowed down to me.

She only uses a pick while playing. And it drove me nuts because her music books that you worked from had the symbols: ⟰ or ⟱. Each symbol represented how you hit the string. You had to hit the E note with an upward motion of the pick and then the next notes might be downward motions.

And I’d get reprimanded if I didn’t hit the string with the right downward or upward motion. I could play the riff perfectly but if my pick was not used properly, we’d start again.

I took lessons from her for about a year. And then it was time to move on. Back then, I took lessons from her in her Hollywood home while we sat in her dining room.

I highly recommend watching this documentary if you can. Especially, if you are a musician.

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