Wrapper: Ecuadoran Corojo
Binder: Ecuadoran Sumatra
Filler: Dominican
Size: 6 x 60 Gordo
Strength: Medium
Price: $5.00-$11.00
I’ve had my sticks marinating naked for two months.
I paid $5 each in a fiver of Gordos. You can get the Double Robusto (5.5 x 54) for $4.50 each from Cigar Page. They are down to just fivers so this 2018 limited edition is close to being sold out.
BACKGROUND:
Limited Release only to West Coast retailers in 2018.
The Pacific Standard is a “Thank You” to retailers on the west coast. This inexpensive, tasty, and predominantly Ecuadorian cigar bursts with sweet and savory notes.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find the number of cigars produced. I must assume that it was a limited edition…yet, nearly 5 years later, they are still for sale online. I must also assume that if it was a limited release, and these sticks are still around, it may indicate the cigar is a citizen of Cigar Dud City.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
If I’m taking my Claritin D, my schnoz can pick up wrapper aromas easily. As I’ve not had a chance to replenish my stock, my old Captain Hook nose only gets a schmear of available aromas. So, that I smell wonderful fruity and floral scents means they are powerful. My giant nares also picks up dark chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla custard.
I must add that as this cigar was a one-off deal in 2018, these cigars have some nice age on them. I see no excuses for this cigar not to shine unless the blend is a gopher fart.
Amazon Music is set at Legendary Guitar Solos this morning.
Flavors are warming up: Nutty, Fruit Loops, creamy chocolate, espresso, malt, and a touch of black pepper. Being 5 years old, the cigars may have mellowed so that the black pepper is unobtrusive.
Fingers crossed it’s just enough to give the blend some kick in the arse without interfering.
Strength is a very pleasant morning coffee medium.
Fruit Loops takes the lead. A nice earthy sweetness that is au naturel.
The char line is outstanding. Sharp as my wife’s tongue.
If the blend continues on the path ordained for it as shown in the first half inch, I’d snag some more. I tried a stick a month in and tossed it. Gotta let ‘em rest boys…Although, at 5 years old, the stick still needed the two months of humi time I provided. Plus, I dry boxed it for 24 hours.
The aging of the tobacco, since its release, has done the cigar well.
I’m confident that it didn’t sell out in 2018 due to this factor: Aging had gone AWOL. I don’t believe I found a single written review.
First sip of water and lemonade comes rushing towards my palate with extreme prejudice. A delight, my good fellows. The citrus tartness accents the very fruity sweetness with a nice counterbalance.
I’m now saying Wow. An easy going complexity creeps in at the 1” burned point which took over 10 minutes or more. I always forget to gander at the clock when I begin a review so I can keep track. No shortage of senior moments on the bridge.
If this cigar pleases me, I will have snagged at least one more fiver by the time you read this. At $5, and aged beautifully over 5 years, it would be nice to have 20 sticks.
This is a very relaxing stick. It is mellow yellow. Did you know that we Boomer idiots actually tried smoking banana peel when Donovan put that song out in 1967. All everyone got was a banana tasting headache. No buzz. Just a deep feeling of stupidity.
Transitions dive in and move slowly. I believe the power of persuasion works…I now taste banana and vanilla ice cream.
Construction is spot on. The char line remains dead nuts.
I change the Amazon Music station from Legendary Guitar Solos to Classic Soul. It goes better with this cigar.
The strength is just barely medium. A strength I normally avoid. I like a cigar that causes blindness.
I got almost no sleep last night. I bought a new 500 count humidor from Atlantic Cigar (Yes. I actually bought it with my dough…but since I have a VIP Membership, I got a substantial reduction in price). My humidors are more than 20 years old, and their ‘sure seal’ technology has bitten the dust. Keeping them properly humidified is a real task.
The package arrived yesterday and while it was 50lbs…the problem was its 4’-0 tall height, 2’-0 depth, and 2’-0 wide measurements that made it awkward. We live in an apartment that is on the second floor. Our front door opens to the outdoors but then we have a dedicated set of carpeted stairs to our living space. That mother nearly broke my poor back. So, I spent the night whining the same way when I beg for sex.
Atlantic has one left. Photos are not very good. I found it on Amazon which had a lot of good photos and a price point $160 higher than Atlantic.
In this photo you can see my 200-count humidor next to the beast. While I wait for the big humidor to complete its seasoning on top of my 1965 jewelry work table, a second photo shows where it will replace my 300 count and 200 count humidors. Normally the number of cigars a humidor is advertised to hold is usually half that number…this baby looks like it will be very close to truth in advertising. The table comes with legs, but I don’t have room for another free-standing item in my miniscule man cave. Sitting on top of my filing cabinets will work just fine.
If you are looking for a bigger humidor, check out Atlantic.
The Pacific Standard…The balance between savory and sweetness is on the money. Some of its power has been detained at the border which makes it a perfect morning cigar and a great stick for newbies. But seasoned smokers will truly enjoy the flavor profile. It is smooth and icy.
I reach the halfway point at 45 minutes.
I’m hoping for a sweet spot to make its move any minute.
The chocolate now dominates its subordinates. Right behind is that wonderful fruitiness. Malt lingers in the background that gives the blend a nice movie theater sweetness.
Creaminess enters with a wallop. The citrus lays low giving the blend a nice background platform.
I have no affiliation with Cigar Page. It is just one of many online stores I frequent.
The strength makes a sudden move. A touch over medium strength. Nicotine enters the picture, but not yet debilitating.
The complexity is anything but linear. Transitions are in constant motion. And the finish is flush with a cornucopia of recently mentioned flavors.
I’m sold. By the time you read this, I will have snagged a couple of Double Robusto (5.5 x 54) fivers for $22.50 each. This is a crazy good deal for a great knockaround cigar.
Once again, construction is on point and the ash hangs on with all its might.
The sweet spot enters at just a scoche past the halfway point.
The blend goes from smooth and shy to bold and now contains big fat flavor points.
For some reason, the nicotine mellows out and most of my vision returns.
As you all know, some blends shine with extensive aging. Other blends commit seppuku. Lucked out with the Pacific Standard as its aging handed over an impressive cigar.
The sweet spot intensifies. The boldness continues on its journey that gives the cigar some real oomph.
Strength is now medium/full.
I’m not inferring that the Pacific Standard gives excellent $13 cigars a run for their money. But I cannot deny the fact that due to the price point and the 5 years of aging on the shelf, the blend has nothing to be ashamed about. You won’t find many like-priced sticks this good.
Man, I’m bleary eyed due to no sleep. I am amazed that I was able to write this review. With all that’s going on in my life, writing a cigar review plops me on an island in which I live in the moment and nothing in my life is allowed in. I do apologize for my current writing skills but there isn’t a thing I can do to remedy this. The upside is that I got to convey to you that I found a great cigar to recommend. If I had chosen a dud, this manifesto would be profanity after profanity.
The cigar is skillfully constructed as it takes its time. It has taken an hour and 15 minutes to get here.
I know for a fact that all reviewers dislike bringing you a critique that is mournful and disappointing. It takes hours to get a review to you. Reviewing a dog turd is time lost that can never be recovered.
My marriage is on the cusp of 38 years. Thank God I found a dear friend to spend my life with.
While I worked at a cigar lounge, I met a gaggle of divorced men who were miserable souls. They all seemed lost. And bitter. I felt for them.
Richie Havens is playing. Around the early 2000’s, I was coming home from a project in Albuquerque. Havens was on the flight along with Ali MacGraw. Ali sat one row in front of me. There was a Hispanic family with an infant in that row. The kid wouldn’t stop crying and its family were besides themselves. Ali jumped in and took the baby until it stopped crying. I watched this in amazement as here was a major movie star (She was married to Steve McQueen) who was down to earth and approachable. I spoke to Havens for a bit but he didn’t have his teeth in and I didn’t understand a word he said…so I just nodded when he spoke and was relieved when he went back to his seat.
The Pacific Standard is on cruise control. Not a single flavor I detected is missing. I marvel at its smoothness. Perfect Savory v. Sweetness makes it a joy to smoke.
Another sip of water and flavors receive a big boost. The finish is delectable.
Music note: “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Mavin Gaye is playing. It is the biggest selling song that Motown put out.
The cigar is in nubbing mode. No heat. No harshness.
These cigars won’t last long on Cigar Page. If you want a $4.50-$5.00 great knockaround cigar, then do not hesitate as snooze, you lose.
RATING: 92
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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