Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Dominican, Honduran
Size: 5.5 x 50 Perfecto
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $25.00
My cigars have had 4 months of naked humidor time. But also, 18 months of box time as they were released in November 2021.
Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura
Cigars Released: 1102 Boxes of 10
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Some industry sites reviewed the cigar after its release in 2021. It got fair to middlin’ approval. But the feeling was that this cigar was not worthy of the $25 price tag. I found an industry review from this year and the time difference didn’t seem to make much difference. I also got the sense that the reviewers wanted to like the cigar but, in the end, were let down.
So, I shall take a stab at it and will cross my fingers that I am worthy. This cigar is still available online despite it being a limited-edition release from almost 2 years ago. Doesn’t bode well, does it? Most Room101 cigars are not expensive. The price must have been a deal breaker among fans of the brand.
It is a nice-looking perfecto. The roller(s) did a nice job.
Aromas are typical of the leaf stats: dark chocolate, baking spices, clove is strong, creamy cashews, cedar, ripe melon, barnyard, and black pepper.
The draw is plugged. I whistle using two fingers and my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool limps into the room looking like it was a rough night. I shall institute a curfew from this point forwards. As is usual, the plug occurs in the area of the cigar band and just one swipe and I’m good to go.
The cigar feels heavy. This will be a slow roll.
I tilt my head back, think for a few seconds about how I’m going to edit my video, blow smoke out, and say nice smoke output. This just cracks me up…I’m not a nice man.
Nice smoke output.
And the cigar goes out. Scratch nice smoke output.
The cigar is still lit but no draw…my brain tries to configure what the fuck is happening. Another plug. Back to work old chap. PerfecDraw in motion. It pulls out a big honkin’ stem near the foot of the cigar.
Salty pretzel. Black pepper. Baking spices. Creamy. Musty.
Man, I hope this cigar doesn’t let me down. Not in the mood for a Monday bummer…sorry…it’s Thursday. This is what happens when you retire.
Minor burn correction needed.
A hint of complexity. Not sure.
There is good musty and bad musty. This cigar is beginning to lean in the wrong direction. I just have no luck with Room101 blends. This is my first $25 stick.
1” burned. 12 minutes.
I’m not getting good vibes. It is clearly apparent why this cigar is still on the market nearly two years after its release. A swing and a miss. I will be patient as I am at the start…but my instincts and razor-sharp deluded palate says run away, run away.
Strength is medium.
I know a good cigar when I smoke one. You do too. This ain’t one of them.
The ho hum reviews it received are dead on. They were industry reviewers and were kind by not dive bombing the rating with an embarrassing number.
There are baking spice notes. Some creaminess. Potent black pepper.
No hint of any depth to the blend. A $25 cigar should be screaming laughter.
The burn has been wonky from the beginning.
Every time I smoke an expensive cigar, I question myself. Are my palate and brain working together? Or is it just a bad cigar.
James Taylor & Carole King Live at the Troubadour. 2007. I’m a sucker for Boomer music. The Troubadour is an iconic venue in West Hollywood. My band played at the Troubadour back in the day. It was exciting. We had a packed house. We only did one set. I was all in. Afterwards, I was hyperventilating so badly I had to go out back and sit on the curb so as not to faint. Good times.
The cigar. Damn its eyes. (Marty Feldman says, “Too late”).
The cigar is a little better at 1-1/2” burned. It was never meant to be.
I sat with Matt Booth at a local B&M years ago. Just he and his rep were there. I had a friend who worked at the cigar lounge, and he knew that Matt Booth hated me. Booth was very uncomfortable with me being there. When my buddy introduced me, Booth’s whole face dropped. We talked a while about jewelry as it was once a hobby for me. My dad and I got serious with it and were designing using the lost wax process. We cut and polished our own stones and gems. Booth was not interested. But I do salute him for his service. I respect him for that.
Matt Booth’s blends don’t ring my ding-a-ling. You must have brands that you just don’t understand as well. Different strokes.
The cigar is medium pleasant. Complexity is waving from a sinking ship. Any richness is long gone.
This blend is typical of Room101 bundle blends. I expect it was a dud from the get-go. It really wants to be special, but the choice of tobacco is a horrifying error in judgment.
I won’t finish it. A good cigar is to be had from the first 5 minutes. If your palate doesn’t recognize something designed properly immediately, it is all downhill.
I must have some sort of funny or perverted story I can bore you with. Let me think. Ow. That hurts. I try not to do that.
Shortly after we were married, Charlotte and I spent a weekend in Sedona, AZ. Beautiful place but nothing to do except shop at the overpriced boutique shops. Nice restaurants were enjoyed by us. So, we had to have a lot of sex. One night, we smoked a doob, fooled around, watched porn in the hotel room…and Charlotte got up to get another joint. There was girl on girl action on the TV screen. She stared and said, “Hmm. I might do that. Maybe for your birthday, I’ll get a girl for us.” I couldn’t blink for 30 minutes. My birthday came and went. No ménage à trois ever happened. But boy, do I remember the possibilities of that moment in time. Damn marijuana.
There is an underlying richness that seems trapped in leg irons. This is a woulda’ coulda’ blend.
No point in going further. I’m at the halfway point and the cigar is a boor ass.
If you like Room101 blends, Small Batch Cigar has this blend. 10% off with promo code ‘katman’.
RATING: 65
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
