hdroadglide
BoM x 2, BoY 2011
enjoyed reading what someone feels are the "letdowns" out there right now. posted on the foh forum.....
I often get asked what are my favourite "Top 10" cigars right now (current production and I will cover that in a different thread) but rarely do I get asked the "Worst Top 10" cigars/Shame File.
It is fortunate to be in a position to smoke current stock month to month from different boxes and codes. it does give you an insight that few can really have. From the list below you will get some exceptional boxes but in general they have been disappointing. These are cigars that are generally readilly available.
10. Partagas Presidente
They just can't get construction right. There can be no other reason except for the fact that for the price point they just don't care. It is a Figurado. They need to apply better rollers to the construction. When you get a Hayleys comet box which is of mainly perfect construction they are decent cigars but I have never had an exceptional one.
9. Romeo y Julieta Churchill
What in Gods name are they doing to this cigar. A lot of love has gone out of R&J since the factory was progressively shut down in 04/05. I find this one of the toughest cigars to get anything near HQ and PSP quality. We are talking around 5% at this level, well below the main.
8. Trinidad Fundadores
There has been a slight recovery and the right box is truly magnificent. However do I really need to go through 10 boxes to pull a great one? Underfilling still a concern although predominantly 07/08 boxes. This should be a great cigar every bloody time.
7. Trinidad Robusto Extra
The shift to Pinar Del Rio from El Laguito in 05 was no help to the Robusto Extra or the Fundadores. What confuses the hell out of me is how the Robusto "T" can be such a great cigar and yet the Robusto Extra remains to be so consistently wed to a paper flavour profile. There are exceptions but the blender here on most days is clueless.
6. Partagas Salomones
What a travesty. The box failure rate on these is a joke. Underilled/overfilled. When you get a great one it is a sublime cigar but one shouldn't have to work this hard to do so.
5. Cohiba Siglo VI
Probably the biggest victim of overproduction in Cuba today. I can generally find great boxes due to the amount of stock to choose from but the deterioration in wrappers over the past two years for this cigar is a cause for concern. When they get the right seco in the blend it is magic (honey nuances/cream/citrus edge) but the cigar is currently being produced from so many different factories that consistency in blend is a crapshoot.
4. Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill
They nailed this cigar at release. It has gone downhill ever since. Initially they had those beautiful thin and tensile rwd brown wrappers and an at cold aroma of sweet cherry tobacco. You still ocassionally see them but rare. Box after box is inspid.
3. Vegas Robaina Famosos
I am a lover of the Famoso. 06/07 and periods of 08 I had rich chocolate sticks. This last 10 months has seen a collapse in overall quality that I didn't think was possible to achieve. Someone at HSA pull a stick to the factories producing them.
2. Sancho Panza (Any).
If you don't want to produce them DON'T! Some of the rubbish coming out in the Belicoso, Non Plus etc is plain embarrassing.
1. Montecristo Open
I force myself to smoke the range once a quarter just to see if they are improving. Yes, I have had solid 88 point cigars. I have never had anything higher and the majority are between 82-84 points. The wrappers are generally fine and far more consistent than any other cigar. However, the blend is simply insipid with a complete lack of complexity/evolution or depth. It is the most "un-Cuban" of any cigar being produced in Cuba today.
I often get asked what are my favourite "Top 10" cigars right now (current production and I will cover that in a different thread) but rarely do I get asked the "Worst Top 10" cigars/Shame File.
It is fortunate to be in a position to smoke current stock month to month from different boxes and codes. it does give you an insight that few can really have. From the list below you will get some exceptional boxes but in general they have been disappointing. These are cigars that are generally readilly available.
10. Partagas Presidente
They just can't get construction right. There can be no other reason except for the fact that for the price point they just don't care. It is a Figurado. They need to apply better rollers to the construction. When you get a Hayleys comet box which is of mainly perfect construction they are decent cigars but I have never had an exceptional one.
9. Romeo y Julieta Churchill
What in Gods name are they doing to this cigar. A lot of love has gone out of R&J since the factory was progressively shut down in 04/05. I find this one of the toughest cigars to get anything near HQ and PSP quality. We are talking around 5% at this level, well below the main.
8. Trinidad Fundadores
There has been a slight recovery and the right box is truly magnificent. However do I really need to go through 10 boxes to pull a great one? Underfilling still a concern although predominantly 07/08 boxes. This should be a great cigar every bloody time.
7. Trinidad Robusto Extra
The shift to Pinar Del Rio from El Laguito in 05 was no help to the Robusto Extra or the Fundadores. What confuses the hell out of me is how the Robusto "T" can be such a great cigar and yet the Robusto Extra remains to be so consistently wed to a paper flavour profile. There are exceptions but the blender here on most days is clueless.
6. Partagas Salomones
What a travesty. The box failure rate on these is a joke. Underilled/overfilled. When you get a great one it is a sublime cigar but one shouldn't have to work this hard to do so.
5. Cohiba Siglo VI
Probably the biggest victim of overproduction in Cuba today. I can generally find great boxes due to the amount of stock to choose from but the deterioration in wrappers over the past two years for this cigar is a cause for concern. When they get the right seco in the blend it is magic (honey nuances/cream/citrus edge) but the cigar is currently being produced from so many different factories that consistency in blend is a crapshoot.
4. Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill
They nailed this cigar at release. It has gone downhill ever since. Initially they had those beautiful thin and tensile rwd brown wrappers and an at cold aroma of sweet cherry tobacco. You still ocassionally see them but rare. Box after box is inspid.
3. Vegas Robaina Famosos
I am a lover of the Famoso. 06/07 and periods of 08 I had rich chocolate sticks. This last 10 months has seen a collapse in overall quality that I didn't think was possible to achieve. Someone at HSA pull a stick to the factories producing them.
2. Sancho Panza (Any).
If you don't want to produce them DON'T! Some of the rubbish coming out in the Belicoso, Non Plus etc is plain embarrassing.
1. Montecristo Open
I force myself to smoke the range once a quarter just to see if they are improving. Yes, I have had solid 88 point cigars. I have never had anything higher and the majority are between 82-84 points. The wrappers are generally fine and far more consistent than any other cigar. However, the blend is simply insipid with a complete lack of complexity/evolution or depth. It is the most "un-Cuban" of any cigar being produced in Cuba today.
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