Ave Maria...

[slave2theaxe]

Well, finally got the chance to smoke one of these...the robusto size called the Crusader.

I have been wanting one of these ever since I saw the band in the CI catalogue...hoping the taste of cigar would live up to the exceptional looks.

Unfortunately, this is the best part of this particular cigar:

The cigar was not bad...but it just wasnt that good either. Pretty boring. It had a few moments where it started to spark my interest, like..."Ooooh, here comes something good...", but it would fade away as quickly as it came. Construction was great on it and burned and drew very well throughout.

Overall I'd say its not a bad smoke (I smoked the whole thing). If you like mild stuff, I would say you should give it a try, but if you're interested in lots of good flavor, this one is lacking.

Definitely not box worthy, but I may pick up a couple more singles and revisit them a bit later, but I'm not expecting too much from it.

 

[jjon90]

Sorry to hear that Nic. The band is pretty impressive.

 

[smokinbodybuilder]

I pretty much agree with your review spot on.

 

[traveller]

ah damn, I've got a couple of these. That's a bummer to hear

 

[unfairtoast]

But the band makes the cigar right?

 

[terrantheman]

Fuggin marketing!!! Get's many everytime, including myself.

 

[danthebugman]

I thought it was an alright cigar. The one I had got harsh in the 3/3, but otherwise was enjoyable. You can read the review here...

http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=46393&highlight=maria

I have plans to revisit this stick later and I think they'll be alright after some time to calm down...they were just released. Depends on what you're expecting from the cigar I guess, they're not a Tat or Liga Privada by any means.

Dan

 

[LTS 4 Bad Cigars]

I am going to seek out a couple of these and rate for myself. Thanks for sharing this, both of you.

 

[slave2theaxe]

Yeah...don't get me wrong, it's not a "bad" cigar by any means, just disappointing. I was hoping for a bit more based off the descriptions I read (and that awesome band). As I said, I'll probably pick up a couple more and revisit them later...hopefully they will be better then.

 

[megladon8]

I think all of AJ's new blends (this, San Miguel, and Morro Castle) all need some time to rest before they're going to show their true colours.

I had a similar experience to yours, but with the San Miguel. It was all right...but seemed like it could have (and was supposed to be) so much more. It burned beautifully, and the flavour was nice for the first two thirds, but then the final third was very harsh and bitter.

I have yet to try my Ave Maria.


I found the the Diesel Unholy Cocktail also did really well with some age on it.