Review Notes: Bought a fiver and did not find it as good as before. It had that weird woody smell that I found in the Vintage although it did burn away quickly. A plain good cigar.

 Review Notes: This cigar is as good as any of the top shelf Nicaraguans. Compares well to Padron Anniversary, and perhaps a bit more flavorful. A very deep dark brown wrapper, not quite oscuro black. Oily and silky smooth to the touch. Very well rolled, excellent draw. Very complex, toasty and leathery. Add some nuts, cocoa and coffee, with plenty of spice. Seems a bit milder, smoother, and more flavorful than the Bahia Gold natural wrapped. This is the red band edition, which I bought on closeout several years back, when the blend was supposedly going to be changed. I searched around, and am led to believe the Bahia Gold line is discontinued. There are still some available. Keep watch for some nice closeout sale prices. If any boxes are spotted for around $60 or less, I would certainly recommend buying a box.

 Review Notes: I've tried the non-maduro Gold (old blend and new blend) and the maduro is certainly a bit different. It's a little stronger. Falls more into the grassy/toasty taste area of cigars than the usual wood/spice/pepper. Sort of like a Cuesta-Rey crossed with a Montesino but a lot better. Nothing really amazing, this cigar may not be for everyone though...if you like the grassy sort of cigars you'll like this. Has a rough Maduro wrapper, similar to what's on the red label. Very light feeling in the hands, has a loose draw and burns quickly (typical of Bahias), and generates tons of smoke. Construction is decent. Price is a little high though. I'd really like to try the new insignias sometime and see if they've recaptured the good old days of the old blend from the 90's.

 Review Notes: The wrapper is somewhat reminiscent of a bidi and loose enough to allow a nice draw of thick smoke. Each draw is nice and the burn is even, but the flavor is a bit too full to the point of being bitter. I picked these up because I like the churchills so much, but I think I'll stick with them.

 Review Notes: With just enough bite to make it interesting this smoke performs very well. Straight burn and great draw with toasty, tasty, maduro flavors. Not as sweet as the churchill maddie but nice tastes of coffee, mocha and tobacco. Surprized me in a good way.