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Review Notes:
This cigar is one that certainly won't win any awards for looks. There were bloches in the matte not very light coloration, the cigar actually looked like it had lumps and bumps (I'm not talking about the micro fine oil bumps either), and it was, seemingly, very loose in density. Add to that the other two reviews here and I was thinking it might be wise to skip the part where I usually disolve the stick to ash and just dispose of it immediately.
Well, surprises of surprises...This cigar tastes pretty nice, considering the price, maybe, even really good. Could it be I got a different cigar than those reviewed prior to this?
Seconds in cigars are a strange thing. There really is a healthy market in it. I doubt too many industries could sell more seconds than first-quality, but in the cigar industry a second is, if I understand correctly, usually one where the wrapper color isn't quite right or, say, some other aesthetic is off. It's been said many times" "These may not look like our first quality cigars, but they taste and smoke like them". Sounds to me like the manufacturers, if they're smart embrace seconds. In fact, a second in a handmade cigar ought to be great excepting looks. Well, we know thats just not always the rules and that seconds are all over the board. I've got great supposedly Macanudo seconds from Mike's only to get them again and they burned so bad "rocket-dog" did a dis-service to who ever coined that phrase. So at the end of the day a second is like a mini trip (who writes this stuff?) to Vegas because you, my friend are now a gambler.
I gambled on this stick from Rolando Reyes Sr. and my gamble paid off. In spite of a cigar that rustic wasn't quite the word for I must say it was a pleasant experience. This cigar had a sweetness that was always there and it certainly wasn't a sweetened wrapper because it was on the tongue and never the lips. It had volumes of easily drawn smoke that slightly tingled with spice. It was not a Macanudo like taste at all - no nuttiness, no slight saltiness, and little, if any, creamy component. All this, but it was sweet and smooth cedary smoke. Not much in and out of any other tastes which may signal that it's not overly complex because if it being on the milder side. But, darn pleasant. I keep in mind all the time the fact that the price is really good. I wonder if aging will add any complexity (could only improve it I'm guessing since it's already smokable). And, more importantly...I wonder if the next one will be more of the same or if the gambler will receive a different hand?
I want to say something. I am a small cigar retailer. I have been buying Indios, when I bought them, from wholesalers. I have just decided recently to contact the Reyes Family Cigar Company and the experience was excellent. Soon I will report here on puff.com on their new super premium Miami series. I am compelled by the history of Reyes Sr. as a man who can be knocked down (he's lost at least 2 cigar factories in two different countries due to politics) and he gets right back up and starts again. The man is in his eighties and works every night in his Honduran factory inspecting cigars. I decided that if a man is that passionate about his cigars I should make a point to try his wares since I enjoy them anyway. So, my first Roly Natural Churchill did not disappoint even after being a bit wary. Yes, as stated, my experience in seconds is that they may not be consistent...But, I'm betting that because there is a single man with conviction behind these that, quite possibly, these will be more consistently quality than many seconds I've smoked in the past. Heretofore the finest seconds I've smoked were from Rocky Patel. I really don't think they can be directly compared because they cost as much as quite a few firsts. These are about as cheap as it would be humanly possible to roll a long-filler stick with a decent wrapper and, as such, they may in their price realm a bit of an anomaly. I'm impressed with this first Roly and am glad I am now a direct customer of the Reyes Family. This is a respectable stick at an out of this world low price.
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