Review Notes: So I bought the box, let them sit around for longer than that first one I smoked did and POW! They're my new everyday value smokes (along with Partagas Petit Coronas Esp.). The flavors I previously described have intensified and grown in complexity and sweetness with more time to acclimate in my humi. The appearance of my first was a total fluke. The rest have all been pleasantly brown in color, for the most part, and none are quite as ugly. No beauty queens in these tubos, but they're at least presentable. I have only had one so far (out of 11 or so) that was too tight to smoke, and I am dry-boxing it to remedy the situation. I must order another box already, cuz I don't wanna have any time without a bunch of these ready to smoke! Highly recommended, and I wouldn't gift these to any non-smokers anymore! Let them smoke some crappy NCs or some cheap-but-good JLPs, instead. These are for folks who will appreciate them!

Review Notes: Mine didn't have the typical darker H. Upmann wrapper (more a colorado claro, I think it's called), and it looked like a dog-rocket, with veins, lumps, and a disturbing dent near the band. A small tear in the wrapper near the middle and a sloppy-looking cap completed my first impressions. The (cream and orange colored) tube is nice, though! Surprisingly, it burned and drew very well, slow and easy, and the flavors were much more than I had expected from such a fairly-priced CC. (About $7 USD) Quite spicy for the first 3rd, mellowing to a creamy smooth woodsy flavor with cedar and coffee notes and a citrusy zing (for the first few draws only). Not very complex, other than what I already described, but a great value and an excellent cigar to gift to a friend who doesn't really appreciate CCs, with the tube presentation. I will be buying a box to sit on and smoke every now and then, definitely. Hopefully this one was typical (or better yet, worse than normal) of the range. I have heard others say to let them dry out of the tubes for a week before storage to resolve most burn issues, but I will have to try it whenever I get my own box.