Excalibur Miniature

[Raphael]

Thanks to the grace of Tony, three of these arrived in my mailbox. Being thoroughly excited about trying them out, I immediately called over to my friend who was badgering me from the other room to hurry up and get dressed for a match of tennis. Leaving him to give these a close look, I ran into the shower, shaved, got dressed, got ready and just put myself in the best state possible to enjoy the Mini. After grabbing my trusty Zippo (yeah I know) I gave lit this guy up. I gave it a few moments, but it didn't help throughout the entire smoke. I was beyond disappointed.

I detected notes of coffee, and a very small amount of chocolate. Unfortunately, most of the flavour was dominated by the taste of burning ash, and we both concluded that it was one of the worst things we had to smoke in a long time. Did anyone else have this sort of experience, or is this just me? I put the tin on top of the bathroom mirror (the only humid place I could think of in the house), and I will give this another whirl tomorrow. But I'm not sure how dramatic of a difference this will make. I cannot clearly recall my previous experience with a real cigar (Romeo y Julieta on Christmas), but it was definitely better than this, even though it wasn't all too appealing. Are cigars just not for me, or is it possible that this was one was just really bad/are mini cigars terrible?

[ScottishSmoker]

I wouldn't be able to tell you if it is awful or not....but keep trying things...you will find a cigar that fits you eventually...

[Trajan]

Couldn't comment on the Hoyos in particular but I smoke Cohiba Pequenos for a quicky sometimes. Small cigars are tricky. There's no girth to cool the smoke and you have to be very gentle with them. They can be slightly inconsistent in blend and susceptible to flux in the environment due to the tiny stature.

Try em again. Don't light it with a zippo. And try one when you aren't rushing around. Tho, if you aren't in a rush, smoke a big one for a fuller experience

[tonyrocks922]

Well, I'm glad you received the package ok, and glad I saved you the cost of a tin + shipping if you don't care for them.

With most cigarillos you either love them or hate them. The small size will always mean it will burn hotter than a cigar, so I'd advise smoking them with little tiny puffs and resting in between. If you smoke a cigarillo in less than 7-8 minutes you are probably smoking too fast.

[Raphael]

Yeah, I think I smoked it too fast. And I know exactly what you mean by it burns fast. It definitely did. I'll try another one later today.

What did you think of them Tony?