Cyber Herf VII - Camacho Triple Maduro 11/18

[montecristo#2]

The latest installment of Cyber Herfing - Camacho Triple Maduro 11/18

For Cyber Herf VII Bob (discdog) provided the cigars and Ray (4WheelVFR) decided to join us as a special guest Cyber Herfer.

In case you missed the previous Cyber Herfs, you can check them out here:

Cyber Herf I - AVO 80th
Cyber Herf II - Padron 1926 40th Anniversary Maduro
Cyber Herf III - Old Henry
Cyber Herf IV - Gran Habano Tres Siglos Gran Robusto
Cyber Herf V - Punch Ninfa
Cyber Herf VI - God of Fire Double Robusto

Will post my review shortly.

[montecristo#2]

Appearance: Very dark wrapper, this particular vitola is rolled to be chunky in the middle, so the head and foot are narrower than the middle. The cigar was rolled a little crooked and honestly was not the prettiest cigar I have ever smoked, but we don't buy cigars to look at them do we! Very solid cigar with a really nice feel in the hand. This cigar had a very nice pre-light smell as well.

Pre-Light Draw: I cut the head with my palio and took a couple of pre-light draws - very good, I could already tell this cigar was going to smoke nicely.

Flavor: I lit this cigar up with my Blazer pocket torch and it started to burn nicely from the beginning. The initial flavor profile was definitely medium to full-bodied with a rich tobacco flavor. It started a little bitter, but it was not that bad. However, it did not have the sweetness I associate with most maduros.

At the 1/4 of an inch mark, it started to remind me of a Padron Anniversary, just not as smooth. I noticed the cigar was starting to burn a little hot, so I slowed down a little and started to take my time (I am usually a fast smoker). At this point, the cigar was producing a nice airy smoke.

At the 1/2 inch mark, the cigar definitely started to mellow and the bitterness went away. I also started to pick up a hint of sweetness which was very pleasant - it still reminded me of a Padron Anniversary. At this point, the cigar had a really nice tight white ash.

At the 1 inch mark it was considerably more mellow (almost medium at this point), again with a hint of sweetness. This cigar is definitely not made with Dominican Republic tobacco (completely Hondurian tobacco from what I have read, please correct me if I am wrong) and did not have the pepper I associate with cigars from the DR (just as reference since I am not good as picking out distinct flavors in cigars).

At the 1/3 mark - cigar started to get more full-bodied, but it was the same basic flavor profile. Once I got to the thickest part of the cigar, it was definitely full-bodied again and a slight bitterness returned. Although it really wasn't that bad. At this point, the cigar started to produce tons of creamy white smoke - the flavor profile was creamy as well.

At the halfway mark, the cigar started to mellow again and it finished around medium for me. I would say this cigar had some complexity, although the flavor profile was pretty one-dimensional all the way through.

Construction: Wow, wow and wow! This cigar started off with a great draw and a tight white ash that just continued throughout the cigar. The construction on this cigar was amazing (see pictures below). I really wish I had smoked this during the day so I could have gotten better pictures. The cigar did not ash until I got to the band! It had a nice slow razor sharp burn. I can honestly say I did not have to use the lighter once while smoking to correct the burn or touch up the wrapper.

Overall Impression: Honestly, I really prefer the sweetness I get with Nicaraguan tobacco, with that said, this was still a very nice cigar and one I would smoke again. The construction was one of the best I have seen (up their with Padron's and Fuente's). The strength was a little lacking, I smoked this one on an empty stomach without a drink and had no ill effects. This definitely reminded me of a Padron Anniversary without the subtle sweetness.

Bob - thanks again for providing the cigars. I hope you guys had a similar experience.


Sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures:

[4WheelVFR]

Well, here's my review for Cyber Herf VII. Thanks guys for having me along, and a special thanks to Bob for supplying the smoke.

I sat out in the back yard with the pooch and settled in for a peaceful evening smoke. The dog was chewing on his driftwood (usual toys don't work with him ) and I was just relaxing, enjoying the mild weather. I usually pair my 'gars with a tall glass of root beer, but tonight I went all out.......I busted out the cherry coke. Don't laugh, I ran out of brew.


Appearance:
My mouth started to water when I picked this baby up. Awsome appearance! Very cool band, smooth and dark wrapper, and the tapered look was very neat.

Pre-Light Draw:
A little spicey and a little sweetness. The draw was a bit light I thought, but not enough to take away from the smoke.


Flavor:
On the first puff.......BOOOOOM!!! Lotsa spice! I could tell that this was gonna be a stout stogie. After the initial assault of spiceyness, it "mellowed" out into a very rich tobacco flavor with hints of sweetness every now and then, and once or twice a hint of coffee bean. The consistent flavor was that of very rich tobacco. This cigar had a "meaty" quality to it, packed some punch. Lots of thick smoke too, which I like a lot.


Construction:
Construction was not flawless, but I had no room to complain. The draw was a little loose, but not enough that it substracted from the experience. The only flaws were some uneven burning (mainly in the beginning due to my lighting) and the wrapper cracked some about half way through the cigar. Neither of these took away from the smoking experience though, so no complaints here.

Overall Impression:
Eat something before smoking this one and keep a sugary beverage on hand. If you like JdN Antanos and the like, you will love this stogie. I like strong smokes, and this one fit the bill. This cigar is around 10-12 bucks and worth it. I dunno if I'd buy a box yet, but a fiver is definitely in the works.

Thanks again guys for letting me join in. The next one is on me, so I'll need your addresses.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by 4WheelVFR

Eat something before smoking this one and keep a sugary beverage on hand. If you like JdN Antanos and the like, you will love this stogie. I like strong smokes, and this one fit the bill. This cigar is around 10-12 bucks and worth it. I dunno if I'd buy a box yet, but a fiver is definitely in the works.

Wow, I think we had a similar review going right up to the end.

My wife is out of town this week, so I have smoked a cigar every night this week, maybe my nicotine tolerance is at a high, because this cigar really didn't hit me in the strength department.

Oh, I love a good cigar with cherry coke. I haven't had that combination in a while.

Definitely a good cigar, but I don't think I would buy a box either. Might be interesting to try one of the smaller sizes as well.

[4WheelVFR]

Originally Posted by montecristo#2

Wow, I think we had a similar review going right up to the end.

My wife is out of town this week, so I have smoked a cigar every night this week, maybe my nicotine tolerance is at a high, because this cigar really didn't hit me in the strength department.

Oh, I love a good cigar with cherry coke. I haven't had that combination in a while.

Definitely a good cigar, but I don't think I would buy a box either. Might be interesting to try one of the smaller sizes as well.

I haven't been smoking as much as I used to, so maybe my nicotine tolerance is lower. Either way, it was a good smoke. I liked the cherry coke, but root beer is still #1 in my book. I rarely have likker* with my cigars. I'm just not a big drinker.


*for some reason I like liquor spelled this way......

[icehog3]

Appearance: This will be the darkest wrappered cigar I have smoked in quite some time. Dark as a Shark, if you will. A unique shape with the little "belly" in the middle. Very firm to the touch, with the filler almost having a reddish hue when compared to the wrapper.

Pre-Light Draw: Took the Palio to it and gave it a clip. Seemed to draw well and didn't really give me any impression of what it might taste like once fired up.

Flavor: First 1/3rd has been pretty non-descript. Basically a pleasant tobacco flavor with no real outstanding flavors. Not unpleasant, but not sweet, not spicy, just sort of "tobacco".

Second third picked up a little steam but I still wouldn't rate this cigar more than medium-bodied at best. A slight hint of spice but little else in terms of flavor.

The final 1/3rd was pretty much the same....nothing outstanding about the flavor, yet nothing overtly negative either.

Construction: Simply excellent construction...the draw was firm but generous with the smoke. The cigar was a bit tough to light (reminded me of lighting a Fuente Hemingway for some reason), but once lit it didn't require a single touch-up. Many a company could learn a lesson from the way this cigar was rolled.

Overall Impression: I really don't have one...too funny. While it was a pleasant cigar, nothing besides the construction really stood out for me. As I think Aaron stated, a very one-dimensional cigar. Kind of a paradox with its perfect construction yet non-descript taste. Not a cigar I would likely seek out to buy, but certainly that I would smoke under the right conditions.

Regardless, I love participating in these Cyber Herfs, and thank Bob for the Camacho and other great cigars he sent. Looking forward to CH Ocho!

[KASR]

I just couldn't get into these - the construction was weird and the cigar just wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be. Great reviews.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Construction: Simply excellent construction...the draw was firm but generous with the smoke. The cigar was a bit tough to light (reminded me of lighting a Fuente Hemingway for some reason), but once lit it didn't require a single touch-up. Many a company could learn a lesson from the way this cigar was rolled.

Overall Impression: I really don't have one...too funny. While it was a pleasant cigar, nothing besides the construction really stood out for me. As I think Aaron stated, a very one-dimensional cigar. Kind of a paradox with its perfect construction yet non-descript taste. Not a cigar I would likely seek out to buy, but certainly that I would smoke under the right conditions.

Tom - I think we must have similar tastes in cigars, usually our reviews are pretty similar.

This cigar really puzzled me. The construction was outstanding, but as you mentioned, nothing else really stood out. The flavor profile was not bad, but nothing special either. It really didn't have the sweetness I associate with maduros, which was disappointing. With that said, it wasn't a bad cigar. I smoked it to the nubb and it didn't have any bad aftertaste.

Considering these are not cheap (around $12.50 for this particular vitola), I probably wouldn't buy this size in the future, there are a lot better cigars out there in this price range. However, I will probably give a smaller size another try sometime in the future. These just sound too good to be so one-dimensional.