Alec Bradley (Occidental) HSG Churchill Review

[voidone]

So we finally got some summerish weather up north which means you can actually smoke outside without wearing your winter gear. You'd be a fool not to take advantage of those days..

I dived into my coolerdor and found me a Alec Bradley Havana Sun Grown Churchill that I got in a trade last summer.

I fired up my espresso machine and (after some curses and tries since I'm trying out a new grinder and a new coffee) made myself a hearty cappucino, grabbed my cigar and my book (A Cooks Journey by Anthony Bourdain) and headed outside.

This large cigar (7x4 seemed to be well constructed with a slightly rough wrapper but with a menacing looking vein going most of it. After clipping it I noticed that it had a slightly firm draw but not really alarming.

The first few puffs were surprisingly mild, considering what I've heard about this smoke. I'm not the best in picking out flavours but I tasted a sweet cedar wood topped with some faint coffee/vanilla and what I'd like to describe as a slightly metallic taste.. but in a good way!
Not the acrid metallic taste you can get from a bad smoke, but rather the slight metallic twinge you can get from fresh spring water. Very nice!

Not even the chapter of the book where Anthony vividly describes his .. ehh.. unorthodox dinner experiences in Morocco can make me loose my appetite for this one.

About one third down the draw loosened up a bit and the pepper came into play. It burned perfectly never requiring a touchup and left a solid light gray streaky ash.

At halfpoint the flavours and strenght really picked up with caramel, slightly cocoa notes and intensifying pepper starting to bite the tip of my tounge. No harsh flavours at all, just lots of thick aromatic smoke.

I decide I need something more powerful to pair this up with so I get myself a small snifter of some old brandy I had in the cupboard. Quite a match I must say, with the fruity firery taste of that old XO.

Coming down to the last third of the cigar and I'm starting to see what people were talking about. The flavour trip of this has gone from fairly mild to medium-full releasing strong flavours of leather cocoa/coffee beans and lots of pepper. From time to time I seem to pick up something close to charred wood. Not unpleasant by far, but just very thick flavours. I can also feel the nicotine starting to creep up on me giving me a nice buzz.

When hitting the last 2 inches it started to get warm, producing mostly leather and spice flavours. I started to detect that harsh note so I layed it down to rest.

Final Verdict:
A very tasty cigar and since you can get them at just over 3 dollars a piece I'd say that they are a damn good buy. I'm definitely going to get a box or two, and see what some more age can bring.

If you buy them and disapprove, I'll trade you

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I'm going to get myself a signature one of these days...

[jgros001]

nice review...I'll have to try these.

Common sense leads me to believe these would be a good smoke since Alec Bradley decided to put his own name on the brand rather than use Occidental. But it would certainly not be the first time I was wrong.

[God]

I have had only the Torps but I really liked them and will have to buy another box one of these days... for the price they are an excellent value...

[Funnymantrip]

First off, I am very sorry that you are just now getting to take off your winter gear and have a cigar outside. 2nd, great review. I have been interested in some reviews on this line. Really like the Occ Dbl Mad as an everyday cigar. Was interested to see what the HSG did on reviews. Thanks

[voidone]

Originally Posted by Funnymantrip

First off, I am very sorry that you are just now getting to take off your winter gear and have a cigar outside. 2nd, great review. I have been interested in some reviews on this line. Really like the Occ Dbl Mad as an everyday cigar. Was interested to see what the HSG did on reviews. Thanks

Well, the cold is what you get for living up north. On the upside they carry cuban RyJ and Partagas at 7-11 here (overprised as they may be).

I have to say I was very impressed with this cigar. And even more so considering the price.

Soo.. since I'm weak in spirit, I pulled the trigger on 3 boxes of Toros just this morning. That ought to ensure that at least some will be well aged before I get to them

[carbonbased_al]

Nice review. Always liked this stick.

[wouldestous]

these are a pretty good smoke at a good price. you can occasionally find them dirt cheap.

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by wouldestous

these are a pretty good smoke at a good price. you can occasionally find them dirt cheap.

GASP! Who is wouldestous??

[kansashat]

I just got in a box of the torps a coupla weeks ago. Not a bad cigar, but I think mine need a bit more rest.

[psygardelic]

Nice Review! AB is the maker of trilogy right? I've smoked a few different AB sticks but they have been quite variable for me. Some I can really get into and others can't, mainly due to lack of interest and depth. If I'm not mistaken, Spirit of Cuba is made by him and that is a rather cheap cigar but I enjoyed it as a cheapo. Wouldn't buy a box but it was nice, very mild, generic cigar. I saw some Occ's at the smoke shop yesterday but didn't pick one up, I scooted right over the Flor De Olivas instead. I may have to pick up a couple brads tonight while I'm herfing with Juan Lopez of Carlos Torano This will be fun.

[The Rev]

Nice review. I don't usually have the time to smoke the bigger sticks, so I haven't tried the churchill HSG,yet. If anyone is interested in the robusto though, I think it is a great stogie for the price. I really like it with a cup of Joe. I think that CA nailed the review on the robusto with their comment on there being a slight Eastern spice element. Did you notice that on the Churchill? I would check Cigar King on prices on this line. They often have them on sale and sometimes really discounted.

I also noticed that smoking it really slow helped a lot. My box is almost gone and I think I may have to stop writing before I slide down the slope and ......