Cheap Cigar Review 01 Super Premium 2nds

[CCCigar]

[SIZE=3] This is the first in a series of reviews (not to mention my first ever review) that will hopefully lead me to the Holy Grail I search for; the cheap smoke that satisfies both the pallet and the wallet. Is this delicate balance possible? Can you buy a cigar for $1.00 and not wish you hadn’t? I know there are several threads here at CS dedicated to this very pursuit but sooner or later, the money must be spent and the cigars must be smoked.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] Rating system will be Bad, Not Bad, Pretty Good, Good, Holy Grail![/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] One quick note, this time of year I smoke at my favorite local casino where photography is prohibited. Once the weather warms up and I can smoke at home, I will include photos.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3] First up, Super Premium Seconds.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3] $22.00 for a bundle of 25 at C-Bid.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]At arms length, these little guys look good. They are real dark and oily looking. They feel nice and solid. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the cap was crooked and as the wrapper spirals up, it looks as if there is a space there, like it’s peeling apart. When I ran my fingers across the seams, it felt solid enough and did not come apart. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] The smell is mixture of what you might normally expect for a typical maduro and . . . . grass. Like green, fresh cut lawn, not the other kind! It’s not too strong, but definitely there.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] The clip went well with no tobacco spray and the draw was medium. Not too loose and not to firm. Just how I like.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] The smoking experience overall was pretty good. It burned evenly and held the white ash up to an inch before I knocked it off. The draw was consistent all the way through and it generated lots of smoke. I had to slow from my normal smoking pace as it started getting hot real fast. I have never smoked a cigar of this diminutive length before so I assumed that was all me. Once I slowed down, it cooled down fine. The flavor was very earthy. Kind of a funky-earthy flavor. It was this way from start to finish. I have tasted this before in other smokes. One that comes to mind is the Indian Tabac Maduro that I got as part of an introductory sampler a while back. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]All in all, this not a bad little smoke. The construction and smoking characteristics were both pretty good. If it wasn’t for that funky earthy flavor I would upgrade it overall from not bad to pretty good.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]For now, the Holy Grail is safe in its place of hiding. Could I have reasonably expected to find it on my very first try?[/SIZE]

[homeless_texan]

Thanks for the review. I look forward to reading more on your quest to find the Holy Grail.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Monty Python

Bridgekeeper: What... is your name?
King Arthur: It is 'Arthur', King of the Britons.
Bridgekeeper: What... is your quest?
King Arthur: To seek the Holy Grail.
Bridgekeeper: What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Great review, and good luck in the Quest for the Holy Grail!

[Bax]

Nice, can't wait to find the grail. You know the grail is actually a womans privates, maybe you should look there.

[bobarian]

Just got my wheel from CFO, these smokes look mighty tasty! Cant wait for them to rest a bit and try one out!

[rlacapra1]

Godspeed on your quest !

[Bones]

Originally Posted by Bax

Nice, can't wait to find the grail. You know the grail is actually a womans privates, maybe you should look there.

Wouldn't that be a surprise if you found a good, cheap cigar there.
I for one would be shocked.

[WyoBob]

Originally Posted by CCCigar

[SIZE=3] This is the first in a series of reviews (not to mention my first ever review) that will hopefully lead me to the Holy Grail I search for; the cheap smoke that satisfies both the pallet and the wallet. Is this delicate balance possible? Can you buy a cigar for $1.00 and not wish you hadn’t? [/SIZE]

The Grail and $1.00 goal hasn't been possible for me but at the $2.00 range, I've found a lot of cigars I enjoy. I have found two cigars that cost around the $1.00 that aren't too bad. The La Flordita Naturals and the La Flordita Maduro Belicosos are a pretty good bang for the buck. I'm a maduro guy and have very little experience with naturals but I thought these were pretty good. I like the maduros better.

At around $2.00, a whole new world opens up. I have around 550 cigars on hand and my average price is around $2.00. I buy everything online and CBid, Joe's Cigars, Cigar Monster and other specials have some really great deals.

Good luck and have fun on your search.

WyoBob

[CCCigar]

Originally Posted by Bax

Nice, can't wait to find the grail. You know the grail is actually a womans privates, maybe you should look there.

Do they sell Lewinski's by the bundle?

WyoBob, thanks for the input. I too have found some good stuff at $2.00 a stick. I am just so cheap . . . . .

[CCCigar]

I figured I should do a follow up on these little bad boys. I hadn't had one since I did this initial review until this past weekend. I always like to have a smoke in the car on my way back from my weekend sessions at the skatepark. I don't live far from any of the local parks so something that can be killed in less than half an hour is ideal. I am running out of 5 Vegas Gold and Fire Corojos so I grabbed one of these. They've got about two and a half months rest on them and they are quite a bit better for it. Gone is the grassy smell and earthy taste. They are smoothing out and developing some more interesting, yet faint, and subtle spicey flavors. I can't quite pinpoint them yet as my palette is still in it's infancy. At this point, I would simply say that the flavor has improved. When I exhale through the nose, it reminds me of a 5 Vegas Series 'A' but faint in the way an 'A' tastes like an 'A' but I die if I try to exhale one of those through my nose. I am smoking one right now and getting similar results. I am going to upgrade these to Pretty Good and say they are a good value at less than a buck a piece. If I only had more room . . . . .

[Major Captain Silly]

I've had the same experience as you on these. They are supposed to be seconds of Punch Robustos. They are definitely Honduran but I don't get Punch flavor out of them. They are more like a Belinda to me. Not bad with some age though.

MCS

[craigchilds]

The closest thing to the $1 Grail I've found is Fire by Rocky Patel.

I remember the JR Cuban Alternatives to Montecristo #2 being good a few years ago, but I think they cost well over $1 now.

But I've had a lot better luck at the $2 price. I got a box of Edge Counterfeits (also by Rocky Patel) for $37 last week. Now, that's a tasty cigar!

But don't get the impression I'm a huge RP fan. I'm not. Fire and Edge, I like. The Vintage lines are good, but not worth what you have to pay. The rest are just 'ok'.

[CCCigar]

Originally Posted by Major Captain Silly

Not bad with some age though.

I'm thinking at 6 months they'll be sweet. Definitely plan on getting some more and sitting on them.

Originally Posted by craigchilds

The closest thing to the $1 Grail I've found is Fire by Rocky Patel.

I reviewed those too and came to the same conclusion. They replaced the 5 Vegas Gold as my go to cheapie.

[hoax]

No offense but personally I think the search for the "holy grail" of $1 smokes is a waste of time. It's not that I don't want to find a great $1 cigar that I can puff on until I grow old and gray while laughing at fools spending 10 times the amount. But the reality is that that the budget smokes I enjoy most start at $1.50 but most are around $2 a stick. I've wasted too much money on smokes that are sitting in my cooler that I have no idea if I'll even ever smoke.

The point is that it would have been cheaper just buying the known good smokes that I read about here.

[CCCigar]

Originally Posted by hoax

....it would have been cheaper just buying the known good smokes that I read about here.

I agree to a certain extent. Most of the cheap smokes I have had tasted like (I have switched to 5 packs for sampling) but these little guys are good value smokes and so are the Fire by Indian Tabac. Maybe not holy grail territory but just as good as smokes that cost more than twice as much. Perfect example is replacing the 5 Vegas Gold at $65.00 for 30 with the Fire at $26.00 for 30. That is significant savings in the long run.
Plus, if these 2nds turn out the way I hope they will with some more aging I would never have to buy 5 Vegas Series 'A' again. Partagas Black for that matter.