Review: CFO Blend #7 Mature Dark Corona

[RUJohnny99]

Note...my first public review. Don't be too critical of my style.

Well, I finally gave into temptation & got a wheel of CFO cigars that arrived today. I lit one right off the truck. Here's my review (using Cigar Register values).

Place: Deck
Event: Studying
Lighter: Matches
Cutter: Guillotine
Drink: Diet Pepsi

Rating:
Construction: 18/20...I expected it squishier than it was. Well constructed.
Appearance: 18/20...never know what to put here. It appeared to be a cigar.
Smoke & Ash: 8/10...the smoke was neither overwhelming nor underwhelming.
Burn: 16/20...initial canoe, but corrected itself nicely
Draw: 16/20...draw was tough in parts toward the end before it went out.

Aroma
Foot: 6/10...I could see a beginning smoker immediately put this out with it's initial harshness.
Body: 8/10...interesting flavors started to develop. Wish they would have come out stronger, but...
Head: n/a...it went out for a second time, and I didn't feel like fighting it.

Tasting notes:
Smoked right off the truck. This is an interesting smoke. For 60 cents, I didn't expect much. It was harsh to start out. Needs some serious down time. It canoed pretty badly from the initial light, but it fixed itself rather well. At the beginning light it gave off a very strong ammonia taste. Luckily I was prepared for this, so I let it settle down before judging it too harshly. The flavor was very mild and I began to get disappointed until the flavors started coming out a third of the way through. Kind of like a mild coffee or nutty taste. It went out about halfway thru & I relit it. The flavors intensified for a bit. It went out again with about an inch and a half left, so I didn't bother relight it.

Hard to decide whether I liked it or not. As others have said, "for the price you can't beat it". Obviously, I doubt CFO will continue to keep its prices this low forever, so I'm basing this on it as if it's a regular smoke at the B&M. It's not completely flavorless, but it's not very bold either. Sort of a mild to medium smoke. I could definitely see the potential with some aging, so the rest went into a cabinet in my cooler. I'll try another one in a month or so and see what my reaction is. I think as of right now, I wouldn't buy more (even at these prices), but with some improvement to the burn/draw and initial ammonia taste I could be persuaded to drop $50 on a well marketed box.

Total score: 16.83/20 (calculated by Cigar Register, not me).

[bobarian]

I've been eyeing these. I love the Reserva's(2 wheels, so far) My Original's are just on the verge of smokability. I would guess that in 3 months these will be smoking very good. LMK if you want to trade some Coronas for Reserva Toro's.

[FN in MT]

I have high hopes for the #7's given 3-6 months in a good humidor. Off the truck they are a bit harsh for that initial 1/2 or inch. After three weeks to a month that initial harshness in mine seems to have gone away.

FN in MT

[RUJohnny99]

Originally Posted by bobarian

LMK if you want to trade some Coronas for Reserva Toro's.

PM Sent!

[RUJohnny99]

Just a quick update. I smoked another one after giving them 2 weeks rest in a cedar cab. Amazing difference. Now I see why everyone has been raving about CFOs. The burn issue I originally had seemed to fix itself, there was no ammonia from the initial light, and the flavors showed themselves very well.

I was very pleased with this smoke as well as the toros bobarian traded. I might just have to fill up my cooler with some of the other CFO selections.

[MarkinCA]

[SIZE=3]Thanks for a good first review RUJ. Dry boxing may be the way to go regarding these and others from CFO. Select 5 out of the wheel and let them ride 5-7 days in an empty cedar cigar box, and then see how they burn, smell, and taste thereafter. The other 45 can sit playing around in your humi...[/SIZE]

[bobarian]

Just about to fire up one of the Corona's. Have no doubt it will be as good as the Toro's and Churchill's.

Also for those that bought the Original #7's last fall, these seem to be coming around nicely. Had one last week and the ammonia is gone. Still a bit spongy, but much better than the last time I had one several month's ago.

[Pmagus]

thanks for the nice words guys
You all should REALLY check out some of the other, "newer" stuff, alot of which is actually MUCH OLDER than the #7s, and doesn't need any down time at all