Henry Clay Review

[al two]

i recently reviewed an onyx reserve mini beli, a cigar that is either loved or hated by many. this is another love or hate one, the henry clay rothschilde. this was the first premium i had ever smoked, which was over 2 years ago. i had tried this again about a year ago when i really got into cigars. i dont remember a whole lot about either experiences, so i was anxious to try this. i lit this one up last night listening to john rooney and ed farmer call the sox game. now the previous week i got a little lax on my cigar storage conditions. i opened up the humi to find it sitting at a beautiful 60% humidity. i immediately recharged my beads, but by the end of the day, i still feel this cigar was a little dry, so i was a little unsure of my smoking experience coming up. if you've nevr seen one of these, it is the ugliest this i have ever seen. all warped, a lot of veins, and discolorations. that's exactly what turns you on when you see it-it's absolutely hideous. clean cut and light so no problems there. first couple draws were extremely hot and bitter. i got some water to get the taste out of my mouth and that did the trick. once i ashed it and purged it, she was good to go. i figure i can attribute this to the conditions it was stored in. alright i got my root beer, my henry clay is looking up, meanwhile the sox are scoring 5 runs in the 5th inning to take the lead. things are looking up.

there was a thread recently talking about full flavored, full bodied, and buzz. this cigar is advertised as a strong spicy one-not for beginners. well this cigar is full bodied, very rich. medium flavored, it was pretty one dimensional. and no real buzz factor. it's not spicy, like it's advertised. anyone with a young palate can get through this IMHO. mostly wood and heavy spice throughout the cigar, no real complexity. now there was a lo of spice, but was it spicy? spicy like a brazilia? no way. that's why a noob shouldn't be scared to try this one. (man i feel like psygardelic right now with this review, lol) had some uneven burn, nothing that couldn't be fixed. it finished alright but got really bitter really fast. again, both those can be attributed to the storage conditions.

alright final verdict, what you've been waiting for----------i don't know. i need another try with this one, especially one that is stored properly. it looks like this is another love/hate one leaning towards love, but i gotta hang out with our late US senator, henry clay, once or twice more.

what do you all think about this. this cigar really isn't talked about much, at least i haven't heard a whole lot about it. what are your experiences?

I've had three of them in the last 3 months. After eating my words several times by passing judgement on a stick with only one try, I've learned to give two or three attempts before I start crossing off my list of possibles. I'm still waiting for these to lives up to what I've read about them. I guess I would have to fall into the "hate" side of the crowd. But, that's the nice thing I've learned here. One BOTL/SOTL's "hate" is another's "love".

Glad you find them enjoyable. Smoke on, bro!

[Cap'n Mike]

To me they taste like what I imagine dust tastes like. Old dust.

Mike

[illuminatus]

probably the first "nice" cigar I ever smoked, only like the 3rd I'd ever smoked.... I liked it... but mebbe I'm just weird...

[DonJefe]

Just tried one of these and would have to say it was the most boring cigar I've ever smoked. No flavor, just bland smoke.

[kheffelf]

I fall on the hate side of this cigar, I just had probably my third one and there is nothing good I can say about them.

[M1903A1]

I guess Henry Clay was a great marque once, back when it was a Havana....

I had one last spring and I didn't even bother finishing it. Burn problems galore and it just wasn't what I'd call a good taste. Very seldom do I write off a stick on just one try...but this was one of 'em.

[White97Jimmy]

I just smoked one of these 2 days ago...I think a Robusto size.

Mine had some spice to it...but it also was kind of sweet. I'm gonna go with a very similar experience to cinnamon. Not sure how everyone else thinks of these, but this wasn't horrible....but it was different

[dunng]

I think that it is a decent smoke for the price range... It's nothing that I will go hunting for though.

[68TriShield]

If I recall,they were recently reblended and are now a Honduran puro...

[mulehead]

The Henry Clay Brevas Finas are a pretty decent smoke. There is something about ugly looking cigar with the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. I know there is a Honduran version of Henry Clay, but does anyone know if the Dominican factory is still rolling them? It will be a sad day when I can no longer buy them.

[kansashat]

Haven't tried the Honduran blend yet, but was always fond of the DR (H2000) version.

[panteracfh3]

I bought a Henry Clay last weekend. Let me start off by saying that I was disappointed. From the posts in this thread and others, it seems as though the Henry Clay's are inconsistent.

The beginning had a slow burn, not that flavorful, and a tough draw. Still I hoped. The middle showed some promise as the burn was a lot smoother and it was an easier draw. Still not that flavorful. The finish was the most disappointing as it reverted back to a slow, uneven burn with a tough draw and zero flavor.

I'd be willing to try it again in a month or two to see if I might have got the exception to the rule but overall, I was not impressed.

Also throughout the entire smoke, there was this brownish-red substance that seemed to seep out of the butt end. The best way to describe it was that it looked and felt like a thin film of tree sap. Does anyone know what that is?

[dunng]

I have a handfull resting... You never know..

[Charles]

I smoke these from time to time, but mostly give them to friends who are new to smoking and want to try something that will give them a great smoking experience without getting ill, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the review.