Winston Churchill Marrakesh review

[skibumdc]

Fiance' needed me to run an errand, and she needed quiet time to study for MBA finals, so I took the opportunity and stopped by the local B&M last night. Old Virginia Tobacco Company-Kingstowne.
I had been walking past the Winston Churchill boxes for weeks now and thought "Oh what the heck, a little mid-week treat"
Here's a pic of the available line-up.

Talked to the manager about the cigar and chose the Marrakesh vitola.
6"x50 Toro shape.
He said the wrapper was Ecuadorian Sun Grown and might give an early punch and then mellow out. Filler was supposedly Cuban seed Peruvian, Dominican and Nicaraguan from what I have read on the internet.

While the first bit did have a bit more ooomph than the rest, it was still IMO a pretty mild-medium cigar.
Lots of creamy toast, with only small amounts of nuttiness & spice in the change from 2/3 to 3/3 of the cigar.

The cigar ran cool the entire way through. Flawless construction that lit up super easy and stayed lit even when I accidentally ignored it for a bit. It did go out with about an inch left...so I relit and nubbed it.

Now....the price is not something I normally like to talk about.
It's a $17 cigar...with taxes it came to just under $20.
Is it worth that?

IMO, no.
You can find similar sticks for less $$

A good smoke with flawless construction, impeccable burn, and nice double band. Subtle flavors and ooooooh so smooth.

I give it a 90/100.
If the flavors were just a little more pronounced it would have been awarded a higher score. Then again it may just have been my always inexperienced palette.

[My371]

Thank you for the nice review!

I've never heard of these.

[Tour De Cigar]

Im really looking into this cigar but the price is steep.. over my way they are going around $22... i just wanted to be well worth it...

[Jay Hemingway]

i have a bunch of these in my humi from the trial release from my local b&m. im not sure if it's my b&m's fault but just about everyone i have has cracked in some sort of way. alot at the foot, especially on the churchill size. they are very tight wrapped too. i have never had a problem with any other cigars from them.
well the ones i was able to smoke are pretty tasty. not the best of the davidoff line but hendrik kelner knows his shite, so it was expected from me to be a good blend.
i am one of the first to back the prices behind the davidoff line,but i must agree....these are not worth the price...just my
the marrekesh is my favorite of the line.
nice review!

[beauregard]

Your review sounds dead on. I had a similar experience with the No. 10. Super smooth, exquisite construction... some good mild flavor. But a little pricey.

[rnpatrick]

Originally Posted by Jay Hemingway

i have a bunch of these in my humi from the trial release from my local b&m. im not sure if it's my b&m's fault but just about everyone i have has cracked in some sort of way. alot at the foot, especially on the churchill size. they are very tight wrapped too. i have never had a problem with any other cigars from them.
well the ones i was able to smoke are pretty tasty. not the best of the davidoff line but hendrik kelner knows his shite, so it was expected from me to be a good blend.
i am one of the first to back the prices behind the davidoff line,but i must agree....these are not worth the price...just my
the marrekesh is my favorite of the line.
nice review!

Funny you should mention cracking. I bought 2 Chequers and 2 Blenheims - one of the Blenheims cracked all to hell and back before I could smoke it. I actually enjoyed the ones that did not crack quite a bit, but the enjoyment was not commensurate with the price.

I was in a local B&M last Friday and they had 3 sizes of these and there wasn't a one of them amongst the 3 open boxes that I would have even taken for free - all cracked open and IMHO probably totally unsmokable.

Another totally different B&M I was in today had all 4 sizes and while most looked smokable, they were all rough looking and not something I would pay $ for.

I am a big Davi fan but there are better smokes for the $.

[skibumdc]

Originally Posted by rnpatrick

Funny you should mention cracking. I bought 2 Chequers and 2 Blenheims - one of the Blenheims cracked all to hell and back before I could smoke it. I actually enjoyed the ones that did not crack quite a bit, but the enjoyment was not commensurate with the price.

I too had 1 small crack in the wrapper, but never affected the burn.

[Jay Hemingway]

Originally Posted by rnpatrick

Funny you should mention cracking. I bought 2 Chequers and 2 Blenheims - one of the Blenheims cracked all to hell and back before I could smoke it. I actually enjoyed the ones that did not crack quite a bit, but the enjoyment was not commensurate with the price.

I was in a local B&M last Friday and they had 3 sizes of these and there wasn't a one of them amongst the 3 open boxes that I would have even taken for free - all cracked open and IMHO probably totally unsmokable.

Another totally different B&M I was in today had all 4 sizes and while most looked smokable, they were all rough looking and not something I would pay $ for.

I am a big Davi fan but there are better smokes for the $.

well i guess it wasn't just mine! i really thought it to be weird when almost everyone cracked and never had a problem with any other stock from my b&m. very tight and dryish.

i am one of the biggest davi freaks i know and i dont like these. the blend is ok but construction blows! i would sooner buy a griffen before buying one of these ever again.

[DixieTiger]

There was a tasting at the local here last week for these. I wasn't able to go, but I have heard a lot of bad reviews on these lately.

[brianhewitt]

I hate the price tag, but really enjoyed the smoke. Especially the long finish. I actually sucked it up and went and bought more, even though my wallet ached for a week afterward.