El Duque Cognac FROM HELL Review

[Emjaysmash]

This Review has been posted on ************ and Stogie Chat already...so those of you with Deja Vu, don't worry!

El Duque Cognac

Size: Double Corona (7.75 x 50)
Wrapper: Sumatra
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican.
Age: At least 2 months, 2 days.
Smoking time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

This cigar has been scaring me for some time now. After it was “gifted” to me by my friend’s father, it has stared menacingly out of my glass-top humidor, just waiting for me to put my guard down. After 2 months of agonizing fear, I finally gathered the courage to do something about it. But what could I do? How could I vanquish such a beast? Well, I figured if the mob of townspeople went after Frankenstein's monster with torches, so could I.

Pre-light

This cigar has a mottled wrapper, ranging from medium to dark brown. Visible pectin glue smears can be plainly seen. 2 large veins run the length of the cigar. The smell of the wrapper is that of alcohol and feet. (Yes, feet. Not a Sweaty Feet smell, just a general feet smell. )

I got her open with my $6 guillotine cutter and took a draw. It was pretty good; loose with a bit of resistance. Things were starting to look up. The draw left no recognizable flavors in my mouth, but left a very sweet, Splenda like taste on the lips.


1st third:

The ash in the first third was not a lot of fun. It was flaky and flowery, and with the wind it was, for lack of a better term, a pain in the ass. The ash started out white with small grey stripes. The flavors were predominately Sugar cane, with a concoction of sugar and plastic. Halfway through the first third, the taste of ammonia wavered between puffs and the plastic taste became stronger. The aroma of the smoke was (as best as I can describe it) halfway between burning tobacco and stale cigar. The burn was pretty uneven. Strength so far: Mild.


2nd Third:

The ash was the same as 1st third, white but the grey stripes were wider. The cigar had an Ammonia base flavor, with plastic and sugar mixed in. Splenda taste still occurs on the lips. Slight harshness now wavers in and out. The burn was still uneven. Cigar needed a touch up about halfway. Strength: Still Mild.

Last Third:

The ash was still Flaky and Flowery. Color of ash is now all grey.
The Flavors of Ammonia grew considerably. Now, all the taste is ammonia with hints of Splenda. A Splenda taste still occurs on lips; so much so I could actually swallow it . The burn was very erratic, with a blister forming near the beginning of the last third, which lasted about ¾ of an inch before cigar put itself out. Deciding not to fight any longer, it was laid to rest. Strength: Overwhelmingly Mild.

Overall smoking experience:
After finishing, the total ordeal resulted in some slight heartburn. This stick lived up to some of its monstrous hype. It was, in fact, a bad cigar. The only thing that comes out of smoking this El Duque: Acid reflux and a bad taste in the mouth. My advice, don’t waste your money.

[oldforge]

One of these was in a CI sampler I got a few years ago. I let it sit a full year before smoking it, so the dominant taste was the cognac and not ammonia. That was no improvement, believe me.

I keep forgetting to mention this one in the "bad smokes" threads--probably because I had blacked it out of memory.

Now I will try to forget about it again.

[Kaisersozei]

I can't believe you got to the final third. Well done!

[lordlister]

Very entertaining review! I can't believe you finished the beast. Thanks for taking one for the team