Dutch East India, Ltd Churchill Review

[tazziedevil]

I lit this baby up while I sat, watched and listened to the waves crash against the shore form my balcony during a weird "swelly" day. I drank it with black coffee. I really, really like Gurkha and since K. Hansiotia makes these guys as well, I figured to be in for a pleasant smoke. Boy was I wrong. Read on:

Appearance/Construction: Looked good, a very dark natural-perhaps an EMS, but my eye really isn't that good to tell. No real veins throughout. Pinch test showed nothing amiss. Smelled faintly like manure-although not nearly like the wonderful "Cuban-esque" manure we all love Score:5/5

Taste: Oh boy. The pre light draw was incredibly fast-like a straw in fact. I lit up and toasted with a few matches(My usual routine) and immediately was hit with an oily, pungent taste that coated my mouth. I set the cigar down for a minute, hoping whatever was causing the taste would burn off. I took a few sips of coffee, and put the cigar to my lips...and in the time that took the thing had gone out. I relit, and was greeted by the same oily blast again. I took a few more puffs, but wound up (thankfully)letting it go out, leaving a smoldering mess in my ashtray. Score: 0/10



Overall Smoking experience: 0/5
I didnt get the chance to rate the burn.

Hopefully it was a fluke and just a bad stick. Lord knows I have 4 more in the humi. For a product from the maker s of Gurkha, it was pretty disappointing.

Total: 5/25. Ouch!

[donp]

Tazzie:
I look forward to another eval from you; I have an order otw to me from C-Bid and hope it was a fluke for you. I went after these because they are a K.Hansotia brand myself, and the description of them seem like something I would like to smoke. I read one review on them over at CI (cigars international) and it was very favorable.

[donp]

Tazzie:
The following is a review I read over at CI:

>>GG of Simsbury,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The unusual wrapper gives this smoke (East India Ltd.) an appealing and memorable taste. I have a complaint, though, CI. We need more vitolas of this fine cigar--how about a corona, a robusto, a toro, even an immenso? The East India deserves its own full line." <<

The manure smell you described may be due to immaturity?

[tazziedevil]

Originally Posted by donp

"The unusual wrapper gives this smoke (East India Ltd.)

The manure smell you described may be due to immaturity?

Possibly, it was a strange sort of smell. Last night I took a quick sniff of the other in my igloodor and they all had the same sort of aroma. They've had about a month or so in the humi, hopefully they'll at least be smokable in a few more.

The wrapper is unusual too...sort of a dark natural, but not corojo really...and a little too dark for a "typical" EMS wrapper.

Hopefullt yours will have some more aging and be better than mine. For a K.Hansiotta product it was quite disappointing.

[donp]

Tazzie:
Yeah thanks; I hope your next one is better than the first. I agree too, for a Hansotia product this is unusual.

[donp]

Tazzie:
I smoked one of mine and will relate my findings/impressions. First I'll copy the CI description to provide a basis for my comments:

>>East India offers a gorgeous, reddish-brown Brazilian wrapper and mouthwatering, medium-bodied, complex but mellow blend of premium Dominican and Honduran long-leaf tobaccos.<<

Now for my impressions:

The wrapper (Brazilian) had a greenish hue to it, and less reddish and some brown. This (IMO) is significant. The wrapper is supposed to provide the specific flavor to a smoke. The light was weird, and I had trouble with it through the first 3rd of it; probably because I only let em rest for 2 weeks.
The aroma was pretty typical of Hansotia/Gurkha smokes; very aromatic and tasty. The cigar had it's usual transitions and did not lack complexity; this is gonna be a good smoke in time.
The construction is solid, typical of a Torano/Hansotia smoke. The ash was white with flecks of grey. The draw was problematic through the first 3rd; probably due to lack of rest plus, it's a very long cigar. But after the first 3rd, the draw was perfect and each pull on it yielded lots of smoke.
Now the smoke and taste of it; gave me the impression that there was another flavor that was trying to come through. I thought about it while smoking, and finally came up with a kind of cinnamon/cocao flavor. There were other spice hints but, the barely detectable ones for me were the cin/cocao. The second half of it, almost to the centimeter was announced by a blast of spice and sweetness. Hell, round up the usual suspects. This is a K.Hansotia/Torano product; its got Dominican and Honduran leaves in it and of high quality. The transitions are predictable. But the strange lack of.....something I think is attributable to the wrapper. It's greenish hue implies youth to me, and I suppose in the effort to get these smokes out of the door and onto shelves, shortcuts may have been taken; this "trying" aspect I mentioned above was still there at the 2 inch mark as I put it out.
There is no doubt in my mind this is going to be a very tasty smoke, it seems to have the basic elements for a very good cigar. But for right now, I don't think it gets there yet. I recommend a length of time at rest, which is what I'm gonna do. Please let me know what your impressions are.

[tazziedevil]

I'm glad yours was better than mine. I'm going to let mine rest for a very long time and see if they improve.

[Da Klugs]

In my Gurkha phase I smoked everything he marketed. Favs are Class Regent toros and Legend toros. The East India was my least fav of the line. Sherpas (orange) are a better deal and have an honest straightforward and unusual taste. (Plus they are real cheap).

[tazziedevil]

Originally Posted by Da Klugs

Sherpas (orange) are a better deal and have an honest straightforward and unusual taste. (Plus they are real cheap).

I agree totally. Sherpas are good...especially the barber pole wrapped.

And they're cheap

[donp]

There are several Gurkha and K. Hansotias I havent had yet. I havent had the dos capas yet and will try them at some point. That double wrapper is weird to me But I like the Sherpas, and hafta wait til they rest a bit more. June is gonna be a breakout month for me, a lot of my smokes will have been resting for about 3 to 4 months by that time

[donp]

Tazzie:
I smoked my second EI Ltd last night, and a month has passed. That certain something it lacked when I smoked the first, is still lacking. In fact, while smoking it last night I could tell it had matured somewhat but, overall, I felt as if it was 'trying' to be something, and just doesn't make it. As if they screwed up the blend by not adding enough of this and that. Not enough spice, not enough body, not enough flavor...you name it, and it doesn't have enough of it. I rate it just above a yard gar, good enough for a long hike in the woods but, not good enough for a fine wine or a good scotch with a favorite magazine or book

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by donp

I read one review on them over at CI (cigars international) and it was very favorable.

FYI - CI doesn't post negative reviews. I wrote a few not so great ones a long time ago that never got posted. Check any line, not even cremosas got bad reviews lol. Want honest reviews, check out the T25 database.

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by Da Klugs

Sherpas (orange) are a better deal and have an honest straightforward and unusual taste. (Plus they are real cheap).

They taste like peanuts. That's all i recall

[donp]

VSmitty:
>>Check any line, not even cremosas got bad reviews lol. Want honest reviews, check out the T25 database.<<

Yeah, and it wasn't much of a review of the EI Ltd either, and there hasn't been another. I post over at T25 a lot and haven't seen much on the EI ltd. but then again, it's all in the eye of the beholder...ahem, unless of course it's a cremosa

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by donp

...ahem, unless of course it's a cremosa

Indeed. Never touch a:

1.Fighting Cock
2.Cremosa
3.Highlander
4.Tamboril
5.Fat Cat
6.Flor Del Turdo
7.Magellan
8.Tabantillas
9.Acid
10.Anything house brand from Thompson's

Take notes, never having to experience those (my personal worst top10 list) will save you much suffering.