ashton VSG Tres Mystique Review

[thisone326]

I will be reviewing the Ashton VSG Tres Mystique, which is the smallest of the the VSG series measuring in at 4.375 x 44. I am adjusting the rating system a little from my past reviews and making flavor worth 20 points and putting the total possible points of out 50. hopefully this will allow for more accurate reviews since my palate has improved over the past few months.

These originate from the Dominican Republic and were created by Carlos Fuente Jr. and utilize the tasty Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper that comes from the Oliva Family. The binder and filler are aged 4-5 years before these cigars are rolled, giving this cigar a smooth and elegant taste profile.

Pre-light:

Construction: near flawless. one very noticable vein, hard spot right by the band during press test
Smell: spice, hint of pepper
Drawerfect. no hindrance, but still know i;m gonna be smoking something
Taste on foot:spice, pepper, leather

Post Light:

Smoke: TONS OF CLOUDS. beautiful, especially from something so small
Draw: perfect. no effort, lots of smoke, great taste!
Ash: brownish gray...i compare the dark wrapper like this to an imperial stout, which has a brown head as opposed to the normal near white of lagers and ales.
Burn: not 100% even, slighty off-keel, but acceptable
Taste: 1/3: nutty/leather/coffee. hint of spice on the back of the throat. pepper makes its way going right into the 2/3
2/3: pepper arrives! spice still in the throat with the nutty/leather flavors lingering on the tongue as if it were the aftertaste of the cigar.
3/3: remained nutty an peppery, but the leather really hit in the end, leaving me

Afterthoughts: This cigar has a perfect draw. a tiny draw brings tons and tons of smoke. If i wasn't outside with the breeze, id be covered in a smoke cloud. Had a great construction and prelight qualities. intriquing and unexpected nutty flavor to kick off the cigar that moved to a leather and then pepper tastes, finally ending in a leathery beauty, all the while spice being a lingering flavor in the back of the throat the entire time.

Rating:
Appearance/Construction: 9/10
Smoking Characteristics: 9/10
Flavor: 18/20
Overall Impression: 9/10
Final Rating: 45/50 (90)

lost points for:
AC: wrapper at head fell apart while lighting, but didn;t advance from there.
SC: burn was a little off...otherwise great smoke and draw!
Flavor: had bits where it cut out and tasted like smoke, but wasn;t for more than 2 draws, otherwise great flavors that changed often between nutty, pepper, and leather.
OI: Very good, but not many cigars are wonderful in all aspects. -1 for the fact that the flavor cut out and the ash was a little weak.

[JonDot]

Excellent review.I have several of these in the Humi & they are part of my regular rotation.

[thisone326]

i wish i had more of these....in fact, the only VSG i have left was a gift from you. the huge one...i'm saving that for a good day!

[goyankees]

Nice review, I was never a fan of the VSG though if I walk into a humidor
and I want something top notch.... Ill reach for a 1964 Padron before and VSG...

Now the ESG is another story

[DBCcigar]

Nice review. That's a tasty, little, short smoke. Provided the wrapper is dark and oily. VSGs are a little inconsistent.

[big04deuce]

Good review there!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[mdj65]

Wow, you covered everything, I can't think of any questions that were not answered. Great review!!

[Mustang7302-cl]

The VSG is a wonderful smoke indeed. I have a torpedo sitting in my humi calling my name... oh the tempation!!!

[thisone326]

Originally Posted by mdj65

Wow, you covered everything, I can't think of any questions that were not answered. Great review!!

i try to cover everything i can think of when doing a review for the board because i really want to have some input on the board. thanks for reading them, and i hope you guys like the reviews