Man O War Ruination Robusto #1

[Acesfull]

Man O War Ruination Robusto #1 5.5" x 54
Drink: Starbucks Colombian Narino Supremo Blend
Music: Pink Floyd Pulse Album
Price: $64 for a box of 20 on Cbid
Cigarbid.com Auctions - Lot 723518

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Corojo
Binder: Couldnt find any information
Filler: Honduran/Nicaraguan Cuban Seed Ligero

Cut: Punched
Appearance: A nice dark wrapper for a natural oily with a few veins, the cap looks nice
Prelight Aroma: Very light earthy semi sweet aroma
Prelight Draw: Perfect resistance with the punch cut, nice woodsy notes, a little spice and sweetness
Construction: Nice firm cigar, plenty of filler was used but required several touchups while smoking

Immediately after lighting black pepper is left on the back of the pallette with a sweet finish
This is consistant with the first Ruination I smoked. There are some very very weak leather notes lingering.
The initial blast of spiciness fades pretty quickly leaving the sweeter smoother flavor with the leather notes
About .5" in there are many flavors bouncing around, spice, leather, coffee, and some sweetness
Still between ."5 and 1" and getting hints of floral flavors after a touchup
This Cigar is producing great smoke and flavor with every puff.
About 1.5" in the spiciness has all but faded out the semi-sweet finish is still there and there is are notes of espresso in and out of the cigar
Some spiciness came back with more floral notes
About halfway there is a nice creaminess with spice with the consistant earthy tones that have been there since the start of the cigar
Just took the band off and the leather is coming in STRONG and I love it!!!
The end of it was more of a cedary woody taste with the sweet finish that was consistant throughout the cigar.

Second one I smoked, pretty consistant with the first one I smoked. A full bodied cigar with complex flavors.
The first one had better construction that didnt require as many touch ups. Both produced good amounts of smoke.
It is a slowburning cigar that required 90 minutes or more of my time to enjoy which is awesome.
I probably wont smoke another till these have a few months of age on them just to see if there is any difference.
I'd rate this smoke a B+++++/A------ just because of the touchups but this is becoming one of my favorites.

[Cypress]

You make me want to go and buy one. Thanks for the awesome review.

[ghost]

Haha! Was thinking the same thing. MUST NOT VISIT CBID!!!

Thanks for the great review.

[CAJoe]

I love these sticks, just got a box for $79. Seems they keep climbing every month as more people hear about them so you better ge them fast and cheap while you can. This is definantly one of my favorite smokes. I gave one to a Cigar shop owner and he said it was one of the best he had.

[GlockG23]

Thanks for the review,

As for the burn:
It does not bug me to much, if it is under 3/4 of an inch on one side.

[karmaz00]

agree, had that cigar a few days ago...it was god

[jedipastor]

Good review. Can you compare the flavors to anything else I might be familiar with? Your descriptions of a strong, dark cigar almost make it sound like an Illusione...

How does it compare with the original MoW?

[Acesfull]

"An explosion of spice greets you up front, as Ruination deliquesces into softer notes of oak, earth, toast, wood, and leather. The velvety smoke coats the palate, leaving a long and satisfying finish filled with the wonderful lingering aroma of toast and charcoal. Toward the nub the roller-coaster continues....closing with a concentrated, layered, full-bodied finale"

This is a pretty accurate description of what the two I smoked were like. I just dont know what "oak" tastes like. Anywho, I'll smoke a regular Man O War tomorrow to see if I can answer part B if your question... its been awhile since I've had one. Actually havent had one since February.

[jedipastor]

^I just smoked my first original MoW last week after all the scuttlebutt about these new ones. It was a torp, and I liked it but didn't love it. The flavor was very consistent as opposed to the "thirds" dynamic--which I don't mind too much as long as I like the flavor. I have a couple more and will definately smoke them and see what I think.

[Acesfull]

Finishing up a Man O War torp now... its similiar but different.. there is much less spice to this cigar.. I'd also say its more "chewy". I did get some vanilla in it but not alot and more coffee. There is an earthy finish to it and the finish is slightly sweet but not nearly as sweet as the ruination. But the Man O War I am smoking has about 9 months of age on it versus the Ruination I smoked was in my humi about 2.5 weeks. I'll be interested to see how these Ruinations are down the road where the edginess wears off and the flavors marry together... just to see how the experience differs between now and then...

[tundra06]

This smoke sounds interesting. I must hunt one down.

[ribletman]

I smoked a Robusto No. 2 (6.0" x 60) Ruination three days ago. That is the biggest cigar I have ever smoked, and the first I was still going strong on after 2 hours! The flavor profile you give for the #1 sounds just about identical to the #2 I smoked, except I also picked up a good bit of cocoa flavor starting about 3/4" in. I finally put the cigar down at about 2 1/2 hours with about 25% left. I would have nub'ed it except that the nicotine was killing me.

I loved it, and will definitely pick up some of the smaller-sized Ruination.

[Acesfull]

These do pack a punch and arent for those who are sensitive to nicotine... but I know what you mean the #1 is a good size and even though it is the smallest it is still a decent sized cigar

[MattB]

I didn't know anything about these till I got to this site, after that review I'm going hunting for some.

Thanks for the great review & pics, making my mouth water

[MrRogers]

The salesman at CI today were pushing these like crazy. The bonus was that you get a CI t-shirt with a single. None of the sizes seemed appealing to be, so I passed. We were talking about MOW in general and he said that the MOW figurado was blended to match an Opus X in regards to the flavor profile and he believes that they accomplished just that.

The MOW figurado's I smoked tasted horrible. Bland, one dimensional and with a very short finish. Did I miss something here?

MrR