5 Vegas Serie A Artisan Review

[punch]

Date Tested: 12/23/06

Storage: Cooler, 69 Deg F. / 71% RH

ConditionsTested: 47 Deg. F / 55% RH

This is a Nicaraguan made Robusto measuring 5 X 52. This cigar has a wrapper from Costa Rica surrounding a binder of Nicaraguan tobacco. The filler is a mix of tobacco from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.

This cigar has a rough textured and toothy maduro wrapper. This is one tough wrapper and reminds me more of a piece of shoe leather than tobacco. The cap on this cigar is not real impressive, but the cigar holds together nicely after the cut is made. Fill is firm, and overall construction is very good.

Lighting this cigar produces a large amount of smoke, and the wrapper does a good job of releasing oils as it burns. The burn is very good requiring no touch-up. Ash is firm and holds on until asked to drop. There was some initial warmness through the nose, but the smoke became more mild as the cigar burned. Flavor is full and pleasing and would change somewhat after each purge.

Scoring was as follows:

Wrapper – 9.5 (not the prettiest, but very robust)
Cap – 9.0
Fill – 9.0
Smoke – 9.5
Burn – 9.5
Ash – 9.0
Harshness – 9.0
Flavor Quality – 9.0
Flavor Intensity – 9.0
Satisfaction – 9.5

Total Points – 92.0

Grade – A-

This is a cigar that I received in a trade. I probably would not have purchased this on my own since it is primarily a Cigars International brand. However, I must say that I was very impressed. I am not a big fan of maduros, but I enjoyed this cigar. If this cigar is indicative of what can be expected from this line, I would rate it as Highly Recommended.

[Lotus1]

Thanks for the good review. I too enjoy this cigar. I've only tried 1 but it was very satisfying. Would definitely pick some up for my humidor shortly.

[boonedoggle]

Nice review. Unfortunatly, I have not had one single decent 5 Vegas cigar, but I have not tried these yet. I hope the line turns around with this one!

[yayson]

in addition to being everything described in this review (thanks for it!) I've also found these to be incredibly consistent, durable and resilient (dunno if that sells them or cheapens the mystique further but pssst, those'r good things). I've smoked them from humis at 50% rh all the way to 70% and they maintain their flavor, draw and burn just great.

I was skeptical being a CI brand as well but I'm a believer now, have 10 or 15 left from devil site winnings.

chewey stuff

[Scimmia]

I'm a fan of these as well. They may not have the most complex flavor out there, but they're very impressive for the price.

[palm55]

EXCELLENT analyitical review!!!

JEEZ!!! I wish I could be that objective in my reviews!!!

All I know is that the "A"s kind of get nice and good after I "chew" on them for awhile, and give them plenty of time between puffs.

[Aladdin Sane]

I really like these cigars as well. The size you reviewed was actually one of my first box purchases.

Good stuff!!

[jxpfeer]

I'm a huge fan of these as well, i love maduros, and i have to say that these are one of my favorites. great review, glad you liked the stick

[mikey202]

I like 5 Vegas A alot.

[ghost]

Thanks for the review punch. I enjoy this line (my favorite of the 5 Vegas) but have found that the smaller ring sizes with these are much tastier.

[burninator]

AFAIK these are not necessarily a "CI brand". I think CI just happens to be on the ground floor with this line, though there are other retailers who carry them.

I love these....thanks for the review!

[bi11fish]

Ditto on the 5 Vegas. I have found them to quite satisfying.

[punch]

Originally Posted by burninator

AFAIK these are not necessarily a "CI brand". I think CI just happens to be on the ground floor with this line, though there are other retailers who carry them.

I love these....thanks for the review!

I believe that the owner of CI owns the rights or name or whatever for this brand. Kind of like the Montecristo Afrique, which is a Santa Clara brand. You can get them elsewhere, but they are not on every B&M's shelf. This does not impact the quality in any way (the Afriques are one of my favorite), but it does kind of tie you to mail order when you want them. Pressure from a couple of us stogie burners here in Omaha has resulted in a couple of the local B&Ms selling Afriques. Maybe the 5 Vegas are next?

[TU09]

Originally Posted by punch

I believe that the owner of CI owns the rights or name or whatever for this brand. Kind of like the Montecristo Afrique, which is a Santa Clara brand. You can get them elsewhere, but they are not on every B&M's shelf. This does not impact the quality in any way (the Afriques are one of my favorite), but it does kind of tie you to mail order when you want them. Pressure from a couple of us stogie burners here in Omaha has resulted in a couple of the local B&Ms selling Afriques. Maybe the 5 Vegas are next?

I'm almost certain that my B&M in NOLA carries the "A" series, I know that they carry at least one 5 Vegas line.

I love these cheap cigars despite the fact I am generally not a big fan of maduros. if only they made them in smaller rgs...

[floydp]

Originally Posted by punch

I believe that the owner of CI owns the rights or name or whatever for this brand. Kind of like the Montecristo Afrique, which is a Santa Clara brand. You can get them elsewhere, but they are not on every B&M's shelf. This does not impact the quality in any way (the Afriques are one of my favorite), but it does kind of tie you to mail order when you want them. Pressure from a couple of us stogie burners here in Omaha has resulted in a couple of the local B&Ms selling Afriques. Maybe the 5 Vegas are next?

I hope so, I lke the A's alot. Been very consistant as well.