Hint of Havana in an SLR Honduran Review

[colgate]

I'd like to hear what others think but my take is the Honduran made Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial (Churchill) represents an excellent value in a medium bodied cigar. Maybe it's because my taste buds are stuck in a loop but my experience with these smokes is that they have a distinct, if subdued, flavor of any number of wider girthed Cubans. I would say the construction and wrapper were the equal of if not superior to same said Cubans. The wrapper is fairly toothy and almost every one has burned with a nice cone and nary a problem. Out of 6 smoked so far, one canoed and the rest burned perfectly.

The taste is making me think there's a little cuban tobacco or for sure cuban seed grown in there somewhere. It's definitely diluted but it's there. By it I mean that sweel and unique taste. There is a smoothness and coffee/cocoa richness to it that makes for a nice smoke. These are firm cigars and could benefit from some rest as they tightness lends itself to concentrating any remaining ammonia near the end. I will admit to not nubbing any sampled yet for the reason the first couple tried left a slight bad taste after an excellent first 3/4 of the cigar. After that I have been tossing after having a good go off it for over 45 minutes with about 1/4 of the stick remaining. No reason to believe they wont age beautifully making this problem less noticeable.

I recommend these smokes as a really good choice for an everyday cigar. They'll leave you wanting a little more of that satifying taste but then again it's hardly a knock at a fraction of the price for the big boys. Price as sampled $2.80 per stick, 25 count box.

[miketafc]

I havn't tried the churchill, but love the rothchilde and more so the Bellicoso.

Age works well on these cigars mellowing the tobaco and smoothing out the finish. Planning to post a review of the Belli soon and will have more info there.

[SeanGAR]

These are the new ones, not the '96 version, right?

[colgate]

Yes they are the new reserva especial. Kind of a tight roll on the Churchill but if you are a noser the aromas will make up for lack of draw. They have a wonderful aroma of coffee/cocoa.