My week of cigars October 18th to 24th: Not what I was expecting

This week of cigars has seen me smoke some very different cigars, most of them brand new to me and not ones I might have consciously picked up were it not for the company I was smoking with. I think that it is always good to smoke different cigars that you might not otherwise choose. This way you can broaden your palate, and you never know when you might discover a new favourite. If not, at least you can say you’ve tried them, as is the case with some cigars I’ve smoked in the past.

18th October 2021 – Oliva Serie O Robusto

I kicked off the week with my regular Monday night Instagram show with my good friend Karen. Having smoked some fuller flavoured cigars over the preceding week, I chose a lighter one for this occasion. Having recently smoked a number of Oliva Serie V cigars including the Double Toro and Melanio, I was keen to try something a little different from the brand.

The Oliva Serie O looked like it had been moulded out of milk chocolate. The cold draw was sweet and creamy and this was the theme that went right through the cigar. There was a hint of white pepper in the opening third, but this was very much a secondary note to the sweet tobacco and marzipan flavours. In the middle, the flavour became more earthy, with some black cardamom and leather starting to come through, but the smoke was always light and the flavour smooth. The final third made a return to the sweeter notes of the opening, but with added nutmeg. This is a lovely little cigar that I won’t be overlooking. Score 4.5/5

20th October 2021 – Principle Cigars Angelique

When I was given this cigar, alarm bells immediately started ringing. Apparently this is a naturally sweet cigar, but as I handled it to put it away in my travel humidor, I could smell the sweetness oozing out of the wrapper and it left a real saccharine taste on my fingers that I struggled to get off.

Having had a rather unpleasant experience with a rotten egg at dinner, I decided that I needed something a little sweet, and as I didn’t have any cake, I picked up the Angelique. Being honest, I think that this is the only time that I would have been able to smoke this cigar.

It smelt of sweet cedar and there was a coating of sugar left on my lips. The opening draws filled my mouth with bitter burnt rubber, but a couple of draws later this had disappeared totally to leave me with the sweetness. By the middle, I was tasting peat and iodine with a layer of royal icing over the top. This continued until the end, but the sweetness on my lips was pervasive. I’ve smoked naturally sweeter cigars as well as sweetened ones, and the Angelique tasted very much like the wrapper had been soaked in some kind of sweetener. Score 3.5/5

23rd October 2021 – Punch Petit Coronations

I had hoped to smoke this cigar on Thursday, but what with one thing another, that became Friday, which ended up being Saturday. The reason I wanted to smoke it for this week of cigars was two-fold. Firstly it was going to be my next YouTube review. Secondly, it was one of the first Cuban cigars I ever smoked back in October 2009, so the timing seemed appropriate.

The Punch Petit Coronations really did take me on a trip down memory lane and if you want to read my full review, click here, or watch it over on YouTube. Score 3.8/5

23rd October 2021 – Dapper Cubo Sumatra Short Robusto

I finished off my week of cigars on Saturday evening with another great cigar from Boutique Smokes. This was another first for me and a great example of both the strength and intricacies of flavour that can be found in Nicaraguan cigars. Pairing this medium to full bodied cigar with a Rum Espresso Martini was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the week.

The first thing I noticed about this cigar, was the difference in colour between the wrapper and the cap. I looked and felt very smooth and evenly packed. Aromas of cedar, pink peppercorns and parmesan tickled my nose and the cold draw tasted of sweet leather, leaving my lips coated with a moisturising lip balm.

It’s opening third was intricately flavoured with notes of leather, soda water, English Breakfast tea and black cardamom dancing around each other. The middle third change character to more autumnal flavours of roasted chestnuts, white vinegar and peppermint which gave way to a full on cedar hit at as I smoked to the nub. The texture of the smoke was creamy, but it left a coating on my teeth and I was a little disappointed with the construction at the end, as the ash started to open like a flower and then spill everywhere. Score 4/5

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