Punch London Club EMS

Punch London Club EMS 

5 x 40 Petit Corona

Made in Honduras          

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler:  Dominican, Nicaraguan, Honduran

Paid: $10 CDN)

Drink: Diet Pepsi with Jack Daniels

I smoked one of these yesterday for the first time, while I was out and about.  I was so impressed I decided to light this one, and see if it really was that good.  So this review will encompass the experience of both sticks.

I've had a couple of them sitting in my humidor for a few months now.  They were purchased from different locations, and I noted that one had darker wrapper then the other, and it wasn't the maduro version.

They both are made well, and burn perfect.

The first stick started out with a strong wood flavour, with a mild floral taste in the background.  At the halfway point it switched up to strong floral, and the wood took the back seat.  Very pleasing.  The best of the two sticks.

The second stick I got a strong earth, mixed with some floral, and woody tastes.  The taste was similar to a Cuban Hoyo de Monterey.  By the last half, the earth subsided, and all I was getting is floral.  I don't know what tobacco gives that flavour, but it's great.  Kinda tastes like soap, which sounds bad, but not in this case.  

This cigar is nothing mind blowing, but a very enjoyable stick.  The tobacco strength is mild, and the taste is just right, and leaves no aftertaste.   

A box of 25 can be had in the US for as little as $50-60, and I'm going to pull the trigger on one in the near future, as they tend to go for about $10 a stick here.  This is one of the better Non-Cuban cigars I've smoked, and probably the first I can definitively say I would smoke on a regular basis, if I can get them for $2-3 a stick.

TTT Trinidad Robusto

TTT Trinidad Robusto 

5 x 50

Made in Dominican Republic          
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler:  Dominican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian

Paid: $30 for a sampler of 8 from JR Cigars ($4 CDN)

Drink: Diet Pepsi with Jack Daniels

The pre-light aroma on this is the best I've smelt to date.  Tremendous aroma of caramel, chocolate, and some leather.  I really want to eat this stick  In my experience, this is usually followed by a huge let down (Alec Bradley Family Blend comes to mind).  Another bone of contention I have coming in is, smoking traditional Cuban brands, in a non Cuban format.  Their never as good as the Cuban.  We'll see.

It lights fine, the construction looks and feels great.  The burn is perfect from front to back.  I get some long ashes with this one.

While not nowhere near as bad as the Alec Bradley Family Blend, the flavour is as I suspected.  Bland.  It's a very smooth, mild tobacco flavour, with some kind of sweetness, that I find common in Dominican cigars, it's just nowhere near the point of quenching my pallets thirst for flavour, like I get in a Cuban cigar.  The last third really gets ashy tasting.

Every now and then you get the rich taste of the wrapper on your tongue, but that same feat can be accomplished by not lighting the cigar. There was no harshness, and the smoke did have a creaminess to it, which is another plus.  Very mild in body, flavour. and strength.  Could easily be smoke by anyone new or old to cigars.

Overall I can't say anything bad about the stick. It's smokable.  I'd have no problem smoking another, just nothing exciting, and no where near the experience of smoking a Cuban Trinidad.  Also nowhere near the price of it's Cuban counterpart either.  This cigar would probably retail in the $12 range, while a Cuban can be as much as triple that.

My search for a non-Cuban cigar that impresses me, and I can love as much as a Cuban continues...