Saturday, January 17, 2009

Decent Novelty Smoke: IT Maduro Teepee

I call the Indian Tabac Maduro Teepee a "novelty" cigar because of its unusual shape: It has a wide, bell-bottom foot which gradually narrows, cone-like, all the way up to the head. The idea being, if you stand this cigar on its foot, it looks like a slim teepee.

So much for the novelty. The Indian Tabac Maduro Teepee tastes almost exactly like the shorter, stubbier maduro boxer, with the exception that its draw is tighter and it takes a bit longer for the smoke to build in fullness. By the time you've smoked off an inch, you're getting the strength you expect.

The teepees can be won at cigarbid for 7 bucks per five-pack if you're an early bidder. However, I prefer the maduro boxers because of their friendlier draw. You can win 10 maduro boxers for 14 bucks in the Samplers section at cigarbid - but they are only listed about once per month.

Keep in mind, all the IT classics are cheapies that can vary in performance. One of every six or eight will be a dog that burns wrong or tastes like utter crap. You'll just have to throw it away. Call it the "cost of being cheap".

It works for me.

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1 comment:

doc8466 said...

In search of acceptable to great smokes on the cheap, I've come to love ITs. The Cameroon Legend, Boxer Maduro and both Super Fuertes are fantastic. At the price you can get them for ($1.50-$2 each easy) they are very likely going to hold a solid constant in my smoking rotation.
Thanks for the review!