A Less-Than-Grand La Flor

The La Flor Dominicana Grand Maduro #6 is a dark, dusty maduro which fetches quite high prices and is positioned as one of the more exotic La Flor Dominicana blends.

However, it has no particular flavor characteristics to show for itself. Just a basic dark chalky flavor, with no sweeness or spice. Medium bodied, fine-burning and nice looking. A nice cigar to try once, but nothing to rave about.

I won it for 5 bucks on cigarbid and that's about all it's worth.

Similar in flavor to Montecristo Media Noche, Nestor Reserve Maduro, etc.

Rocky Patel Edge Missile Maduro

The Rocky Patel Edge Missile Maduro is one of the better cigars I've had in this relatively small size (5.0 x 48). It burns and tastes better than most coronas or perfectos.

The first few minutes are disappointing, with a tight draw and a somewhat off-putting hot plastic taste. But stick with it and the journey gets better. During inch two it opens into a full, sweet-flavored gem. And the last two inches are impeccable. The sweetness truly does have an "edge" that is hard to describe; it's a tangy molasses with a dash of cumin or coriander on top.

Not mellow by any means, you will finish this Edge with a tingle on your tongue and charred fingertips from trying to smoke it down to the nub.

Tightness in draw tends to be a problem with many cigars under 50 ring. I also suspect that my local cigar retailer is keeping this box too close to the misting machine. Next time I'll buy and hold in my own humidor a lot longer.

Red Hot Tamale: Camacho SLR Rothschild maduro

A few weeks ago -- back in the good old days, before the SCHIP cigar tax -- I was able to win a 5-pack of Camacho SLR Rothschild maduros on cigarbid for a mere 13 dollars. Woo-hoo!

I let them rest for a couple weeks in my humidor, anticipating them with glee. But I guess two weeks wasn't long enough, because the first one I smoked was as hot and harsh as a rubber tire squealing on the pavement. It never settled down, from beginning to end.

Locked away deep in this cigar, I kept telling myself, is a core of meaty flavor just yearning to break free. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Out of curiosity, I read some other customer reviews of this cigar on the blogs and retail sites. The majority of the reviews were ravingly positive. A few, however, were dismissive for the same reasons: Hot and harsh.

I'd like to give the SLR Rothschild maduro the benefit of the doubt, and chalk it up to a need for rest & mellowing. I'll keep the other four in my humidor for a long, long time. I'm hoping this will allow their true nature to reveal itself.

As you can see, I have a lot of faith in Camacho and am reluctant to condemn a single specimen. Someday I will do a second review. If the next one doesn't improve, I'll have to change my tune.