I've always liked cigars, but I wanted to expand my palette so I bought the house blend sampler from cigar.com. It's a pretty economic way of trying out a bunch of new cigars. Here are my reviews in the order that I tried them.Cigar.com Cuban Label **.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=276
A medium smoke with a bit of peppery spice. Slightly reminiscent of Garcia Vega, which makes sense due to GV's cuban seed tobacco. Of course this smoke is much smoother and tastier. The quality of wrap leaves a bit to be desired as it falls apart a bit after cutting, also ashes a bit messy. Starts weak, but great by the middle of a corona. Two and a half out of five. Erin gives it a 0 out of 5 on the headache scale.Cigar.com Corojo Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=508
A nice full-bodied smoke with an oaky touch. The quality is better than the cuban label, leaving no messy ashes or pieces on the cut end. Erin says it is a pleasant smelling smoke with a 0 of 5 on the headache scale.Cigar.com Blue Label ****
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=42
Comparable to the Perdomo Fresco Connecticut label, this smoke is medium bodied with less spice than the Cuban label. This was was a torpedo rather than a robusto and had a very smooth draw. Erin sneezes and gives it a 1 of 5 for headache.Cigar.com Cameroon Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=292
The Cameroon Label cigar is a very deep, rich smoke. Hints of wood and leather accompany a very smooth draw. There is a bit of spice at the beginning, but it mellows out and provides consistent flavor for the rest of the stick. I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Erin says they're no headache factor, but there was a sneeze or two.Cigar.com Purple Label ***
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=277
This smoke started mild with a bit of spice. In the middle it mellowed out and exceeded my expectations. The long filler made this smoke better than the Cuban label, even though it had a similar flavor. Erin reports no headache. Solid three out of five.Cigar.com Brazilian Label ***
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=607
The Brazilian label came as a corona instead of a robusto, and produced a smooth draw with a less potent smoke. This is a good thing because this cigar has a dark and creamy smoke with esperesso and chocolate tones along with a hint of leather. There's a sweetness to the finish that other cigars in the sampler don't have. Erin does not report a headache. Another three out of five.
Cigar.com Red Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=278
I had especially high expectations for the Red Label cigar. I'm a big fan of dark maduro wrapper cigars. This smoke lived up to my expectations for a house blend maduro. It started with a light draw and a bit of spice, but developed into a deep flavor with a hint of sweetness. By the nub it was dark and rich with a slow draw. Erin says it ranks 0 out of 5 for headache. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.As an addition to my order, I also got the "90+ rated sampler". For comparison, every cigar in that group would rank at least a 3, most gaining a 4 or 4.5. I will re-order several of these house blend cigars, maybe another sampler. I've even gone so far as to purchase a humidor.
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=276
A medium smoke with a bit of peppery spice. Slightly reminiscent of Garcia Vega, which makes sense due to GV's cuban seed tobacco. Of course this smoke is much smoother and tastier. The quality of wrap leaves a bit to be desired as it falls apart a bit after cutting, also ashes a bit messy. Starts weak, but great by the middle of a corona. Two and a half out of five. Erin gives it a 0 out of 5 on the headache scale.Cigar.com Corojo Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=508
A nice full-bodied smoke with an oaky touch. The quality is better than the cuban label, leaving no messy ashes or pieces on the cut end. Erin says it is a pleasant smelling smoke with a 0 of 5 on the headache scale.Cigar.com Blue Label ****
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=42
Comparable to the Perdomo Fresco Connecticut label, this smoke is medium bodied with less spice than the Cuban label. This was was a torpedo rather than a robusto and had a very smooth draw. Erin sneezes and gives it a 1 of 5 for headache.Cigar.com Cameroon Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=292
The Cameroon Label cigar is a very deep, rich smoke. Hints of wood and leather accompany a very smooth draw. There is a bit of spice at the beginning, but it mellows out and provides consistent flavor for the rest of the stick. I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Erin says they're no headache factor, but there was a sneeze or two.Cigar.com Purple Label ***
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=277
This smoke started mild with a bit of spice. In the middle it mellowed out and exceeded my expectations. The long filler made this smoke better than the Cuban label, even though it had a similar flavor. Erin reports no headache. Solid three out of five.Cigar.com Brazilian Label ***
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=607
The Brazilian label came as a corona instead of a robusto, and produced a smooth draw with a less potent smoke. This is a good thing because this cigar has a dark and creamy smoke with esperesso and chocolate tones along with a hint of leather. There's a sweetness to the finish that other cigars in the sampler don't have. Erin does not report a headache. Another three out of five.
Cigar.com Red Label ***.5
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=278
I had especially high expectations for the Red Label cigar. I'm a big fan of dark maduro wrapper cigars. This smoke lived up to my expectations for a house blend maduro. It started with a light draw and a bit of spice, but developed into a deep flavor with a hint of sweetness. By the nub it was dark and rich with a slow draw. Erin says it ranks 0 out of 5 for headache. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.As an addition to my order, I also got the "90+ rated sampler". For comparison, every cigar in that group would rank at least a 3, most gaining a 4 or 4.5. I will re-order several of these house blend cigars, maybe another sampler. I've even gone so far as to purchase a humidor.
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