Cigars of Solono

  La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial Toro (6x50) Introduction - Flavors are sweet leather, cedar and earthiness with a slight pepper. Draw is a bit tight. Finish is moderate with no oiliness. Minor spice on the retrohale. Medium-full body with no strength. Midway - Burn is bad, have had to even it out to keep it from straying badly. Flavors are the same. Draw is still tight and seems to be worsening slightly. Finish is still moderate with slight oiliness. Slight spice in the mouth and a bit more on the retrohale. Still medium-full with no strength. Finish - Flavors are the same but with leather dominating the profile now. Burn is still bad, very frustrating. Draw is still tight. Finish is long now with still minor oiliness. Spice is the same in the mouth but is up even more in the retrohale with a spicy tingle beginning on the lips. Still medium-full body with some strength coming in, a mild-medium in that regard.  Duration: 34 minutes (I called it early since it became frustrating to s

Montecristo Platinum No. 3 (Corona) (5.5x44) Introduction - Strong, sweet earthiness, leather and wood flavors. Draw is a bit tight. Short finish with just a hint of oiliness. Moderate spiciness on retrohale. Medium body with no strength.  Midway - Burn is excellent. Flavors are the same but the woody flavor is more prominent. Draw has loosened up and is now good.  Short finish still, with little oiliness. Spiciness has died down on the retrohale. Medium body still with minor strength.  Finish - Earthiness dominates the palette. Draw remains good. Finish is still short with minor oiliness. Spiciness is back. Medium body with medium strength. Duration: 35 minutes Price: Around $8 Grade: 6.5/10 Comment: A little bland, especially near the end. Not worth $8 to me.

  La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Belicoso (5.5x54) Introduction - Deep dark chocolate and earthiness flavor with hints of coffee and cedar. Draw is excellent and quite smooth. Long finish with a bit of oiliness. No spiciness on retrohale or in the mouth but leaves a lingering sort of pepper-like tingle on the tongue with a strong earthiness. Medium body with no strength. Midway - Dark chocolate has transitioned into a milk chocolate, earthiness, coffee and cedar remain but slight pepperiness coming in as well. Burn is excellent. Finish is about the same in terms of length but the oiliness has gone quite a bit up. Very slight spiciness on the retrohale now. Still medium body, no strength. Finish - Earthiness dominates the flavors with some pepper coming in stronger. Burn is still excellent. Finish is much longer now and very oily, coating my tongue and mouth now. Spiciness is up a bit on the retrohale. Getting a slight tingling sensation on my lips. Remains a medium body, minor strength. Dura

Rocky Patel Twentieth Toro (6x52)  Introduction - A sweet, creamy cocoa and coffee flavor at the start. Draw is excellent, and is very smooth. Moderate finish with slight oiliness. No spiciness on the retrohale or in the mouth. Medium body with no strength. Midway - Burn is good. Flavors are the same but with an undertone of earthiness coming in. Finish and oiliness remain the same. Slightest hint of spiciness on the retrohale. Now a medium-full body, with little to no strength. Finish - Burn was slightly off-kilter but only needed a minor touch-up. Flavors are the same but the earthiness is now more pronounced. Finish is longer now but oiliness is not prominent. Retrohale has slight spiciness and a strong lingering earthiness. Little to no strength still.  Duration: 44 minutes Price: Around $12 Grade: 8/10 Comments: This is a hell of a cigar and the price is reasonable for the quality.  

La Aroma de Cuba Corona (5.5x44) Introduction - Initially a strong flavor of earthiness and semi-sweet cocoa. Draw is excellent. Short finish with slight oiliness. No spiciness on retrohale but a hint in the mouth. Mild-Medium body with no strength.  Midway - Burn is good. No change in flavor except for woody aftertaste. Finish is now medium length with a slight spicy oiliness. Retrohale has no spiciness. Remains mild-medium in body. Still no strength.  Finish - Strong earthy and woody flavor now dominate. Finish is just about the same length but with much greater oiliness. Retrohale has no spicy still. Barely up to a medium body. No strength still.  Duration: 45 minutes Price: Around $5 Grade: 7/10 Comments: Excellent cigar especially for the price.

Cohiba Black Toro (6x54) Introduction - Starts off with a very strong leather and bitter wood flavor. Draw isn't very good with not much smoke. Medium length finish, with lots of oiliness. Medium-full body with not minor strength. Midway - Burn is slightly offset. Flavor still the same. Draw is a bit looser and smoke is more voluminous but not always. Same finish profile, more oiliness however. Medium-full still with a slight hint more strength.   Finish - Very bitter now. Draw remains inconsistent. Long finish now with lots of oiliness. Medium-full still. Long finish, but very oily now. Medium-full still. Duration: 45 minutes Price: Around $14 Grade: 4.5/10  Comments: The tight draw and fairly bland flavors made it an almost unpleasant smoke. The price is terrible for what this cigar delivers. 

San Cristobal Revelation Robusto (5x54) Introduction - Very smooth dark chocolate, leather and wood flavor. Medium body. No pepper or spice on the retrohale. Finish is medium length with slight oiliness. No strength.  Midway - Burn is great. Same flavors but with a very subtle undertone of fresh cocoa. Still a medium body. Very slight pepper taste on the retrohale, but little to no spice. Finish is increasing, leaving an earthy taste in the mouth. oiliness is also up. Finish - Still smooth, dark chocolate is gone, replaced by a milk chocolate flavor. Continues to be a medium body. Pepper and spice are increasing on retrohale. Finish is long, with more oiliness. Strength is up, but only slightly. Duration - 37 minutes Grade: 7.5/10 Price: Around $8.50 Comments: I really enjoyed this one, it was very flavorful. Price is also reasonable.

Cama cho Connecticut Churchill (7x48) Introduction - Starts off with a mild-medium earthiness and a hint of leather, very slight pepper taste on retrohale. Finish is very short, little to no oiliness. No strength. Midway - Burn is great. Coffee and leather now dominate the taste and aftertaste, now about a medium body. Still a slight bit of pepper and the spiciness is picking up. Finish is getting longer, with a sweet mouth feel.  Still no strength. Finish - Other than a strong burst of wood flavor, flavors are still the same, still a medium body. Pepper and spiciness is still going up on the retrohale. Finish is still relatively short. Burn is still excellent. Duration - 59 minutes Grade - 7/10 Price: Around $7.50 Comments: For a Connecticut I really liked it and the price point can be very reasonable as well.

Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro Robuto (5x50) Introduction - Starts off strong with deep a deep leathery-nut  flavor, medium-full body. Undertone of earthiness, especially on the finish. Not very oily in the mouth, short.  Midway - Burn is excellent. Now a strong leather-dark chocolate combination is dominating the flavors, earthiness is down, displaced by the dark chocolate on the finish. No strength at all so far. A slight hint of spiciness on the retrohale is occurring. As far as mouth feel, the oiliness is up and the finish is becoming longer. Finish - Burn continues to be excellent. Primarily dark chocolate and earthiness. Still zero strength. More oily now, and lengthy finish.   Duration - 36 minutes Grade: 7/10 Price: Around $9 Comments: Liked this quite a bit, pricing isn't bad either.