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Issue 4 New Releases
In this issue we review new releases, tres petit coronas and American cigars. All the larger cigars (red heading) have been tasted blind by Cigar Buyer’s chief taster, James Leavey, and are scored out of 10 in six categories: appearance, combustion, draw, flavour, aroma and balance. We have then taken the average of these scores to give a mark out of 10. Smaller cigars (blue heading) have been reviewed on overall taste and quality of packaging and are not scored. The highest scoring cigars receive the Editor’s Choice badge.
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Country codes
CO - Connecticut
CR -
CU - Cuba
DR - Dominican Republic
EC - Ecuador
HO - Honduras
IN -
ME - Mexico
NI - Nicaragua
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| Castella Miniatures |
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| Brand |
Castella |
Region |
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| Importer |
Imperial Tobacco (0117 963 6636) |
| Length |
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Ring Guage |
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| Wrapper |
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Binder |
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| Filler |
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Type |
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| Comments |
Ten individually cellophaned light brown minis in a row, inside a smart, light tan paper liner, in a small, slim tin with a lift-up lid. A popular, sweet, slightly salty blend of the world's
finest tobaccos, including Cuban and Brazilian. |
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| Indian Tabac Petit Corona Sungrown by Rocky Patel |
9.7 |
| Brand |
Indian Tabac |
Region |
Nicaragua |
| Importer |
Gift International (01582 424511) |
| Length |
4 1/2 |
Ring Guage |
46 |
| Wrapper |
EC |
Binder |
NI |
| Filler |
NI |
Type |
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| Comments |
Rich, powerful, demanding medium-full cigar with dark, smooth, shiny wrapper and a consistent, bitter sweet flavour and peppery aroma. Perfect draw. |
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| Indian Tabac Robusto Sungrown by Rocky Patel |
9.2 |
| Brand |
Indian Tabac |
Region |
Nicaragua |
| Importer |
Gift International (01582 424511) |
| Length |
5 1/2 |
Ring Guage |
50 |
| Wrapper |
EC |
Binder |
NI |
| Filler |
NI |
Type |
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| Comments |
Dark, powerful, medium-full bodied chunky cigar with
dark shiny wrapper. Bitter-sweet, smooth and creamy, like fine dark chocolate. The sort of cigar that should be smoked as a dare. Not for the faint-hearted. Will be a very interesting smoke in a year or two. |
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| Inidan Tabac Toro Sungrown by Rocky Patel |
9.5 |
| Brand |
Indian Tabac |
Region |
Nicaragua |
| Importer |
Gift International (01582 424511) |
| Length |
6 1/2 |
Ring Guage |
52 |
| Wrapper |
EC |
Binder |
NI |
| Filler |
NI |
Type |
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| Comments |
Large, chunky, very full-bodied bitter-sweet cigar with dark maduro wrapper and perfect draw. Smooth, consistent, demanding. Very well balanced smoke. Not for the beginner. |
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| Zino Platinum Shorty Sceptre Series |
10 |
| Brand |
Zino Platinum |
Region |
Dominican Republic |
| Importer |
Davidoff (01306 882 411) |
| Length |
4 1/2 |
Ring Guage |
44 |
| Wrapper |
EC |
Binder |
CO |
| Filler |
DR, PE |
Type |
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| Comments |
Very pleasant, tangy, light, chunky cigar – sweet but not cloying – with great character that deepens the longer you smoke it. Perfect balance of fine aroma and flavour. Extremely more-ish. A lovely cigar that should age well. Classic cigar. |
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