Gurkha Royal Challenge Toro Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut

Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican

Price: $7.00

As some of you may remember, Gurkha sent me a couple samples of their newer lines to try out and review. The first one I reviewed for them was the Seduction. I have reviewed several Gurkha cigars, and the majority of them have been pretty full-bodied. So when I got the chance to review a Connecticut shade cigar by them, I was very interested. I figured this would be a good cigar for me to try out in the morning.

Like most Connecticut shade wrappers, this one was very light brown and very smooth. There were a couple thin veins throughout the wrapper, but they were not a worry to me. There were also a couple thin cracks in the very thin wrapper. The cracks tended to be more towards the cap, so the huge, ornate, bands helped to prevent the wrapper from peeling off. Other than that, this stick appears to be constructed great. It is a very solid stick with a flush cap that cut clean. There is also a sweetness to the earthy smell coming off of this stick.

Drew Estate Undercrown Toro Review

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro

Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan

Price: $7.50

Last month was my birthday, and for my birthday I wanted to spend the day in Center City Philadelphia. While I was over there, I had to go into Holts. As I’m browsing around like a kid in a candy store, I came across the Undercrown. There were a few boxes there, so I grabbed two toros: one for review, and one to enjoy while walking around the city.

The San Andres wrapper is a dark brown shade. The wrapper is rough and oily. There is a nice shine to the cigar. The stick is very solid from the cap to the foot with not a single soft spot. The cap appears to be two layers, both of which are perfectly flush.  There is also a sweet chocolate-like smell coming off of this cigar. The cap cut very clean and the cigar was very easy to light.

As soon as I lit up this cigar there was a nice sweetness and a little bit of spice. The sweetness subsides quite quickly and leaves the spice as a main player. Then there is a nice earthiness that comes out strong. By an inch into this cigar, the flavor is very earthy. There are some slight wood notes mixed with a little bit of leather. That little bit of spice that was there continued to mellow out.

Ashton VSG Illusion Review

Wrapper: Dominican Sun Grown

Filler: Dominican

Price: $9.50

I have been asked several times to review the VSG. One of the reasons being that I like full bodied cigar and sun grown wrappers. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine sent me one to review. So now that I had my hands on one, I couldn’t refuse it. The reason I never reviewed it before was honestly because it never crossed my mind to.

The Virgin Sun Grown wrapper is dark brown with a couple very thin veins. The cap was perfectly flush and double layered. The cigar itself is very solid with a slightly softer foot. There is also a very sweet smell coming off of this cigar. Its almost like the smell of sugar and vanilla. The cut was very clean and this cigar required no effort to light.

As soon as it was lit, there was a nice helping of spice. There was also a good amount of wood that started to enter the picture. Right after I picked up the wood notes, I started getting a good amount of earth as well. The peppery spice actually started to stick to my tongue, which is not a bad thing at all.

Vegas de Santiago Secretos del Maestro Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Filler: Nicaraguan and Costa Rican

Price: $4.00

Since this week has been pretty busy, I haven’t been able to review as much as I want to. Between work, Christmas shopping, and appointments, I really haven’t had much time to do anything. Well this morning I decided to try something new. I decided to try and do a review on a smaller cigar on my way to work. Luckily I hit a ridiculous amount of red lights driving to work, so I had time to jot down notes along the way. Since I only have roughly a 35 minute commute, I had to pick a smaller cigar, which is why I chose this one.

This cigar’s wrapper is a medium shade of brown. It is also very oily and has a nice shine to it. The cigar itself is very solid from cap to foot. The construction appears to be flawless. There are no veins throughout the entire cigar and the cap if perfectly flush. The smell coming off of this stick is slightly earthy and slightly bitter. The cut was clean and the light was very easy.

Upon lighting this cigar, I was greeted with some strong earthy tones. As the cigar progressed, more and more flavors started to emerge. There was a little bit of spice that came out after about a dozen puffs or so.  About the same time, I was greeted with some woodiness. The bitterness that I smelled on the cigar, transformed into flavor about an inch in. It resembled that of a light roast coffee.

Illuminati Crusade Robusto Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: $7.00

I want to start off by saying how much I do not like daylight savings. Now when I get home from work to review a cigar, I have roughly an hour. So during the week you are going to be seeing many more robustos reviewed. So as I was going through my humidor to find a good cigar for today’s review. I stumbled across this Illuminati. I heard from one of their distributors that this was a great cigar. So it was the perfect size for my time constraint.

The dark brown Habano wrapper was very nice looking. It had a nice oily sheen to it, and only had a couple thin veins throughout it. The cigar itself is a little softer than I am used to, but it wasn’t a worry because it felt even throughout. There is actually a very spicy wood smell coming off of this stick. The spice actually tingled. The cigar cut very clean, and was very easy to light.

Right off of the light, I was picking up some serious wood notes. There was a peppery spice that built up quickly as well. Along with the pepper, I was grabbing some notes of a cinnamon-like flavor. As this cigar progresses, the wood notes as well as earthiness keep building. I was actually getting a nice combination of flavors coating my palate. There seemed to be a little bit of leather and pepper that stuck around.

Alec Bradley Black Market Toro Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro

Filler: Panama & Honduras

Price: $7.50

As many of you know, Alec Bradley is constantly pumping out new blends. The Black Market is one of his newest blends that I have had my eyes on. When I finally got my hands on a couple, I smoked one right away and set one aside to do this review on. I have been asked several times when I was finally going to review this cigar, so I gave in a reviewed it.

The Maduro wrapper is very nice. It is dark brown, oily, and very smooth. There are also no thick veins throughout the entire length of the cigar. There are a couple very thing veins, but these would not throw off the burn pattern in the slightest. This cigar is also very solid except right around the cap. There is a very distinct smell off sweetness and coffee coming off of this cigar as well. The band is also eye catching. It covers from the foot to about halfway up the stick with a black stamp saying “BLACK MARKET.”