While the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Natural Exclusivo is a cigar that has gained a number of accolades, to me, it just starts on a bit of a down note with the full toasted wood that builds up. It's not a complex profile and plenty of smokers enjoy this profile, but it's just not for me. I could use something else in the profile to break up the monotony of the toasted/charred wood focus.
The RoMa Craft Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion 1794 Tarred & Feathered was a good cigar experience, with the first and second thirds providing the best flavor experiences for me. It was interesting to taste the filler and binder first, and then get a big flavor injection of chocolate and musty wood once the wrapper added its influence.
The Illusione PCA 2020 Exclusive is the first Illusione cigar released in the last few years in which I did not enjoy. There was no balance and complexities to the cigar. Being heavily charred red pepper spice and dry cedar oriented, it's not the typical DNA of Dion's masterful blending style that I'm accustomed to. I guess you can't win them all.
The Diesel Estelí Puro Robusto was a medium-full to full bodied experience that didn't skimp on complexity through the first and second thirds. This is the essence of the Diesel brand that I came to enjoy many, many years ago. What I appreciated is that the cigar brought intensity and strength, but didn't do it at the expense of a range of flavors.
The Perdomo 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto overall was a pretty reliable offering in the Maduro space. Based on the review experience, if I was looking for a good Maduro offering I would be inclined to smoke the 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto again.
Definitely not my cup of tea in terms of the large ring gauge, but when it comes to overall flavor delivery, I gotta give praise to the Drew Estate Undercrown Sun Grown Dojo Dogma. Silky/buttery mouthfeel with flavors of sweet cream, roasted chestnuts, minerals, cedar and layered red pepper spice. Well executed until the final third in which harshness and an abundance of minerals shows. This one is worth it.
The Perdomo 10th Anniversary Sun Grown Robusto was an overall enjoyable smoking experience. Barrel aging tobacco is something that a number of companies have attempted, but few have delivered on the right balance. For me, the Perdomo gets the balance just right. I would smoke these again if I had the opportunity.
The All Saints Dedicación Berkey proved to be an average tasting experience for what Mexican San Andres can offer. The profile was heavily geared towards earthiness in minerals, baking spices and dry dirt. It needed more than this to make it a good cigar.
The Viaje Skull and Bones Bruce Banner was a bit of a polarizing cigar. There were some good Aganorsa like qualities to the cigar (nuttiness, good spice levels), but as a whole it was unbalanced and sharp. Especially on the finish, the cigar lacked depth and didn't do a good job of pulling it together with dry red pepper spice and burning paper note. I'll have to pass on this one and hope that The Hulk can smash this tasting experience.
The Diamond Crown Maduro Robusto No. 4 didn't deliver an engaging or dynamic flavor profile that I would expect from a cigar with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Although the flavors were pleasant, they never combined in a way that would make this cigar stand out from other Maduros. At this price point, it might be difficult to compete with the vast amount of other Connecticut Broadleaf cigars in the market competing in this space.