Size: 5″ x 54.5 was measured (supposed to be 5.5″ x 55, M5)
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Cuban-seed Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan-grown ligero long-fillers

Having smoked at least one of every other 5 Vegas I own, this one was bound to be smoked sooner or later an it was today’s deal of the day on cigar.com, so I had to smoke it to see if I needed to purchase more….

Appearance:
Well, this is a tough one… This was a very nice looking stick. A dark wrapper for a Corojo. Looked tasty. One medium vein and a bunch of smaller ones. Appeared well rolled. Traditional larger 5 Vegas ring up top and a ring at the foot. Almost too much, but not so. All of that was until I dropped it from about 4.5′ – off the kitchen counter onto the hardwood floor – and then the wrapper cracked in 4 places… seems a little excessive, no? What to judge it on? We’ll go with pre-drop – can’t really hold that against it can we? Maybe just a little.

Construction:
Well, if you’ve read the appearance section above then you realize my dilemma. This stick appeared well constructed until it suffered a drop, and now I’m not so sure. It appears a little dry… the cracking seems to give it away – but it came out of what I think is still my best humi…. The density is consistent throughout and the rings both removed with ease – but the cracking is excessive and upon lighting the wrapper only got worse – the cracks began to unravel at the foot…. How much to ding it? How much is the stick’s fault and how much is my own?

Aroma:
The aroma of this stick is a little different, but quite lovely. It’s a sort of a dry spicy smell unlike other sticks – I quite enjoy it. Other full-bodied sticks are sometimes a little sweet, with hints of dried and spiced fruit, but this is different. It’s spicy, without the fruit hints. More of a medium-full smell. Tasty, but not overpowering. Should be pleasant to bystanders. Doesn’t tinge the nostrils when smelled up close – but then again I’m left wanting more aroma when it’s just being smoked or sitting on the ashtray…

Burn/Ash:
The burn has been quite even, despite all of the wrapper unraveling/fraying issues… The first ash came at just under 1″, so a little disappointing – landed right on my sweatshirt. We’ll see what happens next. As I approached 2″ in and 2 separate cracks, it required some attention and touching up with the lighter to prevent the burn from straying. The second ash fell at 1.5″. But before it fell it required yet another touch up b/c of the split wrapper… Definitely frustrating.

Draw/Smoke:
So the draw started out super light and the smoke was also super light – an unusual combination. I was ready to score this stick super low in this category. But now 1″ in and the draw is perfect – a medium, and the smoke is quite plentiful and creamy. A totally different stick. We’ll have to see how it continues… 1 1/2″ in and the draw is almost a medium-tight and the smoke is so plentiful and creamy, it currently ranks in the top few… Back to about a medium draw at 2″ and the smoke is still plentiful, heavy and creamy. One thing about the draw is that it’s not consistent – now it’s back to light-medium and the smoke has lightened up to average now. But construction seemed solid – interesting. Now back to a medium-tight draw and plenty of smoke again. Through the 2nd half of the stick it was a play between light-medium to medium to medium-full draws and we’d go from just average smoke to plentiful with not much rhyme or reason… Too bad it couldn’t stay consistently good – it had the potential at moments for a perfect score.

Flavor:
Flavors to start, despite all of the other issues, have been pretty good. There is a definite nutty and woody (not quite cedar) element to the flavor and aftertaste. Upon draw there is spice, earth and plenty of leather with a hint of something bitter (but a good bitter). Maybe some black coffee mixed with a hint of super dark cocoa? 1 1/2″ in and the flavors are becoming stronger. More earth, less leather, more coffee-cocoa, but more leather in the aftertaste and less nuttiness. Spice is now on the aftertaste, but not on the draw. A little over 2″ in and there’s more spice and a hint of pepper with cedar dominating the other flavors. Nuttiness again on the aftertaste. Now a little over half way through and there is a lot more spice and pepper with plenty of nuttiness in the aftertaste. The stick finished quite peppery and spicy with plenty of leather and some earth. The nuttiness came and went.

Overall/Value:
Retail price for this stick is quite ridiculous… I just can’t see paying anywhere near that. But the torpedo, priced the same, is on sale today at cigar.com as the daily deal for only 5 for $13.95, making it $2.79/stick (with free shipping if you buy 10) and at that price it’s a real contender. If it weren’t for the wrapper issues, this could be a solid regular smoke, but the wrapper issues are frustrating… I don’t exactly like fragile sticks that require attention… But the flavors are good – complex and they change nicely throughout the stick. But the wrapper issues do create some burn issues and that knocks it a few points overall. Maybe a bum stick, but this is what I had to review/smoke.

Retail Price: $7.80

Appearance: (3.75/5)
Construction: (3.5/5)
Aroma: (7.75/10)
Burn/Ash: (6.5/10)
Draw/Smoke: (15/20)
Flavor: (34/35)
Overall/Value: (11.5/15)
Final Score: (82/100)