Intro:

Back to school and back to the $1 sticks. You know where I got it. It's been in humi for probably 6-12 months. Gotta start dating these so I know.

Pre-Smoke Judgement:

Had a couple nice $1 sticks lately - the La Perla Habanas. I try to stay optimistic, but the realistic (or pessimistic) part of me says streaks gotta end some time. I'll learn about Mr. Tomas at least.

First Inch Or So:

Nice little bit of pepper

Maybe medium to medium plus

Decent tobacco flavor, with a decent but kinda small bite

Burns great

Nice pull

Got a smidgeon of sweetness

Smoothish, and not well rounded, but it's no where near bad

Afterwards:

Pretty much everything takes a dip, flavor-wise

The dip turns into a shallowness

The shallowness turns into a dilution

It also kinda regresses smoothness-wise, but not anywhere close to what I'd call bad

It's really not that bad, but there's nothing really enjoyable out of it.

Flame purging does help for a puff or two

Smoked down to about 1 1/2 from the punch.

Trial By Smoke Judgement:

It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. Kinda Gurkha-ish, but a little better. For $1, it's be worth it. I'm gonna pass on future purchases of this particular stick, but would give other lines of Don Tomas a chance to learn more, but only if I can strictly score at $1. It's recommended to the bargain hunting bums to try a single, especially if you can get them at $1 to maybe $1.50. I did get a fine education about the brand, and am ultimately happy in that sense with my $1 purchase.

Notes To Self:

Maybe the first inch or so of these "Gurkha-esque" sticks, and really all cigars, is really only the nose, mouth, and palate becoming acclimated to the tobacco, and it doesn't really change after that inch. Maybe after that inch, it's what it truly is, and now you're "systems are online".