Back by Popular Demand: Tobias' Po' Boy Masochist Extravaganza

[Tobias Lutz]

20. Bandolera Wanted
This was an interesting looking 8” stick from the Po Boy III set that had an angry looking Mexican gentleman, sombrero and all smoking a cigar on the band. It had a darker wrapper with quite a few small veins, but no construction issues. It was nicely rolled without any soft spots. The foot was completely full and the cap blended well into the body of the cigar. I punched it and it had a decent draw with a mellow profile like fresh baked bread.
This stick was surprisingly abrasive from the first couple puffs. It was definitely a medium profile stick, but without any finesse in how it delivered itself. The flavors were a bit acrid and unpleasant. I’m not opposed to peppery cigars, but I like the pepper flavor to be “clean” and defined. This vacillated between woody, peppery, and some other strong tastes that I had a hard time defining, but without marrying them together. It was like the crude brute force of a street brawl as opposed to the artistry of a well trained boxer in the ring. Both are examples of violence, but one is by far more palatable because it is orchestrated well. In the end, the entire cigar smoked like a nub (not the brand, but the portion of a stick). It seemed to be a jumbled collective that never hit on much of anything.

The single best part of the cigar: Construction. Nice looking, great burn.
The single worst part of the cigar: The horrible blending, though I would be somewhat interested to see what it tasted like with a year on it.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 5.9 (Words like crude, offensive, and unrefined come immediately to mind with I think of the flavors.

[Tobias Lutz]

21. Bonita Momma
An 8” Churchill from the Po Boy II collection, this one had a very amusing band. The was a woman wearing an Egyptian headdress with pyramids and monoliths in the background, and on the back it promised “One mother of a cigar” The wrapper was medium brown without any large veins. The cap was pretty shabby, and was flaking prior to being punched. The fill felt “hit or miss” with some areas soft, but others feeling like knots (particularly near the head). It had a very mild tobacco scent and after punching it I discovered a moderately strong cedar flavor. The draw was tight, which I think was a result of the “knots” near the cap.
The cigar started off with sweetness in the smoke, but a bitter taste coming from the wrapper (cap). The hints of cedar from the cold draw were perceptible early on. The draw remained hard for the duration of the smoke. It was tight enough to make it seem like work to keep it lit in a couple spots even though it burned evenly all the way down. At certain points the mild-medium profile was laced with an acidic taste. In the retrohale it was almost like the tobacco had been soaked in vinegar. When this passed however, it was replaced with a nice flavor that included hints of leather. Pretty much a mixed bag as it went along.

The single best part of the cigar: A tie between the hilarious band, and the amount of cedar you could pick up on. Very nice in a cheap stick.
The single worst part of the cigar: Feeling like I was trying to suck a golf ball through a straw because it was unevenly filled.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 6.0 (Kind of like Kenny Loggins’ career, it had its high notes, but they were intermingled with crap and ridiculousness)

[Tobias Lutz]

22. Stogies (Gold Leaf Label)
This was another 8” from the Po Boy III and the second Stogies brand cigar in the smaplers (hence the label description). It was medium brown with a couple small, thin veins and a handful of wrinkles in the wrapper. I could feel a seriously soft spot an inch above the foot. The cap was horrible. It was lifting up in a couple areas when I took it out of the cellophane. All these sticks are made in the D.R., so I can’t help but wonder if these are the rollers who will eventually by making LPs for Drew Estates, or are these the ones who were recently fired from there? The foot had a mild scent of cocoa powder. I managed to punch it without destroying the cap and the draw was as tight as yesterday’s smoke. When I pulled on it like I was sucking cement through a Slurpee straw I picked up on something like freshly hewn lumber.
This one was a disaster from the word go. It began with a flavor similar to overcooked Brussels sprouts. You could pick up on a little sweetness in there, but it was overwhelmed by an unnecessary bitterness. This moved on to the highlight of the cigar flavorwise, a brief period of wet mowed grass that lasted all of 5 minutes. From there I went on a tour de force from doused campfire, to a taste like you would get eating licorice while sitting behind a truck that billowed diesel fumes into your car window. In the end this cigar was like a couch manufacture to CA flame retardant standards- it did nothing but smolder and put off noxious fumes.

The single best part of the cigar: The grassy puffs very early on.
The single worst part of the cigar: The way it made me feel shameful for smoking it.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 4.5 (These points are almost exclusively for the fact I never had to touch up the burn, which though sometimes ugly always managed to pick itself up by its bootstraps.)

[Tobias Lutz]

23. Scorned Woman
NOTE- So I realized yesterday that in my inattention to detail I posted two #19s and two #22s , so today we are back on track with a legitimate #23 ! Only 7 more days to go

The name of this 8” Churchill amused me. Unfortunately it isn’t available to purchase outside the Po Boy III, otherwise it would be a great gift for a woman to buy her husband after he’s caught with his secretary. If it was anything like the Stogies Gold Leaf it would serve as punishment enough. The wrapper was light brown with numerous veins but no visible damage. There were a couple spots however where it was lifting up and the cap didn’t appear to be affixed very well. The fill felt pretty solid, even though the foot was not entirely full. It did have a wonderful tobacco scent. Mild, sweet, and with a faint hint of chocolate. The draw was reasonable with a pretty unimpressive flavor, especially after having enjoyed the foot odor
This one had a nice mild start that paired well with my morning coffee. All of the flavors in the stick seemed to come out within the first few inches. After that, while the flavor remained pleasant, it became very one dimensional and passé. One of the most notable tastes was something like a buttery chocolate chip cookie, but without the chocolate chips- just that mildly sweet, slightly oily dough taste. There was another section that was reminiscent of hazelnuts. The rest of the cigar was plain jane mild cheap stock. The burn was fairly good throughout. It went askew a few times but it fixed itself without my intervention.

The single best part of the cigar: The cookie taste was pretty cool.
The single worst part of the cigar: The way the cap flaked early and stuck out to annoy my lips for the rest of the smoke.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 7.4 (perhaps this is because I’m coming off a couple bad ones, but this cigar was a nice mild option)

[DLtoker]

Haha. This is great!

[Tobias Lutz]

24. Victor Sinclair Connecticut

Still in an 8” state of mind I plucked this one out the cooler because of how unique the wrapper color was. It was ugly on several levels, but mostly the wrapper had an overly yellowish shade for a Connecticut, as if the tobacco leaf had developed cirrhosis of the liver. There were wrinkles, precarious veins, and the cap looked as if my son had attached it with a glue stick. The cigar did feel firm all the way down its length. The band looked more like a coat of arms, and the foot smelled like plain ol’ cigar tobacco. The draw was very close to perfect- neither too tight, nor too loose. It tasted of light tobacco with a slightly woody tone.
This was a very mild stick, but even early on I discovered it had enough spice to make the back of my throat tickle a little bit. There was very little in the way of discernible flavors through the first half of the stick. There were however a few issues with the burn. No real tunneling, but the burn went askew close to an inch at one point when I stepped in with a torch to correct it. When it was finally going even I began picking up on a taste like burning notebook paper that eventually became woodier. The worst was near the end when every exhalation of smoke left a shellac like aftertaste in my mouth.

The single best part of the cigar: Hmmm. I guess I’ll go with the way it was packed fully with tobacco. I definitely got my .99 worth here
The single worst part of the cigar: Where to begin? The taste, or the appearance, or the burn? Pick one.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 5.3 (I have smoke sticks that were worse in each area of evaluation, but this one managed to suck in a balanced, across the board way.)

[Tobias Lutz]

25. Victory
This was an 8” from the Po Boy III basket. The band was pretty interesting; gold and black with an statuesque image that looked like something you would see over the archway leading into an Art Deco period municipal building or library. The wrapper was medium brown with lots of wrinkles near the foot. It was pretty soft throughout and appeared only moderately full on the end. The cap appeared to be applied pretty well compared to what I’ve seen lately. There was only one very hard vein on the backside of the smoke. The cap cracked slightly when it was punched and the cigar had an incredibly loose draw. The flavor was nutty and reminiscent of black tea.
This stick started off quite well. In fact I actually said the word “Wow!”, out loud to myself as I drove down the highway puffing on it. It was woody, with a mild to medium profile. Not that stout, but generally it had more oomph than most of the Po Boys. There was a little bit of spice that I wouldn’t categorize as “peppery”, but more “zesty” with a slightly acidic overtone. The most interesting part was about halfway through when I swore I picked up on a faint mint flavor. Very much like snapping off some fresh spearmint from the garden. There were a couple issues to cite however (of course)… The burn was generally good, but it tunneled when it hit the “knottier” parts of the stick. I think the rest was so loosely filled that it settled down to a lower Rh quicker. Secondly, the cracked cap began to shed into my mouth about a third of the way through.

The single best part of the cigar: The minty freshness. It was like rolling some Winterfresh gum into my cigar.
The single worst part of the cigar: The construction was the struggle with this stick, particularly the cap.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 7.2 (The flavor was good enough to boost the score. I think if I had cut, rather than punched this might have made it into the 8s)

[Tobias Lutz]

26. Cuban Delight
This 7” stick has interested me since I first unpacked the Po Boy II sampler. Firstly, the band caught my eye because the shade of green in the center is reminiscent of the paint in my grandmother’s house when I was growing up, and I dig anything that reminds me of my grandmother. Secondly, it advertises itself as a “Premium Cigar”. Always be wary of a stick that feels the need to promote itself as “premium”. Finally, it clearly says on the band “Export of Cuba”, even though the CI site states it is made in the DR. While total bs, I found this amusing. It was a medium brown stick with some wrinkles in the wrapped and a handful of moderately sized veins. The cap was a little shoddy and the foot was slightly damaged. It did however feel pretty full and the draw was moderately tight with “darker” flavors- slightly bitter and more robust.
This one started off rather bold with a strong medium profile and a fair amount of kick. There was faint leather and an oily nuttiness that came through early on. The smoke then settled down into a mild-medium place with woody flavors and remained as such through the duration of the cigar. The burn was decent and the flavors weren’t bad, but they certainly were not stellar. I’ve smoked a very limited number of habanos in my life, but I assure you that this was so far removed from what I expect when I light a CC that it wasn’t even funny. I actually read the CI reviews for this stick and most people seem to buy a flavored version rather than the Churchill. In the end I think it would have been better simply by being able to produce more smoke. It didn’t reward you with much quantity or quality wise.

The single best part of the cigar: The name/band/claim of origin. Amusing to say the least.
The single worst part of the cigar: The lack of smoke. You didn’t get much and so the flavors had to stand on their own (which was unfortunate).
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 6.8 (Nothing fantastic, but it gets the job done. Definitely NOT an export of Cuba )

[Tobias Lutz]

27. Piloto Cubano
This was another 7” Churchill from the Po Boy II (which means it is available for box purchase folks!) It had a light Connecticut wrapper with just a couple small veins. It seemed to have solid construction with an even fill and a solid cap. I punched the cigar and it gave a pretty tight draw. It was slightly nutty and very mild. As a whole I thought it was pretty underwhelming.
This began with a slightly astringent taste that seemed sharp on my tongue. That settled don fairly quick and it became a rather passé mild profiled smoke. The burn was as close to perfect as any of these budget sticks had offered. At various points there was a “tanginess” that emerged from the cigar, but this was the most interesting aspect of the stick. In the end it was a solid smoke that would serve as a reliable yardgar, but my pants are still intact and I certainly was not memorably impressed.

The single best part of the cigar: The burn was as close to perfect as you can get.
The single worst part of the cigar: A one trick pony! It could be great, but it settles for good and uninteresting.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 7.4 (It tasted decent and the burn was spot on)

[Tobias Lutz]

28. Joya del Jefe
Back with another 7” wonder from the Po Boy II. It had a light wrapper with small veins all the way down its length. It had an even fill and a pretty solid looking foot. The cap was great and it didn’t have any knicks or splits in it. I punched it and was really surprised to find out loose the draw was for a cigar that felt so firm. There weren’t any notable flavors on the cold draw, but it did have a faint sweetness about it. I don’t know if I’ve just become desensitized to crap, but this cigar looked pretty nice to me. {hangsheadinshameforsayingthatoutloud}

This one began with much promise and similar to my aspirations in life, spiraled downward until it reached the equivalent of “sad man writing online reviews of crappy cigars for free” It had a medium body and wisps of cedar came through early in the stick. The burn was good and it produced a very nice quantity of smoke (not like a Papa Fritas, but getting there.) There was a bit of spice in the retrohale but nothing overwhelming. Towards the second third of the stick I got the taste of black walnuts (particularly the mild bitterness), and then a fragrant taste like black walnuts in a 1-800-FLOWERS arrangement. Alas however, it had peaked. Before too long it tasted like nothing more than an old wet shoe and before I could get into the final third the wrapper began to unfurl and attempted to shed itself when I ashed out the car window. It tried so hard- close…but no cigar.

The single best part of the cigar: The amount of smoke was a pleasant chage as most Po Boys have been stingy in that regard.
The single worst part of the cigar: The flavor that seemed like someone dug up a pair of Voits that I was wearing back in the early 90s, dipped them in the tub and shoved them into my mouth.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 5.3 (Not only did the flavor turn on me like a lady of the night when she realizes you were going to try and pay with your debit card, but then the stick just feel apart in my hand)