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

[Tobias Lutz]

3. Raji’s Untimely Demise
This had the coolest band so far (an elephant flanked by two images of the Taj Mahal at sunset). This was a 7” churchhill that was rolled pretty tightly, but had a few knots along the length. There were several larger veins that looked as if they were about to crack and the cigar had indeed split a ½” up from the foot through both the wrapper and the binder. When examining the end I found a small unfilled pocket between the tobaccos in the foot. The crack ended up being irrelevant and the cigar burned evenly without touch-ups all the way down.

The Untimely Demise was interesting from the first puff. Early on I got a “tinny” taste like you get from beer or vegetable in a can. The metallic flavor didn’t sit well with me, but fortunately it only hung around for an inch or so. After that the stick took on grassy notes that transformed into something like buttered toast. It tasted like the aroma you get when you toast the foot of your cigar with a torch lighter, but then with oily/milky notes. I wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, nor was it as off-putting as it sounds. The profile of the cigar was mild from start to finish.

Single best part of the cigar: A tie between the bitchin’ band and the fact it actually progressed between three different flavors as I smoked it (regardless of whether they were good)

Single worst part of the cigar: The construction was very shoddy. While pretty firm, I was surprised it didn’t simply crumble in my hand while I smoked it.

An overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 6.2 (The fabrication kept it from being a 6.7)

[Tobias Lutz]

13. Stogies Old Havana

This was a 7” stick from the Po Boy II Sampler that had a much darker wrapper than I have become accustomed to with this selection. The cigar felt as if it were filled pretty well. The foot was full and there was only minimal damage to the wrapper on that end. There were plenty of small veins that were slightly darker than the wrapper leaf and worked to make it a fairly attractive cigar. It had a “darker” scent to it than most of the Po Boy sticks and really gave a nice taste in the cold draw after I punched it.

The cigar was pleasantly more pungent from the start. It was the first stick in the sampler that began with what I would call a medium profile. It had a moderate espresso flavor that was clean and bitter (but not in an unpleasant way). Halfway through this settled down and was replaced with a strong woody flavor. The smoke stayed rich and absent of sweetness all the way to the nub. Unfortunately it did turn a bit harsh close to the end. A couple purges were unable to clear this up but I was not going to use a nubber on it so it really didn’t matter.

The single best part of the cigar: The deeper flavors that avoided falling into the common mild Po Boy profile.
The single worst part of the cigar: The flavor was burnt and caustic at the very end.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 7.9 (The flavors were decent, the burn was god except for a small section that self-corrected. This one might be a diamond in the rough for .99 if allowed to age a bit.)

[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)