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

[Tobias Lutz]

6. Fidalgo Negro

This is a 7” stick from Po Boy II. It had some very large veins and was generally pretty rough looking. There were not any cracks or splits in the wrapper (a first in this experiment). There were some soft spots in the filling, but the foot appeared consistent. Once punched the draw was fairly loose and had an underwhelming flavor.

It began with a decent pungent start. There wasn’t exactly much depth to the flavor, but it was consistent with that of tobacco and profile was mild-medium. As the stick progressed it assumed a wet hay taste that wasn’t all that bad. Next thing I know I look down and I’m halfway through a Churchill without saying anything negative. Gasp!... Of course I spoke too soon because within a couple minutes I had to correct a burn that had gone ½” astray. Nonetheless, the flavor remained decent, if unexciting through the nub of the cigar. I thought it might possibly venture into a completely medium profile (unlike the other bargain sticks so far), but alas it never quite made it there.

Single best part of the cigar: It never offered an unpleasant flavor. Unexciting, but never unpleasant.

Single worst part of the cigar: The burn went to hell after the first half and needed to be touched-up three times.

An overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 7.2 (The first stick where my tongue can’t cite a legitimate reason to trash it as a yard-gar.

[Tobias Lutz]

16. Hesitant Pirate

This is a 7” from the Po Boy II selection and can be purchased in bundles of twenty for $19.99. This cigar got bonus points right of the bat for being one of the coolest bands in this .99 sideshow circus. It may be the best because when you remove the band under the overlap I found a red X which served to turn it into a freakin’ treasure map! The construction was solid with a good fill of tobacco. The wrapper was a lighter shade of brown with no visible damage and the foot was full. The cap did crack slightly when I punched it but this proved to be a non-issue. The cold draw was firm with a slight nuttiness.

I wanted to judge this cigar by its band but the flavors when I smoked it were a mixed bag. It is very mild and started off with a bit of sweetness. However, I noticed before too long that I was getting an aftertaste of ash and fabric softener. About halfway through I found a bit of tanginess sitting in the back of my throat. There was a bright sport where I thought I tasted some cedar in the retrohale, which proved to be the most interesting part of the cigar. In the end it began to simply taste like a watered down dirty ashtray. It’s a good thing I didn’t put any money of this horse for her looks because I would have ended up shooting her before she made it out of the 3rd turn.

The single best part of the cigar: Was the band! I would have this thing tattoo on me if I had some free space.
The single worst part of the cigar: Tasting like I put a cigar out in a pitcher of cheap bear and then drank it.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 5.8 (Like when the question and answer round of the Miss America Pageant teaches us…you can be pretty on the outside and yet still devoid of quality tastes.

[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)