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

[Tobias Lutz]

18. Outlaw Big Game Fishing
This stick might win the award for most amusing name (best still goes to Hesitant Pirate). It is 8” of mediocrity from the Po Boy III sampler. The wrapper was a lighter brown with a couple of flaws. Most notably it was flaking up around the middle of the cigar. There was one large vein and several wrinkles down the length of the stick. It felt soft in sections and the foot showed an uneven fill. Most interestingly, the foot had both light and dark brown filler. It punched cleanly and gave a pretty loose draw that tasted like plain toast.

This one started out rather brash and caught me off guard. I have to admit that I hacked for a minute before I continued on. The beginning was slightly acrid/bitter, but this improved while the stick maintained its medium profile. It started to take on a woody, flowery taste that was hard to nail down but not at all unpleasant. Around a 1/3 of the way in the cigar began tunneling severely and I had to relight it with my torch. I believe it hit one of the tight spots in between all the loose pockets in the fill. The second half of the cigar had a milder flavor with a taste like strong unsweetened black tea. Unfortunately the wrapper began unfurling with a few inches left when I went to ash it out my car window. I tore a small section off and was able to get a few more Puffs but it continued to come undone until it could no longer be smoked.

The single best part of the cigar: That woody/cedarish/floral taste in the first half was pretty good.
The single worst part of the cigar: The way I couldn’t even finish it because it unfurled.
Overall rating on a scale of 1-10: 5.5 (It gets this score mainly for the flavors because construction and burn-wise, it left much to be desired.)

[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)