El Hippie, by Victor Sinclair, is a Dominican hand made cigar according to the sales information.
The cigar so graciously gifted to me by @c.ortiz108 was the 5 x 38 Petite Corona
These are sold in bundles of 25, with an MSRP of $37.50 per bundle, but currently "on sale" for $18.95 at Cigar Hut to help you fill those humidors.
There is also a 2-fer option to grab 2 bundles (50 of these babies) for $28.74 - a mere 57 cents a smoke !
And the website says there are quantity discounts available on either quantity option.

I have decided to use my trusty Xikar multi-tool scissors to achieve a nice and fine cut on this cigar.
My lighter tonight will be the Zippo Blu, filled with Zippo branded butane.
And of course - my favorite single-rest cigar ashtray.


The first thing I notice is how the foot resembles a poorly rolled joint, like the roller just twisted off the leaf and left it hanging there.
I made my cut and the cold draw revealed a weird tasting sweetness from the tip. After checking the cigar info I see that it is billed as a "delicious sweetened tip" - I would not agree with "delicious" as being the best descriptive word for this taste. But the cigar draws well so we move on to the light.

It takes several minutes to get this thing lit. The extra flap of leaf on the foot keeps catching fire and take a while to burn away so that the foot is actually lit. As I draw to get the cigar started it is a very easy draw and I can immediately tell this is a very mild cigar. Again the cigar info confirms that this is "mild bodied".

Smoking along I am keeping a fairly steady pace as I am a little afraid this will go out if I don't. That weird taste from the tip continues and really overpowers any other flavor that might be present. It draws and burns well, and is mild but fairly harsh at the same time. It reminds me of a Swisher Sweets Outlaw or a Backwoods except for that weird taste off the tip.



At the halfway point I am noticing this cigar does not hold alot of ash and I'm happy to say that it hasn't gone out yet, and just then it does. That weird flavor off the tips seems to be lingering longer on the lips after each draw, although the intensity of it has weakened thankfully. Any real flavors are still unnoticeable to me, but perhaps others with a more sophisticated palate could pick some out. (I keep waiting for a hint of weed to kick in - it is name El Hippie after all LOL.)

As I enter the last third that weird flavor is not really noticeable any longer but my lips are starting to burn a little from it. I will say this - it does burn well. Straight line and only 2 re-lights in the second half. The end has loosened up quite a bit and the tobacco is starting to fall out. Time to grab the nub stick.



Smoking time was around an hour and fifteen minutes and I went all the way down on it. As I am getting to the end the burning sensation seems to be going away so I have now apparently gotten all that stuff off the end of the stick.

All in all it wasn't quite as hideous as I was expecting, but the weird sweetness was a definite turn off. If not for that I might be inclined to give this another shot as a yard gar. Thanks Chico - I can now cross this one off the list.