PDR A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada [Maduro Pack / 3 Robusto Assortment - Review 1/3]
Intro:
Picked up the pack off Cbid for around $8 about 6 months ago.
Pre-Smoke Judgement:
I'm optimistic. I like an assortment packs...kinda reminds me of sport card packs. Had one or two PDRs that was, looking back, OK at most. Can't remember which ones, but they were probably $1 Cbid scores.
Intial Stuff:
Punched. Cold draw had an interesting liquor-ish taste. The cigar is in a rough condition - a couple inch-sized tears on the wrapper about 1/2 from the foot. Probably manufacter defect since it's been in the (pic related) package.
1/3:
Medium plus-ish. Hint of nose spicyness. Robust...not really. Residual in the mouth isn't pleasant nor unpleasant...just OK. A slow retrohale is pretty decent and pretty...pretty....pretty....smooth. Upper band tells me it's from the DR. I'm unable at this point in the hobby to discern regional differences. The residual turns a little...habano-ish (wrapper flavor wise) as I close in on the end. Starting to enjoy it more as the taste seems to have melded more.
2/3:
Taste has definitely improved. I'm about an inch away from the band now. More spice (like cardamom amd cinnamon, not spicy hot). Interest is peaked now about 1/2 through the entire cigar. Robustness is batting heavier. I'm gonna stick with bad baseball analogies for the rest. She draws like a...a...team that lost in the first round of playoffs...pretty good, but not second round good. (decent draw). I put a little fire in her ass beause she's sidetracking like a salty team after a grandslam. Raise her temp by blowing into the punch. Now tasting maybe some cardamom (above reference was for spice in general). Residual has been OK like team in middle standings. Her temp dwindles down like the crowd's wave after the second go-round, as I let her rest. Spice goes away a little. Let's keep her hot. Back-to-back puffing to get her hot again, and the spice returns with a nice smoothness. I'm now close to the upper band. I'm in the bottom of the 5th now. She's been OK at most, thus far, like...nevermind.
3/3
I'm beginning to lose interest. Same flavor, same above notes. As she slowly burns, amd I take puffs here and there...let's talk about me for a minute, my bums, because, well, you're probably losing interest as well, and I'm not too much more interesting, but maybe more interesting then the A. Flores. I'm not a "yard-gar" type. I'd rather: [A] smoke something new to find out if I like it; or [B] smoke something I know I like. If [A] isn't going to well...she's in the graveyard after 10, maybe 20 minutes tops. If [A] becomes something I like, it ranks up to [B]. I'm a simple man, my bums, and I'm not interested in [A] to be something in the background as I do yard work or something that supercedes the enjoyment of a cigar. Enough about me, but the A. Flores is out...out like the final out of the 9th of a team with an OK record on the final game of the regular season.
Trial By Smoke Judgement:
She was an OK smoke. She's not the worst for a $2-3 cigar, not the best, but somewhere in the middle. She's was an [A] type in my score book, that won't be a [B] , so she's another check in the block and nothing more . I was looking forward to exploring this pack, and am hoping she's the worst of the three. I'd say, check out the A. Flores if you can score one for sub $2. She'd probably fit a "yard-gar" experience. Best part: spice notes and smoothness.
