Construction
This Mike’s 1950 Belicoso is of very good quality. The wrapper is smooth and oily, and the wrapping job is impressive. It appears to be a very well-made cigar.

Draw
The draw was very good, though it falls a little short of earning a perfect score in this category.

Flavor
The flavor of the Mike’s 1950 Belicoso is pleasant but not particularly complex. The base flavor is that of very dark coffee or espresso, and it has notes of earth, oak, and leather.

Consistency
The burn was fairly even, and the ash, though it wasn’t tight, held together acceptably. The first ash fell at about 1½ inches. The flavor was consistent all the way down to the nub, and the stogie had no problems with unravelling.

Value
Mike’s 1950 Belicoso is a decent, relaxing smoke. The flavor is pleasant, the construction is quite good. For this, I consider the $5.00 price tag to be quite reasonable.

Construction
The Gurkha Legend Churchill has a fairly smooth and oily surface, and the wrapping job is neat, but certainly not exquisite. There are no noticeable construction flaws. I opened this cigar with a notcher; it cut flawlessly.

Draw
Churchill-sized cigars very frequently suffer from poor draw, so I truly expected the Gurkha Legend Churchill to have a less than desireable ease of draw. I was quite surprised to find the draw to be quite good–for a churchill very good. I give it an 8 in this category because, though it is better than most churchills I have smoked, it is not perfect.

Flavor
The Gurkha Legend Churchill had a flavor that was mild without being bland. It was a little creamy and had a taste of mocha with slight notes of dust, and bitter chocolate and a mild black pepper finish. The peppery finish was not bad, but it does not blend very well with the other flavor components. In the last third of the cigar, all the flavors diminished significantly.

Consistency
The burn was even. The ash was somewhat loose, but generally not a problem. Also, the wrapper stayed together acceptably well right down to the last puff. The smoke lasted for slightly over an hour.

Value
The Gurkha Legend Churchill is a decent cigar, but it does not satisfy the high expectations that a cigar lover should have when he spends $10 for a stogie. Consequently, I must penalize it a bit in the category of value.

While I am not wild about the Gurkha Legend Churchill, it really is my favorite among the Gurkhas I have smoked.

Construction
Perfecto shape cigars are certainly less common than are parejos. Consequently, the Punch Champion must receive some credit for its impressive shape. The wrapping seems to have been done well, but the wrapper was rather brittle and began to come apart when I cut it.

Draw
The draw is too difficult to allow for a relaxing enjoyable smoke. It is surprising to find such poor draw on a short cigar. I have to deduct points for this.

Flavor
The flavor was not really unpleasant, but it was really rather unimpressive. There was not any dominant ‘base flavor’ like earth or coffee. Rather, it had only slight notes of cedar and nutmeg. Not bad, but also not satisfying.

Consistency
The burn of the Punch Champion was truly a problem. It burned unevenly and even needled (burned off the outer edges leaving a long, slender, red-hot part of the mid-section) some. The cigar also burned much too quickly–it lasted less than half and hour! Also, the cigar unravelled toward the end.

Value
The Punch Champion was not an enjoyable cigar, and hence I cannot say that it is a good value at any price (except perhaps if it was free). But, having paid $5.00 for it, I was especially disappointed. The Punch Champion I smoked was mediocre at best.

Construction
The Acid Ming is visually very appealing; it is very well-formed and the wrapper is superbly crafted. Unfortunately, though, the wrapper was flaky; probably because the leaf used for wrapping this cigar was too thin for the purpose. Despite that, it cut with no problem. I should also mention the attractive closed foot (the wrapper is folded in to cover the end rather than just cut off) which the Ming shares with several other Acid lines.

Draw
The draw was perfect. This is high praise; very few cigars manage to earn the highest rating in this category.

Flavor
Unlike many of the cigars offered under the Acid label, the Acid Ming is not at all sweet. The first few puffs had a distinctly floral flavor with notes of tea; after that the flavor matured into a mild earthy flavor with notes of oak and especially pine. I found it very satisfying.

Consistency
The ash held together very well–the first fall was at 1¾ inches. I can’t say as much for the wrapper…the flaky wrapper continued to be a problem, and it actually got worse as the stogie got shorter. The cigar also burned a little more quickly that I thought it should. I would expect a cigar this size to last over an hour; this one gave me only 50 minutes.

Value
Despite the issue I had with the wrapper, the Acid Ming is a pretty good cigar. I enjoyed it, but I do not think that it is a particularly good value at $9.00.

This is one of a few reviews here in the Smoke-Filled Room upon which John and I have collaborated. We each smoked an Aurora 100 Años Belicoso and discussed the cigar as we smoked to compose this review.

This cigar is a limited edition cigar, and each one bears a serial number. While that doesn’t really affect the quality of the smoke at all, it is an interesting way for the manufacturer to attempt to make each and every cigar this line unique.

Construction
The cigar has a high-quality appearance. It is wrapped well and cuts without any cracking, tearing, etc.

Draw
John and I had different experiences with regard to the draw. Mine drew quite well (I did cut it rather deep), but John’s drew rather poorly. The score in this category is the average of the two.

Flavor
The flavor was good, but it is not by any means exquisite. It is rather mild with a base flavor that reminds one of toast with butter on it. There are also notes of tea and wood and a slight note of leather.

Consistency
The burn was generally even for both of us; mine did run up one side a bit, but not to the point of being a problem. The ash didn’t hold together particularly well, but it too was not a big problem (i.e. no burning embers fell off). Mine lasted 50 minutes and John’s a little longer.

Value
the Aurora 100 Años Belicoso is generally a good cigar; it is certainly suitable for a relaxing hour of smoking. However, when I think of how much it costs, I have to admit my disappointment. I have had many very good cigars for half the price of this one.

Construction
There are small wrinkles, bumps, and veins visible all over the surface of the Casa de Garcia Connecticut Churchill. I wouldn’t call it sloppy, but it is certainly not the most elegant wrapping job. The cap gave no problems when I opened the cigar with a notcher.

Draw
The draw on this stogie is not perfect, but it is very much acceptable.

Flavor
The Casa de Garcia Connecticut Churchill has a very mild flavor. The flavor notes were all quite subtle; I found myself searching for the flavors rather than searching for the words to describe them. The notes I detected were earth, tea, and wood with a very small hint of sweetness. Though I typically prefer more full-bodied flavors, the flavor of this stogie was quite pleasurable.

Consistency
The burn of this cigar was generally even (it didn’t run up one side, etc.), but it was ‘ragged’ (the edges of the burn tended to be loose and flaky. Accordingly, the ash did not hold particularly well, though it was not highly problematic. The biggest issue was that I needed to remember not to hold the stogie over my lap, for it was liable to drop ash at any time. The wrapper held together remarkably well throughout the smoke.

Value
I give the Casa de Garcia Connecticut Churchill a very high mark in the value category. For the $3.25 retail price, this cigar is an excellent value.

Construction
First impressions are important, and the White Horse Maduro Toro doesn’t deliver a good one. It is quite lumpy and the seams are crooked and bunched. The cap is not quite round, and even the band was applied in a sloppy fashion, and the size was not what it is supposed to be (it is sold as a 50 guage, but I am being generous in calling it a 48). I have, of course seen worse construction (much worse), but I have to give an accurate description. The wrapper frayed and flaked when I cut it, but the ‘lick & stick remedy worked surprisingly well.

Draw
I have no complaints about the draw. There was no difficulty in drawing and getting nice thick puffs of smoke. This lasted throughout the cigar.

Flavor
The flavor was quite enjoyable. Thre was a very little spiciness, but the dominate flavor was dark and dusty with notes of black pepper and cedar. Both interesting and satisfying.

Consistency
The burn was not even, but not generally troublesome. I did have to even it out once. The ash doesn’t hold particularly well, but it was not an annoyance.

Value
I was surpised at how good a smoke the White Horse Maduro Robusto turned out to be. Though $1.50 is an excellent value for the smoke I had, I cannot in good conscience give it the highest value rating because the poor construction makes me strongly suspect that the good smoke I had will not be the norm for this cigar.

Construction
The cigar has a nice appearance; seams appear to be well-made and the cap smooth and round. I had no difficulty cutting the cigar with a notcher, but part of the cap started to fall off right after I did. This was the start of the most troublesome aspect of this cigar.

Draw
The draw was not perfect, but it was entirely acceptable.

Flavor
The flavor was quite distinctive and impressive. It is light and chocolaty with a faint sweetness that is like molasses, but not as dark. I also detected notes of tea, straw, and pine. It is one of the most complex mild flavors I have tasted in a long time. Unfortunately, the flavor did become much stronger and less pleasant at the end of the cigar.

Consistency
While the burn was generally trouble free, I continually had problems with the wrapper stemming from the cigar’s inability to withstand the notching process. In the last 2½ inches it started unravelling so badly that I had to give up on it.

Value
The Black Pearl Morado Toro was a decent cigar, but at $5.85 I think it is a little over-priced. If it were selling at $5.00 or less I would call it a good value. I wouldn’t call it an excellent value unless it fell beneath $4.45.