Armando Ramos Lucky8 Torp Tuesday, Jul 25 2006

Country: Ecuador
Wrapper: Ecudorian Grown Cameroon
Filler: Long Filler
Size: Torpedo
(for a detailed description of the points system I use please click here.)

Appearance and Construction – 9/10

It is a very pretty cigar. It has a smooth leathery brown wrapper that is nicely applied. It has small viens throughout. The cigar is firm and well filled. The head clips cleanly and it has a good prelight draw. The foot and head reveal nicely packed filler with no visible rib veins.

Flavor – 14/20

It produces lots of creamy smoke with flavors of nuts and spice. It has a slight nite on the finish. It is a medium to full bodies smoke. Reminded me a bit of an ERDM Robusto Larga Oscuro. Not very complex but good flavor and very enjoyable. This is definitely not a dog rocket. I enjoyed this cigar.

Smoking Characteristics – 4/10

It has a nice buzz factor, but not over powering. I had a consistent burn problem with it. The wrapper seemed to be flame retardant on one side. The burn continually went crooked on the same side requiring several manual corrections. The ash wasn’t great either. It kept cleaving around the edges curling outward.

Price – 3/5

This was a freebie from the NC Summer smoker. I believe these will retail around $6 a piece. I think these would be more attractive around $4 each. There are too many $6 cigars I’d rather spend my money on first.

Conclusion

This was an enjoyable cigar with good flavor and body. I really did enjoy it from a flavor standpoint. Hopefully the burn issues and ash were a fluke. I wouldn’t mind trying one or two more to see if the burn turns out to be any better. If so it would rate a higher score for me.

The Math

30\4.5 = 6.66 * 10 = 66.6

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Magus (Red Band) Petite Corona 4.5×42 Monday, Feb 27 2006

Country: Ecuador
Wrapper: Sungrown
Filler: Ecuadoran Puro w/Ecuadoran Swamp Tobacco (“hoja de pantano”)
Size: Petite Corona 4.5″x42 ring

Paul Magier was kind enough to send me a sampler of his new Magus cigars. The sampler contained three cigars. Two red banded and one blue banded Magus cigars. The red banded petite corona is the first one I have had an opportunity to try. Before I get to my thoughts on this smoke, here is a little information on it. Paul was asked about these cigars over on the forum at BlowinSmoke.net. This is what he said:

From PMagus @ BlowinSmoke.net
both cigars are Ecuadoran PUROS
both combine Ecaudoran Swamp Tobacco (“hoja de pantano”) with a new tobacco we bred ourselves in the filler. The red label have a sungrown wrapper from the seed that we bred- more on the earthy, rich side. The blue label utilizes a shade grown Ecaudoran sumatra wrapper which imparts a much more peppery flavor. The RED label version was recently rated an 8.9 in SMOKE and 4 out of 5 stars by European Cigar Cult Journal.

So here is my experience of the red band Magus PC:

This cigar has good looking smooth brown wrapper with very small veins throughout. The cap cut nicely, and here were a few rib veins visible in the head. It had a good pre-light draw with a slightly sweet flavor. The cigar lit easily. It started out very spicy with a sweet aftertaste. The spiciness calmed down a bit after the first 5 or 6 draws but it never went away. At this point it also started to develop a unique tangy flavor that I had never tasted in a cigar before. This cigar left a sharp “bite” on the tongue. The burn was perfect, but I felt it smoked a little hot. This cigar was good but the flavor didn’t really suit my tastes. I tend to gravitate to the larger ring gauges. I think I might enjoy the larger sticks he sent. We’ll see when I get to smoking them. If you are looking for something different, and want a cigar that has a unique flavor profile, then you should give this one a try.

You can find a second opinion on this cigar over on BlankMind

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