02-07-2008, 02:21 PM
Well I went ahead and smoked one of the novelty sized limited edition Sopranos cigars.
The band popped right off before the light. I've noticed with all of these cigars in the collection that the bands were an afterthought. I don't think any of them would require more than a slight nudge to slide away. No problem with that though I guess.
I punched the end and lit the handle. Easily the tightest draw I've ever experienced. Out came the cutter, and I clipped off a bit more. It helped, but not much. Trying to pull smoke through the handle was a chore. Didn't really even taste anything either.
Once the handle was ashed away, the cigar opened WAY up. Tons of rich smoke, and a great cameroon taste.
I don't have any idea what this cigar was actually made of, but to me it tasted quite a bit like the CAO Anniversary Cameroon. Good thing - I find that to be a great cigar. Through and through, this stick burned straight without needing a single touch-up or relight. Again, once the handle was gone, the draw was perfect and the taste was great.
So I'd definitally recommend this cigar, because it delivers exactly what it's meant for. It's a gimmmick, a novelty. It's shaped like a baseball bat for goodness sake. If you want to be the kind of cigar enthusinado who likes to collect, this stick looks great as a humidor decoration. If you want to hang out with the guys and smoke a cigar that is an interesting shape, but you don't want to smoke a dog, well you've got that too. Either way, this cigar delivers.
It's not going to be a better cigar smoking experience than some other CAO's, but it's not meant to be.
Good stuff.
I'll hold on to the other one for a while, maybe smoke it when the Reds start winning some baseball games!
The band popped right off before the light. I've noticed with all of these cigars in the collection that the bands were an afterthought. I don't think any of them would require more than a slight nudge to slide away. No problem with that though I guess.
I punched the end and lit the handle. Easily the tightest draw I've ever experienced. Out came the cutter, and I clipped off a bit more. It helped, but not much. Trying to pull smoke through the handle was a chore. Didn't really even taste anything either.
Once the handle was ashed away, the cigar opened WAY up. Tons of rich smoke, and a great cameroon taste.
I don't have any idea what this cigar was actually made of, but to me it tasted quite a bit like the CAO Anniversary Cameroon. Good thing - I find that to be a great cigar. Through and through, this stick burned straight without needing a single touch-up or relight. Again, once the handle was gone, the draw was perfect and the taste was great.
So I'd definitally recommend this cigar, because it delivers exactly what it's meant for. It's a gimmmick, a novelty. It's shaped like a baseball bat for goodness sake. If you want to be the kind of cigar enthusinado who likes to collect, this stick looks great as a humidor decoration. If you want to hang out with the guys and smoke a cigar that is an interesting shape, but you don't want to smoke a dog, well you've got that too. Either way, this cigar delivers.
It's not going to be a better cigar smoking experience than some other CAO's, but it's not meant to be.
Good stuff.
I'll hold on to the other one for a while, maybe smoke it when the Reds start winning some baseball games!