Lovely Cigars Bay City Maduro Robusto Gordo in Review

BRAND: Lovely
BLEND: Bay City Maduro

WRAPPER: Mexican Maduro
BINDER: Sumatran
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto Gordo (5.25x54)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua (Tacasa SA)
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-full
SPICE: 3.5/5

NOTES:
Chocolate Soda | Chili Powder (Tajin?) | Black Pepper

TASTE: B+
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

FURTHER KM. READING:

Lovely Cigars Bay City Maduro in Review (Toro)

::: very ::: 

Powstanie Cigars San Andres Corona Gorda in Review

BRAND: Powstanie
BLEND: San Andres

WRAPPER: Mexican San Andres
BINDER: Ecuadorian Habano
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Dominican

FORMAT: Corona Gorda (5.5x46)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full/Full
SPICE: 3.5/5

NOTES:
Turkish Coffee | Herbs, Spices | Dark Chocolate

Subtly bombastic. Turkish coffee spices whirli out-into their own gig. Added to them is a dried herb blend. Ground black and Red flake pepper. Dark Chocolate is ooey-gooey syrupy under a baked crust. Hickory, chicory structure. Nuts, shells in compost nethers. Anise hither; dried tropical flower thither.

Performance is sans complaint, really. Solid ash. Smooth, even draw which sips nicely snug. Excellent patisserie next to leather craft store olfactory. No hard or soft spots in a firm roll. The slightest of self-correcting wavering in burn-line. An early entrant in the coming year's top cigar list.

TASTE: A
DRAW: A
BURN: A-
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

FURTHER KM. READING

Powstanie Cigars San Andres in Review (Robusto)

Kaplowitz Media. Cigar of the Year 2025 (the above is #2)

::: very ::: 

Ferio Tego Cigars Metropolitan Host Maduro Hobart in Review

BRAND: Ferio Tego
BLEND: Metropolitan Host Maduro

WRAPPER: Connecticut Broadleaf
BINDER: Honduras
FILLER: Honduras

FORMAT: "Hobart" Robusto (550)
ORIGIN: Honduran
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
Caffe Corretto | Toasted Almond | Anise

Caffe Corretto, corrected coffee, a sploosh of Grappa performs the repair. Toasted almonds are sliced and peppered. An independent anise nod latches hard-onto the sweet stuffs. A darker profile than I'd usually associate with a sugar tip(?); hits rather sharply and cloyingly.

The back-grounded rest is the rest which I've already addressed. Plus, a half-bit of hickory, a full-bit of assorted anise-led spice. Whole shebang is wrapped in thin patent leather. I think what is most-hidden is earthiness, but I can only hypothesize. Built well, firm and tight.

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

La Gloria Cubana Cigars Phillips & King Reserve Collection in Review

BRAND: La Gloria Cubana
BLEND: Phillips & King Reserve Collection

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
FILLERS: Honduran. Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (650)
INTENSITY: Medium-full
SPICE: 3/5

NOTES:
Chocolate | Spice | Coffee

As a lapsed fan, my sports references are maybe dated. This one isn't an ace, nor a closer. It's a dependable long reliever that hangs in there between them. A mesquite/black pepper back-end is a keep 'em honest fastball under the chin. The rest? Rich, smooth, easy. Excellent olfactory.

I wanna say 'nut cream' but this is a classy joint. Up-top is milk-logged Cocoa Pebbles and crushed red pepper. Just under that is a nice latte. Maybe it's latte all the way down to the mound; and the uppers could just be a trendy flavor of such. Burn takes help to straighten-out, but does.

A photogenic thing; would look good on a baseball card. Orange marmalade.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very :::