I'm getting in the spirit this year by smoking some of the camacho liberties I have stashed. I smoked the 04 a couple days ago and it was good. Lets see how the 05 stacks up.
Appearance and construction 15/15 This is an incredible looking cigar. It is the 11/18 shape with the slight bulge in the middle and taper at the ends. There is not a bump or a vein in sight. The wrapper is a dark chocolate color with no imperfections at all. The roll is completely uniform. The coffin is very nice with the flag graphics on it. The band is bordered in gold unlike the 04 or 03, which I liked a little better but its not all that bad. The prelight aroma is neutral. The clip is clean and the draw is easier than the 04. That should prove to be improtant because the biggest problem I have with the 11/18 in general is that the draw can be tough sometimes.
Flavor 24/25 This is an incredible smoke. It lasted an hour and a half and showed many different personalities. The flavor was earthy and leather (typical honduran corojo) with espresso, vanilla, toasted nuts, and pepper on the finish. The flavors changed a lot. You can absolutely taste the cuban tobacco here, although not much. There is definitely a cuban flavor at points. The finish is immensly long and slightly dry. The smoke is rich and powerful yet refined. I drained two glasses of grant berge 10yr while I was smoking it. The white pepper at times is great. It tingles on the lips and tongue and then disappears leaving a sweet vanilla and toasted nuts behind. Every draw was excellent. I had to really pace myself to keep from heating this one up. I'm seriously craving another one as I write this.
Smoking characteristics 22/25 The burn was close to perfect. The ash was well formed and I only had to knock it off twice. The strength was very subtle. I didn't feel a thing until I stood up. In all this cigar behaved very well, certaily better than most of the 11/18s I have smoked. It was a little hard at first to get a large volume of smoke to come out, even though the draw wasn't too bad. Once it hit the bulge though, the smoke volume doubled and stayed that way till the end.
Overall 33/35 This cigar was just phenomenal all around. It is tied with the VSG torp for my favorite of the top shelf n/cs. I definitely recommend the 05s over the 04s and that is saying a lot. This is just a great cigar.
Total 94
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Great review back atcha Pmp! This is the last super premium NC I need to try. I think I'll try and find these and the VSGs and stock up on some of each for a special ocassion drawer in my humi . The cuban accent to the Liberty's has always attracted me. Great job.
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Posts: 2499 | Location: SoCal, USA | Registered: March 06, 2004
I was thinking along the same lines as you pmp. I dug out the Amendment XII that I've had resting for a year. It was a toss up between a P2 and the Macho Camacho, but the flag design on the band won me over.
This cigar was surprisingly good. The shape was wierd and I experienced a smiliar problem with low smoke volume until the cigar hit the 1/3 point. Great flavors and complexity. I was watching fireworks at the time and it took approximately 2 hours to finish this smoke.
I can't think of another NC that I've enjoyed more. Even though the price is steep, I'll probably pick a couple more up and save them for the next couple July 4ths.
Peace.
Posts: 2085 | Location: Internet | Registered: October 08, 2004
People aren't smoking cigars to be trendy, cool or stylish. They're smoking cigars because they like them. Because they enjoy the experience. Because for about $5 they can spend an hour sampling one of life's greatest luxuries. -David Savona
Posts: 1157 | Location: Ferndale, MI | Registered: October 03, 2004
I was really enjoying mine yesterday, at least for the first fifteen minutes. But then, inexplicably, the wrapper loosened and soon totally unravelled over the entire cigar, leaving the binder exposed. I'm sure this was an aberration, but still .... this was a $16 smoke and a construction error like that is sorta frustrating.
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 2522 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
. The cuban accent to the Liberty's has always attracted me. Great job.
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