Nice looking, super typical cigar look. Beautiful mid-brown Sumatra wrapper, slight oil sheen, no noticable veins. Simple band with the slightest flash.

No super distinct pre-light smell. After biting the head and drawing through the cigar, I got a healthy tobacco spice. Nice pre-light taste.

Upon lighting, I did get a slight black pepper taste, a slight spice, and a very muted caramel to molasses sweetness barely noticeable on the bottom and after taste. Very nice and unexpected, honestly. The first 1/3 of the cigar remained constant with the same taste.

Interestingly, almost half into the smoke, I got a very interesting, almost floral taste for about 2 draws. That subsided, and a dark coffee nice bitterness appeared. The black pepper went to the back of the taste, and the caramel/mollasses, muted anyway, almost dissappeared. The spice increased a tiny bit. This taste remained until about the last 1 1/2", when the cigar got too hot and I tossed it away.

The construction was good. The draw was very good, and the cigar was firm with no soft spots. The cigar did burn rather uneven, but finally corrected itself about the last 1/3 of the cigar.

Being that I paid about $2 for this smoke, the value was great. It was very pleasant, and I will certainly reach for anotger one of these in the future. Was it a CAO Mx2 or a Gurkha Regent class? no, but for $2 it was a very good smoke. Better than many smokes costing over $5 I have smoked. This certainly goes on the short list.

I too recently enjoyed this smoke. I didn't do a review because my taste buds are not that developed yet to notice different flavors in this cigar.

The 5 Vegas line of cigars are very nice cigars, from the red band originals, to the new Limitadas and Gold series. All are affordably priced and made in some of the best cigar factories in the world. The new "A" series are some of the smoothest tasting maduros you'll ever want to try. Give them a shot, you won't be disappointed.

Mike