I pulled one out of the box last night to try the first one after recieving them a month ago.On the way home I noticed a soft spot towards the foot, and an extreamly hard spot towards the last third, infact it felt very vieny.After trying unsuccessfully to light it I cut the thing open to find all long leaf filler but one had a pretty nice size vien. this morning I inspected more to find several that appear to be in the same condition. they are sitting next to a box of partagus lucis and the lucis appear to be perfect, not soft but not to firm.any thoughts?

Last year i had the same prob. with two singles. Both had soft and hard spots. The first wouldn`t draw and i tossed it. Wasn`t expecting much from #2 but it smoked perfect despite the soft spots. The taste was very good as well. More on the medium bodied side. Maybe i`m wrong but the larger the cigar the more room for error in rolling.

excactly right. I think I made a rush to judgement. one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch. I smoked one at home today for lunch because I was scared that I had wasted $265, I blew a smoke ring, went back to the office and when I got back home the ring was still in the front yard. talk about smoke, if the indians would have had these they would not have needed blankets. they could use some ageing but I think they are a fantastic cigar. but I'm still going to carry an exstra one just in case.

Torvig, I got a HDM DC cab, DIC 03 several months ago, and each of the 50 nude sticks looked and felt perfect. However, upon smoking the first, there is still a slight harshness, a slight spice, and not much more to this medium bodied vitola. Even some bitterness in the last third. Draw is perfect and burn is only slightly uneven.

If this were my first time buying a cabinet, I would worry, but based on the last 4 or 5 cabinets I've purchased, this is just part of the early evolution process. My second stick last week still exhibits some of the earlier notes, but with a little more spiciness, and a very subtle sweetness and floral notes are starting to emerge. Needless to say, it should keep on getting better (deeper and more complex flavors with a straighter burn), but I'm not sure how much better because I've never been able to age a HDM DC cab longer than 3 years. Hope yours age into great smokes!

Yani, thanks. this was my first box. it's just that sitting next to my Partagas and Cohibas and even the Mag 46, which all seem to be flawless. these appear to be rough, with several hard spots. my Epicure #2 are a little rough but they smoke perfectly,one of my facorites.is this just a charactoristic of the HdM?