Have you ever ran across this. I picked up a 50 cab of Boli CE late last year and these babies are strong. I haven't been smoking much over the past 4-6 months due to the cold new england winter and obvious time requirments of a new baby.

Anyway, it is finally warming up and was out on the back deck last night and pulled out the boli. First off, the majority of cigars at a little too tight for me which is a big turn off. but after some messaging they loosen up.

the first 50% of the cigar was pure power..so powerful i could barely even find that typical boli flavor. mind you the smoke was light due to the tight roll of the cigar so i wasn't even getting the full impact. my mouth felt like it was in a 10 round boxing match. But I kept on...finally halfway through that rich earthy boli flavor came into play...and came on strong. As i struggled throw the last half i was thinking...this is almost not even enjoyable. blasphamy, i know.

I always love the boli CE but these are just too aggresive. mid 2005 box if anyone cares. I guess i'll reserve these for after a big dinner and amke sure i take 2 hours to smoke it.

I do not usually have this issue with Habanos. My knee-jerk reaction is to tell you to put those away for five or six years -- they are probably great candidates for aging.

Congrats on the baby!

I've never had that problem either. But with non-Cubans...that's another story. I put down a La Flor Double Ligero Chisel recently because, at the time, it was just too damn much. I also find the Camacho El-Legendario too big, too charry, too much to enjoy.

I had picked up a '99 box of Bolivar RC at the Partagas LCDH store. As you know, this cigar is not typically about strength. When these were fresh, the power and fullness of flavor was overwhelming. It was almost unbearable to smoke the first two that I tried, but I had to do it just for the experience. They were young, but it wasn't even a youthful taste of ammonia, etc. There were some strange interpretations of blends during that time period (usually a weakening of the blend) and I swear these things were packed with ligero. After a few years they settled down and more closely matched the normal RC profile.

First, Congrats on the new baby!!!

Second, yes and I would agree these sound like they should be put down for a few years.

Has anyone tried smoked the RyJ Havana Cazadores that Suckling mentioned recently? I've always avoided them because they had a reputation for being ugly, one-note smokes. Are they really as strong as Suckling says?

quote:

Originally posted by THEMONK:
First, Congrats on the new baby!!!

Second, yes and I would agree these sound like they should be put down for a few years.

WORD.

They were talking about the Tatuaje Havana Cazadore, not the RyJ.

quote:

Originally posted by Extensioncord:
Has anyone tried smoked the RyJ Havana Cazadores that Suckling mentioned recently? I've always avoided them because they had a reputation for being ugly, one-note smokes. Are they really as strong as Suckling says?

I havent smoked a Cuban that has been too powerful or strong so far. There are nice full bodied cubans on the market, but none of them are as powerful as smokes like the chisel or a few other NC powerhouses. Cubans just dont seem to be blended that way, which is fine by me. As far as the RyJ Caz goes, ive smoked em, and i still dont find them nearly as powerful as some of the NCs on the market. Dont get me wrong, its a powerful smoke, but i didnt find it overwhelming or anything.

quote:

Has anyone tried smoked the RyJ Havana Cazadores that Suckling mentioned recently? I've always avoided them because they had a reputation for being ugly, one-note smokes. Are they really as strong as Suckling says?

I had a 2001 one recently, and thought it was pretty strong. That being said, I haven't tried any of the NCs that are blended to put you on your ass.

I think Bombardier is just a big wimp!

Wimp? maybe its MY hormones after the baby!!!!!

I usually love strong cigars, big fan of RyJ Caz..and I love them fresh. Caz is one of the best after dinner cigars IMO. But that Boli CE bent me over and abused me. maybe some of it is due to the fact my smoking has decreased substantially over the past few months. I need to get back in the game!!!!!

Interesting thread. I'm posting a blog about it. Thanks for starting this Bombardier.

Personally, I have never smoked a Cuban cigar that I found unenjoyably strong.

I did try one of the vaunted Bolivar Royal Coronas from ABR 06 last evening and found it to be very potent through the nose and, for my taste, too young to be fully enjoyed as yet. Still, if this one example is representative, these should age into spectacular cigars.

I have, however, tried to smoke non-Cubans that were just too damned acrid and "strong" to be enjoyed. These are the kinds that bring tears to your eyes and make your nose run when you expel the smoke through it. One example that comes to mind is the little Machito made by Joya de Nicaragua.

I've never run accross a Cuban cigar that was too strong for me. However I have smoked some that I didn't enjoy because of that all subjective thing called taste.

don't get me wrong..this was power not necessarily harsh. I do smoke a non-cuban now and again, especially on the golf coarse. and you can see where some nC brands seem to be trying to overcompensate for the lack of body in their tobacco by throwing power into the cigar...maybe just overfilling it with ligero. I had a Partagas Black Label the was pure harshness..not an ounce of body or finese in that stick..just horrid. ashtray harshness.

With a fair amount of Cuban cigars, they have the natural body and rich flavor so there is less need to increase the power. But this boli CE (2005 box) was insane..maybe there is a extra leaf of ligero that accidentally got put in this blend. i will admit i may have smoked it too fast. i was hoping for the cigar to develop and was rushing it down. A cigar this powerful should have been enjoyed much slower. so i will admit to some user error.

it could also be the maturation of my cigar palate as well. i've always enjoy full body cigars from day one...maybe i'm moving to cigars with more subtle finese...i don't know.

I have never had a Habanos that was too strong though in my earlier days of smoking a young batch of Upmann No. 2s came close. Aging mellowed them nicely tho. I enjoyed David's blog, but sure would like to keep the conversation here since regarding the blogs "commenting privileges" are limited to those who've paid CA extra to be an exulted "Cigar Insider". Great idea for another revenue stream, but lets leave threads that start here with us commoners, here where we are allowed to participate in "free" speech.

As I just posted in my greeting post above I've just about finished a box of MAR05 CEs and they were indeed powerhouses. Seemingly much stronger than the last CEs I had from 03. Stronger even than a box of 01 BFs I thought could never be topped in terms of power from the Boli line. Most of them smoked perfectly with only a couple with a tight draw. I did have one complete plug though. First truly plugged CC for me in years. Tossed it and lit another.

quote:

Originally posted by David Savona:
Interesting thread. I'm posting a blog about it. Thanks for starting this Bombardier.

Very good blog, I enjoy reading the articles

I have never had a Cuban cigar that was too strong to enjoy. Sometimes I find the JDN Antano a very strong smoke, however last night I smoked a Gran Consul and it didn't flinch me at all. I must be developing an immunity to them.