Cigar: La Rica Tubitos (6/10)

It is quite nice to be able to review a cigar with which we were quite impressed, and even more so, these were not even Cuban, so our American friends can purchase them with ease. Hurrah!

La Rica Tubitos are a small 32 gauge panatela. They are composed of Nicaraguan hybrid filler (mixture of full leafs and short bits) with an Ecuadorian wrapper. They are also hand-rolled, and very tightly packed. This gave them a nice thick strong-flavoured smoke that was entirely pleasant. They are moderately tarry, but this was not a problem because they were only slightly over 4 inches long, and finish before the tar builds up to irrigating levels. Finally, they were well packaged (a very important bit of production most cigar manufacturers overlook) in that they came in well-sealed tubes and should last a considerable time before going dry without the aid of a humidor.

We recommend La Rica Tubitos; while there are certainly better cigars out there, one cannot beat the cost. they should cost you only around £2 each.

• Smoking time: 12-18 minutes
• Flavour: 6/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 3/10
• Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 5/10
• Value for Money: 7/10
• Indulgence Factor: 4/10
• Overall Rating: 6/10

Cigarillo: Exotic Fine and Flavour by Neos (3/10)

Well, once again we bring you a cigarillo by Neos, a Belgian manufacturer. Despite the name, we found these cigarillos to be neither fine, nor exotic, nor terribly flavourful. They have a definite added sweetness which is demonstrated not only by the sweet smoke, but the blackness of the ash. Quite amusingly, halfway through the smoke, which is dreadfully short, the cigarillo collapses between the fingers, which leads me to believe the only reason they were not deflated initially was due to the dry stiffness of the filler- as soon as the tar built up... squish. After this happens, the smoke gets quite hot and you know it's time to give it up... We don't recommend the Exotic Fine and Flavour by Neos, they're just not right... If you do find them and want to give them a go, it'll cost around £3 for 10.

• Smoking Time: 2-4 minutes
• Flavour: 4/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 7/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 8/10
• Value for Money: 3/10
• Indulgence Factor: 2/10
• Overall Rating: 3/10

Pipe Tobacco: American Sweet Peach (5/10)

Well, what can I say about the American Sweet Peach by Gawith and Hoggarth: It is sweet, has a peachy flavour, and is presumably American...

To be fair, I expected this tobacco to be blow-your-head-off sweet, a kind of sickly syrupy cloying sort of sweet- it was nothing of the sort- indeed, it was well-balanced. There is a definite peach overtone to the flavour, and it is very aromatic, but it was quite nice. Apparently, according to Jim, our tobacconist, this tobacco was one of the most popular until Gawith and Hoggarth released their Cherry and Vanilla.

The Sweet Peach does have a couple drawbacks though; first, it produces a very light smoke unless puffed quickly enough to get the tobacco really hot. This is related to the second problem, which is that the tobacco goes out with incredible ease. Most of the pipe-fulls I had went out at least twice during the course of the smoke. For one who is skint, matches are not a cheap commodity, and it was irritating to have to waste as many as I did relighting the pipe. The tobacco is also quite tarry, and I suspect one might need to clean their pipe every other smoke with this one.

If you enjoy aromatics that are relatively sweet, I recommend giving this tobacco a go... just invest in a lot of pipe cleaners, a pipe-knife and matches first!

• Flavour: 6/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 8/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 4/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Indulgence Factor: 3/10
• Overall Rating: 5/10

Cigar: Guantanamera Cristales (4/10)

Well, it's not often we have a proper cigar to review- the both of us are too skint to afford to bring you reviews of the finest Davidoff and Montecristo churchills every day... and I wish we had a better cigar to review for you. Sorry.

The Guantanamera Cristales are a medium-gauge 15 cm long cigar which are hand-rolled and 100% Tobaco Cubano... sounds good right? Well, they should be good, but we found these cigars terribly disappointing. The first half smoked considerably dry and had a very light smoke, in fact, the lightness of the smoke is comparable to smoking a cigar with a filter attached. In addition, they had very little flavour. Thankfully, the second half had considerably more flavour; likely due to the buildup of the minimal amount of tar these cigars contain.

Unfortunately, the Cristales do not come if sealed tubes, so must be stored well. Perhaps ours were not. In addition, they come pre-cut with a cross-pattern slice into the cigar, rather than the traditional sliced-off end. I suspect this is partially responsible for the lightness of the smoke, and when we re-cut ours, they were considerably nicer.

One might think upon seeing these Guantanamera Cristales; 'oh, hand-rolled Cubans, must be good...' I have to say, we certainly will not be buying these again. If you do however, they will cost you about £5.00 each.

• Smoking time: 20-30 minutes
• Flavour: 2/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 3/10
• Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 8/10
• Value for Money: 4/10
• Indulgence Factor: 1/10
• Overall Rating: 4/10

Pipe Tobacco: Rich Dark Honeydew (6/10)

The Rich Dark Honeydew by makers Gawith and Hoggarth is quite a strange tobacco, but certainly not unenjoyable. According to Jim, our tobacconist, it is quite popular and sells fairly well. I personally found it to have an oddly simultaneously dry and sweet smoke, a trait I am not terribly fond of and suspect is the result of using a dry tobacco base and simply flavouring it with a sweet aromatic mixture, without concern for how they complement each other. Nevertheless, the smoke was acceptable, certainly better than many other tobaccos I have tried recently and will appear in our review shortly. The Rich Dark Honeydew is moderately tarry, and the tar- more than the smoke itself, has a fruity tone to it. The tobacco does smoke quite quickly and is not terribly thick, but this is likely a result of being quite finely shredded and ready-rubbed. Give it a try, you shant be disappointed, but it's likely you wont be terribly impressed, and just think; 'well, not bad, I've tried something new...'

• Flavour: 6/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 6/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 4/10
• Value for Money: 5/10
• Indulgence Factor: 4/10
• Overall Rating: 6/10

Rollie Tobacco: Dutch Flake (5/10)

Time again for another rollie tobacco, and this time I am reviewing the Auld Kendal Dutch Flake by makers Gawith and Hoggarth. This hand-rolling tobacco is a blend of Virgina and Burley tobaccos and has a slight, very slight spiced aromatic flavour. In fact, I wasn't even aware of the spice until it was mentioned by another who smokes this particular tobacco, but knowing it's there, I can taste it... perhaps it's all in the mind.

The Dutch Flake has no strong flavours of any sort, for better or worse, but I think this leaves something to be desired. It's certainly not bad, but not that good either- the limbo of rollie tobacco... Nevertheless, its moderately strong with a moderately thick smoke, and fairly good for smoke rings (a very important trait!). Give it a try, I am not terribly familiar with specifically Dutch style tobaccos, but apparently this one is quintessentially Dutch.

• Flavour: 5/10
• Sweetness: 4/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 5/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Indulgence Factor: 3/10
• Overall Rating: 5/10

Pipe Tobacco: Rum Flake (4/10)

The Rum Flake by makers Gawith and Hoggarth is a bit of a let down... First of all, it's not particularly rum-flavoured, although I can detect hints of molasses at the beginning of the smoke which is mildly enjoyable... perhaps... however, there is a problem with this tobacco: the smoke gets considerably worse as time goes on. It begins by being simply moderately dry, not very sweet, with hints of molasses or dark cane sugar, but as the tar builds up at the bottom of the pipe, most of the slightly pleasant flavours disappear and are replaced by a mustiness that is altogether terrible. The smoke is also not particularly thick, nor is the tobacco very strong.

It's possible there are people out there who like this tobacco, but certainly it was not for us.

• Flavour: 4/10
  
• Smoke Sweetness: 3/10
  
• Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 6/10
  
• Value for Money: 4/10
  
• Indulgence Factor: 1/10
  
• Overall Rating: 4/10