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Cabaiguan Belicoso Fino & Tat Reserva J21 vs. Vegas Robaina Unico

377 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Dom 
#1 ·
A week ago I was at a friend's wedding in Charleston, SC. Beautiful town, great food, friendly people (a must visit in my opinion).

I stepped into a B&M in need of a smoke (stressed out). The humidor was over humidified, the bands were a bit narrower than the rest of the cigar. It was sparsely stocked with premium brands and little else. So I selected a Tat J21. I smoked the Tat J21 first and it was flat and muddy tasting. It wasn't good at all. I usually don't smoke one stick after another, but the experience was so bad that I bought the Cabaiguan to make up for it. The Cabaiguan was a bit better but still it didn't smoke well. I didn't enjoy the flavor. I think, like others, I have fallen out of love with DPG's cigars as of late. The quality has fallen off and the flavor profile just isn't there anymore.

I get home a few days later and light up a VR Unico and it was fantastic. Smooth, nicely tannic, and chocolaty. Up until now I have sort-of regretted the VR Unico purchase as a misfire (shoulda, coulda, woulda, bought a Monte #2 or a Diplomatico #2). But now, I'm not so sure.

The two contrasting experiences have some things in common. It was a while since I smoked (I tend to appreciate a smoke if I have had a layoff in between). Where the smokes diverge however is my VR's are from '06 and I keep them at 65% humidity. The Tat and Cab were both very clearly over humidified.

I am disturbed how different these experiences were. I thought that the DPG smokes were a sure thing and I was seriously let down. I don't know if the over humidification issue is that much of a factor, as I stated before I've been moving away from non-Cubans recently.

So for this smoker, in a head to head comparison, with a smoker that was VERY willing to be pleased by a smoke, the Cuban wins.

Thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
Thoughts?
It's unfair to compare cigars that are over humidified vs. those that have been in your humi for years at a regulated humidity.
Off the bat you know that the over humidified cigars will perform worse...the burn could be terrible, the flavors muddled and the draw extremely tight...
plus a cuban with a few years in the humi at 65% probably has smoothed out some of its rough edges.
Just because they're premium boutique brand cigars (from my go to cigar brand mind you), doesn't mean that they're not susceptible to the pitfalls that over humidification can bring.

Try a J21 after a few weeks in your humi at 65%...let me know how it improves.
 
#3 ·
I agree... you definatly can't compare the 3 sticks in this situation.... While like you, my taste is starting to migrate toward cc's.. The cabaiguans are still to me a FINE smoke.. IMO theyre not really 2 smokes that can be compared.. but get yourself a cabaiguan BF, acclimate it to your humidor, then recompare.
 
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