What a lovely cigar this was when I removed it from the gift package generously sent by "Paker" (name changed to protect him from moochers).
The stick, perfectly constructed, was made at the RyJ factory in the "difficult" year of 1999. But there were no difficulties with this smoke save a wee bit of tightness in the draw in the first few minutes (this soon disappeared and gave way to a perfect draw). After a few minutes of merely delicious Havana tobacco, the cigar opened up to yield palate-caressing flavors of melded toast and cream. It was a medium-strong smoke, but perfectly harmonious and a great pleasure to taste. In fact, I had trouble paying attention to my book rather than to the cigar.
Amazingly, this gran corona lasted all of an hour and a half at my UPR of 1/minute.
This Q d'O, at least the one g.c. I had (my first sample of this brand), is definitely a "go to" cigar. It has (for me) the perfect size and feel in the hand, is ready to smoke now, gives a lot of flavor and smoking time for the money, and seems to be below the radar screen of many Havanophiles.
I have been told that Q d'Os are made for the French market. I'd be interested in knowing if that is true, and also hearing opinions about other Q d'O vitolas and more recent production years (I'd like to get a box for laying down).
The stick, perfectly constructed, was made at the RyJ factory in the "difficult" year of 1999. But there were no difficulties with this smoke save a wee bit of tightness in the draw in the first few minutes (this soon disappeared and gave way to a perfect draw). After a few minutes of merely delicious Havana tobacco, the cigar opened up to yield palate-caressing flavors of melded toast and cream. It was a medium-strong smoke, but perfectly harmonious and a great pleasure to taste. In fact, I had trouble paying attention to my book rather than to the cigar.
Amazingly, this gran corona lasted all of an hour and a half at my UPR of 1/minute.
This Q d'O, at least the one g.c. I had (my first sample of this brand), is definitely a "go to" cigar. It has (for me) the perfect size and feel in the hand, is ready to smoke now, gives a lot of flavor and smoking time for the money, and seems to be below the radar screen of many Havanophiles.
I have been told that Q d'Os are made for the French market. I'd be interested in knowing if that is true, and also hearing opinions about other Q d'O vitolas and more recent production years (I'd like to get a box for laying down).