Let me tell you about this thing while it is still fresh on my palate.
I just had a great midnight walk with my dog and a San Cristobal Monumento Nicaraguan Double Corona. Just my style. Dark and rich. Notes of dark cocoa, leather and wood. Full in flavor but smooth with just enough bite to let you know you who was the boss.
After a nice long toast, it burned very even. The taste was totally devoid of resin or bitterness right down to the end. I hated to let it go. But even the finest cigars must one day revert to ash.
This wasn't my first one of these. I bought a five pack of these from Thompson. More on that later.
The first one I had was within a day or so of the package's arrival. On that occasion, I reminded myself that 7 1/4 by 49 gauge isn't exactly my favorite size. I prefer a greater width to length ratio. 5x50 and 6x60 I like better. 4 1/2 by 49 burns better for me.
My first San Cristobal tasted nice but was a little hot and strong for me. I'd have liked it in a gordo vitola more, I was thinking. Yet, sometimes you need to step at least a bit out of your usual form.
I don't remember the second quite so much, either in a good way or in a bad one. I smoked it a few weeks after receiving it.
But this time, after three months in the humidor, it was awesome. As I said, nice burning and flavorful throughout. No melancholy about the gauge. Perhaps a little sadness about only having two more.
But back to the deal. Thompson's 5 Pack Fever. My new favorite way to buy. Cigars International has its own Build Your Own Mega-Sampler, which is just as good.
Pick four 5 packs from their selections and get them all for about $3 each. I search online for a coupon code for Thompson and get 10% plus free shipping, which makes Thompson cheaper by a couple bucks. But it comes down to what cigars you want.
After looking at both sites, I decided Thompson's selections were better for me. I grabbed the San Cristobals, the Brick House Mighty Maduro Gordo, the Padron 2000 Robusto and the AVO Maduro Robusto. The Padrons don't seem to be available as a 5 pack anymore, which is a shame. The lure of $3 Padrons is what made me pull the trigger at Thompson.
Here's are quick reviews of the others, which I like as much as the San Cristobals, if not more:
Brick House: a big damn maduro. Just what I like. A gentle draw with big dark flavors. Not the most complex, but a nice burner.
Padron: all the intensity and impact of an expensive Padron in a cheaper frame. Quality build. Reliable ignition. Very tasty and complex. Like buying a sandwich from a 5 star dinner restaurant.
AVO: Smooth and balanced like everything they make, but denser than expected. A firm draw with a heavy flavor. Pleasantly reminiscent of my favorite La Gloria Cubana Serie N.
One last note about the deal. 5 packs are the perfect size for products you don't already know and love. If you're blasé about the cigars, you aren't stuck with twenty. If you adore the first one, you have four more, rather than one or none with most samplers. In my 100 count humidor, I want variety. 20 or more of the same thing gets boring no matter what it is.
These four 5 packs have been my favorite cigar purchase ever.
Get some.
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