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Bolivar Lonsdales
Size: 165 x 42 ? Cervantes
Smoke time: 1hour 40mins
Box date: 2001. Source: TomTom
Discontinued in 2002, in many ways the Boli Lonsdales might be regarded as the direct ancestor of the current Gold Medal. To do a direct comparison today from memory I would find difficult as I haven?t smoked a Gold Medal this year. However, I?ve dug out my old GM review from 2011:- http://www.ukcigarforums.com/showthr...var+Gold+Medal (not that it counts towards this series as I?ll be reviewing the GM again separately as part of the series later this month), it?s just there for referencing differences and similarities.
Appearance: Squarish, flattened in the box cross section. Very oily, dark brown wrapper with a spiders web of medium and lighter veins. Well applied cap. Standard band ?A? (Embossed).
Construction: The cigar felt reasonably well packed though somewhat denser towards the head. The cold draw was reassuringly resistive and the smoking draw was perfect. The burn began well and pretty much retained shape all the way through. The (very) dark grey ash was firm and faultless. No relights, no corrections required.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was wet, musky hay. The start was dry, woody, slighty caramelised and subtly sweetened, which I?m sure all sounds very contradictory, but to me was sophisticated and weirdly refreshing. After several puffs I began to pick up the familiar Cuban ?twang? as a light soda textured citrus. I sware that whoever was responsible for the blending was aided and abetted by Michel Roux, the first third is like French Patisserie, sweet but not too sweet, sometimes sharp, sometimes soured, but always fresh and always in harmony. At around the half inch tastes of sweet, fresh vegetal peppers drifted in and blended with the citrus giving the smoke momentarily a slight vinegared edge. The flavours strength had built to medium and remained at that pitch right to the very end. Moving through the third I was picking up add-on tastes like, Autumn fruits, in summery the third was exceptional ?sharp, sweet and delicious?like smoking a Tarte au Citron. The second third was even better. I first noticed the change not in the smoke, but in the aftertaste in the mouth, the citrus was being replaced by a softer and creamier taste, and carrying with it just the slightest hint of chocolate. Ever so gradually the chocolate taste entered and blended into the flavours mix. Mildly at first and then progressively stronger untill it became the dominant flavour and all the sweetness from the other flavours had been transferred into the chocolate taste. Toward the end of the third I got a brief and unexpected visitor ? OXO ? as only a blue, shivering nine year old would remember it after drowning lessons in an outdoor Dagenham swimming pool and a water temperature of 57?F. The final third continued as chocolate becoming ever richer and more bitter as the sweetness slowly, slowly left the smoke. Defu?kinlicious!
Overall: One hour fourty minutes of unashamed bliss. The Boli Lonsdales hits all the right buttons as far as I?m concerned, it?s flavoursome, mellow, creamy and very sophisticated. The tastes are a rare treat, the slow metamorphosis from vegetal sharpness into somber chocolates is a journey well worth the taking. If the cigar did have a downside, and this is an unusual comment for me, it was in the strength, I experienced none, and a little might just have given a perfect finish.
Marks. A very well earned 7.4. Not enough this afternoon to unshift the Partagas 898, but a close run thing.
Next in line. ERdM Lonsdales.
Size: 165 x 42 ? Cervantes
Smoke time: 1hour 40mins
Box date: 2001. Source: TomTom
Discontinued in 2002, in many ways the Boli Lonsdales might be regarded as the direct ancestor of the current Gold Medal. To do a direct comparison today from memory I would find difficult as I haven?t smoked a Gold Medal this year. However, I?ve dug out my old GM review from 2011:- http://www.ukcigarforums.com/showthr...var+Gold+Medal (not that it counts towards this series as I?ll be reviewing the GM again separately as part of the series later this month), it?s just there for referencing differences and similarities.
Appearance: Squarish, flattened in the box cross section. Very oily, dark brown wrapper with a spiders web of medium and lighter veins. Well applied cap. Standard band ?A? (Embossed).
Construction: The cigar felt reasonably well packed though somewhat denser towards the head. The cold draw was reassuringly resistive and the smoking draw was perfect. The burn began well and pretty much retained shape all the way through. The (very) dark grey ash was firm and faultless. No relights, no corrections required.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was wet, musky hay. The start was dry, woody, slighty caramelised and subtly sweetened, which I?m sure all sounds very contradictory, but to me was sophisticated and weirdly refreshing. After several puffs I began to pick up the familiar Cuban ?twang? as a light soda textured citrus. I sware that whoever was responsible for the blending was aided and abetted by Michel Roux, the first third is like French Patisserie, sweet but not too sweet, sometimes sharp, sometimes soured, but always fresh and always in harmony. At around the half inch tastes of sweet, fresh vegetal peppers drifted in and blended with the citrus giving the smoke momentarily a slight vinegared edge. The flavours strength had built to medium and remained at that pitch right to the very end. Moving through the third I was picking up add-on tastes like, Autumn fruits, in summery the third was exceptional ?sharp, sweet and delicious?like smoking a Tarte au Citron. The second third was even better. I first noticed the change not in the smoke, but in the aftertaste in the mouth, the citrus was being replaced by a softer and creamier taste, and carrying with it just the slightest hint of chocolate. Ever so gradually the chocolate taste entered and blended into the flavours mix. Mildly at first and then progressively stronger untill it became the dominant flavour and all the sweetness from the other flavours had been transferred into the chocolate taste. Toward the end of the third I got a brief and unexpected visitor ? OXO ? as only a blue, shivering nine year old would remember it after drowning lessons in an outdoor Dagenham swimming pool and a water temperature of 57?F. The final third continued as chocolate becoming ever richer and more bitter as the sweetness slowly, slowly left the smoke. Defu?kinlicious!
Overall: One hour fourty minutes of unashamed bliss. The Boli Lonsdales hits all the right buttons as far as I?m concerned, it?s flavoursome, mellow, creamy and very sophisticated. The tastes are a rare treat, the slow metamorphosis from vegetal sharpness into somber chocolates is a journey well worth the taking. If the cigar did have a downside, and this is an unusual comment for me, it was in the strength, I experienced none, and a little might just have given a perfect finish.
Marks. A very well earned 7.4. Not enough this afternoon to unshift the Partagas 898, but a close run thing.
Next in line. ERdM Lonsdales.
I have had exactly the same experience with the 2 boxes I have smoked (from 1999 and 2001). The lack of strenght is a bit annoying.
So which did you prefer and why? 
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