So on my recent trip to Holland I picked up several boxes of Dutch cigars, out of pure curiosity. Here are my opinions:
Van Der Donk Supremes - 37 Euros for 25. These are little perfectos and are one of the few hand rolled dutch cigars. They smell reasonable, draw nicely, burnt well and evenly. I would say that these are excellent value for money and they dont taste like your typical dry cigar, indeed unless someone told me, I wouldnt know they were a dry cigar. I think they are short or medium filler, but they definitely change profile throughout the smoke.
They start extremely mild and build to something that I might describe as resembling a fonseca cadete or at a push, a punch coronation. Definitely better at the end and I would happily pay the ?1.50ish I payed for this again.
Willem II Royal Coronas - 20 Euros for 25. I bought these mainly for the box. Not really knowing many of these brands I was just stabbing in the dark. The box has a picture of William and has a very nice gold and black pattern. They are the only cigars I have bought in Holland with a band on them.
So to the sticks themselves. They smell grassy like a rabbit hutch - unlike the Van Donks and some of them are a little green in places, not a good start! So I light one up... Imagine smoking a hay stack rolled up with Dung, although that might be giving dung a bad name... this thing made me turn green just like the wrappers. I think if I smoked more than a couple of puffs I might have puked, so I put it out and stuffed a bunch of polos down my throat.
I cant be overstating this by saying these were hands down the worst cigars I have ever laid my sorry eyes on, they really do make hamlets taste like Cohibas. If anyone wants to try some and confirm this - or just to say they have smoked the worst cigar in the world - I am open to offers for the other 24, before I use it as a bed for my rabbit!
So dutch cigars so far are a real mixed bag. I have some Olifants, a PJ Hajenius and some Oud Kampen still to try, but I think I need some dutch courage before I try any more!
Van Der Donk Supremes - 37 Euros for 25. These are little perfectos and are one of the few hand rolled dutch cigars. They smell reasonable, draw nicely, burnt well and evenly. I would say that these are excellent value for money and they dont taste like your typical dry cigar, indeed unless someone told me, I wouldnt know they were a dry cigar. I think they are short or medium filler, but they definitely change profile throughout the smoke.
They start extremely mild and build to something that I might describe as resembling a fonseca cadete or at a push, a punch coronation. Definitely better at the end and I would happily pay the ?1.50ish I payed for this again.
Willem II Royal Coronas - 20 Euros for 25. I bought these mainly for the box. Not really knowing many of these brands I was just stabbing in the dark. The box has a picture of William and has a very nice gold and black pattern. They are the only cigars I have bought in Holland with a band on them.
So to the sticks themselves. They smell grassy like a rabbit hutch - unlike the Van Donks and some of them are a little green in places, not a good start! So I light one up... Imagine smoking a hay stack rolled up with Dung, although that might be giving dung a bad name... this thing made me turn green just like the wrappers. I think if I smoked more than a couple of puffs I might have puked, so I put it out and stuffed a bunch of polos down my throat.
I cant be overstating this by saying these were hands down the worst cigars I have ever laid my sorry eyes on, they really do make hamlets taste like Cohibas. If anyone wants to try some and confirm this - or just to say they have smoked the worst cigar in the world - I am open to offers for the other 24, before I use it as a bed for my rabbit!
So dutch cigars so far are a real mixed bag. I have some Olifants, a PJ Hajenius and some Oud Kampen still to try, but I think I need some dutch courage before I try any more!
Comment