Strange Don Ramos Churchill - advice please

[scruffy]

Some advice please. Yesterday I bought and smoked a Dom Ramos Churchill - just to try something new. It was so bad it was beyond funny and I'm just trying to work out what was going on. I can't believe that a cigar could possibly be as bad as that as standard, otherwise it would never be sold. There was a really strong single-note taste to it, from the start. It was almost a chemical taste; metallic - that just destroyed anything else. Is this the taste of ammonia I have heard about on podcasts perhaps? Could I have done anything to avoid this (I am a newbie)? Or is it really just the taste of the cigar - and maybe just not my taste, but other people love it?

Just seems a tragic waste of a tenner for something so terrible. If I could avoid the same mistake - if I made one - I'd like to know how.

Thanks very much.

[Mark3142]

Funnily enough I had the same experience a few weeks ago. I was away for the weekend so purchased 3 cigars from a shop in Bristol. THey were untubed but they found 3 correctly sized tubes for me to keep them safe. WHich was good of them.
So I lit up the first cigar on the Fri night when we arrived and it was awfull. But I persevered and struggled through but it didn't get any better. So moaned at the Mrs and got no sympathy. Sat PM tried another but it was only marginally better. Again I struggled through and decided that they weren't for me. So the last cigar in it's tube was hidden in the cubby box of my car. Well after a couple of weeks sat in there I found it yesterday on the way home from work. So thought I'd give it 1 more go. Now bear in mind this cigar came from a humi and was duped into a tube and left in my car for 2 weeks. Lit it up and it tasted lovely. Nice smooth taste, even burn and lots of smoke. Sat there on the sun deck for a good 40min with it and a glass of Pepsi max. Which seems to be my drink to have with any cigar that I smoke.

I had almost given up on them but can't understand why it would of improved with being away from it's "perfect" surroundings. Perhaps I've found the most expensive mobile humi. Should I move all my cigars into the cubby box In my Discovery 3???

[monkey66]

Perhaps just not a good cigar (there are plenty like that)?

[scruffy]

Mark, it's kinda worrying tho isn't it, that 75% of these cigars, from our experience, are rubbish. Just don't know how they can justify that - basic business says it shouldn't be the case. Weird.

[Mark3142]

I have no idea how they get away with it. BUT it could be down to me being stressed after a 2 hr drive North and having a nose bleed from being that far North. Stress of having to learn this new language I was hearing. Or something that I ate. I know strong flavours can give strange results in the taste of something like a cigar. Hence why I try and cleanse the pallatte with some pepsi max or similar. As it's what I mostly drink when I'm smoking so I have a familiar taste in my mouth and why I persevered with the 3rd cigar that I purchased. Seems strange that the 2 straight from the shop humi that were smokd within 48hrs were not that good. And the 1 that was forgotten about and left in my car tasted the best after 2 weeks of living free so to speak.

[scruffy]

Still, bizarre that it takes buying a car to make the cigar taste reasonable.

Think they should perhaps mention this on the tube!

[Mark3142]

And not a cheap car either

[HabanoSy]

Perhaps just not a good cigar (there are plenty like that)?

Indeed...

The few Don Ramos I have tried have been definitely, meh!!!

Cheers, HabanoSy

[Harleyfrank]

I just bought a DR Churchill for my humi today. Won't get around to lighting it for sometime yet, so hopefully it will be good. Smells nice. Fingers crossed.......

[monkey66]

I just bought a DR Churchill for my humi today. Won't get around to lighting it for sometime yet, so hopefully it will be good. Smells nice. Fingers crossed.......

Be interesting to see how it compares to the experiences above.

[AlexG]

Gday Scruffy, could be more than just a bad cigar. what is your RH in your humi? if RH is too high, even 1 or 2%, the cigar is too moist it can increase the ammonia in a cigar. 67-69 is the best for both CCs and NCs IMHO, but CCs can go down to 65 and be fantastic. if you have another and a spare box, try dry boxing 24hrs before you smoke it. how often were you puffing? more than 1 puff a minute can heat the cigar up ruin the tobacco, especially in churchill where the bad taste will just build and build. the third thing i can think of, what did you eat/drink before hand? sometimes what is consumed before hand can change the taste of the cigar, similar to toothpaste, orange juice pair.

[tippexx]

Perhaps just not a good cigar (there are plenty like that)?

Monk's being as diplomatic as he can, but I agree with him. For the same sort of money try one of either the un-tubed or Tubos version here:-http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/nicaraguan-cigars-charatan-cigars-c-317_102_380_108.html

These are IMHO good smoking value for the price, a CC Churchills would cost you loads more.