Trinidad Reyes Cigar - 1 Single

Date Added: Tuesday 07 June, 2016 by Staff

Reviewed by Rob Sluss (June 2004)

I wanted to extend my utmost thanks for the pleasurable experience I had when purchasing some of the new Trinidads from your establishment. The service was friendly and fast. In return, I am submitting the review of the first one I smoked, a Reyes:

After a tip from a good friend, I purchased a few boxes of the new Trinidads in various sizes. I really enjoy PC and TPC sized smokes, so I drew out a Reyes first (4 3/8" x 40). It was Christmas day 2003, and my lovely wife and I just returned from a good friends house where we had a gut busting dinner. We walked around the neighborhood to work off some of the food and spirits once we arrived at the house, and then we settled in.

I retired to the lanai, where it was very comfortable, around 75 degrees with no humidity. I glued my ass to the lounge chair with a bomber snifter of Jamaican Rum and went to work. The Reyes, upon pre-light inspection was a work of art for a TPC. Flawless roll, deep semisweet chocolate wrapper color that was as soft as well worn leather, no large veining and not hard spots. I clipped with a guillotine cutter and the pre-light draw was perfect without plugs. The aroma of the pre-lit cigar was deep with and earthy spice, and heavy on sweet tobacco.

The light took place without a hitch, typical pre-draw roast and several medium draws to prevent a head rush. The first few puffs were insane, very strong but not in a bad way. Like drinking stout for the first time, your kinda excited, kinda scared. It quickly leveled out and the definitive spice "pepper" note turned to crisp heat, very similar to what you experience when you eat wasabi. There was no lingering heat or burnt feeling on the tongue, just a long lasting semi-sweet tobacco flavor with faint wisps of macaroons and coffee.

This TPC help on longer than the norm, it was like Willy Wonka rolled it. Midway through this lil' cigar poured on flavors of cafe cream with the consistency of maple syrup, the flavor lasted far after the smoke was gone. The ash was dense, medium gray and help on like a cliff hanger. It never went out even with 3-5 minute pauses in puffing.

I nubbed it, or course, and my fingers still look like hell. But, the last 1/3rd of this beauty really poured it on. A slight sugary smell started to present itself after each puff, as if the natural sugars in the tobacco condensed into the last of the cigar, and reminded me of the smell in a candy makers kitchen. My tongue went numb, the Rum kicked in, and to this day my wife really did not know what the heck I was saying when I went to bed that night.

In conclusion, these are a must have. The Reyes are ready to smoke now, but will only age well over a long rest. These are the perfect aging cigar, in my mind. I have not had a chance to smoke the Colonials or the Robusto Extras yet, but will report on them soon. The Fundadores are also being produced with the new bands and packaging, but I don't know if they are the old blend, or this "possibly new" blend. Will have to get some and do a comparison smoke-a-thon for the two.


A bit wordy. Nice description of the environment. Excellent description of appearance and construction characteristics. Willy Wonka? Maple Syrup? No, Semi-sweet and spicy flavors Yes

Score: 8/10
Judged by Chuck

Ultimately the key to a great review for me is how willing am I to buy the smoke afterwards and this review did it for me, more so for curiosity than anything else. I would have appreciated some comparisons of this cigar to other benchmark smokes just to serve as a standard of comparison but at any rate, this was nothing less than a wonderful review that covered all of the aspects of this cigar in a captivating way

Score: 9/10
Judged by Lamar

Good description of setting. The cigars construction, taste and flavour are explained brilliantly. The phrase ' like Willy Wonka rolled it' is genius. Clear and to the point - excellent review.

Score: 9 ½ / 10
Judged by Jamie Johnston

An excellent review. The writer enticed all of my senses; sight, feel & taste. The correct use of metaphor and analogy only added to and did not distract from his prose. I finished the review with a definite desire to smoke this cigar. Well done.

Score: 8/10
Judged by Elliot Blum

OVERALL SCORE: 34.5/40