Illusione Cigares Prive H-Town

Notes: Draw seemed a little tight but never impacted the experience. Flavors of milk chocolate, cedar, cinnamon, toasted almond, sweet popcorn, grass, malt grains and a faint red pepper. At certain points I got an amazing pilsner beer sensation with a deep retrohale. Body fluctuated from light to medium, balance, transitions and complexity were fantastic.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty nine minutes

Rating: Five stars

Tatuaje Exclusive Series H-Town

Notes: Rather unappetizing Sumatra wrapper, but construction and cold draw are great. Prelight aroma of hay. Flavors of espresso, cocoa, oak, salt, bread, cornmeal and black pepper. Great construction and combustion, but the balance and complexity of this blend are lacking.

Smoking time: One hour, seventeen minutes

Rating: Four stars

Alec Bradley Nica Puro H-Town

Notes: Measured a quarter inch long. Flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, oak, sourdough bread, minerals,cumin and black pepper. Canoed around the middle and became somewhat bitter by the last third. Flavor was full with decent complexity, but the minor construction problems held it back.

Smoking time: One hour, fifteen minutes

Rating: Four stars

Espinosa Laranja H-Town

Notes: Construction and draw are great. Flavors of coffee, cedar, citrus vanilla, hay, butterscotch, white and black pepper. Full flavor, medium to full body. Very complex blend with nice transitions.

Smoking time: One hour, twenty seven minutes

Rating: Five stars

Herrera Esteli Edicion Limitada H-Town

Notes: Quite firm and the CT broadleaf wrapper looks similar to that on the #9, only a shade lighter. Prelight aroma of milk chocolate and barnyard. Perfect construction and cold draw with flavors of cocoa, coffee, black licorice, red pepper. Delicious but complexity was lacking.

Smoking time: One hour, thirteen minutes

Rating: Four stars

Four Kicks H-Town

Notes: Density is overly firm with noticeable weight and draw is too tight. Flavors of coffee, hay, oak, graham cracker and black pepper. Halfway point brings a caramel sweetness that gives the blend it's first sense of balance, but the tight draw is making everything bitter. I can tell this one would have been great if not for the construction problem.

Smoking time: One hour, forty two minutes

Rating: Two stars

RoMa Craft Neanderthal OM H-Town

Notes: Original release. San Andres wrapper is toothy and sand paper rough. Prelight aroma is milk chocolate which I also taste on the cold draw. Flavors of milk and dark chocolate, oak, clove, cashew, butterscotch and mild black pepper. Full flavor with medium body and strength. Perfect construction, delicious and balanced blend with decent complexity. Legendary.

Smoking time: Sixty nine minutes

Rating: Five stars

Fratello H-Town

Notes: Density feel nice, cold draw flavor is cocoa but resistance is tight. Flavors of cedar, cola, citrus and red pepper. Canoe develops early on and gets worse until the halfway point, during which the flavors were unbalanced and harsh. Construction problems really hurt this one, but I'd like to revisit at some point.

Smoking time: Sixty one minutes

Rating: Two stars

Nomad H-Town

Notes: San Andres wrapper covered in fine tooth, very firm density, but an eighth of an inch short. Prelight aroma is barnyard. Flavors of coriander, salt, roasted peanut, black licorice, white and black pepper. Nice complexity, but a bit of combustion trouble in the last third caused some bitterness.

Smoking time: Fifty nine minutes

Rating: Four stars

Room 101 Namakubi Ecuador H-Town

Notes: Made in 2013, the wrapper of unknown varietal is a deep brown with lots of oils. Ring is closer to 40. Prelight aroma is barbecue, cold draw has great resistance with flavors of maple and pistachio. Flavors of barbecue, cola sweetness, something floral and a blast of white pepper. Extremely spicy and savory, full body and full flavor. Great balance and flavor, but not much complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, five minutes

Rating: Four stars

La Palina H-Town

Notes: Resistance is good and cold draw has a grassy flavor. Flavors of bread, green tea, citrus and black pepper. Good construction but very little complexity.

Smoking time: One hour, ten minutes

Rating: Three stars

Quesada Espana H-Town

Notes: Flavors of bread, almond, honey and later hickory. Body was light and this thing required about ten relights, which muddied the otherwise good complexity. Major combustion problems.

Smoking time: One hour, six minutes

Rating: Two stars