IanMcLean68

Agreed @Luca my friend. I was seriously contemplating taking the plunge this year too. I was spurred on when I asked @Fuzz about Aristocrats here in Australia, to which he replied probably none.

Awesome reviews @JohnS and @Luca!

Club Allones SOM DIC15 Started a little muted but opened out beautifully for a fantastic second half! Chocolate & stone fruit developing into fruit cake, with notes of black tea and a touch of pepper.

As much as I like hats, I get giggles from people when ever I go to try one on. My head is too big. Would need to have one specially made, nobody keeps stock of hats for my big head.

It really was that good. I highly recommend you dig one out and revisit John! Surprised the life out of me that a Le Hoyo could be so good at just 2 1/2 years of age. I can only imagine how good these are going to be at the 5 or even 8 year mark, because it has the legs 😉

Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo du Prince, SOM JUN16. Thank you @JohnS for the very kind gift! I am a big fan of the Des Dieux, but I had never tried this one. I was never likely to either, proving yet again what a great bunch of guys the Sydney boys are! Now that they are discontinued, I am both very glad and a little sad that I did try it! To repeat what you said when you last reviewed this same cigar John, I am also blown away by this one. Enjoyed in the wee small hours right now with coffee. Glorious combination. Colorado maduro oily wrapper, very firm, seamless. Perfect construction! Aroma at cold of spicy cedar and leather. If only Cuba could do this all the time! Perfect Cuban draw, slightly firm and a little resistive, just the way I like it. Creamy, slightly woody texture. I can taste the classic Le Hoyo DNA in this. Sweet spices, hints of vanilla bean, with a slightly woody sweet cedar spine. Bakers cocoa and sweet baking spices intensifying throughout. Started medium, intensifying to a little over medium towards the end. Full flavoured throughout. Glorious aroma on the smoke. What a magnificent cigar. Easily one of the best petit corona sized CC's I have ever smoked. How could HSA possibly have thought of discontinuing these? Damn I love skinnies! Thank you again so much John for giving me the opportunity to try this now sadly discontinued cigar! Nubbed it!

Been a few months since I have been able to enjoy a few cigars. Finally over New Year I have started to enjoy a couple of cigars gifted to me by my kind and wonderful fellow FOHer's. Showing off my new FOH ashtray in these photos too (thanks El Pres!) Firstly, not a gifted cigar but one out of my stash. This ROL JUL13 LFDC Grandiosos is now coming into its own in my opinion. Sponge cake, buttery creamy biscuit. Floral notes throughout. Sweet and savoury spices, nuts and some BBQ umami flavours throughout the last half. This has turned into a complex smoke with a true evolution through the thirds. Started mild-medium and finished a touch over medium. Great draw. This one wasn't all positives though. This one was a little under-filled, so the burn wasn't perfect. Additionally, some dufus at the factory was a little too liberal with the glue on the regional band and it was stuck to the wrapper. I waited until I was almost smoking the regional band, but it still stuck, tore the wrapper, and caused the cigar to bulge in the final third. Second cigar was a gift, thank you very much @Luca for this outstanding QDO Corona - ETP OCT15. Mild to just under medium with a great burn and draw throughout. Fantastic creamy buttery texture. The taste reminded me of Scotch Finger biscuits! Notes of citrus and some glorious notes of vanilla through the second half. What a fantastic cigar! Last one for this post, thank you again to @Luca for this JLS2, gifted to me last night during a great evening get together with some of the Sydney boys. Smoking great fresh! I adore these cigars, and have a box I haven't cracked yet, so its good to have a tryer. Medium full, rich and tasty. Loads of orange citrus and choc/coffee flavours. Enjoying this one while checking on my chili plants this morning. Nice to see the first of this years chilis emerging!

Love this thread! Shows that our FOH cigar community indeed has excellent taste in music. I like everything posted here!

Indeed, people often forget to mention the bass player! Let's clear that up. The whole band were/are legends! Big fan of LZ and have been since I was a kid. Wasn't sure if that was Bonham's son or not. I know he has played in place of his father for Led Zep before. HIs father was one of the best drummers ever in my opinion, and the drums in this were great!

Legends. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page sound almost as good today as they did back in their heyday. True talent!

Been listening to some classic old blues ....

I consider the voting fine for not voting a service fee that I pay until there is something, anything, worth voting for again!

Thinking on it, I do think the results of this poll, with the majority in the NOTA camp, accurately reflect the inherent exclusivity of any poll covering new releases, especially those which cover mostly limited (expensive releases). It excludes many people on many grounds. There are those that avoid LE's and RE's because of a perceived lack of value for money or otherwise. Then you have people who want to try them but simply can't afford them, or those that might have them to try but haven't yet because of the expense and maybe are saving them for the right/special occasion or to put some time down on them. Then you have those that generally don't smoke new releases from 2017 and 2018 not because they don't have them. but because they are still too young.

Voted "None of the Above" simply because I have not tried any of them. I don't buy many EL's or RE's, except for the most exceptionally reviewed ones that I am lucky enough to get my hands on, so I have only got the Talisman out of the ones listed, and I haven't tried it yet. I have one sample to try and a full box, so I will soon. Generally not in a habit of cracking boxes, esp. like these, until they are 3yrs old.

Missing in action - HDM Des Dieux, Discontinued - Diplomaticos No.4 or SLRA