This weeks guest review comes courtesy of Stogierosexual from our very own fan forums.

Saint Luis Rey Rothchilde

Size: Rothchilde (54×5)
Made in: Honduras
Wrapper: Natural; Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Peruvian

I picked up this cigar at my local B&M for about $3.50, however, I am almost positive you would be able to find this cigar much cheaper online, in fact you can pick up a fiver from CI for $2.80 a stick and who knows what you could get them for at CBid (I hate my local B&M’s; they NEVER have any deals and they are not very friendly). My first thoughts before I lit this guy up where that I really wanted to like this cigar. I wanted to find the million dollar cigar at a super steal of a price. I have a hard time finding budget cigars and so far my only budget cigars are the 5 Vegas line. ($3 and below are considered budget to me)

The Pre-light
The cigar looked to be very well made and didn’t have any noticeable defects. It was packed solid from head to foot with no soft spots. It looks like a classy smoke, a nice looking red and gold band with the name Saint Luis Rey. The aroma of the cigar was nice. I effortlessly cut the head with my Xikar and took a pre-light draw test and found it to be very pleasant. A little drag is what I like and that was exactly what I got. I put this stout little guy to the torch and we are off and running.

First Third
The cigar opened up with a nice peppery, woodsy flavor with a nice mild sweetness that I liked a lot. The sweetness stayed through the entire first third of the cigar and the peppery flavor mellowed out. I would say this cigar is medium to full bodied.

Second Third
I have to be honest with you I was a little giddy after smoking the first third of this cigar because I was confident that I had found a nice budget cigar. The first part of the second third I noticed a flavor that I can only describe as a basil flavor and I found it to be very nice. However, this flavor quickly went away and so did the sweetness. In the rest of the second third, the earthy, woodsy flavor and pepper flavor began to pick up some steam and that is it from here on out. After that mild sweetness went away I became very board with this cigar and my boredom got worse and worse after each puff.

Final Third
To top of my boredom, the cigar wrapped cracked and began to peel away a bit. This created an uneven burn that required some touch up to continue smoking. I set this cigar down about half way through the final third which is way sooner than what I like to do.

FinalThoughts
Overall I did like the cigar, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I guess I jinxed myself when I said that I really wanted to like this cigar. I did like the flavors of the cigar especially the first third. I guess I was just expecting too much and now that I know what to expect, I may have a better experience next time.

Liked it: Sure
Buy it again: I wouldn’t go seeking one out but if I ran across a good deal I may pick a couple up to have on hand for my non cigar smoking buddies or to have when I am doing some yard work. Like I said I know what to expect from this cigar now so I am pretty sure I would have a better experience.
Would I recommend it: Tough question because I would recommend this cigar to a budget smoker that could pick them up for a decent price.