Steven aka Shadow from our very own Fan Forums
Ashton Classic Series Magnum
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: 5×50 (Magnum)
Price: $9.95
A pleasant day deserves a pleasant cigar!
I went to Little Italy in Manhattan today and passed by Three Little Indians, so I decided to pay them a visit and give them my patronage as well. I saw a nice bunch of Ashton Classics, and being that I’ve never tried an Ashton, I decided to give them a try. The price of the cigar was above my budget, and I debated a bit with myself, but ultimately decided to purchase one. I was going to smoke the cigar inside Three Little Indians, but it was more a bar than anything, and I would have felt a little awkward sitting at the bar, so I decided to go to Union Square and hang out with my stogie.
The Cigar
The lighting process was a bit hard and took some extra time to do, but it paid off. The cigar didn’t like me too much and tried to make me think it was plugged at first, but I didn’t fall for it. The pre-light draw tasted of pure tobacco, and the initial draws tasted of tobacco as well. I wasn’t too fond of the V-cut, but I had to deal with it.
The first third got off to a spicy start and stayed somewhat spicy. I tasted spicy cinnamon and cloves. At one point the burn became hot, so I slowed down my pace and it gradually phased out. I began to realize that the burn was uneven, so I did a slight touch up and all was well afterward.
After my touch up, I figured that I was creeping into the second third. The spicy flavors mellowed out and the smoke became thicker. I figured it was good enough to do some smoke rings, provided I knew how to do them, which I don’t. The cigar never lost it’s trailing smoke, even when I forgot about it for a bit and got lost in my surroundings. I received compliments from the passerby’s about the smell of the smoke, and the woman sitting next to me commented that although smoke usually bothered her, this cigar’s smoke didn’t seem offending and overpowering given the size of the plume of smoke coming out of my mouth.
The taste of the cigar was relatively of cedar, with cinnamon beginning to creep back in.
As I approached the final third, the spicy element really threw a punch. I tried using the “nose smoke” technique at one point to gauge the spiciness of the cigar and almost coughed violently when the smoke burned the living hell out of my nose. Tastes of the final third varied from spicy cinnamon to mellow cedar and other woody elements.
Overall, the cigar was great.
Would I try it again? Yes, if my budget allowed it and I had a place to store cigars.
Would I recommend it? To smokers who like medium-bodied cigars, yes. To those who are just starting, no, only because the spiciness may be bothersome and a turn off.
Great review Steven! Made me want to try one.
When you try the “nose smoke” technique, or “retrohaling”, it sometimes helps to blow a lot of the smoke out as you normally would, and then only retrohale the last 20% or so of the smoke. It’s much easier to do that way.
Thanks for the review, you’ll keep me from blowing $10.00 on a stick I’ve wanted to try.
Thanks everyone! I’ll keep that in mind next time Jason.
Nice review, short and to the point. I am a real fan of the Ashton brand and in particular the “cabinet” line of which I smoke a lot of the Tres Petite.
The classic line as well as the cabinet have wonderful wrappers and are well constructed. Also if you would please try a Tres Petite I would enjoy your feedback.
Thank you.
Thanks Joe. I’ll try and find the Tres Petite. If I do, I’ll definitely get one and give it a review on the fan forums.
Shadow –
I don’t smoke or own many Connecticut wrapped cigars, but I do enjoy these from time to time.
The Aged Maduro are my favorite Ashton, and they are the cigars that started me on my lessons, particularly the #20 and #30. I always keep a box in the ‘dor. If you don’t like spice you’d like these better.
I generally blow smoke through my nose by opening the back of the throat, and restricting the flow through the lips while exhaling. So only some smoke goes through the nose. Try it with out smoke first, if you close your lips all the air goes out your nose, as you open your lips slightly some will go out your mouth, but some will still go out your nose, you can adjust it almost infinitely.
A novice warning would be: When using smoke be sure to have full lungs to begin, and to clear out your mouth and nose of smoke before you inhale again.
Enjoy and Keep on,
Lernin2Herf