A few weeks ago, Mike and I were fortunate enough to attend the 2010 Cigarfest. While there we had the opportunity to speak with a number of manufacturers. One of those manufacturers is one that I’ve talked to on a number of occasions, Abe Flores of Pinar del Rio.
We bumped into Abe as he was making his way across the show floor prior to the event starting and we got to talking. Before long he was digging through his bag and handed me two of his newest creations, the PDR 1878. He smiled and told me to let him know what I thought of it and left it at that.
At first glance I assumed that the dark oily wrapper was hiding a full throttle blend to compete with others on the market. I fell into a typical cigar misconception of judging a cigars strength and power by its presentation. As a result, I smoked it a couple of weeks later as a last cigar of the day. Unfortunately, put in that position the cigar performed poorly and I found it remarkably mild and ill-fitting of the situation.
When I talked to Abe later on Facebook, he got a laugh out of it and told me that it was designed to be a medium bodied stick. With that added knowledge, I made a point to then smoke my second sample as a first cigar of the day. In that situation, the stick performed far better.
Check out the video below to see how my second test drive of the PDR 1878 went. The video quality os lower this time around because I was test shooting in my new office (which is nearly completed) with my Flipcam. The video runs roughly thirteen-minutes. After you are finished watching, head down to the comments section and give us your thoughts on the new line by Pinar del Rio.
Walt do you know when these will be available? Are they out already? Another great review this sounds like a good morning cigar to start the day off before I get into the more full body smokes I like. thanks
If they aren’t out yet, they should be out very soon. On the fan forums I believe MasterShake made mention of picking some up at Cigars International. I’ll have to get in touch with Abe and ask for more details on the line.
With my luck it will turn out to be a limited production stick like the Pinar del Rio Classico Exclusivo Lancero (which i didn’t know until people couldn’t find them)
Great square review 🙂 No widescreen on that flip thingy? Feels like I am back in the days of tube tv’s hhaahhha
I am going to have to try and find some of these to maybe do a full blown review on. Maybe Abe won’t be mad at me if I like this one =) lol
Really sounds nice!
Mike
Mike,
No wide-screen on my Flipcam. I could have cropped it to a 16:9 aspect ratio but because of the lower quality footage it became more pixelated. The office is coming along, shouldn’t be long before I setup the HD camcorder down there and get the lighting straightened out for a permanent setup.
These things are just fantastic. I had a couple from an event a few weeks ago, but went through them in less than a week. This thing produced so much smoke.
Nice review Walt. I’ve yet to try any Pinar Del Rio product but you make them sound interesting so I kind of feel the need to try them.
I just tried the PDR Toro Classico ott as of yesterday. Easy light, lots of smoke tight ash, grayish black. Knocked of at approx. 1 in. Straight even burn no relite problems. But the cigar is an extremely mild smoke, some Cashew taste at first, no spice(pepper) at all. Could use some ligero in this blend, for me at least.
This would make a great cigar for the inexperienced smoker. My self i wouls prefer a more Medium smoke.
Walt – if there was one cigar line I could find locally its Abe’s stuff. I still remember smoking a lot of his PDR line at his shop last year during the show and they were great.
Gotta work on that lighting bro…LOL…I’m just hate’n cause I’m jealous of your office LOL
These cigars are not out yet and are only available online at Thompson CIgars (for some strange reason, no idea how they got them). However, if anybody is from NJ, Don Francisco Cigars in East Brunswick just got in a huge shipment and they are cheaper than Thompson is selling them!
Last Sunday I was at Don Francisco and one of their employees recommended this stick, I bought four and today I returned to buy a box of the Robustos. Pure chocolate and enjoyable from the first few puffs to the nub. Very reasonably priced and this was my first ever box purchase.
Today, Cleaning out shed. Smoked this cigar it was great. Very enjoyable lots of smoke and smelled great. I am going to buy a box
I smoked this cigar a few ,months ago. I was on the road and stopped in a cigar shop. The price was right, the look was good, I ventured a try. I really enjoyed it. I am a big Maduro fan and prefer St. Luis Rey’s, Rocky Patels (a favorite), Padrons and many others. This was a great cigar! I loved it. Great value if you smoke daily.
I smoked this cigar the other day, I bought the 60 ring, and it was fantastic, I was skeptical at first due to the fact that my usual cigar is La Flor Dominicana DL 700 maduro. However I do smoke medium bodied cigars also. I found everything in the review to be true to my experience, however I just do not get where people think that it is mild to medium in flavor, I rated this one up there in flavor in my honest opinion with LGC Series R, and Oliva Dbl Toro, and some of the other cigars along those lines. Had it been really mild in flavor I would not be returning to buy more, the price point is great, yes it would make a great everyday cigar. !
Great vlog on the PDR, I was smoking it I was watching your video and completely agree. I really thought this was gonna pack a bigger punch. By the way, what kind of lighter is that? I like it.
The PDR 1878 has quickly risen to the top of my list of “First Cigars of the Day”. I am so glad my tobacconist Randy Biggs of Randy’s Tobacco Shop carries them.
I had one of these when I was in New Orleans – amazing smoke! Not as “bold” as a normal maduro which I really liked.
I’m a medium smoker on a medium budget. I must say this is probably the best 5$ cigar I’ve tried. Nice flavor, great aroma and a nice even burn through out. Def the best 60min of my day.
GO BEARS!!