Ok I’m aware that this is most likely a publicity endorsement/stunt done by Mr. Friedman, but when I was given this cigar, it actually looked like it could be a good smoke. Well, it has a nice looking band…… **crickets chirping from dead silence**
In 2007, Kinky Friedman unveiled a new line of cigars. He is an avid cigar smoker and has been one for many years. Even though cigars aren’t really an endorsed product, you would think that his years of experience would conclude he’d endorse something that had a chance in the marketplace.
They are made with hand rolled Habana wrappers grown in Honduras with a blended filler of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos and Costa Rican binders. Did I mention that they have a descent looking band?? As per usual with celebrity endorsed products, this one failed to step up to the bar. The Kinkycristo is an obvious pull from the Montecristo, which just adds to the insult. The cigar actually had a good rich look to it, so I was thinking it might be a descent stick to try.
Lighting & First Taste:
I should have known from the first instance I tried cutting this cigar that it wasn’t going to be pleasant experience. After cutting, it had many crumbled pieces coming off the tip. The wrapper was coming off on my lips, and the tip was breaking apart after I lit it. This can sometimes be caused by it being too dry, but it really didn’t appear so in this case to me.
Smoking the Cigar:
I had many difficulties trying to draw from this cigar. It was very tight and I often had to help the flow by pressing on the cigar while I was trying to draw. It’s a very mild cigar that was really lacking on taste. Since I had to force the draw most times, I was getting an ash taste due to the difficult in keeping this cigar lit. The ash was quite loose and kept falling on its own. I had to re-light the cigar at one point due to a bad burn, and just kept having issues with it.
The Finish:
I really didn’t get to finish this cigar since I only got just beyond the middle point of this cigar. The tightness never let me get a descent draw, the burn wasn’t even, the ash was loose and fell off, and the taste was lacking.
Band & Packaging:
Well it had a really nice band to it. My initial look was that it was not a dried out cigar, but did not have a good experience trying this one out.
Rating:
3.0 out of 10 puffs
Please send me an email or reply if anyone has had a better experience with this cigar. I might be inclined to try again some other time.
