Quick Smoke: Tinder Box La Reserva No. 2 Maduro
8 Apr 2007
Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.
There’s a lot of house brands out there that are as low on quality as they are on price. The Private Stock La Reserva line by Tinder Box isn’t one of them. The six and ¼ inch by 46 ring gauge long corona is an expertly-constructed cigar with a smooth maduro wrapper and a firm body. For under $2 apiece, this stogie offers well-balanced cocoa and subtle fruit flavors, an excellent burn, and a stable ash. Its only weakness is a backdrop bitterness that becomes more apparent towards the end. Overall, the Tinder Box La Reserva No. 2 Maduro is a great value we can easily recommend.
Verdict = Buy.
I've found when I get the bad taste near the end a quick purge helps.
I'll be posting a full review of these soon on my site. Basically, I found the construction to be better than most 'bargain cigars'. Draw and burn were good. Taste was OK, but it left that tell-tale 'bargain bitter' aftertaste. If you had to buy a cheap cigar, this one is better than most. But that's it.
I just bought a box of La Reserva on Tinderbox.com because their having a 75% OFF SALE and I have to admit that for under $2 a piece per cigar – I like the smoke. Its a great bang for the buck. I like the pic. Keep up with the interesting reviews. Thanks
75% OFF SALE what exactly? This is there house brand. They can make up whatever they want for the MSRP price. These are a good value, but not exactly the deal of the year…
Tastes like a decent Honduran bundle cigar. The bitterness I'm going to wager is some Mexican leafage in there somewheres. I don't buy the ad copy on the TB site for a second… "very rare old Cuban seed" etc. etc. But it holds together pretty well and was pungent enough to chase the wife out of the garage tout suite, so it's good for something I reckon.